narrative of services in the liberation of chili, peru, and brazil, from spanish and portuguese domination by thomas, earl of dundonald, g.c.b. admiral of the red; rear-admiral of the fleet, etc. etc. vol. ii mdccclix contents chapter i. brazilian and portuguese factions--don pedro ordered to quit brazil--appointed "perpetual protector"--proclaimed emperor of brazil--efforts to obtain foreign officers and seamen--the naval command offered to me--acceptation thereof--arrival at rio de janeiro--visit of inspection to the squadron--condition of the vessels--inferiority of seamen--imperial affability--attempt to evade the terms offered me--this failing, to reduce the value of my pay--pretended commission conferred--and refused--the point argued--i decline the command--the prime minister gives in--explanatory portaria--formal commission--orders to blockade bahia--portuguese faction--averse to me from the outset. chapter ii. attempt to cut off the enemy's ships--disobedience to orders--letter to the prime minister--worthlessness of the men--their treachery--blockade established--equipment of fireships--enemy's supplies cut off--portuguese untrustworthy--demonstrations of the enemy--his pretended contempt for us--the enemy returns to port--their consternation at the fireships--portuguese contemplate attacking us--flagship reconnoitres enemy at anchor--excessive alarm at my nocturnal visit--proclamation of the commandant--consternation in the city--the authorities decide on evacuating bahia--instructions to the brazilian captains--warnings addressed to the authorities--enemy quits bahia--readiness for chase--numbers of the enemy--capture of the convoy--prizes disabled--attempt of troops to escape--prizes sent to pernambuco--pursuit discontinued--reasons for going to maranham--reasons for not taking more prizes--advantages to the empire. chapter iii. capture of the don miguel--summons to the authorities--reasons for threats held out--proposals for capitulation--proclamations--terms granted to portuguese garrison--declaration of independence--portuguese troops ordered to embark--symptoms of disobeying the order--delight of the people on becoming free--election of a provisional government--letters to the minister of marine. chapter iv. captain grenfell sent to summon parà--the junta demands the prize property--my refusal--imperial approval of my services--realisation of prize property--turi assu sends in its adhesion--money captured lent to the junta--its return to the squadron expected--possession taken of parà--insurrection at parà--misconduct of the maranham junta--their persecution of the portuguese--steps in consequence--manifestation of the national delight--the marquisate conferred on me--vote of thanks by the assemblea geral--my arrival at rio de janeiro--satisfaction with my services--lady cochrane joins me. chapter v. first effort to curtail the imperial power--portuguese intrigue--dismissal of the andradas--the assembly dissolved by force--exile of the andradas--letter to his imperial majesty--my advice partly adopted--and causes ministerial enmity towards me--ratification of my patent--i demand the adjudication of prizes--letter to the minister of marine--offer of personal advantage to foreign claims--squadron remained unpaid--i am appointed a privy councillor--the prize vessels plundered--shameful treatment of captain grenfell--troubles in pernambuco--hostility of the prize tribunal--condemns me to the restitution of prizes--forbids making any capture at all. chapter vi. remonstrance against decree of prize tribunal--settlement of prize question by the emperor--his ministers refuse to conform to it--obstacles thrown in the way of equipment--my services limited to the duration of war--my remonstrance on this breach of faith--ministers refuse to pay the squadron anything--a fresh insult offered to me--offer to resign the command--my resignation evaded--letter to the prime minister--letter to the minister of marine. chapter vii. ministerial malignity towards me--dangers in pernambuco--portuguese threats--my advice thereon--failure in manning the squadron--plot formed to search the flagship--timely warning thereon--i demand his majesty's interference--which was promptly granted--protest against prize decisions--my advice sought as regards pernambuco--letter to his imperial majesty--pointing out the annoyance practised--and tendering my resignation--the emperor's intervention--his ministers neglect to fulfil his engagement--confirmation of my previous patents--but with an unjustifiable reservation--prize money devoted to advance of wages--proofs thereof--baseless imputations on me--extracts from log--further distribution of prize money. chapter viii. republican government proclaimed at pernambuco--its concordat--the president carvalho--threat of bombardment--a bribe offered to me and refused--the revolt admitted of palliation--it was fast becoming general--intimidation ineffectual--the revolutionists expect foreign aid--pernambuco taken possession of--- payment of prize money--the accounts rendered in due course--orders to put down revolt at parà--character of the revolution--difficulty in finding proper governors--revolt at cearà--steps taken to suppress it--they prove successful--the insurgent leader killed--measures for preserving tranquillity. chapter ix. arrival at maranham--character of disturbances there--i assume the military command--proclamation commanding surrender of arms--condition of the people--corruption of the authorities--murderous propensities--difficulty in detecting assassins--letter to minister of marine--pacification of parahyba--doubts as to the president's sincerity--he establishes secret agencies--extraordinary memorials--public complaints of the president--bruce endeavours to intercept them--my reply to the memorialists--letter to the minister of marine--enclosing complaints of the consuls--bruce prepares to resist my authority--complaints of the british consul--he considers my presence necessary--letter of the french consul--detailing shameful atrocities--danger of collision with foreign states--suspension of the president--provision for future government--conduct of the faction at rio de janeiro--no instructions sent for my guidance--letter to the minister of marine--the ministry had previously deposed bruce--but turned on me for anticipating their own act. chapter x. misrepresentations made in england--letter to the emperor--tendering my resignation--repayment demanded from the junta--conduct of the prize tribunal--no adjudication of prizes intended--letter to the interim president--demanding the sums owing to the squadron--disturbance in parà--statement of account to the junta--offer of compromise--imperial decree--right of the squadron to the claim. chapter xi. imperial approval--continued enmity of the administration--junta refuses to pay the squadron's claim--i persevere in the demand--junta agrees to pay the amount in bills--this refused--arrival of a new president--but without authority for the assumption--intrigues to establish him in office--i order him to quit the province--and send him to parà--letter to the president of cearà--international animosities--the squadron left to provide for itself--abuse of authority--explanations to minister of marine--of transactions at maranham--letter to carvalho e mello--anticipating ministerial displeasure--the junta reimburses part of its debt. chapter xii. i quit maranham for a cruise--bad state of the frigate--connivance at illicit trade--we are compelled to proceed to england--the frigate reported to the brazilian envoy--who cheats me of £ , --his assumption that i had abandoned the service--my contradiction thereof--order to return to rio--reasons for not doing so--brazilian envoy tampers with my officer--who acquaints me therewith--envoy stops pay and provisions--declares that the brazilian government will give me nothing!--captain shepherd's reply--i prepare to return to rio--the envoy dismisses me from the service--without reason assigned--he declares that i voluntarily abandoned the service--receipts for accounts transmitted to brazil--these denied to have been sent. chapter xiii. i am dismissed the service by the brazilian government--without any acknowledgment of my services--inconsistency of this with former thanks--though dismissed i am tried as a deserter--and am refused all compensation--report of recent commission on the subject--false representations--but partially true conclusions--my original patents never set aside--untrue assumptions as to my dismissal--my claims founded on the original patents--less than half the interest due paid--opinions of eminent brazilians thereon--my services tardily acknowledged--no act of mine had annulled them--the estate conferred, not confirmed--promises on account of chili unfulfilled--the whole still my right. chapter xiv. proclamation for payment of officers and men--log extracts in proof thereof--the sum given up to the squadron disbursed--denial thereof by the brazilian government--though made to serve as advance of wages--the amount received at maranham--fully accounted for--by the receipts of the officers--officers' receipts--extracts from log in further corroboration--up to my arrival in england--all our prizes, monopolized by brazil--the conduct of the brazilian government unjustifiable. chapter i. brazilian and portuguese factions--don pedeo ordered to quit brazil--appointed "perpetual protector"--proclaimed emperor of brazil--efforts to obtain foreign officers and seamen--the naval command offered to me--acceptation thereof--arrival at rio de janeiro--visit of inspection to the squadron--condition of the vessels--inferiority of seamen--imperial affability--attempt to evade the terms offered me--this failing, to reduce the value of my pay--pretended commission conferred--and refused--the point argued--i decline the command--the prime minister gives in--explanatory fortaria--formal commission--orders to blockade bahia--portuguese faction--averse to me from the outset. although these memoirs relate to personal services in brazil, it is nevertheless essential, in order to their comprehension, briefly to recapitulate a few events which more immediately led to my connection with the cause of independence in that country. the expulsion of the portuguese royal family from lisbon, in consequence of the occupation of portugal by the armies of the french republic, was followed by the accession of don john vi. to the throne of portugal whilst resident in rio de janeiro. twelve months previous to my arrival in brazil, his majesty returned to portugal, leaving his son and heir-apparent, don pedro, regent of the portuguese possessions in south america, which had been for some time in a state of disaffection, arising from a growing desire throughout the various provinces for a distinct nationality. hence two opposing interests had arisen,--a brazilian party, which had for its object national independence; and a portuguese party, whose aim was to prevent separation from the mother country--or, if this could not be accomplished, so to paralyse the efforts of the brazilians, that in case of revolt it might not be difficult for portugal to keep in subjection, at least the northern portion of her south american colonies. it will be necessary, in the course of the narrative, to bear these party distinctions clearly in mind. as the regent, don pedro, was supposed to evince a leaning to the brazilian party, he gave proportionate offence to the portuguese faction, which--though inferior in number, was, from its wealth and position, superior in influence; hence the regent found himself involved in disputes with the latter, which in june compelled him to submit to some humiliations. shortly previous to this, the cortes at lisbon--aware of what was going on in brazil, and disregarding the temperate views of the king--issued a declaration inviting the brazilian municipalities to repudiate the regent's authority at rio de janeiro, and to adhere to the immediate administration of the cortes alone--thus indicating a course to be pursued by the portuguese faction in brazil. the result was--as had been anticipated--disunion amongst the people, consequent on the formation of petty provincial governments; each refusing to pay revenue to the central government at rio de janeiro, for the alleged reason that the regent was only waiting an opportunity to invest himself with absolute power. this opinion was eagerly adopted by the commercial class--consisting almost exclusively of native portuguese--in the hope that the cortes would reinvest them with their ancient trade privileges and monopolies, to the exclusion of foreigners, whom they considered as interlopers--the english especially, who, protected by a treaty of commerce, were fast undermining the former monopolists. amidst these difficulties don pedro, though nominally regent of brazil, found himself, in reality, little more than governor of rio de janeiro. in july , the lisbon cortes passed a decree, that thenceforth the brazilian and portuguese armies should form one body; the object being to ship the brazilian troops to portugal, and to send portuguese troops to brazil, thereby ensuring its subjection. the regent was, moreover, ordered to return to portugal. these rash steps greatly irritated the native brazilians, who saw in them a subversion of all their hopes of nationality. with scarcely less rashness, they issued proclamations declaring brazil independent, with don pedro as emperor; but he repudiated the act, and prepared to quit brazil in obedience to orders. the approaching departure of the regent caused a general ferment, when a popular leader arose in the person of josé bonifacio de andrada e silva, vice-president of the provisional junta at san paulo. summoning his colleagues at midnight, they signed an address to the regent--to the effect that his departure would be the signal for a declaration of independence--daring the cortes at lisbon to promulgate laws for the dismemberment of brazil into insignificant provinces, possessing no common centre of union; above all, daring them to dispossess don pedro of the authority of regent conferred by his august father. this address was conveyed to the prince by bonifacio himself, and was shortly afterwards followed by others of a similar nature from the southern provinces, and from the municipality of rio de janeiro--all begging him to remain and avert the consequences of the late decrees of the cortes. on more deliberate reflection don pedro consented, and was shortly afterwards invested with the title of "perpetual protector and defender of brazil." meanwhile the cortes, confident in their own power, were enforcing their obnoxious decrees by the despatch of ships of war and troops to the northern provinces. as the intention of this step was unmistakeable, his royal highness the protector promptly issued a manifesto, declaring the wish of brazil to maintain an amicable union with portugal, but at the same time calling on the brazilians to secure their independence by force, if necessary. in furtherance of this determination, an attack was made by the brazilian troops upon general madeira, the portuguese commandant at bahia, but from want of proper military organization, it proved unsuccessful. despatches now arrived from portugal, which cut off every hope of reconciliation, and on the th of october, don pedro was induced to accept the title of "constitutional emperor of brazil," with bonifacio de andrada as his minister of the interior, of justice, and of foreign affairs. the southern provinces gave in their adhesion to the emperor, but all the northern provinces--including bahia, maranham, and parà--were still held by portuguese troops; a numerous and well appointed squadron commanding the seaboard, and effectually preventing the despatch of brazilian forces to those localities by water; whilst by land there were neither roads, nor other facilities of communication with the northern patriots, who were thus isolated from effectual aid, could such have been rendered from rio de janeiro. his imperial majesty saw that, without a fleet, the dismemberment of the empire--as regarded the northern provinces--was inevitable; and the energy of his minister bonifacio in preparing a squadron, was as praiseworthy as had been the emperor's sagacity in determining upon its creation. a voluntary subscription was enthusiastically entered into; artisans flocked into the dockyard; the only ship of the line in the harbour required to be nearly rebuilt; but to man that and other available vessels with native seamen was impossible--the policy of the mother country having been to carry on even the coasting trade exclusively by portuguese, who could not now be relied on by brazil, in the approaching contest with their own countrymen. orders were consequently sent to the brazilian _chargé d'affaires_ in london, to engage officers and seamen there; and to stimulate these, a decree was, on the th of december, , issued by his imperial majesty, to sequestrate portuguese property throughout the empire, and also another, _that all prizes taken in the war should become the property of the captors_, which decrees must be borne in mind. his imperial majesty, having ascertained that the war of independence in the pacific had been brought to a successful conclusion by the squadron under my command, ordered his minister, bonifacio, to communicate with me, through the brazilian consul at buenos ayres; judging that, from the termination of hostilities in the pacific, i might be at liberty to organize a naval force in brazil, which--if properly conducted--might successfully cope with the portuguese fleet protecting the northern harbours of the empire. accordingly, whilst residing on my estate at quintera, in chili, i received from antonio manuel correa, the brazilian consul at buenos ayres, a letter on the part of his imperial majesty, inviting me to accept service under the brazilian flag, guaranteeing moreover rank and position in no way inferior to that which i then held under the republic of chili; the consul exhorting me, in addition, "to throw myself upon the munificence of the emperor, and the undoubted probity of his majesty's government, which would do me justice." the following is one of the letters of invitation:-- _le conseiller agent du brésil, près le gouvernement de buenos ayres à l'amiral lord cochrane, commandant-en-chef les forces navales de la république du chili._ milord, le brésil, puissance du premier ordre devint un nouvel empire, une nation indépendente sous le légitime héritier de la monarchie, pierre le grand, son auguste defenseur. c'est par son ordre--c'est de sa part, et en vertu des dépêches ministériales, que je viens de reçevoir de monseigneur joseph bonifacio de andrada e silva, ministre de l'intérieur et des relations extérieures du brésil, en date du septembre dernier--que j'ai l'honneur de vous adresser cette note; en laquelle votre grace est invitée, pour--et de part le gouvernement du brésil--à accepter le service de la nation brésilienne; chez qui je suis dûment autorisé à vous assurer le rang et le grade nullement inférieur à celui que vous tenez de la république. abandonnez vous, milord, à la reconnaisance brésilienne; à la munificence du prince; à la probité sans tache de l'actuel gouvernement; on vous fera justice; on ne rabaissera d'un seul point la haute considération--rang--grade--caractère--et avantages qui vous sont dûs. (signé) antonio manuel correa da camara, consul de l'empire du brésil, à buenos ayres, novembre, . annoyed by the ingratitude with which my services were requited in chili, and disliking the inaction consequent on the capture of valdivia, followed by the annihilation of the spanish naval force at callao, and elsewhere in the pacific--whereby internal peace had been obtained for chili, and independence for peru--i felt gratified by the further terms of invitation, contained in a second letter--"venez, milord, l'honneur vous invite--la gloire vous appelle. venez--donner à nos armés navales cet ordre merveilleux et discipline incomparable de puissante albion" --and on mature consideration returned the following reply:-- valparaiso, nov. , . sir, the war in the pacific having been happily terminated by the total destruction of the spanish naval force, i am, of course, free for the crusade of liberty in any other quarter of the globe. i confess, however, that i had not hitherto directed my attention to the brazils; considering that the struggle for the liberties of greece--the most oppressed of modern states--afforded the fairest opportunity for enterprise and exertion. i have to-day tendered my ultimate resignation to the government of chili, and am not at this moment aware that any material delay will be necessary, previous to my setting off, by way of cape horn, for rio de janeiro, calling at buenos ayres, where i hope to have the pleasure of meeting you, and where we may talk further on this subject; it being, in the meantime, understood that i hold myself free to decline--as well as entitled to accept--the offer which has, through you, been made to me by his imperial majesty. i only mention this from a desire to preserve a consistence of character, should the government (which i by no means anticipate) differ so widely in its nature from those which i have been in the habit of supporting, as to render the proposed situation repugnant to my principles--and so justly expose me to suspicion, and render me unworthy the confidence of his majesty and the nation. (signed) cochrane. to don antonio manuel coerea da camara, his brazilian majesty's consul at buenos ayres. having obtained the unqualified consent of the chilian government--there being now no enemy in the pacific--- i chartered a vessel for my own conveyance, and that of several valuable officers and seamen who, preferring to serve under my command, desired to accompany me. knowing that the portuguese were making great efforts to re-establish their authority in brazil, no time was lost in quitting chili. we reached rio de janeiro on the th of march, , barely six months after the declaration of independence. despatching a letter to the prime minister bonifacio de andrada--reporting my arrival in conformity with the invitation which his imperial majesty had caused to be transmitted to me through his consul-general at buenos ayres--i was honoured by the imperial command to attend his majesty at the house of his minister, where a complimentary reception awaited me. the emperor assured me that, so far as the ships themselves were concerned, the squadron was nearly ready for sea; but that good officers and seamen were wanting; adding, that, if i thought proper to take the command, he would give the requisite directions to his minister of marine. on the following day, the prime minister--after a profusion of compliments on my professional reputation, and an entire concurrence with the invitation forwarded to me by the consul at buenos ayres--which invitation he stated to have arisen from his own influence with the emperor--desired me to communicate personally with him, upon all matters of importance, the minister of marine being merely appointed to transact subordinate business. as nothing more positive was said in relation to my appointment, it struck me that this also might be included amongst the subordinate duties of the minister of marine, to whose house i repaired; but he could say nothing on the subject, as nothing specific had been laid before him. being desirous to come to a proper understanding, i wrote to the prime minister, that the officers who had accompanied me from chili would expect the same rank, pay, and emoluments as they had there enjoyed; that, as regarded myself, i was prepared to accept the terms offered by his imperial majesty, through the consul at buenos ayres, viz. the same position, pay, and emoluments as had been accorded to me by the chilian government; and that although i felt myself entitled to the customary remuneration in all well-regulated states for extraordinary, as well as ordinary, services, yet i was more anxious to learn the footing on which the naval service was to be put, than the nature of any stipulations regarding myself. on the following day his imperial majesty invited me at an early hour to the palace, in order to accompany him on a visit to the ships of war, with some of which i was much pleased, as demonstrative of the exertions which must have been made within a short time to get them into such creditable condition. great care had evidently been bestowed upon the _pedro primiero_, rated as a --though in the english service she would have been termed a . she was evidently a good sailer, and was ready for sea, with four months provisions on board, which scarcely half filled her hold, such was her capacity for stowage; i had therefore reason to be satisfied with my intended flagship. another showy vessel was the _maria da gloria_--a north american clipper; a class of vessels in those days little calculated to do substantial service, being built of unseasoned wood, and badly fastened. though mounting guns, she was a ship of little force, having only -pounder carronades, mixed with short -pounder guns. as a redeeming feature, she was commanded by a frenchman, captain beaurepaire, who had contrived to rally round him some of his own countrymen, mingled with native brazilians--in which he displayed considerable tact to free himself from the unpromising groups elsewhere to be selected from. the history of this vessel was not a little curious: she had been built in north america at the expense of the chilian government, and sent to buenos ayres, where an additional , dollars was demanded by her owners. payment of this was demurred to, when, without the slightest consideration for the expense incurred by chili in her building and equipment, her captain suddenly got under weigh, and proceeding to rio de janeiro, sold her to the brazilian government. i was further much pleased with the _piranga_, a noble frigate mounting long -pounders on the main deck. not to enter into any further details, with regard to the ships, a brief notice must be taken of the men, who, with the exception of the crew of the _maria da gloria_, were of a very questionable description,--consisting of the worst class of portuguese, with whom the brazilian portion of the men had an evident disinclination to mingle. on inquiry, i ascertained that their pay was only eight milreas per month, whereas in the merchant service, eighteen milreas was the current rate for good seamen,--whence it naturally followed that the wooden walls of brazil were to be manned with the refuse of the merchant service. the worst kind of saving--false economy--had evidently established itself in the brazilian naval administration. the captains complained of the difficulties they had to contend with as regarded the crews, particularly that the marines were so much gentlemen that they considered themselves degraded by cleaning their own berths, and had demanded and obtained attendants to wait on them! whilst they could only be punished for offences by their own officers! or, to use the words of one of the captains, "they were very much their own masters, and seemed inclined to be his!" it was, indeed, evident to me that neither seamen nor marines were in any state of discipline. not having as yet had experience of political party in the empire, it struck me as an anomaly that portuguese should be employed in such numbers to fight their own countrymen, though i afterwards became but too well acquainted with the cause of a proceeding at the time beyond my comprehension. in the course of our visit of inspection, the phrase "attacking the portuguese parliamentary force," was frequently used by the emperor, and was no less singular, as implying that the brazilian government did not make war against the king or country of portugal, but merely against the cortes; the distinction, as regarded the conduct of hostilities, being without a difference. a curious circumstance occurred after this visit of inspection. on landing--hundreds of people of all ages and colours, crowded round to kiss his majesty's hands--paternally extended on both sides to rows of devoted subjects, who, under no other circumstances, could have come in such familiar contact with royalty. to this ceremony the emperor submitted with the greatest possible good humour and affability, his equanimity not even being ruined by familiarities such as i had never before seen taken with king or emperor. on the th, a visit was paid to me by the minister of marine, luiz da cunha moreira, relative to the terms of my appointment, he being evidently desirous that my services should be obtained at as cheap a rate as possible, notwithstanding the concurrence of the prime minister with the offers which had been made through the consul-general at buenos ayres. the pay now offered was that of an admiral in the portuguese service,--notoriously the worst paid in the world. on enquiring what this might be, i found it less than half what i had received in chill! my pay there being dollars per annum, with permission from the supreme director to appropriate another from the government moiety of captures made. by way of reply, i produced a letter from the chilian minister of marine, counter-signed by the supreme director, acknowledging the receipt of an offer subsequently made to the chilian government voluntarily to give up to public exigencies a portion of my pay greater than the amount now tendered--at the same time telling the minister, that by accepting such an arrangement i should lose more annually by entering the brazilian service than the whole sum offered to me. without condescending to chaffer on such a subject, i added that his imperial majesty had invited me to brazil on specific promises, which, if my services were required, must be strictly fulfilled; if not, it would be candid in him to say so, as it was not the amount of pay for which i contended; but the reflection, that if the first stipulations of the brazilian government were violated, no future confidence could be placed in its good faith. if the state were poor, i had no objection, conditionally, to surrender an equal or even a greater proportion of pay than i had tendered to the chilian government; but that it was no part of my intention to be placed on the footing of a portuguese admiral, especially after the terms, which, without application on my part, had been voluntarily offered to induce me to accept service in brazil. the minister of marine seemed hurt at this, and said the state was not poor, and that the terms originally offered should be complied with, by granting me the amount i had enjoyed in chili; a decision the more speedily arrived at, from an intimation on my part, of referring to the prime minister, as requested in cases of difficulty. this the minister of marine begged me not to do, saying that there was no occasion for it. he next proposed that, as my brazilian pay was to be equivalent to that which i received in chili, it should he numerically estimated in spanish dollars, at the rate of reis per dollar--though the brazilian mint was then actually restamping those very dollars at the rate of reis! thus, by a manoeuvre, which reflected little credit on a minister, lessening the pay agreed on by one-fifth. to this proposition i replied that there was no objection, provided my services were also revalued--as he seemed disposed to revalue his dollar; so that, setting aside the offers which had induced me to leave chili, i would make a new offer, which should not only compensate for the difference in dispute, but leave a considerable surplus on my side into the bargain. alarmed at the sarcasm, and perhaps judging from my manner, that i cared little for a service in which such petty expedients formed an important element, he at once gave up the false value which he had attached to the dollar, and agreed to estimate it at reis--a microscopic saving, truly! as such a mode of proceeding had been adopted towards me, it became necessary on my part to look well after the interests of the officers who had accompanied me under the assurance that their position in brazil should be at least equal to that which they had held on the other side of the continent. this was not more a duty than a necessity, for i saw that, unless supported by officers upon whose talent and courage reliance could be placed, it would be out of my power individually to accomplish any enterprise satisfactory to myself or beneficial to brazil. i therefore required and obtained the same stipulations with regard to their respective rank and pay as had, in my own case, been insisted on. of these, admiral grenfell is the only survivor. on the th, a writing on a common sheet of letter paper was forwarded to me by the minister of marine, purporting to be a commission, with the rank of admiral; stating, however, inaccurately the amount of pay and table money agreed upon, by transposing the one for the other,--so that the table money was figured as pay, and the pay as table money; the effect being, that when on shore, my pay would have amounted to exactly one half of the sum stipulated! this proceeding could not be tolerated, so on the following morning i returned the commission to the minister of marine, who hastened to assure me that it was a mistake, which should be rectified. this pretended commission was accompanied by the following order to take command of the squadron:-- his imperial majesty--through the secretary for naval affairs--commands that the admiral of the imperial and national marine--lord cochrane--shall take command of the squadron at anchor in this port, consisting of the ship _pedro primiero_; the frigates _unao, nitherohy_, and _carolina_; the corvettes _maria de gloria_ and _liberal_; the brig _guarani_, and the schooners _real_ and _leopoldina_; hoisting his flag aboard the line-of-battle ship: the said admiral having, at his choice, the whole--or any of the said vessels, for the purpose of the expedition about to sail. palace of rio de janeiro, march , . (signed) luiz da cunha moreiea. there was, however, another point still less satisfactory. the commission conferred upon me the rank of admiral, but of what grade was not specified. on pressing the minister of marine, he admitted that it was only intended to give me the rank of junior admiral,--there being already two admirals in the service, whose functions would not, however, interfere with me, as their duties were confined to the ordinary administration of a board of admiralty. i at once told him that for me to serve under such naval administrators was out of the question. as the minister of marine professed want of sufficient power to warrant him in altering the commission, i announced my intention of taking it to the prime minister, and respectfully restoring it into his hands. the minister of marine again begged me not to do so, as an alteration might be made, if i would consent to go at once on board the _pedro primiero_--on board which ship my flag had been directed to be hoisted at mid-day! this, it is needless to add, was declined, not only by myself, but by the officers who had accompanied me from chili. the minister of marine affected to be surprised at my want of confidence in the government, but i explained that this was not the case. "it was quite possible that a congress might at any time be convened which would be less liberally inclined than the present ministry, and that acceptance of an appointment so loosely made might afford the admirals placed over me, not only a control over my movements, but an easy and convenient mode of getting rid of me after i had done their work; and this without any imputation of injustice on their proceedings. the fact, indeed, of a cortes being about to assemble, and the possibility of their interfering with me, was sufficient to fix my determination to have nothing to do with the command, under any circumstances, save those set forth in the tender made to me by command of his majesty." to this the minister replied, that, "if i could be thus dismissed, the government must likewise fall--because to suppose that a popular assembly could dictate to his majesty in such a case was to suppose the government no longer in existence." i then frankly told the minister, that "my experience as a naval officer--founded upon many years' practical observation, had taught me that, in engagements of this nature, it was necessary to be clear and explicit in every arrangement. i did not mean to insinuate anything disrespectful to the ministers of his brazilian majesty, but knowing that a senate was about to assemble, and having reason to believe that a majority of the members might differ from the ministerial views, and might--when the work was done--take a fancy to see the squadron commanded by one of their own countrymen--a step which would leave me no alternative but to quit the service--it was much better for all parties to put our mutual engagements on a firm basis." the minister continued to argue the point, but finding argument of no avail in altering my determination, he insinuated--though not stating as much in positive terms--that he had no prospect of any arrangement being effected regarding my rank other than that which had been tendered. determined to be no longer trifled with--on the following morning i waited on the prime minister, bonifacio de andrada, whom i found in high dudgeon at what he termed the unreasonableness of my demands; stating, moreover, that the consul at buenos ayres had exceeded his authority by writing me a bombastic letter, though but a few days before, andrada not only expressed his entire concurrence in its contents, but stated that the letter had been written through his influence with the emperor! to this i replied that, "be that as it might, it was absurd to suppose that i should have given up my position in chili for anything less in brazil, and that all that had been offered by the consul, or desired by me, was simply an equivalent to my chilian command, with adequate reimbursement of any losses i might sustain by quitting chili so abruptly, before the settlement of my affairs with that country. this offer had been made on behalf of his imperial majesty, under the express authority of the prime minister himself, as set forth in the consul's letters, and for this i held the government responsible. but, at the same time, i informed the prime minister that if he were disinclined to fulfil his own voluntary obligations, i would at once free him from them by declining the proffered command, and therefore begged of him to take back his commission, about which i would hold no further parley." this step was evidently unexpected, for, lowering his tone, bonifacio assured me that "good faith was the peculiar characteristic of the brazilian administration;" and to prove this, he had to announce to me that a cabinet council had that morning been held, at which it was resolved that the newly created honour of "first admiral of brazil" should be conferred upon me, with the pay and emoluments of chili, as stipulated through the consul at buenos ayres. he then asked me if i was content, to which i replied in the affirmative; pointing out, however, how much better it would have been to have taken this course at first, than to have caused such contention about a matter altogether insignificant, as compared with the work in hand. he replied that, as everything had been conceded, it was not worth while to reopen the question; but to this view i demurred, telling him that _nothing whatever had been conceded, the government having only fulfilled its own stipulations_, which were insignificant in comparison with obtaining the services of an officer whom it believed competent to carry out alone, what otherwise would entail great expense on the state. i further assured him that it would afford me much satisfaction to prove to him of how little importance was all that which had been the subject of dispute, and that his imperial majesty's government might rest assured that my utmost exertions would be used to bring the naval war to a speedy termination. he then requested me to hoist my flag forthwith, as the government was very anxious on this point. accordingly, at four o'clock in the afternoon of the st of march, , i went on board the _pedro primiero_, and hoisted my flag, which was saluted with twenty-one guns from each ship of war, the salute being acknowledged from the flagship with an equal number. shortly afterwards, a _portaria_, dated on the same day, was sent to me, explanatory of the commission which had given rise to so much trouble, and detailing my future pay as agreed upon. by the same document i was ordered to take command of the squadron, and an intimation was given that a formal commission as "first admiral" would forthwith be made out. it was further acknowledged that, by accepting the brazilian command, i had risked an admitted reward for services rendered to chili and peru, to the extent of more than sixty thousand dollars--and it was agreed that this amount should be repaid to me in the event of those countries not fulfilling their obligations--provided equivalent services were rendered to brazil. for more than thirty years chili has withheld that amount, but the brazilian government has never fulfilled this portion of its engagements. notwithstanding the praiseworthy exertions of the administration to place their navy in a creditable position as regarded the ships, the want of seamen was severely felt, and little had been done beyond shipping a number of portuguese sailors, whose fidelity to the imperial cause was doubtful. in the hope of getting a more reliable class of men for the flagship, i authorised captain crosbie to offer from my own purse, eight dollars per man, in addition to the bounty given by the government, and by this means procured some english and north american seamen, who, together with the men who accompanied me from chili, sufficed to form a tolerable nucleus for a future crew; as to the rest--though far short of the ship's complement--it had never before fallen to my lot to command a crew so inefficient. on the th of march, the following commission from his imperial majesty was presented to me:-- imperador, the valour, intelligence, activity, and other qualities of lord cochrane as an admiral, being well-known by the performance of various services in which he has been engaged, and seeing how advantageous it would be for the empire to avail itself of the known qualities of an officer so gifted, i deem it proper to confer on him a patent as "first admiral of the national and imperial navy," with an annual salary of eleven contos and five hundred and twenty milreis, whether at sea or on shore; and further in table money, when embarked, five contos, seven hundred and twenty milreis, which is the same pay and table money as he received in chili. to which favour, no admiral of the imperial navy shall claim succession, neither to the post of "first admiral," which i have thought fit to create solely for this occasion, from the motives aforesaid, and from particular consideration of the merits of the said lord cochrane. the supreme military council will so understand, and shall execute the necessary despatches. given at the palace of rio de janeiro, march st, . second year of the independence of the empire. (signed) imperador. luiz da cunha moreiea, secretary of state, march th, . leonardo antonio basto. thus was a right understanding established, my only object during the undignified contentions which had arisen, being--relinquishment of the proffered command, in order to carry out my long-entertained intention of visiting greece, then engaged in a struggle for independence--or to obtain a definite arrangement with the brazilian government, which should recognise the circumstances under which i had been induced to quit chili--_confer upon me permanent rank--give me the equivalent promised with regard to pay_--and be binding on both parties. on the th of march, a proclamation was issued by the imperial government declaring bahia in a state of blockade, the portuguese having there assembled a combined naval and military force superior to that of brazil, and, under ordinary circumstances, fully competent to maintain itself; as well as to put down, or at least paralyse, any movement in favour of independence. the following orders were then communicated to me, and were of the usual kind, viz. "to capture or destroy all enemy's ships and property, whereever found:"-- his imperial majesty, through the secretary of state for the marine, commands that the first admiral, lord cochrane, commander-in-chief of the squadron, shall, to-morrow morning, proceed from this port with such vessels as he shall judge proper to the port of bahia, to institute a rigorous blockade, destroying or capturing whatever portuguese force he may fall in with--doing all possible damage to the enemies of this empire, it being left to the discretion of the said admiral to act as he shall deem advantageous, in order to save that city from the thraldom to which it is reduced by the enemies of the cause of brazil; for this purpose consulting with gen. labatu, commanding the army, in order to the general good of the service, and glory of the national and imperial arms. palace of rio janeiro, march , . luiz da cunha moreira. to the brazilian party and the mass of the people generally, the approaching departure of the squadron was a matter for congratulation, but to the portuguese faction it presented a cause for fear, as tending to destroy their hopes of re-establishing the authority of the mother country. their influence, as has before been said, was as great, if not greater, than that of the patriots, and being more systematic, it had been effectually employed to increase the disaffection which existed in the northern provinces to the--as yet--but partially established authority of his imperial majesty. it is not my intention for a moment to impute malicious motives to the portuguese faction in brazil. the king of portugal, don john vi. had, within twelve months, quitted their shores to resume the throne of his ancestors, so that they had a right to the praise of loyalty, and the more so, as at that time few calculated on separation from the mother country. the empire itself was not six months old, and therefore they were not to be blamed for doubting its stability. the cortes at lisbon had sent a large force for the protection of the more remote provinces, and in an attack upon these at bahia, the brazilian troops had been unsuccessful, so that no great confidence was to be reposed on any future _military_ efforts to eject the portuguese troops. where the portuguese party was really to blame, consisted in this,--that seeing disorder everywhere more or less prevalent, they strained every nerve to increase it, hoping thereby to paralyse further attempts at independence, by exposing whole provinces to the evils of anarchy and confusion. their loyalty also partook more of self-interest than of attachment to the supremacy of portugal, for the commercial classes, which formed the real strength of the portuguese faction, hoped, by preserving the authority of the mother country in her distant provinces, thereby to obtain as their reward the revival of old trade monopolies, which twelve years before had been thrown open, enabling the english traders--whom they cordially hated--to supersede them in their own markets. being a citizen of the rival nation, their aversion to me personally was undisguised; the more so perhaps, that they believed me capable of achieving at bahia--whither the squadron was destined--that irreparable injury to their own cause, which the imperial troops had been unable to effect. had i, at the time, been aware of the influence and latent power of the portuguese party in the empire, not all the so-called concessions made by de andrada would have induced me to accept the command of the brazilian navy; for to contend with faction is more dangerous than to engage an enemy, and a contest of intrigue was alike foreign to my nature and inclination. chapter ii. attempt to cut off the enemy's ships--disobedience to orders--letter to the prime minister--worthlessness of the men--their treachery--blockade established--equipment of fireships--enemy's supplies cut off--portuguese untrustworthy--demonstrations of the enemy--his pretended contempt for us--the enemy returns to port--their consternation at the fireships--portuguese contemplate attacking us--flagship reconnoitres enemy at anchor--excessive alarm at my nocturnal visit--proclamation of the commandant--consternation in the city--the authorities decide on evacuating bahia--instructions to the brazilian captains--warnings addressed to the authorities--enemy quits bahia--readiness for chase--numbers of the enemy--capture of the convoy--prizes disabled--attempt of troops to escape--prizes sent to pernambuco--pursuit discontinued--reasons for going to maranham--reasons for not taking more prizes--advantages to the empire. on the rd of april, we put to sea with a squadron of four ships only, viz. the _pedro primiero_, captain crosbie, _piranga_, captain jowett, _maria de gloria_, captain beaurepaire, and _liberal_, captain garcaõ--two others which accompanied us, viz. the _guarani_, captain de coito, and _real_, captain de castro, were intended as fireships. two vessels of war, the _paraguassu_ and the _nitherohy_, being incomplete in their equipment, were of necessity left behind. the _nitherohy_, captain taylor, joined on the th of april, and on the st of may we made the coast of bahia. on the th, we made the unexpected discovery of thirteen sail to leeward, which proved to be the enemy's fleet leaving port with a view of preventing or raising the blockade. shortly afterwards the portuguese admiral formed line of battle to receive us, his force consisting of one ship of the line, five frigates, five corvettes, a brig, and schooner. regularly to attack a more numerous and better trained squadron with our small force, manned by undisciplined and--as had been ascertained on the voyage--disaffected crews, was out of the question. on board the flagship there were only a hundred and sixty english and american seamen, the remainder consisting of the vagabondage of the capital, with a hundred and thirty black marines, just emancipated from slavery. nevertheless, observing an opening in the enemy's line, which would enable us to cut off their four rearmost ships, i made signals accordingly, and with the flagship alone gave the practical example of breaking the line, firing into their frigates as we passed. the portuguese admiral promptly sent vessels to the aid of the four cut off, when, hauling our wind on the larboard tack, we avoided singly a collision with the whole squadron, but endeavoured to draw the enemy's ships assisting into a position where they might be separately attacked to advantage. had the rest of the brazilian squadron come down in obedience to signals, the ships cut off might have been taken or dismantled, as, with the flagship i could have kept the others at bay, and no doubt have crippled all in a position to render them assistance. to my astonishment the signals were disregarded, and--for reasons which will presently be adduced--no efforts were made to second my operations. for some time the action was continued by the _pedro primiero_ alone, but to my mortification the fire of the flagship was exceedingly ill-directed. a still more untoward circumstance occurred in the discovery that two portuguese seamen who had been stationed to hand up powder, were not only withholding it, but had made prisoners of the powder boys who came to obtain it! this would have been serious but for the promptitude of captain grenfell, who, rushing upon the men, dragged them on deck; but to continue the action under such circumstances was not to be thought of; and as the enemy had more than double our numerical force, i did not consider myself warranted in further attempting, with greater hazard, what on a future opportunity might be accomplished with less. quitting the enemy's ships cut off, we therefore hauled our wind, to join the vessels which had kept aloof, and to proceed to the station previously appointed as the rendezvous of the squadron, whither the fireships were to follow. in this affair no lives were lost. extremely annoyed at this failure, arising from non-fulfilment of orders, and finding, from experience on the voyage, that we had been hurried to sea, without consideration as to the materials of which the squadron was composed, a rigid inquiry was instituted, which gave me such cogent reasons for losing all confidence in it, that on the day following i considered it expedient to address the following letter to the prime minister, andrada, pointing out that if prompt steps were not taken to add to our strength, by providing more efficient crews, the result might be to compromise the interests of the empire, no less than the character of the officers commanding. (secret) h.i.m.s. _pedro primiero_, at sea, may , . most illustrious sir, availing myself of your permission to address you upon points of a particular nature, and referring you to my public despatches to the minister of marine, i beg leave to add that it was not only unfavourable winds which retarded our progress, but the extreme bad sailing of the _piranga_ and _liberal_. neither these ships nor the _nitherohy_, which sails equally ill, are adapted to the purposes to be effected, as from their slowness, the enemy has an opportunity to force an action under any circumstances, however disadvantageous to this undisciplined squadron. the _real_ is no better, and her total uselessness as a ship of war, has determined me to prepare her as a fireship, there appearing no probability of the others joining. from the defective sailing and manning of the squadron it seems, indeed, to me, that the _pedro primiero_ is the only one that can assail an enemy's ship of war, or act in the face of a superior force, so as not to compromise the interests of the empire and the character of the officers commanding. even this ship--in common-with the rest--is so ill-equipped as to be much less efficient than she otherwise would be. this letter, you will observe, is not intended to meet the public eye, but merely to put the government in possession of facts necessary for its information. our cartridges are all unfit for service, and i have been obliged to cut up every flag and ensign that could be spared, to render them serviceable, so as to prevent the men's arms being blown off whilst working the guns, and also to prevent the constant necessity of sponging, &c. which, from the time it consumes, diminishes the effective force of the ships fully one half. the guns are without locks--which they ought to have had in order to their being efficient. the sails of this ship are all rotten--the light and baffling airs on our way hither, having beaten one set to pieces, and the others are hourly giving way to the slightest breeze of wind. the bed of the mortar which i received on board this ship was crushed on the first fire--being entirety rotten; the fuzes for the shells are formed of such wretched composition that it will not take fire with the discharge of the mortar, and are consequently unfit for use on board a ship where it is extremely dangerous to kindle the fuze otherwise than by the explosion; even the powder with which this ship is supplied is so bad, that six pounds will not throw our shells more than a thousand yards, instead of double that distance. the marines neither understand gun exercise, the use of small arms, nor the sword, and yet have so high an opinion of themselves that they will not assist to wash the decks, or even to clean out their own berths, but sit and look on whilst these operations are being performed by seamen; being thus useless as marines, they are a hinderance to the seamen, who ought to be learning their duty in the tops, instead of being converted into sweepers and scavengers. i have not yet interfered in this injurious practice, because i think that reforms of the ancient practice of the service, ought to form the subject of instruction from the government --and also, because at this moment, any alterations of mine might create dissatisfactions and dissensions even more prejudicial to the service in which we are engaged, than the evils in question. with respect to the seamen, i would observe, that, in order to create an effective marine, young active lads of from fourteen to twenty should be selected. almost the whole of those who constitute the crews of these vessels--with the exception of the foreign seamen, are not only totally unpractised in naval profession, but are too old to learn. i warned the minister of marine, that every native of portugal put on board the squadron--with the exception of officers of known character--would prove prejudicial to the expedition, and yesterday we had a clear proof of the fact. the portuguese stationed in the magazine, actually withheld the powder whilst this ship was in the midst of the enemy, and i have since learned that they did so from feelings of attachment to their own countrymen. i now inclose you two letters on this subject--one just received from the officer commanding the _real_, whose crew were on the point of _carrying that vessel into the enemy's squadron for the purpose of delivering her up!_ i have also reason to believe, that the conduct of the _liberal_ yesterday in not bearing down upon the enemy and not complying with the signal which i had made to break the line--was owing to her being manned with portuguese. the _maria de gloria_ has also a great number of portuguese, which is the more to be regretted, as otherwise her superior sailing, with the zeal and activity of her captain, would render her an effective vessel. to disclose to you the truth, it appears to me that one half of the squadron is necessary to watch over the other half: and, assuredly, this is a system which ought to be put an end to without delay. a greater evil is, that this ship is one hundred and twenty seamen short of her complement and three hundred short of what i should consider an efficient crew, whilst the bad quality and ignorance of the landsmen, makes the task of managing her in action no easy matter, the incessant bawling going on rendering the voices of the officers inaudible. had this ship yesterday been manned and equipped as she ought to have been, and free from the disadvantages stated, there is no doubt whatever in my mind, but, that singly, we could have dismantled half the ships of the enemy. on the whole, sir, you must perceive that i have not been supplied with any of those facilities which i requested to be placed in my hands. i am, however, aware of the difficulties under which a new government labours, and am ready to do all in my power under any circumstances. what i have to request of you is, that you will do me the justice to feel that the predicament in which i am now placed, is somewhat analogous to your own, and that if i cannot accomplish all i wish, the deficiency arises from causes beyond my control; but i entreat you to let me have--at least this ship-- _well manned_, and i will answer for her rendering more efficient service than the whole squadron besides--constituted as it now is. you will perceive by my public despatch addressed to the minister of marine, that although we passed through the enemy's line, and, i may add, actually brushed the nearest vessel, which we cut off--yet nothing really useful was effected, notwithstanding that the vessel we touched ought to have been sunk, and those separated to have been dismantled or destroyed. i am quite vexed at the result--which was such, however, as might have been expected from the bad manning of the squadron. i have determined to proceed forthwith to the moro san paulo, and to leave there the ill-sailing vessels. i intend to remove all the effective officers and seamen from the _piranga_ and _nitherohy_, into this ship, and with her alone, or attended only by the _maria de gloria_, to proceed to bahia, to reconnoitre the situation of the enemy at their anchorage, and obtain the information requisite to enable me to enter on more effectual operations. i have the honour, &c. cochrane. ill. exmo. senor josÉ bonifacio d'andrade y silva, ministro e secretario d'estado. a rigorous blockade was nevertheless established, in spite of our deficiencies or the efforts made to raise or evade it--though the enemy were bold in reliance upon their numbers, and none the less so, perhaps, from considering our recent failure a defeat. they did not, however, venture to attack us, nor were we yet in a condition to meddle further with them. the blockade of the port was not calculated to effect anything decisive, beyond paralysing the naval operations of the enemy's squadron. even this would not prevent the portuguese from strengthening themselves in positions on shore, and thus, by intimidating all other districts within reach,--enable them to bar the progress of independence. i therefore determined, as a force in our condition was not safe to hazard in any combination requiring prompt and implicit obedience, to adopt the step of which i had apprised the prime minister, and took the squadron to moro san paulo, where, transferring from the bad sailing frigates to the flagship, the captains, officers, and best petty officers and seamen, the _pedro primiero_ was rendered more efficient than the whole together; and with her and the _maria de gloria_, i resolved to conduct further operations against the enemy--leaving the _piranga_, and _nitherohy_, together with all the other vessels, in charge of captain pio--the two senior captains having been transferred to the flagship, in charge of their officers and men. there was, however, another reason for leaving the remainder of the squadron at moro san paulo. before quitting rio de janeiro, i had urged on the government the necessity of immediately forwarding fireships, as the most reliable means for destroying a superior force. these had not been supplied; but in their place a quantity of inflammable and explosive materials had been sent. as several prizes had been taken, i determined to convert them into fireships, as well as the _real_ schooner--a useless vessel, the crew of which had shewn that they were not to be depended upon; so that the remaining ships of the squadron, though unreliable in other respects, were well employed in carrying these objects into execution. in order to protect the ships and men thus engaged, i directed a body of marines to be landed, for the purpose of making a show by forming and manning batteries to repel any attack, though, had such been made, neither the batteries nor their defenders would have been of much service. the flagship, together with the _maria de gloria_, now proceeded to cruize off bahia, with such success that all supplies were cut off by sea, notwithstanding repeated attempts to introduce vessels from san mattheos with farinha--a dozen of which fell into our hands, in spite of the enemy's superiority. as the _carolina_ had now joined us, i directed her to take under convoy the captured transports with provisions, whilst the _guarani_ was sent to scour the coast, with orders to avoid approaching the enemy's fleet, and to bring me information as to the progress of the fireships, upon which i now saw that i must mainly rely. on the st, i considered it expedient to address the following private letter to the minister of marine:-- off bahia, n.w. miles, may , . most illustrious sir, in addition to my official letters of the rd and th inst. i beg to acquaint you that, being convinced--not only from the conduct of the crew of this ship during the attack on the th, but from what i observed in regard to the other vessels--that nothing beneficial to his imperial majesty's service could be effected by any attempts to combine the whole squadron in an attack against the enemy--but, on the contrary, from the imperfect and incongruous manner in which the vessels are manned-- consequences of the most serious nature would ensue from any further attempt of the kind. i have therefore determined to take the squadron to moro san paulo, for the adoption of other measures essential under such circumstances, viz. to take on board such officers and men from the bad sailing vessels as will render the _pedro primiero_ more effective than the whole squadron as now constituted. in the first conversation i had with you, i gave you my opinion as to the superior benefit of equipping one or two vessels _well_-- rather than many imperfectly, and i again beg to press on your consideration the necessity of such efficient equipment of all vessels, whether many or few. i must also remind you of the great danger that arises from the employment of portuguese of the inferior class in active operations against their own countrymen, because they neither do nor can consider that the dispute between brazil and the portuguese government, bears any similarity to warfare as ordinarily understood. i have had sufficient proof since leaving rio de janeiro, that there is no more trust to be placed in portuguese, when employed to fight against their countrymen, than there was in the spaniards, who, on the opposite side of this continent, betrayed the patriot governments, by whom they were employed. i shall press this point no further than to say, that so long as his imperial majesty's ships are so manned, i shall consider them as not only wholly inefficient, but requiring to be vigilantly watched in order to prevent the most dangerous consequences. since making my arrangements at the moro, where i left all the squadron except this ship and the _maria de gloria_, i have been constantly off the port of bahia, but could see nothing of the enemy's squadron, till the th, when i learned from an english vessel that they had been as far down as the abrolhos shoals, for what purpose i know not. they consist of thirteen vessels, being the number which we encountered on the th. i am watching an opportunity to attack them in the night, in the hope not only of being able to damage them materially by the fire of this ship, but also in the expectation that, if they are not better disciplined than the crews of this squadron, they will occasion as much damage amongst themselves, as they would sustain if they had an equal force to contend with. in the meantime we are as effectually blockading bahia, as if the enemy did not dare to remove from his anchorage--for both this ship and the _maria de gloria_ outsail them all. we have captured three portuguese vessels, and from the letters found therein, many more are expected from maranham and other ports to leeward, as well as from san mattheos. should the enemy's squadron return to port before i can obtain a favourable opportunity of assailing them at sea, i shall endeavour to attack them at their anchorage, and the government may be assured that no exertion shall be wanting on my part, or on that of the officers now in this ship, to effect their destruction. i may fairly ascribe the prepared state of the enemy, and the great force in which they appeared on the th, and still exhibit--to the information carried by the british ship of war tartar, which was permitted to sail from rio so early after our departure for bahia, and thus served them as effectually as though she had been expressly hired for the purpose. i have the honour, &c. cochrane. to the minister of marine. on the nd we captured another vessel, and reconnoitred the port of bahia, the portuguese squadron being there at anchor. finding this to be the case, i returned to the moro to expedite the fireships--leaving the _maria de gloria_ to watch the enemy's movements. on the th the portuguese admiral again appeared in full force, and approached towards us at the moro san paulo, when we prepared for action, but the hostile squadron withdrew. the same demonstration was made for several days, the enemy not venturing on an attack, whilst, from the causes previously alleged, we were in no condition to take the initiative. on the th i apprised the minister of marine that, when the enemy returned to port, i should make an attempt on them on the first dark night with the flagship alone, pending the equipment of the fireships. at the same time i addressed the following letter to the prime minister, de andrada:-- moro san paulo, th may, . most illustrious sir, with regard to the transactions of the squadron, i beg to refer you to my despatches to the minister of marine, but solicit your attention to a few particulars which appear to me of importance. in the first place, you will observe from the enclosed bahia newspaper, that the maritime force of the enemy is contrasted with that of the squadron under my command. i should be well content were the real disparity of the respective forces no greater than the statement has set forth, but unfortunately, the brazilians, who have never before been at sea, are of little or no use, from their total want of discipline, and of any kind of nautical knowledge; whilst the portuguese seamen in the squadron, are not only useless--but a great deal worse, for the reasons stated in my former letters. the enemy in bahia are in want of all kinds of fresh provisions --though they have been using every means to procure them. some supplies they have lately had from buenos ayres, and even from the cape de verds; but the most surprising fact is that the brazilian governor of san mattheos, near the abrolhos, and the chiefs of other small brazilian ports in that quarter have been loading vessels for the enemy's use--under the simulated destination of rio de janeiro. permit me to suggest that an investigation into this matter is highly essential. from all the information which i can collect, the enemy at bahia are considerably distracted in their councils, which dissensions cannot fail to be increased by seeing their vessels taken in the very mouth of the harbour, and their look-out ships driven under the guns of the batteries by those of his imperial majesty, i may, indeed, say by two ships alone, because in the state of the other vessels and crews i have not deemed it prudent to trust them in the neighbourhood of a port occupied by the enemy. i have no doubt of succeeding--by some means or other--in effecting our object, and that in as short a time as can reasonably be expected--for it is not to be supposed that i should all at once accomplish objects of such magnitude with a force so inferior, and in great part so inexperienced and heterogeneously composed. on this subject i beg to call your attention to the low opinion entertained of our squadron by the enemy, as expressed in the enclosed bahia gazette (no ), which, on that point, is in conformity with my own opinion as previously expressed. i have the honour, &c. cochrane. to the prime minister. the following proclamation from the _bahia gazette_ will shew the nature of these vapourings deliberately inserted by the bahia authorities:-- last week the wind was southerly, with rain, which has rendered it impossible for our squadron to get at the rio squadron, to decide whether brazil shall remain in the fetters of the usurper of rio-- or enjoy constitutional liberty. had they credited me more, we should not have seen on our bar, an enterprising man who ruined the commerce of the pacific, and now thinks to regain the glory he lost. the conduct of lord cochrane verberates in our ears-- examine his conduct in the pacific, and observe that he lost all, and was obliged to abandon everything to the spaniards in peru, afterwards losing his little force in attacks and tempests. the ministry of rio sent for him, giving him the pompous title of "admiral of the brazils," and great promises--thinking that he would bring with him a squadron to help the imperial fraudulence. this is the great wonder, who has come to carry fire and blood to the trusty bahia, bringing with him vessels manned, for the most part, with portuguese sailors--and not leaving in rio a single vessel, from which he did not take even the negro sailors. it is only the _pedro primiero_ that is manned with the adventurous foreigners, so that we shall fall upon the , and by beating her, decide the business of brazil. our squadron is superior in physical force, having at their head brave officers, with plenty of troops. it is commanded in chief by an admiral who has success before him, and who wishes to regain the opinion of the public, so that we may all wait a happy result. commerce--the strong pillar which upholds the constitutional edifice--has promised great recompense to the victorious fleet and their chief, and has precious gifts for those who will shew their gratitude to bahia, and defend their liberty. officers who distinguish themselves, will have a medal representing their victory, which will make them known to the citizens of bahia, who will not be ungrateful. citizens of all classes are ready at a moment's warning to decide the great cause of our liberty, and will measure the greatness of our triumph by the sacrifices made. constance, courage, and union, and we shall see the despotic monster raging and tearing himself to pieces. all we look to, at this moment, is to destroy the rio squadron. the usurper who rules in that capital thinks that, reaching the bar with the squadron of his imaginary empire, we should be attacked on all sides, and compelled to make a shameful capitulation. how much you are mistaken--new-born monster! we have abundant force at our disposal; but in the meantime we must overthrow the plans of the enterprising cochrane, and wait the result of maritime prowess. notwithstanding that the portuguese opinion of the brazilian squadron, as expressed in the official gazette, is couched in terms of contempt, as compared with the efficiency of their own squadron--yet most inconsistently, they did not venture to attack us. the fact was, however, most painful to me, being aware of its truthfulness, and i wrote to the minister of marine, begging him to enable us to intercept the numerous vessels expected at bahia, by procuring three fast-sailing american clippers, armed with or -pounders, in lieu of the useless schooners with which we were encumbered. in addition to the professed contempt of the portuguese authorities for the ships blockading bahia--the proclamation in which these expressions were contained, termed his imperial majesty a "turkish despot,"--his prime minister a "tyrannical vizier," and myself "a coward;" so that i had at least the satisfaction of being maligned in good company. on the nd of june, to my great satisfaction, the portuguese returned to port, and i felt certain that so soon as the fireships in preparation at the moro san paulo were ready, the destruction of the whole was inevitable--the portuguese naval officers being of the same opinion, whatever might be the official boasts of the military commandant. according to the secret correspondence which i had established with brazilian patriots resident within the city, the admiral's consternation on learning that fireships were nearly equipped was excessive--and being in nightly expectation of a repetition of the scene in basque roads; or at least of that which little more than a year previous had been enacted before callao--every precaution was taken against surprise. he was quite right in the conjecture as to what was intended; but did not calculate--as i was obliged to do--on the general want of experience of such matters in the brazilian service. our preparations being, on the th of june, reported to be favourably progressing, i determined to put the attack in execution so soon as the tide flowed late enough in the evening to prevent the enemy from perceiving us in time to disturb or defeat our operations. the difficulty was to find competent persons to take charge of the fireships, so as to kindle them at the proper moment--the want of which had rendered most of the fireships ineffective--as such--in the affair of basque roads in , and had formed one of the principal obstacles when attacking callao in . of the explosion vessel i intended myself to take charge, as i had formerly done in basque roads. on the th of june information arrived that the enemy had resolved on an attempt to destroy the fireships in the moro san paulo, and that the second division of their army was being embarked in transports for that purpose. preparations were at once made to receive them by ordering in the vessels scouring the coast, and by such other precautionary measures as were necessary for the defence of that important station. it was, however, difficult to make a proper defence, for, with the exception of portuguese--who could not be trusted--there were no artillerymen in the brazilian squadron who had any practical knowledge of their duty, even if the guns on the moro could be made to contribute to its defence, for the place was open, and commanded by heights, of which, as we had no troops, the enemy could possess themselves by night or by day. in case they did so, before adequate preparations could be made, i directed the guns to be spiked, that they might not be turned against the ships. no attack was, however, made, the enemy being doubtless deterred by the apparent promptitude in anticipating their movements. on the th of june further information was received that the contemplated attack on the moro had been abandoned, and that the enemy were seriously deliberating on evacuating the port before the fireships were completed, i therefore ordered the _maria de gloria_ to water and re-victual for three months, so as to be in readiness for anything which might occur, as, in case the rumour proved correct, our operations might take a different turn to those previously intended. the _piranga_ was also directed to have everything in readiness for weighing immediately, on the flagship appearing off the moro and making signals to that effect. the whole squadron was at the same time ordered to re-victual, and to place its surplus articles in a large shed constructed of trees and branches felled in the neighbourhood of the moro. whilst the other ships were thus engaged, i determined to increase the panic of the enemy with the flagship alone. the position of their fleet was about nine miles up the bay, under shelter of fortifications, so that an attack by day would have been more perilous than prudent. nevertheless, it appeared practicable to pay them a hostile visit on the first dark night, when, if unable to effect any serious mischief, it would at least be possible to ascertain their exact position, and to judge what could be accomplished when the fireships were brought to bear upon them. accordingly, having during the day carefully taken bearings of the high lands at the mouth of the river--on the night of the th june, i decided on making the attempt, which might possibly result in the destruction of part of the enemy's fleet, in consequence of the confused manner in which the ships were anchored, and from information received that the chief officers were invited ashore to a public ball. as soon as it became dark, we proceeded up the river, but unfortunately, when within hail of the outermost ship, the wind failed, and the tide soon after turning, our plan of attack was rendered abortive; determined, however, to complete the reconnaissance, we threaded our way amongst the outermost vessels, but dark as was the night--the presence of a strange ship under sail was discovered--and some beat to quarters, hailing to know what ship that was? the reply being "an english vessel," satisfied them, so that our investigation was made unmolested. the chief object thus accomplished, we succeeded in dropping out with the ebb tide, now rapidly running, and were enabled to steady our course stern-foremost with the stream anchor adrag, whereby we reached our former position off the mouth of the river. finding from the reconnaissance, that it would not be difficult to destroy the enemy's vessels, huddled together as they were amongst a crowd of merchantmen, i hastened to moro san paulo, to expedite the completion of the fireships. returning immediately to bahia, and again anchoring off the entrance of the harbour, i now learned that the alarm created by our nocturnal visit was excessive; indeed, my informants stated that the exploit had the effect of determining the portuguese admiral to remove as quickly as possible from a locality in which he could no longer consider himself safe. on the th of june, information was again forwarded to me, by persons favourable to the imperial cause, that a council of war had been held, at which it had been resolved to withdraw the fleet to st. catherine's or maranham, and not the fleet alone but the troops also--thus abandoning the city and province of bahia to the imperial squadron; the council judging that i should be well content to permit them to pass to another part of the coast, as their departure would result in the imperial occupation of bahia. the subjoined proclamation issued by general madeira will shew the straits to which the blockading squadron had reduced the city and garrison:-- inhabitants of bahia, the crisis in which we find ourselves is perilous, because the means of subsistence fail us, and we cannot secure the entrance of any provisions. my duty as a soldier, and as governor, is to make any sacrifice in order to save the city; but it is equally my duty to prevent, in an extreme case, the sacrifice of the troops i command--of the squadron--and of yourselves. i shall employ every means to fulfil both duties. do not suffer yourselves to be persuaded that measures of foresight are always followed by disasters. you have already seen me take such once before. they alarmed you, but you were afterwards convinced that they portended nothing extraordinary. even in the midst of formidable armies measures of precaution are daily used, because victory is not constant, and reverses should be provided against. you may assure yourselves, that the measures i am now taking, are purely precautionary, but it is necessary to communicate them to you, because if it happens that _we must abandon the, city_, many of you will leave it also; and i should be responsible to the nation and to the king if i had not forewarned you. (signed) ignacio luiz madeira de mella. were it dignified to allude to the cowardice imputed to me by the same authority, it would be easy to refer to the above enumeration of distresses caused by our two ships having captured all their provisions in the face of thirteen, in every way better manned and equipped. the consternation caused by my nocturnal visit, which decided the evacuation of the city, was described as almost ludicrous. as i had been correctly informed, the portuguese admiral and his officers _were_ at a ball, and information of our appearance amongst the fleet was conveyed to him in the midst of the festivities. "what"--exclaimed he--"lord cochrane's line-of-battleship in the very midst of our fleet! impossible --no large ship can have come up in the dark." we, however, did find our way in the dark--and did not retire till our _reconnaissance_ was as complete as darkness would permit. the lamentations caused by general madeira's proclamation were no doubt faithfully chronicled in the bahia newspapers, one of these declaring "in the last few days we have witnessed in this city a most doleful spectacle that must touch the heart even of the most insensible. a panic terror has seized on all men's minds--the city will be left without protectors--and families, whose fathers are obliged to fly, will be left orphans--a prey to the invaders," &c. &c. a prognostication not at all in accordance with my mode of carrying on warfare, which, as portuguese families afterwards found, both at bahia and elsewhere, was to protect the defenceless and unoffending. the before-mentioned resolution of the council was precisely what i wished, as the evacuation of the port and province by the troops as well as the fleet, must prove more favourable to the imperial cause than if the fleet alone had been destroyed and the military force remained. as i had, however, every reason to believe that it was general madeira's intention to remove the troops to the northern provinces, which would only have shifted the scene of war to another locality, i was determined at all hazards to prevent such movement. on the st of july, information was brought, that, as the fireships were now known to be in readiness for the attack, the portuguese admiral had hastily embarked the whole of the troops in transports, and that a number of merchantmen were also filled with persons who wished to leave bahia under his protection. as it was clear that the total evacuation of the province by the enemy was preferable to an attack which might only end in destroying the ships and driving both naval and military forces on shore to renew their operations--i determined not to interfere with their retreat, till they were clear out of the harbour, when a vigilant pursuit would prevent them from again taking shelter in brazil. the following order was therefore issued to captain beaurepaire, of the _maria de gloria_, captain taylor, of the _nitherohy_, and captain. thompson, of the _carolina_, these being the only vessels on which i could in any degree depend:-- having received information that the enemies of the independence of brazil are about to evacuate the city, and quit the port of bahia--taking under the protection of their ships of war numerous transports in which the military force and stores are embarked, together with all the moveable property, public and private--not excepting even the sacred vases appropriated to religious uses--and as it is highly expedient that the progress of the enemy should be interrupted and impeded as far as is practicable--you are required to be particularly vigilant in watching their escape, and are to endeavour to cut off such of their vessels as you can assail with safety, and are to continue in the execution of this duty so long as you can keep sight of the enemy. cochrane. given on board the _pedro primiero_ this st of july, . to captain taylor, of the _nitherohy_, i gave further instructions to continue the chase as long as he considered it practicable to capture or destroy the enemy's vessels, using his utmost endeavours to disable all having troops on board; and as it was necessary to occupy bahia after its evacuation, i directed captains beaurepaire and thompson, after having captured or disabled all they could, to return forthwith to bahia, and take possession; for which purpose the following order was issued to captain beaurepaire:-- after having executed the previous order, you are to return to the port of bahia, taking upon yourself the command of the naval department afloat in my absence, and it will be your duty to ascertain the nature of the cargoes of the neutral ships now in the port of bahia, or which may afterwards enter, as there are many neutral ships said to have embarked property to a large amount, which has been illegally transferred to such neutrals since the blockade, for the purpose of fraudulent concealment. all such vessels and all such property ought to be detained and subjected to legal investigation in the prize tribunals of his imperial majesty. you will have a perfect right to require this investigation, and though the neutrals may clamour, they cannot lawfully oppose your proceedings therein--advisedly taken. a portuguese frigate being daily expected at bahia, as well as other vessels from portugal and the portuguese colonies, it will be advisable, for the better opportunity of capturing the same, to arrange with the general and commander-in-chief, that the portuguese flag shall be displayed at least on the outer fort or battery on the appearance of such portuguese vessels, or of others whose nationality is doubtful. you are to continue on the service above pointed out until further orders from me, or from the minister of marine, with whom you are to communicate, and convey to him a copy of the present order. cochrane. having learned that a great number of the more influential inhabitants were about to quit bahia with the fleet--and not wishing to involve them in the consequences of war--i addressed the following caution to the junta of bahia:-- gentlemen, understanding that it is in contemplation to abandon the town of bahia, without any security being given not again to resume hostilities against the subjects and territories of his imperial majesty, and as you may not be aware of the difficulty of retiring--whilst hopes may have been held out to you that this is practicable--i must, for the sake of humanity, caution you against any attempt to remove yourselves by sea, unless i have a perfect understanding as to the future intentions of the naval forces which may accompany you, but to whom i have nothing to suggest. i tell you however, that it is in my power to take advantages which may be fatal to your escape, and if, after this notice, you shall sail, you must not lay anything to my charge in the destruction of passengers, for in the obscurity of night it is impossible to discriminate ships in which they may be embarked. if, after this notice, you embark, or continue embarked, it will be to me a subject of great regret, because i have ever desired that the dangers of war should be confined to the military and naval profession. cochrane. to the junta, bahia, to general madeira, commanding the portuguese troops, i wrote as follows:-- understanding that you are about to embark the military forces under your command, with a view to proceed to some of the northern provinces, humanity compels me to declare to you my duty, however painful, to take all measures within my power to dismantle whatever transports may attempt to sail from bahia under convoy of the ships of war. that i have the means of performing this duty, in defiance of the ships of war which may endeavour to obstruct my operations, is a fact which no naval officer will doubt--but which to you as a military man may not be so apparent. if, after this warning, i am compelled to have recourse to the measures alluded to, and if numerous lives should be sacrificed thereby, i shall stand acquitted of those consequences which would otherwise press heavily on my mind. (signed) cochrane. gen. madeira. to the portuguese admiral i addressed the following note:-- sir, i have written to the junta and the general commanding the military force, relative to particulars which i have felt it my duty to submit to their consideration. to you, as a professional man, i have nothing to suggest or request--but merely to express my conviction that, for the sake of humanity, you will give that professional opinion on the subject of my letters--should they be referred to you--which may be expected from a naval officer of your experience. (signed) cochrane. the admiral of the portuguese squadron. on the nd of july, the whole portuguese force, naval and military, got under weigh, and steered out--the troops being embarked in the armed transports and large merchantmen, whilst other vessels were filled with portuguese families and their property--everything moveable being put on board--with the utmost confidence in the protection of their fleet. as only the flagship and _maria de gloria_ were present, we made no attempt to attack them whilst issuing from the mouth of the river, they no doubt ridiculing my warnings as communicated to the junta and the commanding officers. in this, however, they were mistaken; as every thing was in readiness, both on board the flagship and the _maria de gloria_, for immediate chase, so soon as the whole were clear of the port; though i had no intention--as they no doubt interpreted my letters--of attacking thirteen ships of war and numerous armed transports, with two ships alone, so long as they remained within the harbour; but when once out, the superior sailing qualities of these two ships would safely enable us to harass them with impunity. as the merchant brig, _colonel allen_, which had conveyed us from chili, was still with us, and as she might be made useful in looking after the prizes, i adopted her into the brazilian navy under the name of the _bahia_, appointing her master, captain haydon, to the rank of captain-lieutenant. whilst the portuguese were passing out, i wrote and despatched by the _liberal_ schooner, the following letter to the minister of marine at rio de janeiro:-- _pedro primiero_, off bahia, july nd, . most excellent sir, i have the satisfaction to acquaint your excellency that the enemy's squadron have this day evacuated bahia, their resources by sea being no longer available. their ships of war, consisting of thirteen sail of different sizes, and many large merchantmen filled with troops, are now standing out of the bay. it is my intention to pursue them as long as it shall appear beneficial so to do. this ship and the _maria de gloria_ are the only two in sight of the enemy, the _carolina_ having been obliged to return to the moro, in consequence of having lost a topmast, and the _nitherohy_ not having joined. i hope in my next to be able to give you some account of the ulterior objects the enemy have in view, which, whatever they may be, i shall endeavour to frustrate. (signed) cochrane. to the commanders of the other ships, i sent the following order on their joining the pursuit:-- it being improper to weaken the squadron, and impossible to officer and man the vessels which may fall into our hands, you are to adopt the following plan to secure them, viz. to send with the boats crews which board the enemy's vessels a sufficient number of crowbars, for the purpose of breaking up their water casks, leaving only water enough to carry them, on short allowance, into bahia, to which port you are to order them immediately to return. their papers being essential to the justification of this or any other hostile act, the boarding officer will take especial care to secure them. cochrane. in addition to this, the masts of all troopships which might be boarded, were directed to be so far cut away as to prevent their escape--a written order instructing them to return forthwith to bahia, on pain of being treated with great severity if found on any other course. singular as the order may appear, it was in most cases obeyed, and thus the captured vessels navigated themselves into our hands. the portuguese squadron consisted of _don joaõ_, ; _constitucaõ_, ; _perola_, ; _princeza real_, ; _calypso_, ; _regeneracaõ_, ; _activa_, ; _dez de fevereiro_, ; _audaz_, ; _s. gaulter_, ; _principe do brazil_, ; _restauracaõ_, ; _canceicaõ_, ; with between sixty and seventy merchant vessels and transports filled with troops. as soon as they were clear of the port, we fell upon the rearmost ships, disabling their main and mizen masts, so as to render it difficult for them to sail otherwise than before the wind, which would carry them to the brazilian coast, and ordering them back to bahia. the flagship and the _maria de gloria_ then resumed the pursuit, but the latter being employed in looking after the prizes, on the following morning we were alone amongst the enemy's convoy. the next day, july rd, the _carolina_ and _nitherohy_ came up, as did also the _colonel allen_. the frigates captured a number of merchantmen mostly filled with portuguese families--these unfortunate people finding to their cost that my warnings were not empty threats, though they had no doubt been led to ridicule the remonstrance by a misplaced confidence in the protection of their national squadron. many prizes were taken, and as evening closed the frigates dropped out of sight with the captured vessels. it would have been easy for the flagship also to have taken prizes, but about this i cared nothing,--my great object being to prevent the enemy from landing troops elsewhere, and with this view i determined on closely following the ships of war and transports--leaving the brazilian frigates to exercise their own discretion in disabling the convoy. it may be considered an act of temerity for one ship of war thus to chase thirteen; but, encumbered as they were, and, as i knew, short of provisions, i felt assured of accomplishing my object. the enemy--being greatly annoyed at our perseverance in following, and still more so at the loss of so many of the convoy--on the morning of the th, gave chase to the flagship with the whole squadron, endeavouring to hem her in, and at one time we were pursued so closely inshore, that there was some danger of getting embayed, but the handling and superior sailing qualities of the _pedro primiero_ enabled her to out-manoeuvre them and get clear. on seeing this, the portuguese squadron, finding further chase unavailing, gave us a broadside which did no damage, and resumed its position in the van of the convoy, to which we immediately gave chase as before, and as soon as night set in, dashed in amongst them, firing right and left till the nearest ships brought to, when they were boarded--the topmasts cut away--the rigging disabled--the arms thrown overboard--and the officers compelled to give their _parole_ not to serve against brazil until regularly exchanged--an event not likely to happen. keeping well up with them on the th--as soon as night set in, this mode of attack was repeated, when we took a russian vessel filled with portuguese troops, and disabled her in like manner. of the merchantmen within reach we took no notice, as it was impolitic to weaken the crew of the flagship by manning prizes, whilst, as we saw nothing of the remainder of the brazilian squadron, there was no other means of preventing their escape. the prudence of preserving the crew of the flagship entire, was now well exemplified. after taking possession of the russian transport, at dusk, i observed half-a-dozen large ships detach themselves from the main body of the convoy, and suspecting some valid reason for the movement, immediately gave chase. though they crowded all sail, we came up with them on the following morning, and singling out a large frigate-built ship, filled with troops, we fired upon her till she brought to. on boarding, we found her to be the _gran para_, containing--with the others--a division of several thousand troops, destined to maintain portuguese authority in the province of maranham--as, indeed, i had been informed at bahia. the private signals and instructions of the portuguese admiral--obtained by flag-lieutenant grenfell from her captain--put me in possession of the whole arrangement, which was thus luckily frustrated. as it was of importance not to let any of these troopships escape, captain grenfell was ordered to disable the _gran para_, cutting away her main and mizen masts, throwing the arms and ammunition overboard, taking possession of the regimental flags, and compelling the officers, as before, to give their _parole_ not to serve against brazil. this done, the other transports were successively boarded and disabled, so far as was consistent with not leaving them positive wrecks on the water; for with my single ship, to have made prisoners of so numerous a body of troops was manifestly impossible. the brig _bahia_ having opportunely hove in sight, i seized four of the vessels carrying troops, and ordered captain haydon to convoy them to pernambuco, to the president of which province i addressed the following letter:-- pedro primiero, july th, . illustrious and excellent sir, the abandonment of bahia by the enemy, in consequence of the rigours of blockade--and the capture of half of his army, ensigns, artillery, and stores, are events which you will be gratified to learn. part of the captured officers and troops i send in for your disposal, having engaged that they shall be treated after the manner which may justly be expected from the high character of the government of his imperial majesty, and the customary practice of all european states. i have to request that you will be pleased to order their disembarkation without delay. we require seamen to finish the war. if you will be pleased to grant the bounty of dollars per man, as at rio--charging the same to the government--you will render an essential service to your country. i do not mean portuguese seamen--who are enemies; but able seamen of any other nation, and i need scarcely say, that from my knowledge of the character of the men, i should prefer british seamen to all others. i shall probably have the honour of shortly making myself known to you, but that depends on circumstances over which i have no control. if we can come in, permit me to observe, that it would be conducive to the health of my crew to have ready a supply of fresh provisions and fruits, especially lemons and oranges. i hope you will excuse my freedom in mentioning these things, as the health of the men is as conducive to the interests of the empire as are the ships of war themselves. i have the honour, &c. cochrane. sent by the _balia_, captain haydon. by the same opportunity i despatched the following to the minister of marine:-- illustrious sir, i have the honour to inform you that half the enemy's army, their colours, cannon, ammunition, stores, and baggage, have been taken. we are still in pursuit, and shall endeavour to intercept the remainder of the troops, and shall then look after the ships of war, which would have been my first object, but that, in pursuing this course, the military would have escaped to occasion further hostilities against the brazilian empire. such of the enemy's colours as we have had time to take away i have the honour to transmit, and to lay them at the feet of his imperial majesty, and shall shortly forward the remainder. the vessels taken are large and beautiful ships, fast sailers, and resemble, in their appearance, ships of war. the portuguese squadron, and other vessels armed for war, i have every reason to believe are on their route for lisbon. i have also fully ascertained that the troopships which separated from their squadron during the night were destined for maranham. i have the honour, &c. cochrane. the minister of marine. the pursuit was now resumed, but the weather becoming hazy, we saw nothing of the enemy till the th, when they appeared to have recovered the _gran para_. as it became calm, nothing could be done till the th, when we crossed the equator in long. - , making straight for the ships of war, but finding them well together, considered it prudent to defer an attack till they should become separated. on the th they continued united, giving us no opportunity for mischief, yet not venturing to attack us, though only one ship to thirteen. at a.m. on the th, we crowded sail and went in amongst them, firing a broadside within half musket shot at one of the frigates with evident effect, as, from the damage caused, they did not return our fire. whilst tacking to give them the other broadside, our mainsail split in two, and night setting in, we relinquished the pursuit in degrees north latitude. my object in so doing was--that as we had only taken part of the troopships destined for maranham, it was quite possible--as that port lay to leeward--that the remainder might even yet reach their destination; and as the portuguese authority still existed in that--as throughout all the northern provinces--they might again be armed and equipped. the instructions of the portuguese admiral were, moreover, that, in case of separation, they were to rendezvous at the island of fernando de noronha, near which they were fallen in with some days afterwards; so that there were good grounds for anticipating the possibility of their yet reaching their original destination. instead, therefore, of following the enemy's squadron farther, i thought we should better serve the interests of brazil by proceeding direct to maranham, with the double purpose of being beforehand with the enemy's troops, should the attempt be made--and, if practicable, reducing the province to the authority of the emperor; a proceeding which, though not within my orders, was, as i conceived, nevertheless of great importance. accordingly, quitting the portuguese fleet and convoy, during the obscurity of night, we made straight for maranham. thus were the northern provinces entirely rescued from the designs of this armament, which--luckily for the consolidation of the empire--i had been enabled to frustrate; so that the cause of independence became free to develop itself throughout its whole extent. it is satisfactory to record the fact, that the whole military force was captured or dispersed, and its objects averted--by a single ship--without the loss of a man on our part--or the additional cost of a dollar to the imperial government; though, when we left rio de janeiro, it was believed that such objects could only be effected by costly naval and military expeditions combined. during this chase, as i have said, it did not appear a national object to make captures, though many were secured--as officers and seamen must have been detached for the purpose, thereby diminishing our efficiency for the annexation of those provinces where the portuguese authority was still intact; to accomplish which--though such result was not expected by the government--i had formed plans during the pursuit. considering that zeal for brazilian interests would be better shewn by expelling the enemy which remained, i therefore refrained from taking possession of many valuable ships, otherwise completely at our mercy, _though not having done so--then (previous to my experience of the court of admiralty) seemed_ a heavy pecuniary loss to myself, the officers, and crew. such sacrifice should have secured us better treatment than we subsequently endured from the administration of a country whose entire independence was thus obtained by our personal sacrifices. the means of intimidation employed for the expulsion of the portuguese from bahia--the pursuit of the enemy's fleet--and the disabling of the troopships destined for maranham--acts altogether in excess of the imperial instructions--not only freed the northern provinces from the enemy, but, as before stated, saved the brazilian government the delay, expense, and uncertainty of powerful expeditions. these services--undertaken solely on my own responsibility--were productive of the most beneficial consequences to the future career of the brazilian empire, the integrity of which they secured at a blow, or it may rather be said, without a blow, for none of any magnitude was struck; the dread of the fireships and the certainty arising--from the nocturnal visit of the flagship on the th of june, that my plans for making use of them were completed--having determined the portuguese admiral to save his fleet by evacuating bahia. chapter iii. capture of the don miguel--summons to the authorities--reasons for threats held out--proposals for capitulation--proclamations--terms granted to portuguese garrison--declaration of independence--portuguese troops ordered to embark--symptoms of disobeying the order--delight of the people on becoming free--election of a provisional government--letters to the minister of marine. on the th of july, the _pedro primiero_ arrived in the river maranhaõ, and--knowing from the portuguese admiral's instructions found in the troopships overhauled in the chase, that reinforcements were expected--we hoisted portuguese colours, with a view of inducing a belief that the flagship belonged to that nation, and had arrived in support of its cause. the authorities, deceived by this ruse, sent off a brig of war--the _don miguel_, captain garcaõ--with despatches and congratulations upon our safe arrival! but the commander of the brig was disagreeably undeceived by finding himself upon the deck of a brazilian ship. the despatches put me in possession of the enemy's plans and intentions, and from them i learned that some reinforcements had already reached, independent of those which had been intercepted in the recent chase; thus shewing the great importance attached by portugal to the preservation of the wealthy and influential province of maranham. to the surprise of captain garcaõ--now a prisoner of war--i offered to release him and his vessel on condition of his carrying sealed letters to the governor and junta in the city--a proposition gladly accepted. previous to his departure--by a fiction held justifiable in war, and, indeed, necessary under our peculiar circumstances, as having only a single ship to reduce a province--he was duly impressed by the relation of an imaginary number of vessels of war in the offing, accompanied by transports filled with troops, which the superior sailing of the flagship had enabled her to outstrip. captain garcaõ being a seaman and well able to judge as to the sailing qualities of the _pedro primiero_, was easily impressed with this story, and returned to the city with intelligence of an irresistible force about to disembark for its reduction. my letters to the governor and junta were to the same effect; for--as before noticed--having only a single ship, it was necessary to impress on their imagination--that a fleet and army were at hand to add the province to brazil. as this is the only instance within my knowledge of a military force surrendering itself and the province which it defended, to a stratagem of this nature, i shall append the documents by which a result so desirable was effected. to don agostinho antonia de faria, the commandant, i wrote as follows:-- pedro primiero, july , . sir, the naval and military forces under my command, leave me no room to doubt the success of the enterprise in which i am about to engage, in order to free the province of maranham from foreign domination, and to allow the people free choice of government in the same manner as the inhabitants of portugal have decided with regard to their constitution. of the flight of the portuguese naval and military forces from bahia you are aware. i have now to inform you of the capture of two-thirds of the transports and troops, with all their stores and ammunition. i am anxious not to let loose the imperial troops of bahia upon maranham, exasperated as they are at the injuries and cruelties exercised towards themselves and their countrymen, as well as by the plunder of the people and churches of bahia. it is for you to decide whether the inhabitants of these countries shall be further exasperated by resistance which appears to me unavailing, and alike prejudicial to the best interests of portugal and brazil. although it is not customary amongst european nations to receive or respect flags of truce, being armed vessels, yet as a proof that we came here with objects far superior to the seizure of the brig of war just released, i have paid respect to the flag, in the hope that forbearance will facilitate that harmony which all must be desirous should exist between the government of the royal father and that of the imperial son; and in doing this, i only fulfil the gracious intentions of his imperial majesty. awaiting your early reply, i have the honour, &c. cochrane. don agostinho antonia de faria, commanding the portuguese forces. the subjoined was at the same time despatched to the provincial junta;-- illustrious and excellent sirs, the forces of his imperial majesty the emperor of brazil, having freed the city and province of bahia from the enemies of independence--in conformity with the will of his imperial majesty that the beautiful province of maranham should be free also--i now hasten to offer to the oppressed inhabitants whatever aid and protection they need against a foreign yoke; desiring to accomplish their liberation and to hail them as brethren and friends. should there, however, be any who--from self-interested motives--oppose themselves to the deliverance of their country, let such be assured that the naval and military forces which have driven the portuguese from the south, are again ready to draw the sword in the like just cause--and having drawn it, the result cannot be long doubtful. the chief authorities are hereby invited to make known to me their decision, in order that the responsibility of consequences--in case of opposition--may not be imputed to any undue haste in the execution of the duty which i shall have to perform. i have the honour, &c. cochrane. to the illustrious and excellent the provincial junta of maranham. the reader may perhaps conclude, that the threats held out are somewhat inconsistent with my only having a single ship, without a soldier in her; and i must even confess to some compunction at this off-hand sketch of an imaginary fleet and army--but the matter was of the last importance. on the one hand, if my demands were vigorously pressed, there was a strong probability of obtaining them without bloodshed; but, on the other hand, if any delay took place, the enemy would, in a day or two at most, find out that the only force was the flagship, when the acquisition of maranham would be impossible. the sensation caused by the evacuation of bahia gave probability to my representations, and added to the despondency of the portuguese, so that the _ruse_ was completely successful. proposals of capitulation were immediately returned; but, as these were only conditional, i refused to accept them. in order to enforce the terms proffered, we entered the river--never before navigated by a line-of-battle ship--and anchored the _pedro primiero_ abreast of the fort. on the following day, july th, the junta, accompanied by the bishop, came on board, and gave in their adherence to the empire, after which the city, forts, and island, were unconditionally surrendered, though not without subsequent hesitation, which was dispelled by firing a shot over the town, whereupon a flag of truce was sent off, and all demands were complied with. landing a party of marines for the maintenance of order, the portuguese ensign was hauled down by lieutenant grenfell, who hoisted brazilian colours in its place. thus, without military force or bloodshed, was a second great province secured to the empire, neither result being anticipated, nor even contemplated in the orders communicated to me, which were to blockade the portuguese in bahia, and capture or destroy all ships met with--anything beyond this not having entered the imagination of the government. as--considering the circumstances in which i was placed--there was no time to be lost in completing the declaration of independence, i addressed the subjoined instructions to the civil authorities:-- _pedro primiero_, july , . most excellent sirs, it affords me the highest satisfaction that your excellencies have adopted a course by which all hostilities may be avoided, and the tranquillity and prosperity of this province peaceably established upon a secure and permanent basis. the declaration of the independence of brazil under his imperial majesty will at once tranquillise the public mind, and give opportunity to the worthy and patriotic inhabitants to proceed afterwards with a due formality and deliberation to take the oaths, and elect their provisional government. to-morrow, therefore--being the earliest possible day--it maybe well that the said declaration shall be made taking every necessary precaution that the public peace shall not be disturbed by individuals under any pretence. (signed) cochrane. to the inhabitants generally i issued the following proclamation:-- the first admiral of brazil to the inhabitants of maranham. the auspicious day has arrived on which the worthy and public-spirited inhabitants of maranham have it in their power at once to declare the independence of their country, and their adherence to their patriotic monarch, pedro primiero, whose protection has afforded them the glorious privilege of freemen--that of choosing their constitution and enacting their laws by their own representatives assembled to decide upon their own affairs in their own country. that the glory of this day may not be tarnished by any acts of excess--even proceeding from enthusiasm for the cause in which we have embarked--must be the wish of every honourable and well-judging citizen. to these it would be superfluous to offer any advice as to their conduct; but should there be any who, from whatever motives, would disturb public tranquillity, they are hereby warned that the strictest orders are given to bring those guilty of disturbance to the punishment their crime shall deserve. taking the necessary oaths, and the election of civil government, are acts which must be deliberately performed, and for this, the st of august is selected. citizens! let us proceed gravely and methodically, without tumult, haste, or confusion, and let the act be accomplished in a manner worthy the approbation of his imperial majesty, and which shall give no cause for regret, and leave no room for amendment. long live the emperor, and the independence and constitution of brazil. (signed) cochrane. to the garrison of maranham, liberty was granted to remain or depart, as they chose; in the latter case, free egress to europe being permitted, with ensigns, arms, and military honours. of the vessels of war we took possession, giving to the officers and men, the option of entering the service of brazil, or accepting the conditions conceded to the army. as the brazilian people will naturally be interested in all that led to the completion of the integrity of the empire, the terms granted to the portuguese garrison are subjoined. _pedro primiero_, july , . most excellent sir, in reply to your letter of this date, i beg leave to assure you, first, that my utmost endeavours shall be used to protect the persons and property of the citizens of maranham--with the exception of such species of property as, being proved to belong to a hostile party, shall become, according to the laws of war, subject to the decision of the tribunals of his imperial majesty; that the same leniency with respect to all past political opinions shall be used as has been observed under the constitutional government of his most faithful majesty john vi.; and that all persons desiring to remove shall be at liberty to do so, under the usual formalities. secondly,--you are at liberty either to depart to any other country, or to remain in this. thirdly,--the commanding officers, superior officers, and soldiers of the portuguese nation, shall be free to retire to their native country, or to any other quarter; and shall be permitted to embark with their ensigns, arms, and military honours. as independence is to be declared to-morrow, and as the vessels of war now in the port bear the ensigns of portugal--and as i believe the necessary authority is vested in you, i have to request that you will order that ensign not to be hoisted on board the said vessels, in order that the substitution of that of brazil may be made in the manner least offensive to the feelings of the officers--all, or any of whom may remain with their men in the service of brazil, or may consider themselves under the third article relating to the army. i have to express my regret at your indisposition, which has deprived me of the pleasure of seeing you; but, if circumstances permit, i shall avail myself of an early opportunity of paying you my personal respects. (signed) cochrane. to don agostinho antonia de faria, general-at-arms of maranhaõ. on the th the declaration of independence was made amidst the acclamation of the inhabitants generally--those who were adverse to the measure not venturing to make any demonstration to the contrary. still it was important to get rid of the portuguese troops before they found out the _ruse_ which had been practised upon them; for, three days having now elapsed without any appearance of my reputed forces, there was some fear that they might attempt to recover their former position. accordingly i addressed the following letter to general de faria:-- _pedro primiero_, july , . most excellent sir, the declaration of independence having been formally made, and his imperial majesty being declared constitutional emperor of brazil by acclamation of the worthy people of maranham--which important event has happily taken place, not only without disorder, but, to the honour and credit of the inhabitants, with the greatest harmony and regularity--it now becomes my duty, as military chief under his imperial majesty, to take care that no military interference or intimidation shall in any way overawe or influence the choice of the inhabitants in the election of their provisional government. i have, therefore, to request that you will be pleased to direct all the portuguese troops who intend to avail themselves of the third article of the stipulations entered into with regard to the military to repair to the place appointed, and there await the preparations which i shall immediately make for their transportation to lisbon. i have also to beg that you will he pleased to furnish me with a correct list of those who desire to depart, and also of those who choose to remain and take the oaths as brazilian citizens. i have, &c. &c. cochrane. to gen. a.a. de faria. these instructions were promptly complied with by the ex-commandant, and no time was lost in providing ships for the reception of the portuguese troops who wished to avail themselves of permission to sail for lisbon. this leniency was scarcely deserved, for the portuguese authorities had filled the gaols with respectable brazilian citizens, who were treated with great severity; but, for obvious reasons, i was desirous to get rid of the portuguese on any terms. the next step was to provide for the proper administration of government, and this--from the factions which were afterwards found to exist--was a work of infinitely greater difficulty than had been the acquisition of the city. some of the more influential inhabitants, however, offering their services, i formed them into a provisional junta, until a more popular government could be provided. municipal security being thus attained, the portuguese troops were embarked, on the st of august, though not without some difficulty, for, from the non-arrival of my supposed fleet and army, some amongst them began to suspect that a deception had been practised, and many--backed by the militia--refused to embark. upon this, a notice was issued that if the treaty were not instantly complied with, such steps should be taken as would render unnecessary the stipulation of safe conveyance to europe, as i was determined that a solemn engagement should not be violated with impunity. this, as a great portion of the troops were actually on board, and within reach of the flagship's guns, produced the desired effect on the refractory troops ashore, though not till i was compelled to send captain crosbie with a large party to enforce compliance and to disarm the militia, both of which objects he effected without bloodshed. the embarkation being accomplished, and the foreign portion of the militia disarmed, so as to leave the city in the hands of the civil authorities--on the nd of august, i issued a proclamation declaring the commerce of the coast free and uninterrupted; following this, shortly afterwards by another, declaratory of my willingness to accept from consignees and others, two-thirds of the estimated value of portuguese property liable to confiscation--in place of sending the captured vessels to rio de janeiro; which--from the state of the city, as well as from want of seamen to man them--was impossible. to the inhabitants of the city i had been careful to accord complete liberty, exacting, in return, perfect order, which was preserved, and property of all kinds respected; the delight of the inhabitants being unbounded at having been freed from a terrible system of exaction and imprisonment, which, when i entered the river, was being carried on with unrelenting rigour by the portuguese authorities towards all suspected of a leaning to the imperial government. instead of retaliating--as would have been gratifying to those so recently labouring under oppression--i directed oaths to the constitution to be administered, not to brazilians only, but also to all portuguese who chose to remain and conform to the new order of things; a privilege, of which many influential persons of that nation availed themselves. on the st of august the inhabitants of alcantara made a declaration of adherence to his imperial majesty, notwithstanding a report sedulously circulated amongst them that the portuguese troops at maranham were about to recover the city. an assurance from me, that the portuguese troops were embarked, and were under the guns of the flagship, as well as the fire of their own gunboats, which could be turned against them, and that the european militia was disarmed, speedily dispelled all grounds for alarm. the proceedings of the temporary provisional junta being unsatisfactory, especially as regarded their desire for retaliation on the portuguese, i determined to embody a more popular government, though, as yet the election would, of necessity, be confined to the inhabitants of the city only. accordingly on the th of august, in less than a fortnight after my first appearance off the port, a provisional government was chosen by the population, and the city and province were incorporated with brazil, with the national advantage of adding nearly a million of dollars to the annual revenue of the empire; and this without the expense of another expedition to the government, or the loss of time which would have been necessary, and might, had the reinforcements intercepted, gained their destination--have ended in a different result to the integrity of the empire. the first act of the new government was to address a congratulatory letter to his imperial majesty, explaining that they should long before have espoused the imperial cause, but from fear of the portuguese troops. the following is an extract from this letter:-- what was our joy when unexpectedly we saw the _pedro primiero_ summoning our port. oh, th of july, ! thrice happy day, thou wilt be as conspicuous in the annals of our province, as the sentiments of gratitude and respect inspired by the illustrious admiral sent to our aid by the best and most amiable of monarchs will be deeply engraven on our hearts and on those of our posterity. yes! august sire! the wisdom, prudence, and gentle manners of lord cochrane have contributed still more to the happy issue of our political difficulties than even the fear of his force. to anchor in our port--to proclaim independence--to administer the oaths of obedience to your majesty--to suspend hostilities throughout the province--to provide proper government--to bring the troops of the country into the town, but only in sufficient numbers to ensure order and tranquillity--to open the communication between the interior and the capital--to provide it with necessaries--and to restore navigation and commerce to their pristine state--all this, sire, was the work of a few days. grant heaven, that this noble chief may end the glorious career of his political and military labours with the like felicity and success, and that your imperial majesty being so well served, nothing more may be necessary to immortalise that admirable commander, not only in the annals of brazil, but in those of the whole world. a large amount of government and public property in the several departments was seized, in conformity with the imperial proclamation, and an addition made to the brazilian navy of a brig-of-war, the _don miguel_, a schooner, and eight gunboats--besides merchant vessels, some of which were appropriated to the conveyance of the late garrison to lisbon, under engagement to restore their value--a stipulation which was never fulfilled. everything being thus satisfactorily settled, my next step was to inform the minister of marine at rio de janeiro of the extraordinary means by which possession of the city and province of maranham had been obtained; the subjoined letters were accordingly despatched. (secret.) _pedro primiero_, august , . most illustrious sir, your excellency will perceive by the official documents accompanying this, that in order to effect the objects i had in view at maranham, i judged it expedient to create a belief amongst the people and garrison, that a large force was at my disposal, and therefore i used expressions in my public correspondence that were not borne out by the actual circumstances under which i summoned that city, as i had--in fact--no other force than this ship alone, which from the nature of the anchorage could scarcely approach within gunshot--whilst there was neither a soldier nor effective marine on board; but the fear entertained by the hostile government of imperial troops from bahia, whom they understood to be off the bar with the remainder of the squadron, and the sudden appearance of so large a ship as this, produced the effect which i had anticipated, and it is with the greatest satisfaction that i now communicate the occupation of this important city and province, which has been accomplished without effusion of blood, or material disturbance. as soon as i have completed the necessary arrangements here, i propose to return to rio de janeiro, and to have the honour personally to inform you of all particulars. i have, &c. cochrane. minister of marine. with this was transmitted the following official document:-- _pedro primiero_, aug. , . most illustrious sir, i had the honour to inform your excellency by letter, off pernambuco, that we had captured transports containing a moiety of the enemy's army--that we were in pursuit of the remainder--and that i hoped for further success. i have now to acquaint your excellency that, having followed the enemy's squadron to the fifth degree of north latitude beyond the line, until, by capture and dispersion, their convoy was so reduced that only thirteen vessels out of seventy remained with the ships of war, and as the latter were evidently steering for lisbon, and were too strong to be attacked with success by this ship alone--for the remainder of the brazilian squadron had separated in the chase--i judged it advantageous for the interests of his imperial majesty's service, to discontinue the pursuit, and to proceed, with all possible despatch, to maranham, where i arrived on the th ultimo. i have the happiness to acquaint you, for the satisfaction of the imperial government, that maranham is now united to the empire, the inhabitants having proclaimed their independence of portugal on the th, and elected their provisional government this day. i have embarked the portuguese troops for europe, and the militia are disarmed. i have the honour to enclose a copy of the correspondence which has taken place on the occasion, with other papers and documents. we have found here a fine brig of war--a schooner--eight gunboats, and about sixteen sail of portuguese merchant vessels. amongst the other advantages of this important event may be mentioned, that while the expense of an express expedition has been saved, an addition of nearly a million of dollars is made to the revenue of his imperial majesty. i have manned and sent the brig of war to parà, to summon that city--offering to the enemy the same terms as we have granted here. the beautiful new frigate, lately launched at parà, has not sailed for portugal, and i am in expectation that the next account which i shall have the honour to send or bring to your excellency, will communicate the pleasing intelligence that his imperial majesty has no enemy, either on shore or afloat, between the extremities of his empire. i have, &c. cochrane. the minister of marine. chapter iv. capt. grenfell sent to summon para--the junta demands the prize property--my refusal--imperial approval of my services--realisation of prize property--turi assu sends in its adhesion--money captured lent to the junta--its return to the squadron expected--possession taken of para--insurrection at para--misconduct of the maranham junta--their persecution of the portuguese--steps in consequence--manifestation of the national delight--the marquisate conferred on me--vote of thanks by the assemblea geral--my arrival at rio de janeiro--satisfaction with my services--lady cochrane joins me. as the province of parà was now the only one which remained under the authority of portugal, it became of importance to take possession of it, whilst the _prestige_ arising from our acquisition of maranham was in all its freshness; for we had still no other force than the flagship, which was necessary to maintain order there. in the absence of a brazilian ship-of-war, i manned the captured brig _don miguel_--changing her name to the _maranhaõ_--and placed her under the command of an able and gallant officer, captain-lieutenant (now admiral) grenfell, upon whose judicious management every reliance was to be placed. captain grenfell was the bearer of a summons from me to the junta and garrison of parà, dated off the bar, as though a force were at hand to second his operations. in short, he was instructed to employ the same _ruse_ for intimidating the city as had been so successful at maranham--the summons as well as the terms to be granted to the portuguese garrison being similar in both cases. he was further instructed to secure, if possible, the new frigate which had just been launched for the service of portugal, and if successful, to name her the _impératrice_, in honour of the empress--to take command of her--and after the submission of the city to return to rio de janeiro with his prize. the nature of captain grenfell's mission will be apparent from the following extracts from the orders given to him:-- the enclosed orders in portuguese you may show. they purport to be addressed to you at the mouth of the river parà, and to be there dated on board this ship, she being supposed at anchor there; for it is essential to create a belief in the government at parà that you do not come alone, but that the squadron is at hand ready to cooperate. you will therefore fill up the date of the portuguese orders on the day of your arrival at the mouth of the river. you will also fill in the dates of the official letters to the junta, at the same time, without regard to the delay which may arise, from proceeding up the river. you will perceive that my intentions are to effect, by your means, objects _which would otherwise require an expedition_, and therefore the utmost prudence and circumspection are necessary. next to the liberation of parà, the great object is to secure the frigate. if you succeed in obtaining possession of her, and find yourself deficient in men, you are at liberty to leave the brig for the purpose of manning the frigate. i expect everything from your exertions and good management in bringing about the surrender of parà, with all that is important to his brazilian majesty. to return to the state of affairs at maranham. one of the first acts of the new junta--despite their professed admiration of the course i had pursued--was to transmit to me a demand that the property taken from the portuguese should be placed _at their disposal._ my surprise at such a request from men whom i had unexpectedly released from thraldom, and elevated to power, ceased as i became better acquainted with the factions existing amongst them. now that they were invested with power, they were evidently bent on turning it to their own private advantage, by representing to me that if i retained the property of portuguese in maranham--that of brazilians in lisbon, viz. _their own mercantile consignments_--would be confiscated in retaliation, and that, therefore, i ought to restore it! to this i replied, that the captures made by the flagship were strictly in accordance with the decrees of his imperial majesty, no less than with the rights of belligerents as defined by the laws of nations; so that their request was directly opposed to the imperial decrees against all the subjects of portugal, as well as against all who should contribute to continue the brazils under a foreign yoke. the junta was reminded that it was within my power to have imposed upon the portuguese authorities whatever terms i thought proper, but having granted those i had judged best for the interests of the empire to which i was bound, i would adhere to the treaty as it stood, and should any attempt be made to evade it, it would be my duty--however painful--to enforce its fulfilment, as being responsible to his imperial majesty. this specimen of patriotism in a body of men who little more than a fortnight before were imprisoned or in expectation of imprisonment, but now--to save their own interests in lisbon--sought to set his majesty's decrees and my instructions alike at defiance, inspired me with deep distrust of their fitness for the government of the province--it being evident that if the flagship quitted the port, they would construe the functions of government in favour of their own private purposes. i accordingly wrote to the prime minister, andrada, representing the course which had been pursued--concluding with the subjoined advice as to the steps to be taken in order to place the future government on a right basis:-- i beg, through your excellency, to suggest most respectfully to his imperial majesty my opinion that it would greatly conduce to the peace and prosperity of this province, if some able and honourable person should be sent to take the chief authority; for--with all respect to the individuals composing the new junta, and to those from whom succeeding juntas might be chosen--none appear to me to possess either the talents or acquirements necessary for the good government of maranham. i may also add that family connections, together with private and political friendships, no less than enmities--exist here to a degree which can hardly fail to involve the province in internal dissensions, unless averted by the means which i respectfully suggest. i had shortly afterwards the pleasure of receiving the following expressions of satisfaction from his imperial majesty through the prime minister:-- rio, july , . most excellent sir, i have received the secret communications with which you have favoured me, whereby i learn in detail the distinguished conduct which you have pursued since quitting this port, and the various difficulties with which, (to my regret) you have had to contend. these are, however, of such a nature as to be irremediable in our present circumstances; but let us hope they will vanish when the empire is consolidated. meanwhile your excellency--being no less a politician than a warrior, and enjoying to the utmost the confidence of his imperial majesty--is fully empowered to adopt whatever means your judgment may suggest to facilitate the important objects of your commission. on this subject, i also refer to the imperial authority and other documents addressed to you in reply to your communications. i beg to add my personal thanks for the interesting communications with which you have favoured me, of which i shall avail myself in order to accomplish the objects desired to be effected. be assured of the particular esteem and high consideration with which i am, de v. exa. attento venerador e criado, joze bonifacio de andrada e silva. the junta continuing its unreasonable demand, the moveable property captured was embarked on board the _pombinho_, and another vessel--both prizes--for the purpose of being sent to rio de janeiro for adjudication. i then directed the provisional government to furnish me with an account of all money found in the treasury, customs, military chest, and other departments; also of all military stores in the various forts and magazines and of government property of every description, such property having been wholly awarded to the captors by imperial decree of the th of december, , issued to induce foreign seamen to enter the service. on the th of august the portuguese troops were ordered to depart for lisbon--maranham being thus entirely freed from the presence of the armaments upon which the mother country had relied for the maintenance of her northern provinces; this result, wholly unexpected by the imperial government or the nation, having been accomplished within the space of a few months, by measures adopted on my own responsibility. still numerous vessels and much perishable property taken from the enemy, remained on hand--with which it was difficult to deal. from having manned the captured brig-of-war, _don miguel_--as well as the prize vessel, _pombinho_, from the crew of the flagship, it was not expedient further to reduce her efficiency; so that there were no means of forwarding the other prizes and property to rio de janeiro for adjudication. i therefore apprised the minister of marine, that the only course circumstances would permit me to pursue--though not perfectly regular--would be to dispose of them and remit to the government in specie the amount realised; as, in case of my departure from maranham, they were certain to be improperly appropriated. accordingly, an offer was again made to the merchants, to accept two-thirds of their value in specie, and to submit the amount to the further decision of the court of admiralty, i little anticipating at the time the anti-imperial predilections of the members composing the prize tribunal at rio de janeiro. the amount of the seizures effected by the squadron was very considerable, comprising upwards of a hundred and twenty vessels, some of which contained important cargoes. the aggregate amount of these--together with merchandise found in the custom-house--government and other public property and stores--was several millions of dollars, and this by his imperial majesty's decree of the th of december, --promulgated to attract foreign seamen into the brazilian service--was, as before mentioned, the property of the captors; the imperial government, by that decree, disclaiming all share in it,--a stipulation afterwards remorselessly violated. on the th of august, the province of turi assu sent in its adhesion to the empire, this favourable circumstance being however counteracted by the arrival of deputies from the troops of cearà and piahuy, reporting their revolutionary tendency, and demanding payment for their previous service; the piahuy troops--consisting for the most part of indians recruited in the interior--even threatened to march upon maranham and enforce their demand, although they had rendered no assistance. the junta, alarmed at this demonstration, now forwarded to me a request that i would appropriate some portion of the captured property to satisfy the importunity of the mutinous troops. considering that the tranquillity of the province in a great measure depended upon silencing these troops--who were not only clamorous and menacing, but in a state of nakedness and destitution--which rendered it probable that they might help themselves at the expense of the inhabitants--i consented to the application of the junta, placing at their disposal the monies taken in the portuguese treasury, amounting in cash to rs. . $ ( , dollars); that found in the custom-house, to the amount of rs. . $ ( , dollars); and outstanding bills to the amount of rs. . $ ( , dollars); making in the whole rs. . $ ( , dollars): accounts of these sums, and the urgency of their appropriation to the necessities of the public service, being duly forwarded to the minister of marine at rio de janeiro. these sums are thus minutely set forth, because it has been erroneously represented that sixty contos of reis alone ( , dollars), were given up to the junta, though reference to the vouchers themselves would have dissipated this error, which will be found to have an important bearing upon a subsequent part of the narrative. it may be also necessary to explain how "outstanding debts" could be owing to the government. contrary to the english practice of paying duties to the revenue, before goods are cleared from the custom-house, it was the habit of the portuguese authorities to permit their clearance on receipt of bills to be paid after the goods were disposed of; hence merchants became indebted to the government in the amount of such engagements. it was impossible to avoid assisting the junta, in the extremity alluded to, as the neglected troops might have caused a dangerous _émeute_, which would have proved injurious to the interests of his imperial majesty. the assistance rendered to the junta was given at the expense of the officers and seamen, to whom the money of right belonged, and who looked for its repayment as soon as circumstances would permit. on this subject i wrote as follows to the minister of marine:-- maranham, aug. , . most excellent sir, since i had the honour of addressing you deputies have arrived from the troops of cearà and piahuy soliciting payment for their services. the provisional junta of maranham have requested my assistance in this object, and as i consider the tranquillity of this province to depend in a great measure on the speedy payment of these forces, i have placed at the disposal of the junta various funds arising from the capitulation of this place. this will doubtless be considered by the seamen--who are the captors--as an unwarrantable sacrifice of their rights in favour of mutinous troops, who have effected nothing; but feeling confident of support from the imperial government on a matter so essential to the public interest, i have had no hesitation in assuring the seamen that they _will not be losers by their captures being, in the first instance, applied to the relief of the immediate exigencies of the state._ (signed) cochrane. on the th of august, i had the satisfaction to learn from captain grenfell that his mission to parà had been completely successful, the frigate, together with another vessel of war, having been secured, the former being, by my previous directions, named the _imperatrice_, and added to the imperial navy; several merchantmen were also taken and sent to rio de janeiro. the summons despatched by captain grenfell was--as has been said--based upon the same _ruse_ as had been so successful at maranham. in order to produce a more decisive effect, it had been dated off the mouth of the river, as though the squadron was there at anchor to compel submission to the imperial government. the plan was so ably conducted by the talented officer to whom it was entrusted, that although his force consisted of less than a hundred men, the inhabitants of parà, without a dissentient voice--save that of the portuguese commandant--pronounced their adhesion to the government of his imperial majesty, and thus a province, greater in extent than france and england combined, was added to the empire, and the independence of brazil effected to its northern extremity. the only blood shed in the liberation of parà, was that of captain grenfell, who received a severe wound, treacherously inflicted by a portuguese who was hired to assassinate him! this cowardly act was resorted to, on the discovery--when too late--that i was not in the river, as the portuguese authorities had been led to believe. the subjoined is captain grenfell's letter announcing the success of his mission:-- h.i.m.b. maranham, august , . (off parà.) my lord, i have the honour to inform your lordship that your hopes of the union of parà to the empire of brazil are verified. agreeably to your lordship's instructions, and in virtue of the power conferred on me, i opened the communications with the junta, and enclose a letter from the general-at-arms to your lordship, and am glad to inform you that his is the only dissenting voice. i shall pursue the tenor of your lordship's instructions until further orders. i have the honour, &c. &c. j. pascoe grenfell. i had directed captain grenfell--in case of a declaration of independence by the inhabitants of parà--to form a junta, and to adopt generally the same course as had been so instrumental in preserving tranquillity at maranham; giving him, moreover, power to employ the resources at his command in supplying the exigencies of the imperial service generally, as might be necessary. a provisional government was accordingly formed, though not to the satisfaction of a number of refractory persons, who, on the pretence of adhesion to the imperial government, connected themselves with a body of undisciplined troops, and made an attempt to depose the newly constituted junta, which applied to captain grenfell for support. landing his men, the insurrection was with some difficulty put down; but as an ill feeling still prevailed, he considered it necessary to make an example by ordering the trial of five of the ringleaders, who, being condemned, were shot in the public square. on the th of september, i apprised the junta of maranham of my intention to proceed to parà, though--being without instructions from the administration, i really purposed to sail for rio de janeiro; for as the provisional authority temporarily established was not, by any means conducting public affairs in a satisfactory manner, i thought it as well to keep them in ignorance of our real destination, in order that they should believe me within reach, till the imperial government might exercise its own discretion as to the future. the junta of maranham, indeed, appeared to have no other object than to shew how liberty suddenly acquired could degenerate into despotism. it was, for the most part, composed of men, who were not only united by family connections and private friendship, but who were nearly allied, as members of one influential family. no sooner had they been invested with power, than they dismissed all civil and military officers, and filled the vacant situations with their own friends, relations, and dependents, without consideration as to their talents or qualifications, thus equally exciting discontent amongst the brazilians--who were excluded, and the portuguese--who were dismissed. their chief aim was to maintain themselves in power against the will of the people, who, now that tranquillity had been restored, desired a free and general election of a constitutional government throughout the province, in place of that which, of necessity, had been confined to the city only. to put down what they considered disaffection--towards themselves--the junta brought into the city a large body of irregular troops, intending, by means of these, to gratify their resentment against the resident portuguese, who, having taken the oaths of allegiance to the imperial government, were entitled to protection. it appeared, moreover, that the junta and their friends owed large sums of money to some of the more wealthy and influential portuguese, and that they intended to get rid of their debts, by the expulsion of their creditors. as it was sufficiently clear that the junta was determined not to be advised, it became my duty to avert the evils in contemplation, by expediting the change of administration so much desired by the people. therefore, on the th of september, i transmitted to the junta, an order for the election of a more comprehensive government, as they were only intended to remain in power until a general election throughout the province could conveniently take place. satisfactory as was this measure to the public, it was anything but agreeable to the despotic body, at whose ill-advised measures it was aimed; their resource being to increase the ferment amongst the soldiery brought into the city to uphold their authority, and who--partly from motives of revenge, but more from the hope of plunder--were eager to execute the hostile intentions of the junta against the portuguese. an attempt to arrest the president of the camara, senor luiz salgado, by the general-at-arms--who had reason to suspect salgado of intriguing to remove him from office, gave a pretext for disturbance. on the night of the th of september, the troops rose and plundered many portuguese houses, compelling their owners to fly for safety to neutral and other vessels in the harbour. they then deposed the general-at-arms, and chose salgado in his stead, a proceeding which was next day confirmed by a decree of the junta, in conjunction with the camara. addressing a letter to salgado, i firmly refused to acknowledge him as commandant, telling him, at the same time, that his only means of being recognised as a brazilian citizen, was by allaying the ferment he had contributed to raise. i wrote also to the junta and camara, threatening to act in a decisive manner, if these disgraceful scenes were not instantly put an end to, pointing out to them that, as they were the chief proprietors of houses and stores, so they would be the greatest sufferers from anarchy. this step checked the disturbance, but the junta granted the riotous military a gratuity, levied on the portuguese who had been attacked. the more respectable of whom soon after quitted maranham in disgust. it must, however, be stated that these disorders admitted of some palliation, from the consideration that hundreds of brazilians had been transported to lisbon, by the portuguese authorities, when in power; whilst hundreds of others were on my arrival imprisoned at maranham, in the gaols and vessels in the harbour. on my entrance into the city, i released numbers of these, and saved many others from impending incarceration. by the th, though tranquillity was restored, i postponed the election of a general provisional junta till the th of october, hoping that before that period, a reply to my earnest entreaties for instructions, would arrive from the imperial government. it was for the sake of preserving order during the interval, that i had announced my intention of taking the _pedro primiero_ to parà only, well knowing that a belief in her speedy return to maranham would have a salutary influence in maintaining public peace. intelligence of the reduction of maranham, and the annexation of that province, together with the province of parà, to the empire, was received at rio de janeiro with surprise and delight;--surprise, that, in less than six months, without military force, and, in truth, with one ship of war only, so much had been effected--and delight that the empire was cleared of its enemies without the expense and uncertainty of expeditions which had been calculated on. all brazilians were eager to vie with each other in the expression of entire satisfaction with my exertions. his imperial majesty was pleased to reward the services rendered, by creating me marquis of maranhaõ, as the fittest title to commemorate the advantages gained for the empire, at the same time awarding me an estate commensurate with the dignity of the honours conferred; the "assemblea geral, constituente e legislativa" adding a vote of thanks in the name of the nation. the estate, however, _was never given_, notwithstanding that, at maranham, and in other of the northern provinces, numerous fine properties, appertaining to the portuguese crown, were added to the imperial domain. the inconsistency of this was remarkable, seeing that i had been the means of adding to brazil a territory larger than half europe--for which service i was warmly thanked by the emperor, his ministers, and also by the general assembly--the latter body, nevertheless, refusing to confirm the gift of even so minute a portion of the vast territory unexpectedly added to the empire. the subjoined is the imperial order, elevating me to the marquisate:-- his majesty the emperor, taking into consideration the great services which your excellency has just rendered to the nation by assisting to liberate the city of bahia from the unjust lusitanian yoke, and afterwards wisely aiding the honourable inhabitants of the province of maranham in throwing off the said foreign domination, so that they were enabled, according to their desire, to acknowledge his majesty as their constitutional emperor; and desiring to give your excellency a public testimonial of gratitude for these great and extraordinary services (_per estse altos e extraordinarios serviços_) on behalf of the generous brazilian people, who will ever preserve a lively remembrance of such illustrious acts, i deem it right to confer upon your excellency the title of marquis of maranhaõ. my secretary of state will expedite the necessary patent which i communicate to your excellency for your information. god preserve your excellency many years. palace of rio de janeiro, th of november, . (signed) joaÕ severiano maciel da costa. the annexed is the vote of thanks awarded by the _"assemblea geral"_ which, as has been said, refused to recognise his majesty's gift of an estate in order to support in a dignified manner the title which his majesty had graciously been pleased to confer. the reason assigned for this extraordinary proceeding, in a lengthy debate on the subject was, that in granting me an estate his majesty had exercised a feudal prerogative inconsistent with a free country. the general constituent and legislative assembly having been officially informed that your excellency, after having freed the province of bahia from the oppression of portuguese troops, and having pursued them beyond the equinoctial line, led the squadron on your own judgment and responsibility to the port of the city of st. louis of maranhaõ, where, with your accustomed valour and singular good judgment, you dislodged the portuguese troops, who had kept down the patriotism of its generous inhabitants, and accomplished their liberation, so that they proclaimed and spontaneously swore with unanimity their independence of portugal and their decided union with the brazilian empire. the general constituent and legislative assembly, acknowledging the importance of these great services has decreed in this day's session that there shall be given to your excellency in the name of the nation which it represents the thanks due. charged as organs to transmit this resolution to your excellency, we fulfil the task with pleasure, and have the honour to lay the same before your excellency. god preserve your excellency. palace of the assembly, oct. , . martin francisco eibeieo de andeada, joaÕ severiano maciel da costa, miguel calmon du pin e almeida. this vote of thanks by the assembly contains a remarkable error, by averring that i "led the squadron" to maranhaõ, whereas i had only a single ship, and with her singly performed all for which i received the thanks of the nation. in the interval between this recognition of my services and my return to rio de janeiro, an unfortunate change had taken place in the councils of his imperial majesty, introductive of persons more favourable to the interests of portugal than to furtherance of the judicious measures contemplated by his majesty for the consolidation of the newly-constituted empire. to the obstructive aspirations of these persons--in ill-concealed concert with the designs of the parent state--my annexation of the northern provinces necessarily proved fatal; and they ever afterwards regarded me with an animosity which appeared to increase as the empire became, by these, and my subsequent exertions, more firmly established. sailing from maranham on the th of september, the _pedro primiero_ arrived at rio de janeiro on the th of november--the emperor doing me the honour to come on board to welcome me. i immediately forwarded to the minister of marine a recapitulation of all transactions since my departure seven months before; viz. the evacuation of bahia by the portuguese in consequence of our nocturnal visit, connected with the dread of my reputed skill in the use of fireships, as arising from the affair of basque roads; the pursuit of their fleet beyond the equator, and the dispersion of its convoy; the capture and disabling of the transports filled with troops intended to maintain portuguese domination in maranham and parà; the device adopted to obtain the surrender to the _pedro primiero_ alone of the enemy's naval and military forces at maranham; the capitulation of parà with the ships of war to my summons sent by captain grenfell; the deliverance of the brazilian patriots whom the portuguese had imprisoned; the declaration of independence by the intermediate provinces thus liberated, and their union with the empire; the appointment of provisional governments; the embarkation and final departure of every portuguese soldier from brazil; and the enthusiasm with which all my measures--though unauthorised and therefore extra official--- had been received by the people of the northern provinces, who--thus relieved from the dread of further oppression--had everywhere acknowledged and proclaimed his imperial majesty "constitutional emperor." the powers which i had taken upon myself to exercise during this eventful period, were, no doubt; in excess of those conferred by my orders, but, knowing that everything depended upon the annexation and pacification of the northern provinces by the expulsion of the enemy--setting aside my own interests--i considered it better for the welfare of the empire to exceed my instructions, than to entail the continuance of civil war by confining my operations within their scope. in the exercise of this self-imposed duty it may be said that i had also exercised imperial functions, but this was only in the unavoidable absence of imperial instructions, which it was my constant endeavour to anticipate rather than to exceed; that i judged and acted rightly, the elevation to the title of marquis of maranhaõ, before reaching rio de janeiro--the vote of thanks of the legislature, and the warm acknowledgment of his imperial majesty on landing, sufficiently testify. in addition to the gracious reception accorded by his majesty, i received from his own hands a decoration of the imperial order of the cruizeiro, and, though a foreigner, was subsequently nominated to the high office of privy councillor--the greatest honour in the imperial gift to bestow. during my absence from rio de janeiro, lady cochrane--ignorant of my having quitted chili--was on her way to rejoin me at valparaiso, but the vessel in which she embarked, having fortunately put into rio de janeiro, she was at once made acquainted with my change of service, and remained in the capital till my return. the most hospitable attention was paid to her by the royal family, the empress conferring upon her the appointment of lady of honour to her majesty. the relief to my mind on finding lady cochrane at rio de janeiro was very great, for, as there had not been opportunity to apprise her of my departure from chili in time to prevent her return thither, it had been a constant source of regret to me that she would have to endure the discomfort of two tedious voyages round cape horn before she could join me in brazil. the fortunate circumstance of putting into rio happily terminated the embarrassment. chapter v. first effort curtail the imperial power--portuguese intrigue--dismissal of the andradas--the assembly dissolved by force--exile of the andradas--letter to his imperial majesty--my advice partly adopted--and causes ministerial enmity towards me--ratification of my patent--i demand the adjudication of prizes--letter to the minister of marine--offer of personal advantage to foreign claims--squadron remained unpaid--i am appointed a privy councillor--the prize vessels plundered--shameful treatment of captain grenfell--troubles in pernambuco--hostility of the prize tribunal--condemns me to the restitution of prizes--forbids making any captures at all. shortly before returning to rio de janeiro, a total change had taken place in the administration of which josé bonifacio de andrada was the head. as that minister's views were patriotic, he was, in consequence, obnoxious to the portuguese faction, which had made one or two unsuccessful efforts to supplant him, these only serving to confirm his power amongst the people, who justly appreciated his leadership in the cause of independence. becoming, thus, more confident in his position, he was accused, whether rightly or wrongly, of intolerance towards persons who were plotting against him, though, even if the accusation were true, he was scarcely to blame for discountenancing those whose chief aim was to paralyse the independence they were unable to prevent. on the proclamation of the empire, two influential portuguese, in the assembly, endeavoured to impose a condition on the emperor that, before ascending the throne, he should make oath to a constitution framed by the constituent assembly alone, thus reducing his majesty to a cypher in the hands of the legislature. the proposition was plausible enough to those who were anticipating power, but it gave rise to such dissensions, that bonifacio de andrada and his brother sent in their resignations, which, under these difficult circumstances, were accepted by the emperor. a violent tumult amongst the people was the immediate consequence, and his majesty was induced to recall the patriotic andradas to the cabinet--they however, refusing to resume their functions, unless their portuguese opponents were banished; to this the emperor assented, and the andradas returned to office amidst the plaudits of the populace, who drew the carriage of josé de andrada in triumph into the town. as might have been expected, less tolerance was manifested by the triumphant ministers than before, this just but perhaps impolitic course being eagerly seized on by the portuguese faction to excite the apprehension of the patriots, who were somewhat dissatisfied by the revival of what were considered feudal usages; above all, by the creation of an imperial guard of honour, selected from the youth of the principal families, who were required to take an oath "of implicit obedience to his majesty"--this act being especially represented by the adverse faction as evincing a tendency to absolutism. on the th of june, , a project of law had been laid before the assembly, for the expulsion of all portuguese deemed hostile to the cause of the empire. this measure might have originated with the andradas, or not; it was certainly defended in the assembly by antonio andrada. the portuguese party, alarmed by the still impending danger, formed a coalition with the brazilian party, to eject the andradas from the ministry, and having, during a severe illness of the emperor, gained the ascendancy, the now obnoxious ministers were dismissed; and--though the patriots had not calculated thereon--were succeeded by the leaders of the portuguese faction itself, who, to the regret of all true brazilians, effected an immediate change of policy in the government. the chief object of the new administration, appeared to be to limit the functions of the emperor to an extent almost subversive of his authority; his majesty, in the unsettled state of the empire, being comparatively powerless amidst the machinations with which he was surrounded. no constitution had, as yet, been fixed upon--his majesty resenting the former attempt to force upon him a constitution framed solely by the will of the assembly, which was still seeking an opportunity to assert its supremacy. as the city and province abounded with influential portuguese, desirous of overthrowing the new _régime_, and as many of these were in the assembly, there was a total want of unity between the emperor and his legislature, the administration leaning to the side of the latter. about this time, the marquis of palmella had widely circulated a document, appealing to the loyalty of the portuguese, and declaring the policy desired by the mother country; which policy was--to divide brazil into a number of petty states, easy to be intimidated and controlled. as this scheme held out large promise of irresponsible power to influential persons in such anticipated states--it could scarcely fail to be agreeable to many expectants of office, whose interest it therefore was to prevent the consolidation of the empire, by promoting disunion. it was scarcely a secret that some in the administration were favourable to these views, though not openly professing them; so that the patriotic efforts of his majesty were paralysed, and the administration, no less than the legislature, exhibited a policy seriously detrimental to the interests of the empire. indeed, a powerful party in the legislative assembly openly called in question the emperor's authority--even requiring his majesty to divest himself of his crown in their presence. they deprived him of his council of state; denied him a voice in the enactment of laws, and the functions of administration; even objecting to his majesty's exercise of the common prerogative of royalty to confer crown lands as territorial rewards for public services--the latter limitation of the royal prerogative being avowedly directed against the grant of an estate to myself, as spontaneously accorded by his majesty, in gratitude for my recent services to the nation. this was the state of affairs on my return to rio de janeiro, and as his majesty did me the honour to consult with me in his difficulties, i unhesitatingly recommended him to support his dignity constitutionally--despite all attempts made for its limitation by the portuguese faction; which--extraordinary as it may appear--was now said to be countenanced by the andradas, who, though out of office, were still deputies to the assembly, and who--in consequence of their dismissal from power--were considered to be giving opposition to every measure calculated to promote unity between the emperor and the legislature. the brazilian patriots--and with good reason--were becoming alarmed, lest an attempt might yet be made to place portugal and brazil upon their former relative footing, and the emperor, who was thoroughly brazilian--from a conviction that portuguese ascendancy could never be regained--was no less so. matters, at length, rose to such a pitch in the assembly, that the intentions of the factious majority became no longer doubtful, when his majesty somewhat unceremoniously adopted the course pursued in england by cromwell in a somewhat similar predicament, viz. to dissolve the assembly, and, should it prove refractory, to turn the members out by force. cutting short all farther altercation with his legislature, the scene of the english protectorate was re-enacted in brazil; the emperor entering rio de janeiro at the head of a body of cavalry--surrounding the chamber with a military force--planting cannon before it--and ordering its instantaneous dissolution; the members--after in vain remonstrating against this proceeding--being compelled to retire. the andradas were soon afterwards arrested, and exiled--a proceeding impolitic and unjust to men who had laid the foundation of brazilian independence, and who were no less distinguished by their honesty than their ability. by consenting to their exile, his majesty lost three valuable servants, and at the same time placed himself in the hands of a faction which he never afterwards controlled, and which eventually forced him from his throne. as the expulsion of the assembly--whether justifiable or not, it is not my province to inquire--was decisive, it was obviously of the greatest importance to follow it up by some measure which should convince the public that so extreme a course was intended for their good. as yet no permanent constitution had been declared this, therefore, was clearly the moment for its proclamation, no less to satisfy the people--who were heart and soul with the emperor--than to prevent retaliation by the faction which had been thus summarily dealt with. seeing that nothing was promptly acted upon in an emergency involving the stability of government, i addressed to his imperial majesty the following letter:-- rio de janeiro, november , . sire, my sense of the impropriety of intruding myself on the attention of your imperial majesty, on any subject unconnected with the official position with which your majesty has been pleased to honour me, could only have been overcome by an irresistible desire, under existing circumstances, to contribute to the service of your majesty and the empire. the conduct of the late legislative assembly, which sought to derogate from the dignity and prerogatives of your majesty--even presuming to require you to divest yourself of your crown in their presence--who deprived you of your council of state--denied you a voice in the enactment of laws and the formation of the constitution, and who dared to object to your exercising the only remaining function of royalty--that of rewarding services, and conferring honours--could no longer be tolerated; and the justice and wisdom of your imperial majesty in dissolving such an assembly will be duly appreciated by discerning men, and by those whose love of good order and their country supersedes their ambition or personal interests. there are, however, individuals who will wickedly take advantage of the late proceedings to kindle the flames of discord, and throw the empire into anarchy and confusion, unless timely prevented by the wisdom and energy of your imperial majesty. the declaration that you will give to your people a practical constitution, more free than even that which the late assembly professed an intention to establish, cannot--considering the spirit which now pervades south america--have the effect of averting impending evils, unless your imperial majesty shall be pleased to dissipate all doubts by _at once declaring_--before news of the recent events can be dispersed throughout the provinces, and before the discontented members of the late congress can return to their constituents--what is the precise nature of that constitution which your imperial majesty intends to bestow. permit me, then, humbly and respectfully to suggest to your imperial majesty, as a means of tranquillising the public mind--of averting evils at home, and preventing injurious representations abroad--that, _even before the sailing of the next packet for europe_, your majesty should specifically declare the nature of the government you are graciously pleased should be adopted. as no monarch is more happy, or more truly powerful than the limited monarch of england, surrounded by a free people, enriched by that industry which the security of property by means of just laws never fails to create--if your majesty were to decree that the english constitution, in its most perfect practical form (which, with slight alteration, and, chiefly in name, is also the constitution of the united states of north america), shall be the model for the government of brazil under your imperial majesty, with power to the constituent assembly so to alter particular parts as local circumstances may render advisable--it would excite the sympathy of powerful states abroad, and the firm allegiance of the brazilian people to your majesty's throne. were your majesty, by a few brief lines in the gazette, to announce your intention so to do, and were you to banish all distrust from the public mind by removing from your person for a time, and finding employment on honourable missions abroad, for those portuguese individuals of whom the brazilians are jealous--the purity of your majesty's motives would be secured from the possibility of misrepresentation--the factions which disturb the country would be silenced or converted--and the feelings of the world, especially those of england and north america, would be interested in promoting the glory, happiness, and prosperity of your imperial majesty. these thoughts, hastily expressed, but most respectfully submitted to your gracious consideration will, i hope, be candidly appreciated by your imperial majesty, proceeding, as they do, from the heart of your majesty's most faithful and dutiful servant, cochrane and maranhaÕ. his majesty saw good to adopt this advice in part, but in offering it--though instrumental in establishing the political liberties of brazil--i had unconsciously placed myself in the position of a partisan against the powerful faction which influenced the administration, and through them every part of the empire. my unauthorised services after the pursuit of the portuguese fleet and army--resulting in the annexation of the northern provinces--had drawn upon me the resentment of those now in power whose ultimate intentions were thus defeated. that i--a foreigner, having nothing to do with national politics--should have counselled his majesty to banish those who opposed him, was not to be borne, and the resentment caused by my recent services was increased to bitter enmity for meddling in affairs which it was considered did not concern me; though i could have had no other object than the good of the empire by the establishment of a constitution which should give it stability in the estimation of european states. the effect of this enmity towards me personally, was not long in manifesting itself, and fearing the extent to which this might be carried, i lost no time in demanding that the patent under which i had been invested with the grade of "first admiral," should be formally engrossed and registered, according to the engagement of the late prime minister, previous to my departure for bahia. on the th of november, this was accordingly done, and a commission conferring the same pay and emolument as before--without limitation as to time, received the sign manual--was counter-signed by the ministers--sealed with the great seal--and registered in the archives of the empire; his majesty further testifying his approbation of my conduct and services, by directing the transmission of the completed patent without payment of the usual fees. the following are the stipulations of the commission so solemnly conferred--but afterwards shamefully violated without cause, as though fidelity to its engagements formed no part of national honour and good faith:-- i, don pedro, by the grace of god, and the unanimous voice of the people, constitutional emperor and perpetual defender of brazil, hereby make known to those who shall see this my charter patent, that the valour, intelligence, and activity united in admiral lord cochrane, now marquis of maranhaõ, who has so distinguished himself in the different services with which he has been entrusted--giving proof of the greatest bravery and talent; and seeing how advantageous it would be for the interests of this empire to avail itself of the skill of so valuable an officer--consider it beneficial to confer upon him--as by this charter is confirmed--the patent of "first admiral," with the annual pay of eleven contos five hundred and twenty milreas, as well ashore as afloat; and farther in table money, when embarked, five contos seven hundred and seventy milreas--which are the same emoluments as he received in chili. no admiral in the service having any right to consider himself entitled to succeed to the post of first admiral, which i create solely for this occasion for the motives expressed, and from the particular consideration merited by the said admiral. the pay referred to shall be entered in the books to which it appertains, in order to the payments when due. in attestation of that which i have hereby commanded, i give this charter under the sign manual and sealed with the great seal of the empire. given in the city of rio de janeiro on the th day of the month of november, in the year of our lord jesus christ, . second of independence and of this empire. (signed) imperador p. countersigned by all the ministers. from the difference of expression used in this commission, as compared with the temporary commission given previous to my departure for bahia, it is clear that my late services were fully recognised; and from the fact that the new commission was conferred after the war was ended by the annexation of bahia, maranham, parà, and all the intermediate provinces, it is equally clear that my rank and pay--as originally stipulated were conferred without limitation of time--a circumstance which will have to be borne to mind. this being complied with, i requested an order for the speedy adjudication of the prize property surrendered at maranham, the flagship's portion being rs. . $ , or £. , sterling, in addition to the captures made by the squadron generally--no less than one hundred and twenty enemy's ships, with portuguese registers and crews, having been taken, the value, at a very moderate computation, amounting to upwards of , , dollars. as officers and men were anxiously awaiting their prize money, it became my duty to the squadron to urge its stipulated distribution upon the consideration of the government. his majesty directed this to be done, but the prize tribunal appointed--consisting of thirteen members, nine of whom were natives of portugal--was directly interested in defeating the claims of the captors, being inimical to any confiscation of portuguese vessels and property taken in the late campaign. not venturing, as yet, openly to act in this spirit, they adopted the alternative of doing nothing towards adjudicating the prizes. finding this to be the case, and fearing that the portuguese tendencies of the new administration might interfere with the repayment of the sums temporarily supplied to the maranham junta--i addressed the following letter to the new minister of marine, francisco villela barbosa:-- (secret.) rio de janeiro, november , . most excellent sir, in my letter, no. , i communicated to your predecessor my intention of aiding the provisional junta of maranham, in the payment of the auxiliary troops of cearà and piahuy, who being in a naked and destitute condition had become clamorous for their arrears; and i now beg to state that in prosecution of such intention, i placed at the disposal of the junta the monies taken in the portuguese treasury, amounting in cash and good bills to rs. , $ , together with outstanding debts amounting to rs. , $ , and i have also left in their hands the balance which we found in the portuguese custom-house, amounting to rs. , $ . all these accounts i have the honour to convey to you for the information of the imperial government. in addition to these large sums, i left at the disposal of the junta much moveable property which belonged to portuguese individuals in europe, desiring the authorities to render an account of the same for the information of the imperial government. your excellency will perceive that in leaving at maranham these monies, and other property captured from the enemy, instead of bringing them to rio for adjudication, we could be influenced by no other motive than zeal for the interests of his imperial majesty and the good of his people; as by so doing, we enabled the provisional government to meet the present exigencies of the moment, and to quiet the cearà and piahuy troops; whilst the revenue of the province thus remains clear and unanticipated-- being applicable to such purposes as his imperial majesty shall command. all which i trust his imperial majesty will take into his gracious consideration, and be pleased to award such compensation to the officers and seamen as he, in his princely justice, shall deem fit. (signed) cochrane. for some days no notice was taken of this letter, but on the th i received a visit from the minister of marine, bringing what professed to be a verbal message from his majesty, that he "would do every thing in his power for me _personally_." the way in which this intimation was conveyed led me to infer that these personal favours implied a sacrifice on my part of the rights of the squadron, by shutting my eyes to the restoration of the captured portuguese ships and property to the friends and adherents of the ministry, for the purpose of conciliating the portuguese party. taking the message, however, literally--i told the minister that his majesty had "already conferred honours upon me quite equal to my merits--and that the greatest personal favour he could bestow, was, to urge on the speedy adjudication of the prizes, so that the officers and seamen might reap the reward decreed by the emperor's own authority." the policy of the portuguese faction in power, was--now that the squadron had expelled the fleet and army of the mother country--to conciliate their countrymen who remained, and thus to create and maintain an influence which should reduce the imperial authority to the smallest possible dimensions. the first object--if i could be brought to acquiesce--was to restore portuguese property, captured by imperial order, and now the right of the captors--my connivance being supposed to be procurable by offers of personal enrichment! i scarcely need say that the offer failed in its purpose. as the squadron had received no pay during the performance of all its services, it became my duty to urge attention to the subject, and this was apparently complied with, the th of november being appointed for the payment of the men. on that day _three months' pay only_ was offered to them, notwithstanding all they had achieved. this paltry pittance was refused. about this time the extraordinary news was received, that great rejoicings and a general illumination had taken place in lisbon in consequence of the destruction of the brazilian squadron by the portuguese fleet at bahia! this version having, no doubt, been transmitted home subsequently to the affair of the th of may. singularly enough, these ill-founded rejoicings were going on in lisbon at the time the flagship was chasing the portuguese fleet across the equator! it is difficult to say how the portuguese admiral contrived to reconcile this premature vaunt, and the unwelcome fact of his arrival in the tagus, with the loss of half his troops and more than half his convoy. on the nd of december despatches arrived from captain grenfell at parà, stating that he had possession of the new portuguese frigate, which according to my directions, had been named the _imperatrice_. he had also captured another vessel of war, and several merchantmen; thus fulfilling his difficult mission in a way which justified my confidence in his ability, and should have merited the warmest thanks from the government, instead of the treatment he subsequently experienced. on the th of december, his majesty appointed me a member of the privy council, the highest honour in his power to bestow. it was a singular circumstance that whilst his imperial majesty consulted me on matters of importance, and manifested his appreciation both of my opinions and services by the honours conferred--his anti-brazilian ministers were practising every species of annoyance towards myself and the squadron--more especially in the matter of the prizes, the condemnation of which they obstinately opposed. it would be wearisome to enter into details of the annoyance and injury now systematised by the portuguese faction in the administration; nevertheless, in order to appreciate subsequent occurrences, it is necessary briefly to advert to these matters. the personal feeling against myself was easily accounted for from my adherence to the emperor in opposition to interested councils, which imperilled the existence of the empire. these councils his majesty was unable to disregard or to counteract the injury inflicted on the officers and seamen, by the conduct of the court of admiralty towards the squadron; a policy persevered in with the object of annihilating the naval force, for no other reason than that its achievements had rendered itself obnoxious to the portuguese faction--the leaders of which no doubt calculated, that if the officers and crews could be worried out of the service, the dismemberment of the northern provinces might yet be effected by disunion. on the th of december, i wrote to the minister of marine that, as the prize vessels were daily being plundered, an immediate investigation was necessary--they having, by order of the administration, been delivered over to the charge of the inspector of the arsenal, the naval officers in charge being withdrawn. one officer was put in prison for obeying my orders to remain on board his prize till i received an answer from the minister of marine. the ship he had in charge (_the pombinho_) was immediately afterwards given up to a portuguese claim ant, together with all its contents, promiscuously taken from the custom house at maranham, none of which ever belonged to him. a number of additional prizes had been sent in by captain taylor, of the _nitherohy_, who had pursued the scattered ships of the enemy to the tagus, and there burned four vessels under the guns of the line-of-battle ship _don john vi_. for this he was sentenced by the prize council to six months imprisonment, and to forfeit double the amount of his prize money, on behalf of the owners of the property destroyed; it being thus decided by the _quasi_ portuguese prize tribunal that, to destroy enemy's property, in pursuance of his majesty's orders, was a crime! captain grenfell having arrived in the frigate _imperatrice_--captured at parà--bringing with him some forty thousand dollars--the ransom for prizes there taken, as had been done at maranham--the _imperatrice_ was boarded in his absence, and the money carried to the treasury, though by his majesty guaranteed to the captors. captain grenfell was afterwards charged with acting in opposition to the junta at parà, though only carrying out my instructions. upon this charge he was tried and acquitted. in consequence of these and other arbitrary acts, i represented to his majesty the necessity of forming some definite maritime code, which should put an end to proceedings so arbitrary, and proposed the adoption of the naval laws of england as the most experienced and complete. his majesty approving the suggestion, directed me to transmit a memorial on the subject to the privy council, which was accordingly done. by this, and similar suggestions to his majesty, with view to render the navy more efficient, i was widening the breach between myself and the portuguese party in the administration, whose object it was to frustrate any attempt of the kind. it was not long before an overt blow was struck at my authority as commander-in-chief by the preparation of the _atalanta_ for sea without my intervention. imagining that she might be on some secret service, i disregarded the circumstance, till, on the th of december, a notice appeared in the gazette announcing her destination to be for the blockade of monte video, whilst i was mentioned in the gazette, under the limited title of "commander of the naval forces in the port of rio de janeiro." thus, by a stroke of the minister's pen, was i, despite the patents of his imperial majesty, reduced to the rank of port admiral. convinced that this had been done without the sanction or even knowledge of the emperor, i protested against the despatch of the _atalanta_, except through my orders, as well as against the limitation indicated by my new title--contrary to the agreement under which i entered the service, as twice confirmed by imperial commissions--further informing the minister of marine that, although no one could be less ambitious of power than myself, i could not allow an agreement solemnly entered into to be thus violated. the remonstrance as regarded the _atalanta_ was effectual, and she was not despatched; but--as regarded the limitation of my rank--no notice was taken. intelligence now arrived from pernambuco that a strong party was there endeavouring to establish a republic, and that preparatory steps were being taken to throw off allegiance to the empire. the expedition sent by the ministry to put down this rising at pernambuco was a premeditated insult to me, as not having been at all consulted in the matter; and the reason why an inexperienced officer had been sent, doubtless was, that the ministry did not wish the insurrection to be put down. in this respect the expedition fulfilled the wishes of those who despatched it, by having failed. on its return i personally received _his majesty's orders_ that the _pedro primiero_, _piranga_, _nitherohy_, and _atalanta_, should be immediately equipped for important service. it was easy thus to give orders to equip a squadron, but after the treatment received, not so easy to effect it. all the foreign seamen had abandoned the ships in disgust, and to have shipped portuguese would have been worse than useless. i wrote to the minister of marine that the squadron could not be manned unless confidence was restored amongst the men, the shameful proceedings of the prize court having disinclined them to re-enter the service,--even if they did, i could not be responsible for order and discipline, or for the safety of the ships, unless some definite adjustment as to pay and prize money took place before putting to sea. in the face of these remonstrances the prize tribunal adopted an openly hostile course, by altogether denying the right of the squadron to the prizes taken at maranham, or the property there seized in the custom house, and shipped by me on board the _pombinho_ and another vessel. the _pombinho_, as has been said, was declared an illegal prize, and given up to her portuguese owner, together with all public property contained in her, though to this he had not the shadow of a claim, as the whole cargo belonged originally to others, and had been put on board this particular ship by my orders for transmission to rio de janeiro. numbers of similar decisions were made, on the false plea that maranham previously formed part of the brazilian empire, and consequently that all the seizures effected were invalid! i remonstrated that, on our arrival at maranham, the city and province were, and ever had been, in possession of portugal--that the portuguese had by the ordinary capitulations of war delivered up both to an armed brazilian force without question--and that, by a previous decree of the emperor, no less than by the customary usages of war, all enemy's property fell to the captors. the prize court not only overruled the objection, but condemned me to make restitution of all sums received in ransom for property taken at maranham. in one instance the tribunal declared me deserving of corporal punishment (_pena corporal!_) and would, had they dared, doubtless have enforced this, and the restitution to which i was condemned. as the plunder of prize property was becoming notorious, the tribunal directed it to be unloaded, in order to prevent the cargoes from being _damaged!_ but, on the execution of the order it was found that all the valuable portion had already disappeared! how, of course could not be ascertained; but no one doubted. the ships themselves were neglected till they became useless to the original owners, the government, or the captors. thus, of this vast amount of property taken in the campaign, not a _milrea_ was suffered to find its way into the pockets of the officers and men, and the squadron would have been wholly defrauded of its reward, had i not refused to give up to the prize tribunal the comparatively trifling sums received in redemption of the seizures at maranham; these being retained on board the flagship in consequence of the unjustifiable course which the tribunal was pursuing. a plot was, however, formed to seize it by force, but this was met by such measures as were calculated to prevent a renewal of the attempt. the prize tribunal being thus determined to deprive the squadron of the whole of its emoluments, proceeded to condemn the ships of war taken as being _droits_ to the crown, without compensation of any kind, notwithstanding that the before-mentioned imperial decree of the th of december, , awarded all prizes wholly to the captors. the tribunal then issued a decree, that vessels taken within a certain distance from the shore--where alone a blockade could be effective--were not lawful seizures; the effect being that, as the squadron was about to blockade pernambuco it could have no opportunity of falling in with enemy's vessels at sea, and therefore _could not make captures at all!_ thus enemy's ships would be permitted to carry on their revolutionary occupations unmolested; which was, no doubt, the intention of those who framed the resolution, as wishing to defeat the blockade for their own purposes. chapter vi. remonstrance against decree of prize tribunal--settlement of prize question by the emperor--his ministers refuse to conform to it--obstacles thrown in the way of equipment--my services limited to the duration of war--my remonstrance on this breach of faith--ministers refuse to pay the squadron anything--a fresh insult offered to me--offer to resign the command--my resignation evaded--letter to the prime minister--letter to the minister of marine. on the st of january, , i communicated to the minister of marine the contents of a despatch received from captain haydon at pernambuco, in which he apprised me of a plot on the part of the revolutionary government to seize his person and take possession of the imperial brig of war which he commanded; the latter intention having been openly advocated in the assembly. on the th, i addressed to the minister of marine the following remonstrance against the before-mentioned regulation of the admiralty court, that vessels captured within a certain distance of the shore should not be prize to the captor; this regulation being evidently intended as retrospective, with a view of nullifying the captures which had already been made:-- as i have before endeavoured, by anticipating evils, to prevent their occurrence, so in the present instance, i feel it my duty to his imperial majesty to place you, as minister of marine, on your guard against countenancing any such measure in regard either to the vessels captured in the blockade of bahia, or to those taken in the colonial possessions, and under the forts and batteries of the enemy--and also in the case--if such there should be--of vessels captured on the shores of portugal. it is quite clear that these cases of capture are distinct from those in which protection is afforded by independent states to belligerents approaching within a certain distance of neutral shores. but you must be perfectly aware that, if enemy's ships are not to be prize--if captured navigating near the shore no blockade can be effective, as there will be no right to disturb them; besides which the mass of the people engaged in a naval service will certainly not encounter toil and hazard without remuneration of any kind beyond their ordinary pay. should such a decree be really in contemplation, there is nothing to hope from the naval service useful or creditable to the state; and this opinion is founded on more than thirty years' unremitting experience of seamen--that where there is no premium there is no permanent zeal or exertion. (signed) cochrane & maranhaÕ. on the th of january, i communicated to the government the contents of another despatch from captain haydon, at pernambuco, reporting that the new junta there had seized the imperial ship of war, _independencia ou morte_, and had removed the officer in command, at the same time threatening to treat captain haydon as a pirate. the revolt was now becoming serious, and his majesty--anxious to expedite the equipment of the squadron--on the th of february, , sent for me to consult on the subject. having told his majesty the course which had been pursued by the prize tribunal, he said he would see justice done in spite of faction, and asked me to make a moderate valuation of the prize property taken in the late campaign, ascertaining, at the same time, if the seamen were willing to accept a specific sum in compensation of their claims? on asking his majesty what assurance could be given that the administration would carry out such an arrangement, he replied that he would give me his own assurance, and ordering me to sit down beside him, wrote _with his own hand_ the following proposal--now in my possession:-- "_the government is ready to pay to the squadron, the value of the prizes which have been, or may be judged bad, the value thereof being settled by arbitrators jointly chosen, and to pay the proprietors their losses and damages; that in the number of the said prizes, the frigate imperatrice is not included, but the government, as a remuneration for her capture, will immediately give from the public treasury the sum of , milreis to the captors; that the value of the prizes already declared bad, shall be immediately paid, this stipulation relating to all captures up to the present date, february th, and that henceforth captures shall be adjudged with more dispatch, the government being about to decree a provisional arrangement, remedying all errors and omissions that may have occurred._" nothing can be more clear than the above stipulations in his majesty's own handwriting, to pay the squadron immediately the value of their prizes despite the court of admiralty, to pay , milreis for the _imperatrice_, and that even the value of the prizes _adjudged bad_ should be paid, his majesty thus rightly estimating the conduct and motives of the court of admiralty. _not one of these conditions was ever complied with!_ on the st of march, his majesty, through his minister, francisco villela barbosa, informed me that he had assigned , milreis in recompense for the acquisition of the frigate _imperatrice_; stating that, with regard to the other prizes made at parà, they must be sentenced by the tribunal, in order that their value might be paid by the public treasury--the said treasury taking upon itself to satisfy all costs and damages on captures judged illegal; but that with regard to my assertion, that there were amongst them no illegal prizes, the government could not itself decide the question. that his majesty gave the order for payment of , milreis, as compensation for the _imperatrice_, there is no doubt; _but not a shilling of the amount was ever paid by his ministers, nevertheless even within the past few months the present brazilian ministry has charged that sum against me, as having been received and not accounted for!_ it is quite possible, that, in ignorance of the practices common amongst their predecessors of , the present ministers of brazil may imagine that the orders of his majesty were complied with; but if so, the , milreis never reached me or the squadron. had it done so, nothing can be more easy than to find my receipt for the amount, which i defy them to do. considering our difficulties in a fair way of now being settled, i willingly undertook to conciliate the seamen, and having made the low calculation of _rs_. . milreis--a sum scarcely one-fourth the value of the prize property--reported to the minister of marine the willingness of the squadron generally to accept , dollars (about £. , ) in compensation of their full rights; agreeing, moreover, to give up all claim on the imperial government on payment of one-half, and security for the remainder. notwithstanding this easy mode of arrangement, solely brought about by my personal influence with the men, not a milrea was allotted, his majesty's ministers deliberately evading the imperial wishes and promises. on the contrary, the more his majesty was determined to do the squadron justice the more was the portuguese faction in the ministry bent on frustrating the imperial intentions--notwithstanding that, by the revolutionary proceedings in the north, the integrity of the empire was at stake. i may indeed go farther and state with great truth, that whilst his majesty was most anxious for our speedy departure, in order to suppress the revolution at pernambuco, his ministers were, day by day, addressing to me letters on the most insignificant subjects, with the apparent object of delaying the squadron by official frivolities, the necessity of replying to which would prevent my attention to the fulfilment of the imperial wish. the best proof of this is the fact which will be apparent in the course of this chapter, viz.--that although the province of pernambuco was in open revolt, the administration contrived to delay the sailing of the squadron for _six months_ beyond the events just narrated. on the th of february, the following extraordinary _portaria_ was transmitted to me by the minister of marine:-- desiring to give a further testimony of the high estimation in which the marquis of maranhaõ, first admiral of the national and imperial armada, is held, by reason of the distinguished services which he has rendered to the state, and which it is hoped that he will continue to render for the independence of brazil, i deem it proper to name him commander-in-chief of all the naval forces of the empire _during the present war_. the supreme military council is hereby informed thereof, and will cause this decree to be executed. palace of rio janeiro, the rd of february, . third of the independence of the empire, with the rubrica of his imperial majesty. francisco villela barbosa, secretariat of state, th february, . (signed) anastasio de brito, acting chief secretary. the audacity of this _portaria_--setting aside the stipulations of his majesty and his late ministers in my commission, thus rendering it null and void without my consent--was only equalled by its hypocrisy. as a "_further testimony_ of the high estimation in which i was held," &c.--his majesty's ministers were graciously pleased to annul my commission, in order that they might get rid of me at a moment's warning! the document transmitted to me _did not_ bear the rubrica of the emperor, though falsely asserted so to do. if the reader will take the trouble to compare it with my two commissions, he will agree with me in the inference that it was written by barbosa without the emperor's knowledge or consent, with the object of terminating my command--the imperial patents notwithstanding, as will be evident from the expression, "_during the present war;_" the war being _already ended_ by my expulsion of the portuguese fleet and army. no time was lost in remonstrating against this insidious decree. after pointing out to the minister of marine the agreements which had been made with me by the late ministers, and ratified by the imperial sign manual, i addressed his excellency as follows:-- the late decree inserted in the gazette of february th, instead of increasing my official rank and authority--as it professes to do--in effect circumscribes it, because _there was no limitation of time_ in the offer which i accepted from his imperial majesty. but by this decree, my official rank and authority are limited to the duration of the present war. now, if i could believe that the idea of this limitation originated with his imperial majesty himself, i should respectfully and silently acquiesce; but being satisfied--from the gracious manner in which he has been pleased to act towards me on all occasions--that it did not so originate, i can only consider it an intimation of an opinion prevalent in the councils of the state, that myself and services can very well be done without, as soon as the independence of brazil shall be decided or peace restored. as no man can be expected to dedicate his professional services to a foreign country, without having a prospect of some recompence more durable than that which such a limitation as is expressed in the document in question seems to indicate, i am naturally led to inquire whether it is the intention of his majesty's advisers that, on the termination of the present war, _my pay is to cease with my authority?_ or whether i am to receive any permanent reward for services, _the consequences of which will be permanent to brazil?_ because--if no recompence is to be received for public services --however important and lasting in their effects those services may be--it is a duty to myself and family to consider how far i am justified in farther devoting my time to a service from which so little future benefit is to be expected; a consideration the more interesting to me, in consequence of repeated solicitations from the chilian government to resume my rank and command in that state. in saying thus much, you may consider me of a mercenary disposition; but i have received from brazil _no recompence whatever_, beyond the honours conferred by his imperial majesty. if you will peruse the accompanying papers, you will find that when i left chili i had disbursed of my own monies, , dollars, to keep the chilian squadron from starving, which sum, in consequence of my leaving chili, and accepting the offers of his imperial majesty, has not been repaid. this amount his majesty and his ministers agreed to repay on my acceptance of the command; but i declined to seek reimbursement at the expense of brazil, "unless i should perform greater services to the empire than i had rendered to chili; but in the event of such services being rendered to brazil, and of chili continuing its refusal to pay me, then--and not otherwise--i should hope for indemnification." to this stipulation the late ministers gave their assent. it is no proof of an avaricious disposition that i at once acquiesced in the proposition of his imperial majesty, that , dollars only for the _imperatrice_, which is not one-third of her value, should be apportioned to her captors. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. i might have added that the squadron had received _no emoluments of any kind whatever_, notwithstanding the spontaneous stipulations of his imperial majesty to pay everything, there not being even an indication of handing over to them the , dollars awarded by his majesty for the frigate captured at parà. on the contrary, i had been condemned in costs and damages to a great amount for having captured portuguese vessels in pursuance of his majesty's orders; so that had the court of admiralty been in a position to enforce these, i should not only be unpaid but be mulcted of a very large sum, as the price of having accepted the command of the brazilian navy! so far from the , dollars awarded by his majesty for the capture of the frigate _imperatrice_ having been paid according to the imperial directions, i received from the minister of marine a letter dated february th, implying that the above sum--one third the value of the vessel--was when paid, to be considered as the _sole_ reward of the squadron. this violation of his majesty's agreement was at once repudiated, and an explanatory letter from the minister of marine--almost as ambiguous as the former--assured me that i had misconstrued his intention, which, however, was not the case, for the , dollars were never paid. on the th of march, a direct insult was offered me by severiano da costa, now first minister, by an intimation to attend in the imperial chapel for the purpose of assisting at the ceremony of swearing to the constitution, but i was distinctly told that i should not be permitted to swear; the reason no doubt being, that, by a clause therein contained, military officers who swore to it, could not be dismissed without trial, and sentence of court martial; so that the not permitting me to swear--coupled with barbosa's _portaria_ limiting my command to the duration of the war--indirectly gave power to the administration to dismiss me at their option, whenever they might deem it expedient so to do. that such desire would arise the moment an opportunity might present itself, was certain, nor should i have waited for its expression, but from respectful attachment to his majesty, and from the expectation of obtaining justice for the squadron, which relied on me for procuring satisfaction of their claims. to have accepted an invitation of this public nature, under circumstances so insulting, was out of the question. i therefore joined lady cochrane at the island of governador, and sent an excuse to the minister expressive of my regret at being prevented by unavoidable circumstances from sharing in the honour of the august ceremony. in consequence of the insulting conduct of the administration, and the impossibility of obtaining compensation for the squadron, notwithstanding his majesty's orders to that effect, i made up my mind to quit a service in which the authority of the adverse ministry was superior to that of the sovereign. accordingly, on the th of march, i addressed to the minister of marine a letter, from which the subjoined is an extract:-- if i thought that the course pursued towards me was dictated by his imperial majesty, it would be impossible for me to remain an hour longer in his service, and i should feel it my duty, at the earliest possible moment, to lay my commission at his feet. if i have not done so before--from the treatment which, in common with the navy, i have experienced--it has been solely from an anxious desire to promote his majesty's real interests. indeed, to struggle against prejudices, and at the same time against those in power, whose prepossessions are at variance with the interests of his majesty, and the tranquillity and independence of brazil, is a task to which i am by no means equal. i am, therefore, perfectly willing to resign the situation i hold, rather than contend against difficulties which appear to me insurmountable. i have only to add, that it will give me extreme satisfaction to find that your excellency is enabled to rear an effective marine out of the materials which constituted the fabric of the old marine of portugal--or any brazilian marine at all, without beginning on principles totally opposite to those which have been pursued since my return to this port. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. this proffer of resignation was met by an assurance that i had misconstrued both the acts and intentions of the administration, and the expression of a hope that i would not think of abandoning brazil for which i had done so much. the real fact was, that although the administration was endeavouring to delay the expedition for the suppression of revolution in the north, they were afraid of its results, dreading that a _republican_ government might be established, as was indeed imminent. it was only from a conviction of not being able to meet such an emergency, otherwise than through my instrumentality--that my resignation was not accepted. determined to pursue the course i had now begun, i addressed the following letter to the prime minister:-- rio de janeiro, march , . most excellent sir, the late prime minister, josé bonifacio de andrada e silva, was pleased to express a desire that i should communicate directly with him in all extraordinary difficulties with respect to the naval service. if i have not had recourse to your excellency until the present juncture, it has not been from any doubt of your readiness to accord me similar indulgence, but because the evils of which i had to complain were so palpable, that i conceived a remedy would--of necessity be applied in the ordinary course of things. but now that a system is adopted which must very soon bring the naval service of his imperial majesty to utter insignificance and ruin, i can no longer abstain from calling on your excellency as minister of state for the internal affairs of the empire, to interfere before it is too late. here follow complaints of the wretched state of the squadron--its want of repairs--the neglect of pay--the illegal imprisonment of officers for months without trial and on untenable grounds, &c. &c. by the promises held out last year of punctuality in payment, and of other rewards, foreign officers and seamen were induced to enter the service--believing in the good faith of the government. the result--in the short period that has elapsed--has been the complete expulsion of the enemy's forces, naval and military; all of whom would have been still in arms against the independence of brazil, had it not been for the assistance of the foreign officers and seamen. in the course of these important services, various captures were made and sent for adjudication to rio de janeiro, under the authority of his imperial majesty's orders to make war on the subjects and property of portugal. the captures made in prosecution of the war were--according to the engagements under which the expedition proceeded--to be the reward of the captors in return for the benefits derived by the empire for their exertions. judge then, sir, of the astonishment of the officers and seamen at finding on their return to this port eight months afterwards, that the court of admiralty (chiefly composed of natives of portugal) pretended to be ignorant whether the nation was at war or peace! under this plea they have avoided the adjudication of the prizes--have thrown every impediment in the way of the captors--by giving sentences equally contrary to law, common sense and justice. great quantities of goods in the captured ships have decayed or wholly perished from lapse of time--great quantities more have been stolen--whilst whole cargoes, by the arbitrary authority of an auditor, have been given up without trial, to pretended owners, without even the decency of communication to the captors or their agents. in short, nothing has been done in furtherance of the gracious directions of his majesty, given on the th ultimo, that the prize affairs should be instantly adjusted. it is certainly a hardship to the portuguese gentlemen in the court of admiralty, to be under the necessity of condemning property that belonged to their countrymen, friends, and relations; but if they have undertaken the duties of such an office, they ought not to be permitted to weigh their private feelings against their public duty--nor to bring upon the whole government that character of bad faith, which has been so disgraceful, and has proved so injurious to all the governments which have hitherto been established in south america. even the payment of wages was not made to the _pedro primiero_ till nearly three months after her return, when the seamen-- irritated by the evasion of their dues--had nearly all abandoned the ship; and if the crews of the _nitherohy_ and _carolina_ did not follow their example on their return to port, it was entirely owing to my perseverance before their arrival in procuring this tardy justice. it was a maxim of the emperor napoleon, that "no events are trifling with regard to nations and sovereigns, their destinies being controlled by the most inconsiderable circumstances,"-- though circumstances which have the effect of causing the imperial marine to be abandoned, ought not--in a national point of view--to be regarded as inconsiderable; but whether this be of importance or not, the consequences of such abandonment by men who have so faithfully performed their duty, will be far from beneficial to those short sighted and vain individuals who imagine that the employment of foreign officers is an obstacle to their own advancement. if the present foreign officers are compelled to abandon their situations an explanation must be given of the cause, and public indignation must inevitably fall on the unreflecting heads of the prejudiced or selfish authors of such impolitic injustice. i have heard it stated, as a motive for the delay in condemning the prizes, that the government--in case of a treaty of peace-- might be called upon to refund the value to the original owners. but, sir, let me ask such wretched statesmen, what would have been the situation of brazil, if foreign officers and seamen had refused to enter the service--as would have been the case, had no prize money been promised? in that case, it is true, the vessels in question would not have been taken--but it is equally true that the enemy's troops would not have been starved into the evacuation of bahia, nor their squadron have been intimidated to flee from these shores. military warfare would still have raged in the interior, and the hostile fleet might now have been engaged in the blockade of rio de janeiro itself. would it not be infinitely better that the government should have to pay the value of these prizes even twice over--than that such calamities should not have been averted? but how can it be argued that the government may be required to restore to the enemy prizes lawfully taken in war? is it possible that the victors can be compelled to make humiliating terms with the vanquished? certainly not--unless the means by which victory was obtained are insanely sacrificed, by permitting the squadron to go to ruin and decay. the results which have been obtained could not have been accomplished by any other measures than those adopted by the wisdom of his imperial majesty. is it then justifiable, to suffer the engagements which produced such results to be evaded and set at nought? still more monstrous--decrees have been passed, both by the auditor of marine and the court of admiralty, to punish the captors for the execution of their duty, and by means of pains and penalties to deter them from the performance of it in future. it is even more unjust and inconsistent, that although his majesty's late ministers held out that ships of war were to be prize to the captors, they are now declared to be the property of the state! do those narrow-minded persons who prompted such a decree, imagine this to be a saving to the country? or do they expect that seamen--especially foreign seamen--will fight heartily on such terms? the power which the british navy has acquired arises from the wisdom of the government in making the interests of the officers and men identical with the interests of the state, which gives bounties and premiums even in addition to the full value of the prizes; whilst the insignificance and inefficiency of the navies of governments which adopt opposite principles, sufficiently indicate whether such liberality, or the want of it, is the best policy in maritime affairs. having said thus much on public matters, i shall very briefly trouble you with respect to myself, by stating that, as regards all which does not depend on the uncontrolled exercise of the imperial functions--there has been no respect paid to the written stipulations entered into with me on accepting the command of the brazilian navy, and that since my return from freeing the northern provinces and uniting them to the empire, every promise--written and verbal--has been evaded or set at nought, which facts i am prepared to prove beyond the possibility of contradiction. my nature is not suspicious, nor did i ever become doubtful of promises and professions of friendship till after the third year of my connection with chili--when, having swept every ship of war belonging to the enemy from the pacific, the chilian ministers imagined that they could dispense with my services. they had not, indeed, the candour which i have experienced here, for, after appointing me to a command without limitation as to time, _they did not publicly restrict the duration of that command to the earliest moment that they could dispense with me_. it was their plan--while openly professing kindness and gratitude--to endeavour, by secret artifices, to render me odious to the public, and to transfer to me the responsibility which they themselves incurred by bringing the navy to ruin, and causing the seamen to abandon it, by withholding their pay, and even the provisions necessary for their subsistence. as for the rest, my remonstrances against such conduct were treated in chili just as my representations have been treated here. like causes will ever produce similar effects; but as there was no hostile or spanish party in the chilian state, four years elapsed before the mischiefs could be accomplished, which, by the machinations of the portuguese faction, have been here effected in the short space of four months. truths are often disagreeable to those who are not in the habit of hearing them, and doubly offensive after long experience of the homage of blind obedience and subserviency. i have, nevertheless, always felt it my duty to the governments under which i have served, not to abstain from uttering truths under any dread of offence, because i have ever been impressed with the conviction that speaking truth is not only the most honourable mode of proceeding, but that the time seldom fails to arrive when those who are warned of a wrong line of conduct feel grateful to the man--who at the risk of personal inconvenience, or even punishment--dared to apprise them of their danger. in england--where mischiefs were heaped upon me for _opposing a ministerial vote of parliamentary thanks to an undeserving officer_--the people at once saw the propriety of my conduct, and the government has since virtually admitted its justice. in chili, the ministers who hated me, because they knew me to be aware of their deceitful and dishonest acts, were succeeded by others who have solicited my return. and the worthy and excellent supreme director (o'higgins, whom those ministers, by their wickedness and folly, brought to ruin) found at last, and acknowledged--but too late to attend to my warnings--that i had acted towards him, in all cases, with honour and fidelity. the error and fate of the excellent and eminent person whom i have just named--affords a proof of the folly and danger of the notion--that ministers who have forfeited the confidence of the public by breach of faith and evil acts, can be upheld by military force against public opinion, especially in governments recently constituted. the people respected their supreme director; but when he marshalled his troops to uphold his evil ministers, he fell with them. had he adopted the policy of cromwell, and delivered to justice those who merited punishment, he would have saved himself. permit me to say, in conclusion, that the ministers of his imperial majesty are identified with the court of admiralty, and with the officers whom they maintain in the different departments. let them--i repeat--take heed that the operation of similar causes does not produce like effects; for if the conduct of these individuals shall cause the naval service to be abandoned, and shall thereby--as a necessary consequence--occasion great disasters to the empire, i am convinced that in a short period, all the troops in rio de janeiro will not be able to repress the storm that will be raised against the factious portuguese. it is my fervent hope--that his imperial majesty, by gloriously adhering to the cause of independence and to brazil, will save and unite the largest portion of his royal patrimony in defiance of the blind efforts of portugal, and in spite of the cunning intrigues of the portuguese faction here, to prolong civil war, and create dismemberment and disunion. i have the honour to be, &c. &c. cochrane and maranhaÕ. his excellency joao severiano maciel de costa, chief minister of state, &c. &c. one effect of the preceding letter was--that the court of admiralty requested my consent to give up certain prize property, the object being to construe my acquiescence as regarded a small portion--into a precedent for giving up the remainder. this was firmly refused on the ground of its being a fraud on the captors. chapter vii. ministerial malignity towards me--dangers in pernambuco--portuguese threats--my advice thereon--failure in manning the squadron--plot formed to search the flagship--timely warning thereon--i demand his majesty's interference--which was promptly granted--protest against prize decisions--my advice sought as regarded pernambuco--letter to his imperial majesty--pointing out the annoyance practised--and tendering my resignation--the emperor's intervention--his ministers neglect to fulfil his engagement--confirmation of my previous patents--but with an unjustifiable reservation--prize money devoted to advance of wages--proofs thereof--baseless imputations on me--extracts from log--further distribution of prize money. having failed in inducing the administration to withdraw the _portaria_ issued with a view to nullify the commissions conferred upon me by his imperial majesty,--i waited upon the emperor to beg his interference in a matter no less derogatory to his authority, than unjust to myself. his majesty regretted the circumstance, but having alluded to the difficulties in which he was placed with regard to the administration, begged me to rely on him for justice, assuring me that he would take care that nothing was done which should practically alter my original compact. his majesty was exceedingly anxious that the expedition to pernambuco should not be delayed, but i could only represent to him that nothing whatever had been done to satisfy the seamen, who, in consequence, would not re-enter--that several of the best officers were either in prison on frivolous accusations, or under arrest--that the necessary repairs to the ships were not completed--that no steps had been taken to provide for their equipment--and that, in fact, the greater was his majesty's anxiety to put down the revolution, the more obstructive were the obstacles interposed by the ministry to the accomplishment of his wishes. the ministers now resorted to a clumsy system in order to lower me in popular estimation, by imposing, for my guidance in naval matters, stringent orders about trifles which were absurd or impracticable, non-observance of these being followed by _printed reprimands_ such as were never before addressed to a commander-in-chief, whilst my refutations and remonstrances against such treatment were refused publication. this course was succeeded by another still more unworthy, the ministers so far forgetting the dignity of their position, as to write or cause to be written against me a series of scurrilous articles in the newspapers under the feigned signature of "curioso," these containing matters which could only have come from the minister of marine's office; but as i was able to reply to _anonymous_ attacks through the same channel, i took care that the refutation signally recoiled on the writers, who, finding the course pursued more detrimental to their objects than to mine, relinquished this mode of attack. pamphlets of an atrocious description were then resorted to, the more noticeable of which, was one purporting to emanate from chili, and representing that not only had i effected nothing for that country or peru, but that my very presence in the peruvian waters had been the greatest obstacle to the speedy attainment of independence! a circumstance however occurred which alarmed even the ministers themselves. on the th of april, i received a despatch from captain taylor, commanding the naval force before pernambuco, stating that on the th, the camara of that province had unanimously resolved that they would no longer obey the imperial authority--that the governor appointed by his imperial majesty had been deposed--and that they had elected a president from amongst their own body. this was an extremity upon which the portuguese faction in the administration had not calculated--their object being to encourage disturbance in remote provinces, in order to further their own purposes at rio de janeiro. an attempt to institute a republican form of government was, however, another thing, it being well known that this movement was fostered by merchants and influential citizens with republican tendencies. my advice was now asked as to what was best to be done in the emergency, to which i replied that "no time ought to be lost in sending small vessels to enforce the blockade of pernambuco, which had already been declared by captain taylor; as large vessels would be in imminent danger of being wrecked if anchored upon that open coast at this season of the year." to add to the dangers threatening the empire, intelligence was received that the portuguese had reinforced and refitted their fleet with the intention of returning to brazil and recovering the northern provinces. this course, no doubt, having been determined upon on account of information, that, in consequence of the injustice done to the brazilian squadron, it had been abandoned by the seamen, and was now powerless. i did not offer to accompany any vessels that might be sent to pernambuco; for i had made up my mind not to undertake anything unless some satisfaction were accorded to the squadron. on the rd of may, i, however, addressed to the prime minister a letter stating the plan which, in my opinion, ought to be pursued in the present predicament. the subjoined are extracts:-- drawing a veil over that which has passed--though had my recommendations, given in writing to his imperial majesty on the th of november last--two days after the dissolution of the assembly--been attended to, the rebellion and separation of the northern provinces might have been prevented. passing over the errors committed in the non-employment of the greater part of the naval forces; passing over the disgust occasioned by the conduct pursued towards the seamen, the opposition which had been encountered in every step towards amelioration, and the mischief occasioned by these and many other sources of disunion and paralysation, i say--passing over all these--let me call your excellency's attention to the only means which appear to me practicable to save the country--if not from again devolving to portugal as colonial possessions, yet at least from protracted war, and its attendant calamities. taking it then for granted that an expedition is actually fitting out at lisbon, destined to act against brazil, the question is, how and by what means can that expedition be most successfully opposed? what is the force necessary? and how, under existing circumstances, it can be procured? (here follow plans for the reorganization of the navy, and its mode of operation, in order to prevent the anticipated invasion.) as regards myself, it is my conviction that, though i might be responsible for the discipline and good order of a single ship, i could make nothing of a squadron so manned, as it inevitably must be, and actuated by those feelings which have been excited to the detriment of the imperial service. since the date of my last letter to your excellency, i have received a copy of the laws relative to prizes, and am convinced that these laws differ in no material degree from the maritime code of england, the adoption of which i had solicited; and that the blame of all the disquiet that has been occasioned is entirely owing to the non-execution of the laws by those individuals who have been nominated to dispense justice, but who have perverted it. (signed) cochrane & maranhaÕ. notwithstanding the threatening aspect of affairs in the north, no steps were taken to satisfy the seamen. in place of this i received orders to use my influence with them _to re-enter without payment!_ determined that the government should not have to find fault with any want of effort on my part, i obeyed the order, with what result the following letter to the minister of marine will shew:-- in consequence of the directions from his imperial majesty, communicated through your excellency, to equip the _pedro primiero, carolina_, and _maria de gloria_, with all possible despatch, and to hold them in readiness to proceed on service, i ordered a commissioned officer to visit the different rendezvous which the seamen frequent, and endeavour to prevail on them to re-enter --assuring them that the continuance of their services was the best means whereby to obtain their rewards for captures made during the late campaign. it appears, however, that it will be difficult to prevail on them to engage again in the service, without some explicit declaration made public on the part of the imperial government, stating what they have to expect for the past, and to anticipate for the future; for the conduct that has been pursued, especially in regard to matters of prize, has led them to draw conclusions highly prejudicial to the service of his imperial majesty. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. i also protested against the intended arrest of captain grenfell, knowing that there were no grounds for such a step, and more especially against the seizure of his papers, which necessarily contained the requisite proofs in justification of his conduct at parà. the only offence he had committed was his firmness in repressing the seditious acts of the portuguese faction there; and as those whom he had offended had influence with their countrymen connected with the administration at rio de janeiro, a tissue of false representations as to his conduct, was the readiest mode of revenge, so that he shared the enmity of the faction in common with myself, though they did not venture to order my arrest. one instance of the annoyance still directed against myself, on the th of june, is perhaps worth relating. it had been falsely reported to the emperor by his ministers that--besides the , dollars which i refused to give up--specie to a large amount was secreted on board the _pedro primiero_, and it was suggested to his majesty, that, as i was living on shore, it would be easy to search the ship in my absence --whereby the emperor could possess himself of all the money found. this disgraceful insult was on the point of being put in execution, when an accident revealed the whole plot; the object of which was, by implied accusation, to lower me in popular estimation--a dastardly device, which, though contemptible, could hardly fail to be prejudicial to myself, against whom it was directed. late one evening i received a visit from madame bonpland, the talented wife of the distinguished french naturalist. this lady--who had singular opportunities for becoming acquainted with state secrets--came expressly to inform me that my house was at that moment surrounded by a guard of soldiers! on asking if she knew the reason of such a proceeding, she informed me that, under the pretence of a review to be held at the opposite side of the harbour early the following morning, preparations had been made by the ministers to board the flagship, which was to be thoroughly overhauled whilst i was detained on shore, and all the money found taken possession of! thanking my excellent friend for her timely warning, i clambered over my garden fence, as the only practicable way to the stables, selected a horse, and notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, proceeded to st. christoval, the country palace of the emperor, where, on my arrival, i demanded to see his majesty. the request being refused by the gentleman in waiting, in such a way as to confirm the statement of madame bonpland--i dared him to refuse me admission at his peril; adding that "the matter upon which i had come was fraught with grave consequences to his majesty and the empire." "but," said he, "his majesty has retired to bed long ago." "no matter," replied i, "in bed, or not in bed, i demand to see him, in virtue of my privilege of access to him at all times, and if you refuse to concede permission--look to the consequences." his majesty was not, however, asleep, and the royal chamber being close at hand, he recognised my voice in the altercation with the attendant. hastily coming out of his apartments in a _dishabille_ which, under ordinary circumstances, would have been inconsistent, he asked--"what could have brought me there at that time of night?" my reply was--that "understanding that the troops ordered for a review were destined to proceed to the flagship in search of supposed treasure, i had come to request his majesty immediately to appoint confidential persons to accompany me on board, when the key of every chest in the ship should be placed in their hands, and every place thrown open to their inspection; but that if any of his anti-brazilian administration ventured to board the ship in perpetration of the contemplated insult, they would certainly be regarded as pirates, and treated as such." adding at the same time--"depend upon it, that they are not more my enemies, than the enemies of your majesty and the empire, and an intrusion so unwarrantable, the officers and crew are bound to resist." "well," replied his majesty, "you seem to be apprised of everything, but the plot is not mine; being--as far as i am concerned--convinced that no money would be found more than we already know of from yourself." i then entreated his majesty to take such steps for my justification as would be satisfactory to the public. "there is no necessity for any," replied he; "but how to dispense with the review is the puzzle.--i will be ill in the morning--so go home, and think no more of the matter. i give you my word your flag shall not be outraged by the contemplated proceeding." the _denouement_ of the farce is worthy of being recorded. the emperor kept his word, and in the night was taken suddenly ill. as his majesty was really beloved by his brazilian subjects, all the native respectability of rio was early next day on its way to the palace to inquire after the royal health, and, ordering my carriage, i also proceeded to the palace, lest my absence might appear singular. on entering the room, where--surrounded by many influential persons--the emperor was in the act of explaining the nature of his disease to the anxious inquirers--a strange incident occurred. on catching my eye, his majesty burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, in which i as heartily joined; the bystanders, from the gravity of their countenances, evidently considering that both had taken leave of their senses. the ministers looked astounded, but said nothing--his majesty kept his secret, and i was silent. months had now been consumed in endeavours on the part of the administration to give annoyance to me--and on the part of the prize tribunal to condemn me in costs for making lawful captures, this appearing to form their only object; save when a prize vessel could be given up to a claimant or pretended claimant, in outrage of justice, as evinced in the case of the _pombinho's_ cargo, and numerous other instances. to such an extent was this being carried, that i sent protest after protest on the subject. the following will serve as a specimen:-- protest. the marquis of maranhaõ, first admiral and commander-in-chief of the naval forces of his imperial majesty, does hereby protest, on behalf of himself and those employed under his command in the blockade of bahia, and other services of the empire, against the sentence given in the case of the nova constitucaõ, _whereby costs and damages to the amount of four times the value are decreed against the captors of the said vessel_ (taken in the act of violating the blockade of bahia), in performance of duties which the law sanctioned and the service of his imperial majesty required. and further, the said marquis of maranhaõ, on behalf of himself and the captors, does again most solemnly protest against _all sentences of acquittal_ of vessels which violated the said blockade, or which were seized, navigating under portuguese flags or with portuguese registers--and against all proceedings to recover damages against the said marquis and captors _for any capture whatsoever_; his imperial majesty having been graciously pleased to signify that all expenses thus incurred in case of vessels pronounced "_malprisa_," shall be placed to the account of the state. rio de janeiro, july , . the anxiety of his majesty on account of the revolt at pernambuco was meanwhile utterly set at nought, neither severiano, nor his colleague barbosa--though now beginning to be alarmed--shewing the slightest disposition to carry out his majesty's orders for the compromise with the officers and seamen, in order that the squadron might be manned. at length intelligence arrived from the revolted districts, of such a nature as to appear to his majesty fraught with immediate danger to the integrity of the empire, as in truth it was, for the republican nature of the insurrection had become an established fact, whilst the squadron which, months before, ought to have sailed to quell the revolt, was, from, want of men, lying idle in the port of the capital. setting aside all ministerial interposition, i received his majesty's orders to repair at once to the palace, to decide on the best plan of meeting these revolutionary manifestations. my advice was--at once to put them down with a strong hand; but i called his majesty's attention to the ministerial contempt of his orders to satisfy the seamen, and the consequent hopeless condition of the squadron--abandoned because no assurance had been given that past services would be rewarded by the adjudication of the prizes--against which adjudication the tribunal resolutely set their faces, or, what was worse, unwarrantably disposed of the property entrusted to them for adjudication. his majesty was greatly annoyed at learning the continuance and extent of the vexatious opposition to his wishes; but, begging me not to be influenced by the injustice committed, strongly urged the necessity of my using every endeavour for immediate action,--i at once pointed out to his majesty that the only way to accomplish this was, to restore confidence to the men by maintaining public faith with the officers and seamen, giving compensation--at least in part--of their prize money, with recognition of their claims to the remainder. still nothing was done, until, becoming tired of the harassing circumstances in which i was placed, i made up my mind to a last effort, which, if unsuccessful, should be followed by my resignation of the command, even though it might involve the loss of all that which was due to me. accordingly, i addressed to his majesty a letter from which the following are extracts:-- the time has at length arrived when it is impossible to doubt that the influence which the portuguese faction has so long exerted, with the view of depriving the officers and seamen of their stipulated rights, has succeeded in its object, and has even prevailed against the expressed wishes and intentions of your majesty in person. (here follows a recapitulation of injuries and annoyances with which the reader is familiar):-- the determined perseverance in a course so opposed to justice, by those members and adherents of the portuguese faction, whose influence prevails in the ministry and council, and more especially the proceedings of those individuals of that faction, who compose the naval tribunals, must come to an end. the general discontent which prevails in the squadron has rendered the situation in which i am placed one of the most embarrassing description; for though few may be aware that my own cause of complaint is equal to theirs, many cannot perceive the consistency of my patient continuation in the service, with disapprobation of the measures pursued. even the honours which your majesty has been pleased to bestow upon me, are deemed by most of the officers, and by the whole of the men--who know not the assiduity with which i have persevered in earnest but unavailing remonstrance--as a bribe by which i have been induced to abandon their interests. much, therefore, as i prize those honours, as the gracious gift of your imperial majesty, yet, holding in still dearer estimation my character as an officer and a man, i cannot hesitate a moment which to sacrifice when the retention of both is evidently incompatible. i can, therefore, no longer delay to demonstrate to the squadron, and the world, that i am no partner in the deceptions and oppressions which are practised on the naval service; and as the first, and most painful step in the performance of this imperious duty, i crave permission--with all humility and respect--to return those honours, and lay them at the feet of your imperial majesty. i should, however, fall short of my duty to those who were induced to enter the service by my example or invitation, were i to do nothing more than convince them that i had been deceived. it is incumbent on me to make every effort to obtain for them the fulfilment of engagements for which i made myself responsible. as far as i am personally concerned, i could be content to quit the service of your imperial majesty, either with or without the expectation of obtaining compensation at a future period, and could submit to the same sacrifices here as i did on the other side of the continent, even to abandoning the ships which i captured from the enemy--without payment or reward--as i did in chili and peru. after effectually fighting the battles of freedom and independence on both sides of south america, and clearing the two seas of every vessel of war, i could submit to return to my native country unrewarded; but i cannot submit to adopt any course which shall not redeem my pledge to my brother officers and seamen. neither can i relinquish the object which i have equally at heart, of depriving the portuguese faction of the means of undermining the nationality and independence of the empire, to which--notwithstanding their admission to places of honour and trust--they are notoriously and naturally opposed. it is impossible to view the prize tribunal--consisting of natives of the hostile nation--in any other light than as a party of the enemy, who, in the disguise of judges, have surprised and recaptured our prizes, after we had lodged them--as we thought--safely in port. and we have not the slightest reason to doubt that, if suffered to proceed unmolested, they will eventually get them clean out of the harbour, and convey them back to their own country. we do not ask for reprisals upon these people, but simply restitution of the fruits of our labours in the service of your majesty, of which they have insidiously despoiled us, and that no impediment to this act of justice may arise, or be pretended by the individuals in question, we are willing to wait for a still further period--retaining, however, what remains of the prizes in our own custody--until our claims are settled; when we shall punctually surrender them into your imperial hands at whatever moment your majesty shall be pleased to cause the said claims to be duly discharged. we most earnestly beseech your imperial majesty--upon whom alone we depend for justice--to take into your consideration the necessity of withdrawing all control over the naval service and its interests from the hands of individuals with whose country your majesty is at war, and against which, under your imperial authority, we have been employed in active hostilities. it is only by the removal of portuguese functionaries--more especially from the naval department, and the appointment of native brazilians in their stead, that your imperial majesty can reasonably hope to possess the full confidence of your people. such a proceeding would be far more effective for the suppression of the rebellion in the north, than the ill-equipped naval detachment employed on that service. i trust that your imperial majesty will perceive that nothing short of the most thorough conviction in my own mind, with regard to the step now taken, could have led me to adopt it on my own account, or on that of the squadron. to myself, in particular, it must be a source of great anxiety, and in all probability, for a time --before the circumstances are generally understood--it may bring on me a large share of obloquy. my resignation is attended with the surrender of the high honours with which your majesty has graciously invested me, in addition to the honourable situation which i hold under your imperial authority. your majesty may be assured that such sacrifices as these are not made without extreme reluctance, and if there had remained the slightest probability of obtaining by any ordinary means the justice for the squadron, which it is my bounden duty to persevere in demanding, i should have avoided a step so pregnant with disadvantages to myself. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. his majesty frankly admitted that the course pursued by his ministers towards the squadron was no less discreditable than injurious to the vital interests of the state, but begged me to reconsider my determination. to prevent further ministerial interposition, at a moment so pregnant with danger, the emperor offered to place at my disposal, for the temporary satisfaction of the men, , milreis in paper currency--not one-tenth of the value of the prizes--if i would endeavour to rally them under the national flag, and merge my own injuries in oblivion, till he should be better able to do us justice. my reply was that, personally, his majesty had ever manifested his desire to fulfil his promises to me, and that i would stand by the integrity of the empire, and its consolidation. it was of the ministers i had to complain, by whom all the imperial promises had been broken, and his majesty's intentions thwarted; but that this would neither interfere with my duty nor gratitude to his majesty, personally; and that if the , milreis were paid, i would endeavour to use the money to the best advantage by inducing the men to return to the ships. the amount was directed to be placed in my hands, with the request that i would proceed to pernambuco, and use my discretion in putting down the revolution, unfettered by orders; his majesty recommending me to withhold payment till the squadron was at sea, in order to prevent delay and desertion. i begged of his majesty to appoint a commission for the distribution of the money, as the responsibility was foreign to my duties. this, however, was overruled with a gracious compliment as to the manner in which my services had uniformly been conducted; being thus pressed i made no further opposition. still the ministers withheld the money, on which i wrote to the emperor, requesting that his majesty would perform the gracious compliment of delivering it on board personally. the emperor at once comprehended the nature of the hint, and insisted on the sum being placed in my hands. on receiving it, i immediately issued a proclamation to the seamen, informing them of his majesty's concession--inviting them to return to their duty--and promising payment to the extent of the funds supplied. the result was, that all who had not quitted rio de janeiro in despair, with one accord rejoined the service, and every effort was made to get the expedition ready for sea. before sailing for pernambuco i was naturally desirous of coming to a definite understanding on the subject of my commission, the patents conferring which had been ruthlessly attempted to be set aside under the signature of barbosa, on the _assumed pretence of authority_ from his imperial majesty, whose _rubrica_, however, was not attached to this violation of our original compact. accordingly, on the th of july, i addressed a letter to barbosa on the subject, and on the th received the following reply:-- his imperial majesty commands, through the secretary of state and marine, that there shall be transmitted to the first admiral commanding-in-chief the naval forces of this empire the enclosed copy of a decree of the th of this month, by which his imperial majesty has judged proper to determine that the said first admiral shall receive _in full_, so long as he shall continue in the service of this empire, _the full pay of his patent_; and, _in the event of his not choosing to continue therein after the termination of the present war of independence, the one-half of his pay as a pension_--the same being extended to his wife in the event of his decease. the said first admiral is hereby certified that the said decree of his imperial majesty is not required to be inserted in his patent, as he requests in his letter of the th instant, the said decree being as valid as the patent itself. palace of rio de janeiro, july th, . (signed) francisco villela barbosa. decree of his imperial majesty, inserted in the _mercurio de brazil_, sunday, st july, . in consequence of what has been represented to me by the marquis of maranhaõ, first admiral and commander-in-chief of the naval forces of the empire, and in consequence of the great services he has rendered, and which we hope he will continue to render to the sacred cause of brazil, i hereby--by the advice of my council of state--determine that the said marquis of maranhaõ shall be paid in full, during the period that he shall remain in the service of this empire, the whole amount of salary due to his patent; and in the case of his _not wishing to continue in the service_ after the termination of the present war of independence, the one-half of the said pay as a pension, the same, in case of his death, being extended to his wife. francisco villela barbosa, of my council of state, minister and secretary of marine, is hereby commanded to promulgate the same, and execute the necessary despatches. given in the palace of rio de janeiro, the th of july, , and the third of independence and the empire. with the _rubrica_ of his imperial majesty. (signed) francisco villela barbosa. this decree nullified the unjustifiable _portaria_ issued by barbosa, limiting my services to the period of the war, which, in reality, had been ended by my expulsion of the portuguese from bahia and maranham. it recognised and established the validity of the emperor's original patents, of which, by the minister's own explanation, it was a continuation, with an extension to lady cochrane; a boon spontaneously granted by the emperor, as a mark of gratitude for services rendered in the preceding year. it was, moreover, clearly left to my own option to continue in the service or to quit it on half-pay, on the termination of the war of independence. if there was any faith to be placed in princes or ministers, nothing could be more definite or satisfactory than the preceding document, with the exception of the phrase, "_in the event of his not choosing to continue therein_," which evidently contained an _arrière pensée_, implying, as was afterwards proved, that when i could be got rid of it would be easy to _compel me_ to retire from the service; but even this alternative was subsequently disregarded--though his imperial majesty, on my thanking him for having so far done me justice against the attempts of his ministers--remarked, "_never mind their injustice--they can't deprive you of that"_--alluding to the stipulations contained in the imperial patents, and this renewed confirmation thereof. the concession of , dollars, as a portion of the prize money so long due to the officers and crews, was actually made to suffice, in place of an advance of wages usually given on the departure of a naval expedition; so that, in fact, the squadron was manned at its own expense! no other payment being accorded by the _government_. as his majesty had requested that the men should not receive their money before going to sea, _the squadron_, with the exception of the flagship, was despatched on its voyage, the crews being satisfied--now that the money was on board--with my promise of payment when they should assemble at the rendezvous appointed. it is requisite to enter into some detail relative to the distribution of prize money thus of necessity substituted as an advance of wages: it being impossible to get the requisite numbers of foreign seamen for the _pedro primiero_ without such advance; and although the frigates which had sailed, manned for the most part with portuguese or brazilian crews, relied upon _me_ for payment of their prize money, the foreign seamen refused even to remain on board the flagship without the usual advance; the officers also were in want of everything, and the men--indebted to tavern keepers--clamorous for payment. as the necessity was urgent, i did not choose that the flagship, under my immediate command, should leave port in a discreditable manner, i therefore took upon myself--notwithstanding his majesty's suggestion to withhold payment till we were at sea--to accommodate the officers and satisfy the crew by the advance demanded; a step, in my judgment, the more necessary, since, as had been the case in the former campaign, i should mainly have to depend upon the foreign officers and seamen of my own ship, for the execution of plans which might become requisite--the best way, therefore, to ensure their zealous co-operation throughout the voyage, was to establish harmony at its commencement by complying with their just demand. the following were the principal sums disbursed on this occasion, as appears from my private memoranda, the vouchers themselves being afterwards transmitted to the minister of marine through captain shepherd, as will subsequently appear:-- dollars. to myself , paid messrs. may and lukin, prize agents, for admiralty court expenses, and commission, at per cent , advanced to squadron generally , ditto to captain crosbie , ditto, to other officers , disbursed at rio, , this sum, about £. , , may appear trivial to the english reader, accustomed to lavish expenditure in all naval expeditions as the most economical way of securing their future efficiency--and hence the mention of such an amount may be deemed superfluous. that this is not the case will presently appear. the reader must not however imagine that i am about to inflict on him an account current of the expenditure of the squadron; but circumstances compel me to a precision in this respect on personal grounds: the brazilian government--though in possession of the documents and vouchers afterwards transmitted by captain shepherd--publicly persisting in the statement that i never furnished accounts of the expedition to pernambuco and maranham--thus leaving the public to infer that the disbursements just narrated, together with subsequent payments, had never in reality been made! in other words, that i induced the crews to go to sea--put down the revolution in the north--spent nine months in pacifying the revolutionary provinces--and yet fraudulently withheld , dollars, the only sum supplied during the whole of the expedition; the seamen meanwhile not only serving without reward, but being content with my monopolizing the portion of the prize-money known by them to have been awarded for the expulsion of the portuguese in the preceding year, and notoriously in my possession! their forbearance being so improbable as to refute itself, being contrary to common sense; even in the absence of the vouchers, which were transmitted to the brazilian government, _but never acknowledged_--i am able however to account for the whole from documents no less convincing than the vouchers transmitted. it is true that nothing but the blind hatred of the old portuguese faction towards me could have originated such charges, and that hatred was greatly increased by my pacification of the revolutionary provinces--this being the death-blow to the intrigues recommended by palmella in favour of the mother country. as, however, the brazilian government did not acknowledge to me the receipt of my accounts, which must either exist to this day in the office of the minister of marine, or must have been destroyed, for the sake of traducing my character in justification of my prospective dismissal--it is incumbent on me to supply, for the information of the brazilian people, explanations which have been repeatedly given to their government, but which have not as yet been made public through the medium of the press--and that not for the information of the brazilian people solely, but of the british public, who, in the absence of official imputations recently promulgated, have never before been put in possession of facts. the brazilian people may rest assured that whenever i received, for the use of the squadron, sums which itself had captured, i could neither then conceal the circumstance nor can i now disavow the fact--giving, however, the reasons which, for the interests of the empire, justified my proceedings. the only instance of this kind which had hitherto occurred was my retention of , dollars captured at maranham, and they who have perused the preceding narrative will be at no loss for the ground of my refusal to surrender to the court of admiralty a sum which would have been returned by that tribunal to their portuguese brethren--nor for my resistance to the plot which the ministers had formed to take it by force from on board the flagship. to return to the advances made to the officers and seamen of the flagship. the following extracts from the original log kept by my secretary will shew the fact of the distribution previously narrated:-- _july th_, . received the , dollars at the treasury, and gave receipt, with captain crosbie and the commissary. deposited the notes in the iron chest on board the _pedro primiero_. _july th_. went on board the _pedro primiero_ to pay advance. (paid may and lukin , dollars.) engaged all day in paying the men. _july th._ went to the _pedro_, with the admiral and lieutenant blake, to pay advance from the prize-money. in the evening the emperor called and announced to the admiral that he was to sail on sunday next. _july st_. on board the _pedro_ paying seamen as before. soldiers came on board. _august nd._ emperor came alongside. admiral embarked. got under way, and set sail in company with the _maranhaõ_ brig and three transports. the preceding extracts shew that not only was an advance made for the good of the service, but this was done with such publicity, that both the emperor and his ministers could not fail to be aware of the circumstance. the further distribution as prize-money, according to his majesty's direction, took place at bahia and pernambuco, as will be shewn in the next chapter. chapter viii. republican government proclaimed at pernambuco--its concordat----the president carvalho--threat of bombardment--a bribe offered to me and refused--the revolt admitted of palliation--it was fast becoming general--intimidation ineffectual--the revolutionists expect foreign aid--pernambuco taken possession of--payment of prize money--the accounts rendered in due course--orders to put down revolt at para--character of the revolution--difficulty in finding proper governors--revolt at ceara--steps taken to suppress it--they prove successful--the insurgent leader killed--measures for preserving tranquillity. on the nd of august, , the imperial squadron again quitted rio de janeiro, the rendezvous being appointed at jurugua, where we arrived on the th, and on the th landed a body of twelve hundred troops under general lima, at alagoas, seventy or eighty miles from the seat of revolt! this notable step being taken in pursuance of strict orders from the administration at rio de janeiro. on the th, the squadron reached pernambuco, falling in, near the entrance of the port, with a number of portuguese vessels quitting the city with passengers; but in consequence of the prize tribunal having _decreed damages_ for the seizure of enemy's ships within a certain distance of the coast, they were permitted to pass unmolested. we did not reach pernambuco too soon, for proclamations had been issued by manuel carvalho paes de andrade, the revolutionary president--denouncing don pedro as a traitor, whose aim it was to abandon brazil to the portuguese; which denunciation, though right in one sense, was wrong as regarded the emperor, whose views were thoroughly national--though the object of his ministers was as thoroughly portuguese. had the pernambucans been aware of the want of concord between the emperor's intentions and those of his ministers, who had forced themselves upon him--the probability is that they would have supported, instead of denouncing his government. the revolution had, however, now taken vigorous root, and the democratic spirit of the pernambucans was not to be trifled with. a republican form of government had been proclaimed, the views of which were on a more extensive scale than was commensurate with the abilities of those propounding them; it being their vain hope to constitute all the equatorial provinces into a federation, on the model of the united states, a project fostered--if not originated--by americans resident in the city. to further this object, an appeal was made to the other northern provinces to repudiate the imperial authority, and to form with pernambuco an alliance, under the title of "confederation of the equator;" the consequence being, that a large proportion of the inhabitants of parahyba, piahuy, rio grande do norte, and cearà, declared in favour of the measure. the annexed is the concordat of the revolutionary provinces:-- in the year of our lord , third year of the independence of brazil, and the rd of august in that year, in the hall of session of the government of the province of pernambuco, there being present, the brazilian citizen, quaresma torreaõ, on behalf of his excellency the president, carvalho paes de andrade, and the illustrious and reverend francisco da costa leixas; josé joaquim fernandez barros, and the citizen josé joaquim germiniano de moraes navarro, on behalf of the province of rio grande del norte, by diploma dated august , , and also the illustrious deputies commissioned by his excellency the governor of the province of pernambuco to treat on behalf of his government, with a view to extinguish dissension in political opinions, which has so greatly retarded the progress of brazil, and of independence and liberty; and, at the same time, to do their endeavour to banish a servile spirit which tends to enthral brazil by a pretended constitution, domineering over the brazilian nation like that of the grand seignior of the ottoman porte. the commission of the government of this province, and the illustrious deputations before-mentioned, having maturely considered these subjects, agree-- first,--that these provinces of pernambuco and rio grande unite in a fraternal league, offensive and defensive, to assemble all their forces against any aggression of the portuguese government, or that of the government of rio de janeiro, to reduce these provinces to a state of thraldom. secondly,--that the said league shall extend to the establishing constitutional liberty throughout the said provinces, and to supplant the servile spirit with which they are infected, and thus avert civil war, engendered by the intrigues at rio de janeiro, the influence of which now pervades the whole of brazil. thirdly,--that to insure the effect of this compact, the government of rio grande must form a body of troops, and place them on the borders of the province of parahyba, to be employed as necessity requires. fourthly,--that this body of troops shall be supported by the province of pernambuco, but shall be afterwards supported by the "confederation of the equador." and that the same may be carried into immediate effect, this concordat shall have full force, after being signed and ratified by their excellencies the presidents of the said provinces of pernambuco and rio del norte. (signed) p. francisco da costa leixas. josÉ joaquim fernandez barros. josÉ joaquim germiniano de moraes navarro. basilio quaresma torreaÓ. manoel de carvalho paes d'andrade, president. _printed at the national press._ carvalho, however, was not the man to carry out such a scheme, his enthusiasm being without prudence or daring; hence, on our arrival--in place of union, the contending factions were engaged in destroying each other's sugar-mills and plantations, whilst carvalho himself had taken the precaution to station a vessel at the island of tamarica, for the purpose of escaping, if necessary, from the turbulence which he had raised, but could not control. on learning this, i felt it my duty to despatch a corvette to seize her, _though at the risk of four-fold damages, according to the regulations of the admiralty court!_ knowing that it would take some time for the troops to come up, i determined to try the effect of a threat of bombardment, and issued a proclamation remonstrating with the inhabitants on the folly of permitting themselves to be deceived by men who lacked the ability to execute their schemes; pointing out, moreover, that persistence in revolt would involve both the town and its rulers in one common ruin; for, if forced to the necessity of bombardment,--i would reduce the port and city to insignificance. on the other hand, i assured them that if they retraced their steps, and rallied round the imperial throne, thus aiding to protect it from foreign influence--it would be more gratifying to me to act the part of a mediator, and to restore pernambuco to peace, prosperity and happiness--than to carry out the work of destruction which would be my only remaining alternative. in another proclamation i called the attention of the inhabitants to the distracted state of the spanish republics on the other side of the continent, asking whether it would be wise to risk the benefits of orderly government for social and political confusion; entreating them not to compel me to proceed to extremities, as it would become my duty to destroy their shipping and block up their port, unless within eight days the integrity of the empire were acknowledged. these threats were held out in the hope that by intimidation a struggle might be prevented, but they failed to produce the desired effect. one result was, however, not a little curious, as originating an offer to myself from the revolutionary president, of a bribe of , milreis, to be shipped immediately on board the english packet anchored off the port, if i would abandon the imperial cause, and come over to the republicans; this offer alluding, in strong terms, to the "infamous treatment with which my services had been met by the administration at rio de janeiro, and warning me that, by adhering to it, i should meet with nothing but continued ill-treatment and ingratitude." the subjoined is the revolutionary president's letter: my lord, frankness is the distinguishing character of free men, but your excellency has not found it in your connection with the imperial government. _your not having been rewarded for the first expedition affords a justifiable inference that you will get nothing for the second._ i therefore use the freedom to assure your excellency the amount of contos of reis, as an indemnification for your losses. the services required from your excellency are to take up the cause of the "confederation of the equator," as adopted by the majority of the northern provinces, whose limits will be the river of francisco da norte. i have the honour to be your excellency's most humble servant, manuel de carvalho paes d'andeade. the letter contained, in addition, an argumentative justification of the revolt, but as it abounds in abuse of the emperor, couched in the most indecorous language, i will not sully these pages by printing it entire. the result predicted by carvalho--as i had learned by experience--was not improbable, but it did not follow that, because the brazilian ministers were unjust and hostile to me, i should accept a bribe from a traitor to follow his example. i therefore transmitted the following reply to his impudent proposal:-- _pedro primiero,_ off pernambuco, aug. , . sir, if i shall have an opportunity of becoming personally known to your excellency, i can afford you proof to conviction, that the opinion you have formed of me has had its origin in the misrepresentations of those in power, whose purposes i was incapable, on principle, to serve. i have, &c. &c. cochrane and maranhaÕ. his excellency m. de c. paes d'andeade. on the th, the junta requested the interposition of the english and french consuls to induce me to give further time for consideration. this i refused, from the dangerous nature of the anchorage, by which the safety of the ships was imperilled. unwilling, however, to injure this fine city, i sent in proposals for capitulation, giving permission to the revolutionary leaders to depart unpunished, together with their property, provided they quitted the brazilian territory--demanding in return the surrender of the forts, ships of war, gunboats, &c. as well as of all public property. in order to prevent waste of time in correspondence, i proposed to carvalho to meet me on board any neutral ship of war, pledging my honour as to his being permitted to return in safety; he nevertheless declined the interview, proposing in return to meet me on shore on an island near the town but--as after his insulting proposal, i could have no confidence in his honour, this was of course declined. still anxious to avoid extremities--from which, after the threats made, i could not consistently refrain--i again wrote to carvalho, that, had he possessed the means of distinguishing between the intentions of the emperor, and the proceedings of a foreign faction, he would not have been in arms against his imperial majesty, by adherence to whom brazil could alone be saved from that anarchy and confusion into which mexico and other south american states had fallen through individual rivalry and the ignorance of their popular assemblies. i further pointed out to him, that if, by procrastination i was compelled to bombard the city, the popular clamour against the insurgent authorities might be followed by melancholy proof to himself how quickly political adventurers may be abandoned or betrayed in the hour of danger, and that he had better yield to reason, what he could not prevent my effecting by force. by writers who could not have known anything of the circumstances--which exist only in my own documents--i have been blamed for this tone of moderation towards the revolutionary president. there were two valid reasons for this course; first, that the conduct of the pernambucans admitted of great palliation, seeing that the distractions resulting from the portuguese faction in the administration at rio de janeiro had been ignorantly construed into acts of his imperial majesty--so that the injured people argued that it would have been better for them to have remained a colony of portugal, than a colony of the government at rio de janeiro--this mode of reasoning not being very far wrong. secondly--and this fully accounts for the moderation complained of--i knew, from the most authentic sources that, in case of attack on the city, carvalho had determined to retire into the interior, there to carry on civil war by enlisting the negro population under his standard; to avert which, i considered that moderation was the best course to induce him and his partisans to quit the empire, which would thus have been well rid of them. it was folly, therefore, to consider the rebellion local, as had been represented to the imperial government, or that its actors and instigators were few and insignificant, for, in truth, as has been said, it had already extended far and wide into the adjacent provinces, i therefore wrote to the minister of marine, that "although it might not be difficult to put down the revolution in the city, which, even the land forces could have already accomplished, had they not been landed at a distance--yet that without great circumspection, the prevention of further revolution in the interior would be a work of time, trouble, and expense; and that even all these would be thrown away, unless the causes which had led to the rebellion, were removed or explained." the time given having expired without acceptance of the terms, it became necessary to make at least a shew of enforcing them, though the water was too shallow to admit vessels of large burden to approach with safety, and the small vessels were ill adapted to the purpose; still i determined to make a demonstration, and as a preparatory step ordered captain welsh, of the _paraguassu_, to shift into the flagship all the english petty officers and seamen; but a heavy swell set in, and as the anchorage was bad, i considered the risk imprudent. the schooner _leopoldina_ was therefore ordered to try the effect of a few experimental shells; but the mortar so shook the vessel, that she had to be withdrawn, it being evident that nothing further could be done till the weather would permit the approach of ships, or that rafts could be constructed--for which purpose timber had been ordered from bahia. little damage was effected by this experiment, for the wealthiest inhabitants had fled into the interior, taking with them all their valuable property. heavy weather having now set in compelled the flagship to run to bahia for safety, the outer road of pernambuco being at this season exceedingly dangerous from the coralline nature of the bottom, as was practically proved by the fact that the _pedro primiero_ lost every anchor but one, so that to remain was certain destruction, and there was no alternative but to make for bahia to procure anchors. nothing had been heard of general lima's force since its debarkation, i was therefore anxious to know what had become of it, and how far it was in a condition to cooperate, the speedy possession of the place being nautically an important point--for, whilst blockading we had intercepted a portuguese vessel, only forty-three days from the tagus, and learned from her letters that a large force was preparing at lisbon, consisting of sixteen ships of war and numerous transports, their destination being pernambuco; this forming sufficient proof that the portuguese government counted on the recovery of those disorganised provinces which had alike revolted against the mother country and the emperor of brazil. on the th of september, the flagship left for bahia, first visiting the island of alexo, where the _cacique_ and _maranhaõ_ were at anchor. from them we learned that general lima's head-quarters were at leimham, his advance guard having joined the troops at mogado, on the banks of a river near cape st. augustine, the revolutionary forces occupying the other bank. on reaching bahia, we received information that the rebel government at pernambuco was in immediate expectation of several fast sailing vessels, ordered by the revolutionary president from north america, and also of two steamers from england. i therefore wrote to the minister of marine to send me some superior sailing vessels, as, if the anticipated expedition from lisbon, or those expected from england and america, made their appearance, four at least of our force would, from their bad sailing, run the risk of being captured on the first appearance of the enemy. on learning the panic which had been created in pernambuco, by the show of bombardment, and its anticipated repetition in earnest on my return, general lima pushed forward towards the capital with no more formidable opposition than a few desultory skirmishes; and on the th of september, with the co-operation of the naval officers and seamen there left, took possession of the city, carvalho retreating into the suburbs, where, breaking down the bridge which united them, he entrenched himself. on the following day, it was said that general lima found in the treasury , dollars; perhaps the same which carvalho had offered to me as a bribe to join the republican party. the _piranga_ arriving at this juncture with a convoy bringing eight hundred additional troops, preparations were made to attack carvalho; but the insurgent president, making his escape on a fishing raft, took refuge on board the british corvette _tweed_, and afterwards got to sea. during the interval which elapsed between my departure for bahia and my return to pernambuco, the distribution of prize money amongst those entitled to it took place, the flagship and the _maria de gloria_ being paid at bahia, and the rest at pernambuco. as his imperial majesty had left me altogether unfettered by orders or instructions, and as he had given the , dollars to be used in furthering the imperial objects, i determined not to regard the advances which had been made at rio de janeiro, as forming any portion of the reward, especially to the flagship, which had, unaided, achieved the more important results of the late campaign, and was therefore entitled to a share commensurate with the arduous exertions of the officers and crew, now again under my flag. the subjoined extracts from the log of my secretary will shew the periods at which the distribution took place:-- _sept. th._ made distribution of prize money in silver. _sept. th to th._ went on board the _maria de gloria_, and paid prize money. _sept. th._ paid capt. crosbie, , dollars in specie. paid other officers dollars. _sept. th._ paid admiral dollars. _sept. th._ paying prize money to the _paraguassu_ and others. _sept. th._ similarly employed. _sept. th._ paying prize money. _oct. st to th._ paying prize money. the following were the amounts disbursed on these occasions, as far as they appear in my private memoranda--some doubtless having been lost:-- dollars. disbursements at rio de janeiro , _(paid squadron as per account, made up sept. , .)_ to petty officers and seamen of flagship, in classes numbered a to y, as per pay books transmitted by _piranha_ , paid captain crosbie , " captain-lieutenants carvalho, grenfell, and shepherd, dollars each , " capt. grenfell, on account of captures at parà , " seven lieutenants, at dollars each , " two lieutenants at dollars each , " six lieutenants at dollars each , " lieutenant ross as prize master " _maria de gloria_ , " _nitherohy, carolina,_ and _paraguassu_, no account, say the same , " brig _bahia_ " officers and men of the _piranga_ , " mr. dean, purser " lieutenant ayre " florencia josé da costa " gratifications to artisans " to admiral , " secretary, for distribution , " may and lukin, prize agents, as per balance of account, july , , ------ , original amount , ------ balance to be accounted for , ====== the above were not the whole amounts paid, but they are all that a search amongst my numerous papers at present furnish; and as the original accounts, as has been previously stated, were sent to rio de janeiro, a more precise balance cannot here be drawn; but even this is sufficient to carry conviction to any reasonable mind, that the sums above stated were disbursed in ordinary routine, and should make the brazilian administration ashamed to say, that "the first admiral never sent in his accounts of the , dollars entrusted to him," thus inducing an unworthy inference that they were not disbursed; though any man possessed of common understanding could never believe that a squadron, constituted as the brazilian marine was, would obey orders and cheerfully act in unison with me, knowing that their prize money was on board--of which i unwarrantably held possession! these explanations are more humiliating to the brazilian administration than to myself--though for so many years the subject of unmerited obloquy from their denial of accounts which must unquestionably have been in the possession of the administration of . but i must carry these explanations yet farther. with the exception of dollars for my own necessities, i took none as my share, though entitled to an eighth in all cases, and to a fourth in the absence of other ships whenever important services were performed by the flagship alone. neither had i received from the imperial government a single dollar of the customary emoluments due to me, though, had these been honestly paid according to the usages of nations and the stipulations of the emperor's decree of december , , my share ought to have been more than double the whole amount entrusted to me to man the ships and satisfy the officers and men. still i did not appropriate the , dollars which remained, after paying the men, but determined to withhold it till i saw what course the prize tribunal at rio de janeiro intended to pursue; and, if that course were not satisfactory, then to appropriate it as a right, although it was wholly inadequate to the services rendered, for which i had been loaded with imperial honours and national thanks, without a shilling of emolument, notwithstanding the capture of a hundred and twenty _bona fide_ enemy's ships--the expulsion of their fleet and army--and the annexation of more than one half the empire. but more of this in another place. on my return to pernambuco, i found general lima in quiet possession of the city, and as the _piranga_ had brought me instructions from his imperial majesty, that, as soon as order was restored, a force should proceed to parà, and depose the, general-at-arms there nominated, i applied to general lima for a small military detachment to effect that object; but he declined--on the ground, that in the present state of affairs in pernambuco, it was not practicable to diminish his force. it was not at parà only that irregularities prevailed: even at maranham serious disturbances had broken out, with the avowed intention, on the part of the insurgents, of deposing the governor acting under the authority of his imperial majesty--to whom this new attempt at revolution was as yet unknown. in short, the order to depose the general-at-arms at parà had unexpectedly resolved itself into the necessity of tranquillizing the whole of the northern provinces, which were only waiting the result of carvalho's measures at pernambuco, openly to declare against the imperial authority. the dissatisfaction in the northern provinces originated solely in the anti-brazilian system of government pursued at rio de janeiro, which in the estimation of all at a distance was portuguese rather than brazilian. as they were either ignorant, or did not believe, that the patriotic intentions of the emperor were overruled or thwarted by the portuguese faction in the administration, which, holding in reality the reins of power, left to his majesty little more than nominal authority. it was not, then, to be wondered at, that the inhabitants of these distant provinces, who, only a year before, had welcomed me as their liberator from portuguese oppression, and as the representative of constitutional authority, should now be dissatisfied with what they rightly considered an unnational system of government--preferring to submit to a bad government of their own choosing rather than to one thus arbitrarily imposed upon them. to avert revolution required able presidents, well skilled in the management of public affairs; but, in place of these, men of an opposite character had, for the most part, been chosen by the administration. it was no less essential that the generals-at-arms, or military commandants, should be temperate and unprejudiced; but those placed in this responsible position used their authority in the most obnoxious and arbitrary manner. it was, no doubt, difficult to find proper men; or, if they existed amongst the brazilians, the jealousy of the portuguese party in the administration prevented their elevation to power; the aim of that faction being disorder, as auxiliary to their anti-imperial views. this had been strikingly evinced by the instructions given to disembark general lima's force at alagoas, instead of near the seat of disturbance; thus entailing loss of time and a difficult and tedious march, which might have ended in failure, had it not been for the distraction caused by the threatened bombardment of pernambuco by water, and the demonstration made to shew how easily it would be effected, when means for a destructive attack were complete; the result was, that--knowing my return from bahia, with everything in readiness for an attack in earnest, could not be delayed beyond a few days, no serious opposition was offered to the occupation of the city by the force under general lima. the reports of increased disaffection in the northern provinces becoming daily more precise, it was necessary to take advantage of the panic which the recovery of pernambuco had occasioned; the more so, as serious commotions had arisen, whilst a strong disposition to revolt was almost universally manifested. as general lima had refused me a military detachment--and as the _pedro primeiro_ and _piranga_ could render him no further assistance, i considered it more in conformity with his majesty's interests to visit the northern ports with these ships; taking also the _cacique_ and _atalanta_, for the performance of services to which the larger vessels were not adapted. the mere presence of these off the disaffected ports would, i knew, suffice to restore order, by affording inferential demonstration that, if force were required, it was ready to be applied. accordingly, leaving at pernambuco the remainder of the squadron, we sailed on the th of october for rio grande do norte, where great confusion prevailed amongst the inhabitants, threatened by the insurgents in the adjacent province of cearà, on account of their abandonment of revolutionary designs in consequence of events at pernambuco. arriving off the rio grande on the th, i requested information from the president, relative to the state of the maritime towns and provinces between rio grande and parà, especially with regard to cearà. the nature of the reply determined me at once to proceed to the latter place, though regretting the necessity of going farther to leeward, on account of the time which would be occupied in getting back to rio de janeiro; yet feeling assured that it would not be satisfactory to his majesty, were we to return without ascertaining more particularly the condition of the north, and without contributing to the restoration of tranquillity. arriving off cearà on the th, i sent a communication to the president, requiring him to make known my arrival for the purpose of restoring order, and promising that all disaffected persons who, within fourteen days, should return to their allegiance, would be permitted to retire quietly to their homes, and would not in any way be molested on account of their previous acts or opinions. a deputation of the inhabitants came off to the flagship, asking me to land as large a force as i could spare, but as general lima had declined to supply a military detachment, it was out of my power to comply; for the roadstead being unsafe, and the flagship nearly aground, i could not dispense with the english seamen, whilst the portuguese portion of the crews was not to be trusted. besides which, the foreign seamen were not adapted to garrisoning a town. the application was, therefore, evaded; but with an assurance to the president that, should the insurgents advance, we would render effectual assistance; reminding him, however, that the inhabitants ought to be induced to adopt amongst themselves, measures for their own protection and preservation of tranquillity, which results were perfectly within their power; and would render unnecessary the presence of military. i however landed a small detachment for the purpose of ascertaining the means of defence, as well as in the hope of exciting the authorities on shore to some degree of activity in their own cause. in case of attack, i promised to disembark for their assistance the whole of the men who could be spared; at the same time giving permission to withdraw to the ships in case of sudden emergency, which might not admit of communication with me in time. this offer produced the best effect in the city, giving confidence to the well-affected, whilst, as the discontented were ignorant of the extent of aid that could be afforded, they deemed it wisest to keep quiet. on the following day, the inhabitants returned to their allegiance, the officiating president hoisting the imperial flag on the ramparts with his own hands, amidst every demonstration of general satisfaction. i next caused despatches to be sent to all quarters of the province, announcing the return of the city to its allegiance, promising oblivion of the past to all who followed the example, and this was succeeded by a general acknowledgment of the imperial authority. confidential agents, entrusted with similar despatches, were likewise sent to the revolutionary forces headed by bizarra, the rebel general-at-arms, the whole of whose troops abandoned him; whilst, by similar agency, the _corps_, under the immediate command of the revolutionary president, araripe, was reduced to a hundred men--even the indians, without exception, abandoning his standard. as one of the first steps towards the pacification of the province, i had published not only a general amnesty, but also a particular amnesty, offering to the insurgent leaders themselves especial pardon, from which, in ordinary general amnesty, they might otherwise imagine themselves excluded, i had, in my own mind, determined upon this as a general course to be pursued, as i could not but see that, in the outset of the revolt, both insurgents and leaders had good cause to be dissatisfied with the central government at rio de janeiro. i had even addressed a letter personally to the revolutionary president, araripe, remonstrating upon the folly of the course he was pursuing, and promising my protection to _himself_, as well as to the other revolutionary leaders, if they would return to their allegiance. he chose rather to withdraw into the interior, with the discontented who adhered to him, intending, no doubt, to wait till the naval force had retired. foreseeing the danger of this, i issued a proclamation, offering a reward for his capture, sufficient to induce the indians who had previously been his supporters to proceed in quest of him, the result being that he himself was killed, and the whole of his followers captured. the indian chiefs, as well as their dependants, were of great service in the restoration of order, combining superior bodily strength and activity, with energy, docility, and unfailing power of endurance --forming, indeed, the best specimens of the native race i had seen in south america. previous to this i had succeeded, without much trouble, in restoring tranquillity to the province of parahyba, which had also been disturbed by the mandates of araripe; the inhabitants complying with his orders, from the immediate danger to which they were exposed by his violence, and being under the impression that rio de janeiro was too far distant to afford them succour. their delight at finding a squadron at hand was, therefore, immediately followed by a repudiation of the insurgent chief, and a return to unqualified allegiance. my next endeavour was to organise an effective force at cearà, and this was accomplished by the embodiment of more than a thousand men, though we had not a soldier in the squadron. various _corps_ were also raised in the towns and villages of the province, and were active in pursuit of the scattered remains of the republican army. having thus assured myself of the complete restoration of order in the capital and province of cearà, and addressed a proclamation to the inhabitants, pointing out to them the folly of being misled by designing persons, who could have no accurate knowledge of matters which formed the ground of complaint against the imperial government, we sailed on the th of november for maranham, which province was found in a state of even greater anarchy than had prevailed at cearà. chapter ix. arrival at maranham--character of disturbances there--i assume the military command--proclamation commanding surrender of arms--condition of the people--corruption of the authorities--murderous propensities--difficulty in detecting assassins--letter to minister of marine--pacification of parahyba--doubts of the president's sincerity--he establishes secret agencies--extraordinary memorials--public complaints of the president--bruce endeavours to intercept them--my reply to the memorialists--letter to the minister of marine--enclosing complaints of the consuls--bruce prepares to resist my authority--complaints of the british consul--he considers my presence necessary--letter of the french consul--detailing shameful atrocities--danger of collision with foreign states--suspension of the president--provision for future government--conduct of the faction at rio de janeiro--no instructions sent fob my guidance--letter to the minister of marine--the ministry had previously deposed bruce--but turned on me for anticipating their own act. we arrived at maranham on the th of november, and ascertained that the city and province--as had been reported--were in a complete state of anarchy, arising from causes almost incomprehensible. the leaders of the army had risen against the authority of the president, miguel bruce, and fighting was going on when we entered the river. the strangest part of the affair was, that both parties declared themselves supporters of the imperial authority, whilst each accused the other of plotting to form a republic. bruce kept possession of the city by means of negro troops, from amongst whom he had also picked his officers, conferring upon them regular commissions; the result being, that their excesses kept the respectable inhabitants in a state of constant terror, so that my arrival was hailed with the greatest satisfaction, and addresses of congratulation were sent in from all quarters, even the ladies adopting the unusual course of sending a deputation to welcome me. i immediately demanded from the president a report of the condition of the province; but before this was presented, memorials from every part put me in possession of the causes of disorder universally prevailing. the general complaint was, that the president had established an autocracy, refusing the co-operation of a council, as required by the constitution, and that under his individual authority, military disorders of all kind prevailed, even to murder, whilst outrages of the most revolting nature were committed amidst cheers of "long live his imperial majesty;" thus using the imperial name as a sanction to the perpetration of acts the most unlawful and injurious. the president bruce was the same individual whom, on the expulsion of the portuguese in the previous year, i had temporarily appointed president to the first provisional junta under the empire, which body was quickly superseded by a government elected by the people. possessing influence amongst the portuguese, of which faction--as afterwards appeared--he was a prominent supporter, he had contrived to get himself reinstated as head of the provincial government, and was apparently following the policy of the portuguese faction in power at rio de janeiro, viz. that of keeping his province in a state of confusion with a view to disgust the populace with the imperial rule, and so dispose them, should opportunity offer, to favour the views of the mother country. this policy, as has been said, was marked out by the agents of portugal; but bruce, with every disposition to favour the views of the parent state, was not the man to be entrusted with political strategy of this nature. the fact being that, though possessed of a certain amount of cunning, bruce was unfit to be entrusted with authority at all--much less to exercise that which recognises no control--so that the disorder which prevailed was rather a natural consequence of his own want of capacity, and arbitrary system of government. finding every one against him, he was gradually throwing himself on the black population for support, promoting emancipated slaves to the rank of officers; and it was generally acknowledged that had it not been for our opportune arrival, both himself and the whites who remained in the city might speedily have fallen a sacrifice to the force which had been organised for his especial protection. on the other hand, the opponents of the president were not only in arms against him, but there were two or three family parties fighting each other under the imperial flag! and carrying their revengeful animosities to an outrageous extent, which threatened the extermination of one, at least, of the contending parties, if not the total ruin of the province. to deal with these parties was, from their mutual recriminations, more difficult than had they declared themselves inimical to the imperial government. in one thing, however, they were all agreed, viz. in opposition to the president; but as his was the constituted authority, this was precisely what i did not intend to sanction. it was clear to me that the first remedy was the appointment of a proper military authority, and as none could be trusted, i apprised the president of my intention to assume the chief military command during my stay, or at least until order was restored, issuing a proclamation to that effect. as hostilities were still going on, i sent an order to both parties to lay down their arms, with which mandate the anti-president party immediately complied, and dispersed; but as the savage blacks under the authority of the president attacked their now unarmed adversaries, and committed great excesses, i seized and put them on board some vessels, anchoring these under the guns of the flagship, and retained the whole as prisoners, thus keeping them out of the way of further mischief. the surrender of the arms was effected by the following proclamation, which also explains my motives for this measure:-- whereas, it is essential to the interests of the empire in general and to the province of maranham in particular, to put an end to all public disturbances, whether arising from the contentions of individuals, or from other causes; and whereas, the constitution has provided not only for the administration of justice in civil cases, but also for the summary trial of military offences. be it henceforth known that--all persons armed, or commanding or acting with men in arms, or aiding and assisting any body of armed men in the support or defence of any persons assuming or pretending to authority as chieftains, or attempting to alter the constitution by force--are hereby subject to military jurisdiction and shall be tried by military law accordingly. but this regulation is not intended to prohibit individuals from meeting together unarmed, for the purpose of uniting in an application for the redress of grievances, or petitioning his imperial majesty on points connected with public or private interests. and whereas, military arms and ammunition have been obtained, by numerous individuals on the pretext of using them for private defence--it being essential to public tranquillity and general good that people should have recourse to the protection of the laws, and not to violence for their security--notice is hereby given, that all persons in possession of such military arms are to deliver them up to the chief military officers in their respective districts, to be deposited in the public armoury. whoever shall be found in possession of arms after the termination of this present month of november, shall be judged according to military law. given on board the _pedro primiero_ this th day of november, . (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. this proclamation is adduced in order to shew the condition of the province on my arrival, which it does more fully than would pages of description. to these difficulties were now added the chagrin of bruce, at having his military authority superseded, though his civil authority was not only uninterfered with, but supported. still, having the orders of his imperial majesty to use my discretion in tranquillizing the disturbed provinces, it was not my intention to permit his majesty's views to be frustrated by undue deference to a governor, whose folly and despotism combined, had been the chief cause of the disturbances, though i well knew that the course i was pursuing, even though approved by his majesty, would bring down upon me the indignation of the portuguese faction in power at rio de janeiro. the proclamation had the effect of procuring the surrender of arms to a great extent, followed by the disbandment of all irregular forces collected by the contending chieftains, so that apparent tranquillity was everywhere enforced. the great point was to establish permanent order, which, had we gone away, would soon have been broken. as, since the reduction of pernambuco, there was no other field for my active services, and as i had no instructions how to dispose of the squadron, i determined to remain at maranham, and employ myself in consolidating the good already produced, till further commands from his imperial majesty; for having in the preceding year expelled the portuguese from the province, its welfare was a matter of interest to me, and i felt assured that were his majesty acquainted with the want of unity existing, authority would be given to carry out my views. in maranham, as in the other northern provinces of the empire, there had been no amelioration whatever in the condition of the people, and without such amelioration, it was absurd to place reliance on the hyperbolical professions of devotion to the emperor which were now abundantly avowed by those who before my arrival had been foremost in promoting and cherishing disturbance. the condition of the province--and indeed of all the provinces--was in no way better than they had been under the dominion of portugal, though they presented one of the finest fields imaginable for improvement. all the old colonial imposts and duties remained without alteration--the manifold hindrances to commerce and agriculture still existed--and arbitrary power was everywhere exercised uncontrolled; so that in place of being benefited by emancipation from the portuguese yoke, the condition of the great mass of the population was literally worse than before. to amend this state of things it was necessary to begin with the officers of government, of whose corruption and arbitrary conduct, complaints--signed by whole communities--were daily arriving from every part of the province; to such an extent, indeed, was this misrule carried, that neither the lives nor property of the inhabitants were safe, where revenge, or baser motives, existed for the exercise of acts of oppression[ ]. [footnote : numerous original, but lengthy, documents are in my possession proving all these facts.] i therefore addressed a letter to the president, warning him that such things ought not to be tolerated; that reports of excesses committed by those under his authority were reaching me from all quarters, the perpetrators deserving the most severe and exemplary chastisement; that i had determined to investigate these matters; and under the reservation made--of personally acting under extraordinary circumstances--would visit these cases with severe punishment, should the reality come up to the representations made. the recklessness of human life was amongst the more remarkable features of these excesses. only a short time before this, i had granted a passport to captain pedro martins, as the bearer of an offer from an insurgent party to lay down their arms, but he was murdered on his return. this atrocious act, perpetrated, as i had reason to believe, by some factious adherents to the president's party, from motives of revenge, was unfortunate, as affording a pretext for others who were ready to submit, to continue in arms for their mutual protection. i therefore directed that all troops under the authority of the president should remain where they were until further orders from me; and demanded of his excellency to use every endeavour to apprehend the parties guilty of an act so disgraceful to the imperial cause, that they might meet with due punishment. finding no effort made to apprehend the murderers, i addressed to bruce the following letter:-- it is with great regret that i have learned the atrocious act committed by your soldiers against an officer having my passport for the purpose of endeavouring to tranquillize the province, by inducing the dissentient party to lay down their arms. this is a matter so disgraceful to the cause of those by whom it has been perpetrated, that i must enforce on your attention the necessity of exertion to apprehend all persons who may be suspected of having committed this crime, and send them immediately, prisoners, to this city. i have further to direct, in the name of his imperial majesty, that the troops under your command shall remain where they are until further orders from me, as commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of this province, notwithstanding any authority or order which you may heretofore have received, or which you may hereafter receive--except from me--to the contrary. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ it is almost needless to say that the guilty parties--though doubtless well known--were permitted to escape with impunity; the president alleging as his excuse, "the insufficiency of the regular troops to preserve the tranquillity of the city;" this remark being intended to throw upon me the responsibility of having secured on board the black savages whom he had organized. my reply was, that--"for what i had done, i was responsible to the supreme government and the public, and if he could not find means to preserve the public tranquillity, i must do so; as he must be sensible that i had acted with propriety in relieving him from a portion of the labour and responsibility which he had hitherto sustained." on the th of november, i forwarded to the minister of marine, at rio de janeiro, a full report of these transactions, from which the subjoined are extracts:-- the completion of the task of tranquillizing cearà in a manner i trust satisfactory to his imperial majesty, was, in a great measure, effected by the pardon promulgated in the name of his majesty--consigning to oblivion those occurrences which would otherwise have agitated the public mind. the only exception made was the intrusive president araripe, and this, because, instead of availing himself of the first proclamation of amnesty, in which he was included, he retired into the interior with a band of robbers, in order to excite further disturbance. the consequence of this obstinate perseverance in disobedience on the part of araripe, has been his death, and the capture of all his followers. the restoration of cearà to its allegiance and tranquillity having been thus accomplished, we proceeded to parahyba, where all was tranquil, the inhabitants having unanimously declared his imperial majesty constitutional emperor, the moment that they became free from the terror of their more powerful and military neighbours at cearà. some dissensions, however, remained in the province. with respect to maranham, things are different: no republican flag has been displayed--nor, as far as i can learn, did any intention exist on the part of the inhabitants of raising the standard of rebellion; the state of civil war in which we found the presidency arising from personal animosities amongst some of the principal families, especially between those families and that of his excellency the president. certain it is, that all were united against the president, who, to protect himself, had recourse to the assistance of the lowest classes of the community, even to emancipated slaves. the result has been, military disorders of all kinds--and there is no outrage which has not been perpetrated. the general complaint against the president is, that the constitution has in no way been put in practice; that he has not established any lawful council; and that he has been guilty of arbitrary acts. the original documents relating to these matters are enclosed for the judgment of his imperial majesty. i humbly hope that his imperial majesty will perceive that, although i had no express authority to interfere in internal disputes, yet it became my duty--on finding the province in a state of civil war--without any general-at-arms, or other military officer of sufficient authority or capacity, to restore public peace--to take upon myself powers which i trust have been used for the benefit of his imperial service. in order that the imperial government may judge of my proceedings, i have the honour to enclose copies of proclamations, and other documents relative to my transactions. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. on the th of december i was not a little surprised at receiving from president bruce a letter requiring me to banish certain persons obnoxious to himself, amongst others francisco de moraes, who had been the first to set the example of submission to the proclamation issued on my arrival. this most unreasonable request i refused--writing to bruce that dissensions were not likely to be healed by punishing those who had laid down their arms on the faith of a proclamation issued in the name of his imperial majesty; further assuring him that, if he did his duty, he would not find me remiss in endeavours to relieve the province and himself from the miseries and difficulties with which he had been surrounded. on the th of december i had the satisfaction of receiving a deputy from parahyba, assuring me of the perfect pacification of the town and province. on receipt of this gratifying intelligence i transmitted to parahyba a general amnesty, coupled with advice as to the folly "of rebelling under erroneous impressions of circumstances with regard to his imperial majesty, which could not come within the sphere of their personal knowledge, and hoping that, for the future, they would duly appreciate the beneficence of a sovereign who desired that his authority --limited by the constitution--should be felt by his people only through the exercise of justice and benevolence." it was a vexatious task to be thus constantly exhorting the disaffected in the northern provinces to confidence in the imperial government, because i knew that they had but too good reason to be dissatisfied--not with the emperor--but with his administration, whose hopes were founded on anarchy and intrigue. it was therefore my practice to exhort them to rely on his imperial majesty--it not being within the scope of my duty to draw the distinction between the imperial wishes and the sinister practices of those by whom his majesty was surrounded. during the period of my absence i had been pressing upon the department of marine at rio de janeiro the necessity of a speedy adjudication of the prizes belonging to the squadron, according to the written order of his imperial majesty. on the th of december i received an evasive reply from the auditor of marine, stating that "he did not consider himself in possession of all the laws and regulations whereon his judgment should be founded in regard to seizures made or vessels captured by the naval forces of brazil." a miserable subterfuge!--as though it were any part of my duty to supply an official with "laws and regulations" on such a subject. it was quite evident to me that, despite his majesty's orders, no adjudication was intended, nor was any afterwards made; but in order to prevent complaint of neglect on my part. i transmitted, on the same date, to the auditor the whole of my documents, with a request that they might be returned. from the state of the province on my first arrival, i had entertained suspicions as to the president's sincerity; and as outbreaks were again of frequent occurrence, notwithstanding the general desire for pacification, an investigation into the causes of these elicited the fact that he was secretly sending agents to promote disturbance, for the purpose of revenging himself upon those now disarmed, who, before my arrival, had opposed his arbitrary authority. to such an extent was this carried, that memorials reached me begging my interference, as the memorialists could not now defend themselves. two of these memorials, signed by upwards of three hundred of the respectable inhabitants of the province, were of such a nature as to render hopeless the perfect restoration of order so long as the president was permitted to exercise the autocracy, which, contrary to all the principles of the constitution, he had irresponsibly assumed. in order to account for a step which i subsequently considered it my duty to adopt, it is necessary to give some extracts from one of these memorials, signed by a hundred and fifty-two of the most respectable inhabitants in a distant part of the province:-- "that the most demoralizing excesses are permitted amongst the soldiery, and, in order to preserve his influence with the troops, the president permits them to murder with impunity--even europeans; the perpetrators of these acts being not only unpunished, but rewarded, whilst military commandants and others attempting to repress these disorders are dismissed; so that absolute authority is established--the public money being squandered on the soldiery, in order to support a criminal despotism. "your excellency must have witnessed the state to which the province was reduced on your arrival, the people being compelled to have recourse to arms in order to ward off a multitude of vexations. your excellency must also have observed how quickly they laid down their arms at your summons, of which circumstance the party of the president availed themselves to sack and plunder the towns and villages everywhere in the country; the tears, desolation, and misery of so many villages and estates, accompanied by the blood of the murdered and wounded, remaining eternal monuments of these crimes. "the president and his followers, convinced of the abhorrence with which such atrocities were viewed, availed themselves of the false pretext that such acts were necessary for the imperial service, the people being in rebellion against him. "at the present moment he has given out that he has three thousand men ready to support him in the presidency against the measures of your excellency, and it is a fact that, in various parts of the province, he has troops, militia, and arms; whilst the commandants, appointed by himself, are all ready to execute his measures. "if your excellency should unhappily quit the province, whilst matters are in this state, it will be totally desolated--its commerce annihilated--and its agriculture abandoned; confiscation and terror will be everywhere established, accompanied by rebellion towards the emperor. if you will remain, we, the undersigned, undertake to support the squadron, in the absence of funds from the imperial treasury. "to terminate these evils, we beg to represent to your excellency that there is only one remedy. president bruce must be deposed and sent to rio de janeiro, with his coadjutors, who are well known, in order that his acts may be lawfully investigated, and punished as justice demands; and that, in the interim, there should be elected by your excellency, from amongst the more respectable inhabitants of this province, a person to represent to his imperial majesty the horrible state of things here existing, and to implore his imperial majesty's interposition for its salvation--your excellency, in the meantime, assuming the civil and military government of the province, until his imperial majesty's pleasure can become known. and we further beg of your excellency that you will name able magistrates, of known probity, to the respective districts, and cause oaths to be taken, in order that the respective camaras may proceed to the work of saving the province from tumult and anarchy, by observing faithful obedience to his imperial majesty and by the administration of laws for the government of the people. "maranhaõ, dec. , ." signed by one hundred and fifty-two of the principal inhabitants of the province. a similar document, signed by upwards of a hundred and fifty of the respectable inhabitants of alcantara--upon whom excesses had been committed in no way less reprehensible than at maranham--had been forwarded to me on the th of december; but, as the complaints were of the same nature, it is unnecessary to do more than advert to the circumstance. in addition to these, i received a statistic list of the murders and robberies perpetrated throughout the province, under the agency of those placed in authority by the president. the whole of these documents were retained by me as a justification of any contingency that might arise, and are still in my possession. the maranham memorial reached me on the th of december, and had scarcely been placed in my hands, when a letter arrived from president bruce, deprecating its reception, thus shewing that he had previously been made aware of the contents, and--as i had afterwards reason to believe--had attempted to intercept the memorial, but had failed in so doing. after glancing at the contents, i made him the following reply:-- sir, i have this moment been honoured with the receipt of your excellency's letter, and have to state that the document to which you allude had not been delivered to me five minutes previous to your excellency's communication, and that i have not yet had time to read it. your excellency may, however, rest assured that if the said paper contains any thing injurious to the interests or dignity of his imperial majesty, i shall not fail to take such steps as the occasion may require. all papers that have been presented to me, it is my intention to transmit to rio de janeiro, where the imperial government will judge of the motives of the writers, and of the contents of their communications. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. dec. , . my reply to the memorialists was as follows:-- maranham, dec. , . gentlemen, i have read your memorial with attention, and regret that you should have occasion to detail complaints of so painful a nature, the more so as i do not know whether i am authorised to remedy the evils otherwise than by such measures as have been already adopted. according to the constitution, you ought to find a remedy in the laws; but if any authority, commissioned by his imperial majesty, has improperly placed obstacles in the way of law, to his majesty only can an appeal against such conduct be made, for they who attempt to redress evils arising from a breach of the constitution, by violating that very constitution place themselves in an equally disadvantageous position with the object of their accusation. as regards the deposition of the president, which you request, i frankly confess to you, gentlemen, that whatever may be my private opinion as to the course most advantageous to you and the province in general--and even to the president himself--i should feel extremely reluctant, except in a case of manifest and extreme necessity, to take upon myself a responsibility which might possibly subject me to the displeasure of his imperial majesty, and would most certainly expose me to be continually harassed by prejudicial reports and false accusations, supported by artful intrigues, against which neither prudence nor rectitude could effectually avail. to mention an instance of this, within your own knowledge, you all know that, last year, when this province was annexed to the empire, the property of brazilians under the flag of portugal, and of all resident portuguese, was by me respected and unmolested. you know, too, that all the public property of the portuguese government in the arsenals and magazines was left untouched, and it is equally true that upwards of sixty contos of reis ( , dollars) in specie, and one hundred and forty contos ( , dollars) in bills taken in the portuguese treasury and custom house, were left by me in the hands of the government of maranham, for the payment of the army. yet, notwithstanding these notorious facts, it has been audaciously declared by the portuguese authorities composing the prize tribunal at rio de janeiro, that that very army--which i had thus left the means to pay--_had served disinterestedly at their own expense, and that i was a mercenary and a robber!_ i may add, too, that the junta of maranham contributed in no small degree to this calumny, for, after they had secured the money, they refused to give me a receipt, though the sum i had so lent for the use of the army was, and still is, the indisputable property of the officers and men of the ships of war who were instrumental in freeing this province from a colonial yoke. in short, great as is my desire to render you every service in my power, i am not willing to interfere in matters over which i have no express authority--because i do not like to risk the displeasure of his imperial majesty, attended, as it might be, not only with sudden dismissal from my official situation, but even with heavy fines and imprisonment; not to mention the sacrifice of all those pecuniary interests which i possess at rio de janeiro, where i have enemies _eagerly watching for a pretence to deprive me of all to which i have a claim_. neither am i disposed to afford to those persons any opportunity of giving plausibility to those calumnies which they are ever so ready to utter, nor to be under the necessity of placing myself on my defence before the world against their false accusations. i have the honour, gentlemen, &c. &c. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. the memorial of the inhabitants of maranham was, together with other complaints, forwarded by me to the imperial government, accompanied by the following letter to the minister of marine:-- december th, . most excellent sir, my letters - , will have acquainted your excellency of our proceedings here up to their respective dates, and will also have afforded the imperial government such information as i could collect regarding the origin and progress of the disputes which have so unhappily prevailed. it was my hope that--by taking their implements of war from the hands of the contending parties, and removing the most disorderly portion of the military--the public mind would have subsided into tranquillity. it appears, however, that--from the constant alarm occasioned by the "_pedestres_," and other irregular troops lately maintained by the president--the public still continue in dread of being exposed to outrages, similar to those lately committed on their persons and property. the terror excited is universal, and as the people must be well acquainted with the character and conduct of persons with whom they have been bred up, i cannot bring myself to believe--however desirous to support a president nominated by his imperial majesty--that all the respectable portion of the population, without exception, entertain fears that are groundless. indeed, from all that i have seen or heard, there is but little reason to hope that his excellency the president has any intention to govern this province on any other system than that of the captains-general, under the old portuguese government; that is to say, rather according to his own will than in conformity with the dictates of justice or equity. certain it is, that, up to the present moment, the constitution has never been put in practice, and even military law has not been adhered to. numerous persons have been banished without accuser or declared crime--others have been thrown into gaol--and the greater portion of the principal people who remained had--previous to our arrival--fled to the woods, to avoid being the objects of the like arbitrary proceedings. the representations which i now enclose to your excellency as a sample of the numerous documents of a similar nature addressed to me, will, at least, lead his imperial majesty to the conclusion that such complaints could not have arisen, and continued under the government of a person calculated to preside over the interests of so important a province. your excellency will find a memorial from the french consul, marked no. , and the other consuls have only been restrained from sending similar representations from the consideration that, on the squadron quitting this port, the consequences might be highly prejudicial to their interests and those whom they represent. i would further state to your excellency the remarkable fact that the president--after having continued a _high pay_ to the soldiery during the existence of those disorders of which they were the instrument--did, at the moment of my taking the command, send me an old order respecting the diminution of the pay of the troops, which order he himself had never put in execution. and it is still more extraordinary, that he since refused _any pay whatever_, to the small number of troops of the line, who are continued in service for the preservation of the tranquillity of the city. since my last letters, i have been using all possible diligence to get the remainder of the firearms out of the hands of the lower classes of the population. many, however, have been withheld--a circumstance which gives additional importance to the extraordinary fact, which i have only by accident learned--that the junta of fazenda, acting under the president, issued an order on the th of december (an attested copy of which is enclosed), _authorising the sale of powder, and that too, under the false pretence that "all motives for suspending the sale of powder had ceased."_ i have not words in which to express the astonishment i felt at this extraordinary proceeding. i shall only add that, as soon as it came to my knowledge, i gave orders that such sale should not be permitted, and i have since directed the whole of the powder in the magazines at maranham to be embarked and deposited in a vessel near the anchorage of the ships-of-war; by which precaution i consider the security of the white population to be in a great measure secured, till his imperial majesty shall be enabled to take such steps as in his judgment may appear necessary. were i to detail to your excellency all the facts that lead my mind to a conclusion that this province will be entirely lost to the empire unless a speedy remedy be applied to the evils which here exist--it would be necessary to trespass upon you at very great length; but as the brother of the secretary of government proceeds to rio de janeiro by the same conveyance as this, your excellency and colleagues will be able to obtain from him such further information as may satisfy your minds regarding the state of this province. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. it was not long before i learned that in many parts troops were being secretly organised to support the president's authority against me, but this was met by removing from command those officers who had either permitted or encouraged military insubordination; supplying their places with others upon whom i could better rely. an occurrence, however, now took place which threatened to involve brazil in serious difficulties. from the indiscrimination of bruce's troops in their career of injury and plunder, some renewed outrages had been committed on french subjects; for which the french consul required reparation from me, as having assumed the chief authority; at the same time again demanding passports for himself and the whole of the french residents, in case of my intention to quit the city and leave bruce again in power. the british consul also forwarded additional complaints of similar outrages against his countrymen; but, in place of requiring reparation at my hands, he forwarded representations to his own government, requesting protection against the acts of bruce, at the same time communicating the fact of these representations to me, but declining to furnish me with a copy of his despatch, as i had no direct appointment from the imperial government for the authority i was exercising. the demands of the french consul were, however, pressing; but i could only reply with regard to the outrages committed against french subjects by the adherents of the president:--"i was sorry that it was not in my power to remedy past evils; but that such steps had been taken as would prevent their recurrence for the future." the subjoined is one of the letters of the british consul:-- british consul's office, maranhaõ, dec. , . my lord, understanding that your lordship has an intention of soon withdrawing your presence from this province, i am forced, as the official and responsible protector of british interests in this quarter, to make the following statement, leaving it to be proved by the facts therein set forth that i am, by this course, adopting the only means within my reach, of providing for the interests confided to my attention, a satisfactory security! and that i am, by so doing, not departing from that line of conduct which, as a neutral officer, i am bound to observe. by this time your lordship must be fully aware of the violent character and desolating effects of the late civil commotions throughout this province. these commotions unhappily existed during a protracted period, and whilst they were raging, the regular pursuits of the community were either interrupted by violent party intrigues--suspended by a barbarous warfare--or totally stopped by merciless outrages. notwithstanding this disjointed state of society, and the consequent inefficiency of all constituted authority, the resident british, by general and firm perseverance in a strictly neutral line of conduct, and by calm endurance of not a few unavoidable ills--succeeded in averting from themselves the chief weight of those evils to which all the remaining population were exposed. but though they now feel grateful at having escaped outrage and have passed unhurt amidst general anarchy, still, they recollect, that while by their conduct they were entitled to protection, they nevertheless continued in a painful anxiety for their safety. in this state of uncertain security the resident british continued for several months, and when at last intrigue attempted to force them into the general scene of distress--some being openly threatened--your lordship's providential arrival averted the destruction of many inhabitants, and the dangerous condition of all. into this critical situation were british interests at this place thrown by violent party spirit. that spirit, though at present smothered, cannot be totally extinguished without time. it has unsettled the community at large, and disorganised all the military establishments of the province. after this exposition of facts, i may be allowed to assert, without thereby offering the least disrespect to any constituted authority, that your lordship's presence in this province for the time being is indispensable for the tranquillity and security of all its inhabitants-- because the only means by which legal control can be revived, and consequently an occurrence which must be as desirable and needful to all public functionaries, as i frankly avow it to be to one, who has the honour to declare himself your lordship's most obedient and humble servant, robert hesketh, his britannic majesty's consul. to the right hon. lord cochrane, marquis of maranhaõ, admiral, &c. &c. the letter of the french consul is even more precise, and therefore i subjoin that also:-- vice consulate of france at s. louis de maragnon, monsieur le marquis, dec. , . la position difficile dans laquelle je me suis trouvé depuis trois mois--la délicatesse de celle dans laquelle je suis placé maintenant vis-à-vis m. le président de la province de maragnon, m'imposant le devoir de porter à la connoissance de votre excellence les justes motifs de plainte que j'ai à lui exposer centre la conduite de m. le président bruce envers un agent de sa majesté le roi de france, et venir à ce titre reclâmer un appui que je ne puis plus dorénavant attendre de sa part. la confiance que m'inspire le caractère dont votre excellence est revêtue, et la certitude qu'elle n'ignore pas les intimes relations qui lient la france à l'empire du brésil, me font qu'elle saura apprécier les conséquences graves que doivent entraîner l'avance faite ici aux sujets de mon souverain, et le silence méprisant que garde à cet égard le président depuis un mois que je lui ai demandé la participation du résultat d'une enquête qu'il m'assura avoir été ordonnée par lui. sans m'entendre sur les évènements facheux qui ont désolé cette province depuis cinq mois, pour être hors du but que je me propose je me bornerai à parler de ceux dont je puis garantir l'authenticité et de l'influence du gouvernement de m. bruce pendant cet intervalle sur le bien-être de mes nationaux. lors des premières armamens faits dans la province, pour opposer des forces à une expédition supposée de la part du portugal, un françois établi à caixas, compris dans une mesure générale fut obligé d'autorité de délivrer une partie d'armes dont il ne recût jamais la valeur, malgré un sejour prolongé de plusieurs mois dans le même endroit. quelque modique que soit la somme qu'il s'est vu dans la nécessité de venir reclâmer ici, elle est proportionnée à ses moyens. c'est un tort évident fait à cet homme qui ne put continuer à exercer son industrie dans le lieu qu'il avoit choisi, et fut contraint à un déplacement coûteux qui doit lui retirer toute confiance à l'avenir. l'arrivée des troupes envoyées par le président pour réprimer un mouvement dans l'intérieur immédiatement après le départ de m. josé felix burgos, ne fut signalée dans la ville d'alcantara que par des désordres, les etrangers même n'y furent pas respectés dans cet endroit, qui n'étoit pas encore le théâtre des hostilités. un homme de ma nation y exerçant paisiblement son commerce fut attaqué chez lui, eut les portes de sa maison enfoncées par les soldats, fut temoin deux fois du pillage de sa boutique et forcé pour sauver ses jours d'aller séjourner dans le bois; ce malheureux n'a d'autre ressource maintenant que le travail de ses mains, ce fait contre lequel il eut été de mon devoir de reclâmer vient seulement de parvenir à ma connoissance. les françois établis en cette ville avoient joui jusqu'à l'arrivée dans l'île des troupes armées contre le président d'une trop grande sécurité, pour ne pas révailler contre eux toute la haine dont avoit eut fait preuve déjà les portugais avant l'adhésion de cette province a l'empire du brésil. un acte émané _de leur despotique junte_ avoit malgré les traités fait fermer les loges françoises jusqu'à la reception des ordres précis de leur gouvernement, qui désapprouvait hautement cette mesure. ces mêmes portugais oubliant la générositie avec laquelle les commandants de trois bâtimens de sa majesté le roi de france venoient de sauver un grand nombre de leurs compatriotes lors des derniers troubles du parà, n'écoutant que leur jalousie ne s'efforcèrent qu'à nous perdre dans l'opinion publique _par le plus noires inculpations._ je les considère comme ayant influé puissament sur le malhereux évènement que j'ai eu à dèplorer. malgré l'avertissement que j'avois donné huit jours auparavant au président de la menace qui étoit faite aux françois de leur faire subir le genre d'assassinat usité ici, le septembre, quatre françois été surpris par des assassins, deux furent très maltraités, l'un atteint de plusieurs blessures à la tête et au bras fut reconduit chez lui baigné dans son sang; ses blessures au bras, fracturé en deux endroits laissent encore douter après jours de douleurs aigues s'il ne devra par subir l'amputation. le même jour à la même heure, un françois fut attaqué chez lui malgré le signe de reconnaisance qui distingue depuis les troubles les maisons des françois; des pierres lancées dans sa porte et ses fenêtres pendant un long espace de temps, l'obligèrent à venir lui-même dissiper par des menaces une troupe d'hommes qu'il espéroit ne pas voir échapper à la surveillance d'un porte militaire à proximité de sa maison. m'étant rendu chez le président, lui demander d'abord la punition de ce crime atroce, il eut l'inconvenance de m'objecter que la conduite des françois étoit très repréhensible, je remarquoi ces paroles et le lui fis observer; elles ne pouvoient s'appliquer d'ailleurs qu'à deux individus passés au service du parti opposé, que j'étois venu desavouer lui en demandant expulsion. le président repondant se rendit à ma demande, et me donna l'espoir d'avoir une satisfaction, tant pour l'attentat à la vie des quatre individus de ma nation, que pour l'attaque du domicile d'un françois. néanmoins les jours suivants les désordres continuerant, les françois étoient outragés publiquement; un soldat eut l'audace de poursuivre mon negre dans la maison consulaire et de l'y frapper en se repondant en invectives contre les françois; un enfant de neuf ans fut horriblement maltraité par des soldats, jusqu'aux négres osoient lever la tête, et nous insulter. mr. bruce avoit-il pris du mesures de repression? est-ce la protection que devoit en attendre l'agent d'une puissance amie du brésil? en butte à l'animositie d'une soldatesque indisciplinée, nous courûmes pendant quinze jours le danger le plus imminent, nous attendant à tout instant à voir se réaliser ses menaces de venir nous massacre dans nos maisons. j'ai eu depuis à reclamer contre le violation d'un batimen du commerce françois. malgré trois gardes de la douane, cinq soldats armés furent envoyés à son bord à neuf heures du soir; je les fis retirer le lendemain; ce dernier acte du président qui des lors commença à ne plus garder aucuns ménagemens avec moi, faisant incarcerer un des mes nationaux sans m'en donner avis ainsi que des motifs qui l'y portoient; le pavilion du roi placé au dessus de l'Écusson de france, que je trouvai lacéré, me firent prévoir que je n'avois plus rien à attendre de la protection de l'autorité. monsieur le marquis, je me suis maintenu à mon poste malgré les dangers tant que j'ai eu l'espoir que l'arrivée de votre excellence si desirée de la population entière de la province, viendroit nous délivrer de ce déplorable état de choses. sans connaître les intentions de votre excellence, je vois mr. bruce encore président, non-seulement il ne m'a donné aucune satisfaction, mais encore apporte dans sa conduite, le mépris le plus marqué par un fileure qui ne pent s'interprêter autrement. c'est donc contre lui, monsieur le marquis, que je vieus en solliciter une aujourd'hui pour ce total oubli de ses devoirs envers un agent de sa majesté très chrétienne; cette conduite emporte le refus d'aucun appui de sa part pour l'avenir; d'ailleurs mon caractère publique m'impose de ne pas m'exposer à un outrage, et l'intérêt que je dois à mes nationaux de les soustraire à son implacable vengeance. si votre excellence ne jugeoit pas convenable d'user de ses pleins pouvoirs pour m'accorder la seule garantie qui puisse me permettre de séjourner plus longtemps ici, je viens lui demander de protéger mon embarquement et celui des françois qui restant encore à maragnon. je suis, avec respect, monsieur le marquis, de votre excellence le très humble et très obéissant serviteur, (signé) pl. des sallieres. À son excellence lord cochrane, marquis de maragnon, premier amiral du brésil, &c. &c. the steps alluded to were such as i considered most essential for the safety of the as yet unacknowledged empire; which, through the folly of a provincial governor, was in danger of being jeopardised by collision with powerful european states. as stated to the maranham memorialists, i did not adopt the extreme measure of deposing bruce from the presidential authority, but resolved to suspend him therefrom till the pleasure of his imperial majesty as regarded his conduct should be made known. accordingly, on christmas day, , i addressed to him the following letter;-- maranham, dec. , . sir, it is with extreme regret that i feel myself under the necessity of acquainting your excellency that it is impossible for me to withdraw the squadron from maranham, so long as your excellency continues to exercise the functions of president of this province; because it is evident that if your excellency is left in authority, without the aid of the squadron, you must again have recourse to the assistance of the lowest order of the people, whom, on my arrival here, i found in arms in support of your excellency, against nine-tenths of the upper classes of society, who continue to entertain the greatest terror of being left under the authority of your excellency. to prevent the recurrence of so lamentable a state of things--the loss of lives--and the calamities of every kind which would inevitably ensue, i would respectfully suggest to your excellency the necessity of your withdrawing from office, until the determination of his imperial majesty can be obtained. i can, with great truth, assure your excellency that my intentions are not in any degree dictated by any feelings of personal ill-will towards your excellency. on the contrary, i have a wish to rescue you from a situation of great jeopardy, and it is chiefly with a view of avoiding to do anything that might appear derogatory to your excellency, that i am desirous the change so necessary to be effected should proceed from your excellency's voluntary resignation. but i regret to add that so pressing is that necessity, that it is quite essential that your excellency's determination should be immediate, and therefore i hope to be favoured with your excellency's reply in the course of the present forenoon. permit me to assure you that if it should be your desire to continue in this city in the character of a private gentleman until the determination of his imperial majesty, with respect to your resumption of office, or otherwise, shall be known, no impediment to your excellency's wishes will originate with me; or, if you should think proper to proceed at once to the court of rio de janeiro, a commodious conveyance shall be provided for the accommodation of your excellency, and of those whom you may deem it convenient to accompany you. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. bruce did not resign, preferring to accept my offer of conveyance to rio de janeiro, there to await his majesty's decision. complete tranquillity being thus restored to the province of maranham, and not to that only, but also to the adjoining provinces, which had more or less entered into the existing disorders, either as adherents of the insurgent chiefs, or of the president, it became requisite to organize a government. not deeming it politic to elevate to power any member of those families of distinction whose feuds were only dormant on compulsion, i appointed manuel telles de silva lobo, the secretary of government, as interim president; he being entirely unconnected with family factions, well acquainted with the details of government, and of unimpeachable integrity. at the same time i caused the camaras to be re-assembled, so that the administration of law and public affairs might be carried on according to the forms and intentions of the constitution. this suspension of the president was afterwards fully approved of by his majesty, and the more patriotic of his advisers, as only anticipating their intentions, it being a remarkable fact that, at the very time i was suspending him, _an order from his majesty was on its way to supersede him_; information of his proceedings having previously reached rio de janeiro, so that in what had been done, i had only carried out the intentions of his majesty. nevertheless, the occasion--as affording a good opportunity to traduce me--was afterwards eagerly seized by the portuguese faction in the administration. all attempts to injure me in the estimation of the population at rio de janeiro--which was firmly attached to the emperor, and grateful to me for my services--had signally failed; but on his arrival at rio de janeiro the representations of the ex-president whose mal-administration i had summarily checked, were published in every possible shape, whilst the minister of marine unwarrantably withheld my despatches from the public, as well as from his majesty, the consequence of which was that the prejudicial representations of what were termed my arbitrary acts had full effect. it was represented that i, a foreigner, had dared, unauthorised, and on false pretences, to seize on the person of a gentleman occupying the highest position in one of the most important provinces, and had sent him to rio de janeiro as a prisoner, whilst it was i who deserved to be brought to condign punishment for the outrage; and had i at the moment been within reach of the portuguese faction at the capital, which was embittered against me for establishing order, when to further their own anti-imperial designs disorder was alone wished--a summary end might have been put to my efforts for preserving and consolidating the integrity of the brazilian empire. that this vituperation and hostility would be the result i well knew; but as the portuguese party in the administration could scarcely treat me worse than they had done, i had made up my mind to encounter their displeasure. of his majesty's approval i felt certain; and, in return for the uninterrupted favour and reliance, which, notwithstanding the self-interested hostility of his anti-brazilian ministers, i had uniformly experienced at his hands, i had all along resolved to secure that which i knew to be his majesty's earnest wish--the unity of the empire by the pacification of the northern provinces. all attempts to thwart this on the part of the portuguese faction were futile, and even unconsciously favourable to the course i was perseveringly pursuing, though all my despatches to the minister remained unanswered, and no instructions were sent for my guidance. notwithstanding the neglect of the administration to supply the squadron with necessaries, and myself with instructions, in a position foreign to my duties as naval commander-in-chief, and which i had only accepted at the earnest wish of his imperial majesty--i carefully kept the government advised of all that took place. the same ship which conveyed the ex-president to rio de janeiro, carried also the following despatch to the minister of marine:-- maranham, december st, . most excellent sir, i have to acquaint your excellency that a belief that the squadron was about to withdraw and leave the abandoned and disorderly military of this place under the feeble control of his excellency the president, excited a degree of dread in the public mind amounting almost to a state of frenzy--and convinced me that i had no alternative, but either to abandon the principal inhabitants, and, indeed, the whole white population, to the fury of mercenary troops and blacks--or to remain with the squadron until another president should be nominated by his imperial majesty. this last measure, however, upon mature consideration, appeared to be wholly incompatible with the interests of his imperial majesty, not only on account of the violent animosities subsisting between president and people, which, notwithstanding the utmost vigilance on my part, daily disturbed the public tranquillity--but because the presence on shore of nearly the whole of the seamen in the ships of war is requisite to counterbalance the influence and power which the president has obtained over the soldiery and irregular bands, by the impunity with which he has suffered them to act, and by rewards bestowed on persons in the ranks, or of the lowest orders of society. the continued absence of seamen from the ships would, it is evident, endanger the safety of the latter; besides which, the season is now approaching when diseases incident to the climate become prevalent, and would not fail considerably to thin the small force at my disposal. the necessity of adopting some decided measure became every day more urgent. representations continued to pour in from all quarters against the conduct of the president. the consul of his britannic majesty, moreover, having heard that the squadron is about to depart, has written me a letter, of which i enclose to your excellency a copy. i am aware that it is difficult to follow a course, under the circumstances in which i am placed, that when judged of at a distance, and merely on such evidence as can be conveyed by writing, will leave no room for persons to contend that a different line might have been followed with greater advantage; and i am perfectly aware that whether i had left this province, and anarchy had followed, or whether by remaining i had succeeded in preventing that anarchy, _i should equally be exposed to the cavils of those who are always disposed to reprobate the measures actually adopted, whatever they may be_. having, therefore, but _a choice of evils with respect to myself_, i have--without further care as to my personal responsibility--pursued that course which, on full consideration, appeared to me to be most conducive to the interests of his imperial majesty, and best adapted to secure the tranquillity of this province; and i have _reserved for my own security_ such original documents as will satisfy the mind of his imperial majesty on the subject of my conduct in suspending the functions of the president of maranham. a few of the many reasons which have induced me thus to take upon myself a heavier responsibility than would have attached to the adoption of either of the measures before alluded to, will be found on the printed paper which i enclose. in that paper, however, i did not consider it proper to set forth all the facts which have come to my knowledge; such as his tampering through various agents with the troops, artillery, and police, and above all with the disbanded "_pedestres_;" and the sending of emissaries to the distant quarters of the province to excite the people again to rise in arms for his support--though no legal prerogative which the president does, or ought to possess, had been in any way infringed by me or any person acting under my authority. the fact is, that this gentleman, bred up under the despotic captains-general, accustomed to their arbitrary proceedings, to the mal-administration of colonial law, and the absence of everything like fair trial, cannot brook any limitation to his power, and has demonstrated his desire, if not to establish an independent sway, at least to act solely according to his will and pleasure. i am anxious to ascribe his faults rather to the circumstances under which he has unfortunately been brought up, and to his advanced age, than to premeditated evil intentions. i have the satisfaction of adding, that, by the course i have adopted, a desolating civil war has been terminated--the treasury saved further expenditure--and the persons and property of the people have been rescued from destruction, and placed under the protection of the laws. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. such was the history of an affair, which would not have been thus minutely detailed, but for the obloquy against me to which it subsequently gave rise; the ministry afterwards declaring that, to serve my own purposes, i had _deposed_ bruce, and appointed lobo in his place--the facts being, that i never deposed him at all, but suspended his functions merely till his majesty's pleasure should be known--and that, at the very period when this took place, _the administration, unknown to me, had deposed him for the same causes which led me to suspend him!_ as will appear in the next chapter. nevertheless, when they found that--acting under the discretion accorded to me by his imperial majesty--i had partially only anticipated their own act, and that vituperation against me in my absence might be turned to their own account, they took up the cause of the very man whom they had deposed, and loaded me with abuse for having outraged the feelings and position of a most excellent person nominated by his majesty to one of the highest offices in the state. chapter x. misrepresentations made in england--letter to the emperor--tendering my resignation--repayment demanded from the junta--conduct of the prize tribunal--no adjudication of prizes intended--letter to the interim president--demanding the sums owing to the squadron--disturbance in para--statement of account to the junta--offer of compromise--imperial decree--right of the squadron to the claim. worn down in health by the harassing duties of the naval, military, and civil departments, the conduct of all these wholly devolving upon me, whilst the ministry at rio, by withholding instructions, neither incurred trouble nor responsibility--and aware that my character was being traduced by every species of malignity which could be devised by the party whose views were destroyed by the successful manner in which those duties had been performed, i was heartily sick of the ingratitude and misrepresentation with which the service of having twice secured the northern provinces to brazil was met on the part of the administration, in addition to their now apparent determination that neither myself nor the squadron should reap any benefit from the prize property taken in the preceding year, notwithstanding that, under the andrada ministry, both had been solemnly guaranteed to the captors. i was, however, even more annoyed on another account, viz. from being apprised that the vilest misrepresentations of my conduct were being sedulously circulated in england by the partisans of the administration. their vituperation in brazil could, to some extent, be met; but the petty meanness of attacking a man in a distant country, without the possibility of his defending himself, was a matter against which no prudence or foresight could guard. determined no longer to contend with an administration, which could thus conduct itself towards an officer whose exertions had been deemed worthy of the highest honours from the emperor, and the warmest thanks from the national assembly, i resolved to request permission from his imperial majesty to retire from so unequal a contest, for i did not choose spontaneously to abandon the command, without at least some compensation beyond my ordinary pay. even setting aside the stipulations under which i had entered and continued in the imperial service--this was at least due to me from the unquestioned fact that to my twice rendered exertions--first as naval commander-in-chief; and, secondly, as a pacificator--the empire owed its unity and stability, _even in the estimation of european governments_, which, now that the provinces were tranquillized and the empire consolidated, exerted themselves to promote peace between brazil and the mother country. accordingly--on new year's day, --i addressed to the emperor the following letter:-- sire, the condescension with which your imperial majesty has been pleased to permit me to approach your royal person, on matters regarding the public service, and even on those more particularly relating to myself, emboldens me to adopt the only means in my power, at this distance, of craving that your majesty will be graciously pleased to judge of my conduct in the imperial service, by the result of my endeavours to promote your majesty's interests, and not by the false reports spread by those who--for reasons best known to themselves--desire to alienate your majesty's mind from me, and thus to bring about my removal from your majesty's service. whilst i have the honour to continue as an officer acting under the authority of your imperial majesty, i shall ever perform my duty to your majesty and to the brazilian people; and i trust that, up to the present day, your majesty has not felt any reason to doubt my sincerity and fidelity to your imperial interests. and if his excellency the minister of marine has failed to lay before the public my despatches, and thereby permitted rumours prejudicial to my character to go forth, i respectfully look up to your imperial majesty for justice. in this hope, i most respectfully entreat permission to refer your imperial majesty to my letter no. , which i addressed to his excellency the minister of marine, from pernambuco, early in october, previous to my departure from that port, announcing my intention of proceeding northward, and the necessity of so doing, for the pacification of the northern provinces; also to my letter of the th of october (no. ), written from rio grande do norte; and no. , dated october th, written from cearà; all of which letters, explicitly describing my proceedings, intentions, and reasons, were duly transmitted, both in original and duplicate, by different conveyances. i trust that your imperial majesty will please to believe me to be sensible that the honours which you have so graciously bestowed upon me, it is my duty not to tarnish; and that your majesty will further believe that, highly as i prize those honours, i hold the maintenance of my reputation in my native country in equal estimation. i respectfully crave permission to add, that--_perceiving it to be impossible to continue in the service of your imperial majesty, without_ _at all times, subjecting my professional character to great risks under the present management of the marine department--i trust that your majesty will be graciously pleased to grant me leave to retire from your imperial service, in which it appears to me that i have now accomplished all that can be expected from me--the authority of your imperial majesty being established throughout the whole extent of brazil._ i have the honour to be your imperial majesty's dutiful and faithful servant, cochrane and maranhaÕ. the permission to retire was neither granted, nor was the request noticed, yet--notwithstanding that the ministerial organs of the press teemed with matters injurious to my reputation, and displayed the most unfair comments on my proceedings--no complaint was officially made to me, as indeed none could be made; this ungenerous mode of attack being resorted to, whilst the whole of my letters and despatches were withheld from public knowledge. on the rd of january, intelligence was received that an outbreak had occurred at caixas, promoted by the adherents of bruce on learning the fact of his suspension from the presidentship. the interim-president, lobo, was anxious to re-arm the disbanded troops against them, but this i forbade, telling him that, "in my opinion a military mode of governing was neither suited to the maintenance of tranquillity nor the promotion of obedience to the law, and that it would be better to give the civil law a trial before proceeding to extremities; and that although some outrages had occurred in the heat of party spirit, yet they would probably cease on the intelligence that president bruce had embarked for rio de janeiro." the result was in accordance with these anticipations, for, on learning this fact, the insurgents immediately laid down their arms--being only too glad to escape further notice. in the expectation that his imperial majesty would approve of the act, and that his ministers could offer no opposition, i considered it my duty to the officers and seamen of the squadron, no less than to myself, to obtain repayment from the junta of maranham--at least in part--of the sums temporarily left for their use in the preceding year. it will be remembered that after the expulsion of the portuguese from maranham in , considerable sums of money and bonds had been taken in the treasury, custom-house, and other public offices, together with military and other stores--and the value of these, though guaranteed by his imperial majesty to the captors, had, with the consent of officers and seamen, been temporarily lent to the then provisional government, for the double purpose of satisfying the mutinous troops of cearà and piahuy, and carrying on the ordinary functions of government--there being no other funds available! at the period of this temporary surrender of the prize property to state exigencies, it was expressly stipulated and fully understood that, as soon as commerce had returned to its usual channels, and with it the customary revenues of the province, the whole should be repaid to the account of the captors. this had not been done, and the officers and men were still losers to the amount, in addition to the non-adjudication of their prizes generally by the portuguese tribunal at rio de janeiro, which, in unprincipled violation of the express decrees of his imperial majesty--asserted that "they knew nothing of prizes, and did not know that brazil was at war with portugal!" though, in the imperial order of march th, --given for the vigorous blockade of bahia, his majesty had explicitly ordered the portuguese to be considered as "enemies of the empire."--"distruindo ou tomando todas as forcas portuguesas que encontrar e fazendo todas damnos possives a os inimigos deste imperio." it was further pretended by the tribunal that bahia and maranham were not foreign ports, but parts of the brazilian empire, though, at the time of my appearance before them, both provinces were then, and ever had been, in possession of portugal; the tribunal, nevertheless, deciding with equal absurdity and injustice, that captures made in those ports, or within three miles of the shore, were unlawful--this decision including, of necessity, the unaccountable declaration, that his majesty's orders to me to blockade the enemy's port of bahia, and to take, burn or destroy all portuguese vessels and property--were also unjust and unlawful! although this was the very purpose for which i had been invited to quit the chilian service. yet, notwithstanding this imperial decision, the tribunal also most inconsistently condemned all ships of war taken (as _droits_) to the crown, without the slightest compensation to the captors. but there was still a more flagrant injustice committed, viz. that whilst the officers and seamen were thus deprived of the fruits of their exertions, they became liable to about twenty thousand milreas in the prosecution of their claims; for no other reason than the unwillingness of the prize tribunal to order condemnations injurious to their friends and native country; for as has been said nine out of the thirteen members of the tribunal were portuguese! it had, therefore, been long apparent that no adjudication in favour of the squadron was intended, and that its services in having united the empire and saved it from dismemberment, would only be met by continued injustice. as the property left with the provisional government of maranham had been used for the benefit of that province, and as no part of it had ever been repaid, i determined that those to whom it was due should not, at least, be defrauded of that portion of their claims, or of a reasonable compromise thereof; and therefore i addressed to the interim-president the following letter:-- to his excellency manoel telles da silva lobo, president interino. sir, the public duties which i had to perform for the service of his imperial majesty, and the pacification of this province, being now happily brought to a termination, it becomes my duty, as commander-in-chief, to call your excellency's attention to some facts concerning the interests of the officers and seamen under my command. on the occasion of my former visit, in , which was so happily instrumental in rescuing this province from the yoke of portugal and annexing it to the empire, i was desirous of rendering the service performed still more grateful to the people by voluntarily granting, in the conditions of capitulation, not only my guarantee for the inviolability of all brazilian property then under the portuguese flag, but also of all the property belonging to resident portuguese who should subscribe to the independence of the empire, and the authority of his imperial majesty. these conditions were most scrupulously observed and fulfilled on my part, without the slightest infringement in any one instance. but--on the other hand--it was expressly set forth in the terms of capitulation, that all property belonging to those who remained in hostility--that is to say, property belonging to the crown or government of portugal, or to absent portuguese (though with respect to the latter a commutation was subsequently consented to) being, according to the laws of war, subject to condemnation to the captors --should be delivered to the captors accordingly, to be, by themselves, subjected to the customary investigation in the prize tribunals of his imperial majesty. amongst other articles of property of this description were, of course, included the money due on the balance of public accounts to the crown of portugal, and this amount--partly in specie and partly in bills--was held in readiness by the capitulating authorities to be delivered when required. but, as my attention was for some time solely directed to the arrangement of public affairs, i neglected to call for the said balance until the new junta of government, chosen under my authority, had taken possession of their office, and obtained the control of the public moneys. after several applications on my part to the said junta, and as many evasions on their part, i had, at last, a personal conference with them on the subject--on which occasion they solicited, as a particular favour, that i would permit the amount to remain in their hands, for the purpose of satisfying the claims of the troops of piahuy and cearà, whom they represented as being clamorous for their pay. to this request i agreed, under the assurance that i should receive bills from the said junta for the amount. these, however, they not only evaded granting, but, when afterwards called upon for a receipt, they declined giving any acknowledgment. to the truth, however, of the main fact, viz., the claims of myself, and the officers and men under my command, your excellency has now the power of satisfying yourself by a reference to the official documents that passed between the functionaries of government and myself, both previous and subsequent to the surrender of the portuguese authorities in this province. the conduct of this junta has proved to be merely a type of that which we have since experienced on a larger scale at the hands of the supreme tribunal of justice at rio de janeiro. but there is a point beyond which forbearance ceases to be a virtue, and i now call upon your excellency to direct that the junta of fazenda, who so unjustly and deceitfully withheld from the officers and men the property above described, shall, with all convenient despatch, proceed to the adjustment of the claim in question. an attested copy of the accounts, signed by the members of the late portuguese junta of government--being in my possession, i enclose a copy thereof, which your excellency can cause to be compared with the original treasury and custom-house books. i likewise enclose to your excellency a copy of a gracious communication which i received from his imperial majesty--the original of which, in his majesty's own handwriting, is now in my possession. this will enable your excellency to judge as to what the understanding and intentions of his imperial majesty really are, with respect to the claims of the squadron--when influenced by the dictates of honour and his own unbiassed judgment. nevertheless--should your excellency consider it necessary, i have no objection to prosecute the claims of the officers and seamen to the balance before alluded to--in the court of admiralty which your excellency is about to convene. but i beg it may be distinctly understood that i hold myself bound not to relax in any way from my determination that these accounts shall be settled, so as to enable me to fulfil the duty which i am engaged to perform to those under my command. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. to my annoyance parà became the scene of renewed disturbance, and even the life of the president was threatened. this was disheartening, as evincing a desire on the part of the provinces to pursue--each its own separate course; proving the deep hold which the counsels of palmella had taken to promote anarchy by fostering provincial pride--as a means to promote discord, and thus to reduce the newly-formed empire to insignificance and ruin,--from the same cause which had befallen the liberated provinces of spanish america. not having been furnished with troops, it was difficult to spare a force to meet this new emergency. there was no time, however, for hesitation, so i despatched the _atalanta_ to parà, with a detachment of the best seamen, under the command of lieutenants clarence and reed, upon whose zeal every reliance was to be placed; at the same time sending a recommendation to the president to use the force for the purpose of remitting to me those who had threatened his life, and of overawing those who had been endeavouring to subvert his authority. the junta of fazenda having now assembled, i transmitted to them the following; general statement of the money and other property claimed by the squadron on the surrender of the portuguese authorities of maranham; in conformity to the laws relative to matters of prize, and the gracious decrees of his imperial majesty:-- milreis. treasury and custom-house , in bills and debts , value of artillery, stores, and ammunition, say , , at / th for the squadron , value of stores in the arsenal, including gunboats, launches, boats, and materials of all kinds , , ___________ public property , obligations delivered as portuguese property under the decree of h.i.m. of dec. th, ; by that decree confiscated to the crown, but by the gracious bounty of h.i.m. awarded to the squadron, in his own handwriting, dated th february, , ___________ sum total , together with this statement of account, i forwarded the following offer of compromise, on the part of the squadron, for the payment of one-fourth only:-- his imperial majesty, having--by decree of the th of december, --commanded the seizure and confiscation of all merchandise in the custom-houses of brazil belonging to portuguese subjects--all merchandise so belonging, or the proceeds thereof, in the hands of merchants--and all vessels or parts of vessels belonging to such subjects--i, therefore, in conformity with the said decree, having, on the occasion of the capitulation of maranham, directed, that all persons having property in their hands of the nature set forth in the said decree, should deliver in an account of the same; and the bills and papers herewith annexed having been given up by their respective holders as _portuguese property of the description set forth_, the said bills and papers are now laid before the court of vice-admiralty, in order to the adjudication thereof in conformity to the said decree. but, whereas, the said imperial decree could not be enforced at maranham in the ordinary manner, by means of civil officers acting under the authority of his imperial majesty, by reason of the port and province being under the authority and government of portugal; and whereas, his imperial majesty, in consideration of the annexation of the said port and province to the empire, by the naval means under my command--and generally of other important services--was graciously pleased, by virtue of a grant in his own handwriting, bearing date the th day of february last, to accord the value of the seizures to the officers and men as a reward for their exertions and services; the said officers and men agree to surrender these bills and the property, as set forth in the annexed list, amounting to , , , together with all other claims, for the sum of one-fourth, or , , to be paid by the treasury of maranham by instalments, within the period of thirty days from the date hereof. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. the following is the imperial decree alluded to in the preceding letter:-- decree. it being obvious that the scandalous proceedings and hostility manifested by the government of portugal against the liberty, honour, and interests of this empire, and by the captious insinuations of the demagogical congress of lisbon, which--seeing it impracticable to enslave this rich region and its generous inhabitants--endeavours to oppress them with all kinds of evils, and civil war, which has occurred through their barbarous vandalism. it being one of my principal duties, as constitutional emperor and defender of this vast empire, to adopt all measures to render effective the security of the country, and its defence efficient against further and desperate attempts which its enemies may adopt; and also to deprive, as far as possible, the inhabitants of that kingdom from continuing to act hostilely against brazil--tyrannizing over my good and honourable subjects-- deem it well to order that there be placed in effective sequestration, _st_. all goods and merchandise existing in the custom-houses of this empire, belonging to subjects of the kingdom of portugal. _nd_. all portuguese merchandise, or the value thereof, which exists in the hands of subjects of this empire. _rd_. all real and agricultural property, held under the same circumstances. _th_. finally, all vessels or parts of vessels, which belong to merchants of the said kingdom. there being excepted from this sequestration, bills of the national bank, banks of security, and those of the iron company of villa sorocaba. joseph bonifacio de andrada e silva, of my council of state, minister of the interior, and of foreign affairs, shall cause the execution of this decree. given in the palace of rio de janeiro, december the eleventh, , first of the independence of the empire. with the rubrica of his imperial majesty, josÉ bonifacio de andrade e silva. these documents--coupled with the decree of dec. , awarding the above confiscations to the captors--shew so clearly the right of the squadron's claim, and the injustice of the course pursued by the prize tribunal at rio de janeiro, in refusing to adjudge portuguese property to the captors, that further comment is unnecessary. in order, however, to give every possible information relative to a matter which has been, to me, a cause of so much obloquy, i subjoin my letter to the interim president, accompanying the preceding documents:-- sir, i have the honour to enclose to your excellency, two hundred and sixty obligations seized under the orders of his imperial majesty--dated the th december, --which i request you will be pleased to cause to be laid before the junta of fazenda, together with the papers enclosed, in order that the junta may take the necessary steps to the liquidation of the just and moderate claims of the officers and seamen. i further beg your excellency will be pleased to intimate to the junta, that i cannot abstain from taking whatever measures may be necessary to prevent the violation of the laws and regulations of the military service--the infraction of the express engagement of his imperial majesty--and the consequent disorganization of the squadron, so essential for the maintenance of tranquillity, and the preservation of the independence of the empire. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. th jan. . chapter xi. imperial approval--continued enmity of the administration--junta refuses to pay the squadron's claim--i persevere in the demand--junta agrees to pay the amount in bills--this refused--arrival of a new president--but without authority for the assumption--intrigues to establish him in office--i order him to quit the province--and send him to para--letter to the president of ceara--international animosities--the squadron left to provide for itself--abuse of authority--explanations to minister of marine--of transactions at maranham--letter to carvalho e mello--anticipating ministerial displeasure--the junta reimburses part of its debt. on the th of january i had at length the satisfaction to receive, through the minister of marine, the emperor's approval of the course pursued in the pacification of the northern provinces, and his confirmation of the changes that had been made in their administration. still not a word of instruction was vouchsafed for my future guidance. the subjoined is the letter conveying his imperial majesty's approval of my acts and judgment:-- his imperial majesty commands the secretary of state of the marine to apprise the first admiral, commander-in-chief of the naval forces of this empire, that his majesty received his despatches by the schooner _maria de gloria_, by which his majesty was informed of his proceedings, and approves of his determination to proceed to the northern provinces, where the fire of rebellion has been lighted, with a view to establish therein the order and obedience due to the said august sovereign, a duty which he has so wisely and judiciously undertaken, and in which course he must continue, notwithstanding the previous instructions sent to him, bearing date the th of october last, which instructions are hereby annulled until he shall attain the highly important objects proposed in the before-mentioned provinces, viz., till they submit themselves to the authorities lately appointed, and enjoy the benefits of the paternal government of his imperial majesty. palace of rio janeiro, dec. , . (signed) francisca villela barbosa. to this letter--annulling my recall after the fall of pernambuco--i returned the following reply:-- no. . most excellent sir, since i had the honour of addressing your excellency in my letter, no. , i have not had any further intelligence from parà; i therefore conclude that the officers and seamen whom i detached there, will be sufficient to aid the president in maintaining good order. here, nothing particular has happened, beyond the collecting of a few runaway soldiers and vagabonds in the woods. a party detached in pursuit of them, dispersed them all, and brought in several prisoners yesterday. i have received your excellency's communication by the schooner _maria de gloria_, and _feel highly gratified that his imperial majesty has been pleased to approve of the course which i have pursued for the termination of dissensions in the northern provinces. since the gracious communication of his imperial majesty, i feel less weight of responsibility in the course which circumstances have compelled me to follow, with a view to restore order in the province of maranham._ i hope soon to inform your excellency that the task which his imperial majesty has been further pleased to confide to me, of causing the newly-appointed authorities to be acknowledged, is accomplished; but i beg respectfully again to add my opinion that these northern provinces will not long continue in a state of tranquillity, unless the provincial forces are shifted to other quarters of the empire. in fact, if attention be not paid to this, i consider that these provinces will shortly be entirely lost, both to the empire of brazil and to portugal. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. jan. , . the continued absence of even the slightest instructions for my guidance--coupled with the imperial approval of all i had done upon my own responsibility, naturally implied that it was considered better to leave me entirely unfettered by orders, which, if given at all, must be issued in ignorance of the actual state of things which required renovation. in this light i should have regarded the omission to direct my conduct, but for the warnings privately received, to be careful what i was about, for that, despite any apparent public approval of my proceedings, my enemies in the administration were on the watch for some act which might be construed to my disadvantage, and thus become the pretext for blame which should outweigh the praise accorded. the opportunity i felt had already been afforded by the suspension of bruce from the presidency, notwithstanding that this--as has been seen--was fully justified by circumstances, and was not resorted to without deliberate consideration, and the deepest conviction of its necessity. still, any opposition to the suspension of bruce could only be factious, for, on the nd of december, the minister of marine had in anticipation forwarded to me a list of new presidents and generals-at-arms, every person in authority throughout the whole extent of the northern coast being changed--with the exception of the president of parà; so that there was every reason to anticipate that even the strong measures which i had been compelled to adopt with regard to bruce would meet the views of his imperial majesty. on the st of january, the interim president apprised me that the junta refused to liquidate any part of the claim made in behalf of the squadron. upon this refusal, i wrote to the junta that, such being their decision, i would hold them personally responsible that no bills, debts, nor claims of any kind beyond the current expenses of government should be paid, till this prior claim--in honour and justice due to the officers and seamen, who had generously advanced their prize money to meet state exigencies--should be liquidated; adding, that the seamen _relied on me for justice_, and if my warning were not attended to, i should be compelled to take such steps as the necessity of upholding the interests of the crown and the efficiency of the naval service appeared to demand. in taking this step, i frankly admit that it was the only way to obtain from the government of maranham even a compromise for the amount owing by the province to the captors. i had every confidence in his imperial majesty that as far as lay in _his_ power justice would be done, as evinced by the acknowledgments given in his own handwriting in opposition to the measures of his ministers, on whom, or the prize tribunal, no reliance could be placed; the former having done all in _their_ power to thwart my efforts in his majesty's service, whilst the tribunal, acting by the sanction or in conformity to the known wishes of the ministry, had delayed adjudication, with the evident intention of _evading it altogether_, except in cases which gave a colour for condemning me in damages, in which respect--apparently their only object--they were prompt enough. i therefore determined that as a specific portion of the prize property taken at maranham in , had, at its own request, been given up to the provisional government, upon the express understanding of repayment --without which it could not have been thus surrendered--the junta should be made to preserve their own good faith, as well as mine, to the squadron, which, relying on my promises, had been influenced temporarily to devote to the exigencies of the state that which by imperial decree, as well as according to the laws of all nations, was their undoubted right. my orders to the junta of fazenda not to pay any claims--with the exception of the ordinary expenses of government--till those of the squadron had been satisfied, were, however, almost superogatory; for, on a visit of inspection to the arsenal on the nd of february, it appeared that they had established a system of not paying any debts, even those incurred for the provisions of the squadron, the contract prices being set down at _treble the market price!_ this overcharge was accounted for by the merchants on the ground of dilatory payments, which could only be obtained at all from the junta by fees to those whose duty it was to pass the accounts! to counteract this, i requested the interim president to forbid any further purchases on the part of the provincial government, as, in future, i would make them myself, and, what was more to the purpose, pay for them. by limiting the demand of repayment to one-fourth only of the amount captured from the portuguese government, i was not pressing at all severely upon the resources of the province, which is one of the richest in brazil; nor should i have put them to any inconvenience had i demanded repayment of the whole, _as i justly might have done_. on the th of february, the junta of fazenda sent me a verbal communication to the effect that they would give the sum agreed upon in commutation of prize money due to the captors--_in five bills, payable in five months_. as i knew that, in case of my departure, these would not be worth the paper upon which they were written, i refused the offer, adding that, after the course pursued by the prize tribunal at rio de janeiro the seamen had no faith in promises. finding that the junta shewed every disposition to evade the demand, i requested a personal interview with that body, intimating that i expected all the members to be present. at this interview, i told the junta that all the documents necessary in support of the claim had been laid before them, these being too precise to admit of dispute--that they had no right in law, justice, or precedent, to withhold the portion of the prize property left at maranham, by the request of the provisional government, no funds of their own being then available to meet the exigencies which had arisen--and therefore they were in honour bound to restore it. i was induced to adopt this step, not only on account of the evasive conduct experienced at the hands of the administration at rio de janeiro, but because i knew that negotiations were actually pending for the restitution of all the portuguese property captured, as a basis of the projected peace between portugal and brazil; in other words, that the squadron--whose exertions had added to the empire a territory larger than the whole empire as it existed previous to the complete expulsion of the portuguese--was to be altogether sacrificed to a settlement which its own termination of the war had brought about. so barefaced a proceeding towards those whose services had been engaged on the express stipulation of a right to all captures is, perhaps, unparalleled in the history of nations; and, as both officers and men looked to me for protection, i determined to persevere in demanding from the government of maranham--at least a compromise of the sums which the captors had, in , lent to its pressing exigencies. no small amount of obloquy has been attached to me with regard to this act of justice, the only one the squadron was ever likely to obtain; but the transaction involved my own good faith with both officers and men, who had lent the money solely on my assurance that the government at rio de janeiro could not do otherwise than refund the amount--so important was it at the time, that the pressing difficulties of the province should be promptly met. a man must have a singularly constituted mind, who, in my position, would have acted otherwise. to this subject it will be necessary to recur. on the th of february, i was surprised by an intimation from pedro josé da costa barros, of his intention to assume the presidency of maranham, founding his pretensions upon a letter addressed to bruce, whom i had suspended. at first--believing that he possessed the requisite authority--i invited him to take possession of the office, but finding that he had no patent to shew for the appointment, i considered it my duty to his majesty not to admit such pretensions till their validity was established, and therefore told barros that he must await the official communications from rio de janeiro, before i could acknowledge him as president--for that tranquillity being now restored, i would not have the minds of the people again unsettled on the mere presumption of his appointment. in this arrangement barros appeared to acquiesce, but being a well-known partisan of the portuguese faction, he was soon surrounded by the adherents of that party in maranham. on the th of march, a series of allegations was forwarded to me by the party of barros against the interim president, but as they were of the most insignificant nature, and unsupported by proof, i refused to pay attention to them. they were shortly afterwards followed by a letter from barros to the same purport, but without any specific accusation against lobo, whom he nevertheless represented as about to fly from maranham in order to evade the punishment due to his crimes! upon this i addressed to him the following letter demanding specific charges against the interim president:-- maranham, th march, . sir, i have received your excellency's letter, in which the interim president, manuel pellas da silva lobo, is charged with an intention of departing from maranham in a sudden and clandestine manner, and in which your excellency calls on me to adopt measures for the prevention of his flight. i must, however, represent to your excellency that, since i have been in this province, so many reports have been made to me with the greatest confidence, impeaching the character and motives of individuals--all of which have proved unfounded--that i feel it impossible to act with any propriety on your excellency's intimation--without being furnished with proof of the truth of the allegation. your excellency, i am persuaded, is too honourable to propagate so serious a charge without believing it to be well founded, and i cannot doubt that you will have the candour to admit that i am entitled to be made acquainted with the grounds on which your excellency's belief rests, before proceeding to any measure of severity against the party accused. i have further to request that your excellency will be pleased to say _for what crime, or crimes_, the president interino is supposed to be about to abandon--not only this province--but to flee from his native country? (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. to pedro josÉ de costa barros. the charges against lobo, i well knew to have been fabricated for the purpose of getting me to place him in arrest, and instal barros in the presidency. this plot failing, i learned, on the following day, that arrangements had been made for the forcible seizure of the interim president's person without any specific cause for dissatisfaction with his government, which was in all respects just and excellent. finding the spirit of intrigue thus again manifested for the neutralisation of all my efforts to restore order and prosperity to the province--to the discomfiture of the intriguants--i again, on the th of march, declared martial law. such was the terror inspired by this act in the minds of those who had fomented renewed disorder, that, anticipating summary retribution from me, they prepared for the flight of which they had accused an innocent man. on learning this, i despatched a vessel with a competent officer to cruise at the mouth of the port, under orders neither to let ships nor passengers leave without passports counter-signed by myself. having received a letter from josé feliz de azevedo e sa, the president of cearà, warning me of the intentions of barros, who had come from that province, i was confirmed in my determination that the good which had been effected at maranham should not be neutralised by one who had no authority to shew for his interference. accordingly, i wrote to barros the following order to quit the province forthwith, until his majesty's intentions with regard to him should be made known:-- march th, . sir, your excellency having acquainted me that the president interino intended to fly from justice, at the same time calling upon me to take precautionary measures to prevent his escape, without setting forth any crime of which he had been guilty; and further, with regard to my letter requesting that you would make known the nature of the delinquency which impelled the said president interino to fly from the province, you have not considered it necessary to give the slightest explanation. now, as i have ample reason to believe the whole allegation to be a fabrication--as i know that your excellency--instead of waiting, as is your duty, for communications from his imperial majesty --has, by your countenance, suffered to be stirred up a spirit of dissension and party, and as i understand the laws which i have been compelled to call into operation to prevent greater evils. i have to acquaint your excellency that i have provided a convenient conveyance for your excellency and suite, in order that you may reside in the neighbouring province of parà, until the arrival of orders from his imperial majesty; and that my barge will be at the service of your excellency and suite at any hour to-morrow, between sunrise and sunset, in order to proceed to the anchorage of the _pedro 'ro_, where you will find the _cacique_ ready for your reception. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. to pedro josÉ de costa barros. barros strongly remonstrated against this proceeding; but knowing that the machinations of his party had been the direct cause of renewed disorders, i resolved not to give way; telling him that he had only himself to blame, by not having abstained from meddling with public affairs till the arrival of competent authority from his imperial majesty. accordingly, i insisted on his immediately embarking on board the _cacique_, in charge of captain manson, for conveyance to parà, to the president of which province i addressed the following letter:-- maranham, th march, . most excellent sir, since i had the honour of writing to your excellency, pedro josé de costa barros, who arrived from cearà with the intention to take upon himself the office of president here--has unfortunately been the occasion of stirring up old animosities, which i had hoped experience might have taught him the advantage of leaving dormant. had barros been provided with proper authority under the sign manual of his imperial majesty, the difficulties that have occurred since his arrival might have been prevented; though i am extremely apprehensive that if ever he shall be invested with such authority, still greater evils will befal the province. the portuguese party are in favour of barros, and have expressed their sentiments unequivocally, and this your excellency knows is sufficient to raise up the native brazilians against him. the portuguese and some others had combined to place barros in the presidency by force, which intention i happily frustrated by arriving in maranham with a considerable reinforcement from the _pedro primiero_, at midnight--when the attempt was to have occurred. to put a stop to proceedings so injurious to the interests of his imperial majesty and the public, i have felt it necessary to remove barros from maranham until his commission shall arrive, or until his majesty's pleasure respecting the appointment of manoel telles da silva lobo, shall be known. barros therefore proceeds in the _cacique_ (which is the bearer of this) to parà--where having no pretensions, he will have no partisans, and will be inoffensive. i have not time, nor would it be of any utility to occupy your excellency with a minute detail of the affairs of this province, whilst your excellency has so much to do in that under your immediate superintendence: i am convinced that in all i have done, i have acted in conformity with the true interests of his majesty and his people, and am in no degree under any apprehension that the malevolent aspersions of self-interested or disappointed individuals will have the least influence on any candid mind, when a real statement of facts shall be laid before the public. i shall be gratified if your excellency attains the satisfaction of preserving the province of parà free from those party dissensions, the danger and inconvenience of which are best known to those who are obliged to be on the watch to counteract them. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. to josé feliz de azevedo e sa, the president of cearà, i addressed the subjoined letter of thanks for the warning he had given me respecting barros:-- maranham, march th, . most excellent sir, i have to offer your excellency many thanks for your kind letter, informing me, by anticipation, of the character of an individual whose principles and plans i was not long in discovering. scarcely had he placed his foot on the soil of maranham, when he was surrounded by all the portuguese of the city, who expressed their joy at his arrival in no equivocal manner. to give you a history of his intrigues would require pages. suffice it to say, that--after having attempted to thrust himself into the government within forty-eight hours after his arrival,--without having any lawful commission from his imperial majesty--and being defeated in that object--he placed himself at the head of a faction, brought charges against the president interino, and on the night of the th formed a plan to seize his person! this, however, i defeated, and as his charges against lobo were entirely false and malicious, i have sent him off to parà, there to await the determination of his imperial majesty. the intrigues here are so numerous, and there are so many interests to reconcile, that the harmony now restored will probably cease with the departure of the force under my command. but it is obvious that the squadron cannot remain here for ever to watch over private broils and feuds of so contemptible a nature. the only thing of which i am seriously afraid, is the influence and number of the portuguese settled here, should they find a president desirous of promoting their views and supposed interests. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. there was great difficulty to act for the best in this matter: but whether barros were appointed to the presidency or not, the course taken was the only one even temporarily to ensure public tranquillity. if appointed, it was evident, from his acts, that he had been selected by the administration to put in execution their anti-brazilian projects; whilst the portuguese party in maranham unequivocally expressed their intention to revive the old animosities between themselves and the native brazilians; thus causing a renewal of disorder which i was determined not to permit, in favour of one who had no patent to shew for his assumption of authority. this monstrous state of affairs--fostered by the imperial administration--was a natural consequence of their portuguese predilections, and could not have existed, except from want of union amongst the brazilians themselves, who, unskilled in political organization, were compelled to submit to a foreign faction, unable to carry out its own views, and only powerful in thwarting those of the patriots. their policy was the more reprehensible, for even the government of the mother country conceded that brazil was too extensive and powerful to be again reduced to a state of colonial dependence, and therefore confined its aims to the northern provinces, the portuguese party in the administration seconding the intentions of the parent state; both, however, shutting their eyes to the fact, that, if these were separated from brazil, they would become disorganized in a vain attempt to imitate the constitution of the united states--by whose more enlightened citizens they were greatly influenced--and, as a consequence, would be lost both to the parent state and the empire. as it was, all i had effected for their annexation and tranquillization was regarded with perfect hatred by the portuguese residents in the provinces as well as by the administration, who did everything in their power to thwart my measures for the union and consolidation of the empire. during the whole of this period, i repeat that i had received no communication from rio de janeiro, with the exception of the letter before mentioned, with the rubrick of his imperial majesty, thanking me for the course i had pursued. though no instructions were sent for my guidance, nor any fault found with my acts, yet, from private sources, i was advised that my success in restoring order to the northern provinces had greatly embittered the administration against me, as having destroyed the hopes of portugal--expressed through palmella--of profiting by disorder. i was also left to provide for the pay and maintenance of the squadron, one vessel only with supplies having been forwarded since our departure from rio de janeiro, in the preceding august! notwithstanding this marked neglect, i took care to keep the administration well advised of all my proceedings, and the causes thereof, the following being extracts from my letters to the minister of marine, respecting the events just narrated:-- no. . maranham, march th, . i beg to acquaint your excellency, for the satisfaction of the imperial government, that i have caused the provinces which required military assistance, to furnish pay and provisions for the ships immediately under my command; and further, that i have required the government of maranham to pay, as a recompence to the officers and seamen, _one-fourth part_ of the amount of money and bills, and _one-fifth part_ of the value of the military stores surrendered by the portuguese authorities on the th of july, . thus the imperial government at rio de janeiro will be relieved from considerable disbursement, and the officers and seamen--notwithstanding the great additional trouble to which they have been put--will be satisfied, so far as regards their claim to the value of their captures in compensation for their services at maranham. i cannot refrain from drawing the attention of the imperial government to the abuses which exist in every department of the provincial government, where, notwithstanding the great revenue derived from various sources, the junta of fazenda possess so little credit, that their bills have actually been sold at per cent. discount, and i am credibly informed that no money can, at any time, be received from the treasury without a heavy per centage being given to the inferior officers; but how such per centages are afterwards disposed of, is to me unknown. the price at which provisions were being purchased by the intendente for the use of the squadron being exorbitant, i instituted a minute inquiry, the result of which was the discovery of a fraudulent system which i abolished by purchasing our own provisions. american salt beef, for which the provincial government charged milreis the barrel, i have purchased for milreis--pork charged milreis, i buy for - / milreis. bread is charged milreis the quintal, whilst the english sloop-of-war _jaseur_ is purchasing it at milreis, for bills on england. indeed, the abuses here of all kinds are too numerous to be detailed by letter, and to endeavour to put a stop to them, unless under the express authority and protection of the imperial government, would be a thankless task. * * * * * no. . maranham, march th, . the difficulties with which i have had to contend in this province have been greatly increased by the arrival of pedro josé de costa barros on the th of last month--when intrigue within intrigue was set on foot by different parties, and which--if barros were placed in power--i clearly foresaw would end in anarchy and bloodshed--and probably in the destruction of all the portuguese part of the community, whose unequivocal reception of a partisan president excited at once the jealousy and distrust of the brazilians. under these circumstances, i felt that the only course to be adopted, for the prevention of serious evils, was to defer the introduction of barros into authority, and to leave lobo as president interino, until further directions from the imperial government. this additional degree of responsibility i took upon myself with the less reluctance, as barros had no other authority to assume the government than a letter to bruce, whom i had previously been compelled to suspend from office and send to rio--to whom, therefore, such letter could not be delivered. besides which, having appointed lobo to be president interino, until his majesty's pleasure should be known, i could not consistently consent to his removal from office until his majesty was acquainted with his appointment, and had expressed his pleasure thereon. * * * * * no. . maranham, march th, . as i observe by the lisbon newspapers that most of the vessels acquitted by the court of admiralty have arrived at lisbon, i beg to call your excellency's attention to the fact that i have received no reply to my letter addressed to your excellency on the st of august last, requesting to know whether, in addition to the loss of the property, _which ought to have been condemned_, i was personally liable to the enormous costs and damages decreed against me by that tribunal. * * * * * no. . maranham, march , . in my letter, no. , i acquainted your excellency of the course pursued with regard to pedro josé de costa barros, who, under the mistaken counsels of a faction here, would have again involved this province in scenes of bloodshed and confusion. it is neither my duty nor inclination to become a tool in the hands of any faction, whose views are contrary to the true interests of his imperial majesty, and, were they countenanced and protected, would infallibly involve all brazil in civil war and anarchy. i contented myself, however, with continuing the usual precautions, which were sufficient to prevent disasters till his majesty's pleasure, with regard to recent occurrences in this province, should become known, of which i have been in daily expectation for some time past; but barros--after agreeing to await the expected instructions--considered that he had gained over a sufficient party to overthrow the government by violent means, and addressed to me the letter a, which was considered by him a sufficient pretext to warrant the imprisonment of the president interino, during my temporary absence on board the flagship, whence, it was supposed, i should not be able to arrive in time to prevent the execution of that violent measure; and i regret to add, that, in this plot--so prejudicial to his majesty's interests, and so disgraceful to the parties concerned--persons whose duty it was to have at once combatted such unjustifiable proceedings took an underhand but active part. the letters of barros, a and b, will sufficiently shew the violence of his prejudices, his credulity, and precipitancy in acting upon false information and reports, as well as his total ignorance of law and justice, in requiring the seizure of an individual without specifying either crime or accuser. i enclose to your excellency all the correspondence which has taken place between barros and myself, together with the proclamation which i felt it my duty to issue for the maintenance of order; for the legal department here now profess to consider that, although the constitution has been granted and accepted, they have no authority to put it in practice--hence, between the ancient and new laws, justice is at a stand. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. to these and all my previous communications no reply was returned either in the way of approval or otherwise. there was, however, one member of the administration, luiz josé carvalho e mello, who had ever been my friend, being himself a man of patriotic and enlightened views, but without the influence to counteract the designs of his portuguese colleagues. as i knew from private sources, that this silence had its objects, i addressed to carvalho e mello the following letter:-- maranham, march nd, . most excellent sir, by the arrival of my despatches transmitted by the _george_ and other ships, your excellency will have been successively informed of such public transactions and occurrences as seemed to me worthy of the attention of the imperial government. but notwithstanding that three months and upwards have now elapsed since the date of my first communications, i have the misfortune (for so i must call it) to be left without any precise or applicable instructions from rio de janeiro. the responsibility, therefore, rests entirely on my shoulders, and i feel this the more--being aware that not only shall i meet with no support from the majority of the ministry itself--but that the most powerful faction in rio de janeiro will represent every thing i have done--or may do--in the blackest colours. i console myself, however, with the knowledge that i possess the means of exposing the falsehood of every allegation that can be brought against me. i have acted towards his imperial majesty and the brazilian nation, in the same manner as i should have done for my native sovereign and country; and i must say--that, had i freed the shores of england from a superior hostile force, and rescued half the country from the dominion of an enemy--the british government would not have left me to seek the fruit of my labours, and those of the officers and seamen who served with me, in the manner in which i have been compelled to seek them in brazil; and would never have subjected me to the necessity of having recourse to measures capable of being so perversely represented as to obscure for a time that credit to which i am entitled for the successful conduct of the naval war. i am, however, resolved never to be deterred, by fear of consequences, from using every endeavour within my power to obtain justice for all who have continued to perform their duty in the imperial service. and i have the less hesitation in persevering in this resolution--because it cannot be denied that i have strictly limited the claims of the naval service to such rewards as would have been admitted to be due, under similar circumstances, in the navy of england. i have used the freedom to say thus much to your excellency as my friend--because i am well aware that the old cry of the portuguese faction in rio will be set up against me the moment they hear that i have caused the junta of fazenda of this province to pay a part of the amount of the money and bills taken on the surrender of the portuguese authorities at maranham. this, of course, though only one-fourth of the amount due, _will be represented as an outrageous robbery_; but i again say, that it is not from the portuguese faction at rio, that i expect either credit or justice. their object is sufficiently evident, namely--_the expulsion of every foreign officer from the service, by means of privation and insult, in order that they may fill the ships with their portuguese countrymen and dependents_; a result which i should lament to witness, because fraught with mischief to his imperial majesty and brazil. i feel myself much shaken in health by the great heat of the climate, and the anxiety occasioned by the peculiar circumstances in which i have been placed; all of which i might have saved myself under the plea of want of instructions, but for my desire to promote the real interests of his imperial majesty, by once more accomplishing that which his majesty, in his instructions to me of the st of july last, was graciously pleased to describe as "_of no less importance than the integrity and independence of the empire_." i am, with great respect, your excellency's devoted friend, and obedient servant, cochrane and maranhaÕ. on the th of march, the junta--finding that i would not listen to any farther evasion--paid contos (£. ) in bills, and contos (£. ) in silver, as the first instalment of the , dollars (£. , ) for which the restoration of , dollars (£. , ) had been commuted. the disbursement of this sum amongst the officers and men entitled to it, is fully narrated in the concluding chapter, containing a full statement of the disbursement of this and other monies charged against me, which statement is accompanied by vouchers fortunately retained in my possession, these placing the proper disbursement of the money amongst its rightful owners beyond doubt or question. chapter xii. i quit maranham for a cruise--bad state of the frigate--connivance at illicit trade--we are compelled to proceed to england--the frigate reported to the brazilian envoy--who cheats me of £. , --his assumption that i had abandoned the service--my contradiction thereof--order to return to rio--reasons for not doing so--brazilian envoy tampers with my officer--who acquaints me therewith--envoy stops pay and provisions--declares that the brazilian government will give me nothing!--captain shepherd's reply--i prepare to return to rio--the envoy dismisses me from the service--without reason assigned--he declares that i voluntarily abandoned the service--receipts foe accounts transmitted to brazil--these denied to have been sent. the anxiety occasioned by the constant harassing which i had undergone--unalleviated by any acknowledgment on the part of the imperial government of the services which had a second time saved the empire from intestine war, anarchy and revolution--began to make serious inroads on my health; whilst that of the officers and men, in consequence of the great heat and pestilential exhalations of the climate, and of the double duty which they had to perform, afloat and ashore, was even less satisfactory. as i saw no advantage in longer contending with factious intrigues at maranham--unsupported and neglected as i was by the administration at rio de janeiro, and as i knew that my immediate return to the capital would instantly be followed by resident contention, i resolved upon a short run into a more bracing northerly atmosphere, which would answer the double purpose of restoring our health, and of giving us a clear offing for our subsequent voyage to rio de janeiro. accordingly--after paying both to officers and crews their share of the prize money refunded by the junta of maranham (see concluding chapter), i shifted my flag into the _piranga_, despatched the _pedro primiero_ to rio, and leaving captain manson, of the _cacique_, in charge of the naval department at maranham, put to sea on the th of may. on the st we crossed the equator, and meeting with a succession of easterly winds, were carried to the northward of the azores, passing st. michael's on the th of june. it had been my intention to sail into the latitude of the azores, and then to return to rio de janeiro; but strong gales coming on we made the unpleasant discovery that the frigate's maintopmast was sprung, and when putting her about, the main and maintopsail yards were discovered to be unserviceable. a still worse disaster was, that the salt provisions shipped at maranham were reported bad; mercantile ingenuity having resorted to the device of placing good meat at the top and bottom of the barrels; whilst the middle, being composed of unsound provisions, had tainted the whole, thereby rendering it not only uneatable, but positively dangerous to health. for the condition of the ship's spars i had depended on others, not deeming it necessary to take upon myself such investigation; it is however possible that we might have patched these up, so as to reach rio de janeiro, had not the running rigging been as rotten as the masts, and we had no spare cordage on board. the state of the provisions, however, rendered a direct return to rio de janeiro out of the question, the good provisions on board being little more than sufficient for a week's subsistence of the crew. on ascertaining these facts, i convened the officers for the purpose of holding a survey on the state of the ship and provisions, they all agreeing with me as to the impracticability of attempting a six weeks' voyage with defective masts and rigging, and only a week's provisions on board, at the same time signing a survey to that effect, which document is now in my possession. it was therefore determined to put into some port for the purpose of refitting; but here another difficulty presented itself. portugal was still an enemy's country. had we made a spanish port, the prominent part i had taken in depriving spain of her colonies in the pacific would have ensured me a questionable reception. a french port too was unsuitable, as france had not acknowledged the independence of brazil. to enter an english harbour was attended with some risk of annoyance to myself, in consequence of the enactments of the "foreign enlistment bill," the provisions of which had been specially aimed at my having taken service in south america though before that bill was passed, so that i did not consider myself to come within the meaning of the act. still the point was debateable, and were it raised, might subject me to considerable personal inconvenience, the more so as being in command of a foreign ship of war belonging to an unacknowledged state. the necessity was, however, urgent, and taking all circumstances into consideration, i resolved, notwithstanding the foreign enlistment bill, to stretch on to portsmouth, and there procure provisions, anchors, cables, and stores, indispensable for the use of a ship of war; the frigate being so destitute of all these, that, had i been fully aware of her condition before quitting maranham, i should have hesitated to put to sea. in passing the azores, we overtook the brig _aurora_, which left maranham ten days before the _piranga_, cleared out for gibraltar under brazilian colours. she was now steering direct for lisbon under a portuguese ensign, in company with a portuguese schooner; this circumstance clearly shewing the kind of intercourse carried on between brazil and the mother country by connivance of the authorities. though both vessels were within my grasp i did not molest them, in consequence of having received private information of a decree passed by the supreme military council at rio de janeiro on the th of october, from the tenor of which decree, had i made further captures from the enemy, i should have incurred additional penalties, as acting contrary to the obvious intentions of a majority of the council, though their views had not been officially communicated to me. i had, however, stronger reasons for not molesting these vessels. knowing that both were bound for lisbon, i felt certain that they would carry the news of our approaching the shores of portugal with a view to mischief--and that a knowledge of the proximity of a brazilian ship of war, with the further consideration of the injury she might do to the trade of that nation in case of rupture of the pending negociations, could not fail to inspire a desire for peace on the minds of the mercantile portion of the population, who had hitherto been chiefly instrumental in delaying the paternal intentions of his portuguese majesty with regard to the independence of brazil as now firmly established under the government of his descendant and heir apparent. the effect anticipated was, in reality, produced by their report, so that we contributed in no small degree to hasten the peace which was shortly afterwards established. another motive for not molesting these vessels was, that being compelled, for the reasons before stated, to resort to an english port, at a time when i knew the british government to be carrying on negociations for peace between portugal and brazil, i felt it better to abstain from hostilities against portuguese vessels or property--considering that a contrary course might impede the reconciliation which was desirable both for the interests of his imperial majesty and his royal father; a result scarcely less advantageous to england on account of her rapidly extending commerce in brazil. we sighted the english coast on the th of june, and on the following day came to anchor at spithead, our available provisions being entirely expended. my first step was to inquire of the authorities at portsmouth, whether, in case of the _piranha's_ saluting, the compliment would be returned with the same number of guns? the inquiry being answered in the affirmative, the salute was fired, and replied to; thus, for the first time, was the flag of his imperial majesty saluted by an european state, and the independence of brazil virtually acknowledged. my next step was to report the arrival of the _piranga_ at portsmouth, to the chevalier manoel rodriguez gameiro pessoa, the brazilian envoy in london; at the same time informing his excellency of the circumstances which had unavoidably led to our appearance in british waters, and requesting him to forward the means of paying the men's wages. this requisition was complied with, to the extent of two months' pay to the men. as it was contrary to the law or usage of england to assist in the equipment of ships of war belonging to foreign belligerent states, the articles required for the re-equipment of the frigate could not be furnished from the royal arsenal--the duty of providing these, therefore, devolved upon the brazilian envoy, who soon afterwards represented that he was without means for the purpose, thus impeding the equipment of the frigate. the men being also without fresh provisions or the means to procure them, were beginning to desert, i advanced £. , in order to keep them together, giving the chevalier gameiro an order for this amount on my bankers, messrs. coutts, and taking his receipt for the amount, for which i drew a bill upon the imperial government at rio de janeiro, which was _protested, and has not been paid to this day!_ on the th of august, i was surprised at receiving from the envoy a letter charging _me personally_ with the amount he had advanced to the _piranga_, and also with £. , an alleged error of account in payments made at maranham; his excellency concluding with the extraordinary declaration, that--"having received from my bankers, messrs. coutts and co. the sum of £. he had placed against it the amount advanced, the transaction leaving me indebted to the legation in the sum of £. !" though the legation could not have anything to do with the assumed error arising from transactions at maranham. on the st of august, i received a letter from the brazilian envoy to the effect that he had perceived in the newspapers a report that i had accepted from the government of greece the command of its navy--and wished to know if there was any truth in the assertion. to this inquiry i replied that so long as i continued in the brazilian service i could not accept any other command; that the greek command had been offered to me whilst in brazil, in the same manner as the brazilian command had been offered to me whilst in the service of chili; and that, soon after my return to portsmouth, the greek committee, zealous in the cause which they had adopted, had renewed their offers, under the impression that my work in brazil was now completed. at the same time, i assured the envoy that as, in the case of chili, i did not accept the brazilian command till my work was done, neither should i accept a greek commission till my relations with brazil were honourably concluded, but that nevertheless the offer made to me on behalf of greece was not rejected. this reply was construed by the chevalier gameiro into an admission that _i had_ accepted the greek command, and he addressed to me another letter, expressive of his regret that i should have "come to the resolution to retire from the service of his imperial majesty the emperor of brazil, in the great work of whose independence i had taken so glorious a part, (a grande obra da independencia, v. e'a teve tao gloriosa parte) regretting the more especially that his august sovereign should be deprived of my important services (prestantes servicios) just at a moment when new difficulties required their prompt application," &c. &c. these expressions were probably sincere, for, since my departure from maranham, serious difficulties had arisen in the river plate, which afterwards ended with little credit to the brazilian cause. but _i had not accepted the greek command_, and had no intention of so doing otherwise than consistently with my engagements with brazil. on the th of september, i therefore addressed to the envoy the following letter:-- edinburgh, th sept. . most excellent sir, i regret that your translator should have so far mistaken the words and meaning of my last letter as to lead your excellency to a conclusion that i had taken the resolution to leave the service of h.i.m. the emperor of brazil, or, in other words, that it was i who had violated the engagements entered into with the late ministers of his imperial majesty in . whereas, on the contrary, the _portaria_ published in the rio gazette on the th of february, , was promulgated without my knowledge or sanction, and the limitation of my authority to _the existing war_ was persevered in by the present ministers, notwithstanding my remonstrance in writing, both to the minister of marine and the minister of the interior. your excellency ought not therefore to be surprised, if--threatened as i am with this _portaria_--i should provide beforehand against a contingency which might _hereafter_ arise from an occasion happily so nigh, as seems to be the restoration of peace and amity between his imperial majesty and his royal father. with regard to any communications of a pressing nature relative to the equipment of the _piranga_, your excellency may consider captain shepherd authorised to act, in my absence, in all ordinary cases. and that officer, having instructions to acquaint me whenever the _piranga_ shall have two-thirds of her complement of men on board--i can at any time be in london within two days of the receipt of such communication, and most assuredly before the complement can be procured. i have the honour, &c. cochrane and maranhaÕ. to chevalier manoel rodriguez gambiro pessoa. notwithstanding that my engagements with brazil rested on the original patents conferred upon me by his majesty, of which the validity had been further established by the additional documents given before my departure for pernambuco--the latter completely setting aside the spurious _portaria_ of barbosa, limiting my services to the duration of the war--i nevertheless felt confident that, when my services were no longer required, no scruples as to honourable engagements would prevent the ministry from acting on the spurious documents, though promulgated without my knowledge or consent, against every principle of the conditions upon which i entered the brazilian service. no blame could therefore attach to me, for not rejecting the offer of the greek command, in case a trick of this kind should be played, as i had every reason to believe it would be--and as it afterwards in reality was. on the th of september, the brazilian envoy forwarded to me an order from the imperial government at rio, dated june th, and addressed to me at maranham; the order directing me to proceed from that port to rio immediately on its receipt, to give an account of my proceedings there--though despatches relating even to minute particulars of every transaction had, as the reader is well aware, been sent by every opportunity. his majesty, when issuing the order, was ignorant that i had quitted maranham, still more that on the day the order was issued at rio de janeiro, i had anchored at spithead, so that obedience to his majesty's commands was impossible. acting on this order, the chevalier gameiro took upon himself to "require, in the name of the emperor, the immediate return of the _piranga_, so soon as her repairs were completed, and her complement of men filled up." as i knew that the order in question would not have been promulgated by the emperor, had he known the effect produced by the presence of the _piranga_ in the vicinity of portugal; and as, in everything i had accomplished in brazil, his majesty had placed the fullest confidence in my discretion, i felt certain that he would be equally well satisfied with whatever course i might deem it necessary to pursue, i did not therefore think it expedient to comply with the requisition of the envoy, assigning the following reasons for using my own judgment in the matter:-- edinburgh, oct. , . most excellent sir, i have this day been favoured with your letter containing a copy of a _portaria_ dated june th, wherein his imperial majesty, through his minister of marine, directs my immediate return from maranham to rio de janeiro, leaving only the small vessels there; which order you will observe i had anticipated on the th of may, when i left the imperial brig-of-war _cacique_ and the schooner _maria_ in that port. since then, his excellency the minister of marine is in possession of duplicates of my correspondence mentioning the arrangements i had so made in anticipation of the imperial order; and of my official communications--also in duplicate--transmitted on my arrival at portsmouth, by your excellency's favour, with your despatches. these will have acquainted his imperial majesty with the cause and necessity of our arrival at spithead--as well as with my intention there to wait a reasonable time before the departure of the _piranga,_ in order to learn the result of the negociations with portugal. i have only to add that, by some inadvertence, your excellency's secretary has sent me the copy instead of the original order addressed to me by order of his imperial majesty, which mistake may be remedied on my return to town. i am gratified to learn that there is less difficulty in procuring men than i had anticipated under the regulations respecting foreign seamen. i have the honour, &c. cochrane and maranhaÕ. the chevalier gameiro. shortly previous to this, the chevalier gameiro addressed a letter to lieutenant shepherd, under the title of "commander of the _piranga_!" unjustifiably informing him officially that _"i had retired from the service of his majesty the emperor of brazil!"_ notwithstanding my letters to him in contradiction. indeed, the letter just quoted is sufficient to shew that not only had i not relinquished the service, but that i refused to obey gameiro's order to proceed to rio, because i knew that if the frigate returned to brazil, the impression her presence had produced on portugal would be altogether neutralized, and the negociations for peace might be indefinitely prolonged; so that his order to run away from the good which had been effected, was so truly absurd, that i did not choose to comply with it. had the negociations for peace been broken off, i had formed plans of attacking portugal in her own waters, though with but a single frigate; and i had no reasonable doubt of producing an impression there of no less forcible a character than, with a single ship, i had, two years before, produced on the portuguese fleet in brazil. the order was, therefore, one commanding me to run away from my own plans, of which the envoy however knew nothing, as i did not feel justified in entrusting him with my intentions. on receiving the above-mentioned intimation to proceed to rio de janeiro--without my intervention, lieutenant shepherd very properly forwarded the envoy's letter to me--when, of course, i apprised him that he was under my command, and not under that of the chevalier gameiro. at the same time i wrote to the latter, that "it would be the subject of regret if anything should cause the spurious decree of the th of february, , to be brought into operation, but that, _at present, being in full possession of my office and authority_, my opinion was in no way changed, that the _piranga_ should be first fully equipped, and then wait for a reasonable time for the decision of those important matters in discussion." finding that lieutenant shepherd would not fly in the face of my authority, the envoy finally resorted to the extraordinary measure of stopping the seamen's wages and provisions. on the th of october, lieutenant shepherd wrote to me, that "in consequence of their wages not being paid they had all left off work, and though clarence did all he could to pacify them, and get them to return to their duty, they had determined not to go to work until they were paid." on the th, lieutenant shepherd again wrote, "that gameiro having ceased to supply the frigate with fresh provisions, he had, on his own responsibility, ordered the butcher to continue supplying them as usual." on lieutenant shepherd waiting upon the envoy to remonstrate against this system of starvation, he replied--and his words are extracted from lieutenant shepherd's letter to me, that as "his lordship did not think proper to sail at the time he wished, he would not be responsible for supplying the frigate with anything more--nor would he advance another shilling." in all this, gameiro--acting, no doubt, on instructions from the portuguese faction at rio--resorted to every kind of falsehood to get the officers to renounce my authority and to accept his! of the character of the man and his petty expedients, the following extract from lieutenant shepherd's letter of the th of october, will form the best exponent:-- i have had another visit from general brown, when he began a conversation by mentioning the evils which would arise from the feeling between your lordship and gameiro, who was at a loss how to act, as he had no authority over you--gen. brown suggesting how much better it would be for me to place myself under gameiro's orders. finding that i refused--on the following morning he called again, and told me that he had seen gameiro, and had heard that the misunderstanding between your lordship and him was at an end, but that gameiro wanted to see me. on this i waited on gameiro, who after some conversation told me that if i had any regard for his imperial majesty's service, i should never have acted as i had done. i told him that all i had done had been for the good of the service, and that i was ready to put to sea as soon as i received your lordship's orders. he then asked me if i was the effective captain of the ship? and whether i was not under the orders of captain crosbie? i told him that i was not acting under the orders of captain crosbie, but that i was captain of the ship by virtue of a commission from the emperor, and by an order from lord cochrane. he then said--are you authorised to obey the orders of captain crosbie? and i said, i was not. suppose you were to receive an order from captain crosbie, would you obey it? i said i would not. then you consider yourself the lawful captain of that ship? i do. upon this gameiro remarked, "you are not an officer of lord cochrane's, but of the imperial government. it is impossible for lord cochrane to return to the brazils as the admiralty court there _has sentenced him to pay £. , sterling, and his command will cease as soon as peace is made between brazil and portugal! besides, lord cochrane's motive for detaining the_ piranga _is the expectation on his part of receiving £. per annum at the termination of the war, which the government will never give him_!" finding that this made no impression on me, he began to threaten, saying that "he would state to his government that all delay was occasioned by me, and that i should have to answer for it." i told him that, in the event of my sailing without your orders, i subjected myself to be tried by a court-martial for so doing, and leaving your lordship behind. he answered that "i must be aware that he was the legal representative of his imperial majesty, and that he would give me despatches of such a nature as would not only exonerate me from all blame, but would shew the great zeal i had for his imperial majesty's service." i asked gameiro--if i were to act in such a manner, what would people think of me? the answer was, "_never mind what lord cochrane says, you will be in the brazils and he in england, and i will take upon myself all the blame and the responsibility._" he gave me till the evening to think of his proposals, and if i would not consent to them, he had other means of sending the _piranga_ to sea. he further requested me to keep this secret from your lordship, as if you heard of it you would come post and stop it; adding that if i would consent, he would send a sufficient number of men in a steamboat, with every kind of store and provisions required to complete us, and we were to sail immediately. this deep laid plot of gameiro's was not to be carried on as portuguese plots are in general, but was to be done--using his own words--_at a blow_, before anybody could know anything about it. with this i send a copy of my answer to gameiro's proposals, and a letter representing the state of the ship. i have the honour to remain your lordship's obedient servant, ja's. shepherd. such were the underhand expedients of a man who was silly enough to tell the secrets of his government, as regarded the intended injustice of the brazilian ministry towards me--in spite of stipulations thrice ratified by the emperor's own hand. but in confiding them to lieutenant shepherd, the envoy's want of common honesty, no less than of common sense, did not perceive that he was imparting iniquitous projects to a brave and faithful officer, who would not lose a moment till he had apprised me of the whole. i should be unjust to the memory of captain shepherd did i not give his written reply to the infamous proposals of gameiro, a copy of which was enclosed to me in the preceding letter. copy of my answer to gameiro's proposals, sent in portuguese, and translated by mr. march:-- most excellent sir, in answer to the wishes of your excellency to place myself under your immediate orders, i have to acquaint you that i have this morning had a letter from lord cochrane, stating that he had received letters from your excellency of such a nature as to require his immediate presence in town, where he intends to be on monday next. this alone--you must be aware--will entirely preclude the possibility of putting into execution the arrangements which you wished; the celerity of the admiral's movements being such as to preclude all hope of effecting them. i am sorry to add, that all our men have this morning left the ship in a complete state of mutiny, occasioned by their not having received their last two months' pay, and i much fear that it will be now more difficult than ever to get her manned--as, from their having been so long kept in arrears, and leaving their ship without being paid, has irritated their feelings to such a degree, that i have no hesitation whatever in saying that they will do all in their power to prevent others from joining her. i have the honour to remain your obedient humble servant, james shepherd. to his excellency manoel rodriguez gameiro pessoa. on the th of october, i received from the brazilian legation in london, further orders from the imperial government, dated august th, , to return with the _piranga_ to rio de janeiro--and with these i made preparations to comply, notifying to gameiro my readiness to sail--by the following letter:-- london, nov. , . most excellent sir, having informed your excellency on the st of october, that previous to quitting maranham i had anticipated the imperial resolutions, and having in my letter of the th further made known to your excellency that the _piranga_ should sail for brazil on or as soon after the th of this month as the wind would permit, your excellency will perceive that there is nothing remaining of the imperial decree to be executed, unless the _piranga_ (which i much doubt) should be enabled to put to sea before the early day which i have fixed for departure. (signed) cochrane and maranhaÕ. his excellency manoel rodriguez gameiro pessoa. this declaration of my readiness to comply with his imperial majesty's orders did not, however, suit the envoy, nor did it fall in with his instructions from the brazilian ministry, which, no doubt were, as soon as peace was proclaimed, _to get rid of me without satisfying my claims_--this course being, indeed, apparent from what the envoy, as just shewn, had communicated to lieutenant shepherd. (see page .) on the rd of november, peace between portugal and brazil was announced, and the independence of the empire acknowledged; gameiro being, on the occasion, created baron itabayana, whilst i--to whose instrumentality the peace--as a consequence of the consolidation of the empire had been mainly owing, _was to be ignominiously dismissed the service_! on the th of november--four days only after the announcement of peace--gameiro took upon himself the execution of the spurious ministerial decree issued by barbosa on the th of february, , which _had been abrogated by the emperor, through the same minister, in the july following, as a prelude to my employment in the tranquillisation of the northern provinces_. gameiro did not venture previously to apprise me of the act lest i should resist it--but insultingly sent an order to the officers of the piranga to "disengage themselves from all obedience to my command." (se desligaõ de toda subordinacaõ a o ex'mo s'r marquez do maranhaõ), thus unjustifiably terminating my services--as i was on the point of returning, in obedience to the order of the emperor. the subjoined is the order alluded to:-- _to_ captain shepherd, _commanding the piranga, still refusing supplies whilst i held the command._ having received the two letters which you addressed to me on the th of this month, enclosing three demands for various articles for the use of the frigate, i have to reply that i persist in my resolution not to furnish anything to the frigate unless she is placed under the immediate orders of this legation, which i shall only consider accomplished when i shall receive a reply signed by yourself, and by all the other officers, declaring that--in compliance with the orders of his imperial majesty, contained in the two portarias of th of june and th of august last--_you all place yourselves under the orders of this legation, and cast off all subordination to the marquis of maranhaõ!_ dated london, th november, . (signed) gameiro. as this was done without the slightest motive existing or assigned, there was no doubt in my mind but that barbosa and his colleagues in the ministry had instructed gameiro to dismiss me from the service whenever peace was effected; indeed, he had so informed lieutenant shepherd by the letter before quoted. to resist a measure--though thus insultingly resorted to--in the face of the imperial order to return, was out of the question, as the instant consequence would have been a disgraceful outbreak between the brazilian and portuguese seamen of the _piranga,_ in the principal war port of england, to my own scandal, no less than to that of the imperial government. i had, therefore, no alternative to avert this outrage but by submitting to the forcible deposition from my authority as commander-in-chief. this act of the envoy--_based upon the deliberate falsehood that his imperial majesty had ordered the officers not to obey me, no such order existing_ in either of the portarias mentioned--precluded my obedience to the imperial command to return to rio de janeiro, for being no longer acknowledged as "first admiral of brazil, and commander-in-chief of the national armada," i could only have accompanied the _piranga_ as a passenger, or rather _quasi_ prisoner; and to this, in either capacity, it was impossible, without degradation, to submit. i had no inclination to place myself at the mercy of men who had taken advantage of a spurious decree to dismiss me--now that--in spite of their opposition--the destiny of the empire had been irrevocably decided by my having counteracted their _anti-national_ views whilst carrying out the intentions of his imperial majesty. as will presently be seen, it was falsely represented by gameiro, to the imperial government, that i had _voluntarily abandoned the service!_ though, from the letter just quoted--ordering the officers to "disengage themselves from all subordination to me," this subterfuge of my having _dismissed myself_ is obviously false. i will not, therefore, trespass on the patience of the reader by dilating upon the subject; suffice it to say that, not choosing to return to rio de janeiro as a passenger, i had no dignified alternative but to give up the frigate to the command of the senior officer, captain shepherd; confiding to him all accounts of monies distributed for the imperial service, with the vouchers for the same--taking the precaution to send however the duplicate receipts given by the officers on account of the monies paid by the junta of maranham--and retaining the originals in my possession, where they now remain, and will be adduced in the statement of account forming the concluding chapter of this volume. for these accounts--which the brazilian ministers _deny ever to have received_--captain shepherd gave me, under his own signature, the following acknowledgment--now in my possession; a photograph of which, together with photographs of other important documents has long since been sent to the brazilian government:-- received from lord cochrane, marquess of maranhaõ, the key of the iron chest, in which the prize lists and receipts for the disbursement of public monies have been kept during his excellency's command; which key and chest i engage faithfully to deliver to the accountant-general of his imperial majesty's navy, or to the proper authority at rio de janeiro, taking his receipt for the same. on board h.i.m.'s ship _piranga_, november th, , ja's shepherd. the denial by the brazilian administration--of the accounts and receipts thus acknowledged by captain shepherd, and the absence of any ministerial communication on the subject, forms an unworthy imputation on the memory of a gallant officer, who a short time afterwards nobly died in action in the cause of brazil. it was utterly impossible that captain shepherd should have done otherwise than have delivered them, for he was a man upon whose honour no reproach could be cast. there are only two ways to account for their not having been delivered, if such be the case. st, that gameiro on the delivery of the frigate to the legation obtained possession of the chest in which they were deposited, and withheld them to justify my dismissal by casting the reproach upon me of having appropriated the amount--an act of which the brazilian government may judge whether he was capable; or, ndly, that from the same reason they were purposely withheld or destroyed by the ministers who had been so inimical to me. the present brazilian administration is happily composed of men of a different stamp, and it becomes them, for the sake of the national reputation, to institute the strictest search for the documentary evidence adduced, as no man will believe that i withheld documents which could alone justify my acts. and here i must be permitted to remark, that the documentary evidence adduced in this volume proves the history, and not the history the documents. if any question be made as to their validity or fidelity, _i hereby call upon the brazilian government to appoint a commission, or authorise their embassy to compare the extracts with the originals in my possession, so that no manner of doubt or question shall attach to them._ my object in now producing them is, that i will not voluntarily go to my grave with obloquy, cast on me by men, who, at the outset of brazilian independence, were a misfortune to the empire no less than to myself; men who not only pursued this shameful line of conduct towards me who was unable to resist it,--but towards his imperial majesty,--who, by similar practices, was eventually disgusted into an abdication of his throne and an abandonment of the country--to which he had given one of the freest constitutions in existence--achieved under the imperial watchword, "independencia ou morte." chapter xiii. i am dismissed the service by the brazilian government--without any acknowledgment of my services--inconsistency of this with former thanks--though dismissed i am tried as a deserter--and am refused all compensation--report of recent commission on the subject--false representations--but partially true conclusions--my original patents never set aside--untrue assumptions as to my dismissal--my claims founded on the original patents--less than half the interest due paid--opinions of eminent brazilians thereon--my services tardily acknowledged--no act of mine had annulled them--the estate conferred, not confirmed--promises on account of chili unfulfilled--the whole still my right. having been thus unceremoniously dismissed from the imperial service--without doubt, by order of the brazilian ministry to their envoy in london, i was some months afterwards surprised by the receipt of a letter from the imperial government, dated december st, , and signed "visconde de paranagua," informing me that his imperial majesty had ordered all my pay and other claims to be suspended till i should return to rio de janeiro to justify myself and give an account of my commission--this being now out of my power, as i had been deprived of command, and the frigate in which i came to england had returned, by order of the envoy, to rio de janeiro. without, however, giving me time to do this, i received another letter from the same authority, dated dec. , containing my formal dismission from the service--this shewing that gameiro had previous instructions to act in the way narrated in the last chapter. the following is the official letter dismissing me from the command of the navy, and from the post of first admiral:-- his majesty the emperor, informed of that which your excellency has set forth in your letter no. , dated the th of november last, has been pleased to determine that your excellency shall fulfil the orders already several times transmitted to you, and further in compliance with the order of the th inst., a copy of which i inclose, you are to return to this court, where it is necessary you shall give an account of the commission with which you were entrusted. his majesty is much surprised that, after having taken the frigate _piranga_ to a foreign port, and having there remained in despite of the baron itabayana, you should have adopted the extraordinary resolution, not only _to abandon that frigate, but also to retire from the service of the emperor_, without having returned to give an account of your proceedings _previous to your dismissal from the command of the naval forces, and from the post of first admiral_ of the national and imperial armada. all which i communicate for the information and execution of your excellency. god preserve your excellency. palace of rio de janeiro, dec. th, . (signed) visconde de paranagua. to the marquis of maranhaõ. from this extraordinary document it is plain that gameiro had written to the imperial government the same falsehood, as he had used when endeavouring to seduce lieut. shepherd from his duty to me as his commander-in-chief; viz. that i had voluntarily retired from the service, because the admiralty court having condemned me in £. , _damages, i durst not return to rio de janeiro!_ though i announced to him my readiness to sail in the frigate. the jesuitical nature of the preceding letter amply proves its object and motive. it does not dismiss me--but _it calls on me to come and be dismissed_! carefully addressing me, however, as "marquis of maranhaõ," and not as first admiral, thereby intimating that i was _already dismissed_! as there can be no mistake about the meaning of the document, it is not worth while to discuss it--the reason why it is adduced being to shew that i was not only dismissed by the envoy gameiro, but in a little more than a month afterwards by the imperial government itself; which for thirty years reiterated in reply to my often pressed claims--that _i dismissed myself by abandoning the service of my own accord_! not a word of acknowledgment was ever given for having a second time saved the empire from dismemberment, though this service was entirely extra-official, it being no part of my contract with the brazilian government to put down revolution, nor to take upon myself the responsibility and difficult labour of reducing half the empire to the allegiance which it had perhaps not without cause repudiated--at the same time, of necessity, taking the management of the whole upon myself. this had been done at the pressing personal request of his imperial majesty, in face of the decree of the court of admiralty _that no prizes should be made within a certain distance of the shore_; so that no benefit, public or private--arising from the operations of war--could result from blockade; yet i had a right to expect even greater thanks and a more liberal amount of compensation in case of success, than from the first expedition. not a word of acknowledgment nor a shilling of remuneration for that service has ever been awarded to this day; though such treatment stands out in glaring inconsistency with the imperial thanks and honours--the thanks of the administration--and the vote of the general assembly, for expelling on the first expedition enemies not half so formidable as were the revolutionary factions with which i had to contend in the northern provinces. neither in brazil nor in england had i done anything to forfeit my right to the fulfilment of the explicit stipulations set forth in the imperial patents of march th, and november th, . his imperial majesty had all along marked his approbation of my zealous exertions for the interests of the empire--designating them "_altos e extraordinarios servicios_."--and desired that i should have the most ample remuneration; having, in addition to every honour in his power to confer, granted me an estate, which grant was by the portuguese faction strenuously and successfully opposed, and not this only, but every other recompence proposed by his majesty as a remuneration for my services. the object being to subvert whatever had been effected by my exertions, though, but for these the inevitable consequence would have been the establishment of insignificant local governments in perpetual turmoil and revolution, in place of an entire empire in the enjoyment of uninterrupted repose. had i connived at the views of the anti-imperial faction--even by avoiding the performance of extra-official services--i might, without dereliction of my duty as an officer, have amply shared in their favours; but for my adherence to the emperor against their machinations, that influence was successfully used to deprive me even of the ordinary reward of my labours in the cause of independence. as soon as the compulsory deprivation of my command, by the envoy gameiro, became known in rio de janeiro--where, doubtless, it was expected--a great outcry was raised against me, _as though my non-return had been my own act_. the press was set in motion, and every effort was used to traduce me in the eyes of the brazilian people, from whom the truth of the matter was carefully withheld; the whole, eventually, terminating with a mock trial in my absence, when it had been placed out of my power to defend myself. at this trial i was accused of contumacy--stigmatised as a deserter, though, as has just been seen, formally dismissed by the government, in confirmation of my dismissal by the envoy in england--and not only this, but i was declared by the creatures of the administration in the national assembly, to merit punishment as a deserter! such was my reward for first consolidating and afterwards preserving the empire of brazil. never dreaming of the advantage which might thus be taken by the administration of the act of their envoy--on the th of february, , i drew a bill upon the brazilian government for the remainder of my pay up to the period of my dismissal by itabayana. this was refused and protested, as was also another afterwards drawn. this course clearly indicated the intention of the administration not to pay me anything, now that they had dismissed me from the service. to have returned then to prosecute my claims against such judges, would have been an act of folly, if not of insanity; my only alternative being to memorialize the emperor, which for many successive years i did without effect--the execution of the imperial will unhappily depending on the decision of his ministers, who, little more than five years afterwards, partly forced, and partly disgusted his majesty into an abdication in favour of his infant son, don pedro de alcantara, now emperor of brazil; committing the guardianship of his family to josé bonifacio de andrada, who, like myself, had been forced into exile from the hatred of the very men who had so bitterly persecuted me, but had been permitted to return to brazil from which he never ought to have been exiled. for more than twenty years did i unceasingly memorialize successive brazilian governments, but without effect. at length the administration which had so bitterly visited its hatred on me passed away, and it became evident to his present imperial majesty, and the brazilian people, that i had been most shamefully treated. nearly at the same time i had fortunately succeeded in convincing the british government that the obloquy for so many years heaped upon me was unmerited; and lord clarendon warmly espoused my cause, as did the hon. mr. scarlett, the british minister at rio de janeiro; these excellent personages taking the trouble to investigate the matter, a boon which i had in vain solicited from any of their predecessors; though, had the favour previously been granted, it would have had the effect of explaining my conduct in brazil as satisfactorily as, i trust, this volume has done to the reader. the result of this was a commission, appointed by the brazilian government, to inquire into the case of the squadron generally. the following is an extract from their report, so far as regards myself:-- lord cochrane. the first in rank and title assuredly is lord cochrane, earl of dundonald, and marquis of maranhaõ, first admiral and commander-in-chief of the national armada during the war of independence. the fame of the services rendered by lord cochrane in chili, as commander-in-chief of the squadron of that republic induced the imperial government to invite him to accept a similar command in brazil, so long as the war of independence should last, with the promise of the same advantages which he there enjoyed. accepting the invitation, he was appointed by the decree of the st of march, , with the pay of . milreis, being the same as he had in chili, conferring upon him, by communication of the same date, the command of the squadron which was being equipped in the port of this city; and by decree of the rd of february, , the command-in-chief of the naval forces of the empire during the war of independence. it was afterwards decreed, on the th of july, , that he should enjoy the said pay in full, so long as he continued in the service of the empire; and _in case of his not desiring to continue therein_ after the war of independence, one half of the said pay as a pension, which, in the event of his decease, should revert to lady cochrane. lastly, by a _portaria_ of the th of december, , it was decreed that all his muniments and rights should be suspended, and he was dismissed by a decree of the th april, . justice demands that we shall acknowledge (says the commission) that the services of lord cochrane in the command of the squadron, put an end to the war more speedily than had been expected; but if his services were great, it is impossible to conceal that unqualified and arbitrary acts of the most audacious daring were committed by him and by the ships under his command, occasioning to the national treasury enormous losses, particularly by the heavy indemnification of an infinite number of bad prizes, which it was obliged to satisfy; and truth demands that we should declare that if the pretended claims are suspended, the fault was entirely his own, from having disobeyed the repeated orders of the imperial government, which commanded his return to this court to give account of his commission, aggravated by the crime of having withdrawn himself from the empire for england with the frigate _piranga_, and there remaining with that frigate, notwithstanding the reiterated orders of the imperial government, for more than two years, pretending that he had not received the said orders, which at last were ordered to be communicated to him through the brazilian minister resident in london. all this is amply proved by different official documents, some of which documents are from the claimant himself, this justifying the suspension of the payment of his claims, no less than the crime of his obstinate disobedience; and, indeed more by the indispensable obligation by which he was bound to give accounts of the sums which he received on account of prizes to distribute to the squadron under his command, which distribution he himself acknowledged in his letter of the th of november, , wherein he says, "i shall forward to the imperial government an account of the money received from his imperial majesty for distribution to the seamen, as well as other sums to the account of the captors." having traced this outline relative to the services and excesses of lord cochrane, the commission now proceeds to discuss his claims. first,--his annual pay is . milreis, which was owing to him from the st of august to the th of november , when he left the service of the empire. the claimant founds his demand on the decree of the st of march , added to and confirmed on the th of july, . the second decree says,--"i deem fit, by the advice of my council of state, to determine that the said marquis of maranhaõ shall receive, so long as he is in the service of the empire, the pay of his patent ( . milreis), and in case of his not choosing to continue therein after the termination of the present war, the half of the said pay, as a pension, the same being extended, in case of his death, to lady cochrane." the said enactment being so positive that at the sight thereof, the commission declares, that _it cannot do otherwise than confirm the right of the claimant to the prompt payment of the pension due to him._ in this report there are many inaccuracies. it is stated that when in chili i accepted "the brazilian command during the war of independence" only.--"_viesse occupar igual commando no brazil emquanto durasse guerra da independencia._" this is contrary to fact, as will be seen in the first chapter of this volume, where both the invitation to accept the command, and my conditional acceptance thereof are given. to repeat the actual words of the invitation, _"abandonnez-nous, milord, à la reconnaissance brésilienne--a la munificence du prince--à la probité sans tache de l'actuel gouvernement--on vous fera justice"_ &c. &c. it was neither "princely munificence"--"ministerial probity"--nor "common justice," to dismiss me from the service without my professional and stipulated emoluments, or even the arrears of my pay, the very moment tranquillity had been established as a consequence of my exertions, and so far the commission decided; though they ought to have added, as was well known, that my command in chili had been without limitation of time, and therefore my brazilian command, as expressed in the imperial patents, was not accepted under other conditions. the above opinion, expressed by the commission, could only have been given to justify the spurious decree of barbosa, in virtue of which, though set aside by his imperial majesty, i was dismissed by gameiro, that decree--under the hypocritical pretence of conferring upon me a boon--limiting my services to the war, _after the war had been terminated by my exertions;_ the object being to get rid of me, and thus to avoid condemning the prizes captured by the squadron. nevertheless, the promises held out to me in chili, were most honourably admitted by his imperial majesty and his first ministry--and were moreover twice confirmed by imperial patent, counter-signed by the ministers, and registered in the national archives. these patents _have never been set aside by any act of mine,_ yet to this day their solemn stipulations remain unfulfilled. the commission complains that the treasury was caused to sustain "enormous losses by the indemnification of an infinite number of bad prizes, which it was obliged to satisfy." i deny that there was _one bad prize,_ all, without exception, being captured in violation of blockade, or having portuguese registers, crews, and owners. but even if they had been bad--his majesty's stipulation, in his own handwriting (see page ), provided that they should be paid by the state. the fact was, as proved in these pages beyond contradiction, that they were given back by the portuguese members of the prize tribunal to their own friends and relations--this alone constituting the illegality of the captures. some--as in the case of the _pombinho_'s cargo--were given up to persons who had not the shadow of a claim upon them. the squadron never received a shilling on their account. again, the commission declares that i was dismissed the service on the th of april, ; whereas i have given the letter of gameiro, dismissing me, on the th of november, , and the _portaria_ of the imperial government, dismissing me, on the th of december, in the same year! this renewed dismissal was only a repetition of the former unjustifiable dismissals, adding nothing to their force, and in no way alleviating their injustice. the imputation of "the crime of obstinate disobedience" has been so fully refuted in this volume, that it is unnecessary to offer another word of explanation. finally, the commission decided that the "imperial act of july , , _is so positive that, at the sight thereof, the commission declares it cannot do otherwise than confirm the right of the claimant to the prompt payment of the pension due to him._" but if the commissioners had examined this act of his imperial majesty more closely, together with the explanatory letter of barbosa, accompanying it, they would have seen that the decree of july th, , was not only additive to the imperial patents, but admitted _to be confirmatory of them_, by barbosa himself, notwithstanding his own spurious decree, nullified by his imperial majesty, but afterwards unjustifiably acted upon. (see page .) if i have any claim at all for the numerous and important services which i rendered to brazil, it is founded _on the original patents_ granted to me by his imperial majesty, without limitation as to time, which i solemnly declare was not even mentioned--much less stipulated--as the patents themselves prove. the decree awarding me half pay as a pension, "in case _i did not choose_ to continue in the service," has no reference to me. i never left the service, but--as even admitted by gameiro, in his negotiations with lieutenant shepherd--was most unjustifiably, and by wilful falsehood, _turned out of it_, in order to rid the administration of my claims on a hundred and twenty ships, and a vast amount of valuable property captured in lawful warfare, under the express directions of his imperial majesty. why also is no compensation awarded to me for my extra-official services in putting down revolution in the northern provinces--an act, or series of acts--in my estimation, of far greater importance and difficulty than the expulsion of the portuguese fleet and army? every historian of brazil has spoken in high praise of my execution of this almost impracticable task--but coupled with the infamous lie derived from the government that, for my own personal benefit, i robbed the treasury at maranham of , dollars; though in the concluding chapter _i will print in full the receipt of every officer under my command for his share of the money returned by the junta_, the original receipts being now in my possession for the inspection of the brazilian government, or of any commission or persons it may choose to appoint for that purpose. were these services nothing, just as half the empire had declared itself republican? was my refusal to accept a bribe of , dollars from the revolutionary president of pernambuco the act of a man who would afterwards conduct himself as has been falsely imputed to me? the brazilian government cannot refuse to inspect or authorise the inspection of the originals of documents contained in this narrative, and if they consent, i have no fear but that the national honour will yet do me justice. it is not justice to have awarded to me the above-named pension merely--even on the assumption of the commissioners that i did leave the service of my own accord--for that sum is _less than one half the simple interest_ of the amount of which for thirty years i was, even by their own admission, unjustly deprived. this may be a cheap way of liquidating obligations, but it is not consistent with the honour of a nation thus to delay its pecuniary obligations, and then _pay the principal with less than half the interest_! i feel certain that when making an award--which they admit could not be avoided--the commissioners inadvertently lost sight of this obvious truth. let me refer the brazilian government to the officially recorded opinions of honourable men on the commission, or "_seccoes_," when commenting upon this very inadequate reward about to be given after the lapse of thirty years of unmerited obloquy, which would have sunk any man unsupported by the consciousness of rectitude to a premature grave. senor alvez bhanco e hollanda declared that "as a commemoration of the benefits which brazil had derived from lord cochrane, there was no other conclusion than that _he ought to be paid the whole sum which he claimed, for which the 'assemblea geral' should ask a credit_." senor hollanda cavalcante, in taking into account the requisition of lord cochrane, was "altogether of the opinion expressed by senor alvez branco--that his lordship as well as others should have the whole amount claimed." viscount olinda, in the council of state, gave his opinion that "lord cochrane shall be paid the various demands he has made. he repeated his opinion that this course alone was consistent with the dignity of the government, or the services of the admiral. he (viscount olinda) well remembered the great services of lord cochrane, and these ought not to be depreciated by paltry imputed omissions. it appeared to him little conformable to the dignity of brazil, to enter, at this distance of time, into questions of money with one to whom they owed so much." viscount parana "was of opinion that _no responsibility for captures rested on the officers who had made them, they acting under the orders of the government, which took the responsibility on itself_. justice demanded this view of the matter, and even the acquittal of many of the prizes might be attributed to _a change of ministerial policy_." senor aranjo vicuna. "there is no necessity for continuing the suspension of lord cochrane's pay. it ought to be paid as remuneration for important services, the benefits whereof were not diminished by any subsequent conduct on the part of his lordship." "it was the opinion of the council that lord cochrane's pension ought to be paid, notwithstanding any question as to the limitation of prizes, or any defects in the prize accounts."--_correio mercantil_, aug. , . yet notwithstanding these expressions of opinion, less than half the interest of even the limited sum admitted to be due to me was awarded. the commissioners admit in the preceding report that _my speedy annexation of the portuguese provinces was unexpected_, and this alone should have made them pause ere they awarded me less than half the interest of my own money, withheld for years--themselves retaining the principal--the amount received, being, in reality, insufficient to liquidate the engagements which i had of necessity incurred during the thirty years of neglect to satisfy my claims--now admitted to be beyond dispute. their admission involves the fact that the "_unexpected_" expulsion of the portuguese fleet and army _saved brazil millions of dollars in military and naval expeditions_ against an organised european power, which only required time to set at complete defiance any efforts which brazil herself was in a condition to make. it was, in fact, a question of "_speedy_" annexation, or no annexation at all, and it was this consideration which impelled me to the extraordinary measures adopted for the intimidation of the enemy, in the absence of means for their forcible expulsion. but is it generous to reward a service of such admitted importance, by giving me less than half the interest of a sum--acknowledged as a right which could no longer be withheld? is it not ungenerous to exclude me from my share of the prize-money taken in the first expedition, though a prize tribunal is at this moment sitting in rio de janeiro to consider the claims of officers and men, nine-tenths of whom are dead? is it not ungenerous to have engaged me in the extra-professional service of putting down revolution and anarchy in the northern provinces, and when the mission was successfully accomplished, to have dismissed me from the imperial service without one expression of acknowledgment or the slightest reward? but to put generosity out of the question--is it wise so to do? that, says burke--"can never be politically right which is morally wrong." brazil, doubtless, expects other nations to keep faith with her, and it is not wise on her part to afford a precedent for breaking national faith. the _amazon_ is a rich prize, and may one day be contested. what reply would brazil give to a power which might attempt to seize it, under the argument that she broke faith with those _who gave her the title to this, the most magnificent river on the face of the earth_, and that therefore it was not necessary to preserve faith with her? it would puzzle brazilian diplomatists to answer such a question. from what has been adduced in this volume, it must be clear to all who have perused it with ordinary attention that brazil is to this day in honour bound to fulfil the original stipulations solemnly entered into with me, and twice guaranteed under the imperial sign manual, with all the official ratifications and formalities usual amongst civilized states. this _i claim individually_; and further--_conjointly with the squadron_--my share of the prize-money conceded to the captors by imperial decree, without which customary incentive neither myself, nor any other foreign officer or seaman, would have been likely to enter the service. my _individual claim_, viz. the pay stipulated in the imperial patents, was agreed upon without limitation as to time, as is clear from the expression that i should receive it whether "afloat or ashore," "_tanto em terra como no mar_," _i.e._ whether "actively engaged or not"--whether "in war or peace." i have committed no act whereby this right could be cancelled, but was fraudulently driven from the imperial service, as the shortest way of getting rid of me and my claims together. these are no assertions of mine, but are the _only possible deductions_ from documents which have one meaning, and that incontestible. i claim, moreover, the estate awarded to me by his imperial majesty, with the double purpose of conferring a mark of national approbation of my services, and of supporting the high dignities to which--with the full concurrence of the brazilian people and legislature--i was raised as a reward for those services, the magnitude and importance of which were on all hands admitted. to have withheld that estate, after the reasons assigned by his imperial majesty for conferring it, was a national error which brazil should not have committed, and which it should, even now, be careful to efface; for by approving the dignities conferred, and withholding the means of supporting them, it has pronounced its highest honours to be worthless, empty sounding titles, lightly esteemed by the givers, and of no value to the recipient. had this estate cost anything to the brazilian nation, a miserable economy might have been pleaded as a reason for withholding it; but even this excuse is wanting. any territorial grant to myself could only have been an imperceptible fraction of the vast regions, which, together with an annual revenue of many millions of dollars--my own exertions, _without cost to the empire_, had added to its dominions "_unexpectedly_" as the commission appointed to investigate my claim felt bound to admit. if brazil value its national honour, that blot upon it should not be suffered to remain. with regard to the sum owing to me by chili, for which, in the event of its non-payment, both his imperial majesty don pedro i. and his minister josé bonifacio de andrada made the brazilian nation responsible. the discussion in the national assembly testifies to the validity of the claim, which therefore rests upon the generosity no less than the good faith of brazil, for whose interests, in accordance with the most flattering promises, i was induced to quit chili. to this day, chili has not fulfilled her obligations to me; the miserable pittance of £. , which--by some process i do not now care to inquire into, she has fixed upon as ample remuneration for one who consolidated her liberties and those of peru, supporting her navy at its own expense during the operation--constituted no part of my admitted claim for the capture of valdivia and other previous services, involving no dispute. payment of this sum ( , dollars) was promised at the earliest possible period by the then supreme director of the republic--but to this day the promise has never been redeemed by succeeding chilian governments. with regard to this claim, founded on the concessions of his late imperial majesty and his minister, i am content, as before said, to leave the matter to the generosity of the brazilian nation. the other, and more important claims, i demand as a right which has never been cancelled, and which a strict sense of national honour ought not longer to evade. if it be evaded, the documentary history of the whole matter is now before the world--and let the world judge between us. i have no fears as to its decision. chapter xiv. proclamation for payment of officers and men--log extracts in proof thereof--the sum given up to the squadron disbursed--denial thereof by the brazilian government--though made to serve as advance of wages--the amount received at maranham fully accounted for--by the receipts of the officers--officers' receipts--extracts from log in further corroboration--up to my arrival in england--all our prizes monopolized by brazil--the conduct of the brazilian government unjustifiable. the whole dispute raised by the brazilian administration as a pretext for evading my claims, has been--as the reader is now aware--about the sum of , dollars, _given out of the proceeds of our own captures, which cost nothing to the government; but were made to serve as a substitute for the usual advance of wages!_ also about , dollars ordered by his imperial majesty as compensation for the _imperatrice_ frigate, captured by captain grenfell at parà--but _never paid_, and therefore never accounted for. finally, with regard to , dollars reimbursed by the authorities of maranham, as a compromise for four times the amount generously surrendered by the squadron to the necessities of the province in --on promise of repayment. as regards the whole of the sums, it is alleged that _i never furnished accounts of their expenditure, and therefore they are charged against me, as though not expended at all._ for the disbursement of the first item of , dollars, i have already stated sufficient to satisfy any reasonable person. the accounts set forth at page , shews that a balance remained in hand from the , dollars put on board at rio de janeiro, of , dollars. i shall now state what became of this sum. and first let me adduce the following proclamation:-- by his excellency the marquis of maranhaõ, first admiral, &c. &c. whereas, many officers and seamen are here employed who were not present, last year, at the capitulation of the hostile authorities, and seizure of portuguese funds and property at maranhaõ; and whereas it is condusive to the interests of his imperial majesty, that all those officers and seamen who have now contributed to the restoration of tranquillity, good order, and obedience to his imperial majesty, shall receive encouragement and reward; it is hereby directed that three months additional pay shall, without deduction, be distributed _as a gratuity_ to the said officers and men. given under my hand, this th day of february, , cochrane and maranhaÕ. i had, it is true, no authority for making this extra payment, but at the same time, i had the authority of his imperial majesty to devote the , dollars to the good of the service--thus clearly leaving its disbursement to my discretion; and this appeared to me to be properly exercised in rewarding those who had been performing double duty afloat and ashore, in the arduous task of putting down, and keeping down revolt and anarchy. on this principle, i had previously doubled the pay of some of the officers, without whose incessant exertion, i could not have effected the tranquillization of the province. it is true that the principle adopted was opposed to that pursued by the administration, viz. neither to acknowledge these extra services nor reward them; but such a course neither accorded with my judgment nor discretion. the sums paid as above were entered in the usual manner in a pay book, acknowledged by the signatures of the recipients--attested by the officers--and, as has been said, duly forwarded to the imperial government. i shall now give some extracts from the log before quoted in reference to these and other transactions:-- _january th_, . his lordship left at hesketh's his last two months' pay, received this month, and also two months' pay for captain crosbie. paid other officers and men two months' pay. _ th_. employed in sorting the paper money in the small iron chest. _found its contents to be only_ , dollars. (this was all that now remained of the , dollars received at rio de janeiro.) _ th_. officers having been paid, the men received to-day two months' pay. _ th_. admiral took to hesketh's three bags of dollars (each containing dollars, the remainder of money which i had brought from chili, and which therefore had nothing to do with the brazilian government). _february th_. paid third payment of prize-money to clewley, clare and january. _ th_. paid prize-money to march and carter. _ th_. paid lieutenant shepherd , dollars. _ th_. paid commissary, escrivaõ, and pilot. _march st_. paid portuguese doctor. _ rd_. paid corning's account for ship provisions. the above payments, with others disbursed in pursuance of my proclamation, were all made out of the balance of the , dollars aforesaid, and , dollars which had been in my possession ever since the capture of maranham; the latter being the amount which i had refused to give up to the prize tribunal at rio de janeiro, well knowing that it would be returned to their portuguese friends and connections. when these payments were made, a few hundred dollars alone remained. as this , dollars was the indisputable property of the squadron before it was assigned for distribution amongst those to whom it belonged--on this ground alone it scarcely became the government to raise doubts about its proper application; for they well knew that if it were not distributed, the fact could not be concealed from the officers and men, who would not have submitted quietly to my retention of their money, as has been shamelessly imputed to me. not only was the whole disbursed--but the accounts, as has been stated, were faithfully transmitted to the brazilian authorities at rio de janeiro, as appears by captain shepherd's receipt, adduced in the present volume, and years ago photographed, and transmitted with a memorial to the brazilian government, which, nevertheless, on the th of april, _in the present year_, published in its official organ, the _correio mercantil_, a report on the prizes made during the war of independence--excluding me from a share, on _the ground of not having delivered my accounts_. the following is an extract:-- (after enumerating the prizes, and estimating their gross value at , dollars--_not one-fourth of the real amount_--the commission goes on to say:--) referring to what has been stated, it appears that the first admiral and commander-in-chief of the squadron from its commencement to the conclusion of the war, _had a right to his share of all prizes_--and so the commission has judged in regard to the total value, amounting to the said sum of , milreis up to the th of february, . _from that sum, however, must be deducted , dollars given to the admiral on account of prize-money for distribution, which it does not appear by any document that he made_. it also appears by the report of the junta of maranhaõ, of the th of october, , that the said admiral received the further sum of , dollars at different times, there appearing , dollars under the title of indemnification for prizes made by the squadron in the port of that city, to be divided as such. _this division does not seem to have been made_. from this it appears that the said admiral must be charged as having received the sum of , dollars on account of prizes to be divided amongst the squadron; with the addition of , dollars which he received also by decree of the rd of february, to be, in like manner, divided amongst those who co-operated in the annexation of the province of maranhaõ, and the capture of the frigate _imperatrice--seeing that there is no evidence that such distribution took place_--thus increasing the sum due to , dollars, of which the said claimant is bound to give account to the imperial government. in consequence of the determination of the regulations let this decree be printed and published. rio, april , . (signed) joaquim josÉ ignacio, _chefe de esquadra_, president. antonio josÉ da silva, _contador da marinha_. josÉ baptista lisboa, _auditor e secretario_. this document, so recently promulgated, after the decision of the _seccoes_ in , and the expression of opinion given by the most eminent men of brazil (see page ), that i ought to have the whole of my claims--is really wonderful. but the false assertions it contains must be met. and first--the receipt of the , dollars for the _imperatrice_, i altogether deny, and can be easily convicted of untruth if my receipt for that sum can be produced. it is worthy of note, that the date of the decree for the payment of this sum is carefully given in the preceding document, but the data of my acknowledgment of having received is annulled for the sufficient reason that no acknowledgment was ever given. the , dollars, i trust that i have sufficiently accounted for, as well as for the vouchers sent to rio by captain shepherd, whose receipt i took for the chest containing them. but the , dollars with which the government charges me--even supposing the accounts to be lost--destroyed--or purposely made away with--was not the property of the brazilian government, but of the squadron, who received it only as part payment of ten times the amount due to them! this sum though the property of the squadron, was made to serve _as an advance of wages_, no less than as prize-money; and does the brazilian government imagine that any squadron could be sent to sea without money? or that any reader of common sense will acquiesce in the assertion that under such circumstances it was not properly disbursed, even though i had not shewn _its precise disbursement_? the brazilian government well knows that the men composing the squadron were of so mutinous a character, that the slightest deviation from their rights would have been met with instant insubordination. did this ever occur, even in the slightest possible degree? it is no fault of mine, if the accounts were destroyed, as i have no doubt they were, from pure malice towards myself, in order to bring me into an amount of disrepute, which might justify the withholding of my claims according to the stipulations of the imperial patents. by whom this infamy was perpetrated, it is impossible for me to say--but that it was perpetrated--there cannot be the smallest possible doubt. it is altogether unnecessary to say another word about the , dollars for the _imperatrice_, or the , dollars for distribution--as the evidence adduced is sufficient to satisfy any man not determined to be unconvinced. i now come to the amount alleged to have been received from the junta of maranham, viz. , dollars, "at different times," which i have no doubt is perfectly correct, though that portion of it under the title of "indemnification for prizes"--is incorrect, the amount being , dollars--_minus_ the discount, and not , dollars as represented. the difference is not, however, worth notice. deducting this sum from the total of , dollars, would leave , dollars to be accounted for otherwise than as "indemnifieation." this also is, no doubt, correct. the inhabitants of maranham cheerfully agreed _to pay and subsist the squadron_, provided it remained amongst them to preserve the order which had been restored, and the offer was accepted by me. the , dollars thus went for the pay and subsistence of the squadron during many months of disturbance; and if it prove any thing, it is the economy with which the wants of the squadron were satisfied, despite the corruption of the authorities, in paying double for provisions, because the merchants could only get paid at all, except by bribes to their debtors. does the brazilian government mean to tell the world that it sent a squadron to put down revolution in a territory as large as half europe, _without receiving a penny in the shape of wages_, except their own , dollars of prize-money--that it never considered it necessary to send to the squadron a single dollar of pay whilst the work was in process--and that it now considers it just to charge the whole expenses to me as commander-in-chief, though the expedition did not cost the government any thing? yet this is precisely that which the brazilian administration has done--with what justice let the world decide. i aver that the accounts were faithfully transmitted. the imperial government of the present day, says that the accounts are not in existence--_not that i did not transmit them_! surely they ought to blame their predecessors, not me. let this history decide which of the two is deserving of reprobation. i now come to the , dollars--or rather , dollars received from the junta of maranham as "indemnification,"--respecting which the commission unjustly asserts that "_no division appears to have been made!_" the untruth of this imputation, the most atrocious of all, is very easily met _by the publication of every receipt connected with the matter_; and to this i now proceed, requesting the reader to bear in mind that in my letter to the minister of marine (see page ), i announced my intention of retaining for my own justification all _original documents_, sending to the government, copies or duplicates. the whole of the subjoined receipts are now in my possession, and i demand from the brazilian government their verification, by its ministerial or consular representatives in great britain. receipts of officers, and others for their proportion of , dollars paid by the junta of fazenda of maranham in commutation of , dollars--the value of prize property left for the use of the province on its acquisition from portugal in ; the duplicates having been sent by me to the imperial government, the originals now remaining in my possession. , . received from the right hon. lord cochrane, marquis of maranhaõ, and commander-in-chief of the imperial armada, the sum of five thousand milreis, being four thousand one hundred and thirty-seven, or one-third of the admiral's share of prize-money; and eight hundred and sixty three to account of double pay for services on shore. david jowett, maranhaõ, th march, . chief of division. * * * * * received of the right hon. lord cochrane, marquis of maranhaõ, first admiral of brazil, and commander-in-chief of the naval forces of the empire, the sum of five hundred milreis, as a recompence for extra services as commandant-interim of his imperial majesty's ship _piranga_, during the absence of chief of division jowett, on service on shore at maranhaõ during four months past. march nd, . james wallace. witness, w. jackson. * * * * * received this th day of march, , of the right hon. lord cochrane, marquis of maranhaõ, first admiral of brazil, and commander-in-chief of the naval forces of the empire, the sum of ten thousand milreis, on account of a distribution of eighty contos of reis, being part of certain monies received from the junta of fazenda of maranhaõ. t. sackville crosbie. _rs._ , . * * * * * , . received of the right hon. lord cochrane, marquis of maranhaõ, first admiral and commander-in-chief of the naval forces of the empire, the sum of five thousand milreis, being the amount of additional pay to all the subordinate officers and seamen of his imperial majesty's ship _piranga_, who have served on shore at maranhaõ, between the th day of november, , and the th day of march, . david jowett, chief of division, commandant of the _piranga_. maranhaõ, th march, . * * * * * received this th day of march, , of the right hon. lord cochrane, &c. &c. the sum of one thousand five hundred milreis, on account of a distribution of eighty contos of reis, being part of certain monies received from the junta of fazenda at maranhaõ. w. jackson, _rs._ , . capt.-lieut. and secretary. received this st day of march, , of the right hon. lord cochrane, marquis of maranhaõ, &c. &c. the sum of one thousand milreis, on account of an allowance of one-half per cent. for my trouble in the distribution of prize-money. w. jackson, , . capt.-lieut. and secretary. * * * * * received this st of march, , of the right hon. lord cochrane, &c. &c. the sum one thousand five hundred milreis, on account of a distribution of eighty contos of reis, being part of certain monies received from the junta of fazenda of maranhaõ. ja's shepherd, , . first lieut. of _pedro primiero._ * * * * * _pedro primiero,_ march , . received from the right hon. lord cochrane, &c. &c. the sum of one thousand milreis, on account of a distribution of eighty contos of reis, being part of certain monies received from the junta of fazenda of maranhaõ. , . s.e. clewley. * * * * * _pedro primiero_, march th, . received from the right hon. lord cochrane, &c. &c. the sum of one thousand milreis, on account of a distribution of eighty contos of reis, &c. &c. , . francis clare. * * * * * naõ nacional e imperial, _pedro iro_, march , . recebei do excellentissimo lord cochrane, &c. &c. a quartier de hum contos de reis, pro conta de huma divisiaõ de octento contos de reis, senda parte de certos dinheiros recebidos da junta da fazenda do maranhaõ. francisco de paulo dos santos gomez. , . * * * * * officers' receipts precisely similar receipts, on same date, from the following officers: francisco adeiao pera............................... , manoel s. sinto .................................... alexander josÉ (remainder illegible) ............... * * * * * received from the right hon. lord cochrane, &c. &c. the sum of five hundred milreis, on account of a distribution, &c. &c. . g. march. * * * * * maranhaõ, th march, . received from the right hon. lord cochrane, &c. &c. the sum of five hundred milreis, on account of a distribution, &c. &c. . w. jannary. * * * * * th march, . received from the right hon. lord cochrane, &c. &c. the sum of five hundred milreis, on account of distribution, &c. &c. . david carter, second lieut. * * * * * received, april th, , of the right hon. lord cochrane, &c. &c. the sum of one thousand four hundred and eighty milreis, being prize-money due to capt.-lieut. g. manson. for capt.-lt. manson, , . w. jannary. * * * * * received of the right hon. lord cochrane, &c. &c. the sum of one thousand milreis, on account of a distribution of eighty contos of reis, being part of certain monies received from the junta of fazenda of maranhaõ. , . geo. manson. april , . * * * * * received of the right hon. lord cochrane, &c. &c. the sum of four hundred and eighty milreis, on account of prize-money due to me. . geo. manson. maranhaõ, april , . authoriso se josé perea de sua excellencia marques do maranhaõ recober e quantier de quinhentos milreis. march th, . (name illegible.) . * * * * * maranham, march , . received of lord cochrane, &c. &c. the sum of two thousand six hundred and five milreis, being the amount of my account for provisions supplied to the brazilian squadron. , . leonard coming. * * * * * received, the th of april, , of his excellency lord cochrane, &c. &c. one hundred and ninety-five milreis, being additional pay for extra duty on shore for five months. rs. . g. march. * * * * * received, april th, , of his excellency lord cochrane, &c. &c. four hundred and eighty milreis, being additional pay for extra duty as secretary to his lordship for the period of five months. . w. jackson. * * * * * received, april , , of the right. hon. lord cochrane, &c. &c. thirty-nine milreis, being a month's additional pay for extra services at maranham. . francis drummond. * * * * * received, april , , of the right hon. lord cochrane, &c. &c. sixty-nine milreis, being additional pay for sixty days' extra service at maranham. . joseph fitzcosten. * * * * * received, april rd, of his excellency the marquis of maranhaõ, &c. &c. twenty-three dollars for my services as prize master of the vessels _dido_ and _joaninho_. . c. rose, second lieut. * * * * * received, may th, , of mr. w. jackson, two hundred and eighty-five milreis, part of prize money due to me. . ja's shepherd. * * * * * _piranga_, spithead, july , . received of mr. w. jackson, secretary to his excellency the marquis of maranham, &c. &c. the sum of two hundred and thirty-five pounds sterling, in order to pay the same as prize-money to those persons, late of the _pedro primiero_, but now belonging to this frigate, to whom the sum is due. £. or , . * * * * * there is, however, _one omission_. the payment of the crews is not adduced, because the pay books were sent with duplicate receipts to rio de janeiro by the _piranga_. but as no reasonable man will imagine that i publicly paid the officers and _neglected payment to the crews_, the omission is of the least possible consequence. but lest the payment of the crews may be disputed, i subjoin the following extracts from the log before quoted, from the commencement of the payment, to its termination. dates and particulars. . march th. received from the junta of maranham, contos (£ , ) in bills, and contos (£ ) in money. " th. writing new book of distribution. " th. captain crosbie brought contas (£ , ). went with him to hesketh's, where i found that he had received contos (£ , ) for himself. " th. lord cochrane paid jowett , dollars as prize-money and double pay. " th. , dollars paid to jowett's officers and men as double pay. paid march his further share of prize-money, dollars. took at admiral's desire dollars for my distribution of the contos in part received--from which it appears that i am to have half per cent, for distribution. march nd. received two months' pay to the st of february. went on board the _piranga_, and made wallace a gratuity from the admiral of dollars. " th. paid shepherd, clewley, clare, commissary, doctors escrivaõ, jannary, and the pilot, a proportion of contos, in course of payment by the junta. went on board the _piranga_, and paid prize-money to carter and a number of men. " th. paying prize-money to such of jowett's men as were absent on shore on the th. " th. paying prize-money to such of the _pedro's_ people entitled thereto, as are to remain on board that ship. " th. making book for distribution of double pay to those who have served on shore. april th. counting out the money for double pay to the men who did shore service. " th. paid part of the men their additional pay. " th. paying the additional pay. " th. paying additional pay. sent capt. manson by january dollars prize-money. " th. a decree arrives by the _guarani _from the imperial government, directing the interim president that no money shall be paid to the squadron on account of the taking of maranham. admiral suspects barros to be at the bottom of it. " th. went on shore with the admiral, with sixteen bags of dollars, besides clewley's bag and mine. " th. paid inglis and his men additional pay. " th. admiral proposed to hesketh to ship cotton to the extent of forty or sixty contos, to which mr. hesketh (british consul) agreed. " th. remainder of the money from the junta promised to-morrow. april th. captain crosbie received , dollars as his further share. received dollars, seventy-six for distribution. more money from the treasury. may th. wrote to the junta, with further demand of , dollars to make up the stipulated amount. " th. paying his lordship's bills. " th. paying his lordship's bills. " th. received my last three months' pay to the th of april. " th. received the remaining money from the treasury. " th. sailed in the _piranga_. " th. sent sixty dollars by pilot to two soldiers on shore. june th. captain crosbie appointed captain of the fleet, with rank of chief of division. july nd. at portsmouth. agent arrived from london with two months' pay. " th. paying prize-money to men who had not been paid. received two months' pay to the st instant. " th. paid john skirr £. for wounds. the amount paid by the junta was, in fact, , dollars, partly in bills, from which a discount of dollars had to be taken. but these trifles are unworthy of notice: i have thus accounted for every shilling received from the brazilian government for the use of the squadron--to the satisfaction of my own conscience, and, i trust, to the satisfaction of all who may read this narrative. from what has been herein stated, it is obvious that brazil was, by my instrumentality--though with inadequate means--entirely freed from a foreign yoke, not only without national cost, but with positive gain, arising from the vast territories and revenues annexed--as well as from prizes, the value of which alone exceeded the cost of all naval equipments. it is true that, after a lapse of thirty-five years, a profession is made of adjudicating these prizes--but as nearly all the claimants are dead, and as an intention is manifested to retain my share, unless i produce accounts already transmitted--brazil will have thus monopolized the fruits of our exertions in the cause of independence--achieved without trouble or thought to the imperial government. for, beyond the usual orders on the departure of the squadron, not a single instruction was given--all being left to my discretion, and accomplished on my sole responsibility. even the favourable contraction of a loan in england--the acknowledgment of brazilian independence by european states--and the establishment of permanent peace--were the direct consequences of my services, but for which brazil might still have presented the same lamentable specimen of weakness without, and anarchy within, which forms the characteristics of other south american states. can any government then justify the conduct pursued towards me by brazil? can any government believe that the promises held out to me as an inducement to accept the command--may be optionally evaded after the more than completion of my part of the contract? the services rendered were fully acknowledged by those with whom that contract was made, and only repudiated by their factions successors, to whom brazil owed nothing but prospective confusion. can any one, then, judge otherwise--than that the present brazilian government is bound, in honour and good faith, to fulfil the national contract with me--not only on account of professional services accomplished--even beyond national expectation; but also on account of extra-official services which did not come within the scope of my professional duties, viz. the pacification of the northern provinces? that the fulfilment of these obligations is due, i once more quote the imperial invitation to adopt the cause of brazil:--"_votre grace est invitée, pour--et de part le gouvernement du brésil, à accepter le service de la nation brésilienne; chez qui je suis dûment autorisé à vous assurer le rang et le grade nullement inférieur à celui que vous tenez de la république. abandonnez-vous, milord, à la reconnaissance brésilienne;_ À la munificence du prince; À la probitÉ sans tache de l'actuel gouvernement; on vous fera justice; on ne rabaissera d'un seul point la haute considÉration--rang--grade--caractÈre--et avantages qui vous sont dÛs." "venez, milord, l'honneur vous invite--la gloire vous appelle. venez, donner À nos armes navales, cet ordre merveilleux et discipline incomparable de puissante albion." courtesy of the digital library@villanova university (http://digital.library.villanova.edu/)) motor stories thrilling adventure motor fiction no. july , five cents motor matt makes good another victory for the motor boys _by the author of "motor matt"_ [illustration: _"fire away, kevik!" clamored carl, and just then matt pulled the trigger._] _street & smith, publishers, new york._ motor stories thrilling adventure motor fiction _issued weekly. by subscription $ . per year. entered according to act of congress in the year , in the office of the librarian of congress, washington, d. c., by_ street & smith, _ - seventh avenue, new york, n. y._ no. . new york, july , . price five cents. motor matt makes good or, another victory for the motor boys. by the author of "motor matt." contents chapter i. off the chilian coast. chapter ii. hurled into the sea. chapter iii. saved by a torpedo. chapter iv. weighing the evidence. chapter v. a surprising situation. chapter vi. another attack. chapter vii. a bad half hour. chapter viii. chasing a torpedo. chapter ix. northward bound. chapter x. a halt for repairs. chapter xi. dick makes a discovery. chapter xii. a wary foe. chapter xiii. pluck that wins. chapter xiv. a little work on the inside. chapter xv. a star performance. chapter xvi. conclusion. the spider water. good words for the 'gator. venomous fish. characters that appear in this story. =matt king=, otherwise motor matt, king of the motor boys. =carl pretzel=, a cheerful and rollicking german boy, stout of frame as well as of heart, who is led by a fortunate accident to link his fortunes with those of motor matt. =dick ferral=, a young sea dog from canada, with all a sailor's superstitions, but in spite of all that a royal chum, ready to stand by the friend of his choice through thick and thin. =ensign john henry glennie, united states navy.= =sons of the rising sun.= =captain pons=, who has come from havre, france, to deliver the submarine boat, _pom_, to the chilian government, only to fall into a net spread by the sons of the rising sun. =captain sandoval=, of the chilian navy, who has appeared before, in the motor stories, and appears for the last time and bows himself out. =captain of the port of lota, chili=, who plays a small but important part. chapter i. off the chilian coast. "great spark plugs!" "strike me lucky!" "py shiminy grismus!" there were three surprised and excited boys on the rounded deck of the submarine boat _grampus_. it was a calm, cloudless night, and the sea was as smooth as a mill pond; but, for all that, the night was cloudless, a dank, clinging fog had rolled down from the andes and out upon the ocean, blotting out moon and star and rendering their surroundings as black as erebus. the _grampus_ was proceeding slowly northward along the chilian coast. motor matt, dick ferral, and carl pretzel were on the deck forward, keeping a sharp lookout. the electric projector from the conning tower bored a gleaming hole into the darkness ahead, giving the lads a limited view in that direction. speake was half in and half out of the conning tower, steering from that position. the waters gurgled and lapped at the rounded sides of the boat, then floated rearward in long lines of phosphorescence, spreading out in the wake like two sticks of an open fan. at the stern of the submarine the propeller churned up a glittering froth. what the boys saw, however, that had aroused their startled exclamations was a cluster as of glowing lights a foot or two under the surface of the water. this mysterious glow was moving, at a moderate rate of speed, in a course that crossed that of the _grampus_. "slow down, speake!" called matt to the helmsman. the jingle of a bell, down in the motor room, was heard faintly, and the submarine's speed fell off perceptibly. the cluster of starlike points bubbled onward, missed the bow of the _grampus_ by a few feet, and vanished in the gloom on the port side. "vat it iss?" murmured carl, rubbing a hand dazedly across his eyes. "dere iss lighdning pugs on der land, und i vonder iss dere lighdning pug fishes in der sea? dot looked schust like a shark mit some search lights on his headt." "i'm a fiji if there was any fish about that," averred the bewildered dick. "can you rise to it, matey?" he asked, turning to matt. "what sort of a sizing do you give it?" the king of the motor boys was puzzled. "it might be a piece of drift from the shore," he answered, "or the fragment of a wreck." "aber it _moofed_!" exclaimed carl. "it moofed droo der vater schust like it vas alife!" "the current may have caused that. there are all kinds of currents in this part of the ocean." "und der lights, matt. pieces oof wreck don'd haf lights like dot!" "that was a trick of the phosphorescence. there were probably nails or spikes in the timber, and wherever they projected and caused a ripple there was a glow in the water." matt turned to speake. "make a turn to the left, speake," said he. the submarine swerved slowly to the port tack. "there," said matt; "hold her so." dick gave a low laugh. "you don't take much stock in that explanation of yours, matey," he remarked, "or you wouldn't be following that bit of supposed flotsam and jetsam." "i've explained it in the only way i know how, dick," returned matt, "but i'm still a good deal in doubt. we'll see if we can overhaul the thing and make a further examination. i don't like to take the time, but it may turn out to be time well spent." motor matt knelt well forward, just where the v-shaped waves parted over the sharp nose of the _grampus_, and while he knelt he peered fixedly into the water ahead. "you're such a cautious chap," spoke up dick, hanging to one of the flagstaff guys and likewise staring ahead, "that i've been all ahoo wondering why you were doing this night cruising. the night's as black as a pocket, and this coast is about as dangerous as you can find anywhere, and yet here we are, groping our way along, never knowing what minute we may bounce upon a reef or say how do you do to a sharp rock." "remember that pacific mail boat we spoke yesterday?" inquired matt, over his shoulder. "the one that told us they had news, in santiago, that a japanese boat had got away from the chilian, captain sandoval, below the strait of magellan?" responded dick. "exactly. when we left english reach, at the western end of the strait, we know captain sandoval, of the chilian warship _salvadore_, was pursuing the mysterious japanese steamer; and we also know that that steamer had on board our enemies, the sons of the rising sun. the mail boat said the news that the steamer had escaped the _salvadore_ had been flashed by wireless from punta arenas, and had been repeated by telegraph to santiago and valparaiso." "i don'd pelieve dot chap poat efer got avay from der _salvatore_!" declared carl. "it may be that she did, carl," went on matt, "and we've got to make sure of it just as soon as we possibly can. that's the reason we're traveling through this thick fog, and taking our chances on hitting a reef or sunken rock. we've got to reach lota and find out for sure if those japs are again free to bother us. you know what it means if the sons of the rising sun got away from sandoval. those misguided japs have sworn that the _grampus_ shall never be turned over to the united states government at mare island navy yard. they're a desperate and fanatical lot, and we've got to know just what we're up against, so far as they are concerned. lota is on the railroad and telegraph line, and we'll get news there, if anywhere." "as usual," observed dick, "that head of yours has been working, old ship, while the rest of us have been wondering what you were trying to do. i don't think you'll catch up with that piece of drift." "nor i," matt answered, getting to his feet and coming aft. "whatever that was, i suspect we'll never be able to discover, so my guess will have to stand. put her on the starboard tack, speake," he added to the man in the conning tower. the submarine once more resumed her course toward arauco bay and lota. "you fellows go below and turn in," matt went on to dick and carl. "i can con the ship, all right, and there's no need of the two of you staying awake and helping me on the lookout." "you'd better let glennie relieve you, mate," suggested dick. "you've been on deck duty for six hours." "i'm going to stay right here," said matt, "until we get safely into arauco bay." there was no use arguing with motor matt when he made up his mind that duty commanded him to do a certain thing, and dick and carl wished him luck and went below. ensign glennie was lying on the locker in the periscope room. "you shifted the course," said he, rising on one elbow and peering at dick and carl as they dropped off the iron ladder. "what was up?" "somet'ing mit a shiny headt vent past us," replied carl, dropping down on a stool and beginning to draw off his shoes. "something with a shiny head?" queried the nonplused ensign. "yah, so. it vas a funny pitzness." "what was it, dick?" "i'm by," answered dick, shaking his head. "i've seen a good many queer things afloat, but that was the queerest. it was too dark to see much, though. mayhap if we'd had a little more light, we could have made a closer examination and the mystery would have been explained." thereupon he went into details, telling glennie all that he and carl knew. "can you make anything out of it, glennie?" dick finished. "i'm over my head, like the rest of you," answered the ensign. "probably matt hit it off pretty well when he said it was a bit of water-logged drift, floating between two waves, with spikes cutting the water and throwing off gleams of phosphorescence. this part of the pacific is full of cross-currents. and it's a mighty dangerous stretch of water, too, i'm telling you. matt is certainly anxious to reach lota, or he'd never persist in pushing through waters like these in such a fog." "he's worrying again over those sons of the rising sun." dick pulled off one of his shoes and swung it reflectively in his hand. "i don't think it is possible that that jap steamer got away from sandoval," said glennie. "the officers on that mail boat must have got it wrong." "our old raggie is bound to find out just how much truth there is in the yarn, anyhow," continued dick. "we're what you might call on the last leg of our cruise, and the little old _grampus_ has covered the east coast of two continents and is well up the west coast. we have dodged trouble in pretty good shape, so far, and matt don't intend to let the sons of the rising sun put us down and out at this late stage of the game." "the japs can't put motor matt down and out," averred glennie, with suppressed admiration. "he has met them at every point, and has given them the worst of it. they'll never be able to destroy the _grampus_. mark what i say, my lads, motor matt is going to 'make good' with ground to spare, and chalk up another victory for the motor boys." dick and carl would have cheered this warm sentiment, but before they had a chance to do so, a wild yell came from speake. "tumble up here, you fellows! quick, now!" speake, as he spoke, crushed himself against the side of the conning-tower hatch, in order to make room for those in the periscope room to pass him and reach the deck. startled by the words and wildly excited manner of the helmsman, dick, carl, and glennie lost not an instant in rushing up the ladder and dropping over the side of the conning tower. "where's matt?" cried dick. "that's just what i want to know," answered speake, his consternation growing and a tremulous awe finding its way into his voice. "he was on the deck a few minutes ago, but he isn't here now. the last i saw of him he went aft, around the conning tower. the next thing i knew, when i turned and looked for him, he wasn't aboard." all three of the lads were stricken dumb. for a brief space none of them spoke, but looked toward each other in the gloom, frantically alarmed and vaguely fearing--they knew not what. "he couldn't have fallen overboard," spoke up glennie, first to break the silence that held them as by an uncanny spell, "and yet it's certain he's not on the boat." "matt!" roared dick, making a trumpet of his hands and calling into the blank darkness. "ahoy, matt!" no answer was returned. all that could be heard was the hum of the submarine's motor, the swish of the propeller, and the lap and gurgle of waves along the rounded side. carl began to whimper. "ach, du lieber! oof anyt'ing has habbened py dot bard oof mine, i don'd know vat i shall do, py shinks! he vas der pest friendt vat i efer hat, und----" "put about, speake!" cried dick, now thoroughly alive to the situation. "if matt went overboard, then we're rushing away from him, and he's swimming somewhere in our wake." the shaken helmsman immediately turned the _grampus_ in a wide circle and rang for full speed. chapter ii. hurled into the sea. matt was very much worried when dick and carl, agreeably to their orders, went below. it was not the strange visitor that had passed the bows of the _grampus_ on its glowing way that rested heavily on his mind, but the news gathered from the captain of the mail boat that had been spoken early in the day. on leaving the western end of the strait of magellan, the submarine and her crew had, as they supposed, left behind them for the rest of their cruise their wily enemies, the sons of the rising sun. they had had trouble enough on account of the japanese while coming through the strait, and matt thought that he and his friends were entitled to a respite, so far as the nefarious plots of the fanatical young japs were concerned.[a] [a] the adventures of the motor boys, in and around magellan strait, were set forth in no. of the motor stories, entitled, "motor matt's defiance; or, around the horn." it was the responsibility for the safety of the _grampus_ that rested so heavily on the young motorist's mind. weeks before, when the submarine had left belize, british honduras, captain nemo, jr., the owner of the boat, had placed the craft entirely in matt's hands. "i wouldn't trust the _grampus_ with any one else, matt," declared the captain. "but you've got nerve, your judgment is good, you know the craft from one end to the other, and whenever anything goes wrong and you get into a scrape, you've got a knack of always getting out of it without much damage to yourself. a hundred thousand dollars is to be paid for the _grampus_ when she reaches mare island. if the submarine doesn't reach there in good condition, the money will not be paid. sickness will detain me for a while in belize, and so that puts this work of taking the boat around the horn up to you. now go ahead!" motor matt appreciated to the full captain nemo, jr.'s trust and confidence. he had vowed to himself over and over again that he would prove to the captain he was worthy of the trust reposed in him. matt was thinking of all this on the deck of the _grampus_, after dick and carl had left him; and, in the midst of his reflection, he fancied he heard a muffled sound from somewhere in the submarine's wake. instantly alarmed, he passed the conning tower, without exchanging any words with speake, and took up a position not far from the churning propeller. but he heard nothing further, and could see nothing either to increase or diminish his fears. he was just turning about to make his way forward, when a coil struck about his throat, drawing taut on the instant and preventing any outcry. at the same instant there came an irresistible pull backward. matt, astounded by this unexpected attack, reaching him from some point away from the boat and darting silently and suddenly out of the thick gloom, flung up his hands in an attempt to clutch one of the wire guys of the periscope mast. he missed the guy by a fraction of an inch, slipped downward over the rounded deck and rolled into the water. he made little noise, so little that speake could not hear it above the swirl of waves thrown up by the rounded plates of the _grampus_. another moment and matt was in the water and swimming. the deadly compression at his throat continued, and he was unable to voice a sound. he could see the little search light of the submarine moving rapidly onward into the darkness, and could see the half of speake's form, like a blot of shadow, rearing out of the tower hatch. all this time matt felt the pull of the rope about his neck, drawing him steadily and remorselessly away into the foggy night. no one spoke behind him, and there was not the slightest sound to tell him who his captors were, or where they were, or how they had succeeded in making him a victim in that mysterious fashion. a minute, two minutes, passed. at the end of that time matt felt his strength leaving him because of the strangling grip about his throat. then, suddenly, the rearward "pull" relaxed and the constriction at his throat ceased. with one hand he reached upward and pulled the strangling coil loose and gulped down a deep draught of air. a moment later he gave vent to a cry, hoping to attract the attention of speake. but the _grampus_ was too far away. with difficulty matt freed himself of his shoes and coat. he had no idea how long he would have to swim, but he prepared himself to keep afloat as long as possible. what the end was to be he did not know, and he had no time to give to that phase of the question. some mysterious force had hurled him from the deck of the _grampus_ into the sea, and perhaps this same force would continue to take care of him. turning about in the water, he lifted himself high with a downward stroke of his powerful arms, and peered in the direction from which the attack had come. he could see nothing and could hear nothing. for a moment motor matt was tempted to forget his dire plight in marveling over the mysterious nature of that attack. the next instant, however, he began asking himself if it would be possible to reach the chilian shore. it was a mile away, at least. to swim such a distance was no very extraordinary feat, but there were currents sucking matt oceanward, and against these it was powerless for him to struggle. matt could keep afloat, but to what purpose? would it be possible for him to keep on the surface until his friends on the submarine discovered his absence and put back to his rescue? even if he could swim for that length of time, could his friends find him in that darkness, with the current dragging him farther and farther from the course over which the _grampus_ had recently passed? in motor matt's place, a good many lads would have given up the struggle, but matt was of different calibre. as long as there was a breath in his body he would fight, for he knew that while there is life there is always hope. blindly and doggedly he continued his battle with the waves, peering into the northeast from time to time, in the hope of seeing the search light of the _grampus_. he did not see the search light, but he saw something else lying sluggishly in the water not a great distance from where he was. "a log!" he thought. under the impression that fate had thrown across his path a bit of drift from the mainland, he swam to the object and laid hold of it as it heaved and ducked on the placid waves. it was not a log. as he put out one hand it came in contact with smooth, wet metal. the object was a long cylinder, blunt at one end and pointed at the other. "a torpedo!" ran his thought, as he hung over the rounded object with one arm and supported himself in the water. "who fired the torpedo?" was the question he asked himself. he had leisure now for a little reflection. no strength was required to keep himself afloat, for the steel cylinder supported him. as he hung there, lifting and falling with the long, deadly tube, his thoughts harked back to the queer object he, and dick, and carl had seen in the water. the result of his reflections paralyzed him. _some mysterious enemy had launched the torpedo at the grampus!_ had the infernal machine struck the submarine, the craft and every one aboard would have been torn to pieces. a slow horror pulsed through motor matt's veins. the same enemies who had launched the torpedo must surely have jerked matt from the deck of the submarine. but who were they? where were they? with difficulty he lifted himself and got astride the rolling cylinder. from that elevated position he looked around him into the darkness. silence reigned in every direction. there was no sign of the mysterious foes who had attempted to destroy the _grampus_ and to make a prisoner of her commanding officer. presently the young motorist became conscious that the coil was still about his throat, and that a long object was trailing downward and hanging with some weight from his neck. it was a rope. he began pulling it in, coiling the wet length of it in his hand. the rope was all of seventy-five feet long, he judged, and that distance must have marked the position of his foes when the noose was cast. to see even half that distance into the thick darkness was impossible, but why had matt not been able to _hear_ the men who had attempted such dastardly work? speculations were useless. matt, however, had secured a makeshift raft which would keep him afloat until such time as the _grampus_, or some other boat, could pick him up. hoping that the submarine would come to no harm, and determined to make the best of his desperate situation, the king of the motor boys set about making an examination of the steel tube that supported him. chapter iii. saved by a torpedo. matt's first move was to take the noose from about his throat and pass the rope around and around the torpedo, tying it fast. the loops of the rope gave him a handhold which he could not possibly have secured otherwise on the hard, smooth shell, rendered slippery by the water with which it was drenched. the torpedo, he quickly discovered, was a whitehead--a powerful and deadly engine in use by all the navies of the world. it was about seventeen feet long and a foot and a half in diameter. torpedoes of this nature are constructed to run under the surface at any required depth down to twenty feet. a propeller and compressed air furnishes the motive power, and as the air becomes exhausted, the torpedo rises higher and higher. with the air shut off and engine stopped, the cylinder rises to the surface. as that was the case in the present instance, it seemed certain that the motive power of this particular torpedo had been nearly exhausted. the _grampus_, being constructed for work in time of war, had torpedo tubes and one torpedo aboard. matt had studied the mechanism of the whitehead, and he was able to proceed intelligently in his present dilemma. if there was still any air in the big tube, he might use it to carry him to the north and east, in the direction taken by the _grampus_. the lever, he discovered, which locked the engine was standing erect, while the "tripper," which worked automatically the instant the torpedo was discharged and put it under its own power, was lying flat on the curved side. before trying to get the compressed air in the shell to working, he swam to the blunt end of the torpedo and removed the small propeller that manipulated the firing pin. by this wise move he rendered harmless the explosive within the shell. swimming back, he mounted his queer raft by means of the rope loops, lifted the "tripper," and depressed the starting lever. the twin screws, placed tandem fashion at the stern, began slowly to revolve. heading the point of the tube north by east, he began one of the strangest rides that had ever fallen to his lot. as the air within became more and more depleted, the steel cylinder rose higher and higher in the water. for a lad so deeply in love with motors as was matt, the novelty of that ride could not fail to appeal to him. he was safe, at least for a time, and felt sure that ultimately he would gain the shore or be picked up by a coastwise ship. as for the _grampus_, there were cool heads and steady nerves aboard of her, and the submarine's safety would be looked after. besides, the mysterious foes had failed in their night's work, and there was probably no more danger to be apprehended from them. as matt held himself astride his queer craft, guiding it by a pull this way and that, he fell to thinking of the manner in which he had been hurled into the sea. some boat had discharged the torpedo, and it seemed certain that those who had tossed the rope over his head and pulled him from the submarine's deck had been on the same boat. had it been the intention of matt's enemies to haul him aboard their boat, or only to strangle him and keep him in the water until the _grampus_ got well away, then cast him off and let him sink to the bottom? matt's humane instincts rebelled against the latter supposition. his enemies, he reasoned, had intended hauling him aboard their boat, but in some manner had lost hold of the end of the line. a whitehead torpedo costs something like four thousand dollars, and is altogether too valuable to leave adrift when it has been fired and misses its target. those who had discharged the torpedo would surely look for it--and, if they found it, they would also find matt. this caused the young motorist a good deal of trepidation. he reasoned, however, that on account of the darkness of the night and the fog, his mysterious foes would probably remain in the part of the ocean where the torpedo had been fired and look for it in the daylight. between that hour and daylight, matt was hoping to be picked up. the compressed air in a torpedo will carry it about nine hundred yards. this torpedo had not gone its full distance, on account of an automatic misplacement of the "tripper" and starting lever, but enough of the air had been used so that matt's ride was a short one. after a few minutes the propellers ceased to revolve, and matt and the steel cylinder came to a stop, heaving up and down on the surface of the water. yielding to the pull of the current, the torpedo started erratically seaward, and another fear was born in matt's mind. the farther seaward he was carried, the more difficult it would be to fall in with a passing boat, and the farther off would be his rescue. to carry his grewsome thoughts still farther, there was a good chance that he would succumb to thirst and hunger before his woeful plight was discovered, and---- but this gloomy train of reflections was interrupted. in the distance matt could see a glow of light, shining hazily through the fog. was it the search light of the _grampus_, or a gleam from the other boat? divided between hopes and doubts, he waited and watched. the glow presently resolved itself into a pencil of light, and he became fairly positive that it was the searching eye of the submarine. "ahoy!" he shouted. instantly a distant commotion struck on his ears. "ahoy, ahoy!" came an excited answer. "is that you, matt?" "yes. shift your wheel a couple of points to starboard and you'll be heading straight for me. come slow--and don't run me down." the gleam of light suddenly shifted its position. aiming directly at matt, it grew brighter and brighter. matt was able to make out the dark outlines of the submarine's low deck and conning tower, and to see three figures well forward toward the bow, all clinging to guys and leaning out over the water. "are you swimming, old ship?" came the tense voice of dick ferral. "hardly," matt answered. "i've been in the water for upward of an hour--and i couldn't have fought the current that long if i had been compelled to swim." "how you vas keeping off der pottom, matt?" piped up the relieved voice of carl. "there's a sort of a raft under me," matt laughed. "a raft? where the dickens did you get hold of a raft, matt?" this was glennie. "not exactly a raft," went on matt, "but a whitehead torpedo. we met each other at just the right time for me. i'm riding the torpedo, and it's a fine thing for keeping a fellow afloat." startled expressions came from those on the submarine. by then the grampus was so close that her search light had matt and the whitehead in full glare. the amazement of the boys on the submarine increased. "dot's der plamedest t'ing vat i efer heardt oof!" gasped carl. "modor matt riding on a dorpeto schust like it vas a tree, oder somet'ing like dot! ach, himmelblitzen!" speake guided the _grampus_ alongside the torpedo. "be careful, speake!" warned glennie. "if that infernal machine bunts into us, we're gone." "i'm looking out for that," answered speake. "you don't need to worry," called matt reassuringly. "i wasn't going to take chances with two hundred pounds of high explosive, and one of the first things i did was to fix the priming pin so it wouldn't work." the _grampus_, responding to a signal flashed into the motor room, came to a halt. dick threw matt a rope, and he began tying it to one of the loops that encircled the shell of the torpedo. "why are you making fast, matey?" inquired dick. "because i want to tow this torpedo into lota," answered matt. "oh, bother that! here we've been all ahoo thinking you were at the bottom and as good as done for. now that we've found you again--and in a most amazing way, at that--cut loose from that steel tube and come aboard. what's the use of fussing with it?" "i'll explain when i come aboard," matt went on. "make the other end of the line fast, dick, and give the cable a scope of fifty feet. i've hooked to her so that she will follow us stern foremost." glennie helped dick make the cable fast; then matt, drawing in on the line, came alongside the rounded deck plates, and carl helped him off the torpedo. "ach, vat a habbiness!" sputtered carl. "i hat gifen you oop for deadt, matt, und vat shouldt i efer have done mitoudt my bard? how you come to be like dot, hey?" "there's something mighty mysterious about it," said matt. "i thought i heard a noise somewhere in the darkness behind the _grampus_, and stepped aft to watch and listen; then, before i knew what was up, the noose of a rope fell over my head and tightened about my throat. i went into the water with hardly a splash, unable to give a cry for help." "i didn't hear a sound!" put in speake excitedly. "it was all done so quickly and silently, i don't see how you could have known anything about it, speake," said matt. "i was in a bad way when i sighted that torpedo. i got astride of it, started the propellers, and rode in the direction the _grampus_ had taken. when the compressed air gave out, i was expecting to be picked up by some other boat--by the boat that had fired the torpedo at us." "at us!" exclaimed glennie. "do you mean to say that torpedo that saved you was launched at the _grampus_?" "exactly," returned matt. "it was the torpedo dick, carl, and i saw, and which i thought might be a floating log or a piece of wreckage." this astounding intelligence almost carried matt's chums off their feet. "what enemies have we in these waters?" cried the startled glennie. "why," answered matt, "who but the sons of the rising sun?" chapter iv. weighing the evidence. "let's go below, mates," suggested dick, "and overhaul all this. there's meat in it for us, and it will stand us in hand to get at it." "i'll not go below this night, dick," said matt, "and we'd better all of us stay on deck and keep our eyes peeled for japs. carl can go and bring me up some dry clothes, an extra pair of shoes and stockings, and an extra coat." "dot's me, bard," chirruped carl, making for the conning tower. "get the boat on her proper course, speake," said matt; "we must get out of this neighborhood as soon as we can--and as quick as we can. watch the torpedo as we come about, dick, you and glennie. see that the cable doesn't foul the guys or the periscope mast." speake signaled for a fresh start, and as the submarine described a circle and pointed the other way, dick and glennie kept the hawser clear. the torpedo took its scope of cable, and the drag of it was plainly felt as soon as the submarine began to pull. "it's main lucky, mates," remarked dick, as carl regained the deck with matt's dry clothing, and the young motorist began to get out of his wet togs, "that we've such a smooth sea. if the wind was blowing hard and the water was choppy, matt would have a hard time with that torpedo of his." "a lucky thing, too," added glennie, "that there's a thick fog. if matt's enemies had seen him, they'd have finished the work they set out to do with that lariat." "on the other hand, glennie," put in matt, "we don't want to forget that it was the fog that enabled them to come so close. their boat must have got within seventy-five feet of the _grampus_ in order for any one to drop that noose over my head." "i'll be keelhauled if i can understand how such a trick was done," said dick. "from my experiences on the cattle ranges of texas, i should say that a seventy-five-foot cast with a riata is a mighty big one, and liable to be successful about once in a hundred times. but here's this swab that lassoed matt, snaring him the first crack--and throwing from a boat's deck and across water, at that!" "then, too," proceeded glennie, "their boat has less noise to it than any craft i ever heard of. it shoved along within seventy-five feet of us--and none of us heard a sound!" "i thought i heard a noise, glennie," returned matt, "and that was what took me aft." "i can't understand how it was done," muttered the ensign. "veil, anyvays," struck in carl, "id vas done, no madder vedder anypody oondershtands it or nod. kevit making some guesses aboudt der vay it vas pulled off und look der pitzness skevare in der face. it vas der chaps--who else vould dry to plow der _grampus_ oudt oof water? so vat's to be done aboudt it?" "carl's talking sense, fellows," said matt. "those japs are against us. we thought we had left them behind, and that we should be able to reach san francisco before they could make us any trouble, but here they are, going for us harder than ever." "they're not using that steamer of theirs, mates," averred dick. "the steamer might have torpedo tubes," answered glennie. "ay, so she might; but she couldn't lie along within seventy-five feet of us without making noise enough to wake the dead. the sons of the rising sun have changed boats--and how have they had time to do that, and reach this part of the coast almost at the same time as ourselves? we've plugged right along ever since leaving the strait." "that gives me an idea," said the ensign, "and you fellows can take it for what it's worth. our knowledge of the sons of the rising sun is a trifle hazy, but we know them to be a secret organization whose aim is to help japan. the organization is not sanctioned by the japanese government, for its members commit deeds which would plunge the nation into war if it sanctioned them. now, this secret society is probably quite extensive. perhaps we are not dealing with the branch of it that kept us busy most of the way to the horn, but with another outfit of the sons of the rising sun that has been laying for us here." "that's possible," agreed matt. "the question is, shall we put into lota and try to find out something more regarding our enemies, or keep on to valparaiso, as we had originally intended?" "i'm for putting in at lota," said dick. "we can't tow that infernal whitehead all the way to valparaiso." "it will be just as well to stop there, in my opinion," seconded glennie. "if we're dealing with another branch of the sons of the rising sun, perhaps we can get some information about them in lota." "meppy," ventured carl, "ve could lay in a sooply oof gasoline in lota, und vouldn't haf to shdop at valparaiso, huh? dot vould safe dime, und i am gedding hungry for a look at der unidet shtates again. der more i see of odder gountries, der more vat i like my own." "his own!" laughed dick, who, now that motor matt had been safely recovered, was feeling in fine fettle. "you could tell he was a yank, just by the way he talks, eh?" "i peen an american mit a dutch agsent," protested carl, "und i t'ink so mooch oof der shdars und shdripes as anypody. i vould schust as soon shtep on der pritish lion's tail as anyt'ing vat i know." "if you step on the british lion's tail, and i find it out, matey," laughed dick, "i'll have you hauled up and fined for cruelty to animals. one of these days i'm going to write to the kaiser and tell him about you." "vat i care for der kaiser?" snorted carl. "he iss a pooty goot feller, aber he ain'd so big like der bresident oof der land oof der free und der home oof modor matt." "fine-o!" chuckled dick. "a dandy sentiment, carl!" exclaimed glennie. "what do you think of that, matt?" "why," returned matt, "i think that if the lot of us don't stop joshing and attend more to watching our immediate neighborhood that the land of the free and the home of the brave is liable to be minus one submarine and a lot of motor boys. that jap boat is a particularly noiseless craft; she came close enough to us to launch a torpedo, and close enough to tangle me up in a rope and pull me into the ocean. if she did it once, she can do it again. we've got to keep sharp eyes forward, aft, and on both sides. dick, you'll be the bow lookout, and glennie can go aft; you watch the port side, carl, and i'll watch the starboard. can you steer for the rest of the night, speake?" he added to the man in the conning tower. "i guess i can stand this extra duty if you can, matt," replied speake, "considering what you've been through." "a dip in the ocean and a ride on a torpedo doesn't count," said matt, dropping his wet clothes down the hatch; "it's what may happen to us if we don't keep on our guard that bothers me. this boat is going to be delivered at mare island, japs or no japs." "und righdt site oop mit care, you bed you!" cried carl, dropping down on the port side of the conning tower. "i feel so easy in my mindt as oof i vas alretty pack in der best gountry vat efer vas." "carl is full of patriotism to-night, mates," observed dick, from the bow. "i vas dickled pecause matt is alife und kicking. dot inshpires me mit batriotic sendiment, und odder feelings oof choy. be jeerful, eferypody." weighing the evidence offered by the torpedo attack, and the snaring and dragging of matt into the water, had not resulted in bringing out very much that was of importance. it served, however, to emphasize the need of vigilance by developing the resourcefulness and malevolence of a wily foe. at a. m. the submarine was close to the land lying south of the bay of lota, and, as the mist was still too thick to make out the distance and bearing of the coast, matt thought it advisable to stop the motor and wait for the fog to clear with the sun. advantage was taken of this stop to prepare breakfast. while all hands were eating, gaines and clackett, who had been at their posts during the exciting occurrences of the night, were duly informed of all that had taken place. at a. m. the morning was bright enough so that matt felt they could proceed with safety. the passage into the bay of lota, between the island of santa maria and lavapié point, is narrow and difficult, abounding with sunken rocks and other hidden dangers that have not been surveyed and charted. luck, however, was with the motor boys, and the passage into the bay was succesfully accomplished. just as the sun broke through the mist and brought out the beauties of the bay, the _grampus_ nosed her way into it. on three sides the bay is surrounded by wooded hills, which shelter it in every direction except on the north. "dowse me," muttered dick; "this coast looks like that of cornwall and devonshire, with that red earth, those granite cliffs, and the trees running down to the water's edge. what are those chimneys and all that smoke over there?" "smelting works and potteries," explained glennie. "they are owned by a woman, madam cousiño, one of the richest women in chili." the _grampus_, being of light draught, was able to go close inshore. anchor was dropped within a couple of cables' length of the wharf. the "mud hooks" had hardly taken hold before a man in a tawdry blue uniform came off from the shore in a boat. he was rowed by two negroes, and appeared to be very much excited. when his boat was laid alongside, the official stood up, flourished his arms, and spouted a stream of language. it was spanish, and came in such a torrent that matt, who knew something of the lingo, could make nothing of it. glennie was better versed in the tongue, and listened attentively and with growing concern. "here's a go, matt!" exclaimed the ensign, as soon as the official paused to catch his breath. "this man is the captain of the port, and he has placed us all under arrest." "arrest?" cried matt incredulously. "what for?" "he says we're thieves, and that we have stolen this submarine boat." "dot's aboudt der lasht t'ing vat i oxpected!" muttered carl. "take der uniform off dot feller, und ve vill find he iss a son oof der rising sun, i bed you. led's go to der pottom oof der pay und infite him to come down und ged us." chapter v. a surprising situation. "sink me!" growled dick. "here's a rum go, if anybody asks you. it's bobs to sovereigns that those japs are mixed up in this." "we can very soon convince the captain of the port that he's made a mistake," said matt quietly. "get your written instructions, glennie, and we'll go ashore with him. there's something queer about this, and it may be a good thing for us to get to the bottom of it." "how aboudt tick und me?" inquired carl. "ain'd ve going along mit you?" "you and dick and the rest of the crew," matt answered, "will stay here and take care of the _grampus_. somebody will have to do that, you know, carl. it's fully as important as going ashore and explaining matters to the officials." glennie told the captain of the port that he and matt would go ashore with him and make it plain to everybody that there was a mistake. the ensign's uniform, spick and span and mighty fetching, made a wholesome impression upon the captain of the port. while glennie was getting his papers, the port official dropped back alongside the torpedo and examined it with considerable interest. when the ensign reappeared on the submarine's deck, the boat was brought back and matt and glennie got aboard. in five minutes they had reached the wharf and clambered ashore. the negroes who had rowed the boat dropped in on each side of the two young americans, each drawing an old-fashioned pistol that fired with a percussion cap. "they're bound we're not going to run," laughed matt. "i don't know," returned glennie, "but i'd rather be in front of those old relics when they're shot off than behind them. i guess a fellow would be safer." the captain of the port led the way to the casa de la administracion of the señora cousiño. it was built on the crest of a low rise, and afforded a fine view of the bay. a tall, slim man, who looked like a frenchman, stood on the steps of the casa surveying the _grampus_ through a glass. with an expression of disappointment, he lowered the glass and turned toward the captain of the port as he drew near. then there was french talk and spanish talk--the tall, slim man using his native tongue, which the chilian evidently understood, and the chilian using the spanish, with which the frenchman appeared familiar. glennie gave strict attention to all that was going on. the finger and whole-arm movements, the hunching of the shoulders, and the shaking and ducking of the heads, accompanied the talk as a sort of pantomime. matt was highly amused. a look of astonishment appeared in glennie's face as he listened. "by george!" the ensign exclaimed, when the conversation between the chilian and the frenchman had died down. "we've jumped into a surprising situation here, matt, if i've got this thing right." "what is it, glennie?" asked matt. "well, the frenchman says that the submarine isn't the boat he thought it was, and that our arrest has been a mistake." "i'm glad they found that out without putting us to any trouble. is there another submarine in these waters? and has it been stolen?" "that's where the surprising part comes in. i'll have to talk with these fellows, and ask them a few questions, before i can get the layout clear in my mind." french and spanish had formed a part of glennie's education at annapolis; he reeled off both languages now, first at one and then at the other of the two men, asking questions and receiving voluble replies. in five minutes he had the situation straightened out to his satisfaction, and sat down on one of the stone steps beside matt. "the tall man, matt," said glennie, "is captain pons, of edouard lavalle et cie, shipbuilders, of havre, france. this firm of lavalle & co. are builders of submarines, and they recently finished such a craft for the chilian navy. the boat was brought over on a tramp freighter, and captain pons came along to instruct the chilian officers and crew in the manner of running the submarine, and also to secure a draft for the purchase price. "the submarine was unloaded safely, and was provisioned by captain pons for a run to santiago, where she was to be inspected by the secretary of the navy. captain pons was not to get his money from the government until the submarine reached santiago. the chilian crew was to come over from coronel yesterday afternoon, but arrived in the morning, a good twelve hours ahead of time. captain pons rowed out with them to the submarine, showed the captain of the crew all over the boat and explained the machinery to him; then, quite unexpectedly, so far as captain pons was concerned, the crew grabbed the frenchman, threw him into the rowboat, closed the hatch of the submarine, and dropped into the bottom of the bay." matt was listening with intense interest. "the crew that captain pons took out to the submarine wasn't the right one?" he observed. "no. the real crew arrived in the afternoon, agreeably to schedule, and found captain pons without a submarine and very much up in the air. if he can't recover the submarine from the thieves, his firm may hold him responsible for the loss of the stolen boat." "there were torpedoes in the french submarine?" matt began to grow excited as the situation cleared before him. "two," replied glennie. "and the bogus crew--who were they?" "instead of coming from coronel, it was discovered that they came from the south--by railroad from valdivia, on the coast. it has also been discovered that they were japanese--japs who had their eyes straightened. it is supposed that they are from the mysterious steamer that escaped from captain sandoval, below english reach." matt's astonishment almost lifted him off the stone step on which he was sitting. "our old enemies!" he exclaimed. "the sons of the rising sun have secured a submarine boat, and that means that they can follow us wherever we go." "hard luck, matt, that events should drift into this tangle! that french submarine had to be here, it seems, at just the right time to help out the japs. the young samurai must have known about this other craft. after dodging captain sandoval, they managed to reach valdivia and came on from there by train. that is how they were able to get ahead of us." "every mysterious twist is taken out of the situation now, glennie," said matt, almost stunned by the audacity of the japs and the marvelous way in which circumstances had aided them. "they took possesion of the french submarine and started south to meet the _grampus_. the noiseless way in which they hung upon our flanks is easy to understand. the torpedo was launched at us while the french boat was submerged; and when that rope was hurled at me, the boat was just out of the water--there were no lights about her, and the search light of the _grampus_ enabled those on the french craft to make that cast with the riata." matt's face went pale. "glennie," he continued, "the hardest job of our lives is ahead of us! the japs have a submarine, and there's not one of them who would not willingly give his life if, by doing so, he could destroy the _grampus_. as long as our enemies were in a steamboat, and compelled to remain on the surface, it was easy to keep away from them; but now, no matter where we go, they can follow us." "i don't know anything about this french boat," returned glennie thoughtfully, "but i'll bet something handsome she's not half so good a craft as the _grampus_. there's a big advantage for us, right at the start. then, again, about the only thing we're to fear from the stolen submarine is the torpedo work. captain pons says there were only two torpedoes in the craft. one of them is accounted for. they have only one more--and i guess we can get away from _that_. besides all this, don't forget that the japs are green hands with the submarine, and have had no practical experience in running her. captain pons explained to them the theoretical part of the machinery, but, you take it from me, those wily orientals are going to get themselves into trouble." "they manoeuvred the submarine pretty well last night," said matt. "i don't see how they could improve much on their work. a jap, glennie, is a regular genius in 'catching on' to things. show him how to do a piece of work once, and he knows it for all time. they're clever--as clever as they are wily, and sometimes treacherous." at this point, captain pons put in a few words. "i see ze torpedo is wiz youar boat, monsieur. you say zat you peek heem out of ze sea, but he is my torpedo, and he is vorth many sousand francs. i am to have him, eh?" matt looked at glennie. "we might need that torpedo, matt," suggested the ensign, "for the _grampus_ has only one. if it comes to a fight with the french boat that extra whitehead would come in handy. i think we had better keep it." "so do i," agreed matt. he turned to captain pons. "the torpedo was fired at us, captain," he went on, "and it was by a happenchance, and at a considerable risk to myself, that i was able to save it and tow it in." "he is mine, by gar!" cried the frenchman. "what good is the torpedo to you without the submarine?" "ma foi, i can sell heem. i save zat much." "any way you figure it," insisted matt, "we're entitled to salvage on the torpedo." "nozzing, not one centime!" screeched captain pons, jumping up and down and flourishing his arms. "suppose i pay you the difference between the salvage and the cost of the torpedo?" asked matt, willing to adjust the matter in any way that would secure peace. "non! i want ze torpedo, and zis talk of ze salvage is w'at you call boosh; _oui_, zat is all, nozzing but boosh." there seemed no amicable way of settling the dispute. matt, feeling that the whitehead was of prime importance to the _grampus_, was determined to stick to his contention. he and glennie stood up, and all on the steps of the casa turned their eyes downward to where the _grampus_ lay on the placid waters of the harbor, the long, black cylinder of the whitehead some forty or fifty feet back of the stern. while they looked, a most astounding thing happened. the torpedo seemed suddenly to become imbued with life. it shivered, jerked sidewise like an animated log, whirled around frantically, and then, with one end leaping into the air, it darted downward, out of sight! chapter vi. another attack. this weird vanishing on the part of the object in dispute between motor matt and captain pons left those on steps of the casa gasping. the frenchman dropped limply down and hugged his folded arms to his breast; the chilian looked wild, and a superstitious fear arose in the eyes of the two negroes. glennie grabbed up the glasses the captain had been using a few minutes before, clapped them to his eyes, and proceeded to examine the surface of the bay. the strange movements of the torpedo had had something of an effect upon the _grampus_, for she had swung about on her cable and dipped slightly sternward. she was lying quietly enough now, however, and carl, dick, speake, gaines, and clackett were swarming over her deck and evidently wondering what had become of the whitehead. matt, with his naked eyes, could see his friends moving about, although it was impossible for him to discover exactly what they were doing. "they're pulling in the rope that was made fast to the torpedo," said glennie. "they've got the end of it in their hands." "great spark plugs!" murmured matt dazedly. "that was a queer performance, i must say. can you see anything of the whitehead, glennie?" "not a thing. there must have been some compressed air still left in the cylinder, and in some way it got to the screws." matt shook his head. "that's not it, glennie. even if the whitehead's screws had begun to work they couldn't have caused the big tube to dance around in that unheard-of fashion. i----" matt, with a sudden alarming thought running through his mind, started down the steps at a run. the frenchman shouted something. taking his cue from captain pons, the chilian also shouted. probably it was a command for matt to halt, but the young motorist did not construe it in that way. pons, himself, had said that there was no cause for the arrest of matt and glennie, and motor matt believed that he was perfectly free to go wherever he wished. just then he was tremendously eager to get aboard the _grampus_. one of the old-fashioned pistols went off with a _bang_ like a small cannon. a lead slug screeched through the air well over matt's head. "come back, matt!" yelled glennie. "if you don't, the next bullet may come closer to you." matt faced about indignantly. "what are they shooting at me for?" he demanded. "they don't want you to get away, just yet." "but i've got to get away! we must get aboard the _grampus_ as quick as the nation will let us. can't you understand this business, glennie? that french submarine is in the bottom of the bay! the japs are recovering that torpedo! you know why they want it, as well as i do." "jupiter!" exclaimed glennie, "i hadn't thought of that. but you'd better come back here, matt, while we explain the situation to captain pons. it's better to have him and the captain of the port for friends rather than enemies." "every minute's delay makes the position of the _grampus_ just that much more dangerous. carl, dick, and the rest don't know a thing about this other submarine, and if the japs made an attack on our boat, while she's lying at anchor----" "don't fret about that, matt," cut in glennie. "the japs will have their hands full saving their torpedo. they're thinking more about that whitehead just at present than of anything else. but, anyhow, we can't try to dodge the bullets these negroes will send after us if we make a run of it." matt, fretting over the delay, slowly returned to the steps. the negro was reloading his pistol, the other was making ready to use his weapon in case matt refused to obey orders, and both the captain of the port and captain pons were looking extremely fierce and determined. both captains were talking to glennie. the ensign answered them sharply, and the captains gave responses equally sharp. "what a pair of dunderheads!" growled glennie to matt. "how's that?" queried matt. "captain pons has developed a very bright idea," was the ensign's sarcastic response. "he says we caused the torpedo to act in that unaccountable manner, and that we did it in order to steal it from him." matt caught his breath. "is captain pons in his sober senses?" he demanded. "all the senses heaven endowed him with are on duty." "how does he think we could cause the torpedo to act in that manner?" "he lays it to our friends on the _grampus_, but is gloriously indefinite concerning the way they worked the trick." matt walked up the steps and faced captain pons. "we had nothing to do with the disappearance of the torpedo!" he cried. "why, the very idea is preposterous! how could any of our men cause the whitehead to disappear in that fashion?" "you want ze torpedo," insisted captain pons doggedly. "you make ze dispute wiz me. zen, w'en i say _non_, ze torpedo belong wiz me, _pouf!_ away he go lak a streak. you haf stole heem, and you will answer to ze french government for zat, by gar!" "that is foolish talk, captain pons, for a man of your age and experience." "hein! i am not so foolish as w'at you zink." "it was the other boat that stole the torpedo--the submarine the japs stole from you." "zat could not be ze _pom_. ze jap zey would not dar-r-r-e bring ze _pom_ back in ze bay." "you don't know those japs as well as we do, captain. they are enemies of ours, and have followed us clear from port-of-spain, trinidad. they want to destroy the _grampus_, to keep her out of the hands of the united states navy. if i don't go down there, and warn my friends and do something to protect our submarine, this _pom_ of yours may make an attack." "zis is a friendly port," replied captain pons, with a wave of the hand. "ze japs will not dar-r-r-e make attack in ze friendly port." matt was disgusted. he felt that he had never met a man so dense as this captain pons. "the japs stole your submarine in a friendly port," he remarked dryly. "i guess that proves that they're not above committing lawless acts in a chilian harbor. you have no right to detain ensign glennie and myself. we are under the protection of the stars and stripes. if you are determined to keep us with you on this ridiculous charge of stealing the torpedo, then will you not accompany us to the _grampus_ while we take measures for the boat's protection? while there, perhaps we may be able to convince you how foolish this charge of yours is." "zat is reasonable talk," admitted captain pons gravely. "i vill spik wiz my good friend, captain arco." matt and glennie drew apart while the two captains held a whispered conversation, although a very animated one. "a couple of jumping jacks!" muttered glennie; "and blockheads, to boot. i wonder what those french shipbuilders were thinking of to send a man like captain pons with their submarine." "well, he may know all about the submarine, and be perfectly trustworthy," answered matt. "i wouldn't trust him to drive a pair of mules on a canal." the ensign was completely disgusted. "ah!" he said, a moment later. "the two great minds have at last come to a decision in this momentous matter." captains pons and arco approached the two lads importantly. "ze good captain has agreed to go back wiz you and me to ze submarine," announced captain pons. "if, w'en we get zere, you will hand ovair ze torpedo, zen we not make ze trouble for you any more. _allons!_ let us be gone." the negroes, following an order from the captain of the port, dropped in on either side of matt and glennie, their antiquated pistols prominently displayed. then, with the two captains leading the way, the american lads left the casa de la administracion. "how those japs managed to get hold of that torpedo without showing themselves," remarked glennie, on the way to the landing, "is a conundrum." "they must have come up under the torpedo," answered matt, "just close enough to the surface to grapple a coil of the rope that was around the steel shell." "even on that theory the move is hard to understand. while the _pom_ was under water it would not be possible for any one aboard of her to work at the ropes around the torpedo." "perhaps the grappling was done by manoeuvring the boat." "that might be----" glennie was interrupted. by that time the party had nearly reached the landing. before any of them stepped foot on the wharf, however, there came a loud detonation, and a geyser-like column of water arose high in the air. so lofty was the column that some of the spray from it was hurled across the intervening stretch of the bay and into the faces of matt, glennie, and the rest. when the column had sunk downward, those on the shore could see that the _grampus_ had disappeared! chapter vii. a bad half hour. matt, glennie, the two captains, and the negroes were stupefied. they stood as though rooted to the ground and stared across the water toward the spot where the _grampus_ had been anchored. "_sacre!_" muttered captain pons. "zat was a torpedo, by gar!" "it was fired at the _grampus_!" cried matt, almost beside himself. "i was afraid an attack would be made--and the boys didn't know anything about that other submarine, glennie. if our boat has been destroyed, if--if----" matt staggered against the post to which the painter securing the rowboat was made fast. the negroes began talking excitedly between themselves, and pons and arco likewise began to air their opinions. "don't lose your nerve, matt," said glennie. "that was a torpedo, all right, and it goes without saying that the japs discharged it from the _pom_, under water. it hit something, and was discharged, _but it didn't hit the grampus_." "no," answered matt, his moody eyes resting on the spot where the _grampus_ had been anchored, "the torpedo didn't hit the _grampus_, for the column of water spouted up almost a fathom from the place where she was moored; but the boat may have been destroyed by the explosion, for all that. when the geyser dropped, it covered the place where our submarine ought to have been. but you can see, glennie, she isn't there." motor matt had gone through many perils and difficulties since he and his chums had started for "around the horn" with the _grampus_, but he had never been so greatly cast down as he was at that moment. he was thinking of carl, of dick, and of the three brave men, speake, gaines, and clackett, who had stood shoulder to shoulder with him through all the dangers that had met them since leaving british honduras. it was a good thing that glennie, at that moment, was so hopeful. "we haven't been able to see the _grampus_ for several minutes, matt," he observed. "in coming down the hill from the casa, the boat was hidden from us." "all the same, glennie, she was in her berth, whether we saw her or not. if she hadn't been where we left her, the japs wouldn't have had any target, and the torpedo would not have been exploded in that spot. if it comes to that, the fact that we didn't see her goes to show that she may have changed her position a little, and have been right where the torpedo exploded." "i don't think that for a minute," averred glennie stoutly. "the last we saw of the _grampus_ all our friends were on deck. if she had been torpedoed, we'd certainly see some of the boys in the water. they were under hatches when that whitehead went off; and, if they were under hatches, they may have been safe. i'm inclined to think they were." "if the bottom plates of the submarine were blown in," proceeded matt, "she would sink and go down like so much lead. let's get into the boat and row out, glennie. we can see a good deal more if we're right over the spot where the _grampus_ was anchored than we can from here." matt, suiting his action to the word, dropped hastily over the edge of the wharf and into the boat. the wharf was in a bad state of repair. the planks had been torn from the piles, and a region of semi-darkness stretched away under the floor. as matt dropped into the boat, his face was turned landward and his eyes rested for a moment on the gloom that lay between the outer piles and the shore; but, during that moment, he glimpsed something that gave him a start. unless he was greatly mistaken, he could make out the dim shape of a human form crouching in the darkness. "cast off the painter, glennie, quick!" he called. the ensign lifted the loop over the top of the post and flung it into the boat. grabbing the wharf planks, matt gave a pull that sent the boat in between the piles. he could hear shouts of wild suspicion coming from captain pons and captain arco. unable to figure out what impelled matt to vanish under the wharf, they jumped to the conclusion that he was doing something he ought not to do. paying no attention to the frantic voices, or the frenzied tramping on the planks overhead, the young motorist continued to drag the boat onward toward the shore. several yards back from the edge of the wharf, the bow of the boat struck against a timber that had one end imbedded in the sand, while the other end rose upward, clear of the water. the human form matt had seen was lying upon the timber. the man made no move to escape, or to protect himself, and matt was not long in discovering that he was either dead or unconscious. for a moment matt's heart was in his throat. his fears, even against his better judgment, made him apprehensive that this form, lying helplessly on the timber under the wharf, might be that of one of his friends. close examination, however, proved his fears groundless. the man was under medium height and had a tawny skin. he was barefooted, bareheaded, and stripped to his waist. rolling him into the boat, matt drew the light craft back into the daylight at the edge of the wharf. "what under the canopy are you about, matt?" called glennie, from the edge of the wharf. then, seeing the man in the bottom of the boat, he gave vent to an astonished whistle. "_that's_ what you went under the wharf for, eh? where was that fellow?" "he was lying on a timber, just out of the water," answered matt. "the question is, where did he come from, and what was he doing there?" "he looks as though he was stripped for swimming." "and he worked so hard in the water, and in getting ashore, that he gave out and lost consciousness as soon as he pulled himself upon that timber. the fact that he was under the wharf proves that he didn't want anybody to find him. he's a jap, glennie." a yell escaped captain pons, and he began talking excitedly and pointing his finger at the jap. "what does pons say, glennie?" matt asked. "he says that that fellow was one of the men who stole the _pom_. the captain is very sure he is not mistaken. there were five in the party." "gif the r-r-rascal here!" cried captain pons, stretching his arms downward, "gif heem to me! by gar, he is one of ze t'ieves--ve haf captured one of ze t'ieves!" matt lifted the unconscious man, and three pairs of hands caught him from above and pulled him up on the wharf. hardly had the jap touched the planks than, with amazing suddenness, he jumped to his feet and tried to run. "he was shamming!" exclaimed glennie. "no," answered matt, as the two negroes deftly caught the fleeing jap and flung him roughly down on his back, "i'm positive he was not shamming, glennie. he recovered while we were lifting him to the wharf and thought he could make a bolt and get away." as the two negroes held the prisoner down on the planks, captain pons stepped to his side, bent over, and shook a fist in his face. what the captain said was in spanish, which he probably used for the jap's benefit, and matt could not follow his words further than to be sure that pons was threatening and reviling the man for the treacherous part he and his countrymen had played. the prisoner looked up calmly into the frenchman's face, seeming to take his capture and his failure to escape as a matter of course. "we get the torpedo," said he, in good english, the moment captain pons ceased talking. "how did you get the torpedo?" queried glennie, pushing the captain aside and drawing closer to the prisoner. "i volunteered," went on the jap, a note of ringing exultation in his low voice; "they passed me through the torpedo tube, and i cut the cable that secured the torpedo to the other submarine, and made a rope fast from our boat. it was hard work, all under water. then i swim ashore, but i am weak and faint and try to hide. you have captured me. do what you will. _banzai_, nippon!" the chilian could not understand english, and he was consumed with curiosity. captain pons understood, however, and the calmness of the prisoner, during his brief recital, filled him with rage. he tried to strike the jap, but glennie interfered. "let him alone, pons!" cried glennie. "he thinks he has done right. anyhow, he's a prisoner, and a prisoner should not be mistreated." "_diable!_" ground out the captain. "he make ze brag zat he steal ze torpedo! s-scoundr-r-el! he should be hang', by gar!" glennie turned to motor matt. "you heard, matt?" he queried. "the japs passed this fellow out through the torpedo tube of the _pom_ while the boat was under water. he made a line fast, cut the cable securing the torpedo to our submarine, and then swam ashore. a rare piece of work!" "ask him about that torpedo attack on the _grampus_," said matt. "see if you can find out anything about the intentions of the other japs." "you are one of the sons of the rising sun?" queried glennie, again addressing the prisoner. a gleam darted through the jap's eyes. "i say nothing," he answered. "i have told about the torpedo. but i tell you nothing more. it is all for nippon, for my beloved country." "that's the way with those fellows," said matt disappointedly. "he wouldn't speak another word even if he was tortured. i'm surprised that he said what he did about the torpedo. turn him over to pons and the captain of the port, glennie, and let's row out into the bay and see if we can learn anything about the fate of the _grampus_." matt's face was haggard with fear and anxiety. he had had a bad half hour, since the explosion of the torpedo and the disappearance of the _grampus_, and his face reflected the intensity of his feelings. glennie turned away from the prisoner and stepped to the edge of the wharf. he paused there for a moment, rigid as a statue, his eyes wandering over the surface of the bay. motor matt, wondering at his manner, likewise directed his gaze off over the water. as he did so, glennie recovered his wits abruptly and gave vent to an exultant yell. "hurrah!" he roared, jerking off his cap and waving it. "what's the matter with the motor boys, matt? we've had our worry all for nothing!" chapter viii. chasing a torpedo. dick and carl, together with the rest of the crew of the _grampus_, did a lot of guessing after matt and glennie left them with the captain of the port. the commotion kicked up by the torpedo put a sudden and effectual stop to their speculations. carl, dick, and speake were on deck when the whitehead began its peculiar performance, and the jerks administered to the _grampus_ by the tow line quickly brought gaines and clackett up through the tower hatch. "ach, du lieber!" cried carl. "see vonce vat has habbened mit der dorpeto. a vale has got dangled oop mit der tow line; oder oof id don'd vas a vale id vas a shark, und a pig feller, i bed you. vat a funny pitzness! from der actions, id looks like der dorpeto vas alife." "whale!" scoffed dick. "don't you believe that a whale, or shark, either, has got anything to do with that." "vat it iss, den?" "i give it up. what do you think, speake?" "ask me something easy," answered speake. "mebby something has got loose inside the torpedo--compressed air, or something--and that that is what's putting the big tube through its jig." "led's pull in der line," suggested carl, "und make der dorpeto pehave." "not on your life!" cried dick. "it's full of dynamite, and i'll never let the _grampus_ get any closer to that infernal machine than she is now." "matt vants dot dorpeto or he vouldn't haf taken der drouple to tow her in." "matt can have it, matey, but i don't intend to board a whitehead when it's dancing a hornpipe. if the dynamite should happen to let go----" dick was interrupted by a chorus of surprised yells from the rest of his companions. the torpedo, kicking one end high in the air, had taken a "header" toward the bottom of the bay. "dot means goot-by," murmured the amazed carl. "der vale's run off mit it. bedder dot vale look a leedle oudt und not knock his tail too hardt against der dorpeto. oof he do dot, den, py shinks, he make some mincemeat out oof himseluf." "great guns!" exclaimed gaines. "what do you suppose did that, dick?" "more mysterious things have happened to us since we left magellan strait," ruminated dick, "than ever came our way before. suppose we haul in on the tow line and have a look at the end of it." the line was pulled aboard. there were some forty feet of it, and the end was sliced off clean. "a knife did that!" declared clackett. "der vale dit id mit his teet'," asserted carl, who always hung to one of his own theories like a dog to a bone. "bosh, clackett!" scoffed gaines. "how could a knife have done that? who was down there to cut the rope?" "it don't make any difference what separated the rope," put in speake, "the thing was done, and something or other is running away with motor matt's torpedo. matt must have wanted that whitehead or he wouldn't have gone to the trouble to tow it in. are we going to let it get away from us?" "how can we help it?" inquired clackett. "we can follow it," asserted speake. "we haven't any business taking the _grampus_ from her anchorage while matt's ashore," said gaines. "i guess matt wouldn't mind if we took a dive along the bottom of the bay to overhaul that runaway torpedo," remarked dick. "sure, nod!" chimed in carl. "matt vill be as madt as some vet hens ven ve tell him der dorpeto skyhooted avay mit itseluf und ve ditn't do nodding to shdop id." "we'll chance it, anyway, mates," said dick. "i'm always in command whenever our old raggie is off the boat. get down to the motor, gaines. clackett, get after the tanks. come below, the rest of you, and let the last man down secure the hatch." speake was the last one to drop down the hatch. the ballast tanks were already filling as he stepped off the iron ladder upon the floor of the periscope room. dick was at the wheel. "turn on the electric projector, speake," said dick. "i'm going up into the tower and do the steering from there." dick got just two rounds up the ladder when a muffled roar enveloped the _grampus_, and she was heaved violently over until the tower was almost on a level with her keel. carl, who had been inspecting the periscope, was thrown violently against the rounded wall over the locker. speake, just reaching up to turn the electric switch that sent a current through the wires of the projector, went head over heels against one of the bulkheads. as for dick, he pulled off a remarkable stunt at ground and lofty tumbling, winding up with his head under the periscope table and his heels in the air. yells came in muffled volume from below, proving that gaines and clackett were likewise having their troubles. the _grampus_ righted herself almost as quickly as she had flopped over. this, taking place before those aboard had had a chance to adjust themselves, still further complicated matters. when every one was finally right side up, dick jumped to the speaking tubes. "how are you down there, gaines?" he called. "i turned a handspring over the motor," came back the voice of gaines, "but i guess i didn't damage anything." "i stood on my head in one of the accumulators," added clackett through the tank-room tube. "we turned turtle there for about half a minute. what caused it, dick? i heard an explosion, too." "that bally old torpedo must have gone off," answered dick. "no use hunting for it now." "i don't believe it was that torpedo that exploded," said speake. "what could have set it off?" "der vale shlowed oop a leedle," explained carl, "und id run indo him. i bed you somet'ing for nodding dere iss vale all ofer der pay." "we're in luck, anyhow," exulted dick. "this old flugee is as trim and steady as ever. now that we're down near the bottom we'll cruise a little and see what we can discover. we've got an hour or two, i guess, before matt and glennie get back to the landing and want to come aboard. slow speed, gaines," he called. hurrying up into the conning tower, dick pressed his eyes against the forward lunettes. the trail of light, reaching out through the lunette, illuminated the murky waters for several yards beyond the point of the submarine's bow. there was a commotion in the depths, and fishes were darting in all directions. steering from the ladder, dick headed the _grampus_ toward the north. they had not gone far before dick saw something which made him rub his eyes. "am i doing a calk," he muttered, "or are these lamps of mine making a monkey's fist of their work? strike me lucky! carl! look into the periscope!" a vague shape was passing through the gleam of the search light. it looked like a huge cigar, its pointed end tilted slightly upward. at the rear of the object there was a flurry of water. "id's a vale!" boomed carl, whose mind seemed to be running on whales that day. "it's another submarine," gasped speake, "that's what it is. i wonder if matt didn't know there was another submarine in these waters?" "watch!" cried dick excitedly. "what's that behind the thing?" the other boat was moving in a course that angled slightly with the direction the _grampus_ was following. because of this the second craft was some time in passing through the glow of the search light. as dick called out, those at the periscope table saw the whitehead torpedo glide into the gleam from the electric projector. a rope held the forward end of the torpedo to the stern of the other submarine, the buoyancy of the steel cylinder causing its rear part to stand almost straight up in the water. it was an odd procession the boat and the torpedo made as they defiled through the pencil of light. "dot's der feller vat shtole matt's dorpeto!" cried carl. "run against der rope, tick, und preak der dorpeto loose." "not much, i won't, matey," breathed dick. "we're not going to take any chances with _that_ whitehead." "it certainly wasn't that torpedo that went off, a little while ago, dick," observed speake. "right-o," dick answered, startled by the thought this remark of speake's had aroused. "it was a torpedo, though, and that other craft must have launched it at us." "ach, himmelblitzen!" gasped carl. "for vy should dot odder poat shoot some dorpetos ad us, hey?" "give it up, carl, unless there are some of those sons of the rising sun aboard." dick slid down the ladder in a hurry. "empty the tanks, clackett!" he sang out. "we've got to hustle out of this," he added to carl and speake, "before they shoot another whitehead at us. keelhaul me, but this will be news for matt. we've got to tell him about it as soon as ever we can get the _grampus_ back to her old berth." two minutes later the submarine lifted her turtle-like back out of the waves. dick headed her south, and carl and speake pushed open the hatch and went out on the wet plates. dick ascended the ladder to steer from the hatch. hardly had he got head and shoulders into the outside air when a shout from carl and speake drew his eyes toward the wharf. matt and glennie, and a few more the boys did not know, were on the landing. glennie was yelling and waving his cap. "vat's der madder mit him, i vonder?" queried carl. "he vouldn't be doing dot oof he knowed aboudt dot odder poat und der dorpeto." chapter ix. northward bound. the _grampus_ had no more than dropped anchor in her old berth than matt, glennie, captain pons, the captain of the port, and the negroes were alongside in the boat. "great spark plugs," cried matt, "but you fellows gave me a scare." "vell, bard," answered carl, "ve vas a leedle schared ourselufs." "here's another scare for you, matey," called dick. "the sons of the rising sun have a submarine of their own, and are after us. they were here, off lota, and just went north with that torpedo in tow." "jupiter!" exclaimed glennie. "how did you fellows know that?" "you act as though it wasn't any news to you." "it isn't, but we thought you fellows were not informed and would fall a victim to the _pom_." "_pom?_" echoed dick. "that's the name of the other submarine," went on matt. "she's a french craft and was brought here by this man, captain pons, to be turned over to the chilian government. five japs worked a trick and succeeded in getting hold of her." "why, how----" "we'll tell you all about it later, dick. where were you when that torpedo went off?" "just diving to the bottom to go hunting for the other torpedo. that whitehead they fired never touched us." "it must have touched something," put in speake, "or the firing pin wouldn't have got in its work." "it hit a harbor buoy," said matt. "at least, the captain of the port says there was a buoy at this point. as it isn't here now, it must have been demolished. it's a lucky thing for all of us that the buoy was between the _grampus_ and the whitehead. glennie and i will go back to the shore, dick, and get a barrel of gasoline. you get the hose rigged and have everything ready to discharge the gasoline in short order. we're northward bound, and are going to get away from these waters just as quick as the nation will let us." there was something of a disappointment in this for the men on the submarine. they had hoped for a chance to stretch their legs ashore, but they appreciated the necessity of getting the _grampus_ out of harm's way as quickly as possible. "won't the _pom_ lay for us as we pull out of the bay, matt?" asked dick. "she can't lay for us. you see, she had only two torpedoes. one of those was destroyed in the attack made on the _grampus_ in the bay; the other one the _pom_ is dragging off to some place where she can get it in shape for work. we need not fear any attack from the sons of the rising sun until the other whitehead is ready for use. if we act quickly, we can get well away from the _pom_ before she becomes dangerous." "_diable!_" rasped out captain pons. "is it ze american vay to r-run from ze enemy? pur-r-r-soo and capture, zat is ze sing. i will go wiz you, _oui_, i, myself, captain pons. you will help me get back ze _pom_. eh?" "we're not here to take any risks with the _grampus_, captain," said matt. "responsibility for the safety of the boat rests on my shoulders, and you'll have to get some chilian war ship to help you." "zat is not right!" cried the captain. "one mariner is in ze duty bound to help anozzer mariner in ze distress. me, i call on you. you refuse, zen zat is mos' contemptible." "i'm sorry you look at it in that way, captain," replied matt; "but it's just possible i know my own business better than you do." captain pons had a little fit all by himself, and while he had it he was saying unpleasant things. "what's the matter with the frog eater?" cried dick. "throw him overboard!" matt signed for the captain of the port to have the negro oarsmen get the boat back to the landing. the captain at once gave the order and the boat danced away in the direction of the wharf. captain pons was still calling down anathemas on the heads of all americans who refused to help a frenchman in "ze distress." "by gar," he cried, "i vill vire my government how you haf treat' me! i vill use ze cable, and let ze president of my country know it all. it is mos' contemptible!" "captain," said matt, "we are not allowed to take any strangers aboard the _grampus_. our submarine has appliances which put her so far ahead of every other boat in her class that we are all under seal of secrecy and are bound by a pledge to keep strangers away. so, you see, it would be impossible for you to take a cruise in the _grampus_." captain pons glared. "it is mos' contemptible!" was all he could say. matt and glennie, without delaying further, pushed into the town. matt had little difficulty in finding the gasoline he wanted. he had to go to two or three places before he found fuel that answered the severe tests he put it to, but finally he got what he desired and had it hauled to the landing. the captain of the port was not in evidence, but his two negroes were waiting at the boat. matt had come down to the wharf in the wagon that brought the gasoline, and glennie had been left to follow on foot. the ensign put in an appearance just as the barrel had been transferred to the boat. matt was surprised to see him carrying a rifle. the only firearms aboard the _grampus_ consisted of a six-shooter which had accompanied the ensign when he first assumed his duties on the submarine. "what are you going to do with that, glennie?" laughed matt. "shoot japs?" "well, no, not exactly," answered glennie, "there are a good many ways in which a weapon of this sort might come in handy, besides using it for shooting japs. it's an american gun, matt--a marlin. it looked sort of homelike, so i just took it in, along with a box of cartridges." if matt hated one thing more than another, it was a gun. he had seen firearms used so recklessly while he was in the southwest that he had acquired a strong prejudice against them. notwithstanding this fact, he was a crack shot, and had more than once carried off the prize in a shooting contest. "all right, glennie," said he, although a trifle reluctantly, "bring it along." "you don't like guns, matt," observed the ensign as he lowered himself into the boat and dropped down on one of the thwarts. "or knives, either," added matt, "when they are used to get the better of another fellow. a pair of fists make pretty good weapons." "fists are all right," laughed glennie, "so long as the other chap uses them; but when you find an enemy standing off forty or fifty feet and looking at you over the sights of a gun--well, that's the time another gun would be mighty valuable." by the time the small boat fell in alongside the _grampus_, dick, carl, and the rest had the hose ready and it took only a few moments to rig the pump. presently the gasoline was flowing down the tower hatch and into the reservoir below. dick, keeping one eye on the negroes while they bent over the pump handles, leaned against the conning tower and heaved a long breath. "i'm hoping, old ship," said he to matt, "that we'll be able to leave the japs behind, this time, for good and all. those on the _pom_ must have seen us while we had their craft under our search light, and i guessed good and hard why they didn't turn and send another torpedo at us. i didn't know, you see, that they only had two whiteheads to their blessed name. we could have pulled their fangs if we had opened up that torpedo and took out the dynamite." "i intended," answered matt, "to take the torpedo aboard through one of our tubes as soon as we reached this harbor, but the captain of the port came down on us before i had the chance." "how did you find out about that submarine, and the japs being in charge of her?" matt straightened out this point to his chum's satisfaction. that part of matt's recital which had to do with the jap who had been captured under the wharf was particularly interesting to dick. "those fellows don't care a rap for their own lives," muttered dick, "and that's what makes 'em such nasty fighters. when that fellow got out through the _pom's_ torpedo tube, he must have come up directly under the whitehead. by hugging the torpedo close, he could have got his head out of water without any of us on the _grampus_ seeing him. but he took long chances, just the same, and there are only four japs left to navigate the other craft. the work probably calls for all hands, and there's bound to be a time when the _pom_ can't run for lack of hands to navigate her. the japs are only human, and they'll have to have a spell of rest like every one else." "we've got a good chance to show them our heels," said matt, "and it's our duty to make the most of it." "i'm a fiji, though," said dick, "if i don't hate to run away from those sons of the rising sun. it looks as though the united states and great britain had struck their colors to the yellow rascals." "i feel the same way, dick, but this submarine is worth a hundred thousand dollars, and we're only her trustees. it's our duty not to take any chances with her." "right-o, matey. i understand that just as well as you do. captain nemo, jr., ought to give you a good slice of that hundred thousand when you tie up the _grampus_ at the navy-yard wharf." "i'm not looking for that, dick," returned motor matt earnestly. "it's the idea of _making good_ that appeals to me beyond anything and everything else. it isn't so much the money that comes to us for what we do, but the way we toe the scratch that counts." an hour later all preliminaries were finished and the _grampus_ was off up the bay, tanks emptied and steel hull high in the water, her motors humming and setting a record pace. chapter x. a halt for repairs. late in the afternoon of the day they left lota bay the _grampus_ spoke the british ship _sovereign_, bound from santiago to liverpool. by means of a megaphone, matt had a brief talk with the captain of the sailing vessel. "what craft is that?" inquired the british captain, after answering matt's hail with information concerning his own vessel. "the submarine _grampus_," answered matt, "six weeks out from belize, british honduras, and bound for san francisco." "my word!" came from the other megaphone. "sure about that?" matt was "stumped." it was certainly an odd question to ask. "of course i'm sure of it. why?" "well, we passed another submarine, two hours ago, and she was towing a torpedo. said she had discharged it at a target and was going to beach it somewhere, and get it in shape for further use. but the bally joke of it is that the captain of that other submarine said that _his_ boat was the united states submarine _grampus_. it's a main queer go if there are two submarines of that name both belonging to the united states government." "well, what do you think of that?" muttered glennie, leaning out of the hatch. "the nerve of it!" "that other boat was the _pom_," called back matt, "sent over to chili by a firm of french shipbuilders. she was stolen from the harbor of lota by a handful of japs." "fancy that! those japs are----" the rest of it matt could not hear. the two boats had merely spoken each other in passing and were quickly out of reach of each other's megaphones. "those sons of the rising sun are stealing our thunder," remarked glennie. "i suppose," returned matt, "that it's a heap safer for the japs to call their boat the _grampus_ than the _pom_. if they happened to speak a vessel that knew of the stealing of the _pom_ results might prove disastrous if they told the truth." matt descended to the periscope room to give the news to carl and dick. "dot's der vorst yet!" grunted carl. "der itee oof dem chaps calling deir old frog-eader poat der _grampus_! i don'd like dot. id vas some insulds." "i guess we can stand it, carl," said matt. "did pons tell you anything about that french submarine, matey?" inquired dick. "a little, but not as much as i would have liked to learn. the _pom_, i infer, is smaller than the _grampus_, and is propelled by electricity when submerged and by gasoline on the surface. she's only able to stay under water an hour. captain nemo, jr., could teach those french builders a trick or two with his patent submerged exhausts." "how's her diving? can't she remain submerged longer than an hour with her ballast tanks full and her electric motor quiet?" "no. her rudders keep her below the surface, and the diving rudders won't work unless her motor's going." "she don'd amoundt to mooch, oof dot's der case," commented carl. "der _grampus_ has got der _pom_ shkinned bot' vays for suntay. i bed you somet'ing for nodding der _pom_ couldn't have come aroundt der bottom end oof sout' america like vat ve dit. _pom!_ she vas vat der french fellers call a _pomme de terre_, by vich, ven i so expression meinseluf, i mean a botato. whoosh!" and the dutch boy gave a grunt of disgust. the night fell clear and bright. it was matt's intention to continue running during the night, but submerged so that only the periscope ball was awash. when the time came to fill the ballast tanks, however, an unexpected difficulty presented itself--a difficulty which had almost brought overwhelming disaster once before, when the _grampus_ had just emerged from magellan strait: the kingston valves by mean of which the tanks were operated failed to work. this was no particular fault of the valves, but of some damage that had been done to them, and which caused them to go wrong occasionally--and usually at the most inopportune times. matt had made up his mind that new valves would have to be put in, but that was a job which would necessarily have to wait until the submarine reached the end of her long journey. repairing the valves would take several hours, and matt decided to stay on the surface and put in a little bay on quiriquina island. it was not necessary to reach the island before morning and when dick relieved gaines at the motor, a call for half speed went through the speaking tube to the motor room. the young motorist studied his charts, then, with the surroundings of the islands clearly in mind, took the steering wheel himself and laid his course by compass. it was about five o'clock in the morning when the _grampus_ rounded a bluff headland and took a due east course across tona bay. quiriquina island loomed up clear and distinct against the gray dawn hovering in the eastern skies. the cove which matt selected as a berth for the submarine while repairs were being made had a sloping beach of white sand. it was virtually a bay within a bay, and the waters were as calm as those of an inland lake. as soon as the anchors were down, all hands came on deck to get a whiff of the morning air. "we'd better have breakfast before we tackle the valves, hadn't we, matt?" inquired speake. "i know i can work better on a full stomach, and i suppose the rest of you can." "good idea, speake," returned matt. "i had thought about that, but supposed you would like to loaf a little and not pen yourself up in the torpedo room with an electric stove." "those confounded valves bother me," grumbled speake, "and i couldn't loaf and enjoy myself if i had to think about them." "they bother me, too," added glennie, "and i believe i'll go below and look them over." "i'll go with you," said clackett. "we can make a preliminary survey and then get busy right after breakfast. plenty of chance to loaf during my watch below." "glad to see you fellows so industrious," laughed matt. "perhaps, if you are real smart, you can get those valves fixed by breakfast time, and the rest of us won't have to tinker with them." "you'll be needed, matt, when it comes to the fixing," answered glennie, as he climbed into the conning tower. clackett followed him. "i guess i'll go down, too," yawned gaines, "and catch forty winks on top of the periscope-room locker. this morning air is fine, but i'm satisfied to take my share through the open hatch." he followed clackett into the tower. dick, descending to the edge of the rounded deck, peered into the clear depths of the water below. "i can see our cable, mates," said he, "and our anchor with one fluke in the sand. come on, carl. let's take a swim before breakfast." "nod me, tick," answered carl. "i feel like loafing, und shvimming iss too mooch like vork." "how about you, matt?" "i feel as carl does," said matt. "take your swim if you want to, dick, and carl and i will be the anchor watch." dick was out of his clothes in a jiffy. "so long," he called, as he took a "header" from the bow of the boat. he was perfectly at home in the water, and when matt saw him swimming out toward a headland that walled in the cove on the south, he thought little of it. when he saw that dick was intending to swim around the point, however, he stood up and called out a warning. but dick only laughed and kept on until he was out of sight. "he von't go so far dot he can't ged pack again," remarked carl. "he iss like a fish, tick iss, und he feels pedder in der vater as oudt oof id." carl, for some days, had been wearing an outfit of sailor togs which he had found in the slop chest of the submarine. he was trying to be as nautical as possible, so that he could "shiver his timbers" and "dash his deadeyes" with the best of them when the _grampus_ reached san francisco. "i can valk like a sailor," remarked carl, getting up from his seat by the tower, "und aboudt all i lack now iss to be aple to hitch oop my drousers like vat a sailor does. how iss der vay oof it, matt?" "never mind that part of it, carl," laughed matt. "you'll be enough of a sailor at the end of this cruise, even if you don't know how to hitch up your trousers. besides," and matt squinted at him critically, "i doubt if you could ever do the trick." "for vy nod?" "why, the trousers are too tight a fit around the waist." "yah, so, aber dey're so pig a fit oop und down dot i valk on der pottoms, und id iss eider hitch dem oop oder cut dem off. now, vatch. meppy id goes like dis." carl jumped into the air, grapped the band of the trousers with one hand in front and the other behind, and kicked out his legs. when he came down, his feet were so far apart that they slipped on the rounded plates, and he went down and rolled over and over. matt grabbed him just in the nick of time to keep him out of the water. "look out," warned matt, "or you'll take a swim whether you want to or not." "i guess dot i leaf der hitching pitzness oudt," said the chagrined carl, "aber id vas so bicturesque dot i vish i could manach id. now, ven i----" carl was interrupted by a shout, wafted toward them from across the cove. he and matt started up and saw dick swimming in their direction with all his might. "what's the matter, dick?" called matt. "sharks!" came back the breathless answer. matt was no more than a second making up his mind what he should do. to help dick by bringing the _grampus_ closer to him was out of the question--disaster might overtake the young sailor before the anchor could be lifted from the bottom. "ach, himmelblitzen!" murmured carl fearfully. "vat ve going to do, matt?" "below with you, quick!" flung back the king of the motor boys. "glennie's rifle is in the periscope room. get that and a coil of rope and hustle back here." carl, shaking with excitement, hurried to carry out the order. as he vanished into the tower, matt went forward toward the bow of the boat, keeping his keen eyes on dick. chapter xi. dick makes a discovery. the ability of the king of the motor boys to "keep his head" in trying situations had more than once turned the tide for himself and his chums. matt could become as excited as anybody, but excitement never interfered with the steadiness of his nerves or with his ability to think quickly and resourcefully in time of danger. far beyond dick matt could see a black, triangular fin slitting the water, tacking this way and that, but coming closer and closer to the young sailor. dick was swimming rapidly, but the shark, of course, was cutting through the water at a much faster gait. had the shark laid a straight course for its intended victim, the latter would long since have been overtaken. with a keen eye motor matt made a quick estimate of the distance separating dick and the shark from the boat. he concluded that dick could not by any possibility reach the _grampus_ before the shark would be upon him, but the sea scavenger would be close enough for a good shot. carl, in a veritable tremor of excitement, rolled over the top of the conning tower with the rifle in one hand and a coil of rope in the other. "don'd led dot shark ged avay mit tick," he pleaded, handing the rifle to matt. "pud a pullet righdt indo dot shark, matt, mitoudt vaiting any longer as bossiple." "i've got to wait until i can get a good shot, carl," answered matt, "and that time will come when the shark goes over on its back." "ven id does dot," quavered carl, "id iss retty to bite. oof you make a miss, matt, id iss all ofer mit tick." "i'll not make a miss. get a clamp on your nerves and be ready to throw the rope as soon as dick comes near enough." "my teet' chatter a leedle," whimpered carl, "aber my nerfs iss all righdt. don'd you be afraidt pecause i am, tick," he cried. "schvim like der olt poy vas afder you!" dick had need of all his breath and could not waste any in useless words. he was coming through the water at a fierce clip, his arms working like piston rods in a fine, steady, overhand stroke. he could see matt on the deck with the rifle ready, and he knew that whatever the king of the motor boys could do would be done. "ach, shood, shood!" implored carl, watching the black fin zigzagging nearer and nearer. "don'd vait, matt!" but matt paid no attention to carl. he knew what kind of a target he wanted, and that the shark would give it to him if he waited. when dick was about a dozen feet from the boat, the right moment came. with a flip of its tail the shark leaped partly out of the water and turned on its back, its great jaws opening. matt had braced himself firmly and lifted the marlin repeater to his shoulder. "fire avay, kevick!" clamored carl, and just then matt pulled the trigger. it was a bull's-eye hit. straight to its mark leaped the murderous bit of lead, and the shark, stunned by the impact of the bullet, snapped its jaws harmlessly together and sank downward in the reddening water. "you're all right, dick!" cried matt. "toss the rope, carl." carl threw the line and dick laid hold of it. the report of the rifle brought gaines from the periscope room, glennie and clackett from the tank room, and speake from the torpedo room in short order. all of them were on the deck just as matt and carl assisted dick out of the water. "what's the rumpus?" inquired gaines. matt pointed to the shark, which was floating, belly up, on the water. "your rifle did it, glennie," said matt. "if it hadn't been for that, nothing could have saved dick. i didn't think there was a shark within miles of us when dick went into the water." dick was nearly fagged. the tremendous exertion he had put forth had tried him severely. "it was foolish of me to go around that point," said dick, leaning back against the conning tower, "but i'm glad i did." "dot's funny," returned carl. "glad you vent aroundt der point und shdirred oop dot shark! how you make dot oudt?" "well, i made a discovery," went on dick. "if i hadn't made that discovery, like enough i'd have kept on swimming and have got so far away the shark would surely have nipped me before i could have got back close enough for matt to shoot." "what was the discovery?" asked glennie. "there's another cove around the point, a good deal like this one. the _pom_ is there, close inshore, and----" "der chaps!" breathed carl, thunderstruck. "the _pom_!" exclaimed glennie. "here's a piece of luck!" ground out gaines. "who'd have thought we'd moor ship alongside the same island picked out by the japs! there seems to be a fatality about our dealings with these sons of the rising sun. even after we dodge them we have the knack of dropping right into their hands again." "mebby," suggested speake, "they saw us and followed us to the island." "hardly that, mate," spoke up dick. "they've beached that torpedo, and all four of the japs are ashore, tinkering with it." matt was puzzled to know what to do. if the japs had not heard the rifle shot, it would be possible for the _grampus_ to haul in her anchor and slip away, unnoticed, providing the tank valves were repaired and she could leave the bay under water. but this manoeuvre would leave a threatening danger behind, and matt and his friend would never feel safe from an unexpected attack. in that critical moment, motor matt would have given a deal if he could have known all about the _pom_ and her capabilities. for a few moments he stood on the deck, turning the situation over and over in his mind, his eyes on the point around which lay the hostile submarine. "how far is the _pom_ anchored off the shore, dick?" he asked. "not more than half a cable's length." "do you think the japs saw you?" "i'm sure they didn't--they were too busy with that torpedo. but they may have heard me yell, or the report of that gun may have reached them. they have good ears, those fellows." "get into your clothes, dick," said matt, having at last made up his mind as to what he should do. "after that, take the rifle and sit here on the deck. watch that point of land. if the japs fix that torpedo so they are able to use it, they will have to come around the point in order to launch it at us. finish getting the breakfast, speake. gaines will pass it around as soon as you have it ready. clackett and i will go below and see what we can do with those valves. don't bother us with any breakfast until we have them once more in working order." "what are carl and i to do, matt?" inquired glennie. "stay up here with dick, and keep your eyes peeled." matt, clackett, and speake went below. matt and clackett were an hour at the valves before they were finally made dependable. all the while they were at work a deep silence reigned throughout the boat. every one realized the necessity of keeping quiet so as not to arouse the japs. matt, after swallowing a cup of coffee, came out on deck and began taking off his clothes. "what's the game, matey?" asked dick. "you're not going into the water and give the sharks a chance at you, are you?" "i'm going ashore," said matt. "i wouldn't do that, matt," counseled glennie. "why is it necessary? if the valves are in shape, we can pull out of here and make our way north under water. the japs will never be the wiser." "i'm tired of bothering with these sons of the rising sun," matt answered. "we never know what they're going to do, or when they're going to do it. i thought we had dropped them for good, down below english reach, but they were clever enough to get away from sandoval and play that trick in lota. if possible, let's put them out of the running, now, for keeps." "how will you do it?" questioned gaines. "i'm not just sure of that, and won't be until i do a little reconnoitring ashore. i've a scheme in mind, but i want to be positive it will work before we try it. go down to the engine room, gaines, and, clackett, you take your usual place in the tank room. heave up the anchor, speake. glennie, you get into the conning tower. if the current sets inshore and causes the _grampus_ to drift that way when the anchor is up, have the motor run just enough to hold the boat where she is. dick, you hang on to the rifle. when you go down, gaines, pass up the strongest cable we have, so that carl can bend it on to the mooring ring at the stern. understand?" "i guess we all understand what we're to do," replied glennie, "but i'll be hanged if i know why we're to do it." "you'll know--perhaps sooner than you imagine." matt, stripped to his trousers, stepped to the landward side of the boat. "sharks always go in pairs, mate," cautioned dick. "if you see one take after me, dick," returned matt, "treat it the same as i did the one that took after you." with hardly a splash matt dropped into the water and swam toward the beach. chapter xii. a wary foe. matt reached the beach without mishap. beyond the white stretch of sand grew a chaparral of bushes and low trees, covering the slope which ended at a ridge forming the backbone of the point to the southward. the young motorist took his way in this direction, halting at the edge of the brush for a moment to turn and give a reassuring wave to his comrades on the _grampus_. carl was just securing the end of a rope to the iron ring at the stern of the boat, glennie was half inside the conning tower, and dick had the rifle across his knees. all three answered matt's parting salute, and he faced about and hurried into the chaparral. matt's course carried him up the side of the ridge. once at the crest he would be able to look down on the japs and take note of their operations. he would thus be able to determine whether the bold scheme which he had at the back of his brain would be feasible or not. the crest of the ridge was not more than fifty feet above sea level, and the king of the motor boys was not long in reaching it. there, screened by a thicket of bushes, he was able to look down on the other cove, and make a leisurely examination of the _pom_ and the japs. the _pom_, as dick had said, was lying within a short distance of the shore. she was an odd-looking craft, being of a much smaller diameter than the _grampus_, and having a flat deck built over the rounded plates of her hull. the conning tower was only about half the height and diameter of that of the _grampus_, and seemed to have a solid top without any hatch opening. the hatch was forward, on the flat deck, and the cover was pushed back. from the submarine, matt's eyes wandered to the shelving beach. the torpedo was there, rolled up beyond the reach of the lapping waves, and two of the japs were busy about the conical end of the tube. matt chuckled as he thought of how he had tampered with the firing pin. before they could make the pin serviceable, the japs would have to rig another of the little propellers; and, while their ingenuity was no doubt equal to the job, yet it would take time to finish it. the two men who were at work were clad only in their trousers, and had clearly reached the shore as matt had done, by swimming. they went about their work steadily and with an application which indicated that they had little attention for anything else. from their manner, it seemed a fair inference that the rifle shot, or dick's yell, from the other side of the point, had failed to reach them. but where were the other two japs? had they returned to the _pom_? it might be that the two on the beach were in need of more tools and had sent the others out to the boat after them. matt, thinking of his plans, measured the distance from the end of the point to the _pom_. "the _grampus_ can do it!" he muttered, with an undernote of exultation throbbing in his voice. "a quick dash, and then a hustle seaward--and the trick is done. but those other two japs--i wish they would leave the boat and come ashore. they form the danger point in the carrying out of the scheme." there was something else matt noticed as he peered out from behind his thicket, and that was that two rifles lay on the sand within easy reach of the jap mechanics. "those guns are another danger point," he said to himself. "the _pom_, however, will be between the _grampus_ and the beach, and will act as a sort of barricade. anyhow, nothing venture, nothing win." for five minutes longer matt waited, watching for the other two japs to reappear through the _pom's_ hatch. but they did not come, and he felt that he could wait no longer. arising from his crouching position, he turned to retrace his course down the hill. he had not taken a dozen steps, however, when, dodging around a clump of bushes, he came face to face with the two missing japs! from the actions of the two men, it was plain that they were as much surprised as was motor matt. the cause of this unexpected meeting flashed through matt's brain like lightning. the rifle shot had been heard, and these two japs had been told to cross the ridge and investigate. matt had gained the shore before the japs had cleared the bushes and were able to see him. as they descended the slope, he was going up, and fortune had decreed that they give each other a wide berth. but fortune had taken another tack, for she was now bringing matt and the japs altogether too close to each other for comfort. these japs, like the two at work on the torpedo, were stripped of all unnecessary clothing; and, fortunately for the young motorist, they carried no weapons. for an instant matt and the two yellow men stared at each other; then the japs gave vent to a yell, and prepared to keep matt from continuing on down the hill. matt, remembering the two rifles he had seen on the beach, had no intention of waiting for the other two japs to reach the scene. he saw the men before him preparing to lay him by the heels in the most approved ju-jutsu style, but that did not keep him back. he leaped forward, apparently aiming to pass directly between the two men. they jumped to get in his way, whereupon he dodged to the right. but, if he was quick, so were the japs. no sooner had he changed his course than they also had faced the new direction. as matt went flying down the hill, one of them made a dive for him. the king of the motor boys struck out with his right fist--and he had a "right" about which carl pretzel was wont to sing praises. the fist accomplished its work, so far as that one jap was concerned. a sharp breath was jolted from the yellow man and the hands he had put out dropped limply, the while his whole body slumped backward. but something happened to matt, just what he had not the least idea. all he knew was that he was lifted high and sent crashing headfirst into a thicket of bushes. the second jap had put into practice one of the wrestling tricks he had learned in nippon. matt, however, was not sorry he had been thrown in that unceremonious fashion, for, just as he dropped into the bushes, the sodden _whang_ of a rifle spoke from the crest of the ridge and a bullet flew whining over the very spot where he had been running. the other two japs had lost little time in coming to the aid of their comrades. matt was up almost as soon as he was down. his superb physical training rendered him proof against any such fall as that he had just received. both japs were reaching for him as he ducked clear of the bushes, but he slipped out from under their gripping fingers and flashed down the slope like a streak, screening his flight with every particle of tangled undergrowth that got in his way. the rifles behind him continued to cough and splutter. the unarmed japs, however, were between matt and the marksmen, and the care the latter had to use sent their bullets wide. the japs were no match for matt when it came to sprinting. matt had learned the game from a half-breed friend, the best "miler" in arizona, and he now showed the japs how an american boy can run when he has his heart in it. before the yellow men had cleared the fringe of bushes at the edge of the beach, motor matt was in the water; and when the japs emerged, dick plowed up the ground at their feet with bullets from the marlin, and drove them back. matt could not have swum faster if there had been a whole school of sharks after him, but before he got to the _grampus_ lead from the shore was pounding a merry tattoo against the submarine's steel plates. dick, exposing himself recklessly, was answering with the marlin. neither side was damaging the other, but the firing spurred matt to superhuman exertions. when the young motorist reached the boat, carl ducked out from behind the conning tower and gave him a hand up the slope of the deck. "now's the time," panted matt, falling at full length across the curved plates. "start her--full speed." "where are we to go?" demanded glennie. "around the point and take the _pom_ in tow," matt answered. "all four of the japs are ashore, in this cove. before they can cross the ridge and interfere with us, we ought to be able to pick up the other submarine and make off with her. look alive, now! we can't turn the trick if you don't hustle." the daring nature of matt's scheme dawned on the lads with something like a shock. and it appealed to them, too! it was just such a scheme as they might have expected motor matt to set going. "hoop-a-la!" jubilated carl, as glennie punched the motor-room jingler. "vat do you t'ink oof dot? modor matt goes ashore mit himseluf und coaxes der chaps to shace him mit rifles, schust to ged dem oudt oof der vay so ve can shteal pack der _pom_. vat a feller he iss!" "you're giving me altogether too much credit, carl," expostulated matt. "i ran onto those japs by accident, and would have gone a good ways to keep clear of them." "vell, vat's der odds aboudt der tifference? der modor poys iss on dop und----" a bullet from the shore slapped against the side of the conning tower and whistled off into space, passing so close to carl's head in its flight that he stopped his glorying and fell flat on the deck. "they'll not stay long on the beach there when they see where we're going," remarked matt grimly. "they've stopped their firing now, old ship," cried dick, "and are rushing back into the bushes as fast as they can scramble." "it has probably dawned upon them that we're planning to run off with the _pom_," said matt. "quick work, now, and we'll win the day, and cut these sons of the rising sun out of our future calculations." the propeller was churning the waters like mad, and glennie was laying a safe course to round the point and bring the _grampus_ close to the _pom_. chapter xiii. pluck that wins. by the time that the _grampus_ got around the point and was plunging onward, with "a bone in her teeth," straight for the _pom_, matt had recovered his breath and was ready to play his part in the rest of the work. "make a circle around the stern of the _pom_, glennie," said matt, peering shoreward to see if there were any signs of the japs coming down the south side of the ridge. "that will give dick a chance to jump to the deck of the other craft." "i'll do it, matt," replied glennie. "give me the rifle, dick," went on matt, "and you lay hold of the end of the rope carl has secured to the ring. as soon as you get on the other boat, make the rope fast." "ay, ay, matey!" cried dick, elation ringing in his voice and his eyes glimmering with excitement. "we'll make a go of this, now that you have planned the scheme and done the heft of the work in getting it started." "there may still be a whole lot of trouble and hard work between us and success. let's not be too confident. ah," and matt pointed toward the side of the ridge, "there come the japs. they're running even faster than they did when they were after me. we're going to have a tight squeak of it, glennie, to double the stern of the _pom_, get dick aboard and pull away with our tow before the japs get into the water." "it's their guns i'm thinking of," said glennie. "if they happen to pick me out of the conning tower, or to knock dick off the deck of the _pom_, the fat would all be in the fire." "they'll not do either of those things, matey," averred dick confidently. "it's our innings, now, and we're bound to score." the _grampus_ raced on, and down the slope rushed the japs in a frantic endeavor to reach the water and gain the _pom_ before the venturesome motor boys could carry out their plans. no shots were fired by the japs. this seemed strange, since a well-placed bullet would have meant so much to them. "what's the reason they're not tuning up, matey?" asked dick. "dey hafen't got der time for dot," chuckled carl. "dey're in too mooch oof of a hurry, py shinks." "they could put a couple of bullets where they would play hob with us," went on dick, "and they must know it." "they do know it," said matt. "there are four of the japs, and only two guns. i rather surmise that they have used up all the ammunition in the magazines of the rifles, and that their reserve supply is on the _pom_." just at that moment glennie swerved the _grampus_ to pass between the stern of the _pom_ and the shore. "ready, dick!" warned matt. "right-o," answered dick, seizing one end of the cable and balancing himself on the port side of the _grampus_. "swing her as close as you can, glennie," he added to the ensign. supporting himself by clinging to a wire guy with one hand, dick waited. glennie signaled the engine room for slower speed, and the _grampus_ rounded neatly and pushed her nose past the tower of the other boat. "there you are, dick!" cried matt. the next instant dick had leaped across the intervening stretch of water and had landed on the flat deck of the _pom_. before his feet had struck the deck, however, matt saw a jap's head and shoulders push upward through the _pom's_ hatch. if there had been time to feel anything so useless as surprise, matt would certainly have been taken all aback. captain pons had said that only five japs had comprised the crew which had palmed themselves off as chilians. one of these five had been left in lota, a prisoner. according to matt's reckoning, that left only four of the yellow men in charge of the _pom_. where, then, did this extra jap come in? matt did not pause to let this drift through his mind. making a short run across the _grampus_, he flung himself after dick, reaching the flat deck of the other submarine and only saving himself a fall over the opposite side of the craft by dropping to his knees. hardly had he landed when a pair of heavy feet clanged down behind him and a form collided roughly with his back. once more matt came within a hair's breadth of dropping off the port side of the _pom_. "py shinks," puffed a choppy voice, "you don'd vas going to leaf me pehindt! dere iss more chaps on dis poat as we knowed aboudt, und----" carl's sentence was never finished. the jap matt had seen in the open hatch had gained the deck and had rushed at carl like a whirlwind. another showed himself, following close upon the heels of the first. "make the rope fast, dick!" roared matt. "carl and i will look after these fellows." dick went down on his knees and began securing the rope. it was necessary to make it fast before the slack was all taken up, otherwise the tow line would have been jerked out of dick's hands and the work would have had to be done all over again. matt caught the second jap about the waist as he crawled through the hatch. there was a brief struggle, and it ended by matt heaving the jap over the side and into the water. the other jap had performed a like service for carl, and the dutch boy, blowing like a porpoise, was floating around in the bay, trying to get hold of something and pull himself back on the deck. the jap started at once for matt. before he reached him, dick, who had made fast the line, rushed him from the rear and literally bore him off the boat. he dropped into the water alongside his comrade. "help carl aboard, dick!" called matt. dick bent over and gave carl a hand. just at that moment the boat leaped forward under the sudden pull of the _grampus_. but here, just as victory was all but ranged on the side of the motor boys, the unexpected happened. perhaps glennie was to blame. it would have been better if he had slowed the _grampus_ down almost to a stop and then picked up the strain on the tow line with a steady pull. it was useless, however, to find fault with anybody. the thing happened, and that was all there was to it. the tow line snapped. one end of it jerked back and caught matt a tremendous blow on the temple, and he dropped as though from the impact of a heavy fist. a howl of consternation broke from carl. "id's all oop mit us!" he shouted. "der rope iss pusted in der mittle, matt is down, und der chaps iss all aroundt us!" carl's quick eyes had sized up the situation correctly. the four japs who had crossed the ridge from the other cove had reached the water and were swimming to the _pom_. the two who had been forced overboard by matt and his chums were paddling about and making frantic efforts to regain the deck. dick had not much time to think of what they should do. with matt down, could he and carl successfully beat off the six yellow men? dick flung a despairing glance after the _grampus_. glennie, wild with anxiety over the outcome of what seemed a certain _fiasco_, was ringing all kinds of signals in the motor room, and, for once in his life, seemed completely "rattled" and at a loss as to what move he should make. at that moment an idea darted into dick's brain. "keep away, glennie!" dick yelled, waving his hands. "sheer off to a good distance, and wait! carl," and he whirled on the dutch boy with fierce determination, "we'll take matt below. we can close ourselves inside the steel shell and the japs won't be able to get at us." "meppy dere's more chaps in der poat!" demurred carl. "no!" thundered dick. "do you suppose they'd stay below while this scrimmage was going on over their heads? down the hatch with you, and take matt as i lower him!" carl saw that there was nothing else for it, and made haste to carry out his orders. the floor was less than five feet under the deck, and carl was able to stand erect and take matt in his arms as dick let him down. the japs were gaining the deck from all sides as dick followed, and the hatch cover was banged shut and made fast just in the nick of time. "ach, du lieber!" muttered carl, listening to the patter of bare feet on the plates overhead. "vat a fix iss dis. der chaps haf got us, und dey ain'd got us; und ve haf got dem in der same vay. ve can't ged oudt, und dey can't ged in. vat's der answer?" "a little light, first," said dick coolly. "don't let the japs worry you--there's a stout steel armor between us and them. it's as black as a pocket in here, now that the hatch is closed. have you got a match?" it took carl several moments to dig a match out of his blouse. he had one, just one, and it was a wonder he had even that. no one had any use for matches aboard the _grampus_. carl drew the match along the steel floor. as the flickering gleam grew stronger, he and dick took in the dimensions of that part of their prison. the floor apparently divided the interior of the steel hull in half, the rounded plates of the hull meeting it on both sides. a bulkhead cut off the view aft. "you rub matt's forehead and hands and see if you can't fetch him to," said dick. "i'm going aft to see what's on the other side of that bulkhead." "der match iss gone!" muttered carl, dropping the charred stick. "i've located the bulkhead door, so it doesn't much matter," answered dick. the opening of the door brought in a little daylight. the door led out under the conning tower, and the light came through the tower lunettes. dick, straightening up, shoved his head and shoulders into the tower. on all sides jap eyes were glaring in at him. "ugh!" he muttered, and dropped down again. chapter xiv. a little work on the inside. when matt drifted back to consciousness, his head lay on carl's knee. carl and dick had dragged him out under the conning tower, where the light was better. "where are we?" were matt's first words. "in the _pom_, matey," was dick's grim response. "ve can't ged oudt, eider, matt," croaked carl gloomily, "und der chaps can't ged in. vich vould you radder be, der chaps or us?" matt sat up, rubbing his head. "i remember now," he murmured. "the tow line broke, and the _pom_ end of it sprang back and hit me on the forehead. you brought me below?" "i couldn't think of anything else to do, matey," said dick. "we were surrounded by six japs, and i thought it better to take our chances inside. we got below and closed the hatch just in time. listen! you can hear the japs walking around on deck. if you get up in the tower you can see them looking in at the lunettes! but it's not pleasant. the straightened eyes of those swabs are pretty savage. i wouldn't give tuppence for our chances if they could get at us. and they may find out a way to come in here. if you can think of anything to do that will help us out of this hole, matt, please be in a hurry about it." "yah," put in carl, "don'd vaste any time." "where's the _grampus_?" asked matt. his head bothered him, but there was no time to think of physical troubles of that sort. "i told glennie to keep her away. there wasn't anything he could do by running close, anyhow. the japs would have boarded the _grampus_, if he had come too close, and there would be only four on our boat to stand off the six japs." "oh, well," remarked matt, looking around, "this might be worse." "how?" moaned carl. "i don'd see dot." matt's interest in the _pom_, now that he was able to give the boat a personal examination, bade fair to eclipse his concern for the dangers by which he was surrounded. here was a brand-new piece of mechanism, a boat crammed with french machinery that would well repay a close study. a rigid box under the conning tower, enabled a man to lift the upper half of his body into the cupola and get his eyes opposite the lunettes. as the man stood there, his right hand fell naturally on a steering wheel and his left on push buttons which must communicate with the engine room. "this is a whole lot different from the interior of the _grampus_," muttered matt. "id is so shmall as a rat drap," shuddered carl. "i feel like i vas shut oop in a cage." matt, pushing backward from the turret, fell off a ledge into a sort of well. as he sat up and groped about with his hands, he touched a switch. pulling the switch, an incandescent lamp flared out overhead. "that's better," said he. "now we can look around without so much trouble." here, aft from the conning tower, machinery was packed away closely. up against the roof, on the port side, was a little engine, operated by compressed air, by which the submarine was steered. matt discovered that by observing the wires that ran to the engine from the steering wheel. on the starboard side, likewise against the roof, was another engine, with disks at each end as large as dinner plates. "h'm," mused matt, trying to rub the ache out of his head so his brain would be clearer, "those disks are diaphragms, and must be connected, in some way, with the water pressure. i have it!" and a triumphant look crossed his face, "this is the diving engine, and that wheel"--he touched the wheel as he spoke--"controls it." at one side was a cubic steel box. "air compressor," said matt, touching the box. on the floor, just where matt had dropped into the well, were two levers. matt lifted one of them. instantly there came a gurgle and splash of water, directly under carl and dick. "avast, matey!" cried dick. "i wouldn't fool with those things until you know more about them." muffled cries came from the japs outside. "they hear what's going on," laughed matt, "and they don't like it. we're filling the submerging tanks, dick," he explained. "then why don't we sink?" "it takes the engine to help us sink--the diving engine and the motor." farther back beyond the well was the engine room. "here's where i'm at home," said matt, creeping into the engine room and turning on another incandescent light. in one side were switchboards for the dynamotors, and near them were spiral resistance coils curving along the roof. over on the other side was a trolley controller, which matt knew must be used for speeding the vessel under water. "give the wheel of that diving engine a turn to the right, dick," called matt. dick obeyed the order. matt turned the switch of the controller and then instantly there was a low, electrical hum and the _pom_ started toward the bottom. "get on the box under the conning tower, dick," said matt, "and do the steering." "how'll i steer? there's no periscope." "steer by compass--there's one right in front of you as you stand in the tower." "but what'll i do for light? we're under water and no daylight comes in at the lunettes." matt touched a switch, and electric light flooded the tower. "i don't like this tinkering, i'm a fiji if i do," muttered dick, as he crawled up into the tower. "we've got rid of the japs by the tinkering, dick," said matt. "they're swimming ashore by now." "what i'm afraid of is," went on dick, "you'll get us on the bottom and not be able to take us to the surface again." "don't let that worry you. if we want to go to the surface, all we have to do is to twist the diving rudders and empty the tanks." "what's the course, matey?" asked dick. "west by north until we clear the point, then north." "how am i to know when we clear the point?" "why, we'll go to the surface and take a look. glennie will probably be glad to have a sight of us before long." "i'll bet he's worrying his head off! the quicker we can go up, matt, the better." "all right. carl!" "on der chump!" answered the dutch boy. "give the wheel of the diving engine a turn to the left--to the _left_, mind." "dere she goes." instantly there was a perceptible movement upward. "now," went on matt, "lift that other lever on the floor near you--the one i didn't lift, if you can remember." carl lifted the lever, and, by chance, the right one. a hiss of compressed air was heard, followed by a splash of water being forced from the ballast tanks. the _pom_ jumped for the surface like a streak. "daylight at the lunettes!" shouted dick, overjoyed to make sure that matt really knew what he was about. "all you've got to do to know all about a piece of machinery, matt," he added, "is just to look at it." "and use my head," laughed matt. "py shinks," boomed carl, "you can do more mit a cracked head dan any odder feller can do mit vone dot's all ridght. yah, so helup me. you know more aboudt machinery in a year as anypody else does in a minid." "see anything of the japs, dick?" inquired matt, stopping the electric motor. "not a sign!" exulted dick. "but there's the old _grampus_, with speake on deck and glennie half out of the tower. their eyes are this way, and you'd think, from their faces, they're looking at a ghost." "dey can't oondershtand how ve got oudt oof dot schrape," said carl. "ve hat some pooty pad brospects, for a vile, you bed you." "holy smoke!" exclaimed dick, almost falling off the box he was standing on. "what's the matter?" "why, there's our old friend, the cruiser _salvadore_, with--with---- 'pon my soul, matt, i'm a fiji if that captain pons isn't on the bridge with captain sandoval!" this was amazing news. "the war ship must have just got here, then," said matt. "but how did she know where we were?" "probably she spoke the _sovereign_," matt answered. "that would have given sandoval a pretty good clue." "oh, strike me lucky! the _salvadore_ is turning broadside on, and some of her crew are manning the small guns--the rapid-fire guns. they're going to blow us out of water, matt!" "hardly that, dick," said matt easily. "sandoval isn't going to destroy this submarine. pons wouldn't let him, even if he had such a notion. if anything happened to the boat, pons wouldn't be able to deliver her to the chilian government." "they're mighty warlike, anyway," went on dick. "and there's glennie, on the _grampus_, trying his best to attract the attention of sandoval." "sandoval and pons think the _pom_ is full of japs," laughed matt. "we'd better go up and clear the fog out of their brains. it will be a pleasure to meet captain sandoval again. he's a good friend of ours, you know." "meppy dot vas a lucky t'ing," vouchsafed carl, "seeing as how pons iss madt pecause ve vouldn't go afder der _pom_ mit der _grampus_." "that's just what we did, though, although we didn't intend making any such move. we shall now have the pleasure of turning the _pom_ over to captain pons." making their way through the bulkhead door, matt, dick, and carl gained the hatch, threw it open, and crawled out on the submarine's deck. chapter xv. a star performance. the _pom_ was lying between the _grampus_ and the _salvadore_. when matt, dick, and carl showed themselves there were loud cheers from glennie and speake. pons, on the bridge of the war ship, could be seen jumping up and down like a pea on a hot griddle, waving his hands and yelling. the war ship was too far away for the boys to hear what pons said. "i'd about given you fellows up!" exclaimed glennie. "when that confounded tow line parted, my hopes parted with it. we saw you sink and throw the japs into the water, and we were sure you'd gone down to stay." "the japs got ashore, did they?" asked matt. "every last one of them." "well, glennie, come along here and take us off. i want to go to the war ship and make a report to captain sandoval." glennie brought the _grampus_ close to the french boat, and the three boys transferred themselves to their own craft. "i vouldn't trade vone oof der _grampuses_ for a tozen of der _poms_," asserted carl, as they were borne away in the direction of the _salvadore_. "i don't know how seven japs ever stowed themselves away inside the _pom_," muttered dick. "they must have been packed in there like sardines." "they managed to do a pretty fair amount of work, too," said matt. "not the least of it was lassoing me and pulling me into the water." as the _grampus_ approached the war ship, captain sandoval leaned from the bridge with his megaphone. "motor matt, king of the motor boys!" he shouted. "ah, ha, _amigo_, you are as full of surprises as the egg is of meat." captain pons failed to join captain sandoval in his amiable sentiment. pons shook his fist. "r-r-rascal!" he shouted. "he is mos' contemptible!" "throw over your sea ladder, captain," called matt; "i want to come aboard and talk with you." "_gracias!_" cried sandoval. "i am delighted, _amigo_." a few minutes later matt was in the captain's cabin. he had been there once before, but not under circumstances that were very pleasant. on the previous occasion, captain sandoval had been hostile and full of unjust suspicions. now he was more than friendly, and it was captain pons who was hostile. "you heard how those rascally japs gave me the slip, _amigo_?" asked sandoval. "ah, ah, what a wretched piece of business! it was in a fog, and one could not see his hand in front of his face. thus they escaped. _ay de mi_, it was a blow! i came north looking for the rascals, and i reached lota last night and found pons. he told me of the troubles he has been having with the japs, and since it was my duty to aid him in recovering the _pom_, why, i took him aboard and we started north. the british vessel sovereign gave us a tip, and we followed it to this bay. first, we saw the _grampus_; then, all so suddenly, up out of the ocean came the _pom_! i trained my guns on her to fire in case the japs proved unreasonable. presently, behold, the hatch of the _pom_ opens and you appear. wonderful! i can hardly believe my eyes because of the so great surprise!" "ah, my captain," broke in pons, "zis matt is ze r-ruf-fian, ze villain. he say he no haf ze time to bozzer wiz my little boat, zat he not go hunt for her; now, by gar, we see heem on her deck. he play ze trick wiz me. he do w'at he say he not do. he try steal ze boat, _oui_, zat is w'at he do. i demand of heem ze satisfaction!" the captain's eyes became very fierce and he threw back his shoulders and slapped his chest. "ah, my captain," said sandoval, "don't make a mistake. i know motor matt, and he is a gentleman. i have given him my hand, my captain, and captain sandoval never gives his hand to a scoundrel." captain pons arose with much dignity and bowed to captain sandoval. "_merci, monsieur!_" he murmured. "nevair vill i say ze derogatory word to youar honor, but ze actions of zis motor matt, w'at you call, is mos' contemptible. let heem spik, let heem explain if he can." "_amigo_," said captain sandoval, "you will explain, for my sake, to my honorable friend, captain pons?" "that's what i came here to do," answered matt. "i and my friends have saved the _pom_ for captain pons, and this is the reward he gives us." captain pons got up and bowed again to captain sandoval. not to be outdone in courtesy, captain sandoval arose and bowed to captain pons. "if i do heem ze wrong," said captain pons gravely, "zen i make ze _amende_. until he explains, i have ze right to call him mos' contemptible." "you have the right," agreed captain sandoval. then they bowed again and sat down. all this was highly edifying to matt, but it did not get him very far along with his explanation. when he got started, however, he held the floor in spite of disturbing symptoms on the part of pons to get up and bow. he carried the explanation through to its conclusion, and not failing to put due stress on the dangers he and his friends had undergone in their attempt to get the better of the sons of the rising sun. the two captains were deeply impressed. for some moments after matt had finished they sat speechless in their chairs; then, as one man they arose. together they bowed to matt. "_ay de mi_," breathed captain sandoval, "did you ever hear of anything so wonderful?" "mos' r-r-remarkable!" exclaimed captain pons. then they bent to each other. after that captain sandoval sat down, but captain pons stepped over to matt and embraced him; then, before matt could defend himself, captain pons kissed him on the cheek. "_mon ami!_" said he; "my friend, i mak' ze apologee. i ask zat you forgeeve ze talk about you as ze mos' contemptible. it is i, me, zat is mos' contemptible----" "no, no, my captain," protested captain sandoval, putting up his hand, "you shall not so greatly injure yourself." "i r-r-repeat," thundered captain pons, thumping his chest fiercely, "i made ze mistake, and i, myself, am mos' contemptible." captain sandoval sighed and looked depressed. "zis brav' young man," proceeded captain pons, "save ze _pom_ for me. i sank heem, as one gentleman sank anozzer. zere, ze debt is cancel. all zat remain is for me to hol' him in mos' tender memory." "the six japanese are on the island, captain sandoval," said matt, who was beginning to get a little bit tired of pons and his mushy nonsense. "will you send a party ashore to capture them?" "at once," was the answer. "and, by the way, captain pons," went on matt, "didn't you say there were only five japs in the crew that stole the _pom_." "fife, _oui_. i count zem and i know." "well, that one we captured under the wharf, at lota, comes out of the five, and would leave four." "_oui_, wan from fife is four." "then, captain, how do you account for the fact that there were six on the _pom_ when she reached this bay?" "do you say i spik untruths?" flared the captain, displaying a tendency to renew his quarrel with matt. "not at all, not for the world," answered matt, with an inward laugh, "but i am puzzled. one from five, in this case, seems to have left six." "i know nozzing, sare," said captain pons. "if zere was seex w'en zere should only haf been fife, zat is zeir business." "then we'll let it stand that way," said matt. "i am mos' agreeable," returned captain pons. "presently, my captain," he went on, to sandoval, "i go aboard ze _pom_ wiz ze crew you gif me, an' we take ze boat to valparaiso. is it not so?" "yes, my captain," replied sandoval. "i will lend you the crew and will convoy you to valparaiso." "you are mos' kind." this was enough for matt. he excused himself, shook hands with sandoval, and hurried away. as soon as he was safely in the periscope room of the _grampus_, he threw himself down on the locker and laughed until he was sore. "get me the rest of my clothes, somebody," said he, "and then start the _grampus_ northward again." "where's our next port of call, old ship?" queried dick, while matt was getting into the garments he had taken off just before swimming ashore in the cove. "callao," answered matt. "then panama, acapulco, san diego--and frisco." "dot lisdens like home!" rumbled carl. "in two weeks," cried glennie, "we'll be at mare island, and the cruise will be finished. it's all plain sailing from this on. the sons of the rising sun will have all they can do to take care of themselves, let alone try to make any more trouble for us." "we're done with them, and there are no ifs or ands about it this time," said matt. "i'll admit, when i learned they had made off with that french submarine, that i thought they were equipped to accomplish something against us; but we cleared that difficulty in one-two order when we got started." "it might have been a lot worse, mates," observed dick, "and there were several times when i thought we were done, done as brown as a kippered herring; but we pulled through--mainly because matt had his shoulder to the wheel and gave us the right sort of a boost over the hard places." "as much credit should fall to the rest of you as to me," spoke up matt. "take the wheel, glennie. full speed ahead, gaines," he added, through the motor-room tube. the cylinders never hummed a cheerier tune than they did when they started the _grampus_ once more on her journey northward, and no boat, surface or submarine, ever carried a happier crew. chapter xvi. conclusion. as day followed day and week followed week, bringing no sign of any further trouble with the sons of the rising sun, motor matt and his friends realized that, beyond all doubt, they had worsted their wily foes, and perhaps had taught them a lesson which they could ponder wisely. at panama, which was almost the same as united states soil, the boys took shore leave, turn and turn about. from this place matt sent a cablegram to captain nemo, jr., at belize. "on the last leg of our journey. all well and _grampus_ as fit as a fiddle. telegraph me at acapulco." "too bad that old canal wasn't finished," observed dick, as the _grampus_ left panama, "at the time we left belize. we could have come through it, if it had been, and saved a month's time and all that mix-up with the japs." "that wasn't the point, dick," spoke up glennie. "this trip has been in the nature of a try-out for the _grampus_. the government wanted to see what she could do--and i guess the government will know when my log is read at headquarters." "you're giving us a good report, glennie?" laughed dick. "as good as i can make it." "then that means a sale of the boat, without a doubt." "i understood that my report was to be final. i've had the cruise of my life with you motor boys, and i almost hate to reach san francisco, because we'll have to separate there." "you're an a one comrade, glennie," said matt heartily, "and you need never look for a pal while this outfit of motor boys is around." "my sentiments to a t, y, ty," averred dick. "und mine, too, py shinks!" cried carl. glennie was deeply touched. at the beginning of the cruise there had been some hard feelings between him and dick and carl, but as they had come to know each other better the unpleasantness had worn away. all four of the lads were now loyal friends, having undergone perils and dangers shoulder to shoulder, and so each had tried the other's and had not found them wanting. at acapulco matt was confidently expecting to receive a message from captain nemo, jr. in this, however, he was disappointed. there was no message for him. matt could not understand the reason and was prone to think dire things. "captain nemo, jr., would surely have answered that message i sent him from panama," said matt, "providing he had received it." "sure he would," agreed glennie; "and the fact that you did not get an answer is proof that the captain did not receive your message." "aber vy ditn't he receif id?" asked carl. "that's the point that alarms me, friends," went on matt gloomily. "you know we left the captain sick at belize; too ill, in fact, to come with us on the _grampus_. we haven't heard a word from him since the cruise began, and it may be that his sickness terminated fatally." this thought cast a depression over the motor boys. captain nemo, jr., was a good friend of theirs, and all of them liked him. the _grampus_ was the triumph of the captain's career, and if he was to be stricken down just as the boat, in charge of the motor boys, was to pass successfully through the golden gate, the elation matt and his friends would otherwise feel must give way to dejection and sorrow. the victory of this successful cruise was entirely theirs, but the loss of captain nemo, jr., would rob the victory of all pleasure for them. but the gloom that accompanied the submarine from acapulco northward was lost in rejoicing at san diego; for no sooner had the _grampus_ anchored in the bay off the latter place than no less a person than captain nemo, jr., himself, rowed out and came aboard. the captain was well and hearty, and his delight in welcoming the boys was boundless. he looked over the boat and complimented all hands on her efficiency after such a long cruise--the longest and hardest any submarine had ever made; and in the periscope room, until long into the night, the captain sat wide-eyed and absorbed, listening to the adventures of those whom he had commissioned to take the _grampus_ from belize to mare island. when all had had their say, and the recital was done, there followed a period of silence. the captain was the first to speak. "a hundred thousand dollars, my lads, is a great deal of money; but if i had been able to look ahead and learn what dangers were to beset you on your long journey, i would not have allowed you to start for a million. i had some inkling of this japanese business, for i was offered two hundred thousand for the _grampus_ by the japanese government. i chose to deal with the navy department of my own country, even at a direct pecuniary loss to myself. my refusal to sell to the japs brought a threatening letter from the sons of the rising sun, but i treated it with contempt. i should have taken you into my confidence regarding this japanese matter before you left belize, but i thought it of no moment and hesitated to alarm you by even mentioning it." "it's all but over now, captain," laughed matt lightly, "and i think we are all of us better for the experience. i know i wouldn't sell the benefit that has accrued to me from this cruise for a lot of money." "nor i," said dick. "me, neider," chirped carl. "let me go on record, too," put in glennie. "i'm glad you all feel in that way about it," said the captain. "by the way," asked matt, "why didn't you answer the cablegram i sent you from panama, captain?" "principally because i never received it," was the smiling response. "where did you address the message, matt?" "to you, at belize." "why, i left belize a week after you did! it was my intention all along to leave central america, work up into the states, and then meet you here and take the last lap of the cruise with you." "it was a mighty big relief to see you come aboard at this port," said matt. "i hadn't the least idea what was the matter." "you had a guess that i had taken the one-way trail, hadn't you, matt?" jested the captain. "i didn't know but that might have happened." "in that event," said the captain, "i had already made a will whereby you boys were to receive the whole amount to be paid by the government. so, you see, my being alive has cost you a pretty pile." "the money doesn't count, captain," declared matt stoutly. "no? well, money usually counts in this world, matt--in fact, it cuts a pretty wide swath in every direction." "it is secondary, captain, to the idea of 'making good.' when we left belize i vowed that we'd make good and prove that your confidence in us wasn't misplaced. we've all had that in mind before anything and everything else." "it's a good trait in you," replied the captain, "and in any young man, to love a piece of work for itself, and, money apart, centre every hope on making a success of it. that's the spirit that brings its reward, not only in money, but in self-approval, which is something money can't buy. every one who went around south america on the _grampus_ will find, i think, that i know how to be grateful; this, while of secondary importance to the consciousness of duty well performed, will be a substantial acknowledgment of the debt i hold myself under to all of you. "in san francisco the _grampus_ will be sold. the motor boys will go one way, captain nemo, jr., another way, and speake, gaines, and clackett still another. but i hope that this will not be the last of our associations, but that we shall sometime come together again and renew our friendships, which have been so firmly woven together by this cruise of the _grampus_, and the persistent and successful effort of the king of the motor boys to _make good_." with the hearty echoes this sentiment received still lingering in our ears, the hour seems propitious for taking leave of matt and the motor boys, while they are at the threshold of another of their many victories. the end. the next number ( ) will contain motor matt's launch; or, a friend in need. new friends and new fortunes--the raffle--ping-pong objects--another rescue--an odd tangle--the rich man's son--a plan that failed--a chase across the bay--the lion's mouth--the mouth closes--surprising events--mcglory's run of luck--waiting and worrying--ping stars himself--a new twist, by george--another twist, by matt and mcglory. motor stories thrilling adventure motor fiction new york, july , . terms to motor stories mail subscribers. (_postage free._) single copies or back numbers, c. each. months c. months c. months $ . one year . copies one year . copy two years . =how to send money=--by post-office or express money-order, registered letter, bank check or draft, at our risk. at your own risk if sent by currency, coin, or postage-stamps in ordinary letter. =receipts=--receipt of your remittance is acknowledged by proper change of number on your label. if not correct you have not been properly credited, and should let us know at once. ormond g. smith, } george c. smith, } _proprietors_. street & smith, publishers, - seventh avenue, new york city. the spider water. ii. on the th there was trouble beyond wild hat, and all our extra men, put out there under healey, were fighting to hold the rat valley levels where they hug the river on the west slope. it wasn't really healey's track. bucks sent him over there just as the emperor sent ney, wherever he needed his right arm. sunday, while healey was at wild hat, rain began falling. sunday it rained; monday all through the mountains it rained; tuesday it was raining from omaha to eagle pass, with the thermometer climbing for breath and the barometer flat as an adder--and the spider woke. woke with the april water and the june water and the storm water all at once. trackwalkers tuesday night flagged number one, and reported the spider wild, with heavy sheet ice running. a wire from bucks brought healey out of the west and into the east, and brought him to reckon for the last time with his ancient enemy. he was against it wednesday with dynamite. all the day, all the night, all the next day the sullen roar of the giant powder shook the forming jam above the bridge, and after two days healey wired, "ice out," and set back without a minute's sleep for home. saturday night he slept and sunday all day and sunday night. monday about noon bucks sent up to ask, but healey still slept. they asked back by the lad whether they should wake him. bucks sent word, "no." it was late tuesday morning when the tall roadmaster came down, and he was fresh as sunshine. all day he sat with bucks and the dispatchers watching the line. the spider raced mad, and the watchers sent in panic messages, but healey put them in his pipe. "that bridge will go when the mountains go," was all he said. nine o'clock that night every star was blinking when healey looked in for the trackwalkers' reports and the railroad weather bulletins. bucks, callahan, and peeto sat about martin duffy, the dispatcher, who in his shirt sleeves threw the stuff off the sounder as it trickled in dot and dash, dot and dash over the wires. the west wire was good; east everything below peace river was down. we had to get the eastern reports around by omaha and the south--a good thousand miles of a loop--but bad news travels even around a robin hood loop. and first came wild hat from the west with a stationary river and the loup creek falling--clear--good night. and ed peeto struck the table heavily and swore it was well in the west. then from the east came prairie portage, all the way round, with a northwest rain, a rising river, and anchor ice running, pounding the piers bad--track in fair shape, and--and---- the wire went wrong. as duffy knit his eyes and tugged and cussed a little, the wind outside took up the message and whirled a bucket of rain against the windows. but the wires wouldn't right, and stuff that no man could get tumbled in like a dictionary upside down. and bucks and callahan and healey and peeto smoked, silent, and heard the deepening drum of the rain on the roof. then duffy wrestled mightily yet once more. "keep still," he exclaimed, leaning heavily on the key. "here's something--from the spider." he snatched a pen and ran it across a clip; bucks leaning over read aloud from his shoulder: "omaha. "j. f. bucks: "trainmen from no. stalled west of rapid city--track afloat in simpson's cut--report spider bridge out--send----" and the current broke. callahan's hand closed rigidly over the hot bowl of his pipe; peeto sat speechless; bucks read again at the broken message, but healey sprang like a man wounded and snatched the clip from his hand. he stared at the running words till they burned his eyes, and then, with an oath, frightful as the thunder that shook the mountains, he dashed the clip to the floor. his eyes snapped greenish, and he cursed omaha, cursed its messages, and everything that came out of it. slow at first, then fast and faster, until all the sting that poisoned his heart in his unjust discharge poured from his lips. it flooded the room like a spilling stream, and none put a word against it, for they knew he stood a wronged man. out it came--all the rage, all the heart-burning, all the bitterness--and he dropped into a chair and covered his face with his hands. only the sounder clicking iron jargon and the thunder shaking the wickiup like a reed filled the ears of the men about him. they watched him slowly knot his fingers and loosen them, and saw his face rise dry and hard and old out of his hands. "get up an engine!" "not--you're not going down there to-night?" stammered bucks. "yes. now. right off. peeto, get out your men!" the foreman jumped for the door. little duffy, snatching the train sheet, began clearing track for a bridge special. in twenty minutes twenty men were running as many ways through the storm, and a live engine boomed under the wickiup window. "i want you to be careful, phil," bucks spoke anxiously as he looked with healey out into the storm. "it's a bad night." healey made no answer. the lightning shot the yards in a blaze and a crash split the gorge. "a wicked night," muttered bucks. evans, conductor of the special, ran in. "here's your orders," said duffy. "you've got forty miles an hour." "don't stretch it," warned bucks. "good-by, phil," he added to healey, "i'll see you in the morning." "in the morning," echoed healey. "good-by." the switch engine had puffed up with a caboose; ahead of it peeto had coupled in the pile driver. at the last minute callahan concluded to go, and with the bridge gang tumbling into the caboose, the assistant superintendent, ed peeto, and healey climbed into the engine, and they pulled out, five in the cab, for the spider water. healey, moody at first, began joking and laughing the minute they got away. he sat behind denis mullenix, the engineer, and poked his ribs and taunted him with his heavy heels. at last he covered denis' big hands on the throttle with his own bigger fingers, good-naturedly coaxed them loose, and pushing him away got the reins and the whip into his own keeping. he drew the bar out a notch and settled himself for the run across the flat country. as they sped from the shelter of the hills, the storm shook them with a freshening fury, and drove the flanges into the south rail with a grinding screech. the rain fell in a sheet, and the right-of-way ran a river. the wind, whipping the water off the ballast, dashed it like hail against the cab glass; the segment of desert caught in the yellow of the headlight rippled and danced and swam in the storm water, and healey pulled again at the straining throttle and latched it wider. notch after notch he drew; heedless of lurch and jump; heedless of bed or curve; heedless of track or storm; and with every spur at her cylinders the engine shook like a frantic horse. men and monster alike lost thought of caution and drunk a frenzy in the whirl that healey opened across the swimming plain. the peace river hills loomed suddenly in front like moving pictures; before they could think it the desert was behind. "phil, man, you must steady up!" yelled callahan, getting his mouth to healey's ear. the roadmaster nodded and checked a notch, but the fire was in his blood, and he slewed into the hills with a speed unslackened. the wind blew them, and the track pulled them, and a frenzied man sat at the throttle. just where the line crosses the peace river the track bends sharply through the needles to take the bridge. the curve is a ten degree. as they struck it, the headlight shot far out upon the river--and they in the cab knew they sat dead men. instead of lighting the box of the truss, the lamp lit a black and snaky flood with yellow foam sweeping over the abutment, for the peace had licked up agnew's thirty-foot piles--and his bridge was not. there were two things to do; healey knew them both, and both meant death to the cab, but the caboose sheltered twenty of healey's faithful men. he instantly threw the air, and with a scream from the tires, the special, shaking in the brake shoes, swung the curve. again the roadmaster checked heavily, and the pile driver, taking the elevation like a hurdle, bolted into the needles, dragging the caboose after it. but engine and tender and five in the cab plunged head on into the river. not a man in the caboose was killed. they scrambled out of the splinters and on their feet, men and ready to do. one voice came through the storm from the river, and they answered its calling. it was callahan, but durden, mullenix, peeto, and healey never called again. at daybreak, wreckers of the west end, swarming from mountain and plain, were heading for the peace, and the mccloud gang--up--crossed the spider on healey's bridge--on the bridge the coward trainmen had reported out, quaking as they did in the storm at the spider foaming over its approaches. but healey's bridge stood--stands to-day. yet three days the spider raged, and knew then its master, while he, three whole days, sat at the bottom of the peace, clutching the engine levers, in the ruins of agnew's mistake. and when the divers got them up, callahan and bucks tore big peeto's arms from his master's body and shut his staring eye and laid him at his master's side. and only the spider, ravening at healey's caissons, raged. but healey slept. the end. good words for the 'gator. twenty years ago a visitor to that part of the south below north carolina could see alligators in almost every stream and bayou, but now one may frequently spend months traveling through this region and not see a single alligator except those in captivity. the killing of the creatures for sport or for their hides has been the main cause of their great decrease in numbers. in addition thousands of the young have been killed or shipped away, while enormous numbers of the eggs have been gathered and sold as curios. it was not until about that the demand for alligator leather became of importance. the market was not long continued. in fashion again called for the leather for manufacturing into fancy slippers, traveling bags, belts, card cases, music rolls, etc. the demand has continued to the present and many thousands of the animals have been killed, while the preparation of the skins has given employment to hundreds of people. the output of the tanneries of this country approximates , skins annually, worth about $ , , part of which come from mexico and central america. it is estimated that about , , alligators were killed in florida alone between and , nearly , being killed in . the earliest settlers in the southern states found alligators, or, as they were then called, crocodiles, exceedingly abundant in almost all streams, especially in florida and louisiana. many marvelous tales are found in the early chronicles of the ravages of these monsters. they were said to eat dogs and pigs, and to consider the negro an especially succulent tidbit, while it was considered dangerous to go into streams where they were known to exist. when such a stream had to be crossed hours were spent sometimes in beating it to frighten off the alligators. the researches of scientists have shown that there is very slight foundation for such stories, and it is probable that the greater number of pigs lost by the planters could have been traced to other enemies, particularly the two-footed kind, while runaway slaves would naturally encourage the belief that alligators had dined off them. the greater part of the supply of alligator leather now comes from florida, and owing to excessive hunting the industry is profitable only in the central part of the peninsula, in what is called the lake okeechobee region and in the everglades. here the principal hunters are seminole indians, who have their homes on hummocks far back in the everglades and come to the settlements only when in need of articles which they cannot produce themselves. the alligator is most active at night, and his days are usually spent lying on some low bank or log overhanging the water, where it can enjoy the warmth of the sun and be able to retreat to its native element at the first sign of danger. while on land alligators are very clumsy, in the water they are exceedingly active, and, being strong swimmers, are able to catch the larger fish with but slight trouble. for animals like the muskrat and otter swimming across lagoons they are always on the watch. on seizing its prey the alligator sinks with it to the bottom and there remains until all struggling has ceased; it is then able with less effort to tear it into pieces. while thus submerged a peculiar collar at the base of the tongue prevents the water from passing into its lungs. while the alligator is said to make very effective use of its tail in warfare, the widely disseminated story that it uses its tail to sweep animals off the banks into its jaws appears to have but slight foundation in fact. in april or may the mother alligator seeks a sheltered spot on a bank and there builds a small mound with a hole in the middle. the foundation of this mound is of mud and grass, and on these she lays some eggs. she then covers the eggs with another stratum of grass and mud, upon which she deposits some more eggs. thus she proceeds until she has laid from twenty-five to sixty eggs. the eggs are hatched out by the sun. as soon as they have chipped the shell the baby alligators are led to the water by the mother, who provides them with food, which she disgorges. papa alligator has to be carefully watched at this time, for he highly esteems a dinner of young saurians, and is not particular whether they are his own or his neighbor's children. when by strategy or downright fighting the mother has got her family safely into their natural element it is not long before the young scatter, each to begin life on his own hook. at this period they form a favorite food for turtles and the larger fishes. when fully grown the alligator is about sixteen feet in length. in the adult stage it is greenish-black above, having lost the yellowish color bands that belong to its earlier years. hunters say that alligators grow very slowly, attaining the first year a length of about one foot. when two feet in length they are said to be from ten to fifteen years old, while those twelve feet long are supposed to be seventy-five or more. their normal life is estimated at from one hundred to one hundred and fifty years. alligator hunting originally began as sport. then some one tanned the skin and found that it could be put to commercial use. carried on as it must be, at night, the hunt is picturesque. in many places the hunters fasten bicycle lamps on their caps, and when the animal is attracted by the light pick it off by hitting it in the eye with a rifle ball. torches are often used. sometimes the hunter lures the alligator to the surface of the water by "telephoning to the 'gator," as it is called. an alligator is always attracted by the peculiar grunt which the young alligators make, for there is no sort of food they love better than newly hatched 'gator. the hunter takes a long, slender pole and lets one end of it down very quietly into the water. the other end he places between his teeth and imitates the grunt of the baby 'gators. the old fellows easily hear the call and come up to feast on babies they think are there. in catching them alive hunters frequently lasso them while asleep on the bank or on a log. when asleep in their holes in the mud they are occasionally drawn out by means of an iron hook. these holes are easily found. sometimes the grass is set afire and the animals lassoed as they seek the water. after the alligator is caught the hunter in sport sometimes mounts it, using the reptile's fore feet and legs as reins. it is needless to say that it is only by the exercise of considerable skill that the hunter keeps his seat through the struggles of the reptile, and if care is not used the fun may develop into tragedy. alligators three feet and more in length are generally killed at once and the hide removed. all of the hide except the ridge of the back, which is very bony, is used. the hide is salted, and is then in condition for sale to the buyers, who are usually storekeepers, who furnish provisions and ammunition in exchange. the hides range in value to the hunter from cents for a three-foot hide to $ . for a hide seven feet or more in length. the five and six-foot hides are the most desirable, as the larger hides have a hard piece of bone in the square checks on the hide, and it is impossible to sew through this. nearly all of the tanning is done at newark, n. j. young alligators are often brought in, and are worth about cents apiece. the eggs are also gathered, and sell for - / cents each. they are mainly sold to curio dealers, who either hatch them out or blow them and sell the shells. most of the small alligators are stuffed and sold as curios to tourists, who pay from cents to $ apiece for them. many of them used to be shipped north alive by tourists as presents. owing to ignorance as to how the animal should be cared for many of these soon died. if properly cared for, the young alligator will thrive even in unnatural circumstances. its main requirement is sufficient heat. its diet should consist of bits of fresh meat, insects and worms. they often show great fondness for the ordinary earthworms, and will frequently refuse all food but these. the larger specimens in captivity are fed about three times a week on fresh meat or small live animals, and they require little attention other than this. alligators' teeth, which are secured by burying the head until they have rotted out, are of fine ivory and valued for carving into ornaments. they are worth to the hunter about $ a pound--from fifty to seventy-five teeth. the dealers will not buy very many of them, as there is but a limited demand. at one time the paws were saved and mounted as curios, but it is impossible to do anything with them now. both flesh and eggs are eaten by a few persons, but it requires a very hardy stomach to stand the disagreeable, musky odor. there is nothing better, hunters declare, than the tip of the tail of an alligator which has reached, say, the pullet period. it is creamy in color, tasting a little like frogs' legs, but with a more pronounced gamy flavor, juicy--altogether tempting. the dish is a great favorite with the crackers of florida. alligator tails are best at the time of the ricebird season. the big alligators float in the water with only their eyes showing. when an alligator gets near a flock of these fat, juicy little birds it dives to the bottom. its long, wide snout scoops up some of the loam, and it floats to the surface again with just the rich soil showing. the birds think it is an island. they alight upon it. when the whole family is there the big beast turns suddenly. just as the birds scramble off the alligator opens its mouth once. they are gone. the birds are neat little feeders, and the alligator is an epicure at this time of the year. the ricebird diet makes the tip of its tail tender and sweet. in st. augustine is an alligator farm, one of two in the united states, the other being at the hot springs in arkansas. here the alligators are kept in confinement until large enough for market. it will probably be news to many that florida has a representative of the crocodile family. this animal was first supposed to be confined to the west indies and south america, but it has been occasionally captured on the peninsula of florida. it is easily distinguishable from the alligator by its narrow snout. for many years scientists were skeptical of reports from florida of the appearance of this animal in that state, but the capture of several fine specimens in recent years has settled all doubt. venomous fish. it is curious that while so much has been written in our language on snake bites there has been comparatively little placed on record concerning the stings of fishes. snake bites are rare in this country, but fish stings are very common, especially among fishermen and fishmongers. the fishes that most often sting are the great and little weevers. a prick on the hand or foot from a weever causes much swelling and inflammation. if the arm is affected the inflammation may spread to the shoulder, the swelling of the whole limb being enormous. the pain is agonizing, the patient often falling into a state of collapse or becoming delirious. usually the inflammation subsides in about three days, followed by desquamation. latest issues motor stories the latest and best five-cent weekly. we won't say how interesting it is. see for yourself. =high art colored covers. thirty-two big pages. price, cents.= --motor matt's red flier; or, on the high gear. --motor matt's clue; or, the phantom auto. --motor matt's triumph; or, three speeds forward. --motor matt's air-ship; or, the rival inventors. --motor matt's hard luck; or, the balloon house plot. --motor matt's daring rescue; or, the strange case of helen brady. --motor matt's peril; or, castaway in the bahamas. --motor matt's queer find; or, the secret of the iron chest. --motor matt's promise; or, the wreck of the _hawk_. --motor matt's submarine; or, the strange cruise of the _grampus_. --motor matt's quest; or, three chums in strange waters. --motor matt's close call; or, the snare of don carlos. --motor matt in brazil; or, under the amazon. --motor matt's defiance; or, around the horn. --motor matt makes good; or, another victory for the motor boys. tip top weekly the most popular publication for boys. the adventures of frank and dick merriwell can be had only in this weekly. =high art colored covers. thirty-two pages. price, cents.= --frank merriwell's patience; or, the making of a pitcher. --frank merriwell's pupil; or, the boy with the wizard wing. --frank merriwell's fighters; or, the decisive battle with blackstone. --dick merriwell at the "meet"; or, honors worth winning. --dick merriwell's protest; or, the man who 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or, nick carter's strange clue. --the great diamond syndicate; or, nick carter's cleverest foes. --the house of the yellow door; or, nick carter in the old french quarter. --the triangle clue; or, nick carter's greenwich village case. --the hollingsworth puzzle; or, nick carter three times baffled. --the affair of the missing bonds; or, nick carter in the harness. --the green box clue; or, nick carter's good friend. --the taxicab mystery; or, nick carter closes a deal. --the mystery of a hotel room; or, nick carter's best work. --tragedy of the well; or, nick carter under suspicion. _for sale by all newsdealers, or will be sent to any address on receipt of price, cents per copy, in money or postage stamps, by_ street & smith, publishers, - seventh avenue, new york =if you want any back numbers= of our weeklies and cannot procure them from your newsdealer, they can be obtained from this office direct. fill out the following order blank and send it to us with the price of the weeklies you want and we will send them to you by return mail. =postage stamps taken the same as money.= ________________________ _ _ _street & smith, - seventh avenue, new york city._ _dear sirs: enclosed please find_ ___________________________ _cents for which send me_: tip top weekly, nos. ________________________________ nick carter weekly, " ________________________________ diamond dick weekly, " ________________________________ buffalo bill stories, " ________________________________ brave and bold weekly, " ________________________________ motor stories, " ________________________________ _name_ ________________ _street_ ________________ _city_ ________________ _state_ ________________ a great success!! motor stories every boy who reads one of the splendid adventures of motor matt, which are making their appearance in this weekly, is at once surprised and delighted. surprised at the generous quantity of reading matter that we are giving for five cents; delighted with the fascinating interest of the stories, second only to those published in the tip top weekly. matt has positive mechanical genius, and while his adventures are unusual, they are, however, drawn so true to life that the reader can clearly see how it is possible for the ordinary boy to experience them. _here are the titles now ready and those to be published_: --motor matt; or, the king of the wheel. --motor matt's daring; or, true to his friends. --motor matt's century run; or, the governor's courier. --motor matt's race; or, the last flight of the "comet." --motor matt's mystery; or, foiling a secret plot. --motor matt's red flier; or, on the high gear. --motor matt's clue; or, the phantom auto. --motor matt's triumph; or, three speeds forward. --motor matt's air ship; or, the rival inventors. --motor matt's hard luck; or, the balloon house plot. --motor matt's daring rescue; or, the strange case of helen brady. --motor matt's peril; or, cast away in the bahamas. --motor matt's queer find; or, the secret of the iron chest. --motor matt's promise; or, the wreck of the "hawk." --motor matt's submarine; or, the strange cruise of the "grampus." --motor matt's quest; or, three chums in strange waters. to be published on june th. --motor matt's close call; or, the snare of don carlos. to be published on june st. --motor matt in brazil; or, under the amazon. to be published on june th. --motor matt's defiance; or, around the horn. to be published on july th. --motor matt makes good; or, another victory for the motor boys. price, five cents at all newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, by the publishers upon receipt of the price. street & smith, _publishers_, new york transcriber's notes: added table of contents. for this text edition, oe ligatures have been expanded to oe; the html edition retains the ligatures. italics are represented with _underscores_, bold with =equal signs=. page , corrected typo "odder" in "oder somet'ing like dot!" page , added tilde to "madam cousiño" for consistency. page , corrected typo _gampus_ in "started south to meet the _grampus_." retained unusual spelling of "possesion" on the assumption that it is intentional. page , corrected typo "wihtehead" ("whitehead began its peculiar performance"). page , corrected typo "glennine" ("'jupiter!' exclaimed glennie."). page , corrected typo "baot" ("bore him off the boat"). removed unnecessary quote after "six yellow men?" at end of page. narrative of services in the liberation of chili, peru, and brazil, from spanish and portuguese domination by thomas, earl of dundonald, g.c.b. admiral of the red; rear-admiral of the fleet, etc. etc. vol. i london: james ridgway, no , piccadilly mdccclix to the most noble the marquis of lansdowne, k.g. etc. etc. my lord, i am proud to have been honoured with your lordship's permission to dedicate to you the following narrative of historical events, respecting which the public has not previously been placed in a position to form a correct judgment. your lordship's generous acquiescence enables me to discharge a double debt: first--of thanks to one whose high political character this country will ever warmly cherish;--secondly--of deep-felt gratitude for the countenance and efficient aid experienced from your lordship at a period when party faction made me the object of bitter resentment; the injustice of which could in no way be better demonstrated, than by the fact that--in the midst of unmerited obloquy, it was my high privilege to preserve your lordship's friendship and esteem. i have the honour to be, your lordship's obliged and faithful servant, dundonald. contents. preface chapter i. invitation to take command of chilian navy--arrival at valparaiso--first expedition to peru--attack on spanish shipping at callao--departure for huacho--capture of spanish convoys of money--paita taken--return to valparaiso to reorganise the squadron--offer to give up my share of prize money to the republic--this offer declined by the supreme director--popular congratulations--attempt on lady cochrane's life. chapter ii. second expedition to peru--disappointment at not being provided with troops--failure of rockets--departure for arica--capture of pisco--capture of spanish ships at puna--determine to make an attempt on valdivia--arrival off that port, and capture of spanish brig of war _potrillo_--troops obtained from conception--flag-ship nearly wrecked--attack on forts, and conquest of valdivia. chapter iii. departure for chiloe--preparations of the enemy--capture of fort corona--failure at fort aguy, and subsequent retreat--return to valdivia--capture of osorio--return to valparaiso--enthusiastic reception--chagrin of the ministry--importance of conquest of valdivia in a political point of view--promotion of officers under arrest--employment of indians by the spaniards--career of benavides--mutinous spirit of the seamen in consequence of their captures being appropriated by government--resignation of my commission--refusal thereof--renewed offer of an estate--this again declined--seamen obtain their wages--private purchase of an estate--government gives notice of taking it--appointment of flag captain against my wishes--annoyance given to me by minister of marine--renewed resignation of the command--officers of the squadron resign in a body--government begs of me to retain the command--my consent--general san martin--the senate--zenteno--corruption of parties in the administration. chapter iv. obstacles to equipping the squadron--sailing of the liberating expedition--debarcation at pisco--long inaction of the army--general san martin removes to ancon--capture of the esmeralda--exchange of prisoners--acknowledgment of the service by general san martin--lady cochrane's visit to mendoza. chapter v. san martin's violation, of truth--removal of blockade--spanish depression--troops dying of fever--san martin's designs on guayaquil--mutinous conduct of officers--refusal to obey orders--deposition of viceroy--san martin gives me troops--jealousy of san martin--attack on arica--capture of tacna--capture of moquega--refusal of more men--an armistice ratified--distress of lima--dissatisfaction of the army--lady cochrane in action--devotion of seamen. chapter vi. return to callao--lima abandoned--hesitation of general san martin to occupy the city--loss of the _san martin_--excesses of the spaniards--proclamation of independence--san martin assumes autocratic power under the title of protector--my remonstrance--his reply--mutinous state of the squadron from neglect. chapter vii. tampering with chilian officers--the archbishop of lima--his expulsion--negociation for surrender of the forts--this counteracted--san martin's bombastic proclamations--his refusal to encounter the enemy--the spaniards relieve callao--delusive proclamation--the unblushing falsehood--spaniards carry off the treasure--discontent of the squadron. chapter viii. prolonged destitution of squadron--the men mutiny in a body--the seamen's letters--san martin sends away the public treasure--my seizure of it--private property restored--san martin's accusations against me--the squadron paid wages--attempt on the officers' fidelity--i am asked to desert from chili--ordered to quit on refusal--monteagudo's letter--my reply--justification of seizing the treasure--- no other course possible. chapter ix. arrival at guayaquil--address to guayaquilenos--injurious monopolies--ministerial folly--departure from guayaquil--arrival in mexico--anchor at acapulco--mock ambassadors--plot against me--return to guayaquil--venganza taken possession of--agreement with junta--general la mar--orders to withhold supplies--abominable cruelty--courtly splendour--destruction of a division of the army--dissatisfaction of officers--renewed overtures from san martin--their refusal by me--warning to the chilian government. chapter x. return to valparaiso--thanks of the government--reasons for satisfaction--illegitimate trade--turned to good account--denunciation of officers deserted--investigation of accounts--san martin's charges against me--my refutation--government refuses its publication--cruelty to spanish prisoners--retirement to quintero--political fruits of our success--destitute condition of squadron--infamous attempt to promote dissatisfaction therein--object of this course--steps taken to defeat it--disavowed by the minister--sympathy of officers--attempt to get rid of gen. freire--its eventual result--letter of the captains. chapter xi. negociations with bolivar--exile of monteagudo--complaints of the limeños--extravagance of the government--exculpation of san martin--effects of popular dissension--disagreement of bolivar and san martin--vote of peruvian congress--extraordinary neglect of the chilian squadron--san martin's arrival at valparaiso--i demand his trial--countenance of the supreme director--squadron at length paid wages--revolt of conception--general freire apprises me of it--freire asks for my support--his letter not replied to--san martin's influence. chapter xii. the squadron taken from me--i accept invitation from brazil--letter to the supreme director--san martin quits chili--his prudence--opinion of his aide-de camp--ministerial neglect--permission to quit chili--letter to general freire--for the first time made public--letter to the captains and officers--to the chilian people--to the foreign merchants--to the president of peru--san martin actuated by revenge--this shewn from his letters. chapter xiii. freire marches on valparaiso--elected supreme director--he begs of me to return--my reply--subsequent letter to general freire. chapter xiv. injustice to the squadron--inconsistency of this--estate taken from me--my losses by litigation--endeavours to enforce my claims--petty excuses for evading them--i am charged with expenses of the army--and with costs for making legal captures--my conduct approved at the time--- ministerial approbation--paltry compensation at length given--ministerial corruption--proved by san martin--cause of official animosity to me--conclusion. appendix. preface. the first of these volumes forms a history of the consolidation of chilian independence, and of the subsequent liberation of peru--through the instrumentality of the chilian squadron under my command; a service which called forth from the governments and people of the liberated states the warmest expressions of gratitude to the naval service collectively, and to myself personally, as having planned and conducted the operations whereby these results were attained. it records also the strangely inconsistent fact that--beyond these marks of national approbation--neither chili nor peru ever awarded to the squadron or myself any more substantial reward--though, in a pecuniary sense, deeply indebted to us; for, during the greater portion of the war of independence, the subsistence of the crews, and the repairs and equipment of the chilian squadron were solely provided for by our own exertions, without cost to the government; since, in addition to the capture of spanish ships-of-war and merchant vessels--money, provisions, and stores to a great extent fell into our hands; all of which--though our own stipulated right--were voluntarily devoted to state exigencies, in the full conviction that, at the expiration of the war, the value of our sacrifices would, as a point of national honour, be returned to us by chili. as regards peru, our still unpaid for captures of ships-of-war formed her first naval force, for which the only requital has been, a vote of her first national assembly--almost its inaugural act--ascribing to me the double praise of her liberation from the spanish yoke, and of her subsequent deliverance from an intolerable military tyranny. the volume contains another point, which forms a yet stranger sequel to my services on the western shores of south america. after the expiration of thirty years, chili granted me the absurdly inadequate sum of £. , _in full of all my claims!_ and this, with the knowledge that, after my return to england i was involved in litigation on account of the legal seizure of vessels under the orders of her former government--by which i was subjected to a loss, directly and indirectly, of _more than three times the amount_. the chilian portion of this history, therefore, resolves itself into the fact, that not only did i reap no reward whatever, for the liberation of chili and peru, but that the independence of both countries was achieved _at a heavy pecuniary sacrifice to myself!_ in compensation for which, as well as for my recognised services--chili has thought its national honour sufficiently vindicated by allotting me _one-third of my losses only_, without other compensation of any kind! i regret to add, that my necessities at the time, arising for the most part from the pecuniary difficulties to which i had been subjected on chilian account, compelled me to accept the amount tendered. the second volume is of a character somewhat similar. it narrates the circumstances under which--by promises the most inviting, and stipulations the most binding--i was induced to accept the command, or rather organization of the first brazilian navy. it details the complete expulsion of all portuguese armaments, naval and military, from the eastern shores of the south american continent, by the squadron alone, wholly unaided by military co-operation; in the course of which arduous service, ships of war, merchant vessels, and valuable property to the extent of several millions of dollars were captured under the imperial order, and their value--in spite of previous stipulations--_refused to the captors_, on the falsely assumed ground that the provinces liberated were brazilian--though a brazilian military force had been recently beaten in an attempt to expel the portuguese--and though these provinces were, at the period of my assuming the command, in the uninterrupted occupation of the very portuguese fleets and armies afterwards expelled, it was falsely pretended that the property captured was not enemy's property--though expressly described as such in numerous imperial decrees--and more especially by the instructions given to me by his imperial majesty to seize or destroy it wherever found. it was, in short, subsequently decided by a court of admiralty--for the most part composed of portuguese members, acting under the influence of a portuguese faction in the administration--that neither myself nor the squadron were entitled to the prizes made--though most inconsistently, the same tribunal condemned the ships of war taken--as "_droits_" to the crown--for which, compensation was awarded to the squadron by his imperial majesty, but never paid by the ministers to whom the order was directed. not to anticipate the contents of the volume devoted to brazilian affairs. it being found after the expulsion of the enemy, that the stipulations made with myself were too binding to be easily set aside, several futile attempts were made to evade them, but this being found impossible, the unworthy expedient was resorted to of summarily dismissing me from the service, after the establishment of peace with portugal--an event entirely consequent on my individual services. by this expedient--of the rectitude or otherwise of which the reader will be able to judge from the documentary evidence laid before him--i was got rid of without compensation for my claims, which for thirty years were altogether repudiated; but, at the expiration of that period, fully recognised as _having been due from the beginning!_ the brazilian government, however, satisfied its own sense of justice by awarding me less than _one-half the simple interest of the amount stipulated in my patents_; thus retaining the whole of the principal admitted to be due. the preceding remarks form a _synopsis_ of my career on both sides of the continent of south america; the narrative, where dispute might arise, being carefully founded on, and in all cases accompanied by documentary evidence, which admits neither dispute nor contradiction. the trifling amount awarded by chili, would probably not have been granted at all, but for the earnest remonstrance of lord palmerston, warmly seconded by the efforts of the hon. mr. jerningham, british minister to the chilian republic, by whose joint exertions the government was induced to admit--that national honour was involved in fulfilling national obligations; though an infinitesimal view of either the one or the other was certainly taken when awarding me the insignificant sum previously mentioned. in brazil the case was somewhat different. it is to his present imperial majesty, don pedro ii. that i owe any investigation of my claims, by the appointment of a commission (_secçoes_), which reported that they ought never to have been withheld, as being my stipulated right. but even the limited amount awarded in consequence of this decision, was on the point of being further diminished one half by its projected payment in a depreciated currency--and, had it not been for the intervention of lord clarendon, and of the hon. mr. scarlett, british minister at rio de janeiro, of whose zealous exertions in my favour i cannot speak too warmly--this further injustice would have been perpetrated without the knowledge or sanction of his present imperial majesty. it may be asked, why--with the clear documentary evidence in my possession--and now adduced--i have for so many years endured an amount of obloquy and injustice, which might at any time have been set aside by its publication? the reply is obvious. the withholding of my claims by the governments of both sides the south american continent, and the ruinous expense to which i was put on account of chili, entailed upon me many years of pecuniary difficulty. to have told even the truth--unbacked as i then was, by the british government--would have been to have all my claims set at defiance, so that compulsory discretion was a sufficient reason for my silence. it was long before i could induce a british minister to satisfy himself of the rectitude of my conduct--the soundness of my claims--or the dishonesty of those who, believing me to be powerless, laughed at reiterated demands for my stipulated rights. yet more i have never sought from those to whom i gave liberty and dominion. there is, however, a reason for the present publication, of which i have never lost sight. amidst all the injustice which it has been my lot to sustain, i have ever determined--for the sake of my family--to whom my character is an heir-loom--that no obloquy shall follow me to the grave, for none have i merited. on the day these volumes see the light, this resolution will be partially fulfilled. on that day i shall have completed the eighty-third year of a career strangely chequered, yet not undistinguished; and, therefore, the opinions of either chilians or brazilians are now of small moment to me in comparison with a reputation which has been demmed worthy of belonging to history. none of the present ruling powers in either chili or brazil can possibly be offended with me for giving a guardedly temperate documentary narrative of what must hereafter form the basis of their national annals. i do not for a moment contemplate that men of enlightened views such as now direct the affairs of both countries have either part or sympathy with self-interested adventurers who in popular revolutions too often rise to the surface, and for a time make confusion worse confounded; till replaced--as a matter of course, no less than by necessity--by men of greater grasp of mind and more exalted aspirations. but this is as it maybe--my reputation as a british seaman is to me of the highest moment, and it shall not be sullied after my death by the aspersions of those who wilfully revenged the thwarting of their anti-imperial designs, by imputations which can alone enter into the minds of men devoid of generous impulses and therefore incapable of appreciating higher motives. i have not followed their example, but where it is necessary to bring forward such persons--they will be viewed through the medium of their own documents, which are incontestible and irresistible, and which would as easily convict me of untruth as they convict my maligners of practices unworthy the honour of a nation. to my own countrymen these volumes can scarcely be matter of indifference; though, perhaps, few reflect that the numerous fleets of british merchantmen which now frequent both shores of south america, are the consequence of the deliverance of these vast territories from an exclusive colonial yoke. it is true that england had previously formed a treaty with portugal, permitting english vessels to trade to her south american colonies, but such was the influence of portuguese merchants with the local governments, that it was nearly inoperative; so that, practically, the portuguese were in the exclusive possession of that commerce which my expulsion of the fleet and army of the mother country unreservedly threw open to british enterprise. the same, even in a higher degree, may be said with regard to chili and peru. yet, scarcely had my mission to chili become known, than the influence of spain induced the british ministry to pass a "foreign enlistment act," the penal clauses of which were evidently aimed at me, for having entered into the service of unacknowledged governments without permission--though i had shortly before been most unjustly driven from the service of my native country. in blind animosity towards me, my former english persecutors failed to perceive the advantage to british commerce, of freeing both sides of south america from lingering war and internal dissension. an amusing instance of this occurred on my return to england. having occasion to wait upon the then attorney-general relative to a patent which i had in hand, he brusquely inquired "_whether i was not afraid to appear before him?_" on my replying that "i was not aware of having reason to fear appearing in the presence of any man," he told me the question had been officially put to him, whether i could be punished under the "foreign enlistment act," for the part i had taken in the liberation of chili, peru, and brazil? to this i replied, that "if government was indiscreet enough further to persecute me for having thrown open to british commerce the largest field for enterprise of modern times, they could take what steps they chose, for that i, having accepted service in south america before the passing of the act, was not afraid of the consequences of having infringed its provisions." it is almost needless to say that no such prosecution was instituted, though the will was good, despite the national benefits conferred. i will not enter farther into the subject in a preface to volumes which themselves form only a summary of events in which i was a principal actor, but at the same time, one, which i hope will prove satisfactory and decisive. it would have been easy to have dilated the narrative, but my object is solely to leave behind me a faithful record of events which must one day become history, and there is no history like documentary history. to those high personages who have advocated my cause with other nations, the present volume will give satisfaction, as affording additional proof that their advocacy rested upon no visionary basis. to the members of the press, who have adopted the same views, this exposition will be equally satisfactory. to all these i owe the thanks of recognising in me, a love for that service, from which--for a time i was unjustly expelled. it is my intention, if god spare my life, to add to these memoirs a narrative of my former experience in the british navy, and, what may be of greater utility, an exposition of that which, from jealousy and other causes no less unworthy, _i was not permitted to effect_. to these i shall add a few remarks upon my connexion with the liberation of greece, developing some remarkable facts, which have as yet escaped the notice of historians. these reminiscences of the past will, at least, be instructive to future generations and if any remarks of mine will conduce to the permanent greatness and security of my country, i shall deem the residue of my life well spent in recording them. at my advanced age, such a task as that now partially executed, would, perhaps, have presented insuperable difficulties, but for the assistance rendered me by mr. earp, who, with great perseverance, has unravelled--what, in the lapse of time, had become the almost inextricable confusion of my papers. that, however, has, with his assistance, been accomplished in such a way as to base upon original documents every incident contained in the work--the more important of these documents being adduced, so as to admit of neither doubt nor question. the same course will be pursued in the forthcoming english portion of my career, with a result, i trust, equally clear and convincing. dundonald. chapter i. invitation to take command of chilian navy--arrival at valparaiso--first expedition to peru--attack on spanish shipping at callao--departure for huacho--capture of spanish convoys of money--paita taken--return to valparaiso to reorganize the squadron--offer to give up my share of prizemoney to the republic--this offer declined by the supreme director--popular congratulations--attempt on lady cochrane's life. in the year , don jose alvarez, accredited agent of the government of chili--as yet unacknowledged by european powers--applied to me to undertake the organization of a naval force in that country, capable of contending against the spaniards; who, notwithstanding the successful revolt of the chilenos by land, still maintained their predominance on the waters of the pacific. having at that time no professional employment, in consequence of my unjust expulsion from the british naval service, by the machinations of the powerful political party which i had offended--and finding that chili was making great efforts to create a navy, in furtherance of which object a war steamer had been placed on the stocks in london--i accepted the invitation, engaging to superintend her building and equipment, and to take her to valparaiso when completed. meanwhile, alvarez received orders from his government, that, if his proposals had been accepted, no time must be lost in my departure, as the position of chili was critical, the spaniards threatening valparaiso by sea, and being still in possession of the continent from conception to chiloe, where they were organizing the savage indian tribes to carry desolation into the newly emancipated provinces. reliable information had also been received, that the court of madrid was making strenuous efforts to recover its lost possessions by a powerful reinforcement to its pacific squadron, against which the chileno ships of war, in their present state, were not in a condition to contend. alvarez therefore begged me not to wait for the steamer, the completion and equipment of which he would hasten, but at once to sail for chili in the _rose_ merchantman, then on the eve of departure. knowing that the whole of peru was in the hands of the spaniards, and that they were also in possession of valdivia, the strongest fortified harbour to the southward--from both of which there would be considerable difficulty in dislodging them after the arrival of the anticipated reinforcements--i embarked without delay; and on the th of november, , landed at valparaiso, accompanied by lady cochrane and our two children. our reception, both from the authorities and the people, was enthusiastic, the supreme director, general o'higgins, coming from the seat of government, santiago, to welcome us. this excellent man was the son of an irish gentleman of distinction in the spanish service, who had occupied the important position of viceroy of peru. the son had, however, joined the patriots, and whilst second in command had not long before inflicted a signal defeat upon the spaniards in the interior; in reward for which service the gratitude of the nation had elevated him to the supreme directorate. a variety of _fêtes_ was given at valparaiso in honour of our arrival, these being prolonged for so many days as to amount to a waste of time. the same scenes were, however, re-enacted at the distant capital, whither the supreme director insisted on taking us, till i had to remind his excellency that our purpose was rather fighting than feasting. nevertheless, the reception we had met impressed me with so high a sense of chilian hospitality, that, heartbroken as i had been by the infamous persecution which had driven me from the british navy, i decided upon chili as my future home; this decision, however, being only an exemplification of the proverb _"l'homme propose--dieu dispose."_ the chilian squadron had just returned from a successful cruise, the gallant admiral blanco encalada, who commanded it, having captured a noble spanish -gun frigate, the _maria isabel_, in the bay of talcahuano. the squadron consisted of the recently captured spanish frigate, now named the _o'higgins_, in honour of the supreme director; the _san martin_, guns, formerly the _cumberland_ indiaman, which had been bought into the service; the _lautaro_, guns, also a purchased indiaman; the _galvarino_, guns, recently the british sloop of war _hecate_; the _chacabuco_, guns; and the _aracauno_, guns; a force which, though deficient in organization and equipment, was very creditable to the energy of a newly emancipated people. a few days after my arrival a commission was issued, conferring upon me the title of "vice-admiral of chili, admiral and commander in chief of the naval forces of the republic." admiral blanco, with patriotic liberality, relinquishing his position in my favour, though, from his recent achievement, justly entitled to retain it; paying me also the additional compliment of personally announcing to the ships' companies the change which had been effected. my advent was regarded by the captains of the squadron with great jealousy, the more so, as i had brought with me from england officers upon whom i could place implicit reliance. it so happened that two of the chilian commanders, captains guise and spry, had shortly before arrived from england with the _hecate_, which had been sold out of the british navy, and bought by them on speculation. the buenos ayrean government having declined to purchase her, they had brought her on to chili, where the government took her and received her former owners into its service. these officers, together with captain worcester, a north american, got up a cabal, the object of which was to bring about a divided command between myself and admiral blanco, or, as they expressed it--"two commodores and no cochrane." finding that admiral blanco would not listen to this, they persuaded one or two of the inferior ministers--whose jealousy it was not difficult to excite--that it was dangerous and discreditable to a republican government to allow a nobleman and a foreigner to command its navy, and still more so, to allow him to retain his title; the object being to place admiral blanco in the chief command, with myself as his second--by which arrangement, as he had not been accustomed to manage british seamen, they expected to control him as they pleased. admiral blanco, however, insisted on reversing our positions, offering his services as second in command, in which arrangement i gladly acquiesced. this insignificant squabble would not be worth narrating, but for its bearing on subsequent events; as well as enabling me to confer a pleasing testimony to the patriotic disinterestedness of admiral blanco, who is still one of the brightest ornaments of the republic which he so eminently aided to establish. on the nd of december my flag was hoisted on board the _o'higgins_, after which the greatest despatch was used to get the squadron ready for sea. anxious to avoid delay, on the th of january i sailed with four ships only, the _o'higgins, san martin, lautaro,_ and _chacabuco_; leaving admiral blanco to follow with the _gaharino, aracauno,_ and _puyrredon_. a mutiny having broken out on board the _chacabuco_, it became necessary to enter coquimbo, where the leading mutineers were landed, tried, and punished. i shall here narrate an incident which occurred on our departure. lady cochrane, with her children, had returned from santiago to valparaiso, to take leave of me on embarkation. she had just gone ashore, and the last gun had been fired to summon all hands on board, when, hearing a loud _hurrah_ near the house where she resided, she went to the window, and saw our little boy--now lord cochrane, but then scarcely more than five years old--mounted on the shoulders of my flag-lieutenant, waving his tiny cap over the heads of the people, and crying out with all his might, _"viva la patria!"_ the mob being in a frenzied state of excitement. the child had slipped out of lady cochrane's house with the officer, insisting on being carried to his father; with which request the lieutenant, nothing loth, complied. to the horror of lady cochrane, she saw her boy hurried down to the beach amidst the shouts of the multitude, and, before she could interfere, placed in a boat and rowed off to the flag-ship, which was at the time under weigh, so that he could not be sent ashore again; there being no alternative but to take him with us, though without clothes--which were afterwards made for him by the sailors--and with no other attendance save that which their rough but kindly natures could administer. on our way along the coast we received information that the _antonio_ was about to sail from callao for cadiz, with a considerable amount of treasure, so that, in the hope of intercepting her, we cruized just out of sight of the port till the st of february. as she did not make her appearance, preparations were made to put in execution a plan which had been formed to attack the spanish shipping during the carnival, when, in the height of that festival, less vigilance than ordinary might reasonably be expected. we had previously ascertained that the naval force in the harbour consisted of the frigates _esmeralda_ and _venganza_, a corvette, three brigs of war, a schooner, twenty-eight gun-boats, and six heavily-armed merchantmen; the whole being moored close in under the batteries, which mounted upwards of guns, whilst the aggregate force of the shipping was guns, as appeared from an official account of their armament. a direct attack with our small force seemed, therefore, a thing not at present to be attempted; but in its place i had formed the design to cut out the frigates during the carnival, which terminated on the rd. knowing that two north american ships of war were daily expected at callao, it was arranged to take in the _o'higgins_ and _lautaro_, under american colours, leaving the _san martin_ out of sight behind san lorenzo, and if the _ruse_ were successful, to make a feint of sending a boat ashore with despatches, and in the meantime suddenly to dash at the frigates, and cut them out. unfortunately, one of those thick fogs, so common on the peruvian coast, arose, in which the _lautaro_ parted company, and did not rejoin the flag-ship for four days afterwards, when the carnival being at an end, our plan was rendered abortive. the fog, which in the climate of peru often continues for a considerable length of time, lasted till the th, when hearing heavy firing, and imagining that one of the ships was engaged with the enemy, i stood with the flag-ship into the bay; the other ships, imagining the same thing, also steered in the direction of the firing, when the fog clearing for a moment, we discovered each other, as well as a strange sail near us; which, when taken possession of by the flag-ship, proved to be a spanish gun-boat, with a lieutenant and twenty men, who, on being made prisoners, informed us that the firing was a salute in honour of the viceroy, who had that morning been on a visit of inspection to the batteries and shipping, and was then on board the brig of war _pezuela_, which we saw crowding sail in the direction of the batteries. the fog again coming on, suggested to me the possibility of a direct attack, which, if not altogether successful, would give the spaniards such an idea of our determination of purpose, as would inspire them with respect for the chilian squadron, and might induce their ships to refrain from the protection of their commerce; in which case a blockade would prevent the necessity of separating our small force in chase of them, should they evince a desire of getting to sea. accordingly, still maintaining our disguise under american colours, the _o'higgins_ and _lautaro_ stood towards the batteries, narrowly escaping going ashore in the fog. the viceroy having no doubt witnessed the capture of the gun-boat, had, however, provided for our reception, the garrison being at their guns, and the crews of the ships of war at their quarters. notwithstanding the great odds, i determined to persist in an attack, as our withdrawing without firing a shot, would produce an effect upon the minds of the spaniards the reverse of that intended; having sufficient experience in war to know that moral effect, even if the result of a degree of temerity, will not unfrequently supply the place of superior force. the wind falling light, i did not venture on laying the flag-ship and the _lautaro_ alongside the spanish frigates, as at first intended, but anchored with springs on our cables, abreast of the shipping, which was arranged in a half-moon of two lines, the rear rank being judiciously disposed so as to cover the intervals of the ships in the front line. a dead calm succeeding, we were for two hours exposed to a heavy fire from the batteries, in addition to that from the two frigates, the brigs _pezuela_ and _maypeu_, and seven or eight gun-boats; nevertheless, the northern angle of one of the principal forts was silenced by our fire. a breeze springing up, we weighed anchor, standing to and fro in front of the batteries, and returning their fire; when captain guise, who commanded the _lautaro_, being severely wounded, that ship sheered off, and never again came within range. as from want of wind, or doubt of the result, neither the _san martin_ nor _chacabuco_ had ever got within fire, the flag-ship was thus left alone to continue the action; but as this, from want of co-operation on the part of the other ships, was useless, i was reluctantly compelled to relinquish the attack, and withdrew to the island of san lorenzo, about three miles distant from the forts; the spaniards, though nearly quadruple our numbers, exclusive of their gun-boats, not venturing to follow us. the annexed was the spanish naval force present: _frigates_.--esmeralda, guns; venganza, guns; sebastiana, guns. _brigs_.--maypeu, guns; pezuela, guns; potrilla, guns; and one, name unknown, guns. _schooner_, name unknown, one long , and culverins. _armed merchantmen_.--resolution, guns; cleopatra, guns; la focha, guns; guarmey, guns; fernando, guns; san antonio, guns. total, fourteen vessels, of which ten were ready for sea; and twenty-seven gun-boats. in this action my little boy had a narrow escape. as the story has been told by several chilian writers somewhat incorrectly, i will recapitulate the circumstances. when the firing commenced, i had placed the boy in my after-cabin, locking the door upon him; but not liking the restriction, he contrived to get through the quarter gallery window, and joined me on deck, refusing to go down again. as i could not attend to him, he was permitted to remain, and, in a miniature midshipman's uniform, which the seamen had made for him, was busying himself in handing powder to the gunners. whilst thus employed, a round shot took off the head of a marine close to him, scattering the unlucky man's brains in his face. instantly recovering his self-possession, to my great relief, for believing him killed, i was spell-bound with agony, he ran up to me exclaiming, "i am not hurt, papa: the shot did not touch me; jack says, the ball is not made that can kill mamma's boy." i ordered him to be carried below; but, resisting with all his might, he was permitted to remain on deck during the action. our loss in this affair was trifling, considering that we were under the fire of more than two hundred guns; but the ships were so placed that the enemy's frigates lay between us and the fortress, so that the shot of the latter only told upon our rigging, which was considerably damaged. the action having been commenced in a fog, the spaniards imagined that all the chilian vessels were engaged, and were not a little surprised, as it again cleared, to find that their own frigate, the quondam _maria isabella_, was their only opponent. so much were they dispirited by this discovery, that as soon as possible after the close of the contest, their ships of war were dismantled, the top masts and spars being formed into a double boom across the anchorage so as to prevent approach. the spaniards were also previously unaware of my being in command of the chilian squadron, but on becoming acquainted with this fact, bestowed upon me the not very complimentary title of "el diablo," by which i was afterwards known amongst them. the title might have been rendered more appropriate, had my efforts been better seconded by the other vessels. on the following day, having repaired damages, the flag-ship and _lautaro_ again went in and commenced a destructive fire upon the spanish gun-boats, the neutral vessels in the harbour removing out of the line of shot. as the gun-boats withdrew to a position closer under the batteries, where we could make little impression upon them without getting severely punished by the fire of the fortress, we contented ourselves with the demonstration made. on the nd of march, i despatched capt. foster with the gun-boat captured from the spaniards, and the launches of the _o'higgins_ and _lautaro_--to take possession of the island of san lorenzo, when an unworthy instance of spanish cruelty presented itself in the spectacle of thirty-seven chilian soldiers taken prisoners eight years before. the unhappy men had ever since been forced to work in chains under the supervision of a military guard--now prisoners in turn; their sleeping place during the whole of this period being a filthy shed, in which they were every night chained by one leg to an iron bar. the joy of the poor fellows at their deliverance, after all hope had fled, can scarcely be conceived. from the liberated patriots and the spanish prisoners, i learned that in lima there were a number of chilian officers and seamen taken on board the _maypeu_, whose condition was even more deplorable than their own, the fetters on their legs having worn their ancles to the bone, whilst their commander, by a refinement of cruelty, had for more than a year been lying under sentence of death as a rebel. upon this, i sent a flag of truce to the viceroy, don joaquim de la pezuela, requesting him to permit the prisoners to return to their families, in exchange for the spanish prisoners on board the squadron, and others in chili--where there were great numbers, who were comparatively well treated. the viceroy denied the charge of ill-treatment--asserted his right, if he thought proper, to regard his prisoners as pirates; retorting that after the battle of maypeu, general san martin had treated the spanish commissioner as a spy, and had repeatedly threatened him with death. the exchange of prisoners was uncourteously refused, the viceroy concluding his reply with an expression of surprise that a british nobleman should command the maritime forces of a government "unacknowledged by all the powers of the globe." to this latter observation, i considered it incumbent upon me to reply that "a british nobleman was a free man, and therefore had a right to adopt any country which was endeavouring to re-establish the rights of aggrieved humanity; and that i had hence adopted the cause of chili, with the same freedom of judgment that i had previously exercised when refusing the offer of an admiral's rank in spain, made to me not long before, by the spanish ambassador in london;" this offer having been made by the duke de san carlos, in the name of ferdinand the seventh. our means being clearly inadequate to any decisive attack on the spanish ships of war, i resolved to try the effect of an explosion vessel, and accordingly established a laboratory on the island of san lorenzo, under the superintendence of major miller, the commandant of marines. whilst engaged in this duty, that able and gallant officer was so severely burned by an accidental explosion, as to render his further services on this occasion unavailable. on the nd of march--our preparations being completed--we again stood towards the batteries, the flag-ship going close in under the combined fire of the forts and shipping, in order to divert the attention of the enemy from the explosion vessel, which was set adrift in the direction of the frigates, but, unfortunately, when within musket shot of them, she was struck by a round shot and foundered, causing complete failure in our object. the _san martin_ and the _lautaro_ keeping far astern, there was no alternative but to withdraw from further attack, leaving the explosion vessel to her fate. as other attempts, with our want of means, would answer no better purpose than useless demonstration, and as the ships were now destitute of water and provisions, we were obliged to fall back upon huacho, leaving the _chacabuco_ to watch the movements of the enemy. the inhabitants of huacho, who were well disposed to co-operate in any effort for the emancipation of peru, afforded us every assistance in provisioning and watering the ships, for which the commandant, cevallos, shot two influential persons who had been foremost in aiding us, and severely punished others; at the same time seizing our water casks, and sending me an insolent letter of defiance, on which a party of seamen and marines was landed and put the garrison to flight; the officer commanding the party however withdrew from pursuit at hearing salutes fired on the arrival of admiral blanco with the _galvarino_ and _puyrredon_, mistaking this for an engagement with a newly-arrived enemy. the whole of the government property found in the spanish custom-house was captured. the people of huacho having volunteered information that a quantity of specie belonging to the philippine company had been placed for safety on board a vessel in the river barrança, she was forthwith overhauled, and the treasure transferred to the flag-ship. leaving admiral blanco at huacho with the _san martin_ and _puyrredon_, on the th of april we sailed for supe, with the _o'higgins_ and _galvarino_, having previously ascertained that a sum of money destined for the payment of spanish troops was on its way from lima to guambucho; on the following day a party of marines being landed at patavilca, captured the treasure, amounting to , dollars, together with a quantity of military stores. on the th, having received further information that the philippine company had placed other treasure on board the french brig, _gazelle_, at guambucho, we sailed for that place, and, on the th, the seamen of the _o'higgins_ examined her, and brought off an additional sum of , dollars. the secret of our obtaining possession of these and other convoys of spanish money along the coast, was, that i paid the inhabitants highly for information relative to their transmission, and was thus enabled to seize the treasure even in the interior of the country. as the chilian ministry subsequently refused to allow me "secret service money," these, disbursements were actually made at my own expense. it was also my object to make friends of the peruvian people, by adopting towards them a conciliatory course, and by strict care that none but spanish property should be taken, whilst their own was in all cases respected. confidence was thus inspired, and the universal dissatisfaction with spanish colonial rule speedily became changed into an earnest desire to be freed from it. had it not been for this good understanding with the inhabitants, i should scarcely have ventured to detach marines and seamen for operations at a distance into the country, as was subsequently the case; the people giving me the most reliable information of every movement of the enemy. on the th, we arrived at paita, where the spaniards had established a garrison. a party of marines and seamen was again landed, on which the enemy fled from the fort, and a quantity of brass ordnance, spirits, and military stores, was captured. contrary to strict orders, some marines stole a number of valuable church ornaments, but on the complaint of the authorities i caused them to be restored, punishing the offenders, and at the same time presenting the priests with a thousand dollars to repair the damage done in their churches; this act, though far from conciliating the priests--who dreaded chilian success--adding greatly to our popularity amongst the inhabitants, which was my object in bestowing the amount. our thus refraining from plunder was almost beyond the comprehension of a people who had bitter experience of spanish rapacity, whilst the undisciplined chilenos, who formed the greater portion of the squadron, as little comprehended why their plundering propensities should be restrained. on the th of may, i proceeded with the flag-ship alone to reconnoitre callao, having learned that the _chacabuco_ and _puyrredon_ had been chased off the port by the spanish frigates. finding that these were again moored under shelter of the batteries, we returned to supe, convinced that our previous visit to callao had proved sufficient to deter them from putting to sea for the protection of their own coasts; this, indeed, forming my chief reason for having persisted in attacks which, with our small force, could answer no other purpose; but this alone was an advantage gained, as it enabled us to communicate freely with the inhabitants on the coast, and to ascertain their sentiments, which--from our forbearance, no less than command of the sea--were almost uniformly in favour of co-operation with chili for their emancipation. both at lima and on the coast, the best effect was produced by the circulation of the following proclamation:-- "compatriots! the repeated echoes of liberty in south america have been heard with pleasure in every part of enlightened europe, more especially in great britain, where i, unable to resist the desire of joining in such a cause, determined to take part in it. the republic of chili has confided to me the command of her naval forces. to these must the dominion of the pacific be consigned. by their co-operation must your chains be broken. doubt not but that the day is at hand on which, with the annihilation of despotism and your now degraded condition, you will rise to the rank of a free nation, to which your geographical position and the course of events naturally call you." "but it is your duty to co-operate in preparing for this success, and to remove obstacles, under the assurance that you will receive the most efficacious assistance from the government of chili, and your true friend, cochrane." this proclamation was accompanied by another from the chilian government, declaratory of the sincerity of its intentions, so that these combined caused us to be everywhere received as liberators. on the th, we returned to supe, and having learned that a spanish force was in the vicinity, a detachment of marines and seamen was, after dark, pushed through a heavy surf, and landed, in the hope of taking them by surprise. but the enemy was on the alert, and on the following morning our little party fell into an ambuscade, which would have proved serious, had not major miller, who commanded the marines, promptly formed his men, who, attacking in turn, soon put the enemy to flight at the point of the bayonet, capturing their colours, and the greater portion of their arms. on the th, a detachment of spanish troops arrived from lima under major camba, who, notwithstanding his superiority of numbers, did not venture to attack our small party, which withdrew to the ships with a number of cattle taken from the spaniards; camba writing to the viceroy so effective a description of his having "driven the enemy into the sea," that he was immediately promoted. not to enter into further details of our visits to other parts of the coast, where similar captures of provisions and military stores, &c. were effected--it being my practice to compel the spaniards to supply all the wants of the squadron, nothing being ever taken from the natives without payment,--i resolved--as our means were clearly incommensurate with our main object--to return to valparaiso, for the purpose of organizing a more effective force, and on the th of june reached that port, where we found admiral blanco with the _san martin_ and _chacabuco_, he having been obliged to raise the blockade of callao for want of provisions; a step with which the government was highly displeased, though with more reason to blame its own negligence or want of foresight in not providing them. admiral blanco was nevertheless put under arrest, but a court of inquiry being held, he was honourably acquitted. the objects of the first expedition had been fully accomplished, viz. to reconnoitre, with a view to future operations, when the squadron should be rendered efficient; but more especially to ascertain the inclinations of the peruvians with regard to their desire for emancipation--a point of the first importance to chili, as being obliged to be constantly on the alert for her own newly-acquired liberties, so long as the spaniards were in undisturbed possession of peru. to the accomplishment of these objects had been superadded the restriction of the spanish naval force to the shelter of the forts, the defeat of their military forces wherever encountered, and the capture of no inconsiderable amount of treasure. it had, however, become evident to me that the passive system of defence which the spaniards adopted in callao, would render it a difficult matter to get at them without more effective means than the guns of the ships, which were greatly inferior in number to those of the enemy's fortress and shipping combined, whilst their experience in the use of artillery was greater than that of our crews. the supreme director having paid a visit to the squadron--on the st of june i addressed to him a letter, stating my apprehension that the finances of the government might be limited, and that i would gladly give up to the exigencies of the republic the whole of my share of prize-money taken during our recent cruize, provided it were applied to the manufacture of rockets. this offer was declined, with a compliment from the supreme director, on the advantage already gained, by compelling the spaniards ignominiously to shut "themselves up in their port, in spite of their numerical superiority." complimentary addresses from the chilian people were also presented to me in profusion, and a public panegyric was pronounced at the national institute of the capital, upon the service rendered; but as this was only a recapitulation of what has been already narrated--conveyed in flowery rhetorical phrases--in the use of which the occidentals are almost as expert, and often as exaggerated, as are the orientals--i shall refrain from giving it. suffice it to say, that the people were not a little delighted with the plain facts, that whereas only a few months before theirs had been the blockaded port, they were now able to beard the enemy in his stronghold, till then believed--both by spaniards and chilians--to be inviolable; and that, with only four ships on our part, the spanish viceroy had been shut up in his capital, and his convoys, both by sea and land, intercepted, whilst his ships of war did not venture to emerge from their shelter under the batteries of callao. the manufacture of rockets was now carried on in earnest, under the superintendence of mr. goldsack, an eminent engineer, who had been engaged in england for the purpose. from a mistaken notion of parsimony, the labour of constructing and filling them was allotted to a number of spanish prisoners, with what result will appear in the sequel. in these and other preparations two months were consumed, in the course of which another vessel--an american built corvette--was added to the squadron, and named by the supreme director the _independencia_. during my absence lady cochrane chiefly resided at valparaiso, where she diligently employed herself in promoting objects essential to the welfare of the squadron; after a time removing to a delightful country house at quillota, where her life was endangered by a ruffian in the interest of the spanish faction. this man, having gained admission to her private apartment, threatened her with instant death if she would not divulge the secret orders which had been given to me. on her declaring firmly that she would not divulge anything, a struggle took place for a paper which she picked off a table; and before her attendants could come to her assistance she received a severe cut from a stiletto. the assassin was seized, condemned, and ordered for execution, without the last offices of the catholic religion. in the dead of the night preceding the day fixed for his execution, lady cochrane was awoke by loud lamentations beneath her window. on sending to ascertain the cause, the wretched wife of the criminal was found imploring her ladyship's intercession that her husband should not be deprived of the benefits of confession and absolution. forgiving the atrocity of the act, lady cochrane, on the following morning used all her influence with the authorities, not for this alone, but to save the man's life, and at length wrung from them a reluctant consent to commute his punishment to banishment for life. chapter ii. second expedition to peru--disappointment at not being provided with troops--failure of rockets--departure for arica--capture of pisco--capture of spanish ships at puna--determine to make an attempt on valdivia--arrival off that port, and capture of spanish brig of war potrillo--troops obtained from conception--flag-ship nearly wrecked--attack on forts, and conquest of valdivia. on the th of september, , i again sailed for the peruvian coast, with admiral blanco as second in command. the squadron consisted of the _o'higgins, san martin, lautaro, independencia_, and _puyrredon_, the _galvarino_ and _araucano_ not being in readiness. two vessels accompanied the squadron, to be afterwards fitted up as fire-ships. the government was exceedingly anxious that some decisive blow should be at once struck. with the exception of the rockets, the squadron was in little better condition than before, a loan having failed, whilst , dollars only were subscribed by the merchants. the crews for the most part consisted of _cholos_, or native peasants, whom it was difficult to shape into good seamen, though they fought gallantly when well led. the officers were nearly all english or north american, this being a redeeming feature, but very few of them possessed the tact to bring up the men to anything like a seaman-like standard; a by no means easy task however, as a considerable portion of those embarked did duty both as marines and seamen. i begged of the government to supply me with , troops, asserting that even with that number of men it would be possible to take the castles of callao, and destroy the whole of the spanish shipping in the harbour. i was assured that this force had been provided, and was in readiness to embark at coquimbo, where, on my arrival on the th, in place of , troops i found only !--and these in so ragged a condition, that a subscription of dollars was raised by the inhabitants, and given to major miller to buy clothing for them. i was so much annoyed at this, as to be on the point of returning to valparaiso to throw up my commission; but, reflecting that the squadron was in possession of rockets, and that the government might even yet forward a military force, i made up my mind to proceed, and on the th the squadron again came to an anchor in callao roads. the two following days were occupied in making rocket rafts, and in getting ready life-preservers for the men, in case of their falling from the rafts. on the st of october the _galvarino, puyrredon_, and _araucano_, stood into the bay to reconnoitre, and sustained a heavy fire from the shore, upon which i ordered the _independencia_ to their aid; but that vessel was brought to an anchor when at the distance of several miles from them. on the same day lieutenant-colonel charles, a most able and gallant officer, reconnoitred in a boat, and made trial of some rockets, upon which he reported unfavourably. in this affair the mast of the _araucano_ was struck by a round shot, and severely damaged--the circumstance being merely mentioned to shew the state in which the squadron was equipped; the only means of repairing the damage being by fishing the mast with an anchor-stock taken from the _lautaro_, whilst an axe had to be borrowed for the purpose from the flag-ship! on the nd, the _araucano_ again went in, accompanied by a squadron of boats under the command of captain guise, and fired several rockets, but with no perceptible effect--the spaniards having unrigged their ships; the brig sustained considerable damage from the firing of the forts and shipping. after dark, an attack by rockets and shells was arranged, the _galvarino_ taking in tow a mortar raft, under the command of major miller, and placing it, under a heavy fire, within half a mile of the enemy's batteries. the _puyrredon_ followed with another raft, carrying the shells and magazine; the _araucano_ took charge of a rocket-raft, under captain hind, whilst the _independencia_ towed in a second rocket-raft, under lieut-colonel charles, the rest of the squadron remaining at anchor. great expectations were formed, as well by myself as the whole squadron, as to the effect to be produced by these destructive missiles, but they were doomed to disappointment, the rockets turning out utterly useless. some, in consequence of the badness of the solder used, bursting from the expansive force of the charge before they left the raft, and setting fire to others--captain hind's raft being blown up from this cause, thus rendering it useless, besides severely burning him and thirteen men: others took a wrong direction in consequence of the sticks not having been formed of proper wood, whilst the greater portion would not ignite at all from a cause which was only discovered when too late. it has been stated in the last chapter that the filling of the tubes was, from motives of parsimony, entrusted to spanish prisoners, who, as was found on examination, had embraced every opportunity of inserting handfulls of sand, sawdust, and even manure, at intervals in the tubes, thus impeding the progress of combustion, whilst in the majority of instances they had so thoroughly mixed the neutralizing matter with the ingredients supplied, that the charge would not ignite at all, the result being complete failure in the object of the expedition. it was impossible to blame the spanish prisoners in the chilian arsenal for their loyalty, but to me their ingenuity was a bitter ground for disappointment, as with useless rockets we were no better off than in the first expedition; nor indeed so well off, for in the interval the spaniards had so strengthened their booms at the anchorage, as to render it impossible for the ships to get at them--whilst, by constant practice, their fire had acquired a precision which our crews could not equal. the only damage effected was by major miller's mortar, the shells sinking a gun-boat, and doing some execution in the forts and amongst the shipping. as daylight appeared, i ordered the whole of the rafts to be towed off, there being no further use in their remaining exposed to the heavy fire of the batteries. as it was, our loss was trifling, only about twenty being killed and wounded; but amongst these i had to regret the death of a promising young officer, lieut. bealey, who was cut in two by a round shot. the failure of the rockets was very unfairly attributed by the chilian government to mr. goldsack, whereas the fault lay in itself for having neither supplied him with proper workmen nor materials. from the scarcity and high, price of spelter, he had also been compelled to make use of an inferior solder for the tubes, and thus the saving of a few hundred dollars frustrated the success of a great object. the consequence to poor goldsack was utter ruin, though of his capability there could be no question, he having for many years been one of the principal assistants of sir w. congreve at woolwich. by the th, one of the explosion vessels was completed, and i resolved to try her effect on the booms and shipping, for which purpose she was placed in charge of lieut. morgell, who carried her in gallant style towards the enemy's shipping, but the wind falling calm, she became a target for their really excellent practice, and was in a short time riddled through and through. as the spaniards began to fire red-hot shot, lieut. morgell was compelled to abandon her, first setting fire to the train, then turning her adrift, thus causing her to explode, though at a distance which did no damage to the enemy. whilst this was going on, a strange sail was reported off the bay, and the _araucano_ went in chase, captain crosbie returning the next morning with the intelligence that she was a frigate. upon this, the squadron got under weigh, in pursuit, when she made all sail, and as i did not deem it expedient to quit the bay of callao, the chase was given up, and we returned in the evening to our former anchorage. it was afterwards learned that she was the _prueba_, of guns, just arrived from cadiz; whence she had convoyed another ship, with a cargo valued at half a million of dollars; this ship contriving to slip into callao during the short absence of the squadron in pursuit of the frigate, so that we lost both prizes. it was useless to remain any longer at callao, as my instructions peremptorily commanded me not to approach with the ships within range of the enemy's batteries, nor to make any attempt on their squadron, except with the rockets and fire-ships. i was moreover ordered to return within a given time to valparaiso, these restrictions being insisted on by the minister of marine, ostensibly from what he considered my temerity in having attacked the forts and shipping at callao on the first expedition--but really, from his own narrow-minded jealousy, that i, a foreigner, should effect anything which might give me undue prominence in the estimation of the chilian people. i had, however, other reasons for quitting callao. the newly-arrived spanish frigate _prueba_, was at large, and as i had reason to believe, was sheltering at guayaquil, from which port i made up my mind to dislodge her. the government had not sent any of the promised supplies for the squadron, which was running short of provisions, so that it was necessary to resort to my former practice of compelling the spaniards to furnish them; whilst as no troops had been supplied, it was clear that there had never been an intention of sending any; the assurance of the minister of marine that they were waiting for me at coquimbo being only a _ruse_ on his part to get me to sea without a military force. we now received intelligence that the _prueba_ had been accompanied from spain by two line of battle ships, and that these were daily expected at arica, whither i proceeded in quest of them, but was disappointed in not finding them. it was subsequently learned, that although they had sailed from cadiz, in company with the _prueba_, they never reached the pacific, one of them, the _europe_, being pronounced unseaworthy on crossing the line; and the other, the _elmo_, foundering on the passage round cape horn! on the th of november, three hundred and fifty troops--now brought by the experience and zeal of lieut.-col. charles into a tolerably soldier-like condition--were distributed on board the _lautaro, galvarino_, and the remaining fire-ship, and were despatched to pisco, under the command of captain guise, for supplies to be taken from the spaniards, the troops being under the orders of lieut.-col. charles, and the marines under the direction of major miller. as it was not improbable that the expected spanish ships would make for callao, whilst it was more than probable that the _prueha_ would again attempt to run in, i therefore proceeded towards that port, and on the th anchored at san lorenzo, the united states frigate _macedonia_ being also at anchor there. the presence of the latter put the spaniards on their mettle, for shortly after our arrival, they made a show of sending twenty-seven gun-boats to attack us, not however, venturing to get their frigates under weigh. preparations being made on our part to cut off the gun-boats, they quickly retreated, to the no small amusement of the north americans, for whose edification the spectacle had been exhibited. i was not mistaken in the expectation that the _prueba_ might again attempt to take shelter under the forts of callao. on her appearance, we immediately gave chase, but she once more escaped in the night. on my return, i fell in with, and captured her boat, which had been sent ashore with despatches to the viceroy, and from the information gained from the crew, i now felt certain that she would take refuge in guayaquil, whither i determined to follow her. before doing so in the narrative, the success of the expedition despatched to pisco must be mentioned. it was the intention of the officers commanding to land in the night, and thus take the garrison by surprise; but this plan was frustrated by the wind dying away, so that the landing could not be effected till broad daylight, when the garrison, supported by field artillery and cavalry, were prepared to receive them. nothing daunted, the patriot troops landed without firing a shot, through the fire of the guns, whilst the spanish infantry from house tops, and the church tower, thinned their ranks at every step. at length it came to the bayonet, for which the spaniards did not wait, but rushed into the square of the town, after having mortally wounded the brave col. charles. major miller instantly followed, when their last volley in the square, before flying in all directions, brought down him also, with three bullets in his body, so that his life was despaired of. the ships remained for four days, during which they obtained all they wanted; but , gallons of spirits, placed on the beach for shipment, was destroyed by order of captain guise, in consequence of his not being able to control the men, who, from the facility of obtaining liquor, were becoming unmanageable. on the th, the _galvarino_ and _lautaro_ rejoined me at santa, which place had previously been taken possession of by the marines left on board the flag-ship. on the st, i despatched the _san martin, independencia,_ and _araucano_ to valparaiso, together with a transport filled with sick--an epidemic of a destructive nature having broken out on board the squadron. this disease, which carried off many men, had been introduced on board by the minister of marine's army of ninety men, shipped at coquimbo. i now proceeded in search of the _prueba_, with the flag-ship, _lautaro, galvarino_, and _puyrredon_. on the th, we entered the river guayaquil, and leaving the _lautaro_ and the brigs outside, the flag-ship crowded all sail during the night--though without a pilot--arriving next morning at the island of puna, under which two large vessels were anchored, and instantly attacked, when, after a brisk fire of twenty minutes, they struck, proving to be the _aguila_, of guns, and _vigonia_, of guns, both laden with timber, destined for lima. the village of puna was also taken possession of. on rejoining the other vessels with the prizes, they were found ready to sail, imagining from the firing that i had fallen in with the _prueba_, and might possibly get the worst of the contest. the _prueba_ was at guayaquil as had been anticipated, but having been lightened of her guns and stores she had been towed up the river, where, from the shallowness of the water, it was impossible to get at her; whilst, as she lay under the protection of the batteries, i did not deem it practicable to cut her out with the boats. a circumstance here occurred which would not be worth mentioning, did it not bear upon future matters. captains guise and spry--imagining that i should now return to valparaiso, and that the comparative failure of the expedition would be attributed to me, instead of to the worthless rockets, and to my instructions not to attempt anything beyond their use--endeavoured to get up a mutiny, by circulating a report that i did not intend to permit the ships left outside to share in the prizes, and had indeed left them behind for this purpose; having also permitted my officers to plunder the prizes _ad libitum_, before leaving the river--further declaring, that i intended to claim a double share, from having acted in the capacity of admiral and captain. as there was not the slightest doubt of their having sedulously circulated these reports, with the object of entering the port of valparaiso with the squadron in a discontented condition, i determined to take serious notice of their conduct. on the necessary steps being taken, they both pledged their honour that they had not made or even heard of such a report! but i had no intention to return to valparaiso, and still less to make officers so inimical to me acquainted with my future plans. on the th of december, major miller was so far recovered as to be removed on board the flag-ship, after which i despatched the _lautaro_ to valparaiso with the two prizes, first transferring to her armament the beautiful brass guns taken in the _vigonia_; leaving the _galvarino_ and _puyrredon_ to watch the movements of the spanish frigate. as the reader may suppose, i was greatly annoyed at having been foiled at callao, from causes altogether beyond my control, for the bad rockets, and worse faith of the minister of marine in not supplying me with the promised troops, were no faults of mine. my instructions, as has been said, were carefully drawn up to prevent my doing anything rash--as the first trip to callao had been represented by certain officers under my command, who had no great relish for fighting. at the same time the chilian people expected impossibilities; and i had, for some time, been revolving in my mind a plan to achieve one which should gratify them, and allay my own wounded feelings. i had now only one ship, so that there were no other inclinations to consult; and felt quite sure of major miller's concurrence where there was any fighting to be done, though a ball in the arm, another through the chest, passing out at his back, and a left hand shattered for life, were not very promising fighting incentives as far as physical force was concerned, yet the moral courage of my gallant guest was untouched, and his capacity to carry out my plans was greater than before, as being more matured by sharp experience. my design was, with the flag-ship alone, to capture by a _coup de main_ the numerous forts and garrison of valdivia, a fortress previously deemed impregnable, and thus to counteract the disappointment which would ensue in chili from our want of success before callao. the enterprise was a desperate one; nevertheless, i was not about to do anything desperate, having resolved that, unless fully satisfied as to its practicability, i would not attempt it. rashness, though often imputed to me, forms no part of my composition. there is a rashness without calculation of consequences; but with that calculation, well-founded, it is no longer rashness. and thus, now that i was unfettered by people who did not second my operations as they ought to have done, i made up my mind to take valdivia, if the attempt came within the scope of my calculations. the first step clearly was to reconnoitre the place, where the flag-ship arrived on the th of january, , under spanish colours, and made a signal for a pilot, who--as the spaniards mistook the _o'higgins_ for the long-expected _prueba_--promptly came off, together with a complimentary retinue of an officer and four soldiers, all of whom were made prisoners as soon as they came on board. the pilot was ordered to take us into the channels leading to the forts, whilst the officer and his men, knowing there was little chance of finding their way on shore again, thought it most conducive to their interests to supply all the information demanded, the result being increased confidence on my part as to the possibility of a successful attack. amongst other information obtained was the expected arrival of the spanish brig of war _potrillo_, with money on board for the payment of the garrison. as we were busily employing ourselves in inspecting the channels, the officer commanding the garrison began to suspect that our object might not altogether be pacific, this suspicion being confirmed by the detention of his officer. suddenly a heavy fire was opened upon us from the various forts, to which we did not reply, but, our reconnoissance being now completed, withdrew beyond its reach. having occupied two days in reconnoitring--on the third the _potrillo_ hove in sight; and being also deceived by our spanish colours was captured without a shot-- , dollars and some important despatches being found on board. as nothing could be done without troops, with which the chilian ministers had been careful not to supply me, i determined to sail to conception, where governor freire had a considerable force to keep in check the savage tribes of indians whom the spaniards employed, under the monster benavides and his brother, to murder the defenceless patriots. on the nd of january we anchored in talcahuano bay, where we found the buenos ayrean brig _intrepido_ and the chilian schooner _montezuma_. governor freire received us with great hospitality; and after explanation of my plans, placed two hundred and fifty men at my disposal, under the command of a gallant frenchman, major beauchef; notwithstanding that freire was on the eve of attacking benavides, and by thus weakening his division might incur the displeasure of the government. no time was lost in embarking the men in the three vessels, the _montezuma_ being taken into the service, and the buenos ayrean brig volunteering to accompany us. it was highly praiseworthy on the part of general freire to place these troops under my orders, inasmuch as they were destined for a service in the praise of which, even if successful, he could not participate; whilst, if unsuccessful, he would certainly have incurred great blame. he knew, moreover, that the ministry had refrained from supplying me with regular troops; yet he not only generously contributed them, but pledged himself not to communicate my plans to the government; our destination being even kept secret from the officers, who were told not to encumber themselves with baggage, as we were only going to tucapel, in order to harass the enemy at arauco, thus making it appear that we were about to aid general freire against benavides, instead of his aiding us to capture valdivia. but our difficulties, though we had obtained the troops, were not at an end. the flag-ship had only two naval officers on board, one of these being under arrest for disobedience of orders, whilst the other was incapable of performing the duty of lieutenant; so that i had to act as admiral, captain, and lieutenant, taking my turn in the watch--or rather being constantly on the watch--as the only available officer was so incompetent. we sailed from talcahuano on the th of january, when i communicated my intentions to the military officers, who displayed great eagerness in the cause--alone questioning their success from motives of prudence. on explaining to them that if unexpected projects are energetically put in execution they almost invariably succeed, in spite of odds, they willingly entered into my plans; and major miller's health being now sufficiently re-established, his value as a commander was as great as ever. on the night of the th, we were off the island of quiriquina, in a dead calm. from excessive fatigue in the execution of subordinate duties, i had laid down to rest, leaving the ship in charge of the lieutenant, who took advantage of my absence to retire also, surrendering the watch to the care of a midshipman, who fell asleep. knowing our dangerous position, i had left strict orders to be called the moment a breeze sprang up, but these orders were neglected, and a sudden wind taking the ship unawares, the midshipman, in attempting to bring her round, ran her upon the sharp edge of a rock, where she lay beating, suspended, as it were, upon her keel, and had the swell increased, she must inevitably have gone to pieces. we were forty miles from the mainland, the brig and schooner being both out of sight. the first impulse both of officers and crew was to abandon the ship, but as we had six hundred men on board, whilst not more than a hundred and fifty could have entered the boats, this would have been but a scramble for life. pointing out to the men that those who escaped could only reach the coast of arauco, where they would meet nothing but torture and inevitable death at the hands of the indians, i with some difficulty got them to adopt the alternative of attempting to save the ship. the first sounding gave five feet water in the hold, and the pumps were entirely out of order. our carpenter, who was only one by name, was incompetent to repair them; but having myself some skill in carpentry i took off my coat, and by midnight got them into working order, the water meanwhile gaining on us, though the whole crew were engaged in bailing it out with buckets. to our great delight the leak did not increase, upon which i got out the stream anchor, and commenced heaving off the ship, the officers clamouring first to ascertain the extent of the leak. this i expressly forbade, as calculated to damp the energy of the men, whilst as we now gained on the leak, there was no doubt the ship would swim as far as valdivia, which was the chief point to be regarded, the capture of the fortress being my object, after which the ship might be repaired at leisure. as there was no lack of physical force on board, she was at length floated; but the powder magazine having been under water, the ammunition of every kind--except a little upon deck and in the cartouch boxes of the troops--was rendered unserviceable; though about this i cared little, as it involved the necessity of using the bayonet in our anticipated attack, and to facing this weapon the spaniards had, in every case, evinced a rooted aversion. before making the land to the southward of punta galera, the troops in the _o'higgins_ as well as the marines, were, in a high sea, removed into the _intrepido_ and _montezuma_, to which i shifted my flag, ordering the _o'higgins_ to stand off and on out of sight of land, to avoid creating suspicion. we then made for the harbour, intending to land the same evening and take the spaniards by surprise, but, as it fell calm, this plan was frustrated. the fortifications of valdivia are placed on both sides of a channel three quarters of a mile in width, and command the entrance, anchorage, and river leading to the town, crossing their fire in all directions so effectually, that with proper caution on the part of the garrison no ship could enter without suffering severely, while she would be equally exposed at anchor. the principal forts on the western shore are placed in the following order:--el ingles, san carlos, amargos, chorocomayo alto, and corral castle. those on the eastern side are niebla, directly opposite amargos, and piojo; whilst on the island of manzanera is a strong fort mounted with guns of large calibre, commanding the whole range of the entrance channel. these forts, with a few others, amounted in the whole to fifteen, and in the hands of a skilful garrison would render the place almost impregnable, the shores on which they stand being almost inaccesible by reason of the surf, with the exception of a small landing place at the aguada del ingles. it was to this landing-place that we first directed our attention, anchoring the brig and schooner off the guns of fort ingles, on the afternoon of feb. rd, amidst a swell which rendered immediate disembarkation impracticable. the troops were carefully kept below; and to avert the suspicion of the spaniards, we had trumped up a story of our having just arrived from cadiz, and being in want of a pilot: upon which they told us to send a boat for one. to this we replied, that our boats had been washed away in the passage round cape horn. not being quite satisfied, they began to assemble troops at the landing-place, firing alarm guns, and rapidly bringing up the garrisons of the western forts to fort ingles, but not molesting us. unfortunately for the credit of the story about the loss of the boats, which were at the time carefully concealed under the lee of the vessels, one drifted astern, so that our object became apparent, and the guns of fort ingles, under which we lay, forthwith opened upon us, the first shots passing through the sides of the _intrepido_, and killing two men, so that it became necessary to land in spite of the swell. we had only two launches and a gig, into which i entered to direct the operation, major miller, with forty-four marines, pushing off in the first launch, under the fire of the party at the landing place, by which the coxswain being wounded, the major had to take the helm, and whilst doing this, received a ball through his hat, grazing the crown of his head. ordering a few only of his party to fire, the whole leaped ashore at the landing place, driving the spaniards, before them at the point of the bayonet. the second launch now pushed off from the intrepido, and, in this way, in less than an hour, three hundred men had made good their footing on shore. the most difficult task--the capture of the forts--was to come; the only way in which the first, fort ingles, could be approached being by a precipitous path, along which the men could only pass in single file; the fort itself being inaccessible except by a ladder, which the enemy, after being routed by major miller, had drawn up. as soon as it was dark, a picked party, under the guidance of one of the spanish prisoners, silently advanced to the attack, expecting to fall in with a body of the enemy outside the fort, but all having re-entered, our men were unopposed. this party having taken up its position, the main body moved forward, cheering and firing in the air, to intimate to the spaniards that their chief reliance was on the bayonet. the enemy, meanwhile, kept up an incessant fire of artillery and musketry in the direction of the shouts, but without effect, as no aim could be taken in the dark. whilst the patriots were thus noisily advancing, a gallant young officer, ensign vidal--who had previously distinguished himself at santa--got under the inland flank of the fort, and with a few men, contrived unperceived to tear up some pallisades, by which a bridge was made across the ditch, whereby he and his small party entered, and formed noiselessly under cover of some branches of trees which overhung it, the garrison directing their whole attention to the shouting patriots in an opposite direction. a volley from vidal's party convinced the spaniards that they had been taken in flank. without waiting to ascertain the number of those who had outflanked them, they instantly took to flight, filling with a like panic a column of three hundred men, drawn up behind the fort. the chilians, who were now well up, bayoneted them by dozens, in their efforts to gain the other forts, which were opened to receive them; the patriots thus entering at the same time, and driving them from fort to fort into the castle of corral, together with two hundred more, who had abandoned some guns advantageously placed on a height at fort chorocomayo. the corral was stormed with equal rapidity, a number of the enemy escaping in boats to valdivia, others plunging into the forest; whilst upwards of a hundred, besides officers, fell into our hands, the like number being found bayoneted on the following morning. our loss was seven men killed, and nineteen wounded. the spaniards had, no doubt, regarded their position as impregnable, which, considering its difficulty of access and almost natural impenetrability, it ought to have been, if properly defended. they had only found out their error when too late, thus justifying my former remark to the military officers, that an attack where least expected is almost invariably crowned with success. much less had the spaniards calculated on a night attack, the most favourable of all to the attacking party, as necessitating unity of action--and the least favourable of all to the party attacked, as inspiring doubt and panic, almost certain to end in irresolution and defeat. the garrison consisted of the cantabria regiment of the line, numbering about eight hundred, with whom was associated a militia of upwards of a thousand. on the th, the _intrepido_ and _montezuma_, which had been left at the aguada inglesa, entered the harbour, being fired at in their passage by fort niebla on the eastern shore. on their coming to an anchor at the corral, two hundred men were again embarked to attack forts niebla, carbonero, and piojo. the _o'higgins_ now appearing in sight off the mouth of the harbour, the spaniards abandoned the forts on the eastern side, no doubt judging that as the western forts had been captured without the aid of the frigate, they had--now that she had arrived--no chance of successfully defending them; the patriot troops were therefore disembarked at fort niebla till the tide served to take them to the town of valdivia. in crossing the harbour, the _intrepido_, from want of precaution in taking soundings, grounded on a bank in the channel, where, bilged by the surf, she finally became a wreck. nor was the _o'higgins_ in a much better condition, as, from the injury sustained at quiriquina, it became necessary to put her ashore on a mud bank, as the sole means of saving her from going down in deep water, so that the only vessel left was the little schooner _montezuma_. on the th, the troops were again embarked to pursue the flying garrison up the river, when we received a flag of truce informing us that the enemy had abandoned the town, after plundering the private houses and magazines; and, together with the governor, colonel montoya, had fled in the direction of chiloe. from the disorders which were committed by the spaniards, previous to their retreat, the town was in great consternation, many of the inhabitants having also fled; a proclamation issued by me, to the effect that no one should be molested in person or property, had, however, the effect of inducing them to return; and an additional order immediately to choose for themselves a governor, at once restored peace and tranquillity--the disposition of the people being for the most part good, whilst any leaning which might have existed in favour of spanish rule was dissipated by the excesses which, previous to their flight, the royalist troops had committed. the fortifications were so numerous, that at first it was my intention to destroy them and embark the artillery, as the spaniards who had escaped to chiloe--where another spanish regiment was stationed--might return after my departure and recover them, the force which could be spared to garrison them being insignificant when distributed amongst fifteen forts. on further reflection, i could not make up my mind to destroy fortresses, the erection of which had cost upwards of a million of dollars, and which chili would find it difficult to replace; and therefore determined on leaving them intact, with their artillery and ammunition, intending, before my return to valparaiso, to render the rout of the spaniards who had escaped, yet more complete. the booty which fell into our hands, exclusive of the value of the forts and public buildings, was considerable, valdivia being the chief military depot in the southern part of the continent. amongst the military stores, were upwards of , cwt. of gunpowder, , cannon shot, of which , were brass, , musket cartridges, a large quantity of small arms, guns, of which were brass, and the remainder iron; the ship _dolores_, afterwards sold at valparaiso for , dollars, with public stores, also sold for the like value; and plate, of which general sanchez had previously stripped the churches of conception, valued at , dollars. from correspondence found in the archives of valdivia, it was clear that quintanilla, the governor of chiloe, had serious apprehensions of a revolt at san carlos, so that, in place of returning to valparaiso, i resolved to see what could be effected there. the loss of the _intrepido_ was a serious drawback to our means of transporting troops, and the flag-ship would no longer float; as, however, we had possession of the _dolores_, it was resolved to crowd into her and the _montezuma_ all the troops that could be spared, leaving major beauchef the whole of those brought from conception. meanwhile, i despatched a _piragua_ to valparaiso with the intelligence of our success; the unexpected news, as was afterwards learned, creating such an amount of popular enthusiasm as had never before been witnessed in chili. the most amusing part of the affair was, that by the time my despatches announcing our victory reached vaparaiso, the other ships of the squadron had also arrived, when captain guise and his officers had attributed our rocket failure at callao to my want of skill in their use; the inference desired, being my want of capability to command a squadron. not a word of blame was then attributed to poor goldsack, who had superintended their manufacture, as indeed none was deserved, though the blame afterwards attributed to him ended as before stated in his ruin. to this alleged want of professional skill on my part, zenteno had drawn up an elaborate accusation against me of disobedience to orders, in not having returned, according to my instructions; the whole _clique_ felicitating themselves on my dismissal with disgrace. even the people did not know what judgment to form, as all materials for forming an opinion were kept from them, whilst every pretence tending to my discredit was carefully made known. on news of the victory, all this was immediately hushed up--the ministers, to retrieve their own credit, joined in the popular enthusiasm, which it would have been unavailing to thwart--and poor goldsack was overwhelmed with reproach for the failure of his rockets, though the whole blame rested with the government in having employed spanish prisoners as his workmen. chapter iii. departure for chiloe--preparations of the enemy--capture of fort corona--failure at fort aguy, and subsequent retreat--return to valdivia--capture of osorio--return to valparaiso--enthusiastic reception--chagrin of the ministry--importance of conquest of valdivia in a political point of view--promotion of officers under arrest--employment of indians by the spaniards--career of benavides--mutinous spirit of the seamen in consequence of their captures being appropriated by government--resignation of my commission--refusal thereof--renewed offer of an estate--this again declined--seamen obtain their wages--private purchase of an estate--government gives notice of taking it--appointment of flag captain against my wishes--annoyance given to me by minister of marine--renewed resignation of the command--officers of the squadron resign in a body--government begs of me to retain the command--my consent--general san martin--the senate--zenteno--corruption of parties in the administration. having provided for the safety of the city and province of valdivia, by establishing a provisional government, and left major beauchef with his own troops to maintain order--on the th of february, i sailed with the _montezuma_ schooner, and our prize the _dolores_, for the island of chiloe, taking with me two hundred men, under the command of major miller, my object being to wrest chiloe from spain, as i had done valdivia. unfortunately, the services of the flag-ship, the _o'higgins_, were not available, there being no way of rendering her seaworthy, without tedious repairs, for which there was no time, as our success depended on attacking chiloe before the governor had leisure to prepare for defence. neither of our vessels being armed for fighting, i depended altogether upon major miller and our handful of soldiers to oppose a thousand regular troops, besides a numerous militia; but having been informed that the garrison was in a mutinous state, i calculated that by judicious management, they might be induced to join the patriot cause. unluckily, our design had got wind, and the spanish governor, quintanilla, a judicious officer, had managed to conciliate them. on coming to an anchor on the th, at huechucucay, we found a body of infantry and cavalry, with a field-piece, ready to dispute our landing; but drawing off their attention by a feigned attack upon a distant spot, and thus dividing them into two parties, major miller got on shore, and soon routed them, capturing their field-piece. a night attack being decided upon, the troops, a hundred and seventy in number, moved on under the direction of a guide, who, wilfully or treacherously, misled them, the men thus wandering about in the dark throughout the whole night. at dawn, they found their way to fort corona, which, with a detached battery, was taken without loss. halting for a short time to refresh the men, major miller bravely, but too precipitately, moved on fort aguy, in broad daylight; this fort being the stronghold of the enemy, mounting twelve guns, with others flanking the only accessible path by which entrance could be gained, and being garrisoned by three companies of regulars, two companies of militia, and a full proportion of artillerymen. the fort stood on a hill, washed on one side by the sea, and having on the other an impenetrable forest, the only access being by a narrow path, whilst the means of retreat for the garrison was by the same path, so that the attack became for the latter a matter of life and death, since, in case of defeat, there was no mode of escape, as at valdivia. in spite of these odds, and the spectacle of two fanatical friars on the ramparts, with lance in one hand, and crucifix in the other, urging on the garrison to resist to the death the handful of aggressors--the indomitable courage of miller did not allow him to remain in the forts he had already taken till nightfall, when he would have been comparatively safe by attacking in the dark. choosing out of his small band a forlorn hope of sixty men, he perilled his own safety, upon which so much depended, by leading them in person; every gun and musket of the enemy being concentrated on a particular angle of the path which he must needs pass. as the detachment reached the spot, a shower of grape and musketry mowed down the whole, twenty out of the sixty being killed outright, whilst nearly all the rest were mortally wounded. seeing their gallant commander fall, the marines, who were waiting to follow, dashed through the fire, and brought him off, with a grape-shot through his thigh, and the bones of his right foot crushed by a round shot. another dash by the force which remained brought off the whole of the wounded, though adding fearfully to their numbers. this having been accomplished, captain erescano, who succeeded to the command, ordered a retreat; the spaniards, animated by success, and urged on by the friars, following just within musket-shot, and making three separate attacks, which were on each occasion repelled, though from the killed and wounded, the pursuers were now fully six times their number. nevertheless one-half of the diminished band kept the enemy at bay, whilst the other half spiked the guns, broke up the gun-carriages, and destroyed the military stores in the forts captured in the morning, when they resumed their march to the beach, followed by the spaniards as before. the marines who, with affectionate fidelity, had borne off major miller, had been careful to protect him from fire, though two out of the three who carried him were wounded in the act; and when, on arriving at the beach, they were invited by him to enter the boat, one of them, a gallant fellow named roxas, of whom i had spoken highly in my despatches from valdivia, on account of his distinguished bravery, refused, saying, "no, sir, i was the first to land, and i mean to be the last to go on board." he kept his word; for on his commander being placed in safety, he hastened back to the little band, now nearly cut up, and took his share in the retreat, being the last to get into the boats. such were the chilenos, of whom the mean jealousy of the minister of marine, zenteno, refused to allow me a thousand for operations at callao--which could have been conducted with ease, as valdivia had been captured with less than a third of that number. our force being now seriously diminished, and feeling convinced that the fanatics of chiloe were devoted to the cause of spain, there was nothing left but to return to valdivia, where, finding that the spaniards who had been dispersed in the neighbourhood were committing excesses, i despatched major beauchef with men to osorio to secure that town, the relief being accepted with great joy even by the indians, of whom, wrote major beauchef to me, "i have embraced more than a thousand caciques and their followers. they have all offered their services to fight in the patriotic cause; but as circumstances do not require this, i have invited them to return to their own lands, and have received their promises to be ready if the country should call for their services." the spaniards being driven from osorio, the flag of chili was, on the th of february, hoisted on the castle by major beauchef, who returned to valdivia. there being nothing further to require my presence, i placed the _o'higgins_ under the orders of my secretary, mr. bennet, to superintend her repairs, and embarked in the _montezuma_, for valparaiso, taking with me five spanish officers who had been made prisoners, amongst whom was colonel fausto de hoyos, the commandant of the cantabria regiment. on my departure, the spaniards, elated by their success at chiloe, combined with those who had been driven from valdivia, in an attempt to recover their lost possessions, but major beauchef, having timely intelligence of their intention, set out to meet them. a number of volunteers having joined the patriot force, major beauchef on the th of march encountered the enemy on the river toro, and instantly attacked them, when, in about an hour, the spanish officers mounted their horses and fled in a body, leaving the men to their fate. nearly three hundred of these immediately surrendered, and major beauchef--having captured the whole of the arms and baggage--returned in triumph to valdivia. on the th of february, i arrived at valparaiso, in the _montezuma_, amidst the most lively demonstrations of enthusiasm on the part of the populace, and warm expressions of gratitude from the supreme director. but my reception by his ministers was wholly different. zenteno, through whose orders i had broken, declared, that the conquest of valdivia "was the act of a madman! that i deserved to have lost my life in the attempt; and even now ought to lose my head for daring to attack such a place without instructions, and for exposing the patriot troops to such hazard;" afterwards setting on foot a series of intrigues, having for their object the depreciation of the service which had been rendered, so that i found myself exposed to the greatest possible vexation and annoyance, with not the slightest indication of national acknowledgment or reward to myself, officers, or men. the chagrin of zenteno and the bad passions of his adherents were further enhanced by the congratulatory addresses which poured in on both the supreme director and myself from all parts, the people declaring, contrary to the assertions of zenteno, that i had acted, not from any feeling of personal vanity, but from a conviction of the national utility of the act; and that by its accomplishment the valour of the chilenos had been so displayed as to shew that they had the utmost confidence in their officers, and hence possessed the moral as well as physical courage necessary for further achievements. notwithstanding the envious dissatisfaction of zenteno, the government was compelled, in deference to the popular voice, to award medals to the captors, the decree for this stating that "the capture of valdivia was the happy result of the devising of an admirably arranged plan, and of the most daring and valorous execution." the decree further conferred on me an estate of , quadras from the confiscated lands of conception, which i refused, as no vote of thanks was given by the legislature; this vote i finally obtained as an indemnification to myself for having exceeded my orders; such being necessary after zenteno's expressions of ill-will towards me on account of breaking through instructions. situated as chili then was, it is impossible to over-rate the importance of this acquisition--the capture of a noble harbour protected by fifteen forts, and the magazines with their vast amount of military stores, being even secondary to the political advantages gained by the republic. the annexation of this province, at one blow conferred on chili complete independence, averting the contemplated necessity for fitting out a powerful military expedition for the attainment of that object, vitally essential to her very existence as an independent state; because, so long as valdivia remained in the hands of the spaniards, chili was, in her moments of unguardedness or disunion, in constant danger of losing the liberties she had, as yet, but partially acquired. the resources of the province of valdivia, together with those of conception, had contributed the means whereby the spaniards maintained their hold upon the chilian territory. not only were they deprived of these resources--now added to those of chili--but a great saving was effected by exonerating the republic from the necessity of maintaining a military force in the southern provinces, as a check upon both spaniards and indians, who, at the moment of our conquest of valdivia, were being let loose in all directions against the chilian patriots. setting aside, therefore, the removal of danger, and the complete establishment of independence, the money value alone of the conquest was, to a government of very limited means, of the first importance, as doing away with the necessity of military expenditure, estimated by competent judges at a million of dollars, merely to attempt the accomplishment of an object, which, without any additional cost, i had effected with a single ship, so unseaworthy that she had to be left behind. but the advantage of the conquest did not end here. had it not been for this capture, the spanish power in chili, aided by the indians, would have found it easy to maintain itself in such a country for a protracted period, despite any military force chili was in a condition to bring against it; so that no effective co-operation with the people of peru could have been undertaken--as common prudence would have deterred them from entering into distant revolutionary projects, so long as the spaniards were in possession of any part of the chilian territory; whilst the necessity of defending herself through a protracted civil war, would have prevented chili from aiding in the liberation of peru, which would thus have remained a permanent base of operations for the spaniards to annoy, if not again to recover, the chilian provinces. a further advantage was the successful negociation of a loan of one million sterling in england, which was accomplished solely on account of what had been achieved, every attempt at this having failed so long as the spaniards were in possession of the most important harbour and fortress in the country, from which, as a basis, they might organize future attempts to recover the revolted provinces. notwithstanding these advantages, not a penny in the shape of reward, either for this or any previous service, was paid to myself, the officers, or seamen, nevertheless the government appropriated the money arising from the sale of the _dolores_, and the stores with which she was loaded; neither was there any account taken of the value of the guns and the enormous amount of ammunition left in the forts at valdivia. the men who performed this achievement were literally in rags, and destitute of everything, no attempt being made by the department of marine to lessen their sufferings--for to this extent was their condition reduced. in place of reward, every encouragement was offered to the officers to disobey my orders. two of these i had marked for punishment, for deliberate murder. ensign vidal having captured two spanish officers in fort ingles, they surrendered their swords, receiving the gallant youth's pledge of safety; but captain erescano coming up, immediately butchered them. another case was even worse: ensign latapia, who had been left in command of the castle of corral, after my departure to chiloe, ordered two of his prisoners to be shot; and four officers would have met the same fate, had not my secretary, mr. bennet, taken them on board the _o'higgins_. for this i placed latapia under arrest, making the necessary declarations for a court-martial, and conveyed him as a prisoner to valparaiso, where, in place of being punished, both he and erescano were promoted, and taken into the liberating army of general san martin. i have spoken of the aid afforded to the spaniards by the indians. on the th of march general freire, afterwards supreme director, wrote me a letter congratulatory of my success against valdivia, which he concluded by informing me that its capture had already caused the indians of angol, and their cacique, benavente, to declare in favour of chili, and that he did not doubt but that this would shortly be followed by a similar declaration on the part of the indians throughout the province; general freire not being aware that i had already produced this effect by distributing amongst them an immense quantity of trumpery stores and gewgaws, accumulated by the spaniards in the magazines at valdivia, for the purpose of rewarding murderous inroads into the chilian territory. it will be interesting briefly to note the employment of indians by the spaniards. their agent, or leader, in this horrible warfare, was a wretch named benavides, who may fairly lay claim to the distinction of being the most perfect monster who ever disgraced humanity. he had originally been a common soldier in the buenos ayrean army, and, together with his brother, had _carte blanche_ from the spaniards to commit the most fearful atrocities on the chilian patriots, who could not defend themselves against the stealthy cowardice of indian warfare. his invariable practice was, whenever a village or estate could be surprised, to sew up the leading inhabitants as tightly as possible in raw ox-hides stripped from their own cattle, when, being laid in the burning sun, the contraction of the hides as they dried caused a slow and lingering death of perfect agony, which it was the amusement of himself and the savages whom he led to enjoy whilst smoking their cigars. when any persons of influence fell into his hands, he cut out their tongues, and otherwise horribly mutilated them--a bishop and several other gentlemen surviving as witnesses of his atrocities. valdivia was this man's _point d'appui_, whence he drew his supplies, and when we took the place a small vessel fell into our hands, laden with arms and ammunition for his disposal amongst the indians. she was destined for arauco, and had on board two spanish officers and four non-commissioned officers, sent for the purpose of rendering the indians still more formidable by indoctrinating them into european modes of warfare. the wretch benavides was afterwards bought over by general san martin, and sent to conception for the orders of general freire, who told him to his face that he would have nothing to do with such a monster; whereupon benavides left conception, and commenced a desolating warfare upon the inhabitants of the coast, even refining upon his former barbarities. the country getting too hot for him, he again offered his services to the spaniards, and was on his way to peru in a small vessel, when, being compelled to go ashore for water, in the vicinity of valparaiso, one of his men betrayed him, and he was sent to santiago, where he was hung. the seamen were becoming mutinous, in consequence of neither receiving pay nor prize-money, every promise given being broken, as well to them as to myself. as they looked to me for the vindication of their rights, and, indeed, had only been kept from open outbreak by my assurance that they should be paid, i addressed a letter of expostulation to the supreme director, recounting their services and the ill-merited harshness to which they were exposed at the hands of his ministers, notwithstanding that since their return they had aided the government in the construction of wharves and other conveniences necessary for the embarkation of troops and stores to peru--a military expedition to that country being now decided on. the fact was, that the proceeds of the captures were appropriated by the government, which, to avoid repayment, declared that the conquest of valdivia was a _restoration!_ though the place had never been in possession of chili. on my refusing to allow the stores i had brought from thence to be disembarked, unless as a compensation to the seamen, it was alleged as a reason for the course pursued that even if valdivia had not belonged to the republic, chili did not make war on every section of america. it was therefore put to my liberality and honourable character whether i would not give up to the government all that the squadron had acquired? these views were written by monteagudo, afterwards the willing instrument of general san martin in peru. i asked him, "whether he considered that which had been advanced as just, or according to law?" the reply was, "_certainly not, but i was ordered to write so!_" finding that i would surrender nothing, it was next debated in the council whether i ought not to be brought to a court martial for having delayed and diverted the naval forces of chili to the reduction of valdivia, without the orders of government! no doubt this course would have been decided on but from the unsettled condition of the republic and fear of the populace, who denounced the views of the ministry as heartily as they advocated my proceedings. as nothing in the shape of justice could be obtained for the squadron, on the th of may, i begged his excellency the supreme director to accept the resignation of my commission, as, by retaining it, i should only be instrumental in promoting the ruin which must follow the conduct of his advisers; at the same time telling him i had not accepted it to have my motives misconstrued, and my services degraded as they had been on account of objects which i was unable to divine, unless, indeed, a narrow-minded jealousy, such as that which designated the capture of valdivia, its "_restoration_," though it had never before passed from under the dominion of the spaniards. this course had not been anticipated, though it was not adopted in any spirit of intimidation, but from repugnance to the heartless ingratitude with which important national services had been met. the ministers were, however, thus brought for a time to their senses, the justice of my complaints being acknowledged, and every assurance given that for the future the government would observe good faith towards the squadron. an estate, as has been said, had been offered to me as a reward for my services, which was declined for reasons already adduced. the offer was now renewed, but again declined, as nothing but promises were as yet forthcoming to the service, and the only hold upon the seamen was my personal influence with them, in consequence of my unyielding advocacy of their rights--a hold which i was not likely to forego for a grant to myself. in place, therefore, of accepting the estate, i returned the document conveying the grant, with a request that it might be sold, and the proceeds applied to the payment of the squadron; but the requisition was not complied with. seeing that i was determined not to be trifled with, and shamed by my offer of applying the estate to the payment of the men, general san martin, who was appointed to command the military portion of the expedition to peru, came to valparaiso in june, and on the th of july, the squadron was paid wages in part only, but as i insisted on the whole being liquidated, this was done on the th; but without any portion of their prize-money. my share alone of the value of captures made at and previous to the capture of valdivia was , dollars, and for this i received the assurance of the supreme director that it should be paid to me at the earliest possible moment; upon which i accepted the estate which continued to be pressed upon me, the grant expressing the purpose for which it was given, adding as a reason that "my name should never cease from the land." this estate, situated at rio clara, was, after my departure from chili, forcibly resumed by the succeeding government; and the bailiff, whom i had placed upon it for the purpose of seeing how it could be improved by culture and the introduction of valuable european seeds, was forcibly expelled from its supervision. on my first refusal to accept the estate--for the reason before assigned--in order to convince the chilians how great was my desire to be enrolled amongst the number of their citizens, i purchased a hacienda at herradura, about eight miles from valparaiso. the effect produced by this upon the ministry was almost ludicrous. it was gravely argued amongst them as to what i, a foreigner, could intend by purchasing an estate in chili? the conclusion to which they came being, as i was credibly informed, that as the whole population was with me, i must intend, when opportunity served, to set myself up as the ruler of the republic, relying upon the people for support! such was statesmanship at that day in chili. it so happened, that soon after purchasing this property i pointed out to the government how much better the bay of herradura was calculated for a naval arsenal, than the ill-protected bay of valparaiso; offering at the same time to make them a gratuitous present of all the land required for the establishment of a naval arsenal and marine depot. this offer was, no doubt, construed into an act, on my part, to gain additional popularity--though this, perhaps, would have been no easy matter; and a notice was served upon me not to make any improvements, as the government intended to appropriate the estate--but would not reimburse any outlay, though they would repay me the purchase money, and also for any improvements that had already have been effected! i instantly solicited an explanation of the supreme director, and received an apology, attributing the whole affair to the officiousness of the attorney-general, who had founded his proceeding on an old spanish law; and there, for a time, the matter dropped, but for a time only--viz. so long as the necessities of the state required my services. a new source of annoyance now arose, in all kinds of attempts to lessen my authority in the navy, but as i was always on the alert to maintain my position, these resulted in nothing but defeat to their concoctors. at length an overt act was committed in the appointment of captain spry as my flag captain on board the _o'higgins_, which had been repaired at valdivia, and was now come down to valparaiso. an order to this effect was sent to me, which i promptly refused to obey, adding that captain spry should never tread my quarter-deck as flag captain, and that if my privilege as an admiral were not admitted, the government might consider my command as at an end, for so long as i continued in command of the squadron, i would not permit an executor of my orders to be forced upon me. the point was immediately conceded, and captain crosbie was appointed flag captain. the nomination of spry was, no doubt, meant to control my efforts in the future expedition to peru, the credit of which, if any, was to be reserved for the army. as far as i knew anything of captain spry, i had no personal objections to him, but, restricted as i had been by the minister of marine zenteno, i had great doubts as to the motives for appointments of his making, being convinced that his principal aim was to prevent me from doing anything beyond keeping the spaniards in check, an operation to which i was by no means inclined to accede, as had been evinced by the recent conquest of valdivia, in excess of his instructions. encouraged by the annoyance given to me by the minister of marine and his party, one or two of my captains thought themselves at liberty to manifest a disregard to my authority, which, as their admiral, i did not choose to tolerate. the most influential of these was captain guise, who, having been guilty of several acts of direct disobedience and neglect of duty, was, by my orders, put in arrest, pending a demand made by me that the government should institute a court martial for the investigation of his conduct. this act greatly irritated zenteno, who desired to support him, and refused consent to the inquiry; thus establishing a precedent for the captain of any ship to consider himself independent of the admiral. such an act of folly in violation of the discipline of the navy, no less than of personal insult to myself, determined me to have nothing more to do with the chilian administration, and on july th, i once more transmitted to the government my resignation, at the same time demanding my passport to quit the country, notifying to the officers of the squadron that on the receipt of the same i should cease to command. a meeting was immediately held amongst them, and on the same day, i received--not a valedictory address, as might have been expected--but two letters, one signed by five captains, and the other by twenty-three commissioned officers, containing resolutions of abandoning the service also, at the same time handing in their commissions. to this proof of attachment, i replied, by requesting that they would not sacrifice their own positions on my account, and recommended them not to make their resolutions public till they had further considered the matter, as it might be seriously detrimental to the interests of the country. the following letter was addressed to me on this occasion by the officers of the squadron:-- "on board the _independencia_, july , ." my lord, the general discontent and anxiety which your lordship's resignation has occasioned amongst the officers and others of the squadron, afford a strong proof how much the ungrateful conduct of the government is felt by those serving under your command. "the officers whose names are subscribed to the enclosed resolutions, disdaining longer to serve under a government which can so soon have forgotten the important services rendered to the state, beg leave to put in your hands their commissions, and to request you will be kind enough to forward them to the minister of marine. at the same time that we are thus forced to withdraw ourselves from the service, our warmest wishes will be offered up for the prosperity and liberty of the country." "signed by commissioned officers." the following resolutions accompanied this letter:-- "resolved-- . that the honour, safety, and interest of the chilian navy entirely rest on the abilities and experience of the present commander-in-chief." " . that, as the feelings of unbounded confidence and respect which we entertain for him cannot be transferred to another, we have come to the resolution of resigning our commissions, and of transmitting them to government, through the hands of our admiral." " . that our commissions shall be accompanied by a letter expressive of our sentiments, signed by all whose commissions are enclosed." "signed by officers." pending the acceptance of my resignation by the government, the equipment of the squadron was carried on with the greatest alacrity, so that there might be no ground for complaint that the termination of my command had caused any remissness in our duties. i, however, withheld the commissions which had been enclosed to me by the officers of the squadron, lest the measure should excite popular dissatisfaction, and thus cause a danger for which the government was unprepared. the only captains who did not sign the resolutions were guise and spry, the former being in arrest, and the latter being offended with me on account of my refusal to accept him as flag captain. there is no doubt but that he immediately communicated to zenteno the resolutions of the officers, for on the th i received from him the following letter:-- "valparaiso, july th, ." "my lord," "at a moment when the services of the naval forces of the state are of the highest importance, and the personal services of your lordship indispensable, the supremacy, with the most profound sentiments of regret, has received your resignation, which, should it be admitted, would involve the future operations of the arms of liberty in the new world in certain ruin; and ultimately replace in chili, your adopted home, that tyranny which, your lordship abhors, and to the annihilation of which your heroism has so greatly contributed." "his excellency the supreme director commands me to inform your lordship that should you persist in resigning the command of the squadron which has been honoured by bearing your flag--the cause of terror and dismay to our enemies, and of glory to all true americans; or should the government unwisely admit it, this would indeed be a day of universal mourning in the new world. the government, therefore, in the name of the nation returns you your commission, soliciting your re-acceptance of it, for the furtherance of that sacred cause to which your whole soul is devoted." "the supremacy is convinced of the necessity which obliges your lordship to adopt the measures which placed captain guise, of the _lantaro_, in arrest, and of the justice of the charges exhibited against this officer; but being desirous of preventing any delay in the important services in which the ships of war are about to proceed, it is the request of his excellency the supreme director that his trial be postponed to the first opportunity which does not interfere with the service of the squadron, so important at the present epoch." "(signed) jose ignacio zenteno." in addition to this communication from the minister of marine, i received private letters from the supreme director and general san martin, begging me to continue in command of the naval forces, and assuring me that there should be no further cause for complaint. on receipt of these letters i withdrew my resignation, and returned to the officers of the squadron their commissions, at the same time setting captain guise at liberty, and reinstating him in the command of his ship. i would not have done this but from a feeling of attachment to the supreme director, general o'higgins, whose amiable disposition--too easy to contend with the machinations of those around him,--- was a sufficient assurance that he was neither an actor in, nor even privy to the system of annoyance pursued towards me by a clique of whom zenteno was the agent. like many other good commanders, o'higgins did not display that tact in the cabinet which had so signally served his country in the field, in which,--though general san martin, by his unquestionable powers of turning the achievements of others to his own account, contrived to gain the credit--the praise was really due to general o'higgins. the same easy disposition, after the elevation of the latter to the supreme directorate, induced him to consent to the establishment of a senatorial court of consultation, conceding to it privileges altogether incompatible with his own supremacy; and it was with this body that all the vexations directed against me originated--as has been asserted by writers on chili, at the instigation of general san martin; but having no documentary evidence to prove this, i shall not take upon myself to assert the fact, notwithstanding that the subsequent conduct of the general gave more than probability to the generally received opinion. there was, however, no doubt but that general san martin had been privy to much of the annoyance given to the squadron and myself, as, upon my accusing him of this, he replied that he only "wanted to see how far the supreme director would allow a party spirit to oppose the welfare of the expedition;" adding, "never mind, my lord, i am general of the army, and you shall be admiral of the squadron." _"bien, milord, yo soy general del exercito, y v. sara almirante de la esquadra."_ his allusion to the complicity of the supreme director i knew to be false, as his excellency was anxious to do all in his power both for the squadron and his country; had not the senate, on which he had conferred such extraordinary powers, thwarted all his endeavours. general san martin was, however, much surprised when i shewed him the letters and returned commissions of the officers, he having no conception of their determination not to serve under any command but my own; this step on their part being fraught with the greatest danger to the equipment of the contemplated expedition. the senate just noticed was an anomaly in state government. it consisted of five members, whose functions were to remain only during the first struggles of the country for independence; but this body had now assumed a permanent right to dictatorial control, whilst there was no appeal from their arbitrary conduct, except to themselves. they arrogated the title of "most excellent," whilst the supreme director was simply "his excellency;" his position, though nominally head of the executive, being really that of mouth-piece to the senate, which, assuming all power, deprived the executive government of its legitimate influence, so that no armament could be equipped, no public work undertaken, no troops raised, and no taxes levied, except by the consent of this irresponsible body. for such a clique, the plain, simple good sense, and thorough good feeling of the supreme director was no match; as, being himself above meanness, he was led to rely on the honesty of others from the uprightness of his own motives. though in every way disposed to believe, with burke, that "what is morally wrong can never be politically right," he was led to believe that a crooked policy was a necessary evil of government; and as such a policy was adverse to his own nature, he was the more easily induced to surrender its administration to others who were free from his conscientious principles. of these the most unscrupulous was zenteno, who, previous to the revolution, had been an attorney at conception, and was a _protégé_ of general san martin--carrying with him into state administration the practical cunning of his profession, with more than its usual proportion of chicanery. as he was my bitter opponent, obstructing my plans for the interests of chili in every possible way, it might ill become me to speak of him as i then felt, and to this day feel. i will therefore adduce the opinion of mrs. graham, the first historian of the republic, as to the estimation in which he was generally held:--"zenteno has read more than usual among his countrymen, and thinks that little much. like san martin, he dignifies scepticism in religion, laxity of morals, and coldness of heart, if not cruelty, with the name of philosophy; and while he could shew creditable sensibility for the fate of a worm, would think the death or torture of a political opponent matter for congratulation." i was his political opponent, as wishing to uphold the authority of the supreme director, and hence, no doubt, his enmity to me; his influence even extending so far as to prevent the supreme director from visiting me whilst in santiago, on the ground that such a course on his part would be undignified! at this distance of time--now that chili is in possession of a government acting on more enlightened principles--there is no necessity for withholding these remarks, without which the subsequent acts of the chilian government towards me might be liable to misconstruction as to my representations of them. so long as chili was in a transition state from a corrupt and selfish government to one acting in accordance with the true interests of the country, i forbore to make known these and other circumstances, which, having now become matters of history, need not any longer be withheld. writing in this spirit, i may mention a reason, notorious enough at the time, why the squadron was not paid even its wages. the government _had_ provided the means, but those to whom the distribution was entrusted retained the money during their pleasure, employing it for their own advantage in trading speculations or in usury, only applying it to a legitimate purpose when further delay became dangerous to themselves. one great cause of the hatred displayed towards me by these people, was my incessant demands that the claims of the squadron should be satisfied as regarded wages. as to prize-money, not a dollar was ever conceded by the government either to myself, officers, or men, so long as i remained in chili; but i had the satisfaction to see that the constant watch which i kept on those financial disorders, was the means of ameliorating the system, though with the additional dislike to myself of those whose short-sighted policy i was thwarting, and whose avaricious speculations were thus curtailed. in spite of his enmity, the minister of marine had been officially compelled to write me the following letter:-- "my lord," "if victories over an enemy are to be estimated according to the resistance offered, or the national advantages obtained, the conquest of valdivia is, in both senses, inestimable; encountering, as you did, the natural and artificial strength of that impregnable fortress which, till now, had obstinately defended itself by means of those combined advantages. the memory of that glorious day will occupy the first pages of chilian history, and the name of your excellency will be transmitted from generation to generation by the gratitude of our descendants." "his excellency the supreme director, highly gratified by that noble conquest, orders me to inform you (as i have now the satisfaction of doing), that he experiences, in his own name, and in that of the nation, the most heartfelt gratification at that signal achievement. the meritorious officers, beauchef, miller, erescano, carter, and vidal, and all the other officers and soldiers who, in imitation of your excellency, encountered such vast dangers, will be brought to the notice of government, in order to receive a decorative medal, in gratitude for their gallantry, and in proof that chili rewards the heroes who advocate her cause." our national flag has been displayed amidst the most festive public demonstrations, above those of valdivia and cantabria, in proof of the subjection of our enemies. "i beg, with the greatest gratification, the honour to announce to you your letter of the rd instant, transmitting those of major beauchef and major miller." "god preserve your excellency many years." (signed) jose ignacio zenteno. "the vice-admiral commanding the chilian squadron." it is difficult to see how a man who could have written the above letter, even officially, could have become my worst enemy; the reasons for which will, however, develop themselves as we proceed. as the estate which was conferred upon me at rio clara was afterwards taken from me, without reason assigned, i will here give the letter conveying it, as this will again have to be alluded to. the attorney-like cunning of zenteno prevented its conveyance by any more formal document than the decree conferring it. "my lord," "a decree of this date has been issued by his excellency the supreme director, of which the annexed is a copy:--" "desirous to expedite, without loss of time, the gift of _quadras_ of land, which, by decree of the senate, was assigned to the commander-in-chief of the squadron, vice-admiral lord cochrane, as a demonstration of public appreciation for his distinguished services in the '_restoration,_' of the important fortress of valdivia; the said _quadras_ are assigned on the lands of rio clara, in the province of conception, being part of the confiscated estate of pablo furtado, a fugitive spaniard." "'the present deed shall serve as a sufficient title to the property in favour of the vice-admiral, being communicated to the minister of finance, in order to the accustomed formalities, to receive possession and enjoy the benefits.'" "i have the honour to communicate the above, by supreme orders, for your information." "god preserve your excellency many years." "(signed) jose ignacio zenteno. administration of marine, valparaiso, august so, . published by order of his excellency." * * * * * chapter iv. obstacles to equipping the squadron--sailing of the liberating expedition--debarcation at pisco--long inaction of the army--general san martin removes to ancon--capture of the esmeralda--exchange of prisoners--acknowledgment of the service by general san martin--lady cochrane's visit to mendoza. the difficulties which attended the equipment of the squadron and troops destined for the liberation of peru were very great, the government being without credit, whilst its treasury had been completely exhausted by efforts to organise an army--a loan being impossible, and indeed refused. by my influence with the british merchants, i managed to obtain considerable quantities of naval and military stores, and in addition, a contribution to a subscription which was set on foot, in place of a forced loan, upon which the government hesitated to venture. the greatest difficulty was, however, with regard to the foreign seamen, who, disgusted with the want of faith towards them, refused to re-enter the service. the government, upon this, requested me to resort to impressment, which i declined, telling them, moreover, that the captain of the british frigate then in port would not permit his countrymen to be impressed. the alternative proposed was to use my influence with the men, by issuing such a proclamation, dictated by myself, as would render them dependent for their pay and prize-money upon general san martin, and on the success of the expedition; it being evident that they would not place further confidence in the promises of the government. a joint proclamation was therefore issued by gen. san martin and myself, my signature being added as a guarantee, whilst his bore the authority of commander-in-chief. the following extract will shew the nature of this proclamation:-- "on my entry into lima, i will punctually pay to all foreign seamen who shall voluntarily enlist into the chilian service, the whole arrears of their pay, to which, i will also add to each individual, according to his rank, one year's pay over and above his arrears, as a premium or reward for his services, if he continue to fulfil his duty to the day of the surrender of that city, and its occupation by the liberating forces." (signed) jose de san martin. "cochrane." this proclamation had the desired effect, and the crews of the ships were immediately completed. the chilian force amounted to men, general san martin, to the great disappointment of general freire, being nominated captain-general--the force under his command was designated the "liberating army" _(exercito libertador)_. whilst the expedition was in process of formation, the supreme director had apprised the peruvian people of its object, and lest they should entertain any jealousy of its presence uninvited, had declared his views in a general proclamation, from which the following is an extract:-- "peruvians--do not think we shall pretend to treat you as a conquered people? such a desire could have entered into the heads of none but those who are inimical to our common happiness. we only aspire to see you free and happy; _yourselves will frame your own government_, choosing that form which is most consistent with your customs, your situation, and your wishes. consequently, _you will constitute a nation as free and independent as ourselves_." this, and subsequent proclamations, will require to be borne in mind, as the result by no means corresponded with the intentions of the supreme director, whose honesty of purpose was afterwards set at nought by those in whose estimation peru was only a field for the furtherance of their own ambition. the chileno officers, both native and foreign, certainly believed in the sincerity of their leaders, but were subsequently doomed to be miserably disappointed as regarded the chief of them. on the st of august, , the squadron sailed amidst the enthusiastic plaudits of the people, who felt proud that in so short a time the power of spain had not only been humbled, but that they were enabled to despatch an army to liberate her principal remaining state. on the th, the squadron hove to off coquimbo, taking on board another battalion of troops. on the th we again sailed, when general san martin made known to me his intention of proceeding with the main body of the army to truxillo, a place four degrees to leeward of lima, where the army could have gained no advantage, nor, indeed, have found anything to do, except to remain there safe from any attack by the spaniards, who could not approach it by land, whilst the squadron could protect it by sea. by representing to general san martin that this course would cause great dissatisfaction amongst the chileno officers and men, who expected to be landed and led at once against lima, for the immediate conquest of which they were amply sufficient, he consented to give up his plan of proceeding to truxillo, but firmly refused to disembark his men in the vicinity of lima; for what reason i could not then divine. my own plan was to land the force at chilca, the nearest point to callao, and forthwith to obtain possession of the capital; an object by no means difficult of execution, and certain of success. finding all argument unavailing, we sailed for pisco, where the expedition arrived on the th of september, and on the th, to my great chagrin, the troops were disembarked, and for fifty days remained in total inaction! with the exception of despatching colonel arenales into the interior with a detachment, which, after defeating a body of spaniards, took up a position to the eastward of lima. even on arriving at pisco, general san martin declined to enter the town, though the spanish forces consisted of less than three hundred men. landing the troops under major-general las heras, he went down the coast in the schooner _montezuma_ the inhabitants meanwhile retiring into the interior, taking with them their cattle, slaves, and even the furniture of their houses. this excess of caution excited great discontent in the army and the squadron, as contrasting strangely with the previous capture of the place, in the preceding year, by lieut.-colonel charles and major miller, with their handful of men. on the return of general san martin, he professed to be greatly chagrined at the departure of the inhabitants, and the consequent loss of supplies. instead of attributing this to his own tardy movements, he declared his disbelief in the accounts he had received from peru as to the friendly disposition of the inhabitants, even throwing out doubts as to the success of the expedition in consequence. it was of the first importance to have taken the place immediately, and to have conciliated the inhabitants, as the ships were scantily provisioned, and all but destitute of other necessary supplies. a detailed account, however, of the capture of the place was transmitted to santiago, where it was duly recorded in the official organ as the first feat of the great expedition. during these fifty days the squadron was also necessarily kept in inaction, having achieved nothing beyond the capture of a few merchantmen along the coast, and a fruitless chase of two spanish frigates, the _prueba_ and _venganza_, which i did not follow up, as involving risk to the transports during my absence. this delay was productive of the worst disasters which could have befallen the expedition. the people were eager to receive us, and not calculating on such tardiness on the part of general martin--were everywhere declaring in our favour; but being unsupported, were fined, imprisoned, and subjected to corporal punishment by the viceroy. rendered cautious by this, they naturally distrusted the force idling away its time at pisco, manifesting reluctance to bring forward the requisite supplies, upon which they were treated, by order of general san martin, with military rigour; being thus harassed, the peruvians began to look upon the chilenos as oppressors in common with the spaniards, to the no small danger of losing every desire for national independence. nevertheless, on reaching pisco, gen. san martin had promulgated a proclamation from the supreme director full of fervent appeals to god and man as regarded the good intentions of the chilian government: the following are extracts:-- "peruvians, here are the engagements under which chili--before the supreme being--and calling all nations to witness as avengers of any violation of the compact, engages to aid you--setting death and toil at defiance. you shall be free and independent. you shall choose your own government and laws, by the spontaneous will of your representatives. no military or civil influence, direct or indirect, shall your brethren use to influence your social dispositions. you shall dismiss the armed force sent to your assistance the moment you judge proper, without regard to our opinion of your danger or security. never shall any military division occupy the soil of a free people, unless called for by your lawful magistrate. neither by ourselves, nor by our aid, shall party opinions which may have preceded your liberty be punished. ready to overthrow any armed force which may resist your rights, we beseech you to forget all grievances antecedent to the day of your glory, so as to reserve the most severe justice to obstinacy and oppression." such, were the inducements held out to the peruvian people, and such was their first experience with regard to their liberators. yet even amidst inaction the fruits of demonstration early became manifest, a vessel arriving on the th of october, from guayaquil, with the intelligence that on receiving news of the sailing of the expedition, that province had declared itself independent. upon the arrival of this welcome news, i again begged of general san martin to reimbark the troops and move on lima, and at length succeeded in inducing him to make a move. previous to our departure, general san martin issued the following proclamation, here given to shew how promises solemnly entered into could afterwards be broken. "peruvians! i have paid the tribute which, as a public man, i owe to the opinion of others, and have shewn what is my object and mission towards you. i come to fulfil the expectations of all those who wish to belong to the country which gave them birth, and who desire to be governed by their own laws. on the day when peru shall freely pronounce as to the form of her institutions, be they whatever they may, _my functions shall cease_, and i shall have the glory of announcing to the government of chili, of which i am a subject, that their heroic efforts have at last received the consolation of giving liberty to peru, and peace to the neighbouring states." the troops being reimbarked--on the th we sailed from pisco, and on the following day anchored before callao. after having reconnoitred the fortifications, i again urged on general san martin an immediate disembarcation of the force, but to this he once more strenuously objected, to the great disappointment of the whole expedition; insisting on going to ancon, a place at some distance to the northward of callao. having no control over the disposition of the troops, i was obliged to submit; and on the th, detached the _san martin, galvarino,_ and _araucano_, to convoy the transports to ancon, retaining the _o'higgins, independencia_, and _lautaro_, as if for the purpose of blockade. the fact was, that--annoyed in common with the whole expedition--at this irresolution on the part of general san martin, i determined that the means of chili, furnished with great difficulty, should not be wholly wasted, without some attempt at accomplishing the objects of the expedition; and accordingly formed a plan of attack with the three ships which i had kept back--though being apprehensive that my design would be opposed by general san martin, i had not even mentioned to him my intentions. this design was to cut out the _esmeralda_ frigate from under the fortifications, and also to get possession of another ship, on board of which we had learned that a million of dollars was embarked for flight, if it became necessary; my opinion being that if such display of power were manifested, the spaniards would either surrender the capital or abandon it. the enterprise was hazardous, for since my former visit the enemy's position had been much strengthened, no less than pieces of artillery being mounted on shore, whilst the _esmeralda_ was crowded with the best sailors and marines that could be procured, these sleeping every night at quarters. she was, moreover, defended by a strong boom with chain moorings, and by armed blockships; the whole being surrounded by twenty-seven gun-boats; so that no ship could possibly get at her. for three days we occupied ourselves in preparations, still keeping secret the purpose for which they were intended. on the evening of th of november, this was communicated to the ships by the following proclamation:-- "marines and seamen," "this night we are going to give the enemy a mortal blow. tomorrow you will present yourselves proudly before callao, and all your comrades will envy your good fortune. one hour of courage and resolution is all that is required of you to triumph. remember, that you have conquered in valdivia, and be not afraid of those who have hitherto fled from you." "the value of all the vessels captured in callao will be yours, and the same reward in money will be distributed amongst you as has been offered by the spaniards in lima to those who should capture any of the chilian squadron. the moment of glory is approaching, and i hope that the chilenos will fight as they have been accustomed to do, and that the english will act as they have ever done at home and abroad." "cochrane." on issuing this proclamation, it was stated that i should lead the attack in person, volunteers being requested to come forward, on which the whole of the marines and seamen on board the three ships offered to accompany me. as this could not be permitted, a hundred and sixty seamen and eighty marines were selected, and after dark were placed in fourteen boats alongside the flag-ship, each man armed with cutlass and pistol, being, for distinction's sake, dressed in white, with a blue band on the left arm. the spaniards i expected would be off their guard, as, by way of _ruse_, the other ships had been sent out of the bay under the charge of captain foster, as though in pursuit of some vessels in the offing--so that the spaniards would consider themselves safe from attack for that night. at ten o'clock all was in readiness, the boats being formed in two divisions, the first commanded by my flag-captain crosbie, and the second by captain guise,--my boat leading. the strictest silence, and the exclusive use of cutlasses were enjoined; so that, as the oars were muffled, and the night dark, the enemy had not the least suspicion of the impending attack. it was just upon midnight when we neared the small opening left in the boom, our plan being well-nigh frustrated by the vigilance of a guard-boat, upon which my launch had luckily stumbled. the challenge was given, upon which, in an under-tone, i threatened the occupants of the boat with instant death if they made the least alarm. no reply was made to the threat, and in a few minutes our gallant fellows were alongside the frigate in line, boarding at several points simultaneously. the spaniards were completely taken by surprise--the whole, with the exception of the sentries, being asleep at their quarters--and great was the havoc made amongst them by the chileno cutlasses whilst they were recovering themselves. retreating to the forecastle, they there made a gallant stand, and it was not until the third charge that the position was carried. the fight was for a short time renewed on the quarter-deck, where the spanish marines fell to a man, the rest of the enemy leaping overboard and into the hold to escape slaughter. on boarding the ship by the main chains, i was knocked back by the butt end of the sentry's musket, and falling on a thole pin of the boat, it entered my back near the spine, inflicting a severe injury, which caused me many years of subsequent suffering. immediately regaining my footing, i reascended the side, and when on deck, was shot through the thigh, but binding a handkerchief tightly round the wound, managed, though with great difficulty, to direct the contest to its close. the whole affair, from beginning to end, occupied only a quarter of an hour, our loss being eleven killed and thirty wounded, whilst that of the spaniards was a hundred and sixty, many of whom fell under the cutlasses of the chilenos before they could stand to their arms. greater bravery i never saw displayed than that of our gallant fellows. before boarding, the duties of all had been appointed, and a party was told off to take possession of the tops. we had not been on deck a minute, when i hailed the foretop, and was instantly answered by our own men, an equally prompt answer being returned from the frigate's maintop. no british man-of-war's crew could have excelled this minute attention to orders. the uproar speedily alarmed the garrison, who, hastening to their guns, opened fire on their own frigate, thus paying us the compliment of having taken it; though, even in this case, their own men must still have been on board, so that firing on them was a wanton proceeding, as several spaniards were killed or wounded by the shot of the fortress, and amongst the wounded was captain coig, the commander of the _esmeralda_--who, after he was made prisoner, received a severe contusion by a shot from his own party. the fire from the fortress was, however, neutralised by a successful expedient. there were two foreign ships of war present during the contest--the united states frigate _macedonian_, and the british frigate _hyperion_; and these, as previously agreed on with the spanish authorities in case of a night attack--hoisted peculiar lights as signals, to prevent being fired upon. this contingency being provided for by us--as soon as the fortress commenced its fire on the _esmeralda_, we also ran up similar lights, so that the garrison became puzzled which vessel to fire at; the intended mischief thus involving the _hyperion_ and _macedonian_, which were several times struck, the _esmeralda_ being comparatively untouched. upon this the neutral frigates cut their cables and moved away; whilst captain guise, contrary to my orders, cut the _esmeralda_ cables also, so that there was nothing to be done but to loose her top-sails and follow; the fortress then ceasing its fire. my orders were not to cut the cables of the, _esmeralda_; but after taking her to capture the _maypu_, a brig of war previously taken from chili--and then to attack and cut adrift every ship near, there being plenty of time before us; no doubt existing but that when the _esmeralda_ was taken, the spaniards would desert the other ships as fast as their boats would permit them, so that the whole might either have been captured or burned. to this end all my previous plans had been arranged; but on being placed _hors de combat_ by my wounds, captain guise, on whom the command of the prize devolved, chose to interpose his own judgment, and content himself with the _esmeralda_ alone, cutting her cables without my orders; the reason assigned being, that the english had broken into her spirit-room and were getting drunk, whilst the chilenos were disorganized by plundering. it was a great mistake, for if we could capture the _esmeralda_, with her picked and well-appointed crew, there would have been little or no difficulty in cutting the other ships adrift in succession. it would only have been the rout of valdivia over again, chasing the enemy, without loss, from ship after ship, instead of from fort to fort. the following extract, from the order issued preparatory to the attack, will clearly shew the plan frustrated by cutting the _esmeralda_ adrift:-- "on securing the frigate, the chilian seamen and marines are not to give the chilian cheer, but to deceive the enemy, and give time for completing the work: they are to cheer '_viva el rey_.'" "the two brigs of war are to be fired on by the musketry _from the esmeralda_, and are to be taken possession of by lieutenants esmonde and morgell, in the boats they command; which, being done, they are to cut adrift, run out, and anchor in the offing as quickly as possible. the boats of the _independencia_ are to turn adrift all the outward spanish merchant ships; and the boats of the _o'higgins_ and _lautaro_, under lieutenants bell and robertson, are to set fire to one or more of the headmost hulks; but these are not to be cut adrift, so as to fall down upon the rest." (signed) "cochrane." by the cutting of the _esmeralda's_ cables, not one of these objects was effected. the captured frigate was ready for sea, with three months' provisions on board, and with stores sufficient for two years. she was, no doubt, if opportunity offered, intended to convoy the treasure-ship, which, by the precipitancy of captain guise, we had missed; indeed the spanish admiral being on board at the time, with his flag flying, was a pretty clear proof that she was on the point of departure; instead of which, the admiral, his officers, and seamen were made prisoners, the remainder of the crew, originally in number, being killed, wounded, or drowned. an incident occurred during the contest which, at this distance of time, i shall not refrain from mentioning. his britannic majesty's ship _hyperion_ was so close to the _esmeralda_, as to be a witness of the whole proceeding. a midshipman was standing at the gangway looking on, amongst others, when his truly english nature, unable to restrain itself as our gallant fellows cleared the forecastle of the enemy, gave vent to its expression by clapping his hands in approbation. it was afterwards reported that he was immediately ordered below by his commander, captain searle, who threatened to put him under arrest. such was the feeling of an english commander towards me. i should not have condescended to notice this occurrence but for the bravado shown by the same officer on a previous occasion, by casting loose his guns, with their tompions out, when my flag-ship entered the roads; thereby either intimating that he considered me a pirate, or that he would so treat me, if he had an opportunity. when approaching the _esmeralda_, the british frigate also hailed each boat separately, with the evident intention of alarming the enemy; which would no doubt have been the case, had not the spaniards been thrown off their guard by the before-mentioned ruse of sending the ships out of the bay. far different was the conduct of the commander of the united states frigate _macedonian_--whose sentinels did not hail the boats--the officers in an under-tone wishing us success; and still more honourable was the subsequent testimony of that talented officer, captain basil hall, who commanded his britannic majesty's ship _conway_, then in the pacific. this testimony, though in some degree a recapitulation of the events already related, but slightly inaccurate as regards the number of men employed, i feel proud to adduce:-- "while the liberating army, under general san martin, was removing to ancon, lord cochrane, with part of his squadron, anchored in the outer roads of callao. the inner harbour was guarded by an extensive system of batteries, admirably constructed, and bearing the general name of the 'castles of callao.' the merchant ships, as well as the men of war, consisting of the _esmeralda_, a large -gun frigate, and two sloops of war, were moored under the guns of the castle, within a semicircle of fourteen gun-boats, and a boom made of spars chained together." "lord cochrane, having previously reconnoitred these formidable defences in person, undertook, on the th of november, , the desperate enterprise of cutting out the spanish frigate, although she was known to be fully prepared for an attack. his lordship proceeded in fourteen boats, containing men--all volunteers from the different ships of the squadron--in two divisions, one under the orders of captain crosby, and the other under captain guise, both officers commanding the chileno squadron." "at midnight, the boats having forced their way across the boom, lord cochrane, who was leading, rowed alongside the first gun-boat, and taking the officer by surprise, proposed to him, with a pistol at his head, the alternative of silence or death. no reply being made, the boats pushed on unobserved, and lord cochrane, mounting the _esmeralda's_ side, was the first to give the alarm. the sentinel on the gangway levelled his piece and fired, but was instantly cut down by the coxwain, and his lordship, though wounded in the thigh, at the same moment stepped on the deck, the frigate being boarded with no less gallantry on the opposite side by captain guise, who met lord cochrane midway on the quarter-deck, as also captain crosby, and the afterpart of the ship was soon carried, sword in hand. the spaniards rallied on the forecastle, where they made a desperate resistance, till overpowered by a fresh party of seamen and marines, headed by lord cochrane. a gallant stand was again made on the main deck, but before one o'clock the ship was captured, her cables cut, and she was steered triumphantly out of the harbour." "this loss was a death-blow to the spanish naval force in that quarter of the world; for, although there were still two spanish frigates and some smaller vessels in the pacific, they never afterwards ventured to shew themselves, but left lord cochrane undisputed master of the coast." on the morning of the th a horrible massacre was committed on shore. the market-boat of the united states frigate was, as usual, sent for provisions, when the mob took it into their heads that the _esmeralda_ could not have been cut out without the assistance of the _macedonian_, and, falling upon the boat's crew, murdered the whole of them. the wounded amongst the _esmeralda's_ crew were sent on shore under a flag of truce, a letter from me to the viceroy proposing an exchange of prisoners being at the same time transmitted. the proposal was this time civilly acceded to, and the whole were sent on shore; the chilian prisoners, who had long languished in the dungeons of the fortress, being returned, and ordered to join the army of general san martin. on transmitting the intelligence of our success to general san martin, i received from him the following acknowledgment of the achievement:-- _ th november, ._ "my lord," "the importance of the service you have rendered to the country by the capture of the frigate _esmeralda_, and the brilliant manner in which you conducted the gallant officers and seamen under your orders to accomplish that noble enterprise, on the night of the memorable th of november, have augmented the gratitude due to your former services by the government, as well as that of all interested in the public cause, and in your fame." "all those who participated in the risks and glory of the deed, also deserve well of their countrymen, and i have the satisfaction to be the medium of transmitting the sentiments of admiration which such transcendent success has excited in the chiefs of the army under my command. permit me to express them to you, in order that they may be communicated to the meritorious officers, seamen, and marines of the squadron, to whom will be religiously fulfilled _the promises you made_." "it is grievous that, connected with the memory of so glorious a deed, regret for those who shed their blood in its achievement should enter; but let us hope that such thoughts will be dissipated, by your adding further deeds of glory to the country, and to your name." "god preserve you many years." "jose de san martin." san martin's expression of religiously fulfilling the "promises i made," is in allusion to the promise, signed by himself, which had been exacted previous to the departure of the squadron from valparaiso, that the men should have a year's pay given to them. with the preceding letter general san martin voluntarily sent another promise to the captors, of , dollars, to be paid on gaining possession of lima. neither the one promise nor the other were ever fulfilled, nor did they ever obtain any prize-money. to the administration in chili general san martin wrote as follows:-- "head quarters, supe, dec. , . senor minister," "i have the honour of forwarding to you the despatches of the right hon. lord cochrane, vice-admiral of the squadron, relative to the heroic capture of the frigate _esmeralda_, by boarding her under the batteries of callao." "it is impossible for me to eulogise in proper language the daring enterprise of the th of november, by which lord cochrane has decided the superiority of our naval forces--augmented the splendour and power of chili--and secured the success of this campaign." "i doubt not that his excellency the supreme director will render the justice due to the worthy chief, his officers, and other individuals who have had a share in that successful action." "i beg you will honour me by congratulating his excellency on this important success, and principally on account of the influence it will have on the great object which occupies his attention." "jose de san martin." "to don jose ignacio zenteno, minister of marine." soon after my departure for peru, lady cochrane undertook a journey across the _cordillera_, to mendoza, the passes being, at that season, often blocked up with snow. having been entrusted with some despatches of importance, she pushed on rapidly, and on the th of october arrived at the celebrated _ponte del inca_, , feet above the level of the sea. here the snow had increased to such an extent as to render farther progress impossible, and her ladyship was obliged to remain at a _casucha_, or strong house, built above the snow for the safety of travellers; the intense cold arising from the rarity of the atmosphere, and the absence of all comfort--there being no better couch than a dried bullock's hide--producing a degree of suffering which few ladies would be willing to encounter. whilst proceeding on her mule up a precipitous path in the vicinity, a royalist, who had intruded himself on the party, rode up in an opposite direction and disputed the path with her, at a place where the slightest false step would have precipitated her into the abyss below. one of her attendants, a tried and devoted soldier, named pedro flores, seeing the movement, and guessing the man's intention, galloped up to him at a critical moment, striking him a violent blow across the face, and thus arresting his murderous design. the ruffian finding himself vigorously attacked, made off, without resenting the blow, and so, no doubt, another premeditated attempt on lady cochrane's life was averted. chapter v. san martin's violation of truth--removal of blockade--spanish depression--troops dying of fever--san martin's designs on guayaquil--mutinous conduct of officers--refusal to obey orders--deposition of viceroy--san martin gives me troops--jealousy of san martin--attack on arica--capture of tacna--capture of moquega--refusal of more men--an armistice ratified--distress of lima--dissatisfaction of the army--lady cochrane--goes into the interior--dangerous position--lady cochrane in action--devotion of seamen. on the th of november i went to ancon with our prize, this being hailed with great enthusiasm by the army, which--now that the spanish naval force had received, what even the spaniards themselves considered its death blow--made certain that it would be at once led against lima, before the authorities recovered from their consternation. to their mortification--no less than my own--general san martin, in defiance of all argument to the contrary, ordered the troops on board the transports, having decided on _retreating to huacho!_ whither the _o'higgins_ and _esmeralda_, abandoning the blockade, had to convoy them. in place of prompt action--or rather demonstration, for the occupation of the city would have amounted to little more--he issued a proclamation, promising, as before, the most perfect freedom to the peruvian people if they would join him:-- "spaniards, your destiny is in your own hands. i come not to declare war against the fortunes and persons of individuals. the enemy of the liberty and independence of america alone is the object of the vengeance of the arms of the patria. i promise you in the most positive manner, that your property and persons shall be inviolable, and that you shall be treated as respectable citizens, if you co-operate in the great cause," &c. &c. by the th the army was again disembarked, amidst evident manifestations of dissatisfaction on the part of the officers, who were naturally jealous of the achievements of the squadron, from being themselves restrained from enterprise of any kind. to allay this feeling general san martin had recourse to an almost incredible violation of truth, intended to impress upon the chilian people, that the army, and not the squadron, had captured the _esmeralda!_--indeed stating as much in words, and declaring that the whole affair was the result of his own plans, to which i had agreed! though the truth is, that doubting his confidants, i had concealed from him my intentions of making the attack. the following is an extract from the bulletin issued to the army:-- "before the general-in-chief left the vice-admiral of the squadron, _they agreed on the execution of a memorable project, sufficient to astound intrepidity itself!_ and to make the history of the liberating expedition of peru eternal!" "those valiant soldiers who for a length of time have suffered with the most heroic constancy the severest oppression, and the most inhuman treatment in the dungeons of casas-matas, have just arrived at our head-quarters. flattering promises of liberty, and the threats of death, were not sufficient to destroy their loyalty to their country; they have waited with firmness the day on which their companions in arms should rescue them from their misery, and revenge the insults which, humanity has received in their persons. this glory was reserved _to the liberating army, whose efforts have snatched from the hands of tyranny these respectable victims._ let this be published for the satisfaction of these individuals, _and that of the army, to whose arms they owe their liberty_." it thus went forth to the people of chili, that the army captured the frigate, and subsequently released the prisoners, though not a man in the whole force had the most distant idea that an attack was even contemplated, much less could it have co-operated, seeing that it was far away in cantonments! this bulletin excited the astonishment of the troops; but as it contributed to their _amour propre_, by representing to the chilian people that the achievement which had been effected was due to them, they accepted it; whilst i thought it beneath me to refute a falsehood palpable to the whole expedition. it had, however, as general san martin no doubt calculated, the effect of allaying, for the moment, a dissatisfaction which foreboded serious consequences. on the th we again sailed from huacho, to renew the blockade at callao, beyond which nothing could be done; though even this was of importance, as cutting off supplies from the capital, the inhabitants of which, in consequence of the privations they were subjected to, caused great uneasiness to the viceregal government. several attempts were now made to entice the remaining spanish naval force from their shelter under the batteries, by placing the _esmeralda_ apparently within reach, and the flag-ship herself in situations of some danger. one day i carried her through an intricate strait called the boqueron, in which nothing beyond a fifty-ton schooner was ever seen. the spaniards, expecting every moment to see the ship strike, manned their gun-boats, ready to attack as soon as she was aground, of which there was little danger, for we had found, and buoyed off with small bits of wood invisible to the enemy, a channel through which a vessel could pass without much difficulty. on the nd of december the _esmeralda_, being in a more than usually tempting position, the spanish gun-boats ventured out in the hope of recapturing her, and for an hour maintained a smart fire; but on seeing the _o'higgins_ manoeuvring to cut them off, they precipitately retreated. the preceeding successes caused great depression amongst the spanish troops, and on the following day the battalion of numantia, numbering disciplined men, deserted in a body, and joined the chilian forces at chancay. on the th, forty spanish officers followed their example; and every day afterwards, officers, privates, and civilians of respectability, joined the patriot army, which thus became considerably reinforced; the defection of so large a portion of his troops being a severe loss to the viceroy. on the th, colonel arenales, who, after his previous success, had marched into the interior, defeated a division of the royalist army at pasco. on his proceeding to huamanga, the authorities fled, and the inhabitants declared themselves independent. tarma was next abandoned, and followed the same example, as did huanuco, cueñca, and loxa; whilst, on the news of the capture of the _esmeralda_ arriving at truxillo, that important province also revolted, under the direction of the spanish governor, the marquis of torre tagle. notwithstanding this succession of favourable events, general san martin still declined to march on lima, remaining inactive at haura, though the unhealthy situation of the place was such, that nearly one-third of his troops died of intermittent fever, during the many months they remained there. in place of securing the capital, where the army would have now been welcomed, he proposed to send half the army to guayaquil, in order to annex that province, this being the first manifestation on the part of general san martin to found a dominion of his own--for to nothing less did he afterwards aspire, though the declared object of the expedition was to enable the south pacific provinces to emancipate themselves from spain, leaving them free to choose their own governments, as had been repeatedly and solemnly declared, both by the chilian government and himself. finding that i would not consent to avert the naval force from the purposes to which it was destined, the project was abandoned; but the troops which had advanced to chancay were ordered to fall back on haura, this step being actually a further retreat as regarded the position of the spanish forces, which thus managed to check further desertion by apprehending and shooting all who attempted it. still general san martin was determined, if possible, to accomplish his views on guayaquil. two deputies, tomas guido and colonel luzuriago, were despatched with complimentary messages to torre tagle and others, warning them against the designs of bolivar, whose success in the north led san martin to fear that he might have designs on peru. the deputies were strictly enjoined to represent that if such were bolivar's intention, guayaquil would only be regarded as a conquered province; whilst, if the people of that place would adhere to him, he would, on the fall of lima, make it the _principal port of a great empire_, and that the establishment of the docks and arsenals which _his navy_ would require, would enrich the city beyond measure. they were at the same time exhorted to form a militia, in order to keep out bolivar. by way of conciliating me, general san martin proposed in a flattering way to call the captured frigate the "_cochrane_," as two vessels before had been named the "_san martin_," and "_o'higgins_;" but to this i demurred, as acquiescence in such a proceeding might in the estimation of others have identified me with any course the general might be inclined to pursue, and i had already formed my conjectures as to what were evidently his future purposes. finding me firm in declining the proffered honour, he told me to give her what name i thought proper; but this was also refused, when he said, "let her be called the '_valdivia_,' in memory of your conquest of that place;" her name was accordingly changed from the _esmeralda_ to the _valdivia_. the command of the frigate had been given to captain guise; and after her change of name, his officers wrote to him a letter deprecating the name, and alleging, that as they had nothing to do with the conquest of valdivia, it ought to be withdrawn, and one more consonant with their feelings substituted. this letter was followed by marked personal disrespect towards myself, from the officers who had signed it, who made it no secret that the name of guise was the one sought to be substituted. as the conversations held by these officers with the rest of the squadron were of such a derogatory nature as regarded my character and authority, as might lead to serious disorganization, i brought the whole of the officers who had signed the letter to a court-martial, two being dismissed the service, the remainder being dismissed the ship, with a recommendation to general san martin for other appointments. during the arrest of these officers, i had determined upon an attack upon the fortifications of callao, intending to carry them by a coup de main, similar to that which had succeeded at valdivia, and having, on the th, taken soundings in the _potrillo_, was convinced of the feasibility of the plan. on the th, this intention was notified by an order, stating that on the following day i should make the attack with the boats of the squadron and the _san_ _martin_, the crew of which received the order with loud cheers, volunteers for the boats eagerly pressing forward from all quarters. in place of preparing to second the operations, captain guise sent me a note refusing to serve with any other but the officers under arrest--stating that unless they were restored, he must resign his command. my reply was that i would neither restore them nor accept his resignation, without some better reason for it than the one alleged. captain guise answered, that my refusal to restore his officers was a sufficient reason for his resignation, whereupon i ordered him to weigh anchor on a service of importance; the order being disobeyed on the ground that he could no longer act, having given over the command of the ship to lieutenant shepherd. feeling that something like a mutiny was being excited, and knowing that guise and his colleague, spry, were at the bottom of the matter, i ordered the latter to proceed with the _galvarino_ to chorillos, when he also requested leave to resign, as "his friend captain guise had been compelled so to do, and he had entered the chilian navy conditionally to serve only with captain guise, under whose patronage he had left england." such was the state of mutiny on board the _galvarino_, that i deputed my flag-captain, crosbie, to restore order, when spry affected to consider himself superseded, and claimed exemption from martial law. i therefore tried him by court-martial, and dismissed him from the ship. the two officers now made their way to head-quarters, where general san martin immediately made spry his naval _aide-de-camp_, thus promoting him in the most public manner for disobedience to orders, and in defiance of the sentence of the court-martial; this being pretty conclusive proof that they had been acting under the instructions of general san martin himself, for what purpose will appear in the course of the narrative. the course now pursued by general san martin sufficiently showed that the disturbance previously made at valparaiso emanated also from himself, and that in both cases the mutinous officers felt quite secure in his protection; though i will do both the credit of supposing them ignorant at the time of the treacherous purposes of which they were afterwards the instruments. knowing that i should take their punishment into my own hands if they returned to the squadron, general san martin kept both about his own person at head-quarters, where they remained. so dissatisfied were the spanish troops at lima with the government of their viceroy, pezuela, to whose want of military capacity they absurdly attributed our successes, that they forcibly deposed him, after compelling him to appoint general lacerna as his successor. the deposed viceroy wishing to send his lady and family to europe, applied to general san martin for a passport, to avoid capture by the chilian squadron. this was refused; but lady cochrane having arrived at callao in the british frigate _andromache_, to take leave of me previous to her departure for england, the viceroy's lady, donna angela, begged of her ladyship to use her influence with the general to obtain leave for her departure for europe. lady cochrane immediately proceeded to haura, and effected the object; after which she remained for a month at head-quarters, residing at the house of a peruvian lady, donna josefa monteblanco. a passage was also, by lady cochrane's influence, procured for the lady in the _andromache_, on board which ship captain sherriff politely invited me to meet her. at this interview the ex-vicequeen expressed her surprise at finding me "a gentleman and _rational being_ and not the _ferocious brute_ she had been taught to consider me!" a declaration, which, from the unsophisticated manner in which it was made, caused no small merriment in the party assembled. as i was determined not to be idle, general san martin was with some difficulty prevailed upon to give me a division of troops, under the command of lieutenant-colonel miller. on the th of march we sailed for pisco, of which, on its previous abandonment by the army, after a useless sojourn of fifty days, the enemy had again taken possession. on the th it was retaken, when it was found that the spaniards had severely punished the alleged defection of the inhabitants for contributing to the supplies of the patriot force during its stay. not imagining that we should return, the spanish proprietors of estates had brought back their cattle, of which we managed to seize some head, besides horses for the use of the chilian forces, the squadron thus supplying their wants instead of remaining in total inaction. previous to going to pisco, i had again urged on general san martin to advance on lima, so convinced was i of the goodwill of the inhabitants. on his refusal, i begged him to give me , men, with whom i offered to take the capital, but this was also declined. i then offered to undertake the capture of lima with , men, but even this was refused, and the detachment under colonel miller was only given to me to get rid of my importunity. of this detachment i however determined to make the most before our return. the only way of accounting for this indisposition on the part of general san martin to place an adequate military force at my disposal, was the reason current amongst the officers of the army, who were all eager to place themselves under my orders; viz. the violent jealousy which caused him to look upon me as a rival, though without reason, as i should certainly not have attempted to interfere with him in the government of peru when its reduction was complete. suspicious himself he could not trust me, employing every effort to lessen my reputation amongst his officers, and endeavouring to the utmost to prevent the squadron from gathering fresh laurels; even sacrificing his own reputation to this insane jealousy, by preventing anything being done in which i could take part. on the th i shifted my flag into the _san martin_, and leaving the _o'higgins_ and _valdivia_ at pisco to protect the troops, sailed for callao, where we arrived on the nd of april. on the th, we again attacked the enemy's shipping under the batteries, and did them considerable damage, but made no further attempt to gain possession of them, as i had other aims in view. after this demonstration, the object of which was to deter them from quitting their shelter, we returned to pisco. general san martin having now given me discretionary power to do what i pleased with the few troops placed at my disposal, i determined on attacking arica, the southernmost port of peru. reimbarking the troops, and abandoning pisco, we sailed on the st, and on the st of may arrived off arica, to the governor of which i sent a summons to surrender, promising to respect persons and personal property. as this was not complied with, an immediate bombardment took place, but without any great effect, as, from the difficulties of the port, it was impracticable to get sufficiently near to the fortifications. after a careful survey, the _san martin_ was on the th, hauled nearer in shore, and some shells were thrown over the town by way of intimidation. as this had not the desired effect, a portion of the troops was landed at sama, to the northward of the town, being followed by colonel miller with the remainder, and captain wilkinson with the marines of the _san martin_; when the enemy fled, and the patriot flag was hoisted on the batteries. we took here a considerable quantity of stores, and four spanish brigs, besides the guns of the fort and other detached artillery. a quantity of european goods, belonging to the spaniards at lima, was also seized and put on board the _san martin_. on the th colonel miller, with the troops and marines, advanced to tacna, and by my directions took possession of the town, which was effected without opposition, two companies of infantry deserting the royalist cause and joining his force. these i ordered to form the nucleus of a new regiment, to be called the "tacna independents." learning that the spanish general ramirez had ordered three detachments from arequipa, puno, and la paz, to form a junction at tacna, to execute the usual spanish order--to "drive the insurgents into the sea"--miller determined on attacking them separately. the arequipa detachment, under colonel hera, was fallen in with at maribe, and immediately routed, the result being that nearly the whole were killed or taken prisoners, together with four hundred mules and their baggage. in this affair we lost a valued officer, mr. welsh, an assistant surgeon, who had volunteered to accompany the detachment. this gentleman was sincerely mourned by all, and his early death was a great loss to the patriot service. this action was fought none too soon, for before it was over the other detachments from puno and la plaz appeared in sight, so that the patriots had to face a fresh enemy. with his usual promptness miller despatched captain hind, with a rocket party, to oppose their passage of a river; when, finding that the arequipa detachment had been cut up, the royalists remounted their mules and decamped, in the direction of moquega. on the nd miller pursued the runaway royalists, and, on the th, entered moquega, by a forced march of nearly a hundred miles, where he found the enemy, deserted by their colonel. notwithstanding the fatigue of the chilenos, an instant attack was made, when the whole, with the exception of about twenty killed, were made prisoners. the inhabitants at once gave in their adherence to the cause of independence, their governor, colonel portocarrera, being the first to set the example. on the th colonel miller learned that a spanish force was passing torata, about fifteen miles distant, when, coming up with them on the following day, they were all taken prisoners or dispersed, as were also those who had fled from arica, numbering four hundred men; so that in less than a fortnight after landing at arica, the patriot forces had killed and made prisoners upwards of one thousand of the royalist army, by a series of difficult forced marches, and amidst hunger and privations of every kind, which were cheerfully borne by the chilenos, who were no less inspired by a love of country than with attachment to their commander. the result was the complete submission of the spaniards from the sea to the cordilleras, arica forming the key to the whole country. having ascertained that colonel miller was at moquega, i took the _san martin_ to ilo, from which anchorage the patriot force was supplied with everything requisite. the sick were taken on board the brigs captured at arica, as were also the spanish colonels, sierra and suares, who had been taken prisoners, but whom i liberated on their _parole_, not to serve again until regularly exchanged. it has been said that, before sailing to arica, i had procured from general san martin discretionary powers to do as i pleased with the troops placed at my disposal. my object was believed to be to create a diversion in favour of the general, but this was the least part of my intention; for, as the army had remained inactive from its first landing in peru--with the exception of the detachment under colonel arenales,--no diversion would have been of much use. i wrote to the government at santiago for , men, or, if these could not be sent, for , and also for , stand of arms, of which there was abundance in the arsenal to equip recruits, who would have been forthcoming; and with these we could, with the greatest ease, have secured the whole of the southern provinces of peru, the people being warmly disposed in our favour. i therefore told the government that with such a force, we could hold the whole of lower peru, and gain eventual possession of upper peru. my request was refused, on the false ground that the government had no means to equip such an expedition, and thus the good will manifested by the natives was thrown away. in spite of this neglect, i determined to persevere, relying upon sacrifices made by the peruvians themselves in our favour. general ramirez was actively engaged in drawing men from distant garrisons to act against our small force, which was suffering severely from ague. nevertheless, every effort was made again to advance into the interior--a number of recruits from the adjacent provinces having been enrolled--and everything promised a general revolt in favour of independence, when the governor of arequipa communicated to us intelligence that an armistice had been agreed upon for twenty days, between general san martin and the viceroy lacerna. this happening just at the moment when hostilities could have been carried on with the greatest effect, and we were preparing to attack arequipa itself--was annoying in the extreme; the more so, as the application had come from the viceroy, who, being the first to receive intelligence of our success, had, no doubt, deceived general san martin into the arrangement, in order to check our operations in the south. this armistice was ratified on the rd of may, and sent by express to the governor of arequipa, the unusual haste proving the object of the viceroy in persuading general san martin to its ratification. to have regarded the armistice as a preliminary to the independence of peru was a great mistake on the part of general san martin, as the viceroy lacerna had no more power to acknowledge the absolute independence of the colonists, than had his predecessor; and therefore the object of the armistice could have been none other than to put a stop to our progress, thereby giving the spanish generals time to collect their scattered forces, without any corresponding advantage to the patriot cause. being thus reluctantly reduced to inaction, i dropped down to mollendo, where we found a neutral vessel taking in corn for supplying the city of lima, which city, from the vigilance of the squadron, was reduced to great straits, as shewn in an address from the _cabildo_ to the viceroy:--"the richest and most opulent of our provinces has succumbed to the unopposable force of the enemy, and the remaining provinces are threatened with the same fate; whilst this suffering capital of lima is undergoing the horrible effects of a rigorous blockade, hunger, robberies, and death. our soldiers pay no respect to the last remains of our property, even our oxen, indispensable for the cultivation of the land, being slain. if this plague continues, what will be our lot--our miserable condition?" from this extract it is plain that lima was on the point of being starved out by the squadron, whilst the inhabitants foresaw that, although the army of general san martin was inactive, our little band in the south would speedily overrun the provinces, which were willing to second our efforts in favour of independence. to return to the shipment of wheat for the relief of lima. on ascertaining the fact, i wrote to the governor of arequipa, expressing my surprise that neutrals should be allowed to embark provisions during an armistice; the reply being that the most positive orders should be given to put a stop to it, upon which i retired from mollendo, but leaving an officer to keep watch, and finding that the embarkation was persisted in, i returned and shipped all the wheat found on shore. the consequence of this was that colonel la hera, with , royalists, took possession of moquega, on pretence that i had broken the armistice. my private advices from head quarters informed me that the dissatisfaction of the chilian army was daily increasing, on account of their continued inaction, and from jealousy at our success; knowing also, that the capital of peru was, from the straits to which it was reduced, as well as from inclination, eager to receive them. general san martin nevertheless declined to take advantage of the circumstances in his favour, till dissension began to assume the character of insubordination. a daily toast at the tables of the officers was, to those who fight for the liberties of peru, not those who write. "_a los que pelean por la libertad del peru, no los que escriven_." general san martin, aware of the state of feeling in the army, went on board the schooner _montezuma_, for the re-establishment of his health. i was further informed that the viceroy was negociating with general san martin for the prolongation of the armistice to _sixteen months_, in order to give time for communication with the court of madrid, to ascertain whether the parent state would consent to the independence of peru! at the same time official information was forwarded to me that a further prolongation of twelve days had been conceded. feeling certain that there was something wrong at head-quarters, i determined to proceed to callao for the purpose of learning the true state of affairs, leaving colonel miller to return to arica, and in case of emergency, victualling and equipping the prizes, so as to be in readiness, if necessary, for the reception of his troops. during my absence lady cochrane sailed for england, partly for the sake of her health, but more for the purpose of obtaining justice for me, for in addition to the persecution which i had undergone, a "foreign enlistment bill" had been passed, the enactments of which were especially aimed at my having engaged in a service which had for its object the expulsion of spain, then in alliance with england, from her colonies in the pacific. as an incident relating to her ladyship has been mentioned in the "memoirs of general miller," i may be pardoned for giving it as narrated in that work. "on the th, six hundred infantry and sixty cavalry, all picked men, were placed under the command of lieutenant-colonel miller, who received directions to embark on a secret service under the orders of lord cochrane, and proceeded to huacho. on the day after his arrival there, and whilst he was inspecting the detachments in the plaza, lady cochrane galloped on to the parade to speak to him. the sudden appearance of youth and beauty on a fiery horse, managed with skill and elegance, absolutely electrified the men, who had never before seen an english lady. '_que hermosa! que graciosa! que linda! que airosa! es un angel del cielo_!' were exclamations which escaped from one end of the line to the other. colonel miller, not displeased at this involuntary homage to the beauty of his countrywoman, said to the men, 'this is our _generala_;' on which her ladyship, turning to the line, bowed to the troops, who no longer confining their expressions of admiration to suppressed interjections, loud _vivas_ burst from officers and men, to which lady cochrane, smiling her acknowledgments, cantered off the ground like a fairy." in the month of february, during my absence, lady cochrane, tired of the crowded villages occupied by the liberating army, undertook a journey into the interior, in the hope that change of air might prove advantageous to our infant child, which was in a precarious state of health. she performed the journey on horseback, under the intense heat of a vertical sun, across a desert, impeded by the precipitous beds of torrents which intersect the country in every direction. on her arrival at quilca, she was most hospitably received by the marchioness de la pracer, who placed her palace and every luxury at lady cochrane's disposal. in the midst of the festivities which followed, her child was taken dangerously ill, whilst no medical assistance of any kind was at hand. on this she determined to return to the coast, and seek the aid of an english or spanish physician, but as the royalist army was advancing towards the direction necessary to be taken, this was judged impracticable till they had passed. whilst her ladyship was in this state of suspense, information was received that the royalists, having gained intelligence that she was at quilca, had determined to seize her and her infant that very evening, and to detain them as hostages. this intelligence arrived just as a large party was assembled in the ball-room, when, with a decision which is one of her chief characteristics, lady cochrane ordered a _palanquin_--presented to her by the marquis of torre tagle--to be got ready instantly, and placing the child and its nurse in it, she despatched them under the protection of a guard. leaving the ball-room secretly, she changed her dress, immediately following on horseback with relays of her best horses. travelling all night and the following day without intermission, the party came to one of those swollen torrents which can only be crossed by a frail bridge made of cane-rope, a proceeding of extreme danger to those who are not well accustomed to the motion produced by its elasticity. whilst the party was debating as to how to get the palanquin over, the sound of a royalist bugle was heard close at hand. lady cochrane sprang to the palanquin, and taking out her suffering infant, rushed on to the bridge, but when near the centre, the vibration became so great that she was compelled to lie down, pressing the child to her bosom--being thus suspended over the foaming torrent beneath, whilst in its state of vibration no one could venture on the bridge. in this perilous situation, pedro, the faithful soldier of whom mention has been previously made, seeing the imminent danger of her ladyship, begged of her to lie still, and as the vibration ceased, crept on his hands and knees towards her ladyship, taking from her the child, and imploring her to remain motionless, when he would bring her over in the same way; but no sooner had he taken the child, than she followed, and happily succeeded in crossing, when the ropes being cut, the torrent was interposed between her and her pursuers. all travellers agree in describing these torrent bridges as most perilous. they are constructed of six elastic cane or hide ropes, four of which, with some sticks laid across, form the floor, and two the parapet. only one person can pass at a time, and as the weight of the passenger causes the bridge to belly downwards, he remains suspended as it were in an elastic bag, from which it requires considerable skill to extricate himself with safety. mules and horses cannot go over at all, but are hauled through the torrent with ropes. having reached the coast in safety, lady cochrane came down to me at callao. whilst she was on board, i received private information that a ship of war laden with treasure was about to make her escape in the night. there was no time to be lost, as the enemy's vessel was such an excellent sailer that, if once under weigh, beyond the reach of shot, there was no chance of capturing her. i therefore determined to attack her, so that lady cochrane had only escaped one peril ashore to be exposed to another afloat. having beat to quarters, we opened fire upon the treasure-ship and other hostile vessels in the anchorage, the batteries and gun-boats returning our fire, lady cochrane remaining on deck during the conflict. seeing a gunner hesitate to fire his gun, close to which she was standing, and imagining that his hesitation from her proximity might, if observed, expose him to punishment, she seized the man's arm, and directing the match fired the gun. the effort was, however, too much for her, as she immediately fainted, and was carried below. the treasure-vessel having been crippled, and the gun-boats beaten off, we left off firing and returned to our former anchorage, lady cochrane again coming on deck. as soon as the sails were furled, the men in the tops, and the whole crew on deck, no doubt by preconcerted arrangement, spontaneously burst forth with the inspiring strains of their national anthem, some poet amongst them having extemporized an alteration of the words into a prayer for the blessing of divine providence on me and my devoted wife; the effect of this unexpected mark of attachment from five hundred manly voices being so overwhelming as to affect her ladyship more than had the din of cannon. chapter vi. return to callao--lima abandoned--hesitation of gen. san martin to occupy the city--loss of the san martin--excesses of the spaniards--proclamation of independence--san martin assumes autocratic power under the title of protector--my remonstrance--his reply--mutinous state of the squadron from neglect. we arrived at callao on the nd of july, when learning that lima was no longer tenable from want of provisions, and that an intention existed on the part of the viceroy to abandon it, i forebore to make any hostile demonstration which might interfere with such decision, and withdrew to a distance from the port, awaiting the result, which could not be far distant, as the people had become clamorous, and all hope of assistance from spain was abandoned. having, however, learned, on the th of july, that an attempt was being made by the viceroy to obtain a still further prolongation of the armistice, i again entered the bay with the _san martin_--my former flag-ship, the _o'higgins_, being absent on the coast. on the th the viceroy abandoned the city, retaining, however, the fortresses at callao, the garrison of which was reinforced from the troops which had evacuated lima; a large quantity of warlike stores being also deposited in the forts, thus securing greater efficiency than before. to the astonishment of the peruvians and chilenos, no movement was made by the liberating army to take possession of the capital; and as the spanish troops were withdrawn, whilst no government existed, serious disorders were anticipated, so that the _cabildo_ applied to capt. basil hall, then in command of the british ship of war _conway_, for his assistance to maintain tranquillity and protect public and private property. captain hall immediately despatched a party of marines, who contributed to maintain order. general san martin having been apprised by the viceroy of his intention to abandon the capital, had entered the harbour in the schooner _sacramento_, but nevertheless gave no orders for its occupation. on the th a detachment of cavalry, _without orders_, entered lima, and those on the th were followed by another detachment of infantry. on working up to the port on the th, i was surprised to find general san martin still afloat in his schooner, though the liberating army was now entering the city in a body, and the occupation was complete; general san martin remained on board till the evening of the th, when he privately landed. as the forts at callao were still in the possession of the enemy, i made preparations to attack them, and to destroy the shipping still sheltered under them. aware of my intentions, the garrison, on the th, sank the _san sebastian_, the only frigate left in the harbour, in order to prevent her falling into our hands on the following day, the _o'higgins, lautaro, puyrredon_, and _potrillo_ arrived, so that the squadron was again complete. it was mentioned in the last chapter that i had seized a considerable quantity of wheat at mollendo, on account of a breach of the armistice. this was still on board, and the city being in a state of famine, general san martin directed that the wheat, of which there were upwards of two thousand _fanegas_, should be landed at the chorillos free of duty. as the _san martin_ was deeply laden, i objected to this from the dangerous nature of the anchorage, but more especially, that the only anchor on board was made from the remains of two broken anchors lashed together; this objection was nevertheless overruled, and, as i had anticipated, she went ashore at chorillos, where, from the heavy swell which set in, she became a total wreck. on the th i received an invitation from the _cabildo_ to visit the city, and on landing, found that preparations had been made to give the visit the character of a public entry, carriages being provided, with deputations from the various corporations. finding this to be the case, i declined entering lima in a manner so ostentatious, as general san martin had entered the city privately by night. i was, however, compelled to hold a _levee_ at the palace, where the compliments of the established authorities and principal inhabitants were tendered to me. general san martin declined to attend this complimentary manifestation, remaining at la legua, about halfway between lima and callao, where he had established his head quarters; probably considering such honours out of place towards one whom as captain-general he might regard as a subordinate, and the more so, as no such compliment had been offered to himself. on the following day, general san martin directed a civic guard to be organized in place of the spanish guard which had evacuated the city, the marquis of torre tagle being appointed its commandant. at the same time the general retained the whole of the liberating army, though had even a portion of these followed the retreating spaniards, the greater part would have joined the patriot standard--it being afterwards ascertained that colonel rodil who commanded them, had shot great numbers in the attempt to desert; even the patriot guerilla parties, unaided, had defeated those who were kept together; so that had a division of the liberating army been sent to co-operate with the guerillas, the entire spanish force might have been annihilated, in place of forming the _nucleus_--as they afterwards did--of a force which, after my departure from chili, threatened not only the independence of peru, but even that of the chilian republic itself. being thus unopposed, and the towns which had given in their adhesion to the cause of independence being left defenceless--the retreating spaniards committed great excesses amongst the inhabitants of the interior, who found themselves exposed to more than the rigours of martial law, without the least attempt for their protection; though a promise of this had formed one of the principal inducements for throwing off their allegiance to the viceroy, at whose mercy--or rather want of it--they now found themselves exposed. in place of protecting the peruvians in the interior, a number of highly inflated proclamations were issued, in which it was left to be inferred that the city had been taken by hard fighting, though not a blow had been struck, except by the detachment of colonel arenales and the squadron, whose vigilance of blockade and previous actions had so dispirited the enemy and reduced them to such straits, that abandonment of the capital was inevitable. nor was the large force present even required to maintain lima, the inhabitants having for a long period been subjected to miseries which they had no disposition to re-encounter. but general san martin had other views in retaining the army than protecting those who had confided in his promises; the military force being required for very different purposes to that which had been set forth in his proclamations and in those entrusted to him by the chilian government. on the th i ordered captain crosbie to proceed to callao in the boats, and cut out as many of the enemy's vessels as he could bring away. the service was gallantly performed, for on the following day he brought out two large merchantmen, the _san fernando_ and _milagro_, and the sloop of war _resolucion_, together with several launches; burning moreover two vessels within musket shot of the batteries. on the th, the _cabildo_ sent me an invitation to be present at the public proclamation of the independence of peru. as their letter fully recognises the obligations of the limeños to the services of the squadron,--i shall transcribe it:-- "lima is about to solemnize the most august act which has been performed for three centuries, or since her foundation; this is the proclamation of her independence, and absolute exclusion from the spanish government, as well as from that of any other foreign potentate, and this _cabildo_--wishing the ceremony to be conducted with all possible decorum and solemnity, _considers it necessary that your excellency, who has so gloriously co-operated in bringing about this highly desired object_, will deign to assist at the act with your illustrious officers, on saturday, the th instant." imagining that myself and officers had been mainly instrumental in establishing the independence of peru--for i had in vain urged the captain-general to action, as far as the army was concerned, the invitation was accepted, but judge of my surprise at the ceremony, when medals were distributed, ascribing to general san martin and the army the whole credit of having accomplished that which the squadron had achieved! the inscription on the medals was as follows.--"lima secured its independence on the th of july, , under the protection of _general san martin and the liberating army_." the declaration of independence was however complete, according to the promises and intentions of the chilian government. on hoisting the national flag, general san martin pronounced the following words:--"peru is from this moment free and independent, by the general vote of the people, and by the justice of her cause, which god defend." the inhabitants of lima were in a state of great delight at this termination of centuries of spanish misrule, and that their independence of action was fully recognized as had been stipulated by chili. as a mark of gratitude, a deputation from the _cabildo_, on the next day waited on general san martin, offering him, in the name of the inhabitants of the capital, the first presidency of their now independent state. to the astonishment of the deputation they were curtly told that their offer was altogether unnecessary, as he had _already taken the command, and should keep it as long as he thought proper, whilst he would allow no assemblies for the discussion of public matters_. the first act of the freedom and independence so ostentatiously proclaimed on the previous day, being the establishment of a despotic government, in which the people had neither voice nor share; and this by the general of a republic which existed only by the will of the people! in this extraordinary assumption of power i had not been at all consulted, probably because it was known that i would not countenance anything but carrying out intact the intentions of the supreme director of chili as declared in his proclamations. it now became evident to me that the army had been kept inert for the purpose of preserving it entire to further the ambitious views of the general, and that with the whole force now at lima the inhabitants were completely at the mercy of their pretended liberator, but in reality their conqueror. as the existence of this self-constituted authority was no less at variance with the institutions of the chilian republic than with its solemn promises to the limeños, i again shifted my flag on board the _o'higgins_, determined to adhere solely to the interests of chili; but not interfering in any way with general san martin's proceedings till they interfered with me in my capacity as commander in chief of the chilian navy. on the rd of august, general san martin issued a proclamation to the same effect as his declaration to the now extinct _cabildo_; setting forth that although it was abundantly notorious that he aspired only to retirement and tranquillity, nevertheless a moral responsibility required him to unite all government in his own person, and he therefore declared himself "protector of peru," with don juan garcia del rio, don bernardo monteagudo, and don hipolito unanue, as his three ministers of state. being at the time on board the flag-ship, i knew nothing of this proclamation; but as the squadron had not been paid their twelve months' wages, nor the , dollars promised by general san martin, i went on shore on the th of august, to make the demand on behalf of the squadron, the seamen having served their time. being ignorant of the self-imposed title which general san martin had assumed, i frankly asked him to devise some means for defraying these payments. i forbear personally to relate what passed at this interview; but as my secretary was present, and on his return to england published an account thereof, which is in every respect substantially true, i will give it in his words:-- "on the following morning, august th, lord cochrane, uninformed of the change which had taken place in the title of san martin, visited the palace, and began to beg of the general in chief to propose some means for the payment of the foreign seamen, who had served their time and fulfilled their contract. to this, san martin answered, that 'he would never pay the chilian squadron unless it was sold to peru, and then the payment should be considered part of the purchase money!' to this lord cochrane replied, that 'by such a transaction the squadron of chili would be transferred to peru by merely paying what was due to the officers and crews for services done to that state.' san martin knit his brows, and turning to his two ministers, garcia and monteagudo, ordered them to retire, to which his lordship objected, stating that 'as he was not master of the spanish language, he wished them to remain as interpreters, fearful that some expression, not rightly understood, might be considered offensive.' san martin now turned round to the admiral, and said--'are you aware, my lord, that i am protector of peru?'--'no,'--said his lordship, 'i ordered my secretaries to inform you of it,' returned san martin. 'that is now unnecessary, for you have personally informed me,' said his lordship; 'i hope that the friendship which has existed between san martin and myself will continue to exist between the protector of peru and myself.' san martin then--rubbing his hands--said, 'i have only to say, that i am protector of peru!'" "the manner in which this last sentence was expressed, roused the admiral, who, advancing, said--'then it becomes me, as senior officer of chili, and consequently the representative of the nation, to request the fulfilment of all the promises made to chili and the squadron; but first--and principally--the squadron.' san martin returned--'chili! chili! i will never pay a single _real_ to chili! as to the squadron, you may take it where you please, and go where you choose; a couple of schooners are quite enough for me;' '_chili! chili, yo nunca pagare 'un real a chili! y en quanto a la esquadra, puede v llevarla donde quiere, e irse quando guste, con un par de golestas me basta a mi_.'" "on hearing this, garcia left the room, and monteagudo walked to the balcony. san martin paced the room for a short time and turning to his lordship, said,--'forget, my lord, what is past.' the admiral replied--'i will, when i can,' and immediately left the palace." his lordship was now undeceived by the man himself; the repeated reports he had heard of his past conduct crowded on his imagination, and knowing what might be attempted, from what had been already done, his lordship agreed with me, that his life was not safe ashore. he therefore immediately took horse--rode to boca negra, and went on board his frigate[ ]. [footnote : "_twenty years residence in south america_," by w.b. stevenson, secretary to lord cochrane, vice-admiral of chili, &c. &c. .] one thing has been omitted in the preceding narrative. general san martin, following me to the staircase, had the temerity to propose to me to follow his example--viz. to break faith with chilian government to which we had both sworn--to abandon the squadron to his interests--and to accept the higher grade of "first admiral of peru." i need scarcely say that a proposition so dishonourable was declined; when in a tone of irritation he declared that "he would neither give the seamen their arrears of pay, nor the gratuity he had promised." on arriving at the flag-ship, i found the following official communication, requesting me to fire a salute in honour of san martin's self-elevation to the protectorship:-- lima, th aug. . my lord, his excellency the protector of peru commands me to transmit to you the annexed organic decree, announcing his exaltation to the supreme authority; in order that the squadron may be informed of this momentous event, and that the new government may be acknowledged by the naval department under your command, belonging to the republic of chili. i hope, that duly estimating this high act, you will cause it to be celebrated with all the dignity which is compatible with the martial usage of the naval service. (signed) monteagudo. attested by the _rubrica_ of the protector. though this was a request to acknowledge general san martin as invested with the attributes of a sovereign prince, i complied with it in the hope that quiet remonstrance might recal him to a sense of duty to the chilian government, no less than to his own true interests. on the th of august, i addressed to him the following letter:-- callao roads, th aug. . my dear general, i address you for the last time under your late designation, being aware that the liberty i may take as a friend might not be deemed decorous to you under the title of "protector," for i shall not with a gentleman of your understanding take into account, as a motive for abstaining to speak truth, any chance of your resentment. nay, were i certain that such would be the effect of this letter, i would nevertheless perform such an act of friendship, in repayment of the support you gave me at a time when the basest plots and plans were laid for my dismissal from the chilian service, for no other reason than that certain influential persons of shallow understanding and petty expedients hate those who despise mean acts accomplished by low cunning. permit me, my dear general, to give you the experience of eleven years during which i sat in the first senate in the world, and to say what i anticipate on the one hand, and what i fear on the other, nay, what i foresee; for that which is to come, in regard to the acts of governments and nations, may as certainly be predicted from history, as the revolutions of the solar system. you have it in your power to be the napoleon of south america, as you have it in your power to be one of the greatest men now acting on the theatre of the world; but you have also the power to choose your course, and if the first steps are false, the eminence on which you stand will, as though from the brink of a precipice, make your fall the more heavy and the more certain. the rocks on which the south american government have split have hitherto been bad faith, and consequent temporary expedients. no man has yet arisen, save yourself, capable of soaring aloft, and with eagle eye embracing the expanse of the political horizon. but if in your flight, like icarus, you trust to waxen wings, your descent may crush the rising liberties of peru, and involve all south america in anarchy, civil war, and political despotism. the real strength of government is public opinion. what would the world say, were the protector of peru, as his first act, to cancel the bonds of san martin, even though gratitude may be a private and not a public virtue? what would they say, were the protector to refuse to pay the expense of that expedition which placed him in his present elevated situation? what would they say, were it promulgated to the world that he intended not even to remunerate those employed in the navy which contributed to his success. what good can be arrived at by a crooked path that cannot be attained by a straight and open way? who has advised a tortuous policy and the concealment of the real sentiments and intentions of government? has an intriguing spirit dictated the refusal of pay to the chilian navy, whilst the army is doubly paid? is it proposed thus to alienate the minds of the men from their present service, and by such policy to obtain them for the service of peru? if so, the effect will, i predict, be the contrary, for they have looked, and do look, to peru for their remuneration, and, if disappointed, they will feel accordingly. see to what a state the senate had brought the beautiful and fertile province of chili. nay, had not their notorious want of faith deprived them, notwithstanding their mines, their confiscated and public lands, of the means possessed even by the spanish government, and of the credit necessary to procure a dollar in any foreign country, or even in their own? i say, therefore, my dear general, that whoever has advised you to commence your protectorship with devices unworthy of san martin, is either a thoughtless or a wicked man, whom you should for ever banish from your counsels. my dear general, look to the flattering addresses presented by the servile of all countries to the most base in power. think not that it is to the person of san martin that the public are attached. believe not, that without a straight and dignified course you can obtain the admiration or love of mankind. so far yet you have succeeded, and, thank god, it is in your power to succeed yet farther. flatterers are more dangerous than the most venomous serpents, and next to them are men of knowledge, if they have not the integrity or courage to oppose bad measures, when formally discussed, or even when casually spoken of. what political necessity existed for any temporary concealment of the sentiments of government in regard to the fate of the spaniards in peru? were not the army and the people ready to support your measures, and did not the latter call aloud for their expulsion? believe me, my dear general, that after your declaration, even the seizing on spanish property belonging to those who remain, is an act which ought not to be resorted to without crime on their part subsequently committed. in the feelings of my breast no man can deceive me. of the sentiments of others, i judge by my own, and i tell you what they are as an honest man and a friend. i could say much to you, my dear general, on other subjects of little inferior importance, but as the foregoing are the only acts immediately contemplated of which i have acquired a knowledge, and which are, in their consequences, ruinous, i shall, at present, only add, that had kings and princes but one man in their dominions who would, on all occasions, utter the naked truth, multifarious errors would be avoided, and the mischief to mankind would be infinitely less. you will plainly perceive that i have no personal interests in these, or any other points, at variance with yours; but, on the contrary, if i were base and interested, i have now taken a decisive and irrevocable step to ruin my prospects; having no other security for such not being the consequence of my candour save my good opinion of your judgment and your heart. believe me, under all circumstances, your attached friend, cochrane. to this letter, on the th of august, general san martin replied as follows:-- lima, th august, . my lord, the best proof of friendship that can be given by you is the sincere announcement of your opinions as to the course i should follow in my new political character. assuredly you have not erred, when, under the title of protector, you do not anticipate any change in my personal character. happily, the alteration is only in a name, which, in my opinion, was required for the benefit of the country; and if, in the character in which you have known me, you have met with _civility_ and frankness, it would be an injustice to deny me confidence, having always listened to you as an enlightened person, experienced in the world; especially as you do me justice in enabling me to make observations on the spirit of your last communication. i am aware that good faith in one who presides over a nation, is the vital spirit of its prosperity; and as, in this respect, a singular current of success has called me temporarily to the supreme magistracy of this country, i should renounce the advantages acquired and betray my principles, if vanity or servile acquiescence in bad advice were to induce me to deviate from the social interests of peru, and so expose it to the evils which in such case you dread. i know, my lord, that one cannot fly with waxen wings. i perceive the course i ought to pursue, and that, however great the advantages already gained, there are rocks which, _without the aid of prudence and good faith_, must be encountered. by good fortune, i have not forgotten the maxim of religiously adhering to the word of a gentleman, which, as general, has been the pivot on which my anticipations have rested. it now behoves me to explain my engagements towards the chilian squadron, to which, it is very gratifying to declare that peru, in part, owes its liberty; an acknowledgment which would have been made on the medals coined, if, in the hurry of business, _i had been able to give my attention to the subject of the inscription that was presented to me as a model!_ you yourself have heard me eulogise its merits and services. i have offered to the crews of the squadron of chili twelve months' pay, as an acknowledgment of its services, and am employed in providing the means, and also in endeavouring to collect the reward of , dollars which _you_ offered to the seamen who should capture the _esmeralda_, and i am not only disposed to pay these sums, but to recompense valour displayed in the cause of the country. but you know, my lord, that the wages of the crews do not come under these circumstances, and that i--_never having engaged to pay the amount--am not obliged to do so!_ that debt is due from chili, whose government engaged the seamen. although it may be just, in the state of its finances, to indemnify chili in some degree for the expeditionary expenses, that will be, for me, an agreeable consideration; but in no degree will i acknowledge a right to claim arrears of pay! if i could forget the services of the squadron, and the sacrifices of chili, i should manifest ingratitude, which, neither as a public or private virtue will i ever forego; but it is as imprudent to lavish rewards, as to withhold them from the meritorious. i am engaged in finding means to realize measures as regards the squadron, which i intend to propose to the supreme government of chili, and thus conciliate all interests. your affectionate friend, jose de san martin. to lord cochrane, vice-admiral of chili. in this letter, san martin attributes his usurpation to a "singular current of success;" omitting to state that he neither achieved one blow, nor devised one plan which led to it, whilst he had all along offered it every obstruction in his power. he declares that the arrogation of the fall of the spaniards, attributed by the inscription on the medal to the army and himself, was a mistake, brought about by "his not being able, in the hurry of business, to give attention to the model presented to him;" whereas the inscription was his own writing, after days of deliberation and consultation with others, who advised him not to mention the squadron in the inscription. in this letter he repudiates all connection with chili, though he had sworn fidelity to the republic as its captain general. he denies ever having engaged to pay the squadron their wages, though on no other condition had it put to sea from valparaiso, and his own handwriting to this specific promise was accepted as the inducement. though himself an officer of chili, he treats chili as a state with which he had nothing to do, whose debts he declares that he will not pay, as he had previously told me on the th of august; finally, he says that he will propose to chili to pay its own seamen! as to his promises to give the men a twelvemonths' pay in acknowledgment of their services, this was neither intended nor given; whilst, as to the , dollars promised to the captors of the _esmeralda_, which he is "endeavouring to collect," he had long before "collected" many times the amount from the old spaniards--who had offered a similar reward for the capture of any vessels of the chilian squadron--and kept it. fortunately, his own letters prove these matters, which otherwise i should have hesitated to mention, unsupported by testimony so irrefutable. general san martin afterwards denied to the chilian government that he refused, on the th of august, to pay the squadron. here is the same assertion, in his own handwriting, on the th! during the whole of this time the squadron was in a state of literal destitution; even the provisions necessary for its subsistence being withheld from it, though the protector had abundant means of supplying them; but his object was to starve both officers and men into desertion--so as to accelerate the dismemberment of the squadron which i would not give up to his ambitious views. the sound advice contained in my letter general san martin never forgave--and he afterwards fell exactly as i had predicted--there was no merit in the prophecy, for similar causes lead to like effects. adhering to my own duty, i felt that i was free from his command, and determined to follow no other course than to carry out, as far as lay in my power, the pledge of the chilian government to the peruvian people. concealing for the present his resentment, and reflecting that the forts of callao were still in the hands of the spaniards, the protector endeavoured to explain away the disagreeable nature of our interview on the th of august, by asserting, "that he only said, or meant to say, that it might be interesting to chili to _sell some of her vessels of war to peru_, because the latter wanted them for the protection of her coasts;" adding, that "the government of chili would at all times devote their squadron to the furtherance of the cause of peru." he repeated, that the arrears of pay to the squadron should be liquidated, as well as the rewards which had been promised. as none of these were forthcoming, the squadron began to shew symptoms of mutiny at the conduct of the protector. on the th of august i wrote to him, apprising him of the increasing discontent of the seamen, again requesting payment. on this a decree was issued, ordering one-fifth of the customs receipts to be set aside for the joint pay of the army and navy, but as the fortress and port of callao were in the hands of the spaniards, these receipts were most insignificant, and the measure was rightly regarded by the squadron as a subterfuge. to this communication the protector replied, on the th of august--at the same time hinting that i might _reconsider_ my refusal to accept the command of the contemplated peruvian navy. the subjoined is his letter:-- lima, th of august, . my lord, in my official letter addressed to you on the disagreeable business of paying the squadron, which causes us so much uneasiness, i have told you that it is impossible to do as we wish. i have nothing to add, unless my previous declaration, that i shall never view with indifference any thing that interests you. i told you in valparaiso, that "your lot should be equal to mine" and i believe myself to have proved that my intentions have not varied--nor can vary, because every day renders my actions more important. no, my lord, i do not view with indifference anything which concerns you, and i shall be deeply grieved, if you do not wait till i can onvince you of the truth. if, however, in despite of all this, you determine on the course, which, at our interview a few days ago, you proposed to take, it will be for me a difficulty from which i cannot extricate myself, but i hope that--_conforming yourself to my wishes_--you will conclude the work begun, on which our common lot depends. adieu, my lord, i repeat that i am, with sincere esteem, your eternal friend, jose de san martin. the assertion, that he could not satisfy the seamen, was a subterfuge; he had abundance of money, derived from the wholesale spoliation of the spaniards, to which indefensible course i had alluded in my letter of august th. he also hoped that "_conforming to his wishes_," i would accept the appointment of "first admiral;" the consequence of which--together with the decree transferring the chilian officers--without their consent--to the service of peru, would have been to turn over to his government the chilian squadron. chapter vii. tampering with chilian officers--the archbishop of lima--his expulsion--negociation for surrender of the forts--this counteracted--san martin's bombastic proclamations--his refusal to encounter the enemy--the spaniards relieve callao--delusive proclamation--the unblushing falsehood--spaniards carry off the treasure--discontent of the squadron. finding that i was indisposed to acknowledge his self-assumed authority, and still less to contribute to measures which would, in effect, have deprived chili of the navy, which by her patriotic sacrifices had been created, the protector issued a proclamation, again _promising_ the payment of arrears to the seamen, and a pension for life to the officers, _acknowledging them as officers of peru_! no inference can be drawn from this other than a direct intimation to the officers to desert from the chilian service. the following are extracts from the proclamation, which was published in a gazette extraordinary of august th, :-- "the army and squadron of chili united, have, at last, completed the oath which they took, to liberate peru, and have raised it to the rank which justice and the interests of the world demand. their constancy and heroism will hand them down to posterity with gratitude. i should be deficient in my political duty, did i not manifest the appreciation due to their transcendent deeds, promoting the interests of both hemispheres." " . the state of peru acknowledges as a national debt the arrears of the army and squadron, as well as the promises made by me to both." " . all the property of the state, and also twenty per cent, on the revenue, are pledged to the extinction of these debts." " . all the officers of the army and squadron who sailed with the liberating expedition, and now remain in them, _are acknowledged as officers of peru_." " . those comprehended in the preceding articles, and those employed in the said cause, shall receive, during the period of their lives, a pension of half their full pay, awarded on leaving valparaiso, which pension shall be paid even in the case of their settling in a foreign country." " . all shall receive a medal," &c, &c. not a penny of the arrears and the other emoluments promised, was, however, paid to the squadron; nor was any intended to be paid, the object being to get the officers quietly to transfer themselves from the chilian squadron to the service of the protector, on the strength of the promises made: and, in this, he was ably seconded by his instruments, guise and spry, who, in defiance of their desertion, and the sentence of court-martial on the latter, had been retained near his person for the accomplishment of this object. one of the most fearless opponents of the protector was the archbishop of lima, an excellent man, much beloved by the people--who made no secret of his indignation at the usurpation which had taken place, despite all the promises of chili, declared "before god and man"--as well as those of the protector himself, to "leave the peruvians free as regarded their own choice of government." as the honest prelate denounced, in no measured terms, the despotism which had been established in the place of the liberty guaranteed, it was determined to get rid of him. the first step was an order to the archbishop, dated august , , to close all the houses of spiritual exercises. this was politely refused; but, at the same time, the prelate stated, that if any confessor disturbed public order, he would take the requisite measures for his punishment. on the th, the archbishop was told in reply, that "the protector's orders were irrevocable, and he must at once decide on the line of conduct he intended to adopt." on the st of september, the prelate, in an admirable letter, told the protector, that "the principal obligation of a bishop was to defend the deposit of doctrine and faith which had been confided to him, and, if threatened by any great potentate, to remonstrate with respect and submission, to the end that he might not be a participator in crime by a cowardly condescension. god had constituted bishops as the pastors and guards of the flock, and he tells us, that we are not to be cowards in the presence of the greatest potentates on earth, but, if necessary, we must shed our blood, and lay down our lives, in so just a cause; anathematizing us, on the contrary, as dumb dogs who do not bark when the spiritual health of the flock is in danger." the end of this was, that the protector urged on the archbishop to resign, promising him a vessel to convey him to panama; relying on which promise, he sent in his resignation, and was ordered to quit lima in twenty-four hours! as the promise of a conveyance to panama was broken, the archbishop embarked in a merchant vessel for rio de janeiro, addressing to me the following letter previous to his departure. chancay, nov. , . my dear lord, the time is arrived for my return to spain, the protector having granted me the necessary passport. the polite attention which i owe to your excellency, and the peculiar qualifications which adorn and distinguish you, oblige me to manifest to you my sincere regard and esteem. in spain, if god grant that i arrive in safety, i request that you will deign to command me. on leaving this country, _i am convinced that its independence is for ever sealed_. this i will represent to the spanish government, and to the papal see, and will do all in my power to preserve the tranquillity, and to further the views, of the inhabitants of america, who are dear to me. deign, my lord, to receive these sentiments as emanating from the sincerity of my heart, and command your obliged servant and chaplain, bartolomÉ maria de las heras. this forcible expulsion of the archbishop was an act of political folly, as being tantamount to a declaration that he was too good a man to countenance the designs of those who had usurped an unjust dominion over his flock. had the promises of chili been carried out in their integrity, both the archbishop and his clergy would have used all their influence to promote the cause of liberty--not more from interest than inclination. the expression of the archbishop, that "the independence of peru was _for ever_ sealed," was, however, erroneous. tyranny is not composed of enduring materials. the bishop of guamanga, who resided at lima, was also ordered to leave peru within eight days, without reason assigned, and thus the opposition of the church was got rid of, though not without deep feeling on the part of the limeños, who were, however, powerless to help their clergy or themselves. the affairs of the squadron becoming every day worse, and a mutinous spirit being excited from actual destitution, i endeavoured to obtain possession of the castles of callao by negociation, offering to the spanish commandant permission to depart with two-thirds of the property contained in the fort, on condition of the remainder, together with the forts, being given up to the chilian squadron. my object was to supply the crews with the absolute necessaries, of which they stood in need from the evasive conduct of the protector, who continued to withhold, not only pay, but provisions, though the squadron had formed the ladder on which he had ascended to his present elevated position. there were large sums and a vast amount of plate in the possession of the spanish garrison,--the wealthy citizens of lima--fearing their liberators--having deposited both in the forts for security. a third of this would have relieved us from our embarrassments. the vessels were, in fact, in want of stores of every kind, their crews being without animal food, clothing, or spirits, indeed their only means of subsistence was upon money obtained from the spanish fugitives, whom i permitted to ransom themselves by surrendering a third only of the property with which they were escaping. as soon as my offer to the spanish commandant, la mar, became known to the protector--in order to counteract it, and ensure the success of his design to starve out the chilian squadron, and so procure its transfer to himself--he offered la mar unlimited and unconditional protection, both as to persons and property, on purchase of letters of citizenship! the commandant, therefore, rejected my proposal, and the hope of obtaining a sufficient sum for the payment of the seamen, and for refitting the ships, was frustrated. general san martin afterwards accused me to the chilian government of aiming at the possession of the fortress of callao, for the purpose of setting at defiance the government of peru! this was ridiculous; though, had it been my object, it would have been perfectly consistent with my duty to chili, from which state the protector of peru had cast off his allegiance. my object was simply to obtain means to subsist the squadron; though, had i obtained possession of the forts, i would most certainly have dictated to general san martin the fulfilment of his promises; and should as certainly have insisted on his performing his solemn engagement to the peruvians, of giving them the free choice of their own government. he also accused me of wishing to appropriate the sum proposed to be surrendered by the spanish commandant to my own use, though the seamen were in a state of mutiny from actual starvation! instead of contributing to this useful end, as before the protector's interference la mar was not unwilling to do, the spaniards were afterwards permitted to retire unmolested with the whole of their treasure; and to this, the most discreditable act which ever sullied the name of a military commander, we now come. as the whole transaction has been well described by another writer, who was present throughout, i prefer extracting his words, in order to prevent any suspicion of mental bias which i may be supposed to entertain on the subject:-- "the spanish army at janja, in the beginning of september, spread alarm in lima, from advices received of their movements. it appeared that they were determined to attack the capital, and on the th of september the following proclamation was issued at head-quarters by the protector:--" "inhabitants of lima," "it appears that the justice of heaven, tired of tolerating for so long a time the oppressors of peru, now guides them to destruction. three hundred of those troops who have desolated so many towns, burnt so many temples, and destroyed so many thousands of victims, are at san mateo, and two hundred more at san damian. if they advance on this capital, it will be with the design of immolating you to their vengeance (san martin had , troops to oppose them), and to force you to purchase at a high price your decision, and enthusiasm for independence. vain hope! the valiant who have liberated the illustrious lima, those who protect her in the most difficult moments, know how to preserve her against the fury of the spanish army. yes, inhabitants of this capital, my troops will not abandon you; _they and myself are going to triumph over that army which--thirsty of our blood and property, is advancing; or we will perish with honour, for we will never witness your disgrace_. in return for this noble devotion, and that it may receive the favourable success of which it is worthy, all we require of you is, union, tranquillity, and efficacious co-operation. this alone is necessary to ensure the felicity and splendour of peru." "san martin." "on the morning of the th, lord cochrane received on board the _o'higgins_ an official communication, informing him that the enemy was approaching the walls of lima, and repeating the request that his lordship would send to the army every kind of portable arms then on board the squadron, as well as the marines and all volunteers; because the protector was '_determined to bring the enemy to an action, and either conquer or remain buried in the ruins of what was lima_.' this heroic note was, however, accompanied by a private one from monteagudo, containing a request that the boats of the vessels of war might be kept in readiness, and a look out placed on the beach of boca negra." "lord cochrane immediately pressed forward to san martin's camp, where, being recognised by several officers, a murmur of congratulation was heard, and even guise and spry exclaimed, 'we shall have some fighting now the admiral is come.' general las heras, acting as general-in-chief, saluting the admiral, begged of him to endeavour to persuade the protector to bring the enemy to an action. his lordship, on this, rode up to san martin, and taking him by the hand, in the most earnest manner entreated him to attack the enemy without losing a single moment; his entreaties were, however, in vain, the only answer received being--'my resolutions are taken'--'_mis medidas están tomadas_.'" "notwithstanding this apathy, his lordship remonstrated, stating the situation in which he had, not five minutes before, observed the enemy's infantry, and begged of the protector to ascend an eminence at the back of the house, and convince himself how easily a victory might be obtained; but he only received the same cold reply--_mis medidas están tomadas_.'" "the clamour of the officers in the _patio_ of the house roused san martin, who called for his horse and mounted. in a moment all was bustle, and the anticipated glow of victory shone in every countenance. the order to arms was given, and instantly obeyed by the whole army, amounting to about , men, including guerillas, all anxious to begin the fight. the protector beckoned to the admiral and general las heras, who immediately rode up to him, hoping that he was either about to consult them respecting the attack, or to inform them how it was to be conducted." "at this moment a peasant approached san martin on horseback, the general with most unparalleled composure lending an attentive ear to his communications as to where the enemy was the day before! the admiral, exasperated at so unnecessary a waste of time, bade the peasant 'begone,' adding--'the general's time is too important to be employed in listening to your fooleries.' at this interruption, san martin frowned on the admiral, and turning his horse rode up to the door of the house, where he alighted and went in." "lord cochrane then requested a private conference with san martin--which was the last time he ever spoke to him--and assured him that it was not even then too late to attack the enemy, begging and entreating that the opportunity might not be lost, and offering himself to lead the cavalry. but to this he received the reply, 'i alone am responsible for the liberties of peru.'--_'yo solo soy responsable de la libertad del peru_.' on this the protector retired to an inner apartment of the house to enjoy his customary _siesta_, which was disturbed by general las heras, who came to receive orders, and recalled to the attention of the protector that the force was still under arms, when san martin ordered that the troops should receive their rations!" "thus gen. cantarac, with , men, passed to the southward of lima--within half-musket shot of the protecting army of peru, composed of , --entered the castles of callao with a convoy of cattle and provisions, where he refreshed and rested his troops for six days, and then retired on the th, taking with him the _whole of the vast treasure deposited therein by the limeños_, and leisurely retreating on the north side of lima." "after cantarac had led his troops into the batteries of callao, the success was announced by the firing of guns and other demonstrations which harrowed up the souls of the chilian officers. the patriot army thereupon passively occupied their old camp at the legua, between callao and lima." "it would be an act of injustice not to mention that the second in command, general las heras, disgusted with the result, left the service of the protector, and requested his passport to chili, which was granted; his example being followed by several officers of the army, who, deeply wounded by what had taken place, preferred obscurity, and even poverty, to further serving under such circumstances. the british ship of war, _superb_, was in the bay, and several of the officers, expecting to see the decisive blow struck in peru, repaired to san martin's head-quarters, and were astounded at the coolness of a general, who, commanding , men, could abandon a favourable position in which he might at least have intercepted the convoy of cattle, and so at once have compelled the surrender of callao, instead of permitting them to pass without a single shot being fired."[ ] [footnote : "_twenty years residence in south america_," by w.b. stevenson. vol. iii. london, .] the preceding extract, published in london by one who was by my side during the whole affair, is perfectly correct. the limeños were deeply humiliated by the occurrence, nor was their annoyance mitigated by the publication of the following proclamation in the ministerial gazette of the th, in which general san martin informed them that he had beaten the enemy and pursued the fugitives! though, the said enemy had relieved and reinforced the fortress, and then coolly walked off unmolested with plate and money to the amount of many millions of dollars; in fact, the whole wealth of lima, which, as has been said, was deposited by the inhabitants in the fortress for security. limeños, it is now fifteen days since the liberating army left the capital, resolved not to permit that even the shadow of the spanish flag should again darken the illustrious city of lima. the enemy haughtily descended the mountains, filled with the calculations they had formed in their ignorant meditations. they fancied that to appear before our camp was enough to conquer us; but they found _valour armed with prudence_! they acknowledged their inferiority. _they trembled at the idea of the hour of battle, and profited by the hour of darkness_!! and they sought an asylum in callao. my army began its march, and at the end of eight days the enemy has had to fly precipitately--convinced of their impotency to try the fortune of war, or to remain in the position they held. the desertion which they experience ensures us that, before they reach the mountains, there will only exist a handful of men, terrified and confounded with the remembrance of the colossal power which they had a year ago, and which has now disappeared like the fury of the waves of the sea at the dawn of a serene morning. _the liberating army pursues the fugitives. they shall he dissolved or beaten_. at all events, the capital of peru shall never be profaned with the footsteps of the enemies of america--_this truth is peremptory_. the spanish empire is at an end for ever. peruvians! your destiny is irrevocable; consolidate it by the constant exercise of those virtues which you have shown in the epoch of conflicts. _you are independent_, and nothing can prevent your being happy, if you will it to be so, san martin. to these monstrous assertions i only know one parallel, viz:--falstaff's version of his victory over the robbers at gadshill. the protector asserts that "the shadow of the spanish flag should never again darken lima." it nevertheless passed completely round the city within half-musket shot. "the enemy thought that to view our camp was to conquer us." they were only , to , . "they trembled at the hour of battle, _and profited by the hour of darkness_!" the fact being that with droves of cattle and abundance of other provisions, they triumphantly marched into callao _at mid-day_! viz, from eleven a.m. to three p.m. "the liberating army pursues the fugitives." this is the only fact contained in the proclamation. the enemy _was_ pursued by , men, who followed them at a distance for ten miles, when cantarac suddenly facing about, let loose his cavalry at them, and nearly the whole were cut up! the spaniards in fact came to relieve callao, and fully effected their object. were not the preceding proclamation indelibly imprinted in the columns of the ministerial gazette, it would be deemed a malicious fabrication. yet the poor, _independent_ limeños dared not utter a voice against falsehood so palpable. disarmed and betrayed, they were completely at the mercy of the protector, who, if he can be said to have had a motive in not encountering the small force of cantarac, no doubt founded it in keeping his own troops intact for the further oppression of the unhappy limeños--with what effect we shall presently see. this triumphant retreat of the spanish force with its large amount of treasure was a disaster which, after the limeños had risen against the tyranny of san martin and forcibly expelled him from their city, entailed the shedding of torrents of blood in peru, for the spaniards were thus enabled to reorganize a force which would have subjected the country to its ancient oppressors, had not the army of colombia stepped in to resist a common enemy. even chili trembled for her liberties, and, after i had left the pacific, begged me to return and check disasters with which she was incompetent to grapple. had not the protector prevented the spanish commandant, la mar, from accepting my offer of permitting him to retire with two-thirds of the enormous treasure deposited in the fort, chili would, at the lowest computation, have received ten millions of dollars, whilst the spaniards would have retired with twenty millions. surely this would have been better than to permit them--as general san martin did--to retire unmolested with the whole. foiled in this attempt to relieve the necessities of the squadron, whilst the protector's government pertinaciously refused to supply them, it was impossible to keep the men from mutiny; even the officers--won over by guise and spry, who paid midnightly visits to the ships for the purpose--began to desert to the protectoral government. the following letter, addressed to monteagudo, will shew the state of the matter as regarded the squadron:-- most excellent sir, i have written you an official letter to-day, by which you will perceive that the consequences which i have long predicted will have so far come to pass, as to render the removal of the large ships of the squadron indispensable. if by a total neglect of all i tell the protectoral government through you, things happen prejudicial to the service, the protector and yourself will at least do me the justice to feel that i have done my duty; the base, interested, and servile, for the promotion of their selfish views, may clamour, but i regard them not. i would send you the _original_ reports of the provisions and state of the ships issued by the captains, but i must hold these for my public justification, should such be necessary. what is the meaning of all this, monteagudo? are these people so base as to be determined to force the squadron to mutiny? and are there others so blind as not to foresee the consequences? ask sir thomas hardy, and the british captains, or any other officers, what will be the result of such monstrous measures. believe me, with a heavy heart, yours, &c. cochrane. chapter viii. prolonged destitution of squadron--the men mutiny in a body--the seamen's letters--san martin sends away the public treasure--my seizure of it--private property restored--san martin's accusations against me--the squadron paid wages--attempt on the officers' fidelity--i am asked to desert from chili--ordered to quit on refusal--monteagudo's letter--my reply--justification of seizing the treasure--no other course possible. previous to this time i had on board the flag-ship the unexpended portion of the money captured at arica, but as the chilian government, trusting to peru to supply the wants of the squadron, neither sent funds or provisions, i was compelled to spend for our subsistence the uncondemned portion of the prize money belonging to the seamen--a necessity which, no less than their want of pay or reward, irritated them beyond measure, as, in effect, compelling them to fight the battles of the republic not only without pay but at their own expense. in addition to this, i was in possession of the uncondemned portion of other sums taken on the coast, and these also i was obliged to expend, at the same time transmitting accounts thereof to the minister of marine at valparaiso, the appropriation being fully approved by the chilian government. the destitute condition of the squadron, and the consequent dissatisfaction of the crews, will be best shewn by a few extracts from the letters of the officers and the men themselves. on the nd of september, captain delano, the commander of the _lantaro_, wrote to me as follows:-- "the officers as well as the men are dissatisfied, having been a long time on the cruise, and at present without any kind of meat or spirits, and without pay, so that they are not able to provide for themselves any longer, though, _until starved_, they have borne it without a murmur." "the ship's company have now absolutely refused duty on account of short allowance. the last _charqui_ (dried beef) they got was rotten and full of vermin. they are wholly destitute of clothing, and persist in their resolution not to do duty till beef and spirits are supplied, alleging that they have served their time, with nothing but promises so frequently broken that they will no longer be put off." "in your lordship's absence i took the liberty to write to the government and make their complaints known, but the minister of marine did not even give me an answer." "the greater portion have now left the ship and are all gone ashore, so that under existing circumstances, and with the dissatisfaction of the officers and the remainder of the ship's company i do not hold myself responsible for any accident that may happen to the ship until these difficulties are removed, as the cables are bad and not to be trusted to, and we have no anchor sufficient to hold her." "paul delano, _captain_." on captain delano sending his first lieutenant on shore to persuade the men to return to the ship, he was arrested by order of the government and put in prison, the protector's object being to get all the men to desert, thus furthering his views towards the appropriation of the squadron. the _galvarino_ was even in a worse condition, so that i deemed it expedient to address a letter to the ship's company asking them to continue at their duty till i could devise means for their relief; with what result the following letter from captain esmond, commanding the _galvarino_ will shew. _galvarino_, sept. th, . my lord, pursuant to your excellency's order, i have read your letter of the th instant to the ship's company, respecting your communication with his excellency the protector, concerning arrears of pay, prize-money, &c. i am sorry to inform your excellency that they still persist in their demands, _and are determined not to proceed to sea_. i. esmond, _captain_. on the th, the foreign seamen of the flag-ship itself mutinied in a body, on which my flag-captain, crosbie, wrote me the following letter:-- my lord, it is with the utmost regret i have to inform your lordship that being ready for sea early this morning, the foreigners refused heaving up the anchor in consequence of arrears of pay and prize-money, and to my great surprise many of the natives also came aft. i endeavoured by persuasive means to induce them to return quietly and willingly to their duty, which had no effect. knowing well, had i commenced hostile measures to enforce those orders the consequence might be serious, i refrained therefrom, being aware of your lordship's wish to conduct everything as peaceably as possible. the names of the foreigners who refuse going to sea i have the honour to enclose to your lordship, and also to enclose several letters sent me officially from captain cobbett, of the _valdivia_. i.s. crosbie, _captain_. not to multiply these letters from other commanders, i will adduce two written by the whole of the english and north-american seamen themselves. captin crosby, sir, it his the request of us all in the ship's company to inform you that we would wish to acquaint his lordship that we was promised by general san martin to receive a bounty of , dollars and the total amount of the spanish frigate _ismeralda_, it his the sole thought of us all that if san martin had any honure he would not breck his promises wish out to have been fulfilled long a go. ship's company of _o'higgins_. capt. corbet it is the request of us all on bord the chili states ship _valdivia_ to aquaint you that we are disatisfied on account of our pay and prize money, and likewise the promises made to us on leaving valpariso, it is likewise our determination not to weigh the anchor of the _valdivia_ untill we get the whole of our wages and prize money, likewise a number of us is a bove twelvemonths above our time that we shipt for and we should likewise wish our discharge and let them that wish to reenter again may do as they think proppre as we consider this a patriot port. the ship's company at large of the _valdivia_. capt crosby, esq we would wish to acquaint you of wot his bean read to us on board of the different c. states ship under his lordship's command concerning the capture of the _ismeralda_. sir it was thus the importance of the service performed by your lordship to the states by the capture of the spanish frigat _ismeralda_, and the brillant manner in which this noble enterprize was conducted under your command on the memorable night of the fifth of november, has aurgumented the claims which your previous services gave to the consideration of the government and those that is interested in thar cause as well as my present esteem. all those who partook in the risk and glory of this interprise deserves also the estermation of thar companions in the army, and i enjoy the pleasure of being the organ of thar sentiments of admiration wich so important an action as praduced in the officers and army, permit me tharfore to express such thar sentiments to your lordship that may be communicated to the officers and seamen and troops of the sqwardon. regarding the premium for the frigat it is to be regretted that the memorey of so herioic an interprise should be mixed with the painful ideer that blood as been shed in accomplishment, and we hope that your lordship and the gallant officers and seamen may be enabbled to give new days of glorry to the cause of indispendence. ship's company, _o'higgins_. n.b.--warre one single sentiment his not been fulfilled. this letter, though somewhat incomprehensible, was intended as a farewell complimentary address to myself, previous to the desertion of the flag-ship; and, had this taken place, there was no doubt that the ships' companies of the whole squadron would have followed the example, so that the protector would have gained his ends, in spite of my endeavours to keep the men faithful to the flag under which they were engaged to serve. fortunately for chili and myself, an occurrence took place which averted the evil, and was brought about by the very means which the protector had devised to promote his individual views. the occurrence alluded to, was the embarkation of large sums of money by the protector in his yacht _sacramento_, which had cast out her ballast to stow the silver, and in a merchant vessel in the harbour, to the exclusion of the _lantaro_ frigate, then at the anchorage. this money was sent to ancon, on the pretence of placing it in safety from any attack by the spanish forces, but possibly to secure it for the further purposes of the protector. the squadron having thus ocular demonstration that its arrears could be paid, but were not, both officers and men refused longer to continue in a service which had brought them nothing but prolonged suffering. my own views coincided with theirs, and i determined that the squadron should be no longer starved nor defrauded. i therefore sailed to ancon, and personally seized the treasure, before witnesses; respecting all that professed to belong to private individuals, and also the whole of that contained in the protector's schooner, _sacramento_, considering it his private property, though it could not have been other than plunder wrested from the limeños. independently of this yacht-load of silver, there were also on board, seven _surrones_ (sacks) of uncoined gold, brought down on his account by the legate parroisien; so that, after all the moveable wealth of lima was supposed to have been previously deposited for safety in the castles of callao, but carried off by cantarac, the condition of the unhappy limeños may be imagined, from the additional sums of which they were subsequently deprived. i immediately made proclamation, that all private individuals, having the customary documents, might receive their property upon application, and considerable sums were thus given up to dr. unanue, don juan aguero, don manuel silva, don manuel primo, don francisco kamirez, and several others, though connected with the government. besides which, i gave up , dollars to the commissary of the army, who claimed it; so that, having returned all the money for which dockets were produced, there remained , dollars, which was subsequently applied to the payment of one year's arrears to every individual of the squadron; but relying on the justice of the chilian government, i took no part myself, reserving the small surplus that remained for the more pressing exigencies and re-equipment of the squadron. accounts of the whole money seized, were forwarded to the minister of marine at valparaiso, as well as vouchers for its disbursement, and in due course, i received the approbation of the chilian government for what had been done. general san martin entreated, in the most earnest terms, the restoration of the treasure, promising the faithful fulfilment of all his former engagements. letter after letter was sent, begging me to save the credit of the government, and pretending that the money seized was all the government possessed for indispensable daily expenses. to this i replied, that had i been aware that the treasure spared in the _sacramento_ was the property of government, and not that of the protector, i would have seized it also, and retained it till the debts due to the squadron were liquidated. finding all arguments unavailing, and that no attention was paid to his threats, the protector--to save the credit of his government--addressed a proclamation to the squadron, confirming the distribution which was going on by my orders, at the same time writing to me, that i "might employ the money as i thought proper." san martin afterwards accused me to the chilian government of seizing the whole of the treasure, that in his yacht included, which, at a low computation, must have been worth several millions of dollars, which were all left untouched. he also asserted, that i had retained the whole belonging to private individuals, though each _real_ claimed was given up, as was well known to every individual concerned, and he also knew that i did not retain a penny on my own account. nevertheless, he added, that i had kept the whole myself,--that, in consequence, the squadron was in a state of mutiny, and the seamen were abandoning their ships to offer their services to the government of peru! the fact being, that those who went on shore to spend their pay after the fashion of sailors, were prevented from returning on board, a lieutenant of my flag-ship being put in jail for attempting to bring them off again. the first intimation of this outrage was conveyed by the officer himself, in the following letter, from his place of confinement. my lord, whilst obeying your lordship's orders in bringing off the men to the _o'higgins_, captain guise sent his lieutenant to tell me that i could not ship any more men. my answer was, that, till i received contrary orders from you i could not think of desisting. i then went to captain guise to tell him your orders, and he told me, that it was the governor's order that i should not do it; he likewise told me, that several officers had spoken against the government, instancing captain cobbett and others. he then asked me, whether i thought that your lordship's _robbery_! of the money at ancon was right? and, whether i believed that the government meant to keep its promise, and pay us, or not? my answer was, that i thought your lordship had acted perfectly right, and that, in my opinion, the government never intended to pay us; upon which, he ordered me to be seized. my lord, i am now a prisoner in the case-mates, and am told that the governor has written to you on the subject. the men, my lord, will, i have no doubt, come off, as many have promised me to do so, to-morrow morning. hoping that your lordship will enquire into the circumstance, i remain, &c. &c, j. payntor. on receipt of this, i immediately demanded his release, which was complied with. before distributing the money to the squadron, i took the precaution to request that a commissary of the government might be sent on board to take part in the payment of the crews. as this was not complied with, i again urged it, but without effect--the object of not attending to the request being, as was afterwards learned, the expectation that i should place the money in his hands ashore, when it doubtless would have been seized, without payment to officers or men. this was, however, foreseen, the government being informed by me that "the money was on board ready for distribution, whilst the people were on board ready to receive it, there was, therefore no necessity to take it on shore;" it was then distributed by my own officers. annoyed beyond measure at my having taken such steps to restore order in the squadron by doing justice to the officers and men, the protector, on the very day, september th, on which he told me by letter to "make what use i pleased of the money," sought to revenge himself by sending on board the ships of the squadron his two _aides-de-camp_, colonel paroissien and captain spry, with papers for distribution, stating that "the squadron of chili was under the command of the protector of peru, and not under that of the admiral, who was an inferior officer in the service; and that it was consequently the duty of the captains and commanders to obey the orders of the protector and not mine." one of these papers was immediately brought to me by that excellent and highly honourable officer, captain simpson, of the _araucano_ (now an admiral in the chilian service), to whose ship's company it had been delivered. these emissaries offered, in the name of the protector, commissions, and the promise of honours, titles, and estates to all such officers as might accept service under the government of peru. from the _araucano_, the protector's envoys went to the _valdivia_, where similar papers were given to the men, and captain cobbett, nephew of the celebrated william cobbett, was reminded of the preference which an officer, for his own interests, ought to give to the service of a rich state like peru, in place of adhering to chili, which must soon dwindle to comparative insignificance; besides which the authority of the protector over the chilian forces being unquestionable, it was the duty of the officers to obey the orders of the protector as general-in-chief. captain cobbett, who was a faithful and excellent officer, sarcastically inquired of spry whether, if his disobedience to the admiral brought him to a court-martial, the protector's authority would ensure him an acquittal? this closed the argument; for spry being at the time under sentence of court-martial, the question was much too pertinent to be pleasant, especially as he by no means felt confident that cobbett might not seize him as a deserter. unfortunately for the emissaries, my flag-captain, crosbie, was on a visit to captain cobbett, and on learning their errand he pushed off to the flag-ship with the intelligence. observing this movement they immediately followed, judging it more prudent to visit me than to run the risk of being compelled so to do. at one o'clock in the morning their boat came alongside, when paroissien solicited an interview, spry remaining in the boat, having his own reasons for not wishing to attract my attention. paroissien then addressed me with the most high-flown promises, assuring me of the protector's wish, notwithstanding all that had occurred, to confer upon me the highest honours and rewards, amongst others the decoration of the newly-created order of "the sun," and telling me how much better it would be for me to be first admiral of a rich country like peru, than vice-admiral of a poor province like chili. he assured me, as one of the commissioners of confiscated property, that it was the intention of the protector to present me with a most valuable estate, and regretted that the present unlucky difference should form an obstacle to the protector's intentions to confer upon me the command of the peruvian navy. perceiving that he felt nervously uneasy in his attempt at negotiation, i reminded him that the peruvian navy had no existence except in imagination; that i had no doubt whatever of his desire for my prosperity, but that it might be more agreeable to him to join me in a bottle of wine than to reiterate his regrets and lamentations. after taking a glass he went into his boat, and pulled off, glad no doubt to escape so easily, not that it occurred to me to resent the treachery of visiting the ships of the squadron in the dark, to unsettle the minds of the officers and men. this, however, and other efforts proved but too successful, twenty-three officers abandoning the chilian service, together with all the foreign seamen, who went on shore to spend their pay, and who were either forced, or allured by promises of a year's additional pay to remain, so that the squadron was half unmanned. the fortress, notwithstanding the supplies so successfully introduced by general cantarac, having again--by the vigilance of the squadron--been starved into surrender, i received an order immediately to quit callao and proceed to chili, although the peruvian government believed that from the abandonment of the squadron by the officers and foreign seamen, it would not be possible to comply with the order. the following is monteagudo's letter conveying the commands of the protector:-- lima, sept. th, . my lord, your note of yesterday, in which you explain the motives which induced you to decline complying with the positive orders of the protector, _temporarily_ to restore the money which you forcibly took at ancon, has frustrated the hopes which the government entertained of a happy termination to this most disagreeable of all affairs which have occurred during the expedition. to answer your excellency in detail, it will be necessary to enter into an investigation of acts which cannot be fully understood without referring to official communications and documents which prove the interest which has been taken in the necessities of the squadron. (here follows a reiteration of the _promises_ and good intentions of the protector, with which the reader is already well acquainted.) this has been a mortal blow to the state, and worse could not have been received from the hand of an enemy, there only remaining to us a hope in the moderation and patient suffering of the valiant men who have sacrificed all! you will immediately sail from this port to chili, with the whole squadron under your command, and there deliver up the money which you have seized, and which you possess without any pretext to hold it. in communicating this order to your excellency, the government cannot avoid expressing its regret at being reduced to this extremity towards a chief with whom it has been connected by ties of friendship and high consideration since august th, . i have to complain of the style of your excellency's secretary, who, perhaps from his ignorance of the idiom of the spanish language, cannot express himself with decency--his soul not having been formed to conceive correct ideas. monteagudo. the complaining tone of this letter about the "valiant sacrificing all," is worthy of the writer; when i had left untouched many times the amount seized, and the army, according to the admission of the protectoral government, had received two-thirds of its pay, whilst the squadron had even been suffered to starve. on the th i replied to the minister as follows:-- sir, i should have felt uneasy, had the letter you addressed to me contained the commands of the protector to quit the ports of peru without reason assigned, and i should have been distressed had his motives been founded in reason, or on facts; but finding the order based on the groundless imputation that i had declined to do what i had no power to effect, i console myself that the protector will ultimately be satisfied that no blame rests on me. at all events, i have the gratification of a mind unconscious of wrong, and gladdened by the cheering conviction that, however facts may be distorted by sycophancy, men who view things in their proper colours will do me the justice i deserve. you address me as though i required to be convinced of your good intentions. no, sir, it is the seamen who want convincing, for it is they who put no faith in professions so often broken. they are men of few words and decisive acts, and say that "for their labour they have a right to pay and food, and will work no longer than they are paid and fed"--though this may be uncourtly language, unfit for the ear of high authority. they urge, moreover, that they have had no pay whatever, whilst their fellow-labourers, the soldiers, have had two-thirds of their wages; they were starved, or living on stinking _charqui_, whilst the troops were wholly fed on beef and mutton; they had no grog, whilst the troops had money to obtain that favourite beverage, and anything else they desired. such, sir, are the rough grounds on which an english seaman founds his opinions. he expects an equivalent for the fulfilment of his contract, which, on his part, is performed with fidelity; but, if his rights are withheld, he is as boisterous as the element on which he lives. it is of no use, therefore, to convince me, but them. in what communication, sir, have i insisted on the payment of , dollars. i sent you an account of money due, but told you in my letter that it was the mutinous seamen who demanded the disbursements, and that i was doing all in my power, though without effect, to restrain their violence and allay their fears. you tell me in your letter that it was impossible to pay the clamorous crews. how, then, is it _that they are now paid out of the very money then_ lying at your disposal, i having left untouched ten times as much? my warning to you, that they were no longer to be trifled with, was founded on a long acquaintance with their character and disposition; and facts have proved, and may more fully prove, the truth of what i told you. why, sir, is the word "immediate" put into your order to go forth from this port? would it not have been more decorous to have been less peremptory, knowing, as you do, that the delay of payment had unmanned the ships--that the total disregard of all my applications had left the squadron destitute--and that the men were enticed away by persons acting under the peruvian government? this being so, why are matters pushed to this extremity? i thank you for the _approval of my services since the th of august_, , and assure you that no abatement of my zeal for the protector's interest took place till the th of august, when i became acquainted with his excellency's installation, and when, in your presence, he uttered sentiments that struck a thrill through my frame, which no subsequent act, nor protestation of intentions, has been able to mitigate. did he not say--aye, did you not hear him declare, that he would never pay the debt to chili, nor that due to the navy, unless chili would sell the squadron to peru? what would you have thought of me as an officer, sworn to be faithful to the state of chili, had i listened to such language in cold, calculating silence, weighing my decision in the scale of personal interest? no, sir, the promise of san martin, that "my fortune should be equal to his own," will not warp from the path of honour your obedient, humble servant, cochrane. after a lapse of nearly forty years' anxious consideration, i cannot reproach myself with having done any wrong in the seizure of the money of the protectoral government. general san martin and myself had been, in our respective departments, deputed to liberate peru from spain, and to give to the peruvians the same free institutions which chili herself enjoyed. the first part of our object had been fully effected by the achievements and vigilance of the squadron; the second part was frustrated by general san martin arrogating to himself despotic power, which set at naught the wishes and voice of the people. as "my fortune in common with his own" was only to be secured by acquiescence in the wrong he had done to chili by casting off his allegiance to her, and by upholding him in the still greater wrong he was inflicting on peru, i did not choose to sacrifice my self-esteem and professional character by lending myself as an instrument to purposes so unworthy. i did all in my power to warn general san martin of the consequences of ambition so ill-directed, but the warning was neglected, if not despised. chili trusted to him to defray the expenses of the squadron when its objects--as laid down by the supreme director--should be accomplished; but in place of fulfilling the obligation, he permitted the squadron to starve, its crews to go in rags, and the ships to be in perpetual danger for want of the proper equipment which chili could not afford to give them when they sailed from valparaiso. the pretence for this neglect was want of means, though at the same time money to a vast amount was sent away from the capital to ancon. seeing that no intention existed on the part of the protector's government to do justice to the chilian squadron, whilst every effort was made to excite discontent among the officers and men with the purpose of procuring their transfer to peru, i seized the public money, satisfied the men, and saved the navy to the chilian republic, which afterwards warmly thanked me for what i had done. despite the obloquy cast upon me by the protector's government, there was nothing wrong in the course i pursued, if only for the reason that if the chilian squadron was to be preserved, _it was impossible for me to have done otherwise_. years of reflection have only produced the conviction, that, were i again placed in similar circumstances, i should adopt precisely the same course. chapter ix. arrival at guayaquil--address to guayaquilenos--injurious monopolies --ministerial folly--departure from guayaquil--arrival in mexico--anchor at acapulco--mock ambassadors--plot against me--return to guayaquil--venganza taken possession of--agreement with junta--general la mar--orders to withhold supplies--abominable cruelty--courtly splendour--destruction of a division of the army--dissatisfaction of officers--renewed overtures from san martin--their refusal by me--warning to the chilian government. the orders of the protector to proceed to chili were not complied with, st, because having thrown off his allegiance to chili, he had no right to interfere with the squadron; and, ndly, as the spanish frigates remained at large, my mission was incomplete till they were taken or destroyed. before going in quest of them, it was essential to repair, equip, and provision the ships, none of which purposes could be effected in peru, the protector not only having refused supplies, but having also issued orders on the coast to withhold necessaries of all kinds even to wood and water. from want of stores, none of the ships were fit for sea; even the _valdivia_, so admirably found when captured, was now in as bad a condition as the rest, from the necessity which had arisen of distributing her equipment amongst the other ships; and to complete her inefficiency, the protector refused to restore the anchors which had been cut away from her bows at the time of her capture, thus adding to our embarrassment. many of the officers had gone over to the service of peru, and the foreign seamen had been kept on shore in such numbers, that there were not sufficient left to perform the duties of reefing and steering. i therefore resolved on sending part of the squadron to chili, and with the remainder to proceed to guayaquil, in order to repair and refit for a cruise on the coast of mexico in search of the spanish frigates. we reached guayaquil on the th of october, and were extremely well received by the authorities, who saluted the chilian flag, the like compliment being paid to their own. the work of repairing and refitting occupied six weeks, during which period the newly-constituted government rendered us all the assistance in its power, entering into the most friendly intercourse with us. the expenses, which were heavy, were all defrayed out of the uncondemned prize-money remaining on board, this rightfully belonging to the officers and seamen, as never having had their previous claims satisfied by the government, on which account it had been retained. to inspire the seamen with the reasonable expectation that the chilian government would reimburse them for their generosity, i added money of my own, on which they willingly consented to the appropriation of that due to the squadron. before quitting the anchorage, i was honoured with a public address, and thinking the opportunity good for striking a blow at those spanish prejudices which, in spite of independence, still lingered from force of habit, the compliment was returned by the following address:-- guayaquilenos, the reception which the chilian squadron has met with from you not only shews the generosity of your sentiments, but proves that a people capable of asserting their independence in spite of arbitrary power must always possess noble and exalted feelings. believe me, that the state of chili will ever be grateful for your assistance, and more especially the supreme director, by whose exertions the squadron was created, and to whom, in fact, south america owes whatever benefit she may have derived from its services. may you be as free as you are independent, and as independent as you deserve to be free! with the liberty of the press, now protected by your excellent government, which discriminates enlightenment from that fount, guayaquil can never again be enslaved. see what difference a year of independence has produced in public opinion. in those whom you then looked upon as enemies, you have discovered your truest friends, whilst those formerly esteemed as friends have proved enemies. remember your former ideas on commerce and manufactures, and compare them with those which you at present entertain. accustomed to the blind habits of spanish monopoly, you then believed that guayaquil would be robbed, were not her commerce limited to her own merchants. all foreigners were forbidden by restrictive laws from attending even to their own business and interests: now you appreciate a true policy, and your enlightened government is ready to further public opinion in the promotion of your riches, strength, and happiness, as well as to assist these, by disseminating through the press the political opinions of great and wise men--without fear of the inquisition, the faggot, or the stake. it is very gratifying to me to observe the change which has taken place in your ideas of political economy, and to see that you can appreciate and despise the clamour of the few who would still interrupt the public prosperity; though it is difficult to believe how any citizen of guayaquil can be capable of opposing his private interest to the public good, as though his particular profit were superior to that of the community, or as if commerce, agriculture, and manufactures were to be paralysed for his especial behoof. guayaquilenos! let your public press declare the consequences of monopoly, and affix your names to the defence of your enlightened system. let it shew that, if your province contains , inhabitants, and that if of these are privileged merchants according to the old system, , persons out of , must suffer because their cotton, coffee, tobacco, timber, and other productions must come into the hands of the monopolist, as the only purchaser of what they have to sell, and the only seller of what they must necessarily buy! the effect being that he will buy at the lowest possible rate, and sell at the dearest, so that not only are the , injured, but the lands will remain waste, the manufactories without workmen, and the people will be lazy and poor for want of a stimulus, it being a law of nature that no man will labour solely for the gain of another. tell the monopolist that the true method of acquiring general riches, political power, and even his own private advantage, is to sell his country's produce as high, and foreign goods as low as possible--and that public competition can alone accomplish this. let foreign merchants who bring capital, and those who practise any art or handicraft, be permitted to settle freely; and thus a competition will be formed, from which all must reap advantage. then will land and fixed property increase in value; the magazines, instead of being the receptacles of filth and crime, will be full of the richest foreign and domestic productions, and all will be energy and activity, because the reward will be in proportion to the labour. your river will be filled with ships, and the monopolist degraded and shamed. you will bless the day in which omnipotence permitted the veil of obscurity to be rent asunder, under which the despotism of spain, the abominable tyranny of the inquisition, and the want of liberty of the press, so long hid the truth from your sight. let your customs' duties be moderate, in order to promote the greatest possible consumption of foreign and domestic goods; then smuggling will cease, and the returns to the treasury increase. let every man do as he pleases as regards his own property, views, and interests; because every individual will watch over his own with more zeal than senates, ministers, or kings. by your enlarged views set an example to the new world; and thus, as guayaquil is from its situation the _central republic_, it will become the centre of the agriculture, commerce, and riches of the pacific. guayaquilenos! the liberality of your sentiments, and the justice of your acts and opinions, are a bulwark to your independence more secure than that of armies and squadrons. that you may pursue the path which will render you as free and happy as the territory is fertile, and may be rendered productive, is the sincere wish of your obliged friend and servant, cochrane. the english reader may consider a lecture of this nature superfluous to an emancipated people, but the adherence to injurious monoplies, in spite of independence, was one of the most marked features of the south american republics, and one which i never lost an opportunity of combating. even the chilian republic, which was amongst the first to assert its freedom, increased its monopolistic practices, instead of diminishing them. one or two examples will not be here out of place. english malt liquor bore a very high price in chili, from the heavy freight and customs' duties. an ingenious scotchman, named macfarlane, set up a brewery at considerable expense, and malt costing in chili barely a shilling per _fanega_ (about a bushel), soon produced beer of a fine quality, at a low price. the government forthwith imposed a duty on his beer equal to the whole freight from england, customs' dues, and his profit, the consequence being, that the brewery was stopped and the capital employed lost. he had unwittingly interfered with the established duties on beer! some enterprising americans formed a whale fishery on the chilian coast near coquimbo, where the sperm whale abounded, and so successful was the fishery, that the speculation promised a fortune to all concerned. a large plant had been provided, including abundance of casks to contain the oil. the government directed the whole of the casks to be seized for the purpose of watering the squadron, that being easier than to provide them themselves, which being done, pursuant to orders, the americans formed pits lined with clay, in which the oil was put till fresh casks could be procured. on this, the governor of coquimbo forbade the practice, as the wind might waft an unpleasant smell to coquimbo, though the trade wind never blew in that direction. the americans were therefore compelled to abandon the pursuit, and with it several sperm whales which were lying in the bay ready for boiling. an enterprising english engineer, mr. miers, brought out complete machinery for smelting, rolling, and manufacturing copper, purchasing land whereon to erect his factory. as soon as his purpose became known, he was involved in a long and expensive law-suit to prevent the use of the land which he had bought, the result being great pecuniary loss, complete prevention of his operations, and the final removal of such of his machinery as was not utterly spoiled, to brazil. it would be easy to multiply similar instances to a great extent, but these will show that my advice to the guayaquilenos was not unnecessary; and to give counsel of this nature, wherever it could be applied, was my invariable practice, in place of engaging in petty intrigues, or bargaining for personal power or advantages, which, situated as i was, i could have commanded to any extent by a sacrifice of my own principles. efforts of the above nature to enlighten the people, rendered me obnoxious to men in power, as interfering with their cherished monoplies, out of which they contrived to extract individual profit. the necessity for a speedy pursuit of the enemy's frigates, precluded more than a temporary repair of the ships; nothing, indeed, had been done to remedy the leak in the hull of the flag-ship, as, from the rotten state of her masts, we durst not venture to heave her down, so that when we got in a sea-way she made six feet of water a day. we quitted the guayaquil river on the rd of december, coasting along the shore, and examining every bay for the objects of our search. on the th we reached salango, where we again watered the ships, there being only twenty-three tons of water casks on board the flag-ship. on the th we reached cocos island, when we found and took possession of an english pirate, commanded by a man, named blair. on the following day we captured a _felucca_, which turned out to be a deserter from callao. from the men on board we learned that, after my departure, san martin had refused to fulfil the promises by which they had been induced to remain, though he had thus allured nearly the whole of the foreign seamen, who comprised the only skilled portion of the chilian squadron, into the service of peru. the _felucca_ thus manned, and sent as a _guarda costa_ to chorillas, the men took advantage of the absence of their captain on shore, and seized the vessel, which they named the _retaliation_, having put to sea, no doubt with the intention of turning pirates. as they had committed no depredations, and i had no wish to be encumbered with them, they were suffered to escape. on the th we made the coast of mexico, the leak of the flag-ship daily increasing, and on the th we anchored in the bay of fonseca, with five feet of water in the hold, the chain pumps being so worn as to be useless, there being no artificers on board to repair them, the ship was only kept afloat by the greatest possible exertions, in which my personal skill in smiths' work had to be called into requisition. after three days' constant baling at the hatchways, we got two pumps from the _valdivia_; but these proving too short, i ordered holes to be cut through the ships' sides, on a level with the berth deck, and thus managed to keep her clear till the old pumps could be refitted. nearly all our ammunition was spoiled, and, in order to preserve the dry provisions, we were compelled to stow them in the hammock-nettings. having transferred forty men from the other ships to assist at the pumps, we quitted fonseca bay on the th, and on the th of january, , arrived at tehuantepec, a volcano lighting us every night. this was one of the most imposing sights i ever beheld; large streams of molten lava pouring down the sides of the mountain, whilst at intervals, huge masses of solid burning matter were hurled into the air, and rebounding from their fall, ricocheted down the declivity till they found a resting place at its base. on the th we anchored at acapulco, where we met the _araucano_ and _mercedes_, the latter having been sent on to gain intelligence of the spanish frigates. we were civilly received by the governor, though not without misgivings, on his part, that we might attempt to seize some spanish merchantmen at anchor in the harbour; so that we found the fort manned by a strong garrison, and other preparations made to receive us in case of hostile demonstration. we were not a little surprised at this, as nothing could be more friendly than our intentions towards the newly emancipated republic. the mystery was, however, soon cleared up. when at guayaquil, we met with two officers, general wavell and colonel o'reilly, to whom the chilian government had given passports to quit the country, not estimating the value of their services as tantamount to their pay. as no secret was made of the object of the chilian squadron, they had, owing to our delay on the coast, carried their own version of our mission to mexico, and had reported to the mexican government, both personally and by letter, that lord cochrane had possessed himself of the chilian navy,--plundered the vessels belonging to peru,--was now on a piratical cruise,--and was coming to ravage the coast of mexico; hence the preparations which had been made. the two worthies whom i have mentioned had represented to the authorities at guayaquil that they were ambassadors from chili to mexico, deputed to congratulate the mexican government on their achievement of independence. knowing this to be false, i requested them to shew their credentials, which of course they could not do. their passports were then demanded, and evinced by their dates that the pretended ambassadors had quitted chili prior to the intelligence of the establishment of independence in mexico. this disclosure having become known to the lady of the captain-general of guatemala, who happened to be at guayaquil, she forwarded the account to her husband, and he reported it to the mexican authorities, who were thus informed of the true character of their visitors; who, in revenge, trumped up the story of our piratical intentions, to which the governor of acapulco attached sufficient importance to strengthen his forts as narrated. the reserve, however, immediately wore off, and the most cordial relations were entered into; the president of mexico, iturbide, writing me a very polite letter, regretting that he could not visit me personally, but inviting me to repair to his court, assuring me of the most honourable reception. this, of course, i could not accept. on the nd of february, a vessel arrived at acapulco, and reported the spanish frigates to the southward, whither, notwithstanding the unseaworthy state of the ships, i determined to proceed in search of them. during our stay an officer of marines, named erescano--who by cruelty to his prisoners had made himself notorious at valdivia--endeavoured to revenge my disapprobation of his conduct by representing to the men, that, notwithstanding the expenses we had been put to, there was still money on board the flag-ship, and that it ought to be divided amongst them. failing in this, he had laid a plot to get possession of the chest, even at the cost of my assassination. all this was duly reported to me by the commander of the _valdivia_, captain cobbett. as i did not wish to produce a ferment by punishing this diabolical plot as it deserved, i contented myself with thwarting its execution, till we were under weigh, when i ordered captain cobbett to send erescano on shore with a despatch to the governor, detailing the whole plot; the result being, that the traitor was left on shore, the squadron sailing without him. what afterwards became of him i never heard. after despatching the _independencia_ and _araucano_ to california for the purpose of purchasing provisions, with instructions to follow us to guayaquil, we stood down the coast, and when off tehuantepec, encountered a gale of wind, which, owing to the bad state of the frigate, threatened her destruction. to add to our distress, a sea struck the _valdivia_--to which vessel we contemplated escaping--and forced in the timbers on her port side, so that she was only saved from sinking by passing a sail over the leak, till the damage could be repaired. on the th of march we made the coast of esmeraldas, and came to an anchor in the bay of tacames, where we learned that the spanish frigates had some time before left for guayaquil. on receipt of this intelligence we immediately pursued our voyage, and on the th anchored off the forts of guayaquil, where we found the _venganza_. our reception was not of the same cordial nature as on the previous visit--two agents of san martin having arrived, who by promises had gained over the government to the protector's interests, and had excited in their minds a jealousy of me which was as unexpected as ill-founded. some attempts were even made to annoy me; but as, upon their manifestation, i laid the flag-ship alongside the _venganza_, civility was enforced. the _prueba_ and _venganza_, being short of provisions, were compelled by our close pursuit, to put into guayaquil, daily expecting us to follow. previous to our arrival, the peruvian envoy, salasar, had so impressed upon the officers commanding the certainty of their being captured by the chilian squadron, that he had induced them to give up the ships to peru, on the promise that the protectoral government would pay the whole of the officers and crews all the arrears due to them, and that those who chose to remain in south america should be naturalized, with lands and pensions assigned to them; whilst such as were desirous of returning to spain should have their passages defrayed by the peruvian government. many of the spanish officers and most of the crews were adverse to the surrender of the ships, so that a mutiny was the consequence; when, at the instance of salasar, the government of guayaquil was induced to sanction an assertion that the chilian squadron was at anchor in the bay of la manta, and that letters had been received from me announcing my intention to come to guayaquil and seize the ships. this mendacity had the desired effect, and both officers and crews accepted the terms offered; so that san martin's agents had thus tricked the chilian squadron out of its prizes. under the before-mentioned impression the _prueba_ was hastily sent to callao before our arrival, but the _venganza_, being in a condition unfit for sea, remained at guayaquil. on being positively assured of the dishonourable transaction which had taken place, on the morning of the th of march i sent captain crosbie on board the _venganza_ to take possession, of her, for chili and peru jointly, being unwilling to embroil chili in hostilities with guayaquil by seizing her on our own account, as we were indisputably entitled to do, having chased her from port to port, until, destitute of provisions, she was compelled to take refuge in that port. my orders to captain crosbie were to hoist at the peak of the _venganza_, the flag of chili conjointly with that of peru. this act gave great offence to the guayaquil government, which manned its gun-boats, erected breast-works, and brought guns to the river side with the apparent intention of firing upon us; the spanish sailors, who shortly before had sold their ships from the dread of having to fight, being extremely active in these hostile demonstrations. upon this, i ordered the _valdivia_ to drift with the flood tide in the direction of the gun-boats, now filled with spanish officers and seamen. imagining that the frigate was about to attack them--though there was no intention of the kind--these heroes ran the boats ashore, and took to their heels in most admired disorder, not stopping till they had gained the protection of the city. the junta, finding that we did not consider their warlike demonstration worthy of notice, remonstrated at my taking possession of the _venganza_, but without effect, as i was not going to permit the chilian squadron to be thus cheated out of its prize. i therefore proposed such terms as were best calculated to be accepted and ratified by the junta of government, composed of olmedo, kimena, and roco, as follows:-- st.--the frigate _venganza_ shall remain as belonging to the government of guayaquil, and shall hoist her flag, which shall be duly saluted. nd.--guayaquil guarantees to the chilian squadron, on responsibility of , dollars, that the frigate _venganza_ shall not be delivered to, nor negotiated for with any government, till those of chili and peru shall have decided on what they may esteem most just. moreover, the government of guayaquil is bound to destroy her rather than consent that the said vessel shall serve any other state till such decision be made. _ rd_.--any government which may henceforward be established in guayaquil shall be bound to the fulfilment of the articles here made. _ th_.--these articles shall be understood literally, and in good faith, without mental reservations or restrictions. (signed) &c. &c. after the ratification of this agreement, the government of guayaquil addressed to me a letter acknowledging the important services which had been conferred on the states of south america, and assuring me that "guayaquil would always be the first to honour my name, and the last to forget my unparalleled achievements," &c, &c. yet no sooner had i sailed from the port, than the _venganza_ was given up to the agent of peru, but the , dollars have never been paid. at guayaquil, i met general la mar, the late governor of the fortress of callao; and a report having been circulated by the peruvian government that during the recent blockade i had made an offer to supply the fortress with provisions, in order to prevent its falling into the hands of the protector, i requested the general to favour me with a statement whether i did or did not promise to succour his garrison, to which request the general obligingly returned the following answer:-- guayaquil, march th, . most excellent sir, in consequence of the official note which i yesterday received from your excellency through the hands of the government, it is my duty to assert that i have neither said, nor written, nor ever heard that you proposed to supply with provisions the place of callao during the whole of the time that it was under my charge. god preserve your excellency many years. (signed) jose de la mar. on the th we left the guayaquil river, and on the th fell in with captain simpson, of the _araucano_, whose crew had mutinied and carried off the ship. on the th of april we reached guambucho, whither we had gone for the purpose of taking in water. to our surprise the alcalde shewed a written order from san martin, telling him that if any vessel of war belonging to chili touched there he was to forbid their landing, and to deny assistance of every kind, not even permitting them to obtain wood and water. to this order no attention was paid by us, and we took on board whatever was required, remaining further to repair the _valdivia_. on the th we sailed, and on the th anchored at callao, where we found the _prueba_ under peruvian colours, and commanded by the senior chilian captain, who had abandoned the squadron! on our arrival she was immediately hauled in close under the batteries, with guns housed, and ports closed, whilst she was so crammed with troops that three died on the following night from suffocation; these steps being taken to prevent her sharing the fate of the _esmeralda_. to calm their fears, i wrote to the government that there was no intention of taking her, otherwise i would have done so, and at midday too in spite of any such precautions. lima was at this time in an extraordinary condition, there being no less than five different peruvian flags flying in the bay and on the batteries. the protector had passed a decree ordering that all spaniards who might quit the place should surrender half their property to the public treasury, or the whole should be confiscated, and the owners exiled. another decree imposed the penalties of exile and confiscation of property upon all spaniards who should appear in the streets wearing a cloak; also against any who should be found in private conversation! the punishment of death was awarded against all who should be out of their houses after sunset; and confiscation and death were pronounced on all who possessed any kind of weapons except table-knives! a wealthy lady in lima was so annoyed at the rigour of these decrees, that her patriotism overcame her prudence, and having called the protector ill names, she was compelled to give up her property. she was then habited in the garb of the inquisition,--a garment painted with imaginary devils!--and taken to the great square, where an accusatory libel being fastened to her breast, a human bone was forced into her mouth--her tongue being condemned as the offending member--and then secured; in which state, with a halter round her neck, she was paraded through the streets by the common hangman, and afterwards exiled to callao, where after two days she died from mental anguish arising from the treatment she had received. such was the liberty conceded to peru. in the midst of this national degradation, the protector had assumed the style of a sovereign prince. an order of nobility was established, under the title of "the institute of the sun," the insignia being a golden sun suspended from a white ribbon, the chilian officers who had abandoned the squadron coming in for a full share as the reward of their subserviency. a quasi-royal guard was established, consisting of the leading youth of the city, who formed the protector's escort in public; a precaution which, notwithstanding that the exasperated limeños were weaponless, was not altogether unnecessary. the solar nobility were permitted to place their armorial bearings in front of their houses, with the sun blazoned in the centre, which was certainly an addition to, if not an improvement on all previous orders of nobility. in short, the limeños had a republic swarming with marquises, counts, viscounts, and other titles of monarchy, to which consummation all expected the protector to aspire; the more so, as the only unfettered portion of the press was that which saluted him under the title of emperor. (_see appendix, ode of "the dove," sung in celebration, of our protector and emperor of peru!_) the strength of a state so constituted did not keep pace with the brilliancy of its court. on the th of april, general cantarac had fallen upon a division of the liberating army, and cut up or made prisoners of the whole, capturing , muskets, the military chest, containing , dollars, and all their ammunition and baggage. it would have been thought that so serious a disaster occurring amongst a justly-exasperated people would have caused some embarrassment to the government, but the gazette of the th of april almost turned it into matter for congratulation. limeÑos, the division of the south, _without having been beaten_, has been surprised and dispersed. in a long campaign all cannot be prosperity. you know _my_ character, and you know that _i_ have always spoken the truth! i do not mean to search for consolation in conflicts, notwithstanding, i dare to assure you, that the iniquitous and tyrannical empire of the spaniards in peru will cease in the year . i will make an ingenuous confession to you. it was my intention to go in search of repose after so many years of agitation, but i believed your independence was not secured. some trifling danger now presents itself, and so long as there remains the least appearance of it, till you are free you shall not be left by your faithful friend, san martin. his proclamation to the army is still more extraordinary:-- companions of the united army, your brothers in the division of the south have not been beaten--but they have been dispersed. to you it belongs to revenge this insult. you are valiant, and have known long ago the path to glory. sharpen well your bayonets and your swords. the campaign of peru shall finish in this year. your old general assures it. prepare to conquer! san martin. to the inhabitants of the interior, proclamations of a still more bombastic nature were despatched, in which they were assured that a reverse of this kind "weighed nothing in the balance of destiny of peru. providence protects us, and by this action will accelerate the ruin of the enemies of peru. proud of their first victory, _they will spare us part of our march in search of them_. fear not! the army that _drove them from the capital_ is ready to punish them a third time, and to punish them for ever!" the army, however, rightly dreaded another reverse, and what remained of the chilian force was discontented, as no promise to them had been fulfilled. all gold and silver had disappeared, and paper money was issued by the government in its stead. contributions from the already drained inhabitants were increased, and had to be collected at the point of the bayonet. in short, on my arrival, peru presented the extraordinary spectacle of a court whose minions indulged in every species of costly luxury, and a people impoverished to the dregs to administer to their rapacity. those who had condemned my conduct in taking possession of the money at ancon, now admitted that i had adopted the only possible step to preserve the squadron of chili. the officers of the liberating army sent me deplorable accounts of the state of affairs; and the regiment of numantia, which had deserted from the spaniards soon after the capture of the _esmeralda_, sent an officer, captain doronso, with a message, asking me to receive them on board, and convey them to colombia, to which province they belonged. my appearance in the port of callao caused serious, though, as far as i was concerned, unnecessary alarm to the government, to which i transmitted a fresh demand for the sums due to the squadron, further alluding, in no measured language, to the events which had taken place at guayaquil. without replying to this by letter, monteagudo came off to the _o'higgins_, lamenting that i should have resorted to such intemperate expressions, as the protector, before its receipt, had written me a private letter praying for an interview, but on the receipt of my note he became so indignant as to place his health in danger. monteagudo further assured me that in that letter he had made me the offer of a large estate, and the decoration of the "sun" set in diamonds, if i would consent to command the united navies of chili and peru, in a contemplated expedition to capture the philippine islands, by which i should make an immense fortune. my reply was, "tell the protector from me, mr. monteagudo, that if, after the conduct he has pursued he had sent me a private letter, on any such subject, it would certainly have been returned unanswered; and you may also tell him, that it is not my wish to injure him; i neither fear him nor hate him, but i disapprove of his conduct." monteagudo, in spite of his reception, begged of me to reconsider my determination, saying that the marquis of torre tagle had got ready his house for my reception; asking me further to recal the letter i had written the day before, and accept the offers which had been made. i again told him that "i would not accept either honours or rewards from a government constituted in defiance of solemn pledges; nor would i set foot in a country governed not only without law, but contrary to law. neither would i recal my letter, my habits were frugal, and my means sufficient without a fortune from the philippine islands." finding he could make no impression upon me, and not liking the scowl on the countenances of those on board, though he wore his blazing decoration of the first order of the "sun," and was covered with ribbons and embroideries, the minister retired, accompanied by his military escort. consequent upon my refusal to comply with his wishes the protector shortly afterwards, unknown to me, despatched colonel paroissien and garcia del rio to chili with a long series of the most preposterous accusations, in which i was represented as having committed every species of crime, from piracy to petty robbery; calling on the chilian government to visit me with the severest punishment. on the th of may, the schooner _montezuma_, which had been lent to general san martin by the chilian government, entered callao _under peruvian colours_. the insolence of thus appropriating a vessel of my squadron was too great for forbearance, so that i compelled her to come to an anchor, though not before we were obliged to fire upon her. i then turned all the officers ashore, and took possession of her; the protectoral authorities, by way of reprisal, detaining a boat belonging to the flag-ship, and imprisoning the men; but, rightly calculating the consequences of such a step, they were soon set at liberty, and the boat was, on the same night, permitted to return to the ship. on the th of may we quitted callao, and arrived at valparaiso on the th of june, after an absence of a year and nine months, during which the objects of the expedition had been completely accomplished. having satisfied myself, that, from the oppression practised, the protectoral government could not endure longer than the first favourable opportunity for a general revolt which might present itself to the limeños, and judging that the fall of san martin might involve serious consequences to chili, i had addressed the following letter to the supreme director:-- _private and confidential_. callao roads, may , . most excellent sir, you will perceive by my public despatches the points of most interest as regards the proceedings of the squadron, and the result of our pursuit of the enemy's frigates, _prueba_ and _venganza_, both of which i have embargoed, the one at guayaquil and the other here, until your pleasure shall be known, whatever that may be, whether to give up the squadron of chili, or to bring those vessels to you, shall be alike obeyed. san martin has now laid down the external pomp of protector, and, like cincinnatus, has withdrawn to retirement, but not with the same view. this modesty is to captivate the crowd, who are to call on him to convert the ploughshare _into an imperial sceptre!_ i have excellent information to this effect, having found means to obtain it from behind the scenes of this political actor. great hopes are entertained, from the mission to chili, that the squadron will at least be withdrawn, and that when the sun of peru shall rise on the ocean, the star (the national emblem of chili) which has hitherto shone, will be for ever eclipsed! some spots have, however, appeared on the sun's surface. two thousand men have ceased to see its light at pasco; and the numantian regiment, once dazzled by its splendour, are about to grope their way to their native land. as the attached and sincere friend of your excellency, i hope you will take into your serious consideration the propriety of at once fixing the chilian government upon a base not to be shaken by the fall of the present tyranny in peru, of which there are not only indications, but their result is inevitable; unless, indeed, the mischievous counsels of vain and mercenary men can suffice to prop up a fabric of the most barbarous political architecture, serving as a screen from whence to dart their weapons against the heart of liberty. thank god, my hands are free from the stain of labouring in any such work, and, having finished all which you gave me to do, i may now rest till you shall command my further endeavours for the honour and security of my adopted land. the enemy's forces, since the destruction of the division at pasco, under tristan, are superior to those of san martin at lima, and are said to be advancing on the capital. everything being fully explained in my despatches, i need not trouble your excellency with a repetition. trusting that you will judge of my conduct and intentions by my acts--not by the vile scandals of those who have deserted their flag, and set your proclamations at defiance, i have the honor, &c, cochrane. chapter x. return to valparaiso--thanks of the government--reasons for satisfaction--illegitimate trade--turned to good account--denunciation of officers deserted--investigation of accounts--san martin's charges against me--my refutation--government refuses its publication--cruelty to spanish prisoners--retirement to quintero--political fruits of our success--destitute condition of squadron--infamous attempt to promote dissatisfaction therein--object of this course--steps taken to defeat it--disavowed by the minister--sympathy of officers--attempt to get rid of gen. freire--its eventual result--letter of the captains. on my arrival at valparaiso, i found that san martin's agents, paroissien and garcia del rio, had produced his accusations against me to the government at santiago, though without effect, as i had taken care to keep it apprised of everything which had transpired, exercising the most scrupulous care in furnishing accounts of monies and stores taken from the spaniards, but especially as regarded the public money of the peruvian government appropriated at ancon. the return of the squadron was announced by me to the government in the following letter:-- the anxious desires of his excellency the supreme director are now fulfilled, and the sacrifices of the chilian people are rewarded. the naval power of spain in the pacific has succumbed and is extinguished, the following vessels having surrendered to the unceasing efforts of the squadron of this free state:-- _prueba_, guns; _esmeralda_, ; _venganza_, ; _resolution_, ; _sebastiana_, ; _pesuela_, ; _potrillo_, ; _prosperina_ ; _arausasu_; seventeen gun-boats; the armed ships _aguila_ and _begonia_; the block ships at callao; and many merchantmen. it is highly gratifying to me, after labouring under such difficulties as were never before witnessed on board ships of war, to announce the arrival of the chilian squadron in valparaiso--its cradle; where, owing to its unceasing services in the cause of liberty and independence of chili, peru, colombia, and mexico, it forms an object of admiration and gratitude to the inhabitants of the new world. (signed) cochrane. by the inhabitants of valparaiso our return was hailed with every manifestation of delight, almost every house in the place being decorated with the patriot flag, whilst other demonstrations of national joy showed the importance which the chilian people attached to our services, in spite of the obstacles which they well knew had been opposed to them. on the th of june, the following letters of thanks were forwarded to me:-- ministry of marine, santiago de chili, june th, . most excellent sir, the arrival of your excellency at valparaiso with the squadron under your command, has given the greatest pleasure to his excellency the supreme director. in those feelings of gratitude which the glory acquired by your excellency during the late campaign has excited, you will find the proof of that high consideration which your heroic services so justly deserve. among those who have a distinguished claim are the chiefs and officers, who, faithful to their duty, have remained on board the vessels of war of this state, a list of whom your excellency has honoured me by enclosing. these gentlemen will most assuredly receive the recompense so justly due to their praiseworthy constancy. be pleased to accept the assurance of my highest esteem. joaquim de echeverria. his excellency the vice-admiral and commander-in-chief of the squadron, the right honourable lord cochrane. from the preceding letter it will be observed that my old opponent, zenteno, was no longer at the head of the department of marine, but was appointed governor of valparaiso, where he exercised the office of port-admiral, a position in which, with all his former enmity, he contrived, notwithstanding the complete satisfaction of the government with my services, to give me great annoyance. in addition to the above acknowledgment of our services, a decree was issued commanding a medal to be struck in commemoration thereof. ministry of marine, santiago de chili, th june, . most excellent sir, his excellency the supreme director being desirous of making a public demonstration of the high services that the squadron has rendered to the nation, has resolved that a medal be struck for the officers and crews of the squadron, with an inscription expressive of the national gratitude towards the worthy supporters of its maritime power. i have the honour to communicate this to your excellency by supreme command, and to offer you my highest respects. joaquim de echeverria. his excellency the rt. hon. lord cochrane, vice-admiral and commander-in-chief, &c. &c. it is here observable, that whereas san martin, on the occupation of lima, had caused a medal to be struck, arrogating the success of the expedition entirely to the army, which had done little or nothing towards it--leaving out all mention of the services of the squadron; the chilian government gave the credit, as was deserved, to the squadron--omitting all mention of the army, which remained under the standard of the protector. nothing can be more conclusive as to the opinions of the chilian government on the subject. chili had indeed reason to be grateful, no less for the management than the achievements of the squadron. i had now been in command something more than two years and a half, during which we either took, destroyed, or forced to surrender, every spanish ship of war in the pacific; the whole of the west coast was cleared of pirates, which before abounded; we had reduced unaided the most important fortresses of the enemy, either by storm or blockade; the commerce both of chili and neutral powers had been protected; and the cause of independence placed on a basis so firm, that nothing but folly or corruption could shake it. for these most important results, chili had been at no cost whatever beyond the original ineffective equipment of the ships. with the exception of three or four cargoes of provisions sent to callao, i had, by my own exertions, for the whole period, provided for the maintenance and subsistence of the squadron, its repairs, equipment, stores, provisions, and pay, as far as the men had been paid; not a dollar having been expended for these purposes by the chilian government, which trusted--but in vain--to peru. to have been ungrateful--as far as the public expression of gratitude went, for other reward there was none--would have been a national crime. as one of my modes of providing for the necessities of the squadron has not been mentioned, it must be here given. under the spanish régime, no foreign vessel could trade at their ports in the pacific. but, for the sake of revenue as well as to obtain supplies, it had become the practice of the viceroy to sell licences, enabling british merchants to employ british vessels in the spanish colonial trade. these had to load in some port in spain, and were there furnished with legalized spanish papers. under the altered state of things in chili, in order to secure such vessels from capture by the chilian ships of war, as having spanish property on board, the device of simulated papers was resorted to, representing the cargoes as british property, coming from the port of gibraltar; one set of papers being used ashore, and the other afloat, or as occasion required. several british vessels had been detained by the chilian squadron, whereof the spanish papers were found in the peruvian custom-houses when taken possession of; they were accordingly liable to be libelled as spanish property. in order, however, to land their cargoes in safety, the commanders and supercargoes of such british vessels voluntarily offered terms which should confer upon their trade a legitimate character, viz. to pay a certain impost as an equivalent for customs' duties. i accepted these terms as furnishing me with means to supply the necessities and defray the expenses of the squadron, the wants of which were with great difficulty supplied, as the protectoral government refused to aid in any way, notwithstanding that it owed its very existence to our efforts. the duties thus collected,--for the most part in contraband of war,--were duly accounted for by me to the government of chili, whilst such compromise was received as a boon by the british merchants, and highly approved of by the british naval authorities, sir thomas hardy especially. yet general san martin, and others interested in a line of policy which in its prosecution was inimical to the true interests of chili, afterwards charged these proceedings upon me as "acts of piracy." that the chilian government was, however, well satisfied with all the steps taken for provisioning and maintaining the squadron, as well as with the seizure and disposal of the public money at ancon, is evident from the following acknowledgment:-- most excellent sir, i have informed the supreme director of the note which you addressed to me on the th of october, accompanying the accounts of the monies supplied to the payment of the officers and seamen of the squadron, and to the other objects of the naval service; as well as the accounts of money and bars of silver returned at ancon to their respective owners. his excellency approves of all that you have done in these matters and orders me in reply to convey his approbation, which i have the honour now to do. accept the assurance of my high consideration, (signed) joaquim de echeverria, ministry of marine, santiago de chili. to lord cochrane, vice-adm. & comm.-in-chief. nov. , . on the same date, the following was received relative to the officers who had deserted from the squadron, for the purpose of entering the service of the protector:-- santiago de chili, nov. , . most excellent sir, his excellency the supreme director has received with the greatest dissatisfaction a list of the naval officers who have deserted from the squadron. these will not fail to be noted in order to be tried by a court-martial, in case they should again tread the soil of chili. it is fortunate that your excellency has altered the private signals, lest capt. esmonde should divulge those which were in use. (signed) joaquim de echeverria. vice-adm. lord cochrane. immediately after my arrival, an intimation was forwarded to me by the supreme director of his wish to confer with me privately on the subject of my letter of may nd, in which had been pointed out the danger arising in peru, from the tyranny exercised by the protectoral government. santiago, june th, . my distinguished friend lord cochrane, i do not wish to delay a moment in expressing my satisfaction at your arrival, of which you have informed me in your letter of the nd inst. as in that letter you acquaint me that you will speedily be in this capital, with a view to communicate matters which would be better conveyed in a verbal conference, shall anxiously await the day to express to you all the consideration with which i am your sincere friend, bernardo o'higgins. having as yet received no official acknowledgment of the accounts of the squadron, beyond the previously mentioned general expression of entire satisfaction on the part of the government, i applied to the minister of marine for a more minute investigation into their contents, as from the charges made against me by san martin, i was desirous that the most rigid inquiry should be instituted forthwith, and indeed expressed my surprise--from the time which had elapsed since they were forwarded--that this had not been done. on the th of june, the minister replied as follows:-- most excellent sir, the accounts of monies applied by your excellency in the necessary requirements of the vessels of war under your command, which you conveyed to me in your two notes of the th of may last, have been passed to the office of the accountant-general, for the purpose indicated by your excellency. joaquim de echeverria. knowing the dilatory habits of the departments of state, i did not deem this satisfactory, and being engaged in preparing a refutation of san martin's charges, i again urged on the minister to investigate the accounts without further delay, when, on the th of june, he acknowledged--in a letter too long for insertion--the specific items; at the same time declaring his "high consideration for the manner in which i had made the flag of chili respected in the pacific." this was satisfactory, but it is perhaps necessary to assign a reason why so much importance is attached to a mere matter of routine, especially after the government had declared its satisfaction with all my proceedings. the reason is this--that for all the services so warmly acknowledged, the government of chili restrained from conferring either upon myself or the squadron the slightest pecuniary recompense, even the prize-money due to the officers and seamen, part of which the ministry had appropriated. on pressing these claims year after year subsequent to my departure from chili, i was informed _sixteen years afterwards!_ that my accounts required explanation! the reason for this unworthy proceeding being, that, as the claim could not be disputed, it might thus be evaded. my refutation of san martin's accusations was drawn up in the most minute manner, replying to every charge _seriatim_, and bringing to light a multitude of nefarious practices on the part of his government, which had been previously kept back. lest i might appear in the invidious light of an accuser, i was strongly dissuaded from its publication, as being unnecessary, the chilian government paying no attention whatever to his charges, but being afraid of embroiling themselves with peru, the weakness of which they failed rightly to estimate. having, however, my own character to defend, i did not think proper to comply, and therefore forwarded my refutation to the government, the minister of marine acknowledging its receipt, with an intimation that it had been deposited in the archives of the republic. as, from the minister of marine's reply, the document was evidently intended to remain there without further notice, i addressed the following letter to the supreme director:-- most excellent sir, as the game attempted to be played by the government of peru for the annihilation of the marine of chili is now being put in practice in another form, conjointly with further attacks on my character, i have to request permission from the supreme authority to publish my correspondence with san martin and his agents on these subjects; together with a copy of his accusation against me, with my reply thereto, in order that the public may no longer be deceived, and falsehood pass for truth. i have the honour, &c. cochrane. to this the following reply was returned:-- santiago, oct. , . most excellent sir, your excellency is too well acquainted with political affairs not to understand the reasons which oppose the publication of the disagreeable occurrences which have taken place with the protector at the termination of the peruvian campaign. were they made public, it would be opening a vast field of censure to the enemies of our cause, and also weakening the credit of the independent governments, by shewing dissensions amongst themselves. already have we felt the inconveniences of the injurious impressions _made on the british cabinet_ by the dissensions between your excellency and gen. san martin; for they had no sooner been informed thereof, than the diplomatic negociations which had been established with our envoy at that court were paralysed; and had he not laboured to counteract the rumours, which had been exaggerated by distance, there is no doubt but that his influence in advocating the cause of south america would have most prejudicially failed. his excellency the supreme director feels confident that these reflections will have in your mind all the weight they merit; but if you still insist on the publication of your reply to gen. san martin, you may nevertheless avail yourself of the liberty of the press which prevails in chili. (signed) joaquim de echeverria. it was "_the injurious impressions made on the british cabinet,_" which made me chiefly desirous of replying to the protector's charges; but being thus adjured not to sacrifice the interests of south america, and being, moreover, strenuously requested to let the matter drop, as being of no consequence to me in chili, i reluctantly yielded, contenting myself with sending a copy of my reply to the peruvian government. further to assure me of the disbelief of the chilian government in the charges made, an additional vote of thanks was given me by the senate, and inserted in the gazette. on my return to valparaiso, i found a lamentable instance of the cruelty practised by the military tyrants of peru, it has been mentioned that the old spaniards were ostensibly permitted to quit lima on surrender of half their property--a regulation of which many availed themselves rather than submit to the caprices of the protectoral government. in place of the security which they thus purchased for the remainder of their property, they were seized and stripped on their way to callao of the whole that remained, thrust on board the prison ship, and finally sent, in a state of complete destitution of the necessaries of life, to be added to the spanish prisoners in chili. the _milagro_ had arrived in valparaiso full of these miserable people, many of whom were shortly before amongst the most respectable inhabitants of lima; and, to add to the bitterness of their treatment, they were accompanied to chili by the agents of the protector, paroissien and garcia del rio, with his charges against me, no doubt for the further purpose of again tampering with the officers of the squadron. i did all in my power to interfere on the part of the unhappy prisoners, but in vain; they were at length transferred to the hospital of san juan de dios, where they were confined with the common felons, and would have been starved but for the english inhabitants of valparaiso, who raised a subscription on their behalf, and appointed one of their body to see their daily food distributed. they were afterwards transferred to santiago. the cruelty practised towards these prisoners in peru, is of itself a reason why their tyrants did not venture to encounter the spanish general cantarac. cruel people are invariably cowards. on my arrival at santiago, i found the supreme director on the point of resigning his high office from the opposition he had to encounter by adhering to a ministry which in one way or other was constantly bringing his government into discredit, and from being supposed to favour the designs of general san martin, though to this i attached no credit, believing that his high sense of principle led him to take upon himself the obnoxious acts of his ministers, who were partisans of the protector. the dissatisfaction increasing, the supreme director at length tendered his resignation to the convention, who, being unprepared for this step, insisted on reinstating him in the supreme executive authority. being indisposed to mingle in the conflicting state of parties which distracted chili after my return, and being in need of relaxation after the two years and a-half of harassing anxiety which i had encountered, i requested permission of the government to retire to my estate at quintero, intending also to visit the estate which had been conferred upon me at rio clara as an acknowledgment of services rendered at valdivia; my object being to bring it into a state of cultivation, which might give an impetus to the low condition of agriculture in chili. at this juncture, the _rising star_, the steamer which was spoken of as having been left behind in england, arrived in valparaiso, too late, however, to take any part in the operations which were now brought to a close by the surrender of the spanish navy. this delay had been caused by want of funds to complete her equipment, which could not even now have been accomplished, had not large means been furnished to the chilian agent in london, by my brother, the hon. major cochrane, who, to this day, has not been reimbursed a shilling of the outlay advanced on the faith of the accredited chilian envoy! though the _rising star_ was now of little use as regarded naval operations, she was the first steamer which had entered the pacific, and might, had she not been repudiated by the government, have formed the nucleus of a force which would have prevented an infinity of disasters which shortly after my departure from chili befel the cause of independence, as will presently be seen. the political fruits of our successes in chili and peru now began to manifest themselves in the recognition of the south american republics by the united states, so that chili had assumed the rank of a recognised member of the family of nations. i took with me as a guest to quintero, my former prisoner, colonel fausto del hoyo, the commandant at valdivia on our reduction of that fortress. previous to my departure for peru, i had obtained from the government a promise for his generous treatment, but no sooner had the squadron sailed, than he was thrust into prison, without fire, light, or books, and in this miserable condition he had remained till our return. as he received the promise of generous treatment from me, i insisted on and obtained his liberation, and he was now on parole. by paying him every attention, i hoped to inculcate that national greatness does not include cruelty to prisoners of war. no sooner had i arrived at quintero, than i zealously entered on my improvements, having now received from england a variety of agricultural implements, such as ploughs, harrows, spades, &c, all of which were new to chili; also european agricultural seeds, such as carrots, turnips, &c, which, previous to their introduction by me were unknown in the country. but i was not long permitted to enjoy the "_otium_" marked out for myself. letter after letter came from the squadron, complaining that, like the spanish prisoners, they too were in a state of destitution, without pay, clothes, or provisions. starting again for valparaiso, i found their complaints to be more than realized, upon which i addressed to the minister of marine the following letter:-- most excellent sir, three months having passed since the squadron anchored in this port, and the same period since my representations on its condition were made to the supreme government, relative to the nakedness and destitute condition of the crews; who still continue in the same state as that in which they passed the winter, without beds or clothes, the sentinel at my cabin door being in rags, no portion of which formed his original uniform. as it is impossible that such a state of things can continue, without exciting dangerous discontent and mutiny, i beg that you will order such clothing as may be found in valparaiso to be supplied through the commissary of the squadron, in order that it may immediately be distributed to the naked crews. (signed) cochrane. the determination with which i had entered upon the relief of the seamen, was so offensive to those who, in popular estimation, were deserving of blame, that a report was circulated of my having surreptitiously shipped on board the english frigate _doris_, then lying in the harbour of valparaiso, ounces of coined gold, and also a quantity of gold and silver bars to the like amount! the object no doubt being to induce a belief in the popular mind, that money had been applicable for the use of the squadron, but that it had been dishonestly appropriated by myself. as i had returned to quintero, this rumour did not reach me till it had become widely disseminated amongst the chilian people. the first intimation i had of it, was contained in the following letter from captain cobbett, of the _valdivia_:-- my dear lord, when i informed you, on my arrival at quintero, that something unpleasant would take place, i was not altogether ignorant of a report which has now become prevalent. it was said on the day of your departure, that your lordship had placed a large sum of money on board one of the british men of war in the harbour, , ounces in gold in a package directed to lady cochrane, and an equal amount in gold and silver bars to wait further orders from your lordship. every exertion was made by one interested in injuring your lordship, to convince me of the fact, my reply being, that i had too long been accustomed to rely in your lordship's integrity to believe any such report without proof. yesterday the same person came again to my house to inform me that the matter was cleared beyond doubt, for that the master of the _doris_ frigate had told him that the two boxes of gold and silver were on board, directed as above-mentioned. this report has created great sensation here, and the greatest pains are being taken to spread it far and wide. on making inquiry on board the _doris_, captain wilkinson and myself found that no packages of the kind were on board, and on telling the parties engaged in spreading the report the result of our inquiry, they seemed much chopfallen, but would not retract their charge, which i am certain they intend to carry to the supreme director, the consequence of which would be, that were the report true or false, the government would blame your lordship, and accuse us of being your abettors; whilst, as the want of pay and prize-money renders the officers irritable, they are ready for anything and everything which might promise to relieve their necessities. i have told your lordship all i know, and have conceived the rumour to be of so much importance, as to send one of my own horses with the little doctor to inform you immediately of what is going on, as such reports ought not to be treated lightly. i beg to subscribe myself, with the greatest respect, your lordship's grateful servant, henry cobbett. another letter, from captain wilkinson, was to the same effect:-- my dear lord, a report is in circulation that your lordship has put on board the british frigate _doris_ nine thousand ounces in gold. i feel it my duty to acquaint you of this, as no person can have your lordship's reputation more at heart than myself. i have been told this by two or three persons after your lordship left for quintero, and in the evening by moyell, who must have known it to be false, and i declared it so to him. i trust your lordship will be able to trace the shameless offender. i am, my lord, &c. &c. w. wilkinson. as soon as these letters were received, i lost no time in repairing to valparaiso, not doubting that zenteno and the peruvian agents were again at work to disorganize the squadron, and in case of the overthrow of the supreme director, which was still impending, to place it in the hands of san martin. the object of the party was to cause dissension amongst the seamen, by making them believe that, amidst their poverty and sufferings, i had been taking care of myself, and hence they hoped to destroy that confidence in me which officers and men had all along exhibited, notwithstanding their privations. as they had never before been so wretchedly destitute, this circumstance was considered favourable to the impression, that having secured all i could for myself, i was about to abandon them. though there was not a word of truth in the report which had been thus sedulously disseminated, it was too serious to be trifled with; accordingly, on the receipt of captain cobbett's letter, i hastened to valparaiso, and to the chagrin of zenteno, again hoisted my flag on board the _o'higgins_. my first step was to demand from the government the appointment of a commission to go on board the _doris_, and there ascertain whether i had placed any packages on board that frigate for transmission to england or elsewhere. the reply was, that no such commission was requisite, as no one gave credit to the assertion that i had done so, or suppose me capable of acting in the way which had been falsely reported! the re-hoisting my flag was a step which had not been anticipated, and as it was unbidden, a remonstrance was addressed to me upon having taken such a step unauthorised by the government. my reply was, that i had taken the step upon my own responsibility, and that as such an infamous accusation had been promulgated against me, for the purpose of promoting mutiny amongst the men, i intended to keep my flag flying till they were paid. at the same time i addressed the following letter to the minister of marine:-- most excellent sir, aroused from the tranquillity in which i had vainly hoped to spend at least the short period of my leave of absence by imputations against my character, propagated with a view to excite dissatisfaction and mutiny in the squadron, by taking advantage of the irritation occasioned by the necessities of the officers, and the destitute and naked condition of the men, which i have so often implored you to remedy; i have reluctantly proceeded to this port to refute the calumny and prevent the evil anticipated, for which purpose i have re-hoisted my flag, to haul it down when the discontent shall cease, by the people being clothed and paid, or when i shall be ordered to haul it down for ever. i enclose a copy of a letter which i have sent to the governor of valparaiso. (signed) cochrane. it is unnecessary to give the letter to zenteno, as being to the same effect with the preceding, with some additional guesses at the infamous author of the report, these proving sufficient for his discreet silence on the subject. the following reply from the minister of marine was immediately forwarded to me:-- santiago, oct. , . most excellent sir, his excellency the supreme director is impressed with deep disgust at the calumny to which you allude in your note, a copy of which i have forwarded to the governor of valparaiso. your excellency may rest satisfied that the authors thereof will not remain unpunished if discovered. accept the assurance of my high consideration. the minister of marine, joaquim de echeverria. to the vice-admiral com.-in-chief of the squadron. as a matter of course the libeller was neither discovered nor punished, otherwise the governor of valparaiso, and the agents of san martin would have been placed in an unpleasant position. but they had nothing to fear, as, from the daily increasing perplexities of the chilian government, it was in no condition to defend itself, much less to assert the majesty of the law. from the promptitude displayed in meeting a charge as utterly groundless as it was infamous, and from the conviction of the squadron that i was incapable of acting in the manner imputed to me, the calumny produced the opposite effect to that which was intended, viz. by inspiring in the minds of the officers and men the most intense disgust towards its originators. on my re-hoisting my flag, i was received with every demonstration of enthusiasm and affection, the officers unanimously uniting in the following address;-- may it please youe excellency, we, the undersigned officers of the chilian squadron, have heard with surprise and indignation the vile and scandalous reports tending to bring your excellency's high character in question, and to destroy that confidence and admiration with which it has always inspired us. we have seen with pleasure the measures your excellency has adopted to suppress so malicious and absurd a conspiracy, and trust that no means will be spared to bring its authors to public shame. at a time like the present, when the best interests of the squadron and our dearest rights as individuals are at stake, we feel especially indignant at an attempt to destroy that union and confidence which at present exists, and which we are assured ever will exist, while we have the honour to serve under your excellency's command. with these sentiments we subscribe ourselves, your excellency's most obedient humble servant, (signed) j.p. grenfell, lieut.-com. _mercedes_, and all the officers of the squadron. the excellent officer whose name is prominently attached to this address, is now admiral grenfell, consul-general in england of the brazilian empire. he was my flag-lieutenant at the capture of the _esmeralda_, under the batteries of callao, and it is no more than justice to mention, that his distinguished gallantry in that affair in an eminent degree contributed to the success of the enterprise. but i was not the only person of whom the envoys of san martin and their creatures in the chilian government desired to get rid. general santa cruz was openly appointed to supersede general freire as governor of conception and chief of the army of the south; the keen discrimination of freire having estimated san martin and his proceedings in peru as they deserved, and hence he had become obnoxious to those whose design it was to lay chili at the feet of the protector. on santa cruz proceeding to conception to take up the command, the troops unanimously refused to obey his authority, or to permit general freire to leave them. the people of conception, who had suffered more from their patriotism than any other in chili, were equally resolute, not only from attachment to freire, but because they knew that if the ministry gained their ends, conception would be destroyed as a port; it being their object to shut up every port but valparaiso, in order that by the corrupt practices prevalent there, they might monopolize the whole advantage to be personally gained from the commerce of the country. the supreme director was, as usual, made the scapegoat for the unsuccessful attempt of his ministers to depose general freire, and the consequence was that in three months after the attempt was made, general o'higgins was deposed from his authority, and general freire elevated to the supreme directorate! as i had been falsely accused of stealing money which ought to have been divided amongst the seamen, i was determined that no ground for future accusation of the kind should arise in consequence of their not being paid; and with this view, pertinaciously insisted on the payment of the arrears due to the squadron. these efforts were seconded by the commanding officers of ships, who, in a temperate address to the government, set forth the nature of their claims. from this address, the following extracts are given, as forming an excellent epitome of the whole events of the war:-- "ever since the capture of the _isabel_, the dominion of the pacific has been maintained by the chilian navy, and such have been the exertions of our commander and ourselves that with chileno crews unaccustomed to navigation, and a few foreign seamen whom we alone could control, not only have the shores of this state been effectually protected from injury and insult, but the maritime forces of the enemy have been closely blockaded in the face of a superior force. by means of the navy the important province, fortifications, and port of valdivia have been added to the republic. by the same means the spanish power in peru was brought into contempt, and the way opened for the invasion of that country. the enemy's ships of war have all fallen into our hands or by our means have been compelled to surrender. their merchant vessels have been seized under their very batteries, whilst the chilian transports and trading vessels have been in such perfect security that not even the smallest has been compelled to haul down its flag. amongst these achievements, the capture of the _esmeralda_ has reflected lustre on the chilian marine equal to anything recorded in the chronicles of ancient states, greatly adding to chilian importance in the eyes of europe; whilst, from the vigilance of the naval blockade, the fortifications of callao were finally compelled to surrender." "this happy event, so long hoped for, was by all considered to complete our labours in peru, and to entitle us if not to a remuneration from that state, _as in the case of those officers who abandoned the chilian service_! yet, at least, to a share of the valuable property taken by our means, as awarded under similar circumstances by other states, which, by experience, are aware of the benefit of stimulating individuals by such rewards for great enterprises undertaken for the public good. but, alas! so far from either of these modes of remuneration being adopted, _even the pay so often promised was withheld, and food itself was denied, so that we were reduced to a state of the greatest privation and suffering; so great, indeed, that the crew of the lautaro abandoned their ship for want of food, and the seamen of the squadron, natives as well as foreigners, were in a state of open mutiny, threatening the safety of all the vessels of the state_." "we do not claim merit for not relieving ourselves from this painful situation by an act of a doubtful nature, viz. by an acquiescence in the intentions of the general commanding-in-chief the expeditionary forces; _who, having declared us officers of peru,_ offered, through his _aides-de camps_, colonel paroissien and captain spry, honours and estates to those who would further his views. _nor do we envy those who received those estates and honours_; but having rejected these inducements to swerve from our allegiance, we may fairly claim the approbation of government for providing the squadron of chili with provisions and stores at callao, _out of monies in our hands justly due for the capture of the esmeralda, when such supplies had been refused by general san martin_. we may also claim similar approbation for having repaired the squadron at guayaquil, and for equipping and provisioning it for the pursuit of the enemy's frigates, _prueba_ and _venganza_, which we drove from the shores of mexico in a state of destitution to the shores of peru; and if they were not actually brought to chili, it was because they were seized by our late general and commander-in-chief, and appropriated in the same manner as he had previously intended with respect to the chilian squadron itself. we may add, that every endeavour short of actual hostilities with the said general, was made on our part to obtain the restitution of those valuable frigates to the government of chili. in no other instance through the whole course of our proceedings, has any dispute arisen but what has terminated favourably to the interests of chili, and the honour of her flag. private friendships have been preserved with the naval officers of foreign powers; no point has been conceded that could be maintained consistently with the maritime laws of civilized nations, by which our conduct has been scrupulously guided; and such has been the caution observed, that no act of violence contrary to the laws of nations, nor any improper exercise of power, can be laid to our charge. the chilian flag has waved in triumph, and with universal respect, from the southern extremity of the republic to the shores of california; population and the value of property have by our exertions increased threefold; whilst commerce and its consequent revenue have been augmented in a far greater proportion; which commerce, so productive to the state, might, without the protecting aid of its navy, be annihilated by a few of those miserable privateers which the terror of its name alone deters from approaching." "the period has now arrived at which it is essential for the well-being of the service in general, and especially for our private affairs, that our arrears, so long due, should be liquidated; and far as it is from our desire to press our claims on the government, yet we cannot abstain from so doing, in justice to the state, as well as to ourselves; because want of regularity in the internal affairs of a naval service is productive of relaxation of discipline, as just complaints cannot be redressed, nor complainants chastised--discontent spreading like a contagious disease, and paralysing the system." "permit us, therefore, to call to the notice of the government that since our return to valparaiso _with our naked crews, even clothes have been withheld for four months_, during which no payment has been made, the destitute seamen being _without blankets, ponchos, or any covering to protect them from the cold of winter_, the more severely felt from the hot climates in which they have for nearly three years been employed." "the two months' pay offered the other day could not now effect its purpose, as the whole--and more is due to the pulperia keepers, to whose benefit, and not that of the seamen, it must have immediately accrued. judge, then, of the irritation produced by such privations, and the impossibility of relieving them by such inadequate payment; also whether it is possible to maintain order and discipline amongst men worse circumstanced than the convicts of algiers! under such circumstances, it is no exaggeration to affirm that confidence will be for ever gone, and the squadron entirely ruined, if measures of preservation are not immediately resorted to." "with respect to the offer of _one month's pay to ourselves!_ after our faithful and persevering services, undergoing privations such as were never endured in the navy of any other state, we are afraid to trust ourselves to make any observations; but it is quite impossible that it could have been accepted under any circumstances, as it would have placed us in no better situation than if, on our arrival here four months ago, we had actually paid the government three months' salary for the satisfaction of having served it, during a period of two years, with unremitting exertions and fidelity." "in conclusion, we respectfully hope, that the supreme government will be pleased to take what we have stated into its serious consideration, and more especially that it will be pleased to comply with its existing engagements to us, with the same alacrity and fidelity with which we have acted towards the government; the duties of each being reciprocal, and equally binding on both parties." signed by all the captains. the preceding statement of the captains is a faithful statement of the case as regarded the injustice done to the squadron, which had throughout supported itself, even to the repairs and equipment of the ships. as to the ruin which the captains predict, it was no doubt intended by the envoys of san martin and their creatures in the chilian ministry, as the effect would have been to have driven the men to desertion, when the ships would have been turned over to peru, and manned with fresh crews. fortunately for chili, this consummation was prevented by an occurrence as strange as unexpected by her short-sighted rulers, though long before predicted by myself. chapter xi. negociations with bolivar--exile of monteagudo--complaints of the limenos--extravagance of the government--exculpation of san martin--effects of popular dissension--disagreement of bolivar and san martin--vote of peruvian congress--extraordinary neglect of the chilian squadron--san martin's arrival at valparaiso-- i demand his trial--countenance of the supreme director-- squadron at length paid wages--revolt of conception--general freire apprises me of it--freire asks for my support--his letter not replied to--san martin's influence. mention has been made in a previous chapter of the all but total destruction of a division of the liberating army by general canterac, and of the bombastic proclamations issued on that occasion by san martin, to the effect that they were "only dispersed, not beaten," &c. the protector was however ill at ease, and entered into a correspondence with bolivar, with a view to procure the assistance of columbian troops against the spaniards, who, following up their success, were making demonstrations of attacking the patriot forces in lima. to this request was added another soliciting an interview with bolivar at guayaquil. a similar despatch was sent to santiago, asking, in the most urgent terms, for aid from the chilian government. the whole affair--as narrated at the time, for personally i had nothing to do with it--was somewhat curious. san martin's designs on guayaquil having got wind, bolivar marched the columbian troops across the cordillera, successfully invaded quito, and was hastening towards guayaquil, with a view of being beforehand with san martin, of whose intentions upon that province he was aware. after the above-mentioned defeat of the peruvian army by canterac, san martin had been compelled to withdraw his forces from truxillo, on which sucre, the next in command to bolivar, advanced to guayaquil and took possession of it. at this time, as was afterwards well known, the limeños were privately soliciting bolivar to give them his assistance in liberating peru, _both from the protector_ and the spaniards! ignorant of this, the protector, having delegated the supreme authority to the marquis of torre tagle, and appointed general alvarado commander-in-chief in his absence, departed for guayaquil, for the purpose of the proposed interview. no sooner had san martin turned his back, than a public meeting of the limeños took place in the plaza, and insisted on the reconstitution of the _cabildo_, which assembly had been put down by the protector immediately after the declaration of independence. the members having complied, it was decided that "the minister monteagudo should be deposed, tried, and subjected to the severity of the law," a note being despatched to this effect to the supreme delegate, torre tagle. the council of state met, and informed monteagudo of what had taken place, when he was induced to resign; the supreme delegate politely informing the _cabildo_ that the ex-minister should be made to answer to the council of state for the acts of his administration. this note not satisfying the municipality, the _cabildo_ requested that monteagudo should at once be placed in arrest till called upon for his defence, which was immediately complied with; but the step was disapproved by the limeños, who feared that some crafty subterfuge might again place him in authority. the _cabildo_, therefore, in order to satisfy the people and get rid of the ex-minister, requested of the government that he might be put on board ship, and exiled for ever from peru. this was also acceded to; and, on the anniversary of his arrival in lima, monteagudo was sent under escort to callao, and forthwith taken to sea. torre tagle was unable to cope with the returning spirit of the limeños, nor did he attempt it, as the army was as much disgusted as were the inhabitants, and would not have raised a hand against them. the liberty of the press returned, and the first use of it was the following picture of the exiled minister, taken from the lima newspapers; this would not have been inserted here, except to shew the class of men with whom i had so long to contend. "every honourable citizen found in don bernardo monteagudo, (this is the name of the man of whom we speak,) an enemy who at any price would have sacrificed him. how many victims has he not immolated in his one year's ministry! more than eight hundred honourable families have been reduced by him to extreme indigence, and the whole city to misery! amongst the patriots of lima, nothing was thought of but where they might find an asylum in a foreign land. without agriculture, commerce, industry, personal security, property, and laws, what is society here but a scene of the most afflicting torments?" "the religion of our forefathers suffered an equal persecution in its ministers and its temples; these were deprived of their riches, not for the service of our country, but for the reward of _espionage_, and to deceive us with useless trickeries. the satellites of this bandit were equally despotic with himself, and committed under his protection the most horrid crimes. this is not a proper place in which to insert the baseness with which he abused the delicacy and weakness of females. fathers of families * * * *. every man was intimidated. every feeling man wept, because all were the victims of the caprice of this insolent upstart, who made an ostentation of atheism and ferocity." "it is impossible to recapitulate his actions. volumes would be necessary to shew the world the arbitrary crimes of this atrocious individual. it would appear that for the commission of so many offences he must have had some cause that impelled him, for they could not possibly be the effect of ignorance. it was impossible to believe that by insulting and ruining every one, plundering our property, despising the ingenuity and talents of the peruvians, and endeavouring to introduce anarchy, he could be longer tolerated in this capital. was the reduction of peru to the most degrading slavery, the means to make us or even himself happy?" &c. &c. &c the reader can--from what has been narrated in these pages,--form pretty correct opinions upon the majority of the enormities which drove monteagudo into exile. of his private character i have always foreborn to speak, as considering it a thing apart from official acts--but as the limeños themselves have forcibly alluded to it, i can say that in no respect can their allegations be called in question. the opinion of the roused limeños, that for monteagudo's plunders, insults, and cruelties, there "must have been an impelling cause," is correct, though it is rather surprising that they should not have more justly estimated that cause. the vast amount of silver and gold which i spared in the _sacramento_ at ancon, as being the property of the protector, shews the gulf which swallowed up his plunder of the inhabitants. the costly extravagance of the government--amidst which the degraded minister's ostentation was even more conspicuous than that of the protector himself--could have had no other source but plunder, for of legitimate revenue there was scarcely enough to carry on the expenses of the government--certainly none for luxurious ostentation; which, nevertheless, emulated that of the roman empire in its worst period--but without the "_panem et circenses_." the "impelling cause" was the protector himself. ambitious beyond all bounds, but with a capacity singularly incommensurate with his ambition, he believed that money could accomplish everything. monteagudo supplied this literally by plunder and cruelty, whilst san martin recklessly flung it away in ostentation and bribes. in return for the means of prodigality, the minister was permitted to carry on the government just as he chose, the protector meanwhile indulging in the "_otium cum dignitate_" at his country palace near la legua--his physical powers prostrated by opium and brandy, to which he was a slave, whilst his mental faculties day by day became more torpid from the same debilitating influence. this was well known to me, and alluded to in my letter to him of august th, , in which i adjured him to banish his advisers and act as became his position. i now mention these things, not to cast a slur on san martin, but for the opposite purpose of averting undue reproach, though my bitter enemy. the enormities committed in his name were for the most part not his, but monteagudo's; for, to paraphrase the saying of a french wit, "san martin reigned, but his minister governed." duplicity and cunning were san martin's great instruments when he was not too indolent to wield them; and while he was wrapped in ease, his minister superadded to these qualities all the cruelty and ferocity which sometimes converts a ruler into a monster, as the limeños very appropriately designate him. san martin was not innately cruel, though, as in the execution of the carreras, he did not hesitate to sacrifice men of far greater patriotism and ability than himself, regarding them as rivals; but he would not, as monteagudo did, have endeavoured to tempt me ashore to the house of torre tagle, for the purpose of assassinating me; nor, failing in this, would he as monteagudo also did, have liberated a convict for the express purpose of murdering me on board my own ship. at this distance of time these things may be mentioned, as there can be no delicacy in thus alluding to monteagudo, who, having lived the life of a tyrant, died the death of a dog; for having sometime afterwards imprudently returned to the peruvian capital, he was set upon and killed in the streets by the enraged limeños. this bad commencement of the peruvian government subsequently entailed on the country years of misery and civil war, from intestine feuds and party strife--the natural results of the early abuse which unhappily inaugurated its liberation. no such features have been exhibited in chili, where the maritime force under my command at once and for ever annihilated the power of spain, leaving to the mother country neither adherents nor defenders, so that all men agreed to consolidate the liberty which had been achieved. the same good results followed my expulsion of the portuguese fleets and army from brazil, where, whatever may have been the contentions of the parties into which the country was divided, the empire has ever since been preserved from those revolutions which invariably characterise states based at the outset upon virulent contentions. in peru, the liberty which had been promised was trodden under foot by the myrmidons of san martin, so that a portion of the people, and that the most influential, would gladly have exchanged the degradation of their country for a return to spanish rule, and this was afterwards very nearly achieved. another portion, dreading the spaniards, invited bolivar to free them from the despotism to which, in the name of liberty, they had been subjected. a third party sighed for independence, as they originally hoped it would have been established. the community became thus divided in object, and, as a consequence, in strength; being in constant danger of the oppressor, and in even more danger from its own intestine dissensions; which have continued to this day, not in peru only, but in the majority of the south american states, which, having commenced their career in the midst of private feud and public dissension, have never been able to shake off either the one or the other monuments of their own incipient weakness. the intelligence of monteagudo's forced exile was received at valparaiso on the st of september; and if this excited the surprise of the chilians, still greater must have been their astonishment when, on the th of october, general san martin himself arrived at valparaiso, a fugitive from his short-lived splendour, amidst the desolation of despotism. the story of this event is brief, but instructive. having met bolivar, as previously agreed upon, the liberator, in place of entering upon any mutual arrangement, bitterly taunted san martin with the folly and cruelty of his conduct towards the limeños; to such an extent, indeed, that the latter, fearing designs upon his person, precipitately left guayaquil, and returned to callao shortly after the expulsion of monteagudo. finding what had taken place, he remained on board his vessel, issuing vain threats against all who had been concerned in exiling his minister, and insisting on his immediate recal and reinstatement. a congress had however, by this time been appointed, with xavier de luna pizarro as its head, so the remonstrances of the protector were unheeded. after some time spent in useless recrimination, he made a virtue of necessity, and sent in his abdication of the protectorate, returning, as has been said, to chili. one of the first acts of the peruvian congress, after his abdication, was to address to me the following vote of thanks, not only marking my services in the liberation of their country, but denouncing san martin as a military despot:-- _resolution of thanks to lord cochrane by the sovereign congress of peru._ the sovereign constituent congress of peru, in consideration of the services rendered to peruvian liberty by lord cochrane, by whose talent, worth, and bravery, the pacific ocean has been liberated from the insults of enemies, and the standard of liberty has been planted on the shores of the south, has resolved,-- that the supreme junta, on behalf of the nation, shall offer to lord cochrane, admiral of the chilian squadron, its most expressive sentiments of gratitude for his hazardous exploits on behalf of peru, hitherto under the tyranny of military despotism, but now the arbiter of its own fate. this resolution being communicated to the supreme junta, they will do that which is necessary for its fulfilment, by ordering it to be printed, published, and circulated. given in the hall of congress, at lima, september th, . xavier de luna pizarro, president. jose sanchez carrion, deputy and secretary. francisco xavier mariatique, deputy and secretary. in fulfilment of the preceding resolution, we direct the same to be executed. jose de la mar, felipe anto. alvarado, el conde de vista florida. by order of his excellency, francisco valdivieso. san martin had, however, played his cards so cunningly, that, in order to be well rid of him, the peruvian congress had been induced to give him a pension of , dollars per annum, whilst nothing but thanks were awarded to me, both for liberating their country and for freeing them from military despotism! notwithstanding that the new peruvian government was in possession of our prizes, the _prueba_ and _venganza_, the latter only to be given up by paying , dollars to the chilian squadron, which at its own cost had run it down in guayaquil--these sums, no less than the value of the other frigate, being, in common honesty, due from peru to the chilian squadron to this day. to have thanked me so warmly as the exclusive instrument of their independence and deliverance from military tyranny--yet to have rewarded the tyrant and not myself in any form beyond the acknowledgment of my services, is a circumstance to which the peruvian government of the present day cannot look back with satisfaction; the less so as chili has, after the lapse of thirty years, partially atoned for the ingratitude of a former government in availing itself of my aid, without a shilling in the way of recompense, though i had supported its squadron by my own exertions, with comparatively no expense to the government, during the whole period that i held the command. to add to this palpable injustice, the peruvian congress distributed , dollars amongst twenty general and field officers of the army; but the officers of the squadron, whose prowess had freed the pacific of the enemy, and by the admission of the congress itself peru also--were not only excluded from the peruvian bounty, but were denied the prize-money which they had won and generously given up to the temporary exigencies of chili. such a monstrous perversion of justice and even common honesty, never before reflected discredit on a state. but more of this hereafter. it having been circulated in lima that san martin had secreted a quantity of gold in the _puyrredon_, steps were taken to verify the rumour, on which, at midnight on the th of september, he ordered the captain to get under weigh, though the vessel was not half manned, and had scarcely any water on board. he then went to ancon, and despatched a messenger to lima, on whose return, he ordered the captain instantly to weigh anchor and proceed to valparaiso, where on his arrival, it was given out that an attack of rheumatism compelled him to have resource to the baths of cauquenes. on the arrival of the ex-protector, two _aides-de-camp_ were sent by zenteno to compliment him, and his flag was regularly saluted, the governor of valparaiso's carriage being sent to convey him to the government house. yet shortly before, this very governor of valparaiso had rightly branded those who abandoned the chilian flag for that of peru, as "deserters;" but now he received the man who had not only first set the example, but had also induced others to desert--with the honours of a sovereign prince! the patriots were eager that i should arrest general san martin, and there were those in power who would not have complained had i done so, but i preferred to leave the government to its own course. on the following day, general san martin was forwarded in one of the director's carriages to santiago with an escort, the pretence for this mark of honour being fears for his personal safety, in which, there might be something of truth, for the chilian people rightly estimated his past conduct. without troubling myself about such matters, i immediately forwarded to the supreme director the annexed demand, that he should be tried for his desertion and subsequent conduct:-- most excellent sir, don jose de san martin, late commander-in-chief of the expeditionary forces from chili for the liberation of peru, having this day arrived at valparaiso, and being now within the jurisdiction of the laws of chili, i lose no time in acquainting you that, if it be the pleasure of government to institute an inquiry into the conduct of the said don jose de san martin, i am ready to prove his forcible usurpation of the supreme authority of peru, in violation of the solemn pledge given by his excellency the supreme director of chili; his attempts to seduce the navy of chili; his receiving and rewarding deserters from the chilian service; his unjustifiably placing the frigates, _prueba_ and _venqanza_, under the flag of peru; with other demonstrations and acts of hostility towards the republic of chili. given under my hand this th day of october, , on board the chilian ship _o'higgins_, in the harbour of valparaiso. (signed) cochrane. in place of my demand being complied with, san martin was honoured by having the palace appointed as his residence, whilst every mark of public attention was paid him by the ministry, the object being no other than to insult me, both as regarded the countenance given to him in the face of my demand for his trial, and the infamous accusations which he had made against me, but which he did not dare to sustain. the passive acquiescence of the supreme director in the treachery of his advisers caused an amount of popular discontent which ended in his exile also; both chilenos and spaniards revolting at the idea of san martin being thus publicly honoured. to see the supreme director parade himself as the friend and ally of such a man, was more than the patriot spirit could bear, and the voice of dissatisfaction was loud in every direction. by the partisans of san martin this was attributed to the squadron; and at his instigation, as was generally believed, troops were sent to valparaiso for the purpose of overawing it. i was cautioned to be on my guard against personal seizure or assault, as had been attempted in peru, but did not place sufficient reliance on the courage of my opponents to adopt any steps evincing doubt of the chilian people, who were well disposed to me. on the st of november there occurred an earthquake, which completely destroyed the town of valparaiso, so that scarcely a house remained habitable; the people rushing to the hills or to the ships in the harbour. on the first shocks, knowing that terrible disasters would ensue, i went on shore to restore what order could be maintained amongst the terrified people, and met with the supreme director, who had narrowly escaped with his life when hurrying out of his house. it being impossible to render the unhappy townspeople any service, i paid his excellency every possible attention, even though i had reason to believe that his visit was unfriendly to me, he being falsely persuaded that my incessant demands for the payment of the squadron was an act of hostility to himself, instead of a measure of justice to the officers and men. finding me determined, after what had occurred, to procure the payment of the squadron, the now tottering government gave in, and thus far decided on doing justice; but even in this--as i had reason to believe--the counsels of san martin induced them to adopt a plan of making the payments ashore, and paying the men and petty officers first--after which, they were to be allowed a furlough of four months. as this plan was palpably meant to unman the squadron, and thus place the officers and myself at the mercy of the intriguers, i would not suffer it to be carried into effect, the men were therefore paid on board their respective ships. a new system of annoyance was hereupon practised towards me by zenteno, who had again assumed the office of minister of marine. from the neglect to repair the ships--which were left in the same wretched condition as when they returned from peru and mexico--the _independencia_ was alone seaworthy; and was sent to sea by zenteno without even the formality of transmitting the requisite orders through me. but a crisis was now at hand. the insult offered to general freire, by sending santa cruz to supersede him, will be fresh in the reader's recollection. soon after this the provincial convention of conception met, and passed a vote of censure upon the council of government at santiago, for re-electing general o'higgins as supreme director after his resignation--an act which it considered illegal, as no such power was vested in the ministry--and it became known that general freire was about to march with the troops under his command to enforce these views. on the th, general freire had advanced his troops as far as talca, and a division of the army at santiago was ordered to be in readiness to meet him. the marines belonging to the squadron, under the command of major hind, were also ordered to reinforce the director's troops. i was at this time at my country residence at quintero, but learning what was going on, i immediately went to valparaiso and resumed the command of the squadron, to which i found that orders had been issued at variance with the arrangements which had been entered into in regard to the prize-money due to the officers and men--the _galvarino_, which was pledged to be sold for that purpose, being under orders for sea, to convey san martin to some place of safety, for, not anticipating the disorganisation which he found in chili, he was afraid of falling into the hands of general freire, from whom he would doubtless have experienced the full amount of justice which his conduct deserved. the squadron in my absence had, however, taken the matter into its own hands, by placing the _lautaro_, with her guns loaded, in a position to sink the _galvarino_ if she attempted to move. the forts on shore had also loaded their guns for retaliation, though of these the squadron would have made short work. no sooner had i restored order, by resuming the command, than i received from general freire the subjoined letter, which no longer left me in doubt of his intentions:-- conception, dec. th, . my lord, the province under my command being tired of suffering the effects of a corrupted administration, which has reduced the republic to a state of greater degradation than that under which it was labouring when it made the first struggle to obtain its liberty; and when, by means of an illegitimately-created convention, without the will of the people, they have traced the plans of enslaving them, by constituting them as the patrimony of an ambitious despot, whilst, in order to ensure him the command, they have trodden under foot the imprescriptible right of the citizens, exiling them in the most arbitrary manner from their native country. nothing now remains for us but heroically to resolve that we will place the fruit of eleven years of painful sacrifices in the way of saving it; to which effect i have deposited in the hands of its legal representatives who are united in this city the authority that i have hitherto exercised; but notwithstanding my want of merit, and sincere renouncement, the constituent power has deigned to place upon my weak shoulders this enormous weight, by again depositing the civil and military command in my person, which the adjoining resolution i have the honour of remitting will explain to your lordship. god preserve your lordship many years. (signed) ramon freire. in short, a revolution to depose the supreme director had commenced, and general freire, supported by the inhabitants of conception and coquimbo, was in arms to effect it. with this revolution i was determined to have nothing to do, because, as a foreigner, it was not desirable for me to become a party to any faction, though it was evident that the authority of general o'higgins would shortly be at an end. regarding general freire's letter as an indirect request to me to aid him in deposing general o'higgins, i did not even reply to it. on the th of september he made the following direct overture to me to join in the revolution:-- conception, nov. th, . my best and most distinguished friend, the time has arrived when circumstances and the country require the protection of those who generously and judiciously know how to maintain its sacred rights. let us withdraw the curtain from the scene which trifles with the interests of the republic, leading it to inevitable ruin. its deplorable state is public and notorious. there is not a man who is unacquainted with it, and who does not bewail the prospective loss of its independence, with a thraldom also in view more grievous than the spanish yoke. the self-assumed powers of the government, the restrictions on commerce, and, above all, the constitution recently promulgated, place the ambitious views of the chief magistrate and the corruption of his ministers in a clear light. every act proves that the intentions of the supreme director have undergone a change. fortune, which has hitherto favoured him, has given a new turn to his ambition, as if the proposal of a crown could no longer be resisted--all the measures pursued throughout the state leading to that end. it is grievous to see laurels thus stained in the grasp of one who so gloriously obtained them. it is, however, needless to trespass on you with further reflections on these occurrences, as your judgment cannot fail to be formed both on the facts and their consequences. let us therefore touch on other subjects. permit me, without offence to your delicacy, to make some reflections on subjects equally public and notorious. you enjoyed honours, rank, and fortune, amidst a people the most distinguished in europe. you generously abandoned ease and comfort in order to aid in the attainment of our liberty, and you have been the chief instrument which has enabled us to achieve it. the whole world is acquainted with your gallant efforts to abolish tyranny and give liberty to south america. the people of this republic are full of the most lively gratitude, and are grieved that it is not in their power to give you an effectual proof of their deep attachment. this province, holding valour and merit in estimation, idolizes you, whilst it holds in abhorrence and detestation the tyrant "liberator of peru!" who has stained our soil with tears of blood shed for his pretended services. chacabuco would have terminated the war throughout the republic, had it not been deemed necessary to foster its continuance for the interests of this individual. this province (conception) having been completely sacrificed, has arrived at the point of exasperation. its inhabitants are unanimously determined on a change and a reform of government, and declare that in arauco they will breathe the air of liberty, and that they will perish in the field of battle to obtain it. this is the decision universally adopted without exception. this is the determination of the gallant troops which i have the honour to command, and of their valiant officers, and is moreover sanctioned by the holy orders of the clergy. compromised by these declarations, what am i to reply to them? must i profess my sympathy and accordance of opinion with them, and admit to you, that, though yesterday a private citizen, with a heart burning to be freed from fetters, _i must to-day gird on the sword_. may heaven favour my lot in the absence of personal merit! to my country i owe my life and the position i hold--from having contributed to its welfare--can i then neglect the duty that i owe to it? no, my dear friend, far be that course from me. freire has sworn to live or perish for the liberty of his native country, and he now repeats that solemn oath, grieved at the cause which compels him to renew it, but trusting in the hope that god will avert the effusion of blood in the accomplishment of the object. i know that you are deeply interested in securing the liberty of chili, for which you have so gloriously contended. i know you will deeply feel the privation of hope--for neither in your generous heart, nor in mine, can such events be received with indifference. let us then pursue a course in uniformity with the glory of chili, and the opinion of the world. let us listen to the voice of the country, which calls us to avert evils when repose might have been anticipated. i count, together with the whole province, on your co-operation to avert mischief and advance the good of the country. act as you judge best, but for the promotion of that object, the moment has arrived for action. answer me with promptitude and frankness. let us have the satisfaction of applying effective remedies to the evils which afflict the country, zealously and disinterestedly for the good of the republic, and without personal views. _i hold the residence of san martin in any part of chili as suspicious and dangerous. let him be off to make some other quarter happy, where he can sell his protection to the ill-fated inhabitants._ i hope my intentions meet your approbation, and will be seconded by the officers of the squadron. i trust you will receive this as the sincerest proof that i can give of the high consideration with-which i am your most faithful and unchangeable friend, ramon freire. to vice-adm. lord cochrane, commanding the squadron of chili. i did not reply with promptitude, for i felt that it was no part of my mission to mingle in civil warfare. this letter, however, corroborated my opinion as to the fact of san martin's influence over the supreme director, and the recent coolness in his conduct towards me. if general freire's information was correct, there was evidently a desire to restore san martin to the empire of peru! when possession could be got of the squadron, and he in return had deluded general o'higgins into the plot by promise of support. whether this was so in reality is problematical, but there is general freire's letter, for the first time published, and the chilian people can thence draw their own conclusions. fortunately an occurrence took place, which relieved me from the dilemma in which i was placed, as will be narrated in the succeeding chapter. chapter xii. the squadron taken from me--i accept invitation from brazil--letter to the supreme directo--- san martin quits chili--his prudence--opinion of his aide-de-camp--ministerial neglect--permission to quit chili--letter to general freire--for the first time made public--letter to the captains and officers--to the chilian people--to the foreign merchants--to the president of peru--san martin actuated by revenge--this shewn from his letters. the event alluded to in the last chapter was the arrival of an express from the brazilian _charge d'affaires_ at buenos ayres, with a request from the imperial court at rio de janeiro, to the effect that, as by my exertions the spaniards had now been driven from the pacific, i would accept the command of the brazilian navy, for the purpose of expelling the portuguese, who still maintained their hold upon the greater portion of that side of the south american continent. as acquiescence in this offer would relieve me from the embarrassing situation in which i was placed in chili, i began seriously to consider the expediency of accepting it. at this juncture freire commenced his march towards the capital, at the same time sending captain casey to valparaiso with an armed merchantman, to ascertain the effect of his last letter to me. without coming to an anchor, captain casey sent a boat on board the _o'higgins_ to ascertain my sentiments, but meeting with a refusal to acquiesce in the revolution, he again sailed. the ministers, however, judging me by themselves, and suspecting that i was about to become a party to general freire's designs, began to withdraw the ships from my command, on the pretence of repairs or converting them into store-ships, several being thus taken from the squadron. i was also ordered to place the _o'higgins_ and _valdivia_ under the charge of the commandant of marine, to be repaired, and to make a store-ship of the _lautaro_, and being thus deprived of the slightest authority over them, i was now considered as a sort of state prisoner; but in pursuing this course, the little schooner _montezuma_, which i had rescued from peru, had been overlooked, and on board of her i hoisted my flag. the _galvarino_ was now sent to sea without my permission, and without an englishman in her. the _lautaro_, the pretended store-ship, was also being got ready for sea, when i addressed the following note to captain worcester, who commanded her:-- memo, having received directions from the supreme government to cause the _lautaro_ to be placed as a store-ship, under the command of the governor, and observing that the said order is in process of violation by the preparations making for sea; you are hereby required and directed to hoist my flag, and obey all such orders as you shall receive from me on the service of the state. given under my hand this th day of january, , on board the _montezuma_. cochrane. tired of this heartless ingratitude, and disgusted with the suspicion that i was about to join general freire with the squadron--an idea which could only have arisen from the expectation that i should thus resent the injuries inflicted on me--i resolved to accept the invitation from his majesty the emperor of brazil, leaving all which the chilian government owed me to the honour of a juster and more enlightened administration. accordingly i addressed to the supreme director the following letter:-- valparaiso, jan. , . most excellent sir, the difficulties which i have experienced in accomplishing the naval enterprizes successfully achieved during the period of my command as admiral of chili, have not been effected without responsibility such as i would scarcely again undertake, not because i would hesitate to make any personal sacrifice in a cause of so much interest, but because even these favourable results have led to the total alienation of the sympathies of meritorious officers, --whose co-operation was indispensable,--in consequence of the conduct of the government. that which has made most impression on their minds has been, not the privations they have suffered, nor the withholding of their pay and other dues, but the absence of any public acknowledgment by the government of the honours and distinctions promised for their fidelity and constancy to chili; especially at a time when no temptation was withheld that could induce them to abandon the cause of chili for the service of the protector of peru; even since that time, though there was no want of means or knowledge of facts on the part of the chilian government, it has submitted itself to the influence of the agents of an individual whose power having ceased in peru, has been again resumed in chili. the effect of this on me is so keenly sensible that i cannot trust myself in words to express my personal feelings. desiring, as i do, to extenuate rather than accuse, nothing shall enter into a narrative of these circumstances which is not capable of undeniable proof. whatever i have recommended or asked for the good of the naval service has been scouted or denied, though acquiescence would have placed chili in the first rank of maritime states in this quarter of the globe. my requisitions and suggestions were founded on the practice of the first naval service in the world--that of england; they have, however, met with no consideration, as though their object had been directed to my own personal benefit. until now i have never eaten the bread of idleness. i cannot reconcile to my mind a state of inactivity which might even now impose upon the chilian republic an annual pension for past services; especially as an admiral of peru is actually in command of a portion of the chilian squadron, whilst other vessels are sent to sea without the orders under which they act being communicated to me, and are despatched by the supreme government through the instrumentality of the governor of valparaiso (zenteno.) i mention these circumstances incidentally as having confirmed me in the resolution to withdraw myself from chili for a time; asking nothing for myself during my absence; whilst as regards the sums owing to me, i forbear to press for their payment till the government shall be more freed from its difficulties. i have complied with all that my public duty demanded, and if i have not been able to accomplish more, the deficiency has arisen from circumstances beyond my control--at any rate, having the world still before me, i hope to prove that it is not owing to me. i have received proposals from mexico, from brazil, and from an european state, but have not as yet accepted any of these offers. nevertheless, the active habits of my life do not permit me to refuse my services to those labouring under oppression, as chili was before the annihilation of the spanish naval force in the pacific. in this i am prepared to justify whatever course i may pursue. in thus taking leave of chili, i do so with sentiments of deep regret that i have not been suffered to be more useful to the cause of liberty, and that i am compelled to separate myself from individuals with whom i hoped to have lived for a long period, "without violating such sentiments of honour as, were they broken, would render me odious to myself and despicable in their eyes." until this day i have abstained from pressing upon your excellency's attention my reply to the infamous accusations presented against me by the agents of san martin--knowing that your excellency had more urgent objects to attend to. nevertheless, i now beg your excellency's consideration of this matter, in order that--as has been the case in peru--these falsehoods may be rendered manifest--as well as the despicable character of that man who falsely arrogated to himself the attributes of a general and a legislator, though destitute of courage or legislative knowledge--the substitution for which was duplicity and cunning. (signed) cochrane. foiled in getting one of the ships of the squadron, wherein to escape from the impending storm, san martin remained in santiago till the beginning of january, , when finding matters in chili becoming dangerous to his safety, he crossed the cordillera to mendoza, and from thence went to europe to avoid reprobation in retirement. throughout this narrative i have been careful that san martin's proceedings should be shown from his own acts and letters, there not being in this volume one which has not been published in the gazettes of chili and peru, or of which the originals are not now in my possession. of the latter, i could communicate san martin's letters to me by dozens, and had i so far trespassed on the patience of the reader, his acts would have appeared in a yet more invidious light. what have been given are strictly relative to public transactions, and belong to the people of chili as part of their national history, which, rather than any defence of my own conduct--which was never brought in question by the chilian government--is my chief reason for now making them public. there may be, however, some who think that i have mistaken general san martin's _prudence_ in not approaching lima when every advantage was before him--for a worse quality, which until my letter to the supreme director o'higgins, just quoted, i had never publicly attributed to him, though, in the estimation of every officer of the army and squadron, richly deserving it. it will be in the recollection of the reader, that instead of marching on lima, he wasted nearly two months at haura, and that from the pestilential character of the climate, a fearful amount of sickness amongst the troops was the consequence. i will here give a letter to me from his _aide-de-camp_ paroissien, who was subsequently employed by san martin to promulgate his infamous accusations against me, when he had no longer any hope of securing my co-operation; premising that in my ardour to get the army at once to lima, and unsuspicious at that time of san martin's secret designs, i had laid paroissien a wager that by a given day we should be in the peruvian capital; the _aide-de-camp_ being a better judge of his chief than i was, accepted the wager, and as a matter of course, won it. haura, april, my dear lord, with what pleasure would i lose twenty bets like that which i have unfortunately won of you, if you could but tell me that i should be _the loser_. nay more, i will lay you the same wager now, that in another three weeks we shall not get to the little room over the great entrance of the palaccio. i have received this afternoon a fine fat turtle; and egad, if i thought i _should lose_, i would fatten him up all the more--but, alas! i fear we shall have to calipee and calipash it in haura; however, the bustle that has lately prevailed seems to indicate some movement; and those of us who are well, are ready to march at an hour's notice--but of course you are infinitely better acquainted with these things than i am. still, i think that _were we more active and enterprising, a great deal might he done, particularly with our cavalry--whose swords for want of use are getting rusty. if we do not make a push now, god knows when we shall do so._ * * * * * the general appears desirous of striking a blow against baldez. it may be right---and i dare say it is; _but i should rather we had a touch against the capital_. thank god we are about to do something. yours very truly, paroissien. the reader will have gathered from the narrative, that san martin struck no blow anywhere, even hesitating to enter lima when no blow was required to be struck. his _aide-de-camp's_ view of the matter can hardly be mistaken. it is not a little remarkable, that in a letter addressed to the supreme director, before sailing on the liberating expedition to peru, i should have, from the first, correctly estimated san martin's character in persisting not to make any military movement without an unnecessary force to ensure his personal safety, though our recent victory at valdivia with a force of men only, could not have given him any very great idea of the difficulties to be encountered. as this letter was omitted in its place, i will here transcribe it. may , . most excellent sir, finding that all the measures proposed in the expedition to peru are made public--that all that is decided on to-day is contradicted to-morrow--that no system is followed, either in regard to naval or state matters, which can promote your interest--that mischievous delays of all kinds are opposed to the success of an enterprise, which your excellency is desirous of promoting --that the expedition of , men (abundantly sufficient), was not to be delayed on any pretence, but that it has been delayed in order to increase it to , --and that even now it is kept back, in order to ascertain the position and force of the enemy at callao, of which we know just as much now as we should when the _montezuma_ may return, some forty days hence, after an investigation to no purpose--in short, finding that everything stipulated and agreed upon has been deviated from. i am desirous to give up the command of the squadron to whoever may enjoy the confidence of your excellency; which act will, i hope, add to your tranquillity, by relieving you from my opinions in regard to what ought to be done, but has not been done--and to that which could be effected, but has not even been attempted. i have abstained from sending the _montezuma_ on a meaningless voyage of forty days to callao, till i receive your excellency's definitive commands--considering that the despatch of that vessel is not only useless, but a pretext for delay, and is calculated to frustrate all that your excellency has in contemplation. would that you could yourself note the palpable treachery which prevents anything of importance being collected for the expedition--i say palpable treason--as not a single article necessary has yet been procured. can your excellency believe, that only one vessel is in the hands of the contractor; and even she is not prepared for sea? will you believe that the only provisions that the contractor's agent has in hand is twenty-one days' rations of bread, and six days' of salt meat, whilst to my query whether he had any _charqui_ ready, his reply was, "there is plenty in the country." will your excellence believe that there are only water casks ready for , troops and the crews of the squadron? your excellency may be assured that only your interest and that of the state could induce me to utter these opinions; but, in order to convince you that i have no wish to abandon the service, if my continuance in it can be of any use--my only wish being to avoid becoming the butt of disasters after their occurrence--i now offer to give up the command of the squadron, and to accept in lieu thereof, the command of the four armed prizes taken by the _o'higgins_ in the last cruise, and with , troops selected by myself, to accomplish all that is expected from the , troops and the squadron; the former being a manageable force, capable of defeating all the defensive measures of the enemy--whilst the latter, solely under military command, will not only be unmanageable for desultory operations, but, from its unhandiness, will paralyse naval movements. lastly, i must repeat to your excellency that the inviolable secresy of determinations and the rapidity of operations under present circumstances, are the only security for the prosperity of the chilian government and the hoped-for liberty of peru. if those are to be set at nought, i hereby again place at your excellency's disposal the commission with which i have been honoured, in order that you may be convinced of my having no other object than to serve your excellency in every way compatible with honour. i have the honour, &c. cochrane. to his excellency the supreme director, &c. &c. to return to my, now in reality, approaching departure from chili. the request to be permitted to retire for a time from the service, was promptly complied with, and no doubt gladly so, from the belief of the government that i might otherwise ally myself with general freire, though, that i had no such intention, the annexed reply to his communications--made shortly after i had left chili, and when he had succeeded in overthrowing the government of general o'higgins--will shew. bahia, june , . my respected friend, it would give me great pleasure to learn that the change which has been effected in the government of chili proves alike conducive to your happiness and to the interests of the state. for my own part--like yourself--i suffered so long and so much, that i could not bear the neglect and double dealing of those in power any longer, but adopted other means of freeing myself from an unpleasant situation. not being under those imperious obligations which, as a native chileno, rendered it incumbent on you to rescue your country from the mischiefs with which it was assailed by the scandalous measures of some of those who were unhappily in the confidence of the late supreme director, i could not accept your offers. my heart was with you in the measures you adopted for their removal; and my hand was only restrained by a conviction that my interference, as a foreigner, in the internal affairs of the state, would not only have been improper in itself, but would have tended to shake that confidence in my undeviating rectitude which it was my ambition that the people of chili should ever justly entertain. indeed, before i was favoured with your communications, i had resolved to leave the country, at least for a time, and return to england, but accident so ordered it that at the very moment i was preparing to execute this intention, i received an offer from the emperor of brazil to command his navy, and conditionally accepted it. brazil has one great advantage over other south american states, it is free from all question as to the authority of its chief, who has nothing to fear from the rivalry to which those elevated to power are so frequently subject. i pray god that this may not be your case. the command of the army will enable you to accomplish great things without jealousy, but the possession of the supreme power of the state will hardly fail to excite the envy of the selfish and ambitious to a degree that may operate to the destruction of your expectations of doing good, and to the injury of the cause in which you have embarked. permit me to add my opinion, that whoever may possess the supreme authority in chili--_until after the present generation, educated as it has been under the spanish colonial yoke, shall have passed away_, will have to contend with so much error, and so many prejudices, as to be disappointed in his utmost endeavours to pursue steadily the course best calculated to promote the freedom and happiness of the people. i admire the middle and lower classes of chili, but i have ever found the senate, the ministers, and the convention, actuated by the narrowest policy, which led them to adopt the worst measures. it is my earnest wish that you may find better men to co-operate with you; if so, you may be fortunate, and may succeed in what you have most at heart--the promotion of your country's good. believe me that i am--with gratitude for the disinterested and generous manner in which you have always acted towards me-- your unshaken and faithful friend, cochrane. to his excellency don ramon freire, supreme director of chili, &c. this letter has never before seen the light, and i here make it public, in order to show that the government of general o'higgins had nothing to fear, even from its ingratitude to me; my only desire being to escape from it, even at the cost of leaving behind the whole amount due to my services, none of which was conceded. previous to my departure, i addressed the following letter to the squadron:-- to the captains and officers generally of the chilian navy, gentlemen, as i am now about to take my leave of you, at least for a time, i cannot refrain from expressing my satisfaction at the cheerful manner in which the service has been carried on, the unanimity which has prevailed, and the zeal which, on all trying occasions, you have shown. these have compensated me for the difficulties with which i have had to contend, and which i am confident have been such as never before presented themselves in any service. your patience and perseverance under privations of all kinds were such as chili had no right to expect, and such as no other country would have demanded, even from its own native subjects. in all maritime states the strictest attention is paid to the necessities of officers and men--regularity of pay and adequate reward for services are deemed necessary as excitements to perseverance, and the achievement of effective and heroic exploits--but your exertions and achievements have been made independently of any such inducements. gentlemen, by our united exertions, the naval power of the enemy of these seas, though superior to our own, has been annihilated, and the commerce of the pacific is everywhere carried on in security under the protection of the independent flag of chili. to me it is highly gratifying to reflect, that these services have not been sullied by any act of illegality or impropriety on your part; and that, while you have asserted the rights of chili, and maintained and confirmed her independence, you have so conducted yourselves, as uniformly to preserve the strictest harmony and good fellowship with the officers of the ships of war of all neutral states. the services you have rendered to chili will, however, be better appreciated at a future period, when the passions which now actuate individuals shall have ceased to influence those in power, and when your honourable motives shall no longer be felt as a reproach by those whose selfishness has withheld the reward of your fidelity, and whose jealousy has denied you even the official expression of public approbation. gentlemen, the best approbation is that of your own hearts--of that, none can deprive you. however, if it be any satisfaction to you to receive my assurance that your conduct has, on all occasions, merited my warmest applause, i can say with perfect truth that i have great pleasure in rendering you that assurance, and in conveying to you my heartfelt thanks for your uniform cordial and efficient co-operation in the cause in which we have been engaged. towards the brave seamen under my command i entertain similar sentiments, which you will oblige me by communicating to them in terms most gratifying to their feelings. in taking my leave of you and them, i have only to add, that if i have not been able to evince my gratitude so fully as i ought, it has not been owing to any deficiency of zeal, but to circumstances over which i had no control. i remain, gentlemen, your grateful and faithful friend and servant, cochrane. jan. th, . on my acceptance of the brazilian command becoming known, several highly meritorious officers begged to accompany me--giving up, like myself, all present hope of adequate payment for their services. knowing that in brazil--as had been the case in chili--it would be necessary to organize a navy, i gladly complied with the requisition; so that neither then, nor afterwards, did they receive from chili any recompense for their unparalleled bravery and perseverance in the cause of independence. to the people of chili--amongst whom, disgusted with the treatment i had received at home, i had once hoped to spend the remainder of my days in the bosom of my family--i issued the following address:-- chilenos--my fellow countrymen! the common enemy of america has fallen in chili. your tricoloured flag waves on the pacific, secured by your sacrifices. some internal commotions agitate chili. it is not my business to investigate their causes, to accelerate or retard their effects; i can only wish that the result may be favourable to the national interest. chilenos. you have expelled from your country the enemies of your independence, do not sully the glorious act by encouraging discord and promoting anarchy--that greatest of all evils. consult the dignity to which your heroism has raised you, and if you must take any step to secure your national liberty--judge for yourselves--act with prudence--and be guided by reason and justice. it is now four years since the sacred cause of your independence called me to chili. i assisted you to gain it. i have seen it accomplished. it only remains to preserve it. i leave you for a time, in order not to involve myself in matters foreign to my duties, and for other reasons, concerning which i now remain silent, that i may not encourage party spirit. chilenos. you know that independence is purchased at the point of the bayonet. know also, that liberty is founded on good faith, and on the laws of honour, and that those who infringe upon these, are your only enemies, amongst whom you will never find cochrane. quintero, jan. th, . on the same day i issued another address to the english and other merchants at valparaiso who at the outset had given me every confidence and assistance, but--notwithstanding the protection imparted by the squadron to their legitimate commerce, the minds of some had become alienated because i would not permit illegitimate trading at which the corrupt ministers not only connived, but for their own individual profit, encouraged,--by granting licences to supply the enemy, even to contraband of war. in the subjoined, allusion is made to this matter-- to the merchants of valparaiso. gentlemen, i cannot quit this country without expressing to you the heartfelt satisfaction which i experience on account of the extension which has been given to your commerce, by laying open to all the trade of these vast provinces, to which spain formerly asserted an exclusive right. the squadron which maintained the monopoly has disappeared from the face of the ocean, and the flag of independent south america waves everywhere triumphant, protecting that intercourse between nations which is the source of riches, power, and happiness. if, for the furtherance of this great object, some restraints were imposed, they were no other than those sanctioned by the practice of all civilized states: and though they may have affected the immediate interests of a few who were desirous to avail themselves of accidental circumstances presented during the contest, it is a gratification to know that such interests were only postponed for the general good. should there, however, be any who conceive themselves aggrieved by my conduct. i have to request them to make known their complaints, in order that i may have an opportunity of particular reply. i trust that you will do me the justice to believe that i have not determined to withdraw myself from these seas, whilst anything remained within my means to accomplish for your benefit and security. i have the honour to be, gentlemen, your faithful humble servant, cochrane. quintero, chili, jan. , . though i remained in chili a fortnight after the date of this letter, not a complaint of any kind was forwarded from the merchants; indeed, considering the protection which the squadron had afforded to their existing commerce, and the facilities which it had given for extending it, i had no reason to suppose that any complaint would be made. the above addresses were printed by a lithographic press in my house at quintero, this being the first introduced into the pacific states. i had sent for this press from england, together with other social improvements, and a number of agricultural implements, hoping thereby, though at my own expense, to give an impetus to industry in chili. all this was, however, frustrated, and the mortification was not a little enhanced by the circumstance that, whilst turning printer for the nonce, there lay opposite my house at quintero one of our best prizes, the _aguila_, a wreck, tenanted only by shell-fish--she having gone ashore whilst waiting the decision of the chilian government, previous to being sold for the benefit of her captors! as the chilian government refused to permit my refutation of san martin's charges against me in a way as public as they had been promulgated, i addressed the following note to the peruvian congress, together with a copy of the refutation:-- to his excellency the president of the congress of peru. sir, i have the honour to transmit through you to the sovereign congress a copy of a letter addressed by me to don jose de san martin, translations of which i have forwarded to europe and to north america, to be issued to the world through the press. mankind will then cease to accuse the peruvians of ingratitude, and will do longer wonder that an imperial crown was withheld from the protector as the reward of labours in the cause of liberty, but will applaud your resolution to select from amongst yourselves the most enlightened of your citizens--men capable of securing the independence and promoting the prosperity of the state on principles of national freedom under the rule of law. be pleased to solicit in my name that the sovereign congress may deign to deposit in their archives that letter and the charges against me thereto annexed, which were preferred by don jose de san martin to the chilian government relative to my conduct in peru, in order that a record may remain whereby to judge of facts when the actors shall have passed from this scene. then the even hand of time shall poise the scale of justice, apportioning to all the due measure of approbation or reproach. that the acts of the sovereign congress and of the executive government of peru may be such as shall call forth the admiration and secure the affections of its people, is the prayer of your excellency's obedient humble servant, cochrane. valparaiso, dec. , . one word more with regard to these accusations of san martin. it was not till all his offers to me to abandon my allegiance to chili, and to join him in his defection had proved unavailing, that he sought to revenge himself by such charges, well knowing that zenteno and his party in the chilian ministry would second any chance of injuring me in public estimation from their unabating personal enmity to me, arising from my constant opposition to their selfish measures for private advantage. into these matters i have no inclination to enter, though possessing abundant materials for disclosing a career of state dishonesty without parallel in the history of governments. up to the time of my last refusal of san martin's offers, made through monteagudo, everything was "couleur de rose"--with all kinds of declarations that "my lot should be equal to his own"--though, thank god, my lot has been of a far different nature. it was within a week of my last refusal that his charges against me were trumped up. i will select one more from his numerous letters now in my possession, to show that nothing but revenge at being disappointed in my co-operation to ensure his personal aggrandisement, could have influenced him to perpetrate such an act of meanness. lima, aug., . my esteemed friend, your appreciated letter, received yesterday, has convinced me that the frankness of your sentiments is only equalled by the regard you entertain for the public cause--especially as to matters under my charge. i cannot view the counsel and opinions you offer, otherwise than as proof of the zeal you entertain for my interests. aware of the estimation in which you hold glorious acts, i cannot do otherwise than sympathize with you, as you desire that i shall augment those i have acquired. without entertaining a doubt that i shall contribute effectually in the field still open to us--_more particularly to you_, i wish that the enterprises in which you evince so much zeal, _did not require so great temerity to carry them out, and such enthusiasm to bring them to a successful result._ believe me, my lord, that nothing will make me swerve from the determination that the _lot of lord cochrane shall be that of gen. san martin._ i hope that in your correspondence with sir thos. hardy, all difficulties will be smoothed in a manner satisfactory to both. i understand that he is desirous to accord to _our_ flag all that justice demands and the policy of england will permit. on these points i confide in your prudence. never doubt, my lord, of the sincere friendship with which i am your affectionate jose de san martin. it is so utterly incredible that a man entertaining such opinions of me should believe in the charges he afterwards made against me, _with regard to acts occurring long previous to this period_, even to accusing me of "endangering the safety of the squadron from the first moment of our quitting valparaiso," that i will not weary the reader's patience in commenting further upon them. chapter xiii. freire marches on valparaiso--elected supreme director--he begs of me to return--my reply--subsequent letter to general freire. on the th of january, , i hauled down my flag, hoisted in the _montezuma_ schooner--the only vessel which the suspicious jealousy of the chilian ministers had left me--and sailed for rio de janiero in the chartered brig, colonel allen, though my brother's steamer, the _rising star_--or rather the chilian government's steamer, upon which he had a lien for money advanced for its completion and equipment--was lying idle at valparaiso. could i have taken this vessel with me to brazil, on the refusal of chili to repay the sums which my brother had advanced on the guarantee of its london envoy alvarez--the brazilian government would have eagerly availed itself of an advantage to which the chilian ministry was insensible: though recently by the exertions of admiral simpson, and the more enlightened views of the present government, chili is now beginning to appreciate the advantage of a steam marine, which, at the period of her liberation, she so perversely rejected by refusing to honour the comparatively trifling pecuniary engagements of her minister in london. the probable reason why the chilian government refused to acknowledge these obligations was--that the war being now ended by the annihilation of the spanish naval power in the pacific through the instrumentality of sailing ships alone, there was no necessity for a steam ship of war--the narrow-minded policy of the ministers who have figured in these pages never conceiving that to maintain maritime preponderance is scarcely less difficult than to achieve it. hence, to get rid of the paltry sum of £ , due--and still due--to my brother for his advances on the ship, she was rejected; the consequence was, that after my departure, the independence of chili was again placed in jeopardy, whilst peru was only saved from a spanish reconquest by the intervention of the colombian liberator, bolivar. shortly after my departure, the partisans of general freire, and the enemies of general o'higgins, having entered into a combination--the former marched on valparaiso, where the people ardently espoused his cause; so that abandoned by his evil genius, san martin, and equally so by others who had caused his downfall, the supreme director found himself a prisoner in the hands of the very man who had most conduced to his overthrow, viz., zenteno, in whose charge he was placed on pretence of being made accountable for the expenditure of those who now held him in durance! the end of this was, a five months' examination of o'higgins, which resulted in his being permitted to leave the country; general freire having, meanwhile, been elected to the supreme directorate, in the midst of internal dissensions in chili, and disasters in peru, where the spaniards, under cantarac--emboldened by the pusillanimity of the protector in permitting them to relieve callao unmolested, and elated with their decisive victory over a division of his army, as narrated in a previous chapter--had availed themselves of the treasure carried away from callao in reorganising their forces, which now threatened lima, and would no doubt have recovered peru, had not bolivar, foreseeing the result, sent a division of his army, under general sucre, to the assistance of the beleaguered city. in the midst of these embarrassments, the new government of chili despatched the following letter to rio de janeiro, for the purpose of inducing me to return, and reorganise the navy, the officers and men of which had, as i learned, shortly subsequent to my departure been turned adrift, without any reward whatever for their extraordinary privations and exertions in the cause of independence. ministry of foreign affairs. santiago de chili, april , . most excellent sir, the representatives of the people of chili, legally assembled, having elected don ramon freire as supreme director of the state, this event has happily terminated the internal movements which agitated the country. the new government, on entering on its delicate functions, has been impressed with the want of your excellency to give preponderance to this maritime state, by the imposing aptitude of your excellency's measures and extraordinary renown, so highly prized by the chilenos, and dreaded by their enemies. the loss of the allied army in moquegua, where it has been beaten by general cantarac, has occasioned such an effect on the result of the war, that possibly the capital of peru may fall into the hands of the enemy in consequence of the ascendancy thus acquired. in consequence of this event, chili must give a new impulse to her maritime affairs, especially as an expedition is about to sail from cadiz, composed of two ships of the line, to restore the spanish authority in peru. your excellency, on leaving chili, promised not to abandon the cause of independence; and chili--which has ever admired in your excellency one of its most illustrious protectors--must not therefore be deprived of your services in a time of danger, and your great work thus be left incomplete. these considerations his excellency desires me to lay before you in the name of the nation, and in his own name, to request that you will return to this state, at least during the period of danger. his excellency trusts in your generosity and zeal for the cause of humanity, that you will return as speedily as circumstances require, without taking into account fatigue or sacrifices in supporting the cause which you have advocated since its commencement. be pleased to accept the expression of my high consideration. (signed) mariano de egana. it is almost unnecessary to state that my engagements with brazil, and the fact that when the invitation to resume the command of the chilian navy was received, i was blockading the portuguese fleet in bahia--rendered it impossible to comply with the request. that a state whose ministers had, by the greatest injustice, compelled me to quit it--should, in so short a period, have thus earnestly entreated me to return and free it from impending disaster, is not more a proof of the peril in which the government was placed, than of its thorough satisfaction with my conduct as its admiral, and of its anxiety for my renewed assistance. in reply to the request, i addressed the following letter to the minister:-- most excellent sir, i have just been honoured with your letter of april th, announcing the elevation of mareschal don ramon freire to the high dignity of director of the state of chili, by acclamation of the people--a choice at which i cordially rejoice, as it has placed in power a patriot and a friend. my sentiments with respect to his excellency have long been well known to the late supreme director, as well as to his ministers, and i would to god that they had availed themselves of gen. freire's able and disinterested services in the expedition to peru--in which case the affairs of south america would have now worn a different aspect; but the buenos ayrean faction, being actuated by ambitious motives and more sordid views, interfered, and rendered abortive those plans which, under gen. freire's management, would have brought the war to a speedy and successful termination. on my quitting chili, there was no looking to the past without regret, nor to the future without despair, for i had learned by experience what were the views and motives which guided the councils of the state. believe me, that nothing but a thorough conviction that it was impracticable to render the good people of chili any further service under existing circumstances, or to live in tranquillity under such a system, could have induced me to remove myself from a country which i had vainly hoped would have afforded me that tranquil asylum which, after the anxieties i had suffered, i felt needful to my repose. my inclinations, too, were decidedly in favor of a residence in chili, from a feeling of the congeniality which subsisted between my own habits and the manners and customs of the people, those few only excepted who were corrupted by contiguity with the court, or debased in their minds and practices by that species of spanish colonial education which inculcates duplicity as the chief qualification of statesmen in all their dealings, both with individuals and the public. i now speak more particularly of the persons late in power-- excepting, however, the late supreme director--who i believe to have been the dupe of their deceit; and i do assure you that nothing would afford me greater pleasure, for the sake of the ingenuous chilian people, than to find that with a change of ministers, a change of measures has also taken place, and that the errors of your predecessors, and their consequent fate, shall operate as an effectual caution against a course so destructive. point out to me one engagement that has been honourably fulfilled--one military enterprise of which the professed object has not been perverted--or one solemn pledge that has not been forfeited; but my opinions on this want of faith, at various periods of the contest, when everything was fresh in my recollection, are recorded in my correspondence with the minister of marine, and more particularly in my private letters to his excellency, the late supreme director, whom i unavailingly warned of all that has happened. my letter also to san martin, in answer to his accusations--a copy of which was officially transmitted to your predecessor in office--contains a brief abstract of the errors and follies committed in peru; as my public letters and those documents are, of course, in your possession, i shall abstain from trespassing on your attention with a repetition of facts with which you are acquainted. look to my representations on the necessities of the navy, and see how they were relieved! look to my memorial, proposing to establish a nursery for seamen by encouraging the coasting trade, and compare its principles with the code of rodriguez, which annihilated both. you will see in this, as in all other cases, that whatever i recommended in regard to the promotion of the good of the marine, was set at naught, or opposed by measures directly the reverse. look to the orders which i received, and see whether i had more liberty of action than a schoolboy in the execution of his task. look back into the records of the minister of marine's office, and you will find that, while the squadron was nearly reduced to a state of starvation, provisions were actually shipped at valparaiso, _apparently for the navy, but were consigned to don luiz de cruz, and disposed of in such a way as to reflect eternal reproach and disgrace_. you may probably find also, the copy of an order, the original of which is in my possession, (not rubricated by the supreme director) _to permit a vessel laden with corn to enter the blockaded port of callao at the period of its greatest distress_, and which did enter in my absence, and was sold for an enormous amount; whilst funds could not be found to send even troops on an eight days' voyage from chili to secure upper peru, when the greater part of the country was actually in our possession, and when the minds of the people, afterwards alienated by the base conduct of san martin, were universally in our favour. sir, that which i suffered from anxiety of mind whilst in the chilian service, i will never again endure for any consideration. to organise new crews--to navigate ships destitute of sails, cordage, provisions, and stores--to secure them in port without anchors and cables, except so far as i could supply these essentials by accidental means, were difficulties sufficiently harassing; but to live amongst officers and men--discontented and mutinous on account of arrears of pay and other numerous privations--to be compelled to incur the responsibility of seizing by force from peru, funds for their payment, in order to prevent worse consequences to chili--and then to be exposed to the reproach of one party for such seizure, and the suspicions of another that the sums were not duly applied, though the pay-books and vouchers for every material item were delivered to the accountant-general--are all circumstances so disagreeable and so disgusting that until i have certain proof that the present ministers are disposed to act in another manner, i cannot possibly consent to renew my services, where, under such circumstances, they would be wholly unavailing to the true interests of the people. intrigue and faction might again place me in the predicament in which i found myself previous to my departure from valparaiso, viz., a cypher and a public burthen; for the ships of war might again be placed in the hands of a governor zenteno, for the purpose of exposing me to popular odium, as a person receiving a large salary from the state, for which--without a vessel under my command--no adequate services could be rendered. that this was the intention of the late ministers in withdrawing the ships from my command, on the false pretence of repairing them, there can be no doubt; for whilst every honorary reward was withheld from me, they refused to accept the remission which i offered of , dollars from my annual pay-- treating me at the same time with every neglect and indignity. such proceedings, i am aware, are far distant from the contemplation of the excellent person who now presides over the affairs of chili, as in my conscience i believe that they were no less distant from the mind and heart of the late supreme director, who, being placed in that elevated situation, was unfortunately exposed to the errors that arise from listening to the reports of interested individuals who ever surround the powerful, making a gain by concealing the truth and propagating falsehood. it is a fact--as is well known to all my friends--that i had determined to quit chili, previous to my receiving any proposition from the government of brazil. by that government i have been hitherto treated with the utmost confidence and candour, and the orders they have given me are in everything the reverse of those narrow and restricted instructions with which i was hampered by the senate, the ministers of chili, and san martin, under whose orders they had placed me. the government of brazil, having in view the termination of the war, gave orders to that effect, without any of those miserable restrictions which are calculated to retard, if not finally to defeat, their object. the consequence is, that the war in brazil is already successfully terminated--though we have had to contend with a much superior force--by the evacuation of bahia-- the flight of the portuguese fleet--the capture of great part of their transports and troops--and the surrender of maranham--all in fewer months than the chilian government have employed years without having even yet accomplished their object, nay, with no other result than that of removing the independence of peru, and their own peace and security to a greater distance. i must now call your attention, although i have already addressed a letter on the subject to the minister of finance, to a breach of faith on the part of the late government of chili in respect to the contract between senor alvarez, their envoy in england, and my brother, the honourable william erskine cochrane, for the completion, outfit, and navigation to chili of the steamer _rising star_, by which my brother has been involved in expenses to a very great amount. whether the inconvenience he is sustaining from the perfidy of the late ministers is in the course of removal by the good faith of their successors i have yet to learn, but if not, i must respectfully state to you on behalf of my brother that i demand payment of the amount due to him under the contract above-mentioned. i also respectfully suggest, that it is your duty to examine the accounts of mr. price, and cause him to pay over the bonus of , dollars which was granted by the government on account of the _rising star_, which bonus mr. price prematurely obtained in advance nearly three years ago, although it did not become due till the arrival of the ship. this sum, which is part of the remuneration due to my brother on account of the said ship, mr. price, or the house of which he is a member, refuses to deliver up, under the pretence that its detention is necessary to their own security, in the event of the chilian government requiring it to be restored. this is a most extraordinary way of justifying the detention of another's property, and i trust, sir, that you will immediately take the necessary steps to cause both that sum, and all other sums due to my brother for the _rising star_--the particulars of which you may receive from mr. barnard--to be paid without further delay. to that end, and in order to prevent the risk and serious expense attending the remittance of money to so great a distance, i beg to suggest that the best mode of payment will be by an order on your agents in london. i am much less solicitous on the subject of the debt due to myself, but after repeatedly requesting the accountant-general, correa de saa, during the last six months of my residence in chili, to investigate and determine on my accounts, without his proceeding therein in any effectual way, i was astonished to receive from him a communication calling upon me to appoint an agent to explain certain particulars, which i had considered as explicitly set forth in the documents delivered. this delay and these obstacles, i cannot consider in any other light than _as mere pretexts to avoid the payment of the balance due to me for my services_, and for the expenditure of monies that were my own, inasmuch as i might, with perfect justice--instead of employing them for the maintenance of the chilian navy--have applied them to the liquidation of the debt due to myself, and have left the service, as the government did, to shift for itself. besides, sir, let me call to your recollection that not a _real_ of these monies came out of the pocket of any chileno, but that the whole were captured or collected by me from sources never before rendered available to supply the necessities of a destitute squadron. i call upon you, sir, as the minister of marine, to see justice done on the above subjects, and if in my accounts or demands you find anything false or fraudulent, let it be printed in the _gazette_, and give me the privilege of reply. i trust you will excuse my entering into the present detail, and do me the justice to feel that no part of it is irrelevant to the subject of your letter. indeed, if i were not desirous of troubling you as briefly as possible, i could assign numerous other reasons for desiring to have demonstration of a change of ministerial conduct in the management of affairs in chili, before again exposing myself to difficulties of so painful a nature, and re-occupying a situation which i have found to be harassing, thankless, and unprofitable. when the _puertos non habilitados_ (unlicensed ports) shall be thrown open to the national commerce--when those obstacles shall be removed which now render the transport by sea more expensive than carriage by land--when the coasting trade, that nursery for native seamen, shall be encouraged instead of prohibited, it will be time enough to think of re-establishing the marine, for, with regard to foreign seamen, such is the disgust they entertain for a service in which they have been so neglected and deceived, that i am confident that the ships of chili will never again be effectively supplied with men of that description. indeed, there was not an individual amongst the foreign seamen under my command during the latter period of my services in chili whose fidelity was not shaken to such a degree as to be undeserving of confidence on any occasion of danger or emergency. could the late ministers even expect the natives to serve them faithfully without pay and without food?-- but his excellency the present director can solve this question in a similar case with regard to the army. it will be well if the foreign seamen have sufficient forbearance to refrain from revenging--by acts of hostility to the state--the deception and breach of promise which they experienced from san martin, and that destitute condition to which they were reduced, especially during the last six months of my stay at valparaiso, by similar frauds on the part of rodriguez, who, i believe, as minister of finance, has been actuated by the hope of compelling the men to abandon their country without remuneration for their services, when they appeared to him and to other short-sighted individuals to be no longer useful. the chilian expedition to the intermedios, and the mean methods by which it was proposed to obtain chiloe without my intervention, excited in my mind at the time no other feeling than pity and contempt, mixed with regret that the sacrifices of so good a people should be rendered unavailing by the imbecility of their rulers. the failure of both these wretched attempts i predicted. from the men now in power i hope better things, and it will gratify me extremely to observe that you succeed in establishing just laws--a free constitution--and a representative body to direct civil affairs. in fine, that you succeed in all you undertake for the public good; and when i see you entered on the right path, my most zealous cooperation--if required--shall not be withheld. i cannot conclude without expressing my high sense of the honour which his excellency the present director conferred upon me, by desiring my continuance in the command of the navy. to him i return my heartfelt thanks, and to you also for the polite manner in which you communicated his obliging wishes. (signed) cochrane. to his excellency don mariano egana, minister of foreign affairs, &c. i will quote one more letter, subsequently addressed by me to the supreme director, general freire, in whose administration i felt a sincere interest, knowing him to be a truly honest man, having only at heart the good of his country; but from his rough training in the camp, without the administrative ability to contend with the intrigues by which he was surrounded. rio de janeiro, dec. , . my respected and esteemed friend, it would afford me great satisfaction to learn that everything you contemplated for the advancement and happiness of your country, has succeeded to the extent of your wishes and endeavours, but here we live at so great a distance, and the communication by letter is so scanty, that we have no certain knowledge with respect to your proceedings. i dare not venture to offer you my congratulations, being well aware that the re-union of the congress would present difficulties which might possibly be insuperable, fearing also that you may have been subjected to much uneasiness by the diversity of views entertained by the members, and their deficiency in those habits, and that general information in affairs of government, so necessary in the deliberations of a legislative assembly. here we have had our cortes, but their meeting has produced nothing beneficial to the state. there existed indeed amongst them so great a discordance of opinion, and the temper of those who found their crude notions opposed was so violent, that the emperor--finding it impracticable to act with them--determined to dissolve them, which he did on the th of last month, and issued his commands for the meeting of a new cortes, but i much doubt whether the people in the various provinces can find others competent to the task. everything here is quiet, and i have no doubt will remain so in the neighbourhood of the capital, but i have some fear as to the disposition of the northern provinces. i shall regret much should anything occur which will disturb the public tranquillity, now that all the provinces are entirely free and independent of european authority. with regard to myself, the friendship you have always expressed and entertained towards me, justifies my belief that you will be gratified to learn that everything has succeeded here to the full extent of my expectations, the foreign war being entirely brought to a close within the short space of six months; during which period about seventy vessels have fallen into our hands, including several ships of war, amongst which is a beautiful new frigate of the largest dimensions. we have gone on here in the happy manner that i fondly anticipated we should have done in peru, and which would have been the case if the expedition which was intended to be sent to the puertos intermedios three years ago under your command, had not been prevented by the intrigues of san martin, who was jealous of anything being done in which he was not personally engaged, though he had neither the courage nor talent to avail himself of circumstances when appointed to the command of the peruvian expedition. i have heard that my reply to san martin's accusations has been published in peru, but as it is chiefly a personal defence, it cannot be very interesting to the public, to whom i feel a great inclination to address a letter on the causes of the miscarriage of their _military enterprises_, and the origin and progress of those intrigues which led to the mismanagement of public affairs, and disappointed the hopes and expectations of the worthy people of chili, who conducted themselves so long with patient submission to rulers who governed without law, and often without justice. in my letter to you of the st of june last, i mentioned at some length my reasons for leaving chili, but as that letter may possibly have miscarried, i think it well to repeat here--which i do with great truth--that it would have given me great pleasure to have been at liberty to co-operate with you; but having, long previous to your communications, determined from the ill-treatment i received to quit the country, i considered that it was better in every point of view to conform to that resolution, without mixing myself in its internal affairs, it being my province, as a foreigner, to leave all parties uncontrolled, and in the free exercise of their civil rights. in adhering to this resolution, i sacrificed both my inclination to have acted with you in overthrowing the ministers, and my own personal interests--abandoning nearly all that i had individually hoped to attain; but i had predetermined to do this, rather than endure any longer the base intrigues of those men, and their packed convention; whose injustice became the more conspicuous after their receiving the stars and distinctions bestowed by san martin, with the promise of estates and further bounties. indeed, the reception which even the late supreme director influenced by these persons gave to san martin after his apostacy to chili, his cowardice, ambition, and tyranny in peru, formed a sufficient contrast with the conduct pursued towards me, to convince me that my presence in chili was no longer desired by the government, and could not, under existing circumstances, be useful to the people. i hear that o'higgins has proceeded to peru. personally i wish him well, and hope that the lesson he has received will enlighten him, and enable him in future to distinguish between sincere friends and insidious enemies. i fear, however, that his asylum in peru will not meet his expectations, because his passive acquiescence in the barbarities inflicted by san martin on the spaniards to whom he had tendered protection cannot be forgotten; and the peruvian people are not ignorant that the miseries which they have suffered might have been averted by a little firmness on the part of o'higgins. i have no reason to believe that the old intrigue on the part of puyrredon and san martin, is again revived by the latter, and that a french frigate which lately sailed hence for buenos ayres, has a commission on that subject. whether these intrigues extend from mendoza over the cordilleras, or not, i have no means to ascertain, but i know that the french _charge d'affaires_ here has been endeavouring underhand to induce this government to give up the fortifications of monte video to the state of buenos ayres, which can only be with the view of extending the influence of france in that quarter. i fear that i have already trespassed too long on the time of your excellency, otherwise i might take the liberty to throw out some suggestions which it appears to me ought to be useful, though you may probably have anticipated them. the principal one is the benefit which might be derived from having some accredited agent here; and from the reciprocal and formal acknowledgment of the independence of the respective states. treatises of commerce and, if possible, alliance and mutual protection against any hostile attempts on the independence of south america should be entered into. this country possesses a squadron of considerable force, in addition to which six new frigates and eight large steam gallies have been ordered to be built in north america, england, and the northern ports of the empire. i shall be gratified if you will do me the favour to honour me with the continuance of your friendly correspondence, and believe me to be, your respectful and attached friend, (signed) cochrane and marenhaõ. his excellency don ramon freire, supreme director of chili. p.s. i did not intend to have trespassed on you with anything of a private nature, having written at length to the accountant-general on the subject of my brother's claim for the steamer "_rising star_," and my own claims for monies disbursed _for the maintenance of the chilian squadron, whilst in pursuit of the prueba and venganza_; but, on consideration, i think it well to request you to do me the favour to cause justice to be done. chapter xiv. injustice to the squadron--inconsistency of this--estate taken from me--my losses by litigation--endeavours to enforce my claims--petty excuses for evading them--i am charged with expenses of the army--and with costs for making legal captures--my conduct approved at the time--ministerial approbation--paltry compensation at length given--ministerial corruption--proved by san martin--cause of official animosity to me----conclusion. my services to chili and peru have been so fully narrated in these pages, that recapitulation is unnecessary. i will, therefore, briefly notice their reward. i was compelled to quit chili by the political dissensions previously related--without any of the emoluments due to my position as commander-in-chief of the navy, or any share of the sums belonging to myself, officers, and seamen; which sums, on the faith of repayment had, at my solicitation, been appropriated to the repairs and maintenance of the squadron generally, but more especially at guayaquil and acapulco, when in pursuit of the _prueba_ and _venganza_. neither was any compensation made for the value of stores captured and collected by the squadron, whereby its efficiency was chiefly maintained during the whole period of the peruvian blockade. the revolutionary movements already detailed, also compelled me to quit the pacific without any compensation from peru, either to myself or the officers who remained faithful to chili--though my absence ought not to have operated as a bar to such compensation as the sovereign congress awarded to the generals and field officers of the army, who, though restrained by general san martin from effecting anything of importance towards the liberation of the country, nevertheless received , dollars as a reward, whilst nothing was bestowed on myself or the squadron, except thanks for "hazardous exploits on behalf of peru, hitherto," as the congress expressed it, "under the _tyranny of military despotism_, but now the arbiter of its own fate." to the "military despot" himself, a pension of , dollars was granted, no doubt, as has been said, in order to be rid of him; but it was i who gave the death-blow to his usurped power, by seizing the treasure at ancon to pay the squadron, and by my constant refusal of his insidious overtures to aid him in further treading under foot the liberties of peru. it is scarcely possible that the government of peru, even at this day, can contrast with any degree of satisfaction, the empty thanks which were alone given to one--to use the words of the sovereign congress in its laudatory vote to myself--"by whose talent, worth, and bravery, the pacific ocean has been liberated from the insults of enemies, and the standard of liberty has been planted on the shores of the south"--and its lavish reward to the enemy of that liberty, and even to those officers who deserted from chili to aid the specious views of the protector, of which rewards all who remained faithful to their duty were wholly deprived. still more inconsistent has been the neglect of succeeding peruvian governments in not fulfilling existing obligations. the supreme director of chili, recognising--as must also the peruvians--the justice of their paying, at least, the value of the _esmeralda_, the capture of which inflicted the death-blow on spanish power, sent me a bill on the peruvian government for , dollars, which was dishonoured, and never since paid by any succeeding government. even the , dollars stipulated by the authorities at guayaquil as the penalty of giving up the _venganza_ was never liquidated, though the frigate was delivered to peru contrary to written stipulations previously adduced--and was thus added to the peruvian navy without cost to the state, but in reality at the expense of the chilian squadron, which ran it down into guayaquil. how the successive governments of peru can have reconciled this appropriation to the injury of one whom their first independent government so warmly eulogised, it is difficult to conceive. to return, however, to my relations with chili. shortly after my departure for brazil, the government forcibly and indefensibly resumed the estate at rio clara, which had been awarded to me and my family in perpetuity, as a remuneration for the capture of valdivia, and my bailiff, mr. edwards, who had been left upon it for its management and direction, was summarily ejected. situated as this estate was, upon the borders of the indian frontier, it was, indeed, a trifling remuneration for overthrowing the last remnant of spanish power in the continental territory of chili. to have resumed it then, without pretext of any kind, was an act reflecting infinite discredit upon those who perpetrated that act, whether from revengeful feelings or baser motives. the sum of , dollars, the speedy payment of which was promised to me by the supreme director after our return from valdivia, was never paid, though the conquest of that fortress proved the immediate cause of success in negociating a loan in england, which, before that event, had been found impracticable. by a remarkable coincidence, the first instalment of the loan arrived at valparaiso at the period of my departure; but the english merchants to whose care it was consigned, refused to permit the money to be landed, in consequence of the disorganization in which the corrupt conduct of the ministry had involved the state. no compensation for the severe wounds received during the capture of the _esmeralda_ was either offered or received--though for these all states make separate provision. even the grand cross of the legion of merit, conferred for the capture of the _esmeralda_, was suspended; whilst, in its place, i was exposed to the greatest imaginable insults, even to the withdrawal of every ship of war from under my command. unhappily, this ingratitude for services rendered was the least misfortune which my devotedness to chili brought upon me. on my return to england, in , after the termination of my services in brazil, i found myself involved in litigation on account of the seizure of neutral vessels by authority of the then unacknowledged government of chili. these litigations cost me, directly, upwards of £. , , and indirectly, more than double that amount; for, in order to meet the expenses, i was compelled to dispose of property at a great sacrifice, amongst which the loss arising from the sale of my residence and grounds in the regent's park alone was upwards of £. , --whilst that on other property also sacrificed was as much more; thus, in place of receiving anything for my efforts in the cause of chilian and peruvian independence, i was a loser of upwards of £. , , this being more than double the whole amount i had received as pay whilst in command of the chilian squadron: in other words, not only did i obtain no compensation for my services in chili--but was, in addition, compelled to sacrifice all i afterwards earned in brazil to satisfy claims arising from seizures made under the authority of the chilian government! no consideration whatever for these losses has been shewn by those whom i so zealously and faithfully served in their hour of need; not even by peru, in behalf of which country nearly all these litigations arose, though the services of the squadron cost nothing to that country or chili, beyond the expense to the latter of its original ineffective equipment, the provisioning and maintenance of the ships having been provided for at the cost of the enemy, even to the payment of the crews with their own prize-money, none of which was ever refunded! for sixteen years i made unceasing efforts to induce the succeeding governments of chili to liquidate my claims, but without effect. at the expiration of that period, i was no less surprised than annoyed by receiving from the accountant-general a demand for explanation of my accounts, though, whilst i remained in chili, i had urged incessantly their official investigation, for, notwithstanding that the government had pronounced its approbation upon all i had done, i foresaw that quibbles might arise as the pretext for continued injustice. that the accounts were not adjusted previous to my departure from chili, was no fault of mine, as i was, in self-defence, compelled to quit the country, unless i chose to take part with the late supreme director, in supporting a ministry which, unknown to him, were guilty of the most avaricious and injurious acts--or aid gen. freire in overthrowing one to whom i was attached, as having always believed him to be a sincere and honourable man. to call upon me, therefore, in the year , for an explanation of complicated accounts delivered to the chilian government and unquestioned in - , was an unworthy course, the more so as most of the explanations required were of a paltry description, even to the expenditure of a single dollar in the purser's accounts--as though amidst operations of such magnitude as had successfully resulted in the accomplishment of every object proposed, my time could be occupied in minor details, yet even to these i was compelled to attend, the government not furnishing me with a competent person to register the expenditure of the squadron. the explanations thus demanded, after a lapse of nearly twenty years, were one hundred in number--no great amount in a series of accounts extending over more than three years' prosecution of an arduous service, during which i had to find the means of supporting the squadron, the expenditure of which was now, for the first time, called into question. the paltry character of many of the matters in dispute will be best judged of from the following items:-- no. . vouchers demanded for ten dollars' worth of mutton. to . certificates for cases of gin lost in the san martin. . deficiency of nine dollars in the pay-books of the lautaro. . do. of three dollars in the pay-books of the independencia. . error of three dollars in the valuation of goods captured at arica. . forty dollars for repairing pumps at a time when the ships could hardly be kept afloat. . imputed error of _one dollar!_ in the purchase of gals. of gin, &c. &c. in addition to many such petty items, i was accused of giving bounty to seamen unauthorised--though the seamen had captured the very monies with which they were rewarded--and was expected to refund some which had been stolen. my having supplied rudders and rigging to the vessels cut out from before the batteries at callao, was called into question, though the ships could not be sent from the port without re-equipment, the spaniards having dismantled them before their capture. i was expected, after the lapse of sixteen years, to produce the pursers' books of the division of stores captured, the books having been sent in due course to the minister of marine's office; yet the government had not furnished the squadron with the necessary articles for the safety of the ships, whether under sail or at anchor, whilst the stores which were taken from the enemy and applied to the use of the expedition, were so much clear gain to the state. a still more unjust act of the chilian government was that of calling upon me for vouchers for the expenditure of , dollars, captured by col. miller, in upper peru, and expended by him in paying and provisioning his troops, of which transactions i was not at all cognizant: the sums, however, were no doubt faithfully applied by col. miller to the exigencies of the service in which he was engaged; he merely apprising me that he had captured or otherwise collected , dollars, with which he had given his men two months' pay, and an additional month's gratuity for their gallantry, a transaction no less essential than honourable, but one which the narrow views of the ministry failed to appreciate. no vouchers were, however, remitted to me whilst i remained on the coast, as the following letter from col. miller will shew:-- ica, aug. , . my lord, inclosed is a memorandum of money received and disbursed to the division under my command. so soon as time will permit, another more detailed and circumstantial account shall be forwarded for your lordship's approval. i have written to major soler, who is in lima, to furnish your lordship with the necessary particulars relative to the capture of the cash. i have the honour, &c. wm. miller, col. comm. southern division. i never afterwards saw col. miller nor his division in peru; but the whole that was expended by him in emancipating the country, was charged to me, and thus i was made responsible for the price of his victories, though they did not cost either government a dollar. but the most flagrant act of injustice was the deduction from my claims of costs and damages for the detention of neutral vessels seized under the orders of blockade issued by the chilian government. the circumstances were as follows:-- the spanish government had chartered the _edward ellice_ and other ships to transport troops from spain to peru, but internal divisions in the parent state prevented their despatch. the masters of these vessels thereupon claimed demurrage, which it was not convenient for the spanish government to pay--but in lieu thereof licences were granted to carry spanish goods to peru. these ships, being thus loaded, proceeded to gibraltar, where the house of gibbs & co. provided them with british papers, in addition to the spanish manifests supplied at cadiz--this fact alone shewing that they considered the speculation illegitimate. furnished with these double sets of papers, they came to peru for the purpose of trading; but as i had advice of this proceeding--and afterwards found the spanish duplicates in the peruvian custom houses--i seized the vessels on account of the fraudulent papers, they having also on board contraband of war, and was about to send them to valparaiso for adjudication, when their commanders offered to surrender to me all the anchors, cables, and other illegal cargo, if i would forego this determination, which i did, and applied these articles to the use of the chilian squadron, which at that time had not a trustworthy anchor in any of the ships. the course pursued was satisfactory to the masters and supercargoes, and subsequently, on explanation, to sir thomas hardy, whilst it was highly approved by the chilian government. after my return to england, actions were brought against me for even the contraband which had been voluntarily surrendered by the masters; but as i was fortunately enabled to produce the spanish duplicates, they were abandoned, otherwise i should have been involved in utter ruin, for releasing british vessels subject to condemnation, and at the same time _gratuitously providing_ for the chilian ships of war, the essential articles of which they were entirely destitute. in order to conciliate the english merchants at valparaiso, the admiralty court acquitted various vessels seized under the orders of the government, charging the costs and damages to my account! and that in the face of its own right to blockade and seizure as expressed to the british commodore, sir thomas hardy, who, though he insisted on the protection of british ships, disavowed their taking advantage of his protection to supply the enemy with contraband of war, as had been done. sir thomas hardy's view was this, that if the blockading power was not in a position to render the blockade efficient over the whole coast, it was not recognisable anywhere by the law of nations; but, whilst expressing this erroneous view of blockade, he added, "nor can i resist the right which the government of chili has to establish and maintain blockade on the same footing as other belligerents." but even in the extreme views of sir thomas hardy, we were competent to establish and maintain a blockade in its widest extent, and the best proof of the fact is, that the blockade was established. even zenteno, the minister of marine, pointed out to sir thomas hardy, the ability of the squadron to maintain the blockade which he recognised. "our naval forces, perhaps diminished in apparent magnitude by distance, was not believed sufficient to maintain the blockade in all its extent, yet it has had the glory of setting at liberty, and of placing in the hands of the american independents, all the ports and coasts of peru, excepting only the port of callao. moreover, from the very centre even of that port, and from under the fire of the batteries, the spanish ship of war, _esmeralda_, has been cut out by our naval forces, and our strength thereby augmented, whilst that of the enemy is reduced to nothing." (signed) "jose ignacio zenteno." so that, in face of this declaration by the chilian minister himself, as to the naval supremacy of the squadron on the coast of peru, and its consequent right of seizure, the admiralty court, for its own sinister purposes, chose to decide that i was liable for seizures of neutral vessels made by my captains, without my knowledge--condemning me in costs and damages for their acts; the result being that i was mulcted in this, and every other charge it saw fit to make in my absence. the injustice of this was the more striking, as san martin was appointed commander-in-chief of the squadron as well as the army, so that, even supposing the decisions of the admiralty court to be right, the onus lay upon him, not me. yet he was rewarded, and i was compelled to pay for acts executed under his authority. in the year , _twenty-three years after_ the liberation of peru, and the annihilation of the spanish power in the pacific, the chilian government deducted all charges thus unjustly placed to my account, and awarded me the balance of , dollars (£. ) for all the services rendered to the country. i have before mentioned that, from the consequence of litigation proceeding from obedience to the orders of the chilian government, i was subjected to a loss in england of nearly £. , ; so that in place of my reaping any reward whatever for my services to chili and peru, the liberation of the latter and the completion of independence of the former cost me £. , out of my own pocket! i would ask the chilian people and government whether they do not now see the injurious treatment pursued towards me--arising from the base impositions then practised upon them, though these have been partly compensated by the present enlightened government, which, as its recent decision has shewn, is composed of men of a far higher stamp than those with whom i was placed in contact, and, as i have every reason to believe, would redeem the stigma left on the national character by their corrupt predecessors of - , on fully comprehending the treatment to which i was subjected. that explanation is here truthfully laid before them, enabling them to judge for themselves. i will only add that not a single statement has been made in this narrative which is not based on original documents, the more important of which have been incorporated, the whole being about to be photographed and sent out to chili, so that, comparing them with their official originals, their authenticity shall be beyond question. i have said that the ministry which paralysed my operations, and by their ill-disguised mercenary practices overthrew the supreme director, o'higgins, was corrupt, though i have thought it beneath the dignity of historical narrative, more particularly to expose their dishonest practices, of which i was well apprised. i feel, however, that in making such a charge, some proof thereof is incumbent on me, i will therefore in conclusion simply adduce a solitary instance of those practices, so damning, that, unless supported by irrefutable testimony, i might well be deemed a malicious libeller for making accusations otherwise utterly incredible. it has been proved by the narrative--as indeed it has never been disputed--that the vigilance of the blockade before callao starved the spanish garrison out of lima, and ultimately out of the fortress of callao, this being the main object of the blockade. whilst i was thus, as the only means within my power, endeavouring to starve out the spaniards, _the chilian ministers were sending corn to be sold, at a thousand per cent, profit, to the blockaded garrison!_ to such an extent was this carried, that even gen. san martin, aware of the villainy of his pretended supporters in the chilian ministry, and dreading the result, put me on my guard by writing to me the following letter:-- haura, feb. , . my esteemed friend, i am expecting information from you with great anxiety, and sincerely hope that it may be as favourable as that which i received in ancon when i was in similar uncertainty. the _miantinomo_ is on her way from valparaiso, _by permission of the government, to introduce a cargo of corn into callao! it is most essential at all risks to avert this mischief, for it would be perfect ruin to admit such a cargo under existing circumstances!_ i have officially given you information on this subject. the day before yesterday the _andromache_ arrived at huacho; capt. sherriff tells me that in a few days he shall return to callao. lady cochrane is at huaita, making shift in the best way she can. god give you happiness, my friend. always count on the sincere esteem of your affectionate jose de san martin. this testimony from one whose creatures the more influential of the chilian ministers were, is indisputable, but in the present case their rapacity alarmed even their patron. san martin is however wrong in attributing the traitorous attempt to the government collectively--the supreme director, o'higgins, not being capable of such practices as were carried on under his authority--of which this is only one solitary instance. the real perpetrators of these enormities are fresh in the recollection of many chilenos still living. yet these were the men who, under the mask of patriotism, originated the most unworthy charges against me, without giving me the slightest credit for having carried on the naval war without national assistance either in money or stores. the present generation of chilenos are proud of their country, and--as their present excellent president, when awarding me an admiral's pay for the remainder of my life has stated--desire to reward those illustrious foreigners who assisted them in their struggles for independence--but they have great reason to regret the conduct of those ministers who imperilled that independence, and jeopardised the liberties of chili for private gain. it is scarcely necessary to add that not a grain of corn in the _miantinomo_, or other vessels similarly despatched, with the exception of one which arrived during my absence, found its way to the starving garrison of callao. yet on their arrival i was implored to permit its landing, and on replying that no such treachery to the people of chili should be carried on before my face, i was coolly asked to stand off during the night from the blockade, _that i might not see what was going on!_ such was ministerial honesty in the first days of chilian independence. the cause of official animosity to me is now apparent. had i participated in these nefarious practices, or had i accepted the rank, decorations, and estates offered to me by san martin as the price of my defection from chili, i should now be rich, however despicable to myself--in place of having long and severely suffered in consequence of my rigorous adherence to the national interests--with the proud consciousness of never having done an act which i desire to conceal. appendix. _recent address of the president of chili to the senate and chamber of deputies, recognising lord dundonald's services, and according to him full pay as admiral for the remainder of his life._ _fellow citizens of the senate and chamber of deputies,_ towards the end of , when chili celebrated the first maritime triumph obtained by our squadron in talcahuano, the gallant seaman thomas lord cochrane, now earl of dundonald, and an admiral in the british service, appeared upon our seas, decided to assist the noble cause of our independence. the important services of this chief in the british navy are well known during the european war which ended in . he was a post captain, not in active service, when the squadron of his country was reduced to the peace establishment, and he accepted the invitation which was made to him in london by the chilian agent, to enter the service of this country, and came to take the command of our naval forces, bringing in the prestige of his name, his great skill and intelligence, his active and daring spirit,--a powerful contingent to that struggle of such vital importance for our independence, the dominion of the pacific. in how far the well-founded hopes in the cooperation of lord cochrane were realised by the able direction which he knew how to give to our maritime forces, are facts which have been judged by the world at large and history. still alive in our memory is the taking of valdivia, the feats at callao, the bloody and splendid triumph of the _esmeralda_, the taking of the spanish frigates _prueba_ and _venganza_ on the coast of the ecuador, and the complete annihilation of the power of spain in these seas executed by our squadron under the command of lord cochrane; and this chief upon leaving the service of chili in january , and when he delivered over to government, when there were no longer any enemies to contend with, the triumphant insignia of his rank, he might with justice and truth have said, "i return this into your hands when chili has ensured the dominion of the pacific." chili at the same time that she resists unjust and exaggerated pretensions, has always been proud of her desire to reward, in a dignified and honourable manner, the services of illustrious foreigners who have assisted us in the glorious struggle for our independence. this noble and spontaneous sentiment of national gratitude was what dictated the law of th october, , incorporating, during his life with the full pay of his rank, general d. jose san martin, even when he might reside in foreign parts; and it is the same sentiment which induces me to propose to you at present, and with consent of the council of state, the following project of law:-- sole article.--vice-admiral thomas lord cochrane, now earl of dundonald, is to be considered during the term of his life as in active service of the squadron of the republic, with the full pay of his rank, even although he may reside without the territory of chili. santiago, july , . manuel montt. jose francisco gana. * * * * * _lord dundonald's reply to the preceding._ _to his excellency the president in council and congress of chili._ your excellency magnanimously presented to congress a brief but lucid enumeration of my services to the state, which being taken into consideration by the enlightened representatives of a judicious and gallant people, "full pay during my life," and an honorary medal, were voted to me, accompanied by the truly gratifying announcement that such estimable gifts were "en testimonio de gratitud nacional por grandes servicios que prestò a la republica durante la guerra de independencia." these honours i most thankfully accept, as highly gratifying proofs that, after the lapse of more than thirty years, my zealous, official, extra-official, and successful exertions, to ensure to chili complete independence, internal peace, and the dominion of the pacific, are held in grateful remembrance by the government and people of that highly respected nation. nevertheless i must be permitted to observe that the grant of full pay, only prospectively, to one who is upwards of eighty years of age, is little more than nominal, as my life, in all human probability, is approaching its close. i had hoped that, as vast benefits have uninterruptedly accrued to the state, ever since the completion of the services so honourably recognised, the grant would have dated from that period, in the same manner that has recently been accorded to me by the government of brazil, which has decreed the restitution of arrears of pay from the period that my actual command ceased, and also its continuance during my life. if my services to chili be acknowledged to have been great, might i not expect an equal boon from a country which owes the blessings of peace and subsequent tranquillity, and consequent prosperity, to the speedy termination of war? i plead not for myself, most excellent sir, for at my advanced age, i have few wants, but for the sake of my children and for the honour of my family. i need only point to the additional examples of spain and portugal, where all general officers and admirals of first rank, employed in the struggle for the emancipation and independence of those countries, were rewarded by the subsequent continuance of their pay during their lives; an engagement ever punctually discharged. i have no doubt that had the recollection of my advanced age been present to the mind of your excellency when you proposed the project of law in my behalf, and had you remembered that a merely prospective grant would be of little personal benefit to me or to my numerous family, your excellency would have been happy to have recommended, and the congress to have conceded, that it should likewise be retrospective, especially as chili had not (as is the case in my native country) to rear and maintain numerous officers for one found suited to command. in order to convince your excellency that i do not desire _full_ pay to be granted to me during the long period elapsed since my services were rendered (though from the privations i have suffered and the losses i have sustained, such delay in truth might be deemed an additional title), i therefore beg most respectfully to suggest to the consideration of your excellency, to that of the council and national congress, as well as to the just feeling of the honourable people of chili, that _one half_ of the pay which i received in actual service, be accorded to me retrospectively, in the same manner that a similar boon was granted by the brazilian nation. this i should accept with deep gratitude, in compensation for the wounds i received this day thirty-six years, in the capture of the _esmeralda_, for other perilous extra-official services rendered, and the heavy responsibilities incurred, all of which terminated in results most important to the national cause. be assured, most excellent sir, that it is only my advanced age that prevents me from attempting to re-visit your now peaceful and prosperous country, personally to acknowledge your excellency's courtesy, and the kind feeling evinced towards me by the council of state, by the representatives, and people of chili. it would be with delight that i should see steam vessels now introduced into the national marine, the great railroad from valparaiso to quillotta and santiago, now in progress, and witness the various important improvements accomplished, and advancement in national prosperity effected in the course of the last third of a century. such happy results testify highly to the merits of the government and to the character of the chilian people. cochrane--dundonald. london, nov. , . _letter from the supreme director of chili, approving all i had done in peru. this letter was written in english, in which tongue his excellency was by no means unversed, having, in early life, had the advantage of a few years spent at richmond; a circumstance which, in after years, gave to his mind an english tone, elevating him far above the then narrow-minded men by whom, unfortunately for chili, he was surrounded and thwarted._ most secret and confidential. santiago, nov. , . my dear friend lord cochrane, capt. morgell, the bearer of this, has delivered to me the despatches sent by you in the _ceransasee_, together with your interesting notes, nos. to , dated th to th of september last; as also the documents to which they are referred. i have read them, with great attention, but have always felt just indignation against the ungrateful course pursued towards chili, which can only be tempered by the pleasure which i feel in reading the dignity, good judgment, and knowledge with which you knew how to sustain your rights, and those of this republic. it was my wish that this reply should not be in writing, but personally, and with embraces of approbation for all that you have said and practised under the difficult circumstances detailed in your private and official letters; but as the great distance in which you are from this deprives me of this pleasure, and as you expect to add new glories to chili in the seizure of the _prueba_ and _venganza_, and to bring them to port bernardo under your orders, i will hastily answer the principal points of your communications. the party and the words you mention, do not leave any doubt of the small hopes which chili is to have for its sacrifices; yet there is nothing to fear from such intentions when discovered. whilst the squadron under your orders commands the pacific, this republic is very well covered, and it is in our hands to be the masters of the moral, political, commercial, and even of the physical force of this part of america. * * * * * although the battery placed at ancon _after_ the enemy went away in tranquillity, and the threat (_from san martin_,) about not paying one _real_, unless chili should sell the squadron to peru, made it excusable not to send any mission there; yet i have named my minister of finance, in whom i have the greatest confidence, to go to lima to fix the basis of relations, and to ask compensation for the active debt of chili against peru. my minister has orders to return as soon as possible, let the end of his mission be what it will, and by that time you may have returned to chili, and then we will accord the ulterior. it is very painful that the garrison of callao would not capitulate under your flag! then you and chili would have been implored for grants,--then all should have been paid without excuse,--and then you would not have found yourself under the necessity of taking the property retained, to pay and save the squadron. i _would have done the same if i had been there, therefore i say again all has my approbation_, and i give to you, as to the meritorious officers under your orders, my cordial thanks for their fidelity and heroism, in favour of chili, where, in a more glorious and decorous way, the fortune of all will be made in the course of progress which events are preparing for this happy country; whilst it is not known what is to be had in peru, because, as you observe, the war is only beginning, which will be followed by poverty, discontent, and above all, anarchy. they will soon feel the want of you and of the squadron, and those ungrateful officers who separated themselves from you to enter the peruvian navy will also feel their deceit and punishment. they have been scratched out of the list of the chilian navy, and i only wait your arrival or an official detail relating to the expedition, to assign lands and premiums to those who have not abandoned you, and in particular to the honourable captains crosbie, wilkinson, delano, cobbet, and simpson, whom you recommend. although we live in poverty, and the exchequer continues in affliction, yet we have sufficient resignation and courage to make convenient sacrifices. all my efforts shall be employed in making the _rising star_ one of the vessels of our squadron, and then we shall be invincible, and by keeping good relations with sir thomas hardy, and by his means with england, we shall establish fundamental principles to our glories. i am satisfied of the conferences and deliberations you had with this gentleman, and i approve the whole, although the valparaiso merchants might scream. i like the precautions you have taken in sending correspondence directly to me, and not to the ministry. but you must understand that even before i had read your private and official letters, much of their contents was known to the public, no doubt by the private communications of some officers, or by what was verbally communicated in valparaiso by the officers of the _aransasu_. on my part, i also recommend you all necessary secrecy on the contents of this letter, so that our reserve may not be frustrated, and our best measures disappointed. i shall claim from the lima government satisfaction for putting in prison the first lieutenant of the _o'higgins_, and also for imprisoning him of the same class belonging to the _valdivia_, as also for the threat of the ungrateful guida, as narrated in your favour of the th of september last. i assure you that i will never permit the least insult against the flag of this republic. i felt the greatest pleasure in the answer you gave to monteagudo and guida in your note of the th and th. as you have left callao there is nothing officially to communicate upon your conduct there. you have not submitted to lima neither directly nor indirectly, and from the moment the independence of that country was declared under the protectoral government of san martin ceased the provisional control that he had upon the squadron. the province of conception is almost free of enemies, and i hope chiloe will be so very soon, to accomplish our greatness. there is a nursery for a good navy, and when you can visit that archipelago you will discover advantages and richness, relieved from the care of indolent and despotic spain. believe me, my dear lord, your eternal friend, o'higgins. +-------------------------------------------------+ |transcriber's note: | | | |obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | | | +-------------------------------------------------+ [illustration: view of callao, and distant view of lima. _engraved for stevenson's narrative of south america._] a historical and descriptive narrative of twenty years' residence in south america, _in three volumes_; containing travels in arauco, chile, peru, and colombia; with an account of the revolution, its rise, progress, and results. by w. b. stevenson, formerly private secretary to the president and captain general of quito, colonel, and governor of esmeraldas, captain de fragata, and late secretary to the vice admiral of chile,--his excellency the right honourable lord cochrane, &c. vol. i. london: hurst, robinson, and co. constable & co. and oliver & boyd, edinburgh. mdcccxxv. to his excellency the right hon. thomas lord cochrane, marquis of maranham, as a testimony of respect for the important services rendered to south american emancipation, and to the commercial interests of great britain, this work is (by permission) humbly dedicated. preface. the interest which the late successful revolution in spanish america has awakened in europe renders any genuine account of the new world so highly acceptable to the british nation, that it has become an almost imperative duty in those who may possess original matter to communicate it to the public; for it may be said, without the least exaggeration, that although the countries thus emancipated were discovered in the sixteenth century, they have remained almost unknown till the beginning of the nineteenth. fully convinced of these facts, and being urged by my friends, when i was on the eve of again crossing the atlantic, to publish my collection of notes and memoranda--the gleanings of a twenty years' residence--in order to contribute my quota to the small stock of authentic matter already laid before an anxious public, i have been induced to postpone my voyage, and to embody my observations in the manner in which they now appear. it is undoubtedly of great importance to become acquainted with the features of a country which has undergone any remarkable change in its political, religious, or literary career, before that change took place; and it is equally important to know the cause of and the means by which the change was effected. i have therefore given a succinct history of the state of the colonies before their fortunate struggle began to germinate, by describing their political and ecclesiastical institutions; the character, genius, and education of the different classes of inhabitants; their peculiar customs and habits; their historical remains and antiquities; and lastly, the produce and manufactures of the country. my opportunities for obtaining materials for the formation of this work were such as few individuals even among the natives or spaniards could possess, and such as no _foreigner_ could possibly enjoy at the period of my residence. dr. robertson's celebrated history renders any account of the discovery and conquest of america unnecessary; but as the spanish authors from whom his work was collected always kept in view the necessity of lulling the anxiety of general curiosity with respect to the subsequent state of the countries under the spanish crown, that work cannot be supposed to be better than the materials from which it is formed would allow; to which i may add, that the different books published by the philosophic humboldt are too scientific, and enter into too few details, to become fit for general perusal. i am induced to believe, that my descriptions of tribunals, corporate bodies, the laws, and administration, the taxes and duties, will not be considered unimportant, because the newly-formed governments will follow in great measure the establishments of spain, modified by a few alterations, perhaps more nominal than real. indeed, the present authorities have already determined, that so far as the spanish codes do not interfere with the independence of the country, they are to be considered as the fundamental laws of the different tribunals. the plates are from original drawings taken by don jose carrillo, a native of quito, now in england. should the following pages merit the approbation of the british public, the author will feel highly gratified by having fulfilled his duty in both hemispheres; nor will this reward in the old world be accounted less honourable than that which he has already obtained in the new. contents of vol. i. page chap. i.--arrival at mocha....some account of mayo, one of the cape de verd islands touched at on our passage.... description of mocha, its productions, &c....leave mocha and land at tucapel viejo....description of the indians, their dress, &c....indians take me to their home.... description of the house, family, food, diversions.... appearance of the country....what trade might be introduced chap. ii.--leave tucapel viejo, and arrive at tubul....description of our breakfast on the road....stay at the house of the cacique of tubul....some appearances of civilization....game of peuca, wrestling, &c....anchorage, trade, &c....face of the country....arrival at arauco....taken to the commandant interview described....town of arauco....indians who come to barter....weaving of fine _ponchos_....excursion to the water-mills on the carampangue river....entertainments, _mate_, &c....visit nacimiento, santa juana, and return to arauco....ordered to conception chap. iii.--account of cultivation of farms, &c. in araucania.... thrashing, &c....produce....cattle....locality.... topographical divisions....government (indian).... laws and penalties....military system....arms, standards, &c....division of spoil....treaty of peace.... religion....marriages....funerals....spanish cities founded in araucania....ideas on new colonies....commerce chap. iv.--valdivia....port....fortifications....river.... city-foundation....revolutions....inhabitants....garrison.... government....rents and resources....churches.... exiles....missions in the province of valdivia....war with the indians, and possession of osorno....extract from a letter in the araucanian tongue, and translation chap. v.--city of conception de mocha....foundation.... situation....government....tribunals....bishop.... military....churches....houses....inhabitants and dress....provincial jurisdiction....produce....throwing the _laso_....fruit....timber trees....shrubs....mines.... birds....wild animals....lion hunt....shepherd dogs ....breeding capons....return to conception chap. vi.--sent to talcahuano....description of the bay and anchorage....plain between conception and talcahuano.... prospectus of a soap manufactory here.... coal mine....town, custom-house, inhabitants, &c.... fish, &c. caught in the bay....colonial commerce.... prospectus of a sawing mill chap. vii.--leave talcahuano in the dolores....passage to callao....arrival....taken to the castle....leave callao....road to lima....conveyed to prison chap. viii.--lima, origin of its name....pachacamac.... foundation of lima....pizarro's palace....situation of the city....form of the valley rimac....river....climate.... temperature....mists and rain....soil....earthquakes....produce chap. ix.--viceroys and archbishop of lima....viceroyalty, extent....viceroy's titles and privileges....royal audience.... cabildo....forms of law....military....religion.... inquisition....sessions and processes....archbishop.... royal patronage....ecclesiastical tribunals....chapter, _cabildo ecclesiastical_....curates....asylum of immunity ....minor tribunals...._consulado_....crusade....treasury ....accompts...._temporalidades_, _protomedicato_ chap. x.--taxes, alcavala....indian tribute....fifths of the mines....lances....stamped paper....tobacco.... _media anata_...._aprovechamientos_...._composicion_ and _confirmacion_ of lands....royal ninths....venal offices.... estrays....confiscations....fines....vacant successions.... _almoxarifasgo_...._corso_...._armada_....consulate.... _cirquito_....vacant benefices...._mesada ecclesiastica_ ...._media anata ecclesiastica_....restitutions....bulls chap. xi.--city of lima....figure and division....walls.... bridge....houses....churches....manner of building parishes....convents....nunneries....hospitals.... colleges...._plasa mayor_....market....interior of the viceroy's palace....ditto archbishop's ditto....ditto sagrario....ditto cathedral....ditto cavildo chap. xii.--particular description of parish churches.... of santo domingo....altar of the rosary....st. rosa and other altars....cloisters....sanctuary of saint rosa....church of san francisco....chapels _del milagro_, _de dolores_, _de los terceros_....pantheon....cloisters, san diego....san agustin...._la merced_....profession of a nun, or taking the veil....hospitals of san andres, of san bartolome and others....colleges of santo toribio, san carlos, _del principe_....university....inquisition ....taken to it in ....visit to it in , after the abolition....inquisitorial punishments....foundling hospital....lottery....mint....pantheon chap. xiii.--the population of lima....remarks....table of castes....the qualifications of creoles....population and division....spaniards....creoles, white.... costume....indians....african negroes....their _cofradias_, and royal personages....queen rosa....creole negroes....mestisos....mulattos....zambos....chinos ...._quarterones and quinterones_....theatre....bull circus....royal cockpit....alamedas....bathing places ....piazzas...._amancaes_....elevation and oration bells.... processions of corpus christi, santa rosa, san francisco and santo domingo....publication of bulls....ceremonies on the arrival of a viceroy chap. xiv.--fruits in the gardens of lima....flowers.... particular dishes, or cookery...._chuno_, dried potatoes ...._chochoca_, dried maize....sweetmeats....meals.... diseases....medical observations....on the commerce of lima....profitable speculations chap. xv.--visit to pisco....town of pisco....bay of pisco ....curious production of salt...._huano_...._huanaes_ ....vineyards, brandy....vineyard _de las hoyas_.... fruits....chilca, village of indians....leave lima, road to chancay....pasamayo house...._niña de la huaca_....maize, cultivation....use of _huano_....hogs ....on the produce of maize....different kinds of.... time of harvesting....uses of....chicha of....sugar of.... town of chancay...._colcas_....town of huacho.... _chacras_ of the indians....on the character of the native indians....refutation of what some authors have said of ....manners and customs of....tradition of manco capac....ditto camaruru....ditto bochica....ditto quitzalcoatl....these traditions favourable to the spaniards.... government of manco capac....representation of the death of the inca....feast of corpus christi at huacho....indian dances....salinas chap. xvi.--villa of huara....description....village of supe....ruins of an indian town...._huacas_, burying places....bodies preserved entire....village of barranca ....earthquake in ....barranca river....bridge of ropes....village of pativilca....sugar plantation.... produce and profit....cane cultivated....mills....sugar-house ....management of slaves....regulations &c. of slaves chapter i. arrival at mocha....some account of mayo, one of the cape de verd islands touched at on our passage....description of mocha, its productions, &c....leave mocha, and land at tucapel viejo....description of the indians, their dress, &c....indians take me to their home....description of the house, family, food, diversions....appearance of the country....what trade might be introduced. on the th of february, , i landed on the island of mocha, after a passage of upwards of five months from england, during which we passed between the cape de verd islands, and touched at one of them called mayo, for the purpose of procuring salt, which appears to be the only article of commerce. it is produced by admitting the sea water on flats, embanked next to the sea, during the spring tides, and allowing it to evaporate: the salt is then collected and carried off before the return of the high tides, when the water is again admitted, and the same process takes place. the sea water is here strongly impregnated with salt, owing probably to the great evaporation caused by the intense power of the heat, which also aids and hastens the process on shore. the inhabitants whom i saw were all blacks, with the solitary exception of a priest, and many of them in a state of nudity, even to an age at which decency if not modesty requires a covering. a small quantity of bananas, the only fruit we could procure, and some poultry, were brought from st. jago's, another of the islands, visible from mayo. the island of mocha, situate in ° ´ s. and that called santa maria, lying about miles to the northward of it, were the patrimony of a family, now residing at conception, of the name of santa maria, who lived on the latter, and sent some people to reside at mocha, but after the commencement of the war between england and spain, in , the family, as well as the whole of the inhabitants, were ordered by the government of chile to quit the islands, under the pretence that these were a resort for smugglers: a pretence derived from the common error, that privacy is preventive of contraband. during the time that mocha was in the possession of the santa marias a number of the original indian inhabitants, belonging to the tribe found on it when first visited by the spaniards in , resided there, but they were also removed to conception. these two islands having been once inhabited, there are yet to be found some few remains of cattle, which have continued to procreate: on mocha are horses and pigs, and some barn door fowls. mocha is about fifteen miles in circumference, hilly in the centre, and sloping towards the coast, more so on the western side, where a tolerably good anchorage and a safe landing place, on a sandy beach, may be found. fresh water flows from several springs; wild turnips, mint and other herbs grow in abundance; the trees on the hilly part are principally the white cinnamon, named by the spaniards _canelo_, the magui, the luma, a tree called _espino_, and others. here are also apple, peach and cherry trees, with a variety of wild strawberries, and myrtle-berries. some solitary seals yet remain on the rocks on the south side of the island. i left mocha after remaining there alone thirty-two days, and landed from the brig polly at tucapel viejo, the residence of one of the caciques, or ulmenes, of the araucanian indians, by whom i was most hospitably treated. the male indians who appeared on the beach were of a reddish brown or copper colour, few of them reaching to the height of six feet. they were finely shaped and very muscular, having a round face, well formed forehead, small black eyes, flattish nose, moderately thick lips and good teeth, but no beard. the whole of the countenance is expressive of a certain portion of vivacity, and not uninteresting; the hair is black and strong, all of it being drawn behind the head and platted. the women are lower in stature than the men, their features similar, and some of the girls, if i be not allowed to call them handsome, i cannot abstain from saying are very pretty. the females wear their hair long, and platted behind their heads: it is afterwards wrapped round with a tape about an inch and a half broad, to one edge of which are attached a number of small hawks' bells: the plait is allowed to hang down the back, and not unfrequently reaches below their knees. the dress or costume of the indians at first appeared very singular to me. in the men it consisted of a flannel shirt, and a pair of loose drawers of the same material, generally white, reaching below the calves of the legs; a coarse species of rug about two yards wide and two and a half long, with a slit in the middle through which the head was passed: this garment, if so i may style it, hanging over the shoulders and reaching below the knees, is called a _poncho_. the common ones seemed to be made from a brownish sort of wool, but some were very fancifully woven in stripes of different colours and devices, such as animals, birds, flowers, &c. of the poncho i shall have occasion to speak again, as it is universally worn in all the provinces of south america which i visited; but i must say here, that i considered it as an excellent riding dress; for hanging loosely and covering the whole body, it leaves the arms quite at liberty to manage the whip and reins. the hat commonly worn is in the form of a cone, without any skirts; for shoes they substitute a piece of raw bull's hide cut to the shape of the sole of the foot, and tied on with slender thongs of leather. the females wear a long white flannel tunic, without sleeves, and an upper garment of black flannel, extending below their knees, the sides closed up to the waist, and the corners from the back brought over the shoulders and fastened to the corners of the piece in front with two large thorns, procured from a species of cactus, or with large silver brooches: it is afterwards closed round the waist with a girdle about three inches broad, generally woven in devices of different colours; very often, however, nothing but the white tunic is worn, with the girdle, and a small mantle or cloak called _ichella_. the favourite colour among the indians appeared to be a bluish green, though i saw few of their garments of this colour at tucapel, but remarked afterwards, at the town of arauco, that all those who came to sell or barter their fruit, &c. wore it. the females generally have nothing on their heads or feet, but have a profusion of silver rings on their fingers, and on their arms and necks an abundance of glass bead bracelets and necklaces. the occupation of the men, as in most unenlightened countries, appeared to be confined to riding out to see their cattle, their small portions of land, cultivated by the women, and to hunting. the females were employed spinning wool with a spindle about ten inches long, having a circular piece of burnt clay at the bottom, to assist and regulate the rotary motion given by twirling it with the finger and thumb at the upper end. they generally sit on the ground to spin, and draw a thread about a yard long, which they wind on the spindle, tie a knot on the upper end, and draw another thread: though this work is very tedious, compared to what may be done by our common spinning-wheels, yet their dexterity and constancy enable them to manufacture all their wearing apparel. weaving is conducted on a plan fully as simple as spinning. the frame-work for the loom is composed of eight slender poles, cut in the woods when wanted, and afterwards burnt; four of these are stuck in the ground at right angles, the other four are lashed with thongs at the top, forming a square, and the frame is complete. the treadles are then placed about a foot from the front, having a roller at the back of the frame for the yarn and another in front for the cloth, both tied fast with thongs; the sleys, made of worsted, doubled, have two knots tied in the middle of each pair of threads, leaving a small space between the knots through which to pass the warp. after all the yarns are passed through the sleys the ends are tied in small bunches to the roller, which is turned round by two females, one at each end, whilst another attends to the balls in front; the other ends of the yarn are then tied to the roller in front. the thongs connected with the treadle are fastened one to each of the sleys, and a thong being made fast to the upper part of one of them is thrown over a loose slender pole, placed on the top of the frame and then made fast to the other sley, so that when one treadle is pressed by the foot it draws down one of the sleys, holding every alternate thread, and the other rises, carrying with it the other half of the warp. instead of a shuttle the yarn is wound round a slender stick, of the necessary length, and passed through the opening formed by the rising of one of the sleys and the falling of the other; the contrary treadle is then pressed down, and a slender piece of hard heavy wood, longer than the breadth of the cloth, is passed across, and the weaver taking hold of both ends drags it towards her and compresses the thread. this piece of wood, shaped somewhat like a long sword, is called the _macana_, and has often been resorted to as a weapon in time of war. the same rude mode of weaving is common, though not universal, in south america. the manner of weaving ponchos i shall describe when treating of the town of arauco, for what i saw here did not deserve attention. besides the laborious occupation of spinning and weaving, and the usual household labour, each wife (for polygamy is allowed, every man marrying as many wives as he choose, or rather, as many as he can maintain) has to present to her husband daily a dish of her own cooking, and annually a _poncho_ of her own spinning and weaving, besides flannel for shirts and drawers. thus an indian's house generally contains as many fire places and looms as he has wives, and abbé molina says, that instead of asking a man how many wives he has, it is more polite to ask him how many fires he keeps. the females are cleanly in their houses and persons; dirt is never seen on their clothes, and they frequently bathe, or wash themselves three or four times a day. the men also pay great attention to the cleanliness of their persons. the females attend to the cultivation of their gardens, in which the men work but little, considering themselves absolute masters--the lords of the creation, born only to command, and the women, being the weaker, to obey: sentiments which polygamy supports; plurality of wives tending to destroy those tender feelings of attachment which we find in countries where the law allows only one wife. the principal part of the labour of their farms is performed by the women, who often plough, sow, reap and carry to the thrashing floor the wheat or barley, which, when trodden out by horses, is thrown into the air, that the wind may blow away the chaff. i saw no other grain at tucapel or its vicinity but wheat and barley, in small patches; but i was told that they produced a hundred fold. the care of the offspring is entirely committed to the women. a mother immediately on her delivery takes her child, and going down to the nearest stream of water, washes herself and it, and returns to the usual labours of her station. the children are never swaddled, nor their bodies confined by any tight clothing; they are wrapped in a piece of flannel, laid on a sheep skin, and put into a basket suspended from the roof, which occasionally receives a push from any one passing, and continues swinging for some minutes. they are allowed to crawl about nearly naked until they can walk; and afterwards, to the age of ten or twelve years, the boys wear a small poncho, and the girls a piece of flannel, wrapped round their waist, reaching down to the knees. the mother, after that age, abandons the boys to the care of the father, on whom they attend and wait as servants; and the daughters are instructed in the several works which it will ere long become their duty to fulfil. to the loose clothing which the children wear from their infancy may doubtless be attributed the total absence of deformity among the indians. perhaps some travellers might suggest, that confinement in any shape would be considered disgraceful to the haughty araucanians, who are pleased to call themselves, "the never vanquished, always victors." the house to which i was conveyed by the indians was about five leagues from the coast, situated in a ravine, towards the farther extremity of which the range of hills on each side appeared to unite. a stream of excellent water ran at the bottom of the small valley, winding its way to the sea, and fordable at this time of the year, but visibly much deeper at other times, from the marks of the surface water on the banks and on several large pieces of rock lying in the stream. the low part of the ravine (at first more than three miles wide, and gradually closing as we rode up towards the house) was cultivated in small patches; and among the brushwood were to be seen clusters of apple, pear and peach trees, some of them so laden with fruit that their branches were bent to the ground. the sides of the mountains displayed in gorgeous profusion the gifts of nature; the same kind of fruit trees, laden with their ripe produce, enlivened the view, and relieved the eye from the deep green of the woods which covered the landscape, save here and there the naked spire of a rock washed by the rains and whitened by the sunbeams. the situation of the house appeared to have been chosen not so much for its picturesque beauty, as for the facility of defending it: the only approach was the road which we took, it being impossible to descend the mountains on either side--an impossibility which appeared to increase as we drew nearer to the house. four or five of the young indians, or _mosotones_, rode forward to the house, and when it first opened to our view a crowd of women and children had ranged themselves in front, gaping in wild astonishment at my very unexpected appearance. we rode up to the house, which stood on a small plain, about thirty yards above the level of the stream, and alighted amid the din of questions and answers equally unintelligible to me. the wild stare of curiosity, sweetened with a compassionate expression of countenance, precluded all fear, and i could not avoid saying to myself, great author of nature, i now for the first time behold thy animated works, unadorned with the luxuries, and free, may i hope, from the concomitant vices, of civilization! the house was a thatched building, about sixty feet long, and twenty broad, with mud walls seven feet high, two doors in the front, opposite to two others at the back, and without windows. the back part on the inside was divided into births, the divisions being formed of canes thinly covered with clay, projecting about six feet from the wall, with a bed place three feet wide, raised two from the floor; the whole appearing somewhat like a range of stalls in a stable. opposite to these births, and running from one end to the other, excepting the spaces at the two doors, the floor was elevated about ten inches, and was six feet wide: this elevation was partly covered with small carpets and rugs, which with five or six low tables composed the whole of the household furniture. the two doors on the back side led to the kitchen, a range of building as long as the house, but entirely detached from it: here were several hearths, or fire-places, surrounded with small earthen pots, pans and some baskets made of split cane; and over each fire-place was suspended a flat kind of basket holding meat and fish, and answering the purpose of a safe: it is called by the indians a _chigua_. the horses were unsaddled, and the saddles placed on the floor at one end of the house. the family, or what i conceived to be the family, was composed of upwards of forty individuals. the father was between forty and fifty years old, and apparently enjoyed all the privileges of a patriarch. there were eight women, whom i considered to be his wives, though during my stay he appeared to associate with only one of them, if allowing her to wait upon him whilst eating and receiving from the others their respective dishes (which she placed successively on the small low table) can be called association. the young men eat the food brought to them at different tables, or in different parts of the house. the women and children adjourned to the kitchen, and there partook of what was left by the male part of the family. from the first day of my arrival to the last of my stay i always ate out of the same dish with the cacique, or ulmen, for his rank i did not exactly know. our fingers supplied the place of forks, and large muscle shells that of spoons: knives i never saw used at table. our food chiefly consisted of fresh mutton, jirked beef, fish, or poultry, cut into small pieces and stewed with potatoes or pompions, seasoned with onions, garlic and cayenne pepper, or capsicum. our breakfast, at about sunrise, was composed of some flour or toasted wheat, coarsely ground, or crushed, and mixed with water, either hot or cold, as it suited the palate of the eater. this flour is produced or manufactured by first roasting the wheat or barley in an earthen pan placed over a slow fire, until the grain takes a pale brown hue. when cold it is ground on a flat stone, about eight inches or a foot wide, and two feet or more in length, as they can best procure it. this is put on the ground, with the end next the female raised about four inches. she then takes another stone, which reaches nearly across the first, and weighs from six to ten pounds; this she presses with her hands, and bruises the grain, which is crushed to a state somewhat like coarsely ground coffee. at the lower end of the stone is generally placed a clean lamb skin, with the wool downwards, which receives the flour, called by the indians _machica_. our dinner (made up of the stews or messes which i have mentioned) was generally served at noon in calabashes, or gourds cut in two, being three inches deep, and some of them from twelve to twenty inches in diameter. our supper, which we took at eight o'clock, was milk, with _machica_, or potatoes. i cannot refrain from describing a favourite preparation of milk, called by the natives _milcow_. potatoes and a species of pompion, _zapallo_, were roasted, the insides of both taken out, and kneaded together with a small quantity of salt, and sometimes with eggs. this paste was made into little cakes, each about the size of a dollar, and a large quantity was put into a pot of milk, and allowed to boil for a quarter of an hour. i joined the indians in considering it an excellent dish. their poultry, fed on barley and potatoes, was fat and good; their fish, both from the sea and the river, capital; and their beef and mutton in fatness and flavour were far above mediocrity. the beverage at this time of the year, there being abundance of apples, was principally new cider, but it was sufficiently fermented to produce intoxication, which i had several opportunities of observing among the men: to the credit of the women, however, i must say, that i never saw one of them in a state of ebriety. i was informed that at other times of the year they fermented liquors from the maize, the process of which i shall afterwards describe. their cider is made in the following rude manner:--a quantity of apples is procured from the woods by the women; they are put into a species of trough, from eight to ten feet long, being the trunk of a large tree scooped into a shape somewhat similar to a canoe. a woman then takes a stick, or cane, nearly the length of the trough, and standing at one extremity, beats the apples to pieces. they are afterwards collected at one end, pressed with the hands, and the juice is received either in large calabashes (dried gourds) or in prepared goats' hides. it is now carried to the house, poured into an earthen jar, and left to ferment. the jars are made by the indians of baked clay:--some will hold upwards of a hundred gallons, which shews that these people have some skill in pottery. the only in-door diversion which i witnessed among the indians at tucapel was what they certainly considered a dance. about sixteen men and women intermixed stood up in a row, and following each other, trotted about the room to the sound of a small drum, which was made by drawing a piece of the fresh skin of a kid or lamb over an earthen pot used for cooking. this diversion i saw but twice, and in both instances after supper. indeed the indians are not calculated for this kind of amusement. they associate with each other but little. the females are considered inferior to the men, and consequently no harmony or conviviality appears to result from their company. the principal out-door diversion among the young men is the _palican_: this game is called by the spaniards _chueca_, and is similar to one i have seen in england called bandy. molina says it is like the _calcio_ of the florentines and the _orpasto_ of the greeks. the company divides into two sets. each person has a stick about four feet long, curved at the lower end. a small hard ball, sometimes of wood, is thrown on the ground: the parties separate; some advance towards the ball, and others stand aloof to prevent it when struck from going beyond the limits assigned, which would occasion the loss of the game. i was told that the most important matters have been adjusted in the different provinces of araucania by crooked sticks and a ball: the decision of the dispute is that of the game--the winner of the game being the winner of the dispute. at arauco i heard that the present bishop of conception, roa, having passed the territory belonging to the indians with their permission, (a formality never to be dispensed with) on his visitation to valdivia, was apprehended in returning for not having solicited and obtained a pass, or safe-conduct from the _uthalmapu_, or principal political chief of the country which he had to traverse, called by the indians, the _lauguen mapu_, or marine district. his lordship was not only made prisoner but despoiled of all his equipage; and it became a matter of dispute, which nothing but the _palican_ could decide, whether he should be put to death or allowed to proceed to conception. the game was played in the presence of the bishop: he had the satisfaction of seeing his party win, and his life was saved. the propriety, however, of keeping the booty taken from him was not questioned by any one. that part of the country which i had an opportunity of visiting with some of these kind indians was not extensive, but extremely beautiful. the soil was rich, every kind of vegetation luxuriant, and some of the trees were very large: the principal ones were the _espino_, the _luma_, the _maque_, and the _pehuen_. i was informed that the indians have both gold and silver mines, and that they are acquainted with the art of extracting the metal from the ores. one might presume that there was some foundation for this report from the ornaments made of the precious metals seen in their possession: they are of spanish manufacture, and perhaps either the spoils of war or the result of barter. a trade of no great importance might be established here. the wool, which is good, and timber, with some gold and silver, would be given in return for knives, axes, hatchets, white and greenish coarse flannel, ponchos, bridle bits, spurs, &c. chapter ii. leave tucapel viejo, and arrive at tubul....description of our breakfast on the road....stay at the house of the cacique of tubul....some appearances of civilization....game of pencs, wrestling, &c....anchorage, trade, &c....face of the country....arrival at arauco....taken to the commandant, interview described....town of arauco....indians who came to barter.... weaving of fine _ponchos_....excursion to the water-mills on the carampangue river....entertainments, _mate_, &c....visit nacimiento, santa juana, and return to arauco....ordered to conception. at about three o'clock, on a moonlight morning, in the month of april, i left the house of my kind toqui, with five indians. we were all on horseback, and travelled till after sunrise, when arriving at what appeared to me to be a common resting place, we alighted, and i witnessed a most romantic scene. the indians were habited in their rude costume, the poncho, the sugar-loaf hat, the hide sandals, and spurs with rowels at least three inches in diameter. their horses were as uncouthly caparisoned: a deep saddle was covered with three or four sheep skins, over which was spread a bluish rug of long shaggy wool, the crupper with a broad piece of leather hanging across the horse's rump, and a broader strap attached to each side of the saddle passing round the horse behind, about midway down the thighs, and fastened to the cross piece to prevent its slipping to the ground. these straps were fancifully stamped, and cut into various shapes and devices. the huge wooden box stirrups were large enough to hold the feet of the rider; and the heavy-bitted bridle had beautifully platted reins, terminating in a lash or whip of the same workmanship, divided at the end into eight or ten minor plaits, forming a tuft resembling a tassel. the spot at which we arrived was enchanting. the branches of a large carob tree extended themselves above our heads, while the beautifully green sward was spread under our feet. a small stream of water worked its way among the pebbles on one side, and in the distance on the other the pacific ocean, silvered with the rays of the newly risen sun, heightened in brilliancy by the intervening deep green of the woods, presented itself to our view. what an awfully grand collection of the works of nature! he who could behold them without feeling his bosom swell with such sensations of delight as tongue cannot utter nor pen describe, cannot be made by this faint description to partake of what i felt at that moment. after the indians had alighted, part of them ran to the brook and brought some water, in bullocks' horns, which they always carry with them for this purpose. they divided it among their comrades, each receiving about a pint. every one now took from his girdle a small leather bag, the skin of an animal of the size of a cat, and putting a handful of roasted flour into the horn with the water, stirred it about with a small stick and eat it. i followed their example, and this mixture constituted our breakfast. we then pursued our journey. about noon we arrived at tubul, and went to a large house belonging, as i supposed, to the toqui, or cacique. here are several other houses, forming a small hamlet, all of whose inhabitants are indians. we were regaled with the usual fare at dinner, with the addition of a lamb, which was killed after our arrival, cut into halves, and roasted over the embers. what may be considered as a certain portion of civilization made its appearance at tubul: the roasted lamb was laid on a large ill-fashioned silver dish, some silver spoons and forks were placed on the toqui's table: not a knife was to be seen, but the drinking horns had bottoms. besides the cider some strong ill tasted brandy and thick sweet wine crowned the board. my indian comrades or conductors occasioned much sport after dinner, by playing what they call the _peuca_, which molina says serves them as an image of war. fifteen _mosotones_, young indians, took hold of each other by the hands and formed a circle, in the centre of which a boy about ten years old was placed. an equal number of young men were then engaged in attempting to take the boy out of the ring, in which the victory consists. the indians forming the ring at first extended their arms as wide as they could, and paced gently round. the others rushed altogether on the ring, and tried to break it, but their opponents closed and the invaders were forced to desist. they then threw themselves into several groups of two or three in each, advanced and attacked at different points, but were again baffled in their efforts, and after many unsuccessful trials to break the ring, and take the boy, they were obliged through fatigue to abandon their enterprise. when the game, which lasted at least three hours, was finished, abundance of cider was brought, and the effects of drinking it were soon visible. wrestling parties commenced, in which great strength and agility were shown: the first throw decided each contest, and the horns of cider were freely circulated to cheer the drooping spirits of the youths. the females and children stood in groups to witness these sports, and interest and enthusiasm were strongly marked in their countenances. after a supper of _milcow_, roasted potatoes, milk, &c. we retired to our beds, which were formed of five or six clean white sheep skins, and some white flannel. we rose at an early hour the next morning; five more young indians were attached to my escort, and we proceeded on our way to arauco. there is a roadstead and good anchorage at tubul, and in any emergency ships may procure an abundance of bullocks, sheep, and excellent vegetables, in exchange for knives, axes, buttons, beads, &c. the water at the mouth of the river is salt, but good fresh water may be easily obtained a little way up on the north side, where a rivulet joins the tubul. having travelled about six miles, we descended to the beach of a very extensive bay, and saw the island of santa maria in the horizon. at the foot of the promontory which we had crossed was a small stream and three neat cottages with pretty gardens before them. my guides took me to the first of these cottages, where we were received by a white woman, the wife of a sergeant stationed here as at a kind of advanced post. the sergeant soon made his appearance, and although i had been so very kindly treated by the good indians, i felt a pleasure at finding myself once again among people of my own colour, similar to that experienced by a person who is relieved from an apprehension of danger, by being satisfied that it does not exist. some dispute arose respecting the indians leaving me and returning home; but it was adjusted by the sergeant sending two soldiers with us, with orders to present me to the commandant, at arauco. after breakfasting on roasted jerked beef and bread, we proceeded towards arauco, and arrived there at noon. the country over which we travelled was every where covered with vegetation, the valleys or bottoms of the ravines with grass and shrubs, and their hilly sides with wood. after descending to the beach, several small ravines opened to the right, containing a considerable number of neat thatched cottages. quantities of wild vines climbed from tree to tree, laden with grapes as yet green; and clusters of apple, pear, and peach trees adorned the sides of the hills, while the low land from their bases to the sea side was divided and fenced in with branches of trees--cattle, principally milch cows, feeding in the enclosures. on our arrival at arauco i was immediately taken to the house of the commandant, who ordered me into his presence, and the soldiers and indians to return. i was not a little surprised at the extravagant appearance of this military hero, who undoubtedly considered himself, in his present situation, equal to alexander or napoleon, and but for his figure i should have conceived him to be a second falstaff. he stood about five feet six inches high, was remarkably slender, and had a swarthy complexion, large roman nose, small black eyes, projecting chin, and toothless mouth. his hair was combed back from his forehead, abundantly powdered, and tied in a cue _a la_ frederick. he wore an old tarnished gold laced uniform of faded blue, with deepened red lappels, collar and cuffs, his waistcoat and breeches being of the latter colour; bluish stockings, brown shoes for lack of blacking, and large square brass buckles. a real toledo was fastened to his side with a broad black leather belt and a brass buckle in front: an equilateral triangular hat covered his head. such was the visible part of this soldier. his red cloak was on a chair near him, while his worship stood, bolt upright, in his vast importance _personale_! never did chivalrous knight listen with more gravity of countenance, measured demeanour or composed posture, to the cravings of a woe-begotten squire, than did my old commandant to my ill-digested narrative. but what a contrast presented itself in his goodly lady, the _comandanta_, whom i could compare to nothing better than a large lanthorn! she stood about four feet six inches high, and as nearly as i could conceive measured the same round the waist, which was encompassed by an enormous hoop, at least four feet in diameter, having a petticoat of scarlet flannel, sewed into small folds, the bottom of which was trimmed about a foot deep with something yellow. she wore a green bodice, and the sleeves of her undermost garment just covered her shoulders, and were edged with green ribbon and white fringe. her hair was all combed back from her forehead, and tied behind with a broad black ribbon. on the top of her head appeared a bunch of natural flowers. it might with propriety be said of this goodly dame, that it would be much easier to pass over than to go round her. there were also present the curate of the parish, two franciscan friars, and some of the inhabitants, one of whom, don nicolas del rio, compassionating the fate of a boy, (for i was then only seventeen) asked the commandant to allow me to be his guest. this request being granted, the chief put on his red cloak, walked with us to the house of don nicolas, and, not forgetting one iota of etiquette, presented me to the family, composed of the wife of don nicolas and three daughters; their only son being with an uncle, who was governor of angeles. during the time i remained at arauco i was treated in every respect as one of the family by these kind and hospitable people. visiting parties to their gardens, orchards, and vineyards, followed each other daily, and all possible care was taken to render me happy--and not in vain, for i was happy. arauco is situated at the foot of a rocky hill, accessible only by a winding path from the inside of the walls by which the town is surrounded. on the top of the hill were four brass guns of eighteen pounds calibre, with a breast-work of stone, a large house for the soldiers, forming their barracks or guard-house, and a small watch tower. the town is a square of about six hundred yards, and is surrounded by a wall of eighteen feet high on three of the sides, the hill forming the fourth; two small breast-works are raised at the corners. an arched gateway stands in the centre of the north side, with a massy wooden door, which is closed every night at eight o'clock, and opened at six in the morning. from the gateway is a street to the square, or market-place, where the church is erected. there is also a convent of franciscan friars, which was formerly a jesuits' college. the garrison consisted of thirty privates with the respective subalterns and officers. the whole population amounts to about four hundred souls. the town is well supplied by a spring in the rock with most excellent water, which falls into a large stone basin, and thence runs through the square, the principal street, and out at the gateway. fruit, fish, poultry, and cider called _chicha_, are brought in daily by the indian women, and sold or bartered principally for salt, which is the article most in demand, there being none but what is imported. the greater part used for culinary purposes is from peru, but a coarser kind is obtained from the coast of chile, near to valparaiso. the general salutation of the indians is _marry, marry_; and i was told, that when a cacique or any other chief sends to a spaniard his _marry, marry_, it is a sure sign that he is at peace with the spaniards, though other tribes may be at war with them. i had several opportunities at arauco of seeing the indians employed in weaving the fine _ponchos_, some of which, i learnt, were worth from a hundred to a hundred and fifty dollars. the wool is first washed and picked or combed, for they have no idea of carding. it is then spun with the spindle, as already described, and afterwards dyed the necessary colours, such as blue, green, yellow, red, &c., and if one be wanted which they have not the materials to produce, they purchase a piece of manchester flannel of the colour required, pick it to pieces, reduce it to wool, and spin it over again, the yarn being required to be much finer than that of the flannel, and always twisted of two or more threads. the _poncho_ is woven in stripes of one, two, or three inches broad, which are subsequently sewed together. sometimes, and for the finest _ponchos_, no loom whatever is used. the coloured threads or yarns are rolled on a round piece of wood; the weaver ties the other ends of them to her girdle, and lifts and depresses the threads with her fingers, passing the woof rolled on a cane instead of a shuttle, and beating it with the _macana_. this may undoubtedly be considered the lowest pitch of weaving, but the patterns on the stripes are very pretty and ingenious, and the repetitions of the devices are extremely exact. after a few days' rest, it was proposed by don nicolas that i should accompany his daughters on an excursion to some of the neighbouring towns and villages: a proposal highly gratifying to myself, and apparently not less so to my new acquaintance. a permission or passport was procured for me from the commandant, and i was ordered to present it at every military post we might arrive at. whether there were any necessity for this document i do not know; but i think it was provided to give me an idea of the authority of the military chief; for i was never asked for it, and when i presented it at any post it was never read; but a curl of the upper lip showed the contempt with which it was viewed by the subalterns of this great man! our cavalcade, on as delightful a morning as ever broke on joyous travellers, made a very gay appearance. the three daughters of don nicolas were mounted on good horses, with square side-saddles, the upper part of which had rather the shape of small chairs, having backs and arms covered with velvet, fastened with a profusion of brass-headed nails. a board about ten inches long and four broad, covered and nailed to match, was suspended on the far side of each horse; so that the rider sat with her left hand to the horse's head, contrary to the custom in england. the bridles, cruppers and appendages were of exquisite platted work, ornamented with a number of silver rings, buckles and small plates. i rode a horse belonging to my good host, with saddle and trappings decorated in the same manner. the saddle was raised about four inches before and behind, and some sheep skins were put on the seat, covered with a red rug of very long wool. four sumpter mules were laden with bedding and provender, two _mosotones_, young indians, were appointed to attend to them, and two females to wait on their young mistresses. we mounted, and at the gate were joined by the commandant's two daughters, who had two soldiers for their guard. never did i feel more delighted than when, having passed the gateway and advanced a few yards, i turned round to view this novel scene, to which, in my mind, a canterbury pilgrimage was far inferior. five young ladies in their rigid costume; their small but beautifully wrought _ponchos_; their black hats and feathers; their hoops, spreading out their fancifully coloured coats, ornamented with ribbons, fringes, and spangles; the gay trappings of their horses; the two soldiers in uniform; the indians; the servant girls, and the sumpter mules, which closed the procession; the merry countenances of all; the parents, relations and friends, waving their hats and handkerchiefs from the walls of the town; the sound of the church and convent bells, summoning the inhabitants to mass; the distant view of the sea on one side, and that of the enchanting plain and mountain scenery on the other--reminded me of fairy regions, and at times caused me almost to doubt the reality of what i beheld. it was predetermined that we should breakfast at a farm-house about two leagues from arauco. thither we rode, leaving the indians to follow with their charge. our arrival was anticipated, and a splendid breakfast had been prepared: roasted lamb, fowls, fried eggs and fish smoaked on the table; whilst chocolate and toasted bread, excellent butter and cheese finished the repast. we honoured our host by eating heartily, and waited the arrival of the indians: they were ordered to follow us to the mills. we shortly reached the bank of the river carampangue, and after riding about twelve miles came to the mills called _de carampangue_. the river is in some places from eighty to a hundred yards wide, and in others not above twenty; running slowly towards the sea, into which it empties itself about four miles from arauco. its origin is said to be in the cordilleras. where the mills are situated the river is twenty-two yards wide, with a considerable fall, and water is drawn from it for their service by channels. these mills are three in number, with vertical water-wheels and one pair of stones to each mill. i was informed that the stones are brought from a considerable distance, and that they cost about one hundred and fifty dollars the pair. they are black, with small white stains, resembling in size and shape the wings of flies, and hence are called _ala de mosca_. when by any accident they are broken, the only remedy is to procure new ones, the people being ignorant of any cement with which to unite the pieces; and probably the expense of iron work would amount to more than that of new stones; nay, i question whether they have a blacksmith in this part of the country who could forge hoops to brace them. the only precaution taken to prevent such accidents is the passing a number of thongs of raw hide, while fresh, round the stones, and when dry they are not perhaps very inferior to iron hoops. the wood-work is as rude, the miller being the carpenter, blacksmith, mason, &c. the flour is not bolted, but sifted by hand. this however is no part of the business or trade of the miller, who is only required to grind the corn; for the meal is carried home to its owner, and separated from the bran with large hair sieves made by the indians. we dined at one of the houses, partly on the fare presented to us, and partly on our own, brought by the sumpter mules. the afternoon was spent in rambling about the neighbouring country and picking myrtle berries, which are delicious, and called by the people _mutillas_. they are about the size of a large pea, of a deep red colour and of a peculiarly sweet and aromatic flavour. they are sometimes prepared by crushing them in water and allowing them to ferment for a few days, which produces a pleasant beverage called _chicha de mutilla_. we found abundance of wild grapes, (which though neither large nor sweet were very palatable) some few plums, and plenty of apples, pears and peaches. on our return to the miller's house we were presented with _mate_, which is a substitute for tea, and is used more or less in every part of south america, but since the present revolution it has become less prevalent, partly because the custom of drinking tea _a la inglesa_ is more fashionable, and partly because a regular supply of the herb cannot be procured from paraguay, where it grows, and from whence it derives its name. the _mate_ is prepared by putting into a silver or gold cup about a teaspoonful of the herb of paraguay, to which are added a bit of sugar, sometimes laid on the fire until the outside be a little burnt, a few drops of lemon juice, a piece of lemon peel and of cinnamon, or a clove. boiling water is poured in till the cup is full, and a silver tube, about the thickness of the stalk of a tobacco pipe, six inches long and perforated at the lower end with small holes, is introduced. through this the _mate_ is sucked, with the risk of scalding the mouth. a cup supported on a salver, most curiously chased, or filigreed, is commonly used: however a calabash, with a fillet of silver round the top, was used on this occasion. one tube serves the whole party, and the female who presides will not unfrequently give a hearty suck when the cup is returned to her, and take another after replenishing it, before it is handed to the company. a great deal of etiquette is observed with the _mate_. it is first offered to the person who is the greatest stranger, or most welcome visitor, a priest, if there happen to be one present, which is generally the case. nothing but the severe indisposition of friar vicente at arauco freed us from his presence: an event which was not regretted by the party until dancing was proposed in the evening, when his ghostly fathership was missed, as no one could play on the guitar so well as he: however one of the soldiers offered his services; the instrument was produced and tuned, the dance named, and the sparkling eyes of the whole company, which had greatly increased since our arrival, bespoke a wish to "trip it on the light fantastic toe;" but to my astonishment, a young man and woman stepped into the middle of the room, and began to jig to the sounds of the guitar, sounds not to be equalled except by the filing of a saw, or the boisterous singing of the performer. this i was told was a _bolero_. they danced about five minutes, and were relieved by two others. in this manner the diversion was kept up until after midnight, with the assistance of cider, _chicha de mansana_, _chicha de mutilla_, bad wine, and some brandy made from the wild grape of the country. a hot supper closed the scene, and we retired to the beds prepared for us at the different houses. the following morning after breakfast we mounted our horses, and having crossed the river at a ford, pursued our route to nacimiento, which is a small village surrounded by a wall with four brass guns. the greater part of the inhabitants are indians, and apparently very poor. we spent the night at the house of the curate, but not so agreeably as we passed the preceding one at the mills. on the next day we went on to santa juana, another frontier town, standing on an island formed by the river dividing itself into two branches for the space of about half a mile and again uniting. this river is the bio-bio, and may with propriety be called the northern boundary of chile. the towns on the south side of the bio-bio are under great risk of being sacked by the indians, and are merely kept as advanced posts by the spaniards. we rested one day at santa juana, and returned by a different road to nacimiento, from thence to the carampangue mills, and the day after to arauco, having spent seven days in this most agreeable excursion. i was exceedingly surprized at being informed that war had been declared between england and spain; and in a few days afterwards i received orders to proceed to conception. i remained at the house of my friend don nicolas del rio, until my departure, enjoying every day more and more the kind hospitality of this worthy south american and his excellent family, whom i left with the most sincere regret, impressed with the idea that i should never see any of them again. i was, however, deceived, for after a lapse of seventeen years we met under circumstances which enabled me to repay a part of their kindness. chapter iii. account of cultivation of farms, &c. in araucania....thrashing, &c....produce ....cattle....locality....topographical divisions....government (indian)....laws and penalties....military system....arms, standards, &c....division of spoil....treaty of peace....religion....marriages....funerals....spanish cities founded in araucania....ideas on new colonies....commerce. the plough used by the creoles and spaniards and adopted by the indians is a piece of crooked wood, generally part of the trunk and one of the principal branches of a tree. the portion which is intended to move the soil, for it cannot properly be called ploughing, is about five feet long and six inches broad. one end is pointed and sometimes charred; at the other a handle rises about three feet high, forming with the bottom piece an obtuse angle, greater or less according to the will of the maker, or the chance of finding a piece of wood suitable for the purpose. one end of the beam is inserted at the angle and is supported about the middle of the lower part of the plough by a piece of wood passing through it into a mortise made in the lower part, where it is secured, as well as in the beam, by small wedges. the removal of those in the beam serves to raise or depress it for the purpose of making the furrow deeper or shallower. the beam is from ten to twelve feet long, the one end fastened as already mentioned, and the other lashed to the yoke, which is tied with thongs just behind the horns of the bullock. instead of harrows they use a bunch of thorns, generally of the _espino_. one would imagine that this rude implement had been found in the hands of the indians at the time the country was discovered; but according to townsend's description of the plough used in some parts of spain, it was one of the improvements carried to america by the earliest settlers. indeed, rude as it is, it is seen in every part of south america which i visited, having in some places the addition of a piece of flat iron, about a foot long and pointed at one end, attached by thongs to that of the lower part of the plough, and called _reja_: probably from the verb _rajar_, to split or divide. when a farmer selects a piece of ground for cultivation he cuts down the trees, with which he makes a fence by laying them around the field. he then ploughs or breaks the ground, sows his wheat or barley, and harrows it in with a bunch of thorns: here the cares of husbandry cease until harvest. the corn is now cut, tied into sheaves, and carried to the thrashing floor, where it is trodden out by a drove of mares, which are driven round at a full gallop, till the straw becomes hard, when it is turned over, and the trampling repeated two or three times, so as to break the straw into pieces of two inches long. at this stage it is supposed that the grain is freed from the ears. the whole is shaken with large forks, made of wood or forked branches of trees; the chaff and grain fall to the ground, and are formed into a heap, which is thrown up into the air with shovels. the wind blows away the chaff, and the grain remains on the floor. it is now put into sacks made of bullocks' hides, placed on the backs of mules, and carried to the owner's house; but not before the tythe or _diesmo_ has been paid, and one bushel, _primicia_, to the parson. the straw is occasionally preserved for the horses in the rainy season; at other times it is burnt or left to rot. for a thrashing floor a piece of ground is selected, and having been swept and cleared, is enclosed with a few poles and canes. it is seldom used twice, and the size is proportioned to the quantity of corn to be trodden out. maize, sometimes called indian corn, is cultivated in great quantities in this as well as in every other part of south america. four varieties are to be found here, all of which are very productive and much appreciated. it is sown in lines or rows, two, three, or four plants standing together, at the distance of half a yard from the other clusters. each stem produces from two to four cobs, and some of them are twelve inches long. the indians prepare the maize for winter, whilst in the green state, by boiling the cobs, from the cores of which are taken the grain, which is dried in the sun and kept for use. it is called _chuchoca_, and when mixed with some of their hashes or stews is very palatable. another preparation is made by cutting the corn from the core of the green cobs, and bruising it between two stones until it assumes the consistency of paste, to which sugar, butter and spices, or only salt is added. it is then divided into small portions, which are enclosed separately within the inner leaf of the cob or ear and boiled. these cakes are called _umitas_. the dry boiled maize, _mote_, and the toasted, _cancha_, are used by the indians instead of bread. one kind of maize, _curugua_, is much softer when roasted, and furnishes a flour lighter, whiter, and in greater quantity than any other kind. this meal mixed with water and a little sugar is esteemed by all classes of people. if the water be hot the beverage is called _cherchan_, if cold _ulpo_. m. bomare considers the maize as indigenous to asia alone, and c. durante to turkey; but solis, zandoval, herrera and others prove that it was found at the discovery of the new world in the west indies, mexico, peru and chile. indeed i have opened many of the graves, _huacas_, of the indians, and observed maize in them, which was beyond all doubt buried before the conquest or discovery of this country. there are two kinds of _quinua_, a species of chenopodium. the seed of the one is reddish, bitter, and used only as a medicine. the other is white, and is frequently brought to table. when boiled it uncurls and has the appearance of fine vermicelli. it is sometimes boiled in soup, and is also made into a kind of pudding, seasoned with onions, garlic, pepper, &c. of the bean, _phaseolus_, they have several kinds, which are grown in abundance, constituting both in a green and dried state a great part of the support of the lower classes of creoles and indians. the bean is indigenous, and was cultivated before the arrival of the spaniards. seven or eight varieties of potatoe of an excellent quality are raised, and in some shape or other introduced to every table and almost at every meal. indeed chile is considered by many naturalists to be the native soil of this vegetable. the small potatoes are often preserved by boiling them and drying them in the sun, or among the cordilleras covering them with ice, until they assume a horny appearance. when used they are broken into small pieces, soaked in water, and added to many of their stews. a species called _pogny_ is very bitter, and is considered, with probability, to be poisonous. for use it is soaked in water till the bitterness is removed, then dried, and sometimes reduced to powder, called _chuno_. for food it is prepared like arrow root, which it resembles. they have the white and the yellow flowered gourd. of the former, generally called calabashes, there are about twenty varieties, but only two of them are sweet and eatable. however, the bitter kinds are remarkably serviceable, for when dried and cleaned their shells are substitutes for dishes, bowls, platters, bottles, tubs, or trays. the largest serve the purposes of barrels for water, cider, and other liquids, as well as baskets for fruit, butter and eggs. they are sometimes very curiously cut and stained, and for certain uses bound or tipped with silver. the yellow flowered, known to us by the name of pumpkin or pompion, and here called _zapallo_, are excellent food, whether cooked with meat as a vegetable, or made into custard with sugar and other ingredients. that the gourd is a native of south america seems to be supported by several striking circumstances. the seeds and shells are found in the graves, or _huacas_; the plant was universally met with among the different tribes of indians at the time of their discovery; almagro states that on his passage down the maranon some of the indians had calabashes to drink with; and lastly, those who bring their produce from the woods of maynas to cusco, quito and other places, always use gourd shells. the pimento, guinea, or cayenne pepper, _capsicum_, is much cultivated and valued by the natives, who season their food with it. although at first very pungent and disagreeable, strangers gradually habituate themselves to, and become fond of it. there are several varieties. i have been thus particular in mentioning these indigenous plants, because from the slender or exaggerated accounts given to the public no perfect idea can be formed of the native productions of this country. european vegetables prosper extremely well in araucania, and abundance of them are to be seen in every garden. in some parts of the araucanian territory there is a great stock of horned cattle, which is well grown, and often tolerably fat. the beef is savoury, owing perhaps to the prevalence of aromatic herbs, more particularly a species of venus' comb, called by the indians _loiqui lahuen_, by the spaniards _alfilerilla_; and trefoil, _gualputa_. there is no scarcity of sheep; but pigs are not much bred, as the indians are averse from eating their flesh: a prejudice which has supplied some fanatical priests with a reason for considering the natives of jewish extraction! turkeys, barn door fowls and ducks thrive extremely well. i never saw any geese here, and though they may be found in other parts, the indians have a dislike to them for food. the tract of country which may be properly called araucania extends from the river bio-bio in ° ´ south latitude, to valdivia in ° ´, the province of conception bounding it on the north, and the _llanos_ or plains of valdivia on the south. the cordillera forms the eastern limit, and the pacific the western. it is divided into four governments, or tetrachates, called _uthal mapus_:-- . _lauguen mapu_, the maritime country; , _lelbun mapu_, the plain country; , _mapire mapu_, the foot of the cordilleras; , _pire mapu_, the andes. each tetrachate is again divided into nine _allaregues_, or provinces, and these are subdivided into nine _regues_, or districts. this division existed prior to the arrival of the spaniards, but the date of its establishment is unknown. it evinces, however, more wisdom than civilized countries are willing to allow to what they term barbarous tribes, who no doubt return this compliment, by adjudging those nations to be barbarous who observe any rules or laws different from their own. such is the common characteristic of civilization and uncivilization! but can that country be called barbarous which, although its code of laws is not written on vellum, or bound in calf, has an established mode of government for the administration of justice and the protection of property? the araucanians have ever been a warlike race, and yet their government is aristocratical. they are prompt to resent an insult, but they possess virtues of a private and public nature, which deny to civilization its exclusive pretensions to patriotism, friendship or hospitality. the four _uthalmapus_ are governed by four _toquis_, or tetrachs, who are independent of each other in the civil administration of their respective territories, but confederated for the general good of the whole country. the apo-ulmenes are subordinate governors of provinces, under the respective toquis; and the ulmenes, the prefects of the counties, or districts, are dependent on the apo-ulmenes. all these dignities are hereditary in the male line, attending to primogeniture, but when there is no lineal male descendant of the person reigning, the vassals enjoy the privilege of electing a new governor from among themselves, and on reporting their choice to the toquis, they immediately order it to be acknowledged. the badge of a toqui is a battle-axe; that of an apo-ulmen a staff, or baton, with a ball of silver on the top, and a ring of the same metal round the middle: the ulmen has the baton without the ring. to the hypothetical historian this aristocracy in the most southern limits of the new, so similar to the military aristocracy of the dukes, the counts, and the marquises in the northern parts of the old world, would prove that the latter was peopled by migrations from the former, at a time beyond the reach of record, or even of oral tradition. the araucanian code of laws is traditionary, (composed of primordial usages, or tacit conventions, formed in such general councils as are yet assembled by the toquis in cases of emergency) and is called _aucacoyog_. molina, ulloa, and other writers are silent upon the curious fact of the possession by this people of the _quipus_, or peruvian mode of knotting coloured threads as a substitute for writing or hieroglyphics. that they do possess this art at the present day, the following narrative will testify. in a revolution took place near valdivia, and on the trial of several of the accomplices, marican,[ ] one of them, declared, "that the signal sent by lepitrarn was a piece of wood, about a quarter of a yard long, and considerably thick; that it had been split, and was found to contain the finger of a spaniard; that it was wrapped round with thread, having a fringe at one end made of red, blue, black, and white worsted; that on the black were tied by lepitrarn, four knots, to intimate that it was the fourth day after the full moon when the bearer left paquipulli; that on the white were ten knots, indicating that ten days after that date the revolution would take place; that on the red was to be tied by the person who received it a knot, if he assisted in the revolt, but if he refused, he was to tie a knot on the blue and red joined together: so that according to the route determined on by lepitrarn he would be able to discover on the return of his _chasqui_, or herald, how many of his friends would join him; and if any dissented, he would know who it was, by the place where the knot uniting the two threads was tied." thus it is very probable, that the toquis of araucania preserve their records by means of the quipus, instead of relying on oral tradition. the principal crimes of this people are murder, adultery, robbery and witchcraft. if a murderer compound the matter with the nearest relations of the deceased, he escapes punishment. such is also the case in robbery and adultery; the composition in robbery being restitution of property stolen; in adultery, maintenance of the woman. witchcraft is always punished with death. in murder, however, retaliation is generally called in to decide; and in most instances the injured relatives collect their friends, enter and despoil the territory or premises of the aggressor. these _malocas_, as they are stiled, are sources of great confusion. when a general council has resolved to make war, one of the toquis is usually appointed by his brethren to take the command in chief; but should the four agree to nominate any other individual in the state, he becomes duly elected, and assumes the toquis' badge, a war axe--the four toquis laying down their insignia and authority during the war. the person thus elected is sole dictator. he appoints his subalterns, and is implicitly obeyed by all ranks. war being determined on, and the toqui chosen, he immediately sends his messengers, _werquenis_, with the signal; and as all araucanians are born soldiers of the state, the army is soon collected at the rendezvous assigned. the arms of the infantry are muskets, which from the spaniards they have learned to use with great dexterity, though bows and arrows, slings, clubs and pikes are their proper weapons. they have also their cavalry, in imitation of their conquerors; and, possessed of a good and ample breed of horses, are very excellent riders. the arms of this branch of their force are swords and lances, their system being to come to close quarters with the enemy as soon as possible. their standards have a fine pointed star in the centre, generally white, in a field of bluish green, which is their favourite colour. military uniforms are not used, but a species of leather dress is worn under their ordinary clothing, to defend the body from arrow, pike and sword wounds. this is doubtless of modern invention, for before the arrival of the spaniards they had no animal of sufficient size to afford hides large or thick enough for such a purpose. the whole of the provisions of an araucanian army consist of the _machica_, or meal of parched grain. each individual provides himself with a small bag full, which diluted with water furnishes him with sustenance until he can quarter on the enemy, an object of the last importance to the leaders. in the camp or resting-place every soldier lights a fire: a practice which during the first wars with the spaniards (so beautifully recorded by ercilla in his araucania) often deceived the enemy as to their numbers. what robertson says in praise of the chileans must be wholly ascribed to the araucanians, in order to avoid the confusion which would be created were we to consider the present inhabitants of chile as the persons spoken of by that author. after a general action or a skirmish the booty taken is equally divided among the individuals who were at the capture. they judiciously consider that rank and honours repay the leaders, and that a larger share of the booty would probably induce them to be more attentive to spoil than to conquest, to personal good than to national welfare: a policy worthy of the imitation of all nations. abbé molina, in his history of chile, speaks of sacrifices after an action; but although i inquired, when at arauco in the year , and more particularly in the province of valdivia in , i never could obtain any account from the natives which gave the least countenance to this assertion. it is possible, however, that during the first wars with the spaniards the barbarous proceedings of the latter to the captured indians gave rise to a retaliation which was confounded with sacrifice. among the religious ceremonies of araucania human sacrifices are decidedly not included. the independent spirit of the araucanians prevents their ever sueing for peace. the first overtures have always been made by the spaniards, who are the only nation with which they have contended; for although the inca yupanqui invaded chile about the year , the northern limit of his acquired territory was, according to garcilaso, the river maule. when the proposals are accepted by the indians, or rather by the commanding toqui, he lays down his insignia, which the four toquis of the uthalmapus resume, and accompanied by the apo-ulmenes and principal officers of the army, they adjourn to some appointed plain, generally between the rivers bio-bio and duqueco. the two contending chiefs, with their respective interpreters, meet, and the araucanian claiming the precedence, speaks first, and is answered by the spaniard. if the terms offered to the indians meet their approbation, the baton of the spanish chief, and the war axe of the toqui are tied together, crowned with a bunch of _canelo_, and placed on the spot where the conference was held. the articles of the treaty are written, but agreed to rather than signed, and they generally state the quantity and quality of the presents which the indians are to receive. the negociation ends in eating, drinking, riot and confusion. raynal, treating of the araucanians, says--"as these araucanians are not embarrassed by making war, they are not apprehensive of its duration, and hold it as a principle never to sue for peace, the first overtures for which are always made by the spaniards." their religion is very simple. they have a supreme being, whom they call _pillian_, and who is at the head of a universal government, which is the prototype of their own. pillian is the great invisible toqui, and has his apo-ulmenes and his ulmenes, to whom he assigns different situations in the government, and entrusts the administration of certain affairs in this world. _meulen_, the genius of good and the friend of mankind, and wencuba that of evil, and the enemy of man, are the two principal subordinate deities. epunamun is their genius of war; but it appears that he is seldom invoked as a protector, being only the object by which they swear to fight, destroy, &c. these three may be considered their apo-ulmenes; and their ulmenes are a race of genii, who assist the good meulen in favour of mortals, and defend their interests against the enormous power of the wicked wencuba. the araucanians have no places of worship, no idols, no religious rites. they believe that as their god and his genii need not the worship of men, they do not require it; that they are not desirous of imposing a tribute or exacting a service, except for the good or interest of their servants; and that they thus resemble the toquis and ulmenes, who can call upon them to fight for their country and their liberties, but for no personal offices. they, nevertheless, invoke the aid of the good meulen, and attribute all their evils to the influence of the wicked wencuba. the spanish government has taken great pains to establish the christian religion among the different tribes of indians in south america, and for the education of missionaries for the conversion of the araucanians a convent of franciscan friars, called de propaganda fide, is established at chillan. these individuals, however, are chiefly natives of spain, and being ordained presbyters can easily obtain a mission; and as pecuniary emoluments are attached to the employment, the order has always endeavoured to preclude americans. there are also minor convents at arauco, los angeles and valdivia. as the missionaries only require the young indians to learn a few prayers, attend mass on particular days, and confess themselves once a year, they make some proselytes; but in the year , when the spanish government was overthrown at valdivia, the indians immediately accused their missionaries of being enemies to the newly-established system, and requested their removal. another proof of dislike to the priests, if not to the religion, is, that they are generally massacred when any revolution takes place among the indians. such was the case in at rio-bueno.[ ] according to the confessions of those who were taken and tried upon that occasion, their plan was to burn all the missions, and murder the missionaries. witchcraft and divination are firmly believed by the araucanians. any accident that occurs to an individual or family is attributed to the agency of the former, and for a due discovery they consult the latter. particular attention is paid to omens, such as the flight of birds, and dreams. these are either favourable or otherwise according to the bird seen, or the direction of its flight, &c. an araucanian who fears not his foe on the field of battle, nor the more dreadful hand of the executioner, will tremble at the sight of an owl. they have also their ghosts and hobgoblins: but is there any nation on earth so far removed from credulity as not to keep the araucanians in countenance in these matters? the belief of a future state and the immortality of the soul is universal among the indians of south america. the araucanians agree with the rest in expecting an eternal residence in a beautiful country, to which all will be transferred. pillian is too good to inflict any punishment after death for crimes committed during life. they believe that the soul will enjoy the same privileges in a separate state which it possessed whilst united to the body. thus the husband will have his wives, but without any spiritual progeny, for the new country must be peopled with the spirits of the dead. like the ancients, they have their ferryman, or rather ferrywoman, to transport them thither. she is called _tempulagy_, being an old woman who takes possession of the soul after the relations have mourned over the corpse, and who conveys it over the seas to the westward, where the land of expectation is supposed to exist. when an indian becomes enamoured of a female, or wishes to marry her, he informs her father of his intention, and if his proposals be accepted, the father at a time agreed upon sends his daughter on a pretended errand. the bridegroom with some of his friends is secreted on the route she has to take: he seizes the girl, and carries her to his house, where not unfrequently her father and his friends have already arrived to partake of the nuptial feast, and receive the stipulated presents, which consist of horses, horned cattle, maize, ponchos, &c. the ceremony is concluded by the whole party drinking to excess. on the death of an individual the relations and friends are summoned to attend, and weep or mourn. the deceased is laid on a table, and dressed in the best apparel he possessed when alive. the females walk round the body, chaunting in a doleful strain a recapitulation of the events of the life of the person whose death they lament; whilst the men employ themselves in drinking. on the second or third day the corpse is carried to the family burying place, which is at some distance from the house, and generally on an eminence. it is laid in a grave prepared for the purpose. if the deceased be a man, he is buried with his arms, and sometimes a horse, killed for the occasion: if a woman, she is interred with a quantity of household utensils. in both cases a portion of food is placed in the grave to support them and the _tempulagy_, or ferrywoman, on their journey to the other country. earth is thrown on the body, and afterwards stones are piled over it in a pyramidal form. a quantity of cider or other fermented liquor is poured upon the tomb; when, these solemn rites being terminated, the company return to the house of the deceased to feast and drink. black is here as in europe the colour used for mourning. the indians never believe that death is owing to natural causes, but that it is the effect of sorcery and witchcraft. thus on the death of an individual, one or more diviners are consulted, who generally name the enchanter, and are so implicitly believed, that the unfortunate object of their caprice or malice is certain to fall a sacrifice. the number of victims is far from being inconsiderable. in my description of araucania i have in some measure followed molina's ingenious work; but i have not ventured to state any thing which i did not see myself, or learn from the indians, or persons residing among them. the spaniards founded seven cities in araucania. the imperial, built in by don pedro valdivia, generally called the conqueror of chile, is situated at the confluence of the two rivers cantin and las damas, miles from the sea, in an extremely rich and beautiful country, enjoying the best soil and climate in araucania. in pius iv. made it a bishop's see, which was removed to conception in . in it was taken and destroyed by the indians, and has never been rebuilt. the site at present belongs to the _lauguen mapu_, or tetrachate of the coast. villarica was also founded by valdivia in , on the shore of the great lake sauquen, miles from the sea. it was destroyed by the toqui palliamachu, and its site forms part of the tetrachate of the _mapire mapu_. report speaks of rich gold mines in the environs of the ground where villarica stood and from which it took its name. the climate is cold, owing to the vicinity of the cordillera. valdivia bears the name of its founder. of this city i shall have occasion hereafter to give a circumstantial account. angol, or la frontera, was established by pedro valdivia in the year . it was razed by the indians in , and has since remained in ruins. it is now in reality the frontier, though valdivia little surmised that it would be so when he founded it. the river bio-bio bounded it on the south side, and a small rapid stream on the north. the soil and climate are excellent, and the situation was well chosen for a city. cañete was founded in by don garcia hurtado de mendosa, and destroyed during the first long-contested war with the araucanians, by the toqui antiguenu. it was built on the site where valdivia was defeated and slain, and now forms part of the _lelbum mapu_ tetrachate. osorno is the most southern city in south america, being in ° ´, at the distance of miles from the sea, and south of conception. it was founded in by don garcia hurtado de mendosa, and destroyed by the indians in . it was again founded on the old site, on the banks of rio-bueno, by don ambrose higgins, who was afterwards president and captain general of chile, and promoted to the vice-royalty of peru. charles iv. conferred on higgins the title of marquis of osorno, as a reward for his services in araucania. the first supreme director of the chilean republic, don bernardo o'higgins, was the natural son of don ambrose. conception is the seventh city founded by the spaniards, but as it is not included in the araucanian territory i shall defer any description of it for the present. cesares is a place about which much has been said and written. i have in my possession original mss. relating to it, a translation of which will be published. in all the treaties between the spaniards and the indians one of the principal articles has been, that the latter were to oppose with force of arms the establishment of any foreign colony in their territory. this stipulation they obeyed in , at the island of mocha, where they murdered the remains of a crew of dutchmen, who went to take possession of that island after their ship had been wrecked by bad weather; and also when the dutch admiral henry brun attempted in to form a settlement at valdivia, and met with the same fate: a fate, however, which might have been occasioned by the natural hatred entertained at that period by the natives against all foreigners who attempted to obtain possession of any part of their country. this jealousy and hatred of europeans has always been promoted by the spaniards, whom the indians stile _chiape_, vile soldier; but all other foreigners they call _moro winca_: winca signifying an assassin, and moro a moor. these epithets proceed from the same source; for the spaniards are in the habit of calling all who are not of their own religion either jews or moors, thus wishing to impress upon the minds of the indians that all foreigners are worse than themselves! notwithstanding the late wars, caused by the revolution of the colonies, have tended very materially to civilize the araucanians, the greater part of them joined the spaniards against the creoles, or patriot forces; but the ejection of the last remains of the spanish soldiers from araucania in has induced the indians to despise them for what they call their cowardice. the new government of chile have not availed themselves of this favourable opportunity to conciliate the indians, by soliciting their friendship, or, after the manner of the spaniards, acquiring it at the price of presents. thus the araucanians, having become accustomed to some species of luxuries, find themselves deprived of them by the fall of the spanish system in chile, and the nonconformity of the new institutions to the old practices; and thus a chasm has been formed that might be filled by a colony from some other nation, which by attention and courtesy to the indians might conciliate their good will and obtain from them whatever was solicited. kindness makes an indelible impression upon the minds of most uncivilized people, while ill-treatment exasperates and drives them to revengeful extremities. the existence of gold mines in araucania is undoubted, although they are not regularly wrought. i have seen fine specimens of ore, some of which were procured from the indians, and others found by accident in the ravines. the soil and climate are very good, and in some parts both are excellent for grain, pasturage and european fruits. in trade little could be done at present; but should the indians become acquainted with the use of those commodities which produce real comforts to society, i have no doubt that white and greenish blue flannels, salt, sugar, tobacco, bridle-bits, knives, axes, hatchets, nails, buttons, glass beads and other trinkets would be exchanged for hides, ponchos, and some gold. the ponchos, particularly those of good quality called _balandranes_, would find a ready market in peru or chile. this interesting part of south america is less known than any other accessible portion. others are less known, but they are interior countries, lying between the range of the andes and buenos ayres, paraguay, brazils and colombia--immense tracts of the earth kept in reserve for the speculations of coming ages! but araucania, from its locality, climate, and productions, appears destined to become one of the first and fairest portions of the new world; and should the eyes of philanthropical speculators be directed to its shores, their capitals would be more secure in the formation of new establishments than in loans to many of the old. footnotes: [ ] original manuscript, in the possession of the author, found among the archives at valdivia. [ ] original ms. from the archives at valdivia. chapter iv. valdivia....port....fortifications....river....city-foundation ....revolutions....inhabitants....garrison....government....rents and resources....churches....exiles....missions in the province of valdivi....war with the indians and possession of osorno....extract from a letter in the araucanian tongue, and translation. the following account of the city and province of valdivia is partly extracted from mss. in my possession, found in the archives of that city. valdivia, situated in ° ´ south latitude, and in longitude ° ´, is one of the best ports on the western shores of south america: it is also the strongest, both from its natural position and its fortifications. the mouth of the harbour is narrow, and the san carlos battery on the small promontory on the south, with that of niebla on the north side, commands the entrance, their balls crossing the passage. there are likewise on the south side the batteries amargos, the high and low chorocamayo, and at the bottom of the bay the castle corral, commanding the anchorage. in the small island of mansera is a battery for the protection of the mouth of the river leading to the city, besides an advanced post on the south side at aguada del ingles, and two, la avansada and el piojo, on the north. at the taking of valdivia by lord cochrane in , one hundred and eighteen pieces of cannon, of eighteen and twenty-four pounds calibre, were found mounted. some of them were beautiful brass pieces, particularly two eighteens at mansera, which measured eleven feet in length, were handsomely carved and embossed, and bore the date of . his lordship sent them to valparaiso, where i had the mortification to see them broken up and converted into grape shot, by the orders of governor crus; who thus deprived chile of a noble monument of her naval glory, and chilean posterity of the pleasure of viewing, as their property, part of those engines brought from the old, for the purpose of enslaving the new world! the anchorage is good, being most completely sheltered, and capable of holding a great number of ships. on the north side of the harbour is the river, which leads to the city. its banks are covered with trees, suitable for ship-building and many other purposes. among them are the white and red cedar, _alerces_; the _pellinos_, a species of oak, and the _luma_. the river abounds with fish, particularly the _pege rey_, the _lisa_, and the _bagre_. at its mouth are caught _robalo_, _corbina_, _choros_, _xaiba_ and _apancoras_. the city of valdivia stands on the south side of the river, and is sixteen miles from the port. on the left, ascending the river, are some few remains of the dutch settlements. the natives call them _hornos de los olandeses_; supposing that henry brun's vessels anchored here, and that these ruins are the wrecks of the ovens built by the dutch for the purpose of baking their bread. the tradition is quite incredible, for vessels cannot enter the river, there not being above four feet water in some places, and the channel being so extremely narrow, that a launch cannot pass. indeed at low water the large canoes of the inhabitants have to wait for the tide. the city was built in , and bears the name of its founder. the indians took it from the spaniards in , and destroyed it in , when the inhabitants fled to the port, from whence some of them passed to chile. in the marquis of mansera, viceroy of peru, sent the colonel don alonzo de villanueva as governor, with orders to capture the city, which he effected by a singular ruse de guerre. landing to the southward of valdivia, he introduced himself alone among the indians, with whom he remained two years, and having gained the confidence and esteem of some of the caciques, he solicited them to appoint him their governor in valdivia; assuring them that such an election would produce a reconciliation with the spaniards, and insure the annual presents. this request was acceded to; and in the city was rebuilt and repeopled. some of the inhabitants are descendants of noble european families, but the greater part are those of officers and soldiers who have been sent at different times to garrison the place; some are indians, and a few slaves. the population amounted to in , and in to : a decrease attributable to the emigration to osorno, and to many being employed in the armies of the contending parties. this census does not include the garrison, which in consisted of individuals, and in , when taken by lord cochrane, of , besides a remainder of of the royal army. under the spanish regime the government was administered by a military officer, dependent on the president and captain-general of chile; but in the inhabitants declared themselves independent of all spanish authority. they however restored the old government in the year following, and submitted to it until , when valdivia was incorporated with the republic of chile. for the support of valdivia a _situado_ was annually sent from the royal treasuries of lima and santiago. in the year this remittance amounted to , dollars, and according to the original statement was distributed as follows:-- staff expenses ecclesiastical state military expenses workmen presents to caciques ------ ------ supernumeraries building and repairs of } fortifications, hospital, &c.} provisions for exiles, &c. ------ total ====== in the _situado_ was dollars, and in it was only . whilst the spaniards held valdivia the resources of its government were very limited. being a close port all foreign commerce was prohibited, and the few taxes collected in the whole province, including the diesmo, never exceeded dollars. in the city there is a parish church, another belonging to the franciscan convent of missionaries, formerly of the jesuits, and a chapel appertaining to the hospital of san juan de dios. the ecclesiastical department was dependent on the see of conception, but the conventual was a branch of the establishment at chillan, subject to the provincialate of santiago de chile. valdivia was a place of exile, _presidio_, to which convicts were sent from peru and chile. their number was but small, and they were employed in the public works. the province of valdivia extends from the river tolten in ° to the bueno in ° ´ south, and from the andes to the pacific, being about leagues long and wide. the three principal rivers in this province are tolten, bueno and valdivia. their origin is in three separate lakes of the cordillera, from whence they run in a westerly direction, receiving in their progress several smaller streams and emptying themselves into the sea. valdivia river enters the harbour of the same name, which is the only one in the province. this river, after uniting its waters to those of san josef, cayumapu, ayenaguem, putabla, quaqua and angachi, besides a great number of rivulets and estuaries, becomes navigable for canoes of quintals or tons burthen. between the fort cruces and valdivia several small but beautiful islands are found: the principal are realexo, del almuerso, balensuela, el islote, de mota, san francisco, de ramon, de don jaime and del rey, which is the largest, being about seven leagues in circumference. there are besides a great number of smaller ones. in all the streams and ravines in the neighbourhood of the city and port are to be seen the vestiges of gold washings, _labaderos_, which are at present totally neglected. after heavy rains grains of gold as large as peas are often found, but there are no accounts in the treasury of the working of any mines since the year , when the first revolution of the indians took place, and the city fell into their hands. at valdivia i saw two chalices made of the gold thus accidentally collected. "tolten el bajo is the northernmost mission. situated between the rivers tolten and chaqui, it extends about four miles along the sea coast, and is one of the largest missions, _reducciones_, in the province, containing about indians. the tolten rises in the lake villarica. it has no port, but is navigable with canoes; being too deep to be fordable, it has a bridge, which gives the indians the command of the road between valdivia and conception. horned cattle and sheep are not scarce here; and maize, peas, beans, potatoes, barley, and a small quantity of wheat are cultivated; but in general the soil is not very fertile. though the indians are more submissive than those of some other missions, they are equally prone to the common vices of drunkenness and indolence. their commerce consists in bartering coarse ponchos for indigo, glass beads, and other trifles. at the annual visit of the _comisario_ a kind of market is held for such traffic: at this visit the indians renew the _parlamento_, or promise of fidelity to the king of spain. the comisario assures them, in a set speech, of the spiritual and temporal advantages which they will derive from remaining faithful to their king; and the cacique, having in a formal harangue acknowledged his conviction of the truth of this assurance, the indians, being on horseback, make a skirmish with their lances and wooden swords, _macanas_, and, riding up to the comisario, alight, and point their arms to the ground, in sign of peace, which is all they ever promise. they worship pillian, and their ceremonies are the same as those of the rest of the araucanian nation: for although they call themselves christians, their religion is reduced to the ceremony of attending at mass, &c. "querli extends from purulacu to the river meguin, being about miles, and containing indians. their commerce is an exchange of coarse ponchos, sheep and hogs, for indigo, beads, &c. "chanchan, which extends about miles, contains indians, produces maize, peas, beans, barley, and a little wheat. owing to the vicinity of the fort de cruces the indians are more docile and domesticated. "mariquina is about miles in circumference, and contains indians. the soil is good, and there is an abundance of apples, some pears and cherries. "chergue is miles long and broad. it contains indians. its produce and commerce are similar to those of the places above mentioned. "huanigue is situated near the cordillera, on the banks of lake ranigue, the source of the river valdivia. this lake is about miles in circumference, and is rich in fish, particularly _pege_, _reyes_, and a species of trout. in the indians of this mission revolted, and they have never been sufficiently reconciled to admit of a missionary to offer peace or fealty. the indians of huanigue wear nothing on their heads: for shirts they substitute a species of scapulary, made of raw bullock's hide, covering it with the poncho. they are expert fishers, and pay little attention to the cultivation of the soil, which is very fertile. "villarica. the ruins of this city are yet visible, particularly those of the walls of orchards and of a church. the town stood on the side of a lake, bearing the same name, about miles in circumference, and abounding with fish. the soil is very fertile, and the indians raise maize, potatoes, _quinua_, peas, beans, barley and wheat. apple, pear, peach and cherry-trees are seen growing where they were planted by the spaniards before the destruction of the city. the indians neither admit missionaries nor comisario. they have all kinds of cattle and poultry, which they exchange with other tribes for ponchos, flannels, &c. being very averse to trade with the spaniards. "ketate and chadqui, containing about indians, are at the distance of leagues from valdivia. there is plenty of fruit, vegetables and cattle; the soil is good, and the inhabitants docile; subject to missionaries and comisario. "dongele, or tolten alto, is on the banks of a rapid river of the same name. it is distant from valdivia miles, and possesses a rich soil, productive of maize, peas and other pulse, fruit and cattle: there are indians of manageable habits. "calle-calle and chinchilca, miles from valdivia, contain some small fertile vallies. the maize grown here is very large; indeed all the vegetable productions are good, and the meat from their cattle is fat and well-tasted. they have peaceable indians, who receive missionaries and comisario. "llanos is the most fruitful part of the province of valdivia. it is about miles long, from tunco to the lake rames, and on an average broad. it produces wheat of an excellent quality, barley, all kinds of pulse, and fruit. the beef and mutton are very fat and savoury. the number of indians residing in the llanos is . they are docile, and not so drunken and indolent as other tribes. from a place called tenguelen to another, guequenua, there are many vestiges of gold mines, _labaderos_, where at some remote period a great number of persons must have been employed in mining, which is at present entirely neglected."[ ] as any authentic accounts of this almost unknown but highly interesting country cannot fail to be acceptable, i shall here introduce some extracts from the journal kept by don tomas de figueroa y caravaca, during the revolution of the indians in the year , figueroa being the person who commanded the spanish forces sent against the indians by the government of valdivia. "october d i left valdivia with an armed force of men, and the necessary ammunition and stores. we ascended the river pichitengelen, and the following morning landed at an appointed place, where horses and mules were in readiness to convey us to dagllipulli; but the number of horses and mules not being sufficient, i left part of our baggage and provisions behind, under guard, and proceeded with the rest to tegue, about six leagues distant, where we arrived in the afternoon, and owing to the badness of the road did not reach dagllipulli before the th. i encamped; and being informed in the afternoon, that some of the rebels were in the neighbourhood, with a party of picked soldiers and horse i scoured the woods, and burned twelve indians' houses, filled with grain and pulse. after securing what i considered useful for ourselves, i followed the indians in the road they had apparently taken towards rio-bueno, but on my arrival i learnt that they had crossed the river in their canoes. i therefore immediately returned to dagllipulli. on the th the caciques calfunguir, auchanguir, manquepan, and pailapan came to our camp, and offered to assist me against the rebels cayumil, qudpal, tangol, trumau, and all those on the other side of rio-bueno.-- th. an indian who had been taken declared to me that the cacique manquepan was acting a double part, he having seen him go to the enemy at night with his _mosotones_.-- th. burnt twenty-four houses belonging to the indians, and seized thirty-two bullocks.-- th. i told the cacique calfunguir that i doubted the fidelity of manquepan, and that he had been playing the _chueca_ (a game already described); at night an indian came to my tent and told me that calfunguir had joined manquepan; that both had gone to the rebels, taking with them their mosotones, and that they would probably return immediately, in the hopes of surprising me. however this did not occur; and on the following morning i advanced with part of my force to rio-bueno, but did not arrive until the two caciques had taken to a small island in the river, leaving in my possession a number of horses and cattle. whilst stationed here two indian women were observed to ride full speed towards the river, apparently determined to pass over to the enemy, but some of the friendly indians took one of them, and brought her to me, having killed the other. i questioned her as to her motives for joining the rebels, but received no answer; when the indians observing her obstinacy, put her and a small child which she had in her arms to death. i retired to my camp, taking with me the cattle, &c. left by the enemy on the bank, of rio-bueno.-- st. the traitor manquepan came again to our camp, and having consulted the whole of the friendly caciques as to the punishment which he and his comrades deserved, it was unanimously determined, that he and all those who had come with him as spies should be put to death. i immediately ordered my soldiers to secure them, and having convinced them that i well knew their infamous intentions and conduct, i ordered that manquepan, and the eighteen mosotones who had come with him into our camp as spies, should be shot. this sentence was put in execution in the afternoon of the same day.-- th. we finished a stackade, and mounted four pedereroes at the angles, as a place of security in the event of any unexpected assault. i sent to valdivia forty women and children, captured at different times in the woods.--nov. st. three large canoes were brought to our camp, having ordered them to be made, for the purpose of crossing rio-bueno, should the rebels persist in remaining on the opposite banks, or on the islands in the river.-- th. after mass had been celebrated at three a. m. and my soldiers exhorted to do their duty in defence of their holy religion, their king and country, we marched down to the river side, and launched our three canoes, for the purpose of crossing over to one of those islands where the greater number of the rebels appeared to have been collected. i embarked with part of the troops, and arrived on the island without suffering any loss from the stones, lances and shot of the enemy. "having landed, i observed a party of about a hundred indians on mount copigue, apparently determined to attack the division i had left behind, which being observed, the division advanced and routed the rebels.--during the night the indians abandoned their entrenchments on the island, and we took possession of them.--on the th, in the morning, i immediately landed part of my force on the opposite shore and pursued the rebels. at eleven a. m. i came up with part of them, commanded by the cacique cayumil, who was killed in the skirmish. i ordered his head to be cut off and buried, being determined to take it on my return to valdivia. we continued to pursue the enemy, and in the course of the day killed twelve indians, one of whom was the wife of the rebel cacique quapul. as it was almost impossible for me to follow the enemy any further, our horses being tired, and it being insecure to remain here, we returned to our camp on the th, taking with us head of horned cattle, sheep and horses, which had been abandoned by the fugitives. a female indian was found in the woods, on our return, with a murdered infant in her arms; she declared that her child was crying, and that being fearful of falling into our hands she had destroyed it.-- st. we marched to the banks of the ravé, where i had a _parlamento_ with the caciques catagnala and ignil, who, as a proof of their fidelity, offered to surrender the city and territory of osorno.-- nd. the caciques caril and pallamilla, with ignil and cataguala and all their mosotones, joined us, and we marched towards the ruined city of osorno, and having arrived at the square or _plasa_, i directed the spanish flag to be placed in the centre, and in the presence of all the indians i asked the caciques if they made cession of this city and its territories to his majesty the king: to which they answered they did. i immediately ordered the erection of an altar, and having placed the troops and indians in front, high mass was chaunted by the chaplain; after which i took the spanish flag in my hand, and placing myself between the altar and the troops, called attention, attention, attention, and proclaimed three times osorno, for our lord the king charles the fourth and his successors: to which the priest replied, amen, and the troops and indians gave repeated _vivas_. a discharge of our pedereroes and small arms then took place, and the caciques came forward, and pointing their arms to the ground in token of peace and fidelity, kissed the flag. the remainder of the day was spent in feasting and rejoicing." the above extract affords a fair specimen of the mode of warfare pursued by the spaniards and indians. the following is from a letter written in the araucanian tongue, as it is pronounced:-- "ey appo tagni rey valdivia carapee wilmen lonco gneguly mappu ranco fringen. carah nichfringen, fenten tepanlew pepe le pally cerares fringuey caky mappuch hyly eluar rupo gne suniguam caaket pu winca; engu frula dios, gnegi toki el meu marry marry piami jesu cristo gne gi mew piami." translation. "the king's governor of valdivia, to any person who may be at the head of the people or congress of the spaniards supposed to be living at lonco:--assured that some of my dear countrymen are residing in the fear of god among the infidels of the country, i send you health in our lord jesus christ, who is the true health." footnote: [ ] where the number of indians has been given it is to be understood as referring to such as are capable of managing a horse and lance and going to war. of these the province of valdivia contains about , and the total indian population is estimated at souls. chapter v. city of conception de mocha....foundation....situation.... government....tribunals....bishop....military....churches....houses ....inhabitants and dress....provincial jurisdiction....produce ....throwing the _laso_....fruit....timber trees....shrubs....mines ....birds....wild animals....lion hunt....shepherd dogs....breeding capons....return to conception. i left arauco at seven a. m. with two soldiers as guides and guards, for the news having arrived of a declaration of war between england and spain, i was now considered a prisoner. we crossed the carampangy, and about noon reached the small village colcura. its situation is very romantic, being a high promontory, which commands an extensive prospect of the country and the sea, with a distant view of the island santa maria. we dined at the house of the _cura_, who treated me with the greatest attention. we afterwards rode about twelve miles to a large farm house, and became the guests of the family for the night, enjoying the good things provided by the hospitality of these kind people, who welcomed us as though we had conferred rather than received a favour by calling at their dwelling. the following morning, after taking _mate_, we proceeded to san pedro, on the banks of the bio-bio. this is one of the forts built by the spaniards on the frontiers of araucania. it was taken and destroyed by the indians in , but rebuilt by the spaniards in . it is garrisoned by a detachment of troops from conception. during the late troubles in chile it was alternately in the possession of the spanish and patriot forces; but from the year the latter have kept it in possession. commanding the river where it is most fordable, this fort served as a protection to conception against the combined fury of the spaniards and indians. in the afternoon we crossed the bio-bio, and arrived at conception. the river bio-bio, which is two miles in breadth at san pedro, rises in the cordillera, and enters the sea about five miles to the south of talcahuano, the port of conception, having two mountains at the mouth called _las tetas de bio-bio_, paps of bio-bio. it is navigable by canoes and flats to a considerable distance from the mouth. the finest timber grows on its banks, which the wars of conquest and emancipation have repeatedly deluged with blood! the city of conception de mocha, or penco, the original name of the country where it stands, was founded in the year by don pedro de valdivia; sacked and burnt by the toqui lautaro in , and again destroyed in . the indians were repulsed by don garcia hurtado de mendoza, and it was rebuilt; but a dreadful earthquake ruined it in , when the sea was driven up to the city and inundated the surrounding country. conception is built on a sandy uneven soil, six miles east of talcahuana, its sea-port, and about one mile north of the bio-bio a small river called the andalien runs through the city, supplying a beautiful fountain in the principal square. according to ulloa its latitude is ° ´ ´´ south, and its longitude ° ´. in the government of this city was in the hands of a governor, nominated by the king, and a _cabildo_, corporation, at the head of which were two alcaldes ordinarios or mayors. the cabildo is formed of eight regidors and four other officers, who are called, de officio, alferes real, royal ensign; alcalde de provincia, provincial alcalde; alguasil mayor, city sheriff; and fiel executor, examiner of weights and measures. each member has an elective vote and a sindico procurador, who has consulting powers.[ ] the alcaldes are annually elected by the regidors (without any interference whatever of the governor) out of the resident citizens, with the exception of ecclesiastics, soldiers, and debtors to the crown. if one of the alcaldes die or be absent, the eldest regidor exercises his functions. a demand of justice may be made to the alcalde, but there is an appeal to the audience at santiago, the capital of chile. this court was first established at conception in , but removed to santiago in . for the military department an intendente, _maestre de campo_, and quarter master are provided. here is also a chamber of finances, with an accountant and treasurer. conception is the see of a bishop, that of imperial, as before stated, having been transferred to this city in . it is a suffragan of lima, and its chapter consists of a dean, archdeacon, and four prebendaries. besides the armed militia of the place and province, a regular military force has always been kept up ready to repel any attempt of the araucanians on conception, the frontier towns or forts. since an army has been stationed here under the command of general freire, upon whom the indians have on one occasion made an attack. they were led by benavides, and passed to talcahuano, where they committed several murders. a new cathedral has been begun, but owing to the convulsed state of the country the work is suspended, and will probably never be resumed. the building is of brick and stone, and possesses some merit. the timber which had been collected for this edifice was applied to other purposes by the spanish general sanches. there are four conventual churches--the franciscan, dominican, agustinian, mercedarian; one nunnery with the avocation of our lady of conception, and the hospital of san juan de dios. the convents are attached to their respective provincialates of santiago. when general sanches retired from conception in , he ordered several of the best houses in the city to be burnt, opened the nunnery, and took the nuns with him, but abandoned them at tucapel, where these victims of a barbarous chief yet remain among the indians, having been persuaded by sanches and some spanish priests, that to return to their home would be treason to their king, the lord's anointed, and subject them to all the miseries temporal and eternal of an excommunication _de ipso facto incurrenda_. the houses are commonly one story high, but some are two, built of _tapia_, mud walls; or _adoves_, large sun-dried bricks, and all of them are tiled. the largest have a court-yard in front, with an entrance through arched porches, and heavy folding doors, having a postern on one side. two small rooms usually complete the front view. the windows have iron gratings, with many parts of them gilt, and inside shutters, but no glass. this article has been too dear, and it is consequently only used in the windows of the principal dwelling apartments of the richer classes. on each side of the court, or _patio_, there are rooms for domestics, the younger branches of the family, and other purposes. in front of the entrance are the principal ones, generally three; a species of large hall, furnished with antique chairs, with leather backs and seats, and one or more clumsy couches to correspond in shape and hardness, a large table made of oak or some similar wood, and very often a few old full-length portraits of persons belonging to the family, hanging in gilt frames. the beams of the roof, which are visible, are not unfrequently ornamented with a profusion of carved work. two folding doors open into the parlour: the side next the front patio is raised about twelve inches above the floor, which is carpetted, and furnished with a row of low stools, covered with crimson velvet, with cushions to match at their feet, and a small table about eighteen inches high, as a work table, or for the convenience of making mate. this portion of the parlour is allotted to the ladies, who sit upon it cross-legged: a custom no doubt derived from the moors. if a gentleman be on familiar terms with the family, he will take a seat on one of the stools on the _estrado_, or cross his legs and sit among the ladies; more especially if he can play on the guitar, or sing, which are the favourite accomplishments. other male visitors, after bowing to the ladies, seat themselves on the opposite side, where chairs are placed to match the stools and cushions. facing the entrance to the parlour is the principal dormitory, with an alcove at the end of the estrado, where a state bed is displayed, ornamented with a profusion of gilt work, and fitted up with velvet, damask, or brocade curtains, and gold or silver lace and fringe. the sheets and pillow cases are of the finest linen, and trimmed with deep lace. not unfrequently one or more silver utensils peep from underneath. it appears as if the whole attention of the females were devoted to this useless pageant, which is only used on the occasion of a birth, when the lady receives the first visits of congratulation. behind this part of the building there is another court, or patio, where the kitchen and other appropriate apartments are situated, and behind the whole is the garden. thus it is not uncommon for a house to occupy fifty yards in front and eighty yards in depth, including the garden. the patios have corridors round them, the roofs of which are supported by wooden pillars. the dwellings of the lower classes are on the same plan, except that they have no courts or patios, the fronts being open to the street; but they have usually a garden at the back, where the kitchen is built separately from the house, as a precaution against fire. in the principal square stand the cathedral and bishop's palace on one side; the barracks with a corridor on another; the governor's palace and its offices on the third, and some of the larger houses on the fourth. the extent of the square is about one hundred yards on each side. the streets cross each other at right angles. the generality of the cities and large towns in south america are built according to this arrangement. among the inhabitants are to be found some families of ancient nobility. the present duke de san carlos, a grandee of the first class, and late spanish ambassador in england, is of the family of the caravajales, and a native of conception. the dress of the men is similar to the european, but either a long spanish cloak or a poncho is worn over it, the latter being generally preferred, particularly for riding--an exercise of which both the ladies and gentlemen are very fond, and in which they excel. the women wear a bodice fancifully ornamented, and over a large round hoop, a plaited petticoat of coloured flannel, black velvet or brocade. in the house they have no head dress, but in the streets, if going to church, the head is covered with a piece of brown flannel, about a yard broad, and two long; if on pleasure or a visit, a black hat similar to the men's is worn, under which a muslin shawl is thrown over the head. many of the young women prefer the _basquiña y manton_, a black silk or stuff petticoat without a hoop, and a black silk or lace veil; but others like the hoop, as it shews their slender waists to advantage. the hair is braided, or platted, hanging in loose tresses down their backs. the ladies are so fond of jewellery that necklaces, ear-rings, bracelets and finger-rings are never dispensed with; and some of the principal wear diamonds and other precious stones of great value. the rosary, too, is a necessary part of the dress of both old and young. during the summer, and in fine weather, the evening is dedicated to a promenade, generally on the banks of the bio-bio, and afterwards to friendly visits. the luxury of harmony and friendship is enjoyed in all its extent. the guitar, the song, the dance and refreshments are to be found in every street. conviviality takes the reins, whilst affection and esteem curb the grosser passions. the climate is similar to that of the southern provinces of france. the winter season is rainy, but not cold; and the heat of the summer sun is moderated by the winds from the south, which are cooled by travelling over the pacific; or by those from the east, which are refreshed by passing over the snowy tops of the cordillera. the jurisdiction of conception extends from the river maule in ° ´ to cape lavapies in ° ´. in it are the _correginientos_ or prefectures of puchacay and rere. its principal towns and villages are gualqui, san juan, quilpolemu, luanco, villavicencio, comicó, and chillan, which was ruined by the araucanians in , and has not since been a place of much note. the inhabitants of this province consist of a few spaniards, some white creoles, mestizos, a few slaves of different colours, and fewer indians, the aboriginal tribe of promaucians being now extinct. the whites or creoles are a very fine race. the men are well formed, and have regular features and good complexions. the women are generally handsome and remarkably polite. the mestizos can scarcely be distinguished from the whites, and it is perhaps their situation in life, not the uncontroulable accident of birth which constitutes the difference. the greatest blessing to a stranger, hospitality, is the constant inmate, or rather ruler of every house, cottage or cabin; and, contrary to the rites of other hospitable people, who limit this virtue to a stated period, the longer a stranger remains the more kindly is he treated. those who come to visit are often tempted to establish a residence, and may positively call themselves strangers at home. nature has been extremely bountiful to this country. its equable and mild climate, and its rich soil produce every fruit, pulse and vegetable known in europe, if we except some exotics, which have been reared in the more southern latitudes: oranges, lemons, sugar-cane, bananas and sweet potatoes do not thrive here, owing perhaps more to the cold rains in the winter than to any other cause. horned cattle, and horses, of an excellent quality, are in great plenty. the vineyards are numerous and fertile. those near the river maule yield a grape of a very superior taste, from which a large supply of wine is produced for home consumption and for the lima market, where any quantity is acceptable and finds a ready sale. for want of proper vessels, however, a large portion is lost, and the quality of the whole much injured. light wines might be made equal to the best french, and generous ones equal to sherry and madeira. a sort of wine called muscadel far exceeds that of the same name in spain, and is quite as good as frontignac. the simple utensils used are made of baked clay, in which the juice is fermented and the wines preserved, having only a wooden cover. notwithstanding such disadvantages, some of the wines are of remarkably good strength and flavour. their brandy, from a want of proper vessels, is also greatly deteriorated. the vines mostly grow on espaliers, and are not detached stems as in the generality of the european vineyards. excellent wheat is produced in great abundance, the crops yielding from eighty to one hundred fold. very large quantities are annually sent to lima, guayaquil, panama, and chiloe. the average price at conception is ten reals for pounds weight, about five shillings and sixpence; and at lima thirty reals, or sixteen shillings and sixpence. it may be considered the great staple commodity of the country.--barley, maize, _garbansos_, beans, _quinua_, and lentils are also cultivated for exportation, and yield heavy crops. potatoes, radishes and other esculents, as well as all kinds of culinary vegetables and useful herbs are raised in the gardens. the _zapallo_ is very much and justly esteemed, being, when green, equal to asparagus, and when ripe, similar to a good potatoe. it will keep in a dry place for six months. tobacco was formerly grown near the river maule, but the royal monopoly put an end to its cultivation, which on the emancipation of the country will probably again be attended to. the greater portion of these rich lands is appropriated to the breeding and fattening of horned cattle, goats and sheep, and the necessary attendance upon them forms the chief occupation of the lower classes. the generality of the cows are never milked, but are left to rear their calves in the plains. when the latter are a year old they are separated, branded, and put on another part of the farm, for enclosed fields or pastures are a refinement with which the graziers of south america are unacquainted. indeed the farms themselves are divided by such landmarks as a hill, a mountain, a river, the sea, &c. the price of land being low, disagreements respecting boundaries are very rare. land in the interior, of such quality as to produce every sort of grain, or to feed all kinds of cattle, is often sold for a dollar, or even much less, the _quadra_, one hundred square yards, being more than two acres. when the horned cattle are sufficiently fat, or rather at the killing season, which is about the months of february and march, from five hundred to a thousand, according to the size of the farm, are slaughtered. the whole of the fat is separated from the meat and melted, forming a kind of lard called _grasa_, which is employed in domestic purposes. the tallow is also kept separate, and the meat is jerked. this process is performed by cutting the fleshy substance into slices of about a quarter of an inch thick, leaving out all the bones. the natives are so dexterous at this work that they will cut the whole of a leg, or any other large part of a bullock into one uniformly thin piece. the meat thus cut is either dipped into a very strong solution of salt and water, or rubbed over with a small quantity of fine salt. whichever mode of curing is adopted, the whole of the jerked meat is put on the hide and rolled up for ten or twelve hours, or until the following morning. it is then hung on lines or poles, to dry in the sun, which being accomplished, it is made into bundles, lashed with thongs of fresh hide, forming a kind of network, and is ready for market. in this operation it loses about one third of its original weight. the dried meat, _charqui_, finds immediate sale at lima, arica, guayaquil, panama and other places. besides the large quantity consumed in chile, it furnishes a great part of the food of the lower classes, the slaves, and particularly the seamen, being the general substitute for salt beef and pork. the _grasa_ and tallow are also readily sold at the places above mentioned, and are of more value than the meat. the hides are generally consumed in making bags for grain, pulse, &c., thongs for the various purposes to which rope is applied in europe, or leather of a very good quality. the slaughtering season is as much a time of diversion for the inhabitants of this country as a sheep-shearing is in england. for two or three days the peasants, _huasos_, are busy collecting the cattle from the woods and mountains, and driving them into an enclosure made for the purpose. the fat and lean cattle being mixed together, the latter are separated from the former, and driven out; after which one fixed upon for slaughter is allowed to pass the gate, where a peasant stands armed with a sharp instrument in the shape of a crescent, having the points about a foot apart, and as the beast passes he first cuts the hamstring of one leg, and then of the other. should he miss his aim, a bystander follows the animal at full gallop, and throws the laso over its horns, by which it is caught and detained till another comes up, and either hamstrings or casts a second laso round its hind legs, when the two men, riding in different directions, throw the beast down, and immediately kill it. one of them now takes off the skin, collects into it the tallow and fat, which with the meat he carries to a shed, when the process of jerking, salting, &c. as already described, is immediately begun. the females in the mean time are all busy cutting up the fat, frying it for grasa, and selecting some of the finer meat for presents and home consumption. the tongues are the only part of the head that is eaten, the remainder being left to rot. in the above manner great numbers of cattle are annually killed, their bones being left to whiten on the ground where they fed. it is surprizing to europeans and other strangers to see with what dexterity the laso is thrown. made of platted or twisted raw hide, it is about one and a half inch in circumference, sometimes less, and being greased in the process of its manufacture, is extremely pliable, stronger than any other kind of rope of treble the thickness, and very durable. the length is from twenty to thirty feet, and at one end is a noose, through which a part of the thong being passed a running knot is formed. instead of the noose there are occasionally a button and loop. the _huaso_ (or laso thrower) extending the opening formed by passing the thong through the noose, lays hold of the laso, and begins to whirl it over his head, taking care that the opening does not close. having determined on his object the laso is thrown with unerring precision. a bullock is caught by the horns, and a horse or a sheep by the neck; and as this is often done at full speed, the peasant will wind the end of the laso which he holds round his body, and suddenly stopping his horse, the entangled animal receives such a check that it is frequently upset. one end of the laso is often made fast to the sursingle, or girth of the saddle, particularly when a bull or large bullock is to be caught. on such occasions the horse, as if aware of the resistance he will have to make, turns his side towards the object, and inclines his body in the opposite direction. i have seen him dragged along by the beast, his feet making furrows in the ground, for more than two yards. the people are so expert in this art and so attached to it, that it is deemed quite disgraceful to miss the object. several of the higher classes exercise it as an amusement, and not only in chile, but in almost every part of south america which i visited; all classes, when residing in the country, carry the laso behind the saddle. even the children are often seen throwing the laso, and catching the poultry, dogs and cats, in the houses, yards or streets. thus this necessary accomplishment grows up with these people. in the late wars it has not been uncommon for the militia to carry their lasos, with which great numbers of spanish soldiers have been caught and strangled. the rider being at full speed, the moment it was thrown, the unfortunate fellow who happened to be entangled could not extricate himself, and was dragged at the heels of his adversary's horse until he was killed. goats are fattened for their tallow and skins, which latter besides their application to the purposes of holding wine, spirits, cider, &c. are generally tanned with the bark of the _palque_ or the _peumo_, instead of that of oak, and for shoes and similar articles make an excellent leather, called _cordovan_. the goats are altogether productive of great profit. some of the horses in the province of conception are excellent, being similar in size and shape to the famous andalusian. they are much valued in all south america, and fetch very high prices in peru. i have seen them at quito, which, considering the difficulties of transport that are to be surmounted, is a very great distance; but although every effort has been used to preserve the breed out of the territory of chile, it has as yet been unavailing. all kinds of provisions are plentiful in this province; poultry is remarkably cheap, fat and well flavoured; ducks and geese breed twice every year; turkeys and barn door fowls during the whole year; and from the mildness of the climate the broods thrive with little loss. the prices are consequently low: a good fat turkey may be bought for about one shilling, and fowls for sixpence a couple. apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, plums and cherries, are produced in such profusion that they are considered of no value. figs are abundant and good; and the strawberry grows wild; i have seen some nearly as large as a hen's egg. the melons and _sandias_, water melons, are also very large, and are extremely nice, particularly the latter, to which the natives are partial. olives do not thrive here. near the river maule there are cocoa nut trees or palms, differing from the other species of the same genus in the size of the nut, which is usually about as big as a walnut. some of the trees are thirty feet high; the trunk is cylindrical, and free from leaves except at the top, where, similar to other palms, they form a circle, presenting a most beautiful appearance. the flowers are in four large clusters at the top of the tree, from whence the leaves spring. when in bud they are enclosed in a fibrous woody sheath, and when the fruit begins to form the spathe divides itself into two parts, each about three feet long and two broad. a bunch or cluster, often contains as many as a thousand nuts. nothing can be more striking than this tree under the burden of its fruit, over which the branches form a kind of dome, supported by the column-like stem. the fruit resembles in every respect the tropical cocoa nut; the kernel is globular, having a space in the centre, which, when the nut is green, is filled with an agreeable milky tasted liquor, but when dry is quite empty. a curious method is employed for divesting the nuts of their outer rind. they are given to the horned cattle, and being swallowed by them, the filaceous substance is digested, and the nuts voided quite clean. all those sent to market have previously undergone this process! if a bunch of flowers or green nuts be cut from the palm, a large quantity of thick sweet sap, similar to honey, is yielded, and on the stem of the tree being tapped the same liquor is produced; this operation however weakens it so much, that the palm either dies or gives no more fruit for a number of years. the greatest quantity of this sap is obtained by cutting down the tree, and lighting a fire at the end where the branches grow: as the tree burns, the sap is driven out at the root and collected in calabashes; fuel is gradually supplied, until the whole of the trunk is consumed, and all the sap extracted, which sometimes amounts to about forty gallons. this tree seldom bears fruit till it is one hundred years old. whether it be indigenous to chile, or the produce of the tropical cocoa nut planted here, i could never ascertain. the natives make baskets of the leaves, and sometimes thatch their cottages with them. walnuts are also grown, and together with cocoa nuts are exported to lima, guayaquil, &c. the _gevuin_ is another species of nut, called by the spaniards _avellano_, from its taste being like that of the hazel nut. this tree grows to the height of fifteen feet; the fruit is round, about three quarters of an inch in diameter, and covered with a coriaceous shell, which is at first green, afterwards of an orange colour, and when ripe of a dark brown; the kernel is divided into two lobes, and is generally toasted before being eaten. the _molle_ may be classed without impropriety among the fruit trees, because the indians prepare from its berries (which are black, the size of peas, and grow in small clusters round the slender branches of the tree) a kind of red and very palatable wine, called _chicha_ or _molle_. frazier says in his voyage, "it is as pleasant and as strong as wine, if not more so." the taste is really agreeable, and its flavour peculiarly aromatic. the _maqui_ is another tree, bearing a fruit like a _guind_, or wild cherry, from which a pleasant fermented beverage is made, called _theca_. the people are fond of the fruit, and parties go into the woods to gather it. a friend told me, that in one of these excursions, when a boy, he had wandered into a wood to gather maqui, and seeing a woman in a tree with her face of a purple colour, he supposed that she had been rubbing it with the fruit for the sake of frightening him; however, determined to shew his courage, he ascended the tree, when, to his great surprise and terror, he found that it was an idiot belonging to the village, who had hanged herself with her handkerchief tied to one of the uppermost branches! the peumo produces a fruit which is much liked, though i never could eat it on account of its strong oily and rather rancid smell. the tree is tall, and its fruit has the appearance of green olives; to prepare it for eating it is dipped in warm water, but not boiled, because that operation renders it bitter. the pulp is whitish and buttery, and i have no doubt that as large a quantity of oil might be obtained from it as from the olive. great quantities of _murtillas_, myrtle berries, are found in this province, and are very delicate. pernetty, who saw some in the falkland isles, or malvinas, says, "the fruit is of a beautiful appearance and very pleasant taste; by being put into brandy with a little sugar, it forms a delicious liquor, which has in a slight degree the smell of ambergris and of musk, by no means disagreeable even to persons who dislike those perfumes." from these berries the natives also make an agreeable fermented liquor, _chicha de murtilla_. the _arrayan_, a myrtle, grows to the height of seventy feet. the fruit, which is about the size of a large pea, is eaten, and has a pleasant taste. a delicate liquor is made from it, and the wood is very valuable. the principal trees found in the province of conception are the _canelo_, or _boghi_, which grows to the height of fifty feet, and produces good timber. it has two barks; the inner one is whitish, but when dried assumes the colour of cinnamon, and somewhat resembles that spice in taste. the araucanians entertain so much veneration for this tree, that a branch of it is always presented as a token of peace, and when a treaty is concluded it is tied to the top of the toqui's axe, and the president's _baton_. the luma grows from forty to fifty feet high; its wood is tough, and is used for small spars and oars, but it is too heavy for masts. large cargoes are sent to lima for coach making and rafters. on rich soils the _espino_ attains the size of an oak. its wood is very solid and of a dark brown, veined with black and yellow, and is capable of receiving an excellent polish. it is used for cart wheels, being very ponderous and durable, and makes excellent fuel, and the hardest and best charcoal. the flowers of the espino are flosculous, of a deep yellow colour, and so very fragrant that they are called _aromas_. a species cultivated in the gardens bears a larger flower, which having a long and slender footstalk, is often inserted by the ladies in the flower of the jessamine and placed in their hair. the joint scent of the two is delightful. the _pehuen_, or _pino de la tierra_, grows in the southern parts of this province, but it arrives at greater perfection in araucania. it is from seventy to eighty feet high, and eight in circumference. at the height of thirty feet it has generally four opposite horizontal branches, which gradually decrease in extent until they terminate in a point at the top, presenting the form of a quadrangular pyramid. the cone, or fruit, resembles that of the pine, and the seeds are considered a great delicacy. these _piñones_, as they are called, are sometimes boiled, and afterwards, by grinding them on a stone, converted into a kind of paste, from which very delicate pastry is made. the pino is cultivated in different parts of this province on account of its valuable wood and the piñones; it may be said, indeed, to be the only tree, except those which yield wine, to which the natives pay any attention. the resin exuding from it is called _incienso_, and is used by the chileans as incense. the banks of the bio-bio are thickly covered with both red and white cedar trees, some of which are seventy feet high, and twenty in circumference. they are split into slender planks, for slight work, but their exportation from this province is not great, because the deals can be purchased at a much lower price in chiloe, where, i have been informed by persons of veracity, there are cedars which yield from eight to nine hundred boards, twenty feet long, twelve inches broad and one thick. it is said that water keeps better at sea in casks made of the red cedar, than in those of any other wood. the _floripondio_ grows to the height of six feet, and has a profusion of delightfully fragrant pendant flowers, which are white, bell-shaped, and from eight to ten inches long, and three in diameter at the mouth. their odour partakes of that of the lily, and one tree, when in bloom, is sufficient to perfume a whole garden. the floripondio arrives at greater perfection on the coasts of peru, where it is seen in the hedgerows. a species of cactus, _quisco_, is very common in some parts of this province; it bears thorns from eight to nine inches long, of which the females make knitting needles. there are a great variety of shrubs in the forests of conception, and some of them are very aromatic. those which are particularly useful for dyeing are the _diu_, _thila_ and _uthin_, of which the bark and leaves dye black. the juice of the berries of the _tara_, and of the _mayu_ are used for writing ink, as well as for dyeing. the leaves of the _culen_, another shrub, have a taste somewhat similar to tea, for which they are often substituted. they are considered a vermifuge and a tonic. frazier says, that the culen produces a balsam, very efficacious in healing wounds; but i never witnessed this quality. senna grows luxuriantly near the maule, and is equally as good as that of the levant; an infusion of its leaves is often given, and i believe successfully, as a diuretic, particularly in calculous complaints. a shrub called here the _palqui_, and in peru the holy herb, _yerba santa_, is thought to be an antidote to inflammatory diseases; for this purpose the green leaves are soaked in water, then rubbed between the hands, and again soaked, until the water be quite green, in which state a copious draught is taken; and for external inflammation it is applied as a wash. there are several wild plants which yield bright and permanent colours for dyeing. red is obtained from the _relbun_, a species of madder; _contra yerba_, a kind of agrimony, furnishes yellow, as does another plant called _poquel_; a violet is procured from the _culli_ and the _rosoli_; and the _panqui_ yields a permanent black. this peculiar plant grows in moist swampy places; its height is from five to six feet, and the principal stem is sometimes six inches in diameter; the leaves are roundish, rough and thick, and at full growth are three feet in diameter. when the plant is in perfection, the natives cut it down, and split the stem, which contains a large portion of tanin. the black for dyeing is obtained from the expressed juice of the root. i scarcely ever met with any person in this province who did not assure me that gold mines were to be found in numberless places; i certainly never saw any worked, but the universal assurance of the inhabitants, and what has been written by molina, frazier, and other persons of veracity, leave me no room to doubt their existence. among the feathered tribe i observed a bird about the size of a pullet, having black and white feathers, a thick neck, rather large head, a strong bill a little curved, and on the fore part of the wings two reddish spurs, like those of a young dunghill cock. it is on the alert the moment it is alarmed, and rising from the ground, hovers over the object which has disturbed it. the noise which it makes when in this situation, and which is probably intended as a signal of danger to other birds; has induced some of the natives to call it _tero-tero_; but others name it _despertador_, awakener. finches, _gilgueros_, and the _thili_, a kind of thrush, are numerous, as are the grey and red partridge. both the latter birds are much esteemed, though i preferred the large wood pigeons, _torcasas_, some of which are the size of a small pullet. feeding entirely on herbage, they are particularly fond of the leaves of turnips, and they make their appearance in such numbers that they would destroy a whole field in one day. their flesh is of a dark colour, but juicy and savoury. of the larger species of herons i saw three different kinds, one as large as the european heron, and quite similar to it; one of a milk white colour, with a neck more than two feet long, and its red slender legs equally long; and another not quite so large, with a beautiful tuft of white feathers on its head. in several places near the coast i observed flamingoes, and was charmed with their delicate pink plumage; they are not eaten by the natives. i also remarked several species of wild ducks, and three of wild geese; one called of the cordillera is very good eating, the others i was told are strong and fishy. the wild swan is as large as the european swan, but is not so handsome. it has a black bill and feet, black and white plumage, and is in shape much like a goose, but is never eaten. i had in my possession a tame eagle, which measured ten feet from one tip of its wings to the other; its breast was white spotted with black, the neck and back also black, and the tail and wings of a brown tinge with transverse black stripes. i saw several of the same kind and others of a smaller species in the woods. parrots very much abound, but their plumage is not handsome, being of a dirty dead green. these birds are very destructive of the fruit and maize. at villavicencio i was highly entertained in hunting a _pagi_, or chilean lion. on our arrival the people were preparing to destroy this enemy to their cattle; several dogs were collected from the neighbouring farms, and some of the young men of the surrounding country were in great hopes of taking him alive with their lasos, and of afterwards baiting him in the village for the diversion of the ladies; whilst others were desirous of signalizing the prowess of their favourite dogs. all of them were determined to kill this ravenous brute, which had caused much damage, particularly among their horses. the hunt was the only subject of conversation on the sunday, which was the day fixed for its occurrence. at four o'clock we left the village, more than twenty in number, each leading a dog, and having a chosen laso on his arm, ready to throw at a moment's warning. about a mile from the village we separated, by different bye-roads, into five or six parties, the men taking the dogs on their horses, to prevent, as they said, the possibility of the scent being discovered by the pagi. all noise was avoided--even the smoking of segars was dispensed with, lest the smell should alarm their prey, and they should lose their sport. the party which i joined consisted of five individuals. after riding about four miles we arrived at a small rivulet, where a young colt was tied to a tree, having been taken for that purpose. we then retired about three hundred yards, and the colt being alone began to neigh, which had the desired effect, for before sunset one of our party, placed in advance, let go his dog and whistled, at which signal three other dogs were loosed and ran towards the place where the colt had been left. we immediately followed, and soon found the pagi with his back against a tree, defending himself against his adversaries. on our appearance he seemed inclined to make a start and attempt an escape. the lasos were immediately in motion, when four more dogs came up, and shortly afterwards their masters, who hearing the noise had ridden to the spot as fast as the woods would permit them. the poor brute seemed now to fear the increase of his enemies. however he maintained his post and killed three of our dogs; at which the owner of one of them became so enraged, that he threw his laso round the neck of the pagi, when the dogs, supposing the onset more secure, sprang on him, and he was soon overpowered, but so dreadfully wounded and torn that it became necessary to put an end to his life. the length of this animal from the nose to the root of the tail was five feet four inches, and from the bottom of the foot to the top of the shoulder thirty-one inches. its head was round, and much like that of a cat, the upper lip being entire, and supplied with whiskers; the nose flat, the eyes large, of a brownish hue, but very much suffused with blood; the ears short and pointed. it had no mane. the neck, back and sides were of a dusky ash colour, with some yellowish spots; the belly of a dirty white; the hair on its buttocks long and shaggy. each jaw was armed with four cutting, four canine, and sixteen grinding teeth; each of its fore paws and hind feet with five toes, and very strong talons. four lasos attached to the girths of the saddles of two horses were fastened to the pagi, which was thus dragged to the village, where we arrived about nine o'clock, and were received by the whole of the inhabitants with shouting and rejoicing. the remainder of the night was spent in dancing and carousing. the people informed me that the favourite food of the pagi is horse-flesh; that watching a good opportunity it jumps upon the back of its prey, which it worries, tearing the flesh with one paw whilst it secures its hold with the other; after sucking the blood it drags the carcase to some hiding place, covers it with leaves, and returns when hungry to devour it. if it enter a place where horned cattle are kept, the bulls and cows immediately form a circle, and place the calves and young cattle in the centre; they then face their enemy boldly, and not unfrequently oblige him to retreat, on which happening, the bulls follow him and often gore him to death. it would therefore appear to be more from fear than choice that he is attached to the flesh of horses. the animal was never known to attack a man; so timid is he of the human race, that he runs away at the appearance of a child, which may perhaps be accounted for from the abundance of cattle supplying him so easily with food that he is seldom in want of flesh. the _vicuña_ and _guanaco_ are known in chile; i shall however defer a description of them until i treat of the _llama_ and _alpaca_ of peru. the _chilihueque_, spoken of by several travellers, seems to be the same as the _llama_, but as i never saw it i am unable to determine this point. the description and properties of the two are very similar. the _culpen_ is a species of fox, and is very destructive to poultry and lambs. it is rather more foolish than daring, but not void of the latter quality. it will advance within eight or ten paces of a man, and after looking at him for some time, will retire carelessly, unless pursued, when it betakes itself to the bush. its colour is a dark reddish brown, with a long straight tail covered with shaggy hair; its height is about two feet. for the preservation of the lambs against this enemy the natives train their dogs to the care of the flock in a curious manner. a young puppy is taken, before its eyes are open, and an ewe is forced to suckle it every night and morning until it can follow the flock, when, either under the direction of a shepherd boy, or in company with an old trained dog, it is taught to keep the sheep together, to follow them in the morning to graze, and to drive them to the fold at night. it is never allowed to follow its master. no shepherd could be more faithful to his trust than one of these dogs; it leaves the fold with the flock in the morning, watches it carefully during the day, keeping off the foxes, eagles and other animals, and returns with it at sunset. it sleeps in the fold, and the sheep become so habituated to the society of their guardian that they allow him to wander among them without any alarm. at night, when the dog arrives with his charge, he first drives them into the fold; he then runs two or three times round it, as if to be certain of its safety against any lurking enemy, and afterwards goes to the house and barks, but immediately returns to the fold, where he waits for his supper. if it be brought he remains quiet, otherwise he again visits the house and barks until he is properly attended to, when he lays himself down among the sheep. some people have imagined that it is a peculiar breed of dogs that are so trained, but this is an error which experience enables me to contradict; for i have seen several different kinds in charge of different flocks, the whole of their sagacity being the effect of their training. whilst on the topic of the training of animals i cannot refrain from mentioning the ridiculous appearance of the capons, which are taught to rear broods of chickens. when one or more hens bring forth their young, these are taken from them, and a capon being caught, some of the feathers are plucked from its breast and the inner part of its thighs, and the animal is flogged with nettles, and is then put under a basket with the young chickens. this is generally done in the evening, and in the morning, after brooding the chickens all night, the old capon struts forth with its adopted family, clucking and searching for food with as much activity as the most motherly old hen! i was told that capons rear a brood much better than hens; and i have seen one of them with upwards of thirty chickens. the hen being thus freed from her brood soon begins to lay eggs again, which is a very great advantage. after an excursion of three weeks, i returned to conception with my friend, don santiago dias, to whom i brought letters of introduction from my good host at arauco, don nicolas del rio, which were most willingly attended to, and rendered my detention as a prisoner of war a delightful series of excursions into the country, and of parties of pleasure in the city. footnote: [ ] i have made particular mention of the form of the cabildos, because they have been preserved since the revolution just as they existed before it. chapter vi. sent to talcahuano....description of the bay and anchorage....plain between conception and talcahuano....prospectus of a soap manufactory here....coal mine....town, custom-house, inhabitants, &c....fish, &c. caught in the bay....colonial commerce....prospectus of a sawing mill. after staying a few days at conception, i was sent for by the governor to talcahuano, a ship being there ready to sail for lima. i took with me a note to a resident in the port, and was received by him with the greatest possible kindness; he requested me to make his house my home until the ship should be ready to sail; a request with which i very willingly complied. the bay of talcahuano is one of the largest on the western shores of south america: from north to south its length is about ten miles, that is from the main land on one side to the main land on the other; from east to west it is seven miles. in the mouth of the bay lies the island quiriquina, forming two entrances; that on the east side is the safer, being two miles wide with thirty fathoms water, decreasing gradually towards the usual anchorage at talcahuano, where, about half a mile from the shore, there are ten fathoms water. it is well sheltered from the north wind; but the swell is so great during a norther (as the north winds are here called) that it is almost impossible to land, though at any other time the landing is good on any part of the beach. from conception to talcahuano, a distance of six miles, the surface of the ground is composed of loose sand intermixed with sea shells; about half a yard deep a continued stratum of marine shells is found, exactly similar to those shell-fish with which the sea abounds at this place: they are the _choro_, muscle, _pie de burra_, or ass's foot, the _bulgados_, a species of snail, and the _picos_, barnacles. this stratum is generally from twelve to fifteen feet thick; and a similar one is found in the hills, three hundred feet above the level of the sea; being, no doubt, the effect of some tremendous earthquake, which took place before this country was known to the old world; for it is certain, that what now constitutes the valley of penco or conception was at some remote period a part of the pacific ocean. from these shells all the lime used in building is procured. the land between talcahuano and conception is not fit for cultivation; it presents rather a dreary appearance; however, some cattle graze on the marshy or low parts, and their meat is considered very delicate. abundance of salsola grows in this neighbourhood, from which kali might be procured in great quantities for the purpose of manufacturing soap, which, as tallow and other fat can be bought here at a low rate, would be a very lucrative speculation. soap bears a high price in peru, and in almost every part of the country, being seldom under forty dollars the quintal or hundred pounds weight in lima, and higher in the interior. the facility of procuring good lime and plenty of fuel would be of importance to such an establishment, besides which, the cheapness of copper, from the mines of coquimbo and copiapo, for making the necessary utensils, is an advantage of some consideration. of all the spanish writers herrera alone makes mention of the existence of coal in the province of conception. in dec. , . , c. , he says, "there is a coal mine upon the beach near to the city of conception; it burns like charcoal;" and he was not mistaken, for the stratum does exist on the north side of the bay of talcahuano, near the anchorage on that side, and very near the ruins of penco viejo, which was destroyed by the earthquake in , and not rebuilt, because the present anchorage was considered preferable. to what extent the coal reaches has never yet been ascertained; all that has been used has been obtained by throwing aside the mould which covers the surface. this coal is similar in appearance to the english cannel, but it is reasonable to suppose, that if the mine were dug to any considerable depth, the quality would be found to improve, and that the work might be productive of immense wealth to its possessor. there is a custom-house at talcahuano, and the necessary officers for collecting the importation and exportation duties; barracks for the garrison belonging to the small battery, a house for the residence of the commanding officer, a parish church, also about a hundred houses, with several large stores, _bodegas_, for corn, wine, and other goods. the population consists of about five hundred inhabitants, principally muleteers, porters, and fishermen. the bay abounds with excellent fish; the most esteemed are the _robalo_; this fish is from two to three feet long, nearly of a cylindrical form, having angular scales, which are of a gold colour on the back, declining to a very beautiful transparent white on the belly: it has a bluish stripe along the back, bordered on each side with a deep yellow; the flesh is delicately white, and has a delicious taste. the _corbina_ is generally about the size of the robalo, though sometimes much larger; its body is of an oval form, covered with broad semi-transparent white scales, on which are some opaque white spots; it is encircled obliquely with a number of brownish lines, the tail is forked, and the head small; its flesh is white and well tasted. the _lisa_ is a kind of mullet; it is found both in fresh and in salt water; the latter, however, is much better than the former: it is about a foot long, its back is of a dirty greenish colour, its sides and belly white, with large scales; its flesh is white, very fat, and is excellent. the _peje rey_ is very similar to a smelt, but when full-grown is of the size of a herring; it has not the same odour as the smelt, but is equally nice when cooked. in the vicinity of talcahuano is the gold fish, about ten inches long, flat and of an oval form, with small scales; it is of a bright gold colour, and has five zones or bands surrounding it. one round the neck is black, two others about the middle of the fish are grey, one near the tail is black, and the fifth, at the juncture of the tail with the body is grey; its flesh is very delicate. the _chalgua achagual_, called by the spaniards _peje gallo_, cock fish, is about three feet long; its body is round, rather thicker in the middle than at the neck or near the tail; it is covered with a whitish skin, but has no scales; on its head it has a cartilaginous crest about three quarters of an inch thick--its flesh is not good. the _tollo_, a species of dog-fish, is about three feet long; it has two triangular dorsal spines, remarkably hard, but no other bones; it is salted and dried, and sent to the lima market, being rarely eaten fresh, although it is then very good. on the coasts the natives catch a variety of species that are common to other seas, such as the skate, the dog-fish, saw-fish, old wife, conger eel, rock cod, whiting, turbot, plaice, bonito, mackerel, roach, mullet, pilchard, anchovy, &c. among the mollusca tribe the muscle is very fine; i have frequently seen them eight inches long, and their flavour is excellent. they are often salted and dried; after which they are strung on slender rushes, and in this manner large quantities are exported. the white urchin is of a globular form, about three inches in diameter, with a whitish shell and spines; the interior substance is yellow, but very good to eat. the _pico_ is a kind of barnacle, adhering to steep rocks at the water's edge: from ten to twenty of them inhabit as many separate cells of a pyramidal form, made of a cretaceous substance, with a little aperture at the top of each cell; they receive their food at this hole, where a kind of small bill protrudes, similar to that of a bird, and hence the animal receives its name of pico, a bill. they are very white, tender, and most delicate eating. the _loco_ is oval, and its shell is covered with small tuberosities: it is from four to five inches long, and the interior or edible substance is white, and very excellent. of the molluscas the _piuri_ is the most remarkable, in respect both to its shape and habitation; the latter is formed of a coriaceous matter, adhering to the rocks, and which is divided into separate cells, by means of strong membranes. in each of these, in a detached state, is formed the piuri; it is about the size of a large cherry, which it so much resembles in colour, that the following anecdote is related: a native of chiloe had never seen any cherries until he came to conception, and observing an abundance there he exclaimed, "what a charming country this is, why the piuries grow on the trees!" this animal, if it deserve to be so called, is eaten either roasted or boiled, and has a taste similar to that of the lobster: great quantities are annually dried for exportation. of the crustaceous fishes, the _xaiva_, crab, has a shell that is nearly spherical, about three inches in diameter, and two inches deep, furnished with spines upon the edges. the _apancora_, another of the crab species, has an oval shell, denticulated, and generally larger than the xaiva; both are red when boiled, and their flesh is well tasted. crawfish, _camarones_, are sometimes caught of the enormous weight of eight or nine pounds each, and are very good. the principal commerce between this port and some of the other spanish colonies consists in the exportation of wheat, with which article about six ships, of not less than four hundred tons burthen each, are annually laden, making an average of two thousand four hundred tons, which in an infant country, and for colonial consumption, may be considered very great. nearly the whole of this wheat is carried to lima. of jerked beef, charqui, about six thousand quintals, with a proportionate quantity of tallow and fat, grasa; and of wine, on an average, two thousand jars, containing eighteen gallons each, are annually exported. the minor articles are raw hides, wool, dried fruits, salt fish and pulse. the imports are a small quantity of european manufactured goods, sugar, salt and tobacco; the taxes on which produce from one hundred and two to one hundred and five thousand dollars per annum. i have already mentioned the benefit which would result from a soap manufactory being established at talcahuano; another establishment, however, of still greater importance, might be formed either on the banks of the bio-bio, or on those of the maule: i mean a sawing mill. both of these rivers have a sufficient current for the purpose, and an abundance of good timber in their vicinity. a dock yard on a trifling scale has been established and small craft have been built at maule; but guayaquil is the great dock yard on the western coast of south america, and vessels of eight hundred tons burthen have been built there; beside which the timber markets of peru have been almost exclusively supplied with wood from the forest of guayaquil: this article is becoming scarce in that district, and recourse must soon be had to some other parts, and there are none that present the same facilities as the two i have now mentioned. the forests of the province of conception are as yet untouched; the price of labour there does not exceed one-third of that at guayaquil; the hire of cattle for bringing the wood from any part of the forests to the river side bears the same proportion as the price of labour; the advantage of superiority of climate is also attached to this province, as well as that of the total absence of ravenous beasts and poisonous reptiles, which abound in the woods, rivers and estuaries of guayaquil. the conducting of timber to the port of talcahuano for embarkation, and its shipment in small vessels in the maule, are facilities of considerable importance; to which we may add the short passage from either of these two places to the principal established market of lima, the passage from guayaquil being of a treble duration. small vessels only can get out of the maule, because a bar at the entrance of the river would prevent the egress of large ships when deeply laden. another powerful reason why sawing mills might be established with greater ease on those rivers than at guayaquil is, that they would increase the means of subsistence among the labouring classes, and consequently would merit their protection; whereas at the latter place sawing is the occupation of a great portion of the inhabitants of the city, who make very high wages, in consequence of which any establishment detrimental to so numerous a body of artizans would be strenuously resisted, and probably attended with fatal results. it will no doubt appear surprizing to persons in england acquainted with this branch of the arts, that three quarters of a dollar, equal to about three shillings and two pence, should be paid at guayaquil for sawing a plank from a log of wood ten or twelve inches square by eighteen feet long, the timber not being harder than the english fir. the price for timber brought down to the port of talcahuano is very low. _liñe_, somewhat resembling ash, and applicable to the same uses, may be delivered in logs twenty feet long and twelve inches square, for about one dollar each, and all other kinds of wood at similar rates; while a single inch plank from the same tree would be worth nearly double the sum at lima. attached to an establishment of this kind, the carrying of fire wood to lima would be attended with considerable profit--a cargo of fire wood weighing fourteen quintals is sold here for only one dollar, while in lima it often sells for from one to one and a half dollar per quintal. the ship _dolores de la tierra_ being ready to sail for lima, i was ordered on board, and obliged to leave with regret an enchanting country, where i had been treated with unbounded hospitality by its inhabitants. my kind host, don manuel serrano, took care to recommend me to the captain, beside which he sent on board, for my use, more provisions than would have served me for three such voyages. the foregoing is a brief description of conception as i saw it in the year . i visited it again in , and in the course of my narrative i shall have occasion to mention it at my second visit, and to contrast its appearance at those two periods. if in my description of this part of south america i have sometimes touched on the changes that have happened or are likely to happen, it has been when speaking of places which i did not afterwards visit. chapter vii. leave talcahuano in the dolores....passage to callao....arrival ....taken to the castle....leave callao....road to lima....conveyed to prison. my present situation was very disagreeable. the government of conception had placed me on board a spanish vessel, and had given orders to the captain to deliver me up, the moment he should arrive at callao, to the governor of the fortress. at the same time he had been charged with letters, containing perhaps an account of my having landed on the araucanian coast; of having visited part of that almost unknown territory, as also part of the province of conception. such it was reasonable to expect would be the information conveyed, if either the reports prevailing at that time respecting the cruel system of spanish jealousy in their colonies were to be credited; or those which have been more recently circulated, that all foreigners would be incarcerated, sent to the mines or to places of exile, for having merely dared to tread the shores of this prohibited country. i should have desponded, had not practice taught me to regard those reports as exaggerated tales, the fictions or dreams of the biassed, and not worthy of the least belief. i was, at the time i landed, ignorant of the existence of any prohibitory laws; but i now reflected, that no doubt foreigners were not allowed to settle in a spanish colony without having obtained those permissions and passports which are considered equally as indispensable here as in the british colonies; documents which are as essentially necessary to englishmen as to foreigners; but i also recollected the kind treatment which i had received at conception, as much a spanish colony as the place of my destination; i had learned, too, that foreigners resided in this part of the country, some of whom were in the actual employ of the government; it had come to my knowledge that an irishman, don ambrose higgins, had filled the offices of captain-general of chile, and of viceroy of peru.--these reflections contributed to make me comparatively happy, and by adhering to a maxim which i had established, never to allow the shadow of future adversity to cloud the existence of present comfort, my life was always free from fear and disquietude. my stay among the pastoral indians of arauco, for barbarous i cannot call them, had been one continued scene of enjoyment, unalloyed with any apprehension of approaching evils, and this conduct had not contributed a little to make me so welcome a guest. i had followed the same principles whilst at conception with equal success. the ship in which i embarked had on board eight thousand fanegas of wheat, with some other chilean produce, and an abundance of poultry, for the lima market; she was built at ferrol in the year , of spanish oak, and was the oldest vessel in the pacific; her high poop and clumsy shape forming a great contrast with some of the recently-built ships at guayaquil, or those from spain. the conduct of the captain, the officers and passengers, was marked with every kindness. i had a small cabin to myself, but i messed with the captain and passengers, and the eleven days which we were at sea were spent in mirth and gaiety, not a little heightened by the female part of a family going to settle in lima. the father kindly invited me, should an opportunity present itself, to reside at his house during my stay in that city, an invitation of which i should certainly have availed myself had not circumstances prevented it. we were all anxiety to arrive at callao, the sea-port of lima, and although i had fewer reasons to wish it than others, still the idea of seeing something new is always pleasing, particularly to a traveller in a foreign country; besides, i had been informed on my passage that war had not been declared between england and spain, and that the conduct of the government was to be attributed to their wish to prevent any english spies from residing at liberty in the country. on the eleventh day after our leaving talcahuano we made the island of san lorenzo, which forms one side of the bay of callao. it exhibits a dreary spectacle, not a tree, a shrub, nor even a blade of grass presents itself; it is one continued heap of sand and rock. having passed the head land, (where a signal post was erected and a look-out kept, which communicated with callao, through other signals stationed on the island) the vessels in the offing, the town and batteries at once opened on our view. the principal fortress, called the royal philip, _real felipe_, has a majestic appearance, although disadvantageously situated; it is on a level with the sea, and behind it the different ranges of hills rise in successive gradations until crowned with the distant prospect of the andes, which in some parts tower above the clouds. these clouds, resting on the tops of the lower ranges seemed to have yielded their places in the atmosphere to those enormous masses, and to have prostrated themselves at their feet. as we approached the anchorage the spires and domes of lima appeared to the left of the town of callao. at the moment of landing, which is the most pleasing to travellers by sea, the passengers were all in high spirits, expecting to embrace ere long those objects of tender affection, from whom they had been separated by chance, interest, or necessity. previous to our coming to an anchorage, the custom-house boat with some others visited our ship, and i was sent ashore in that from the captain of the port. i was immediately conveyed to the castle, and delivered to the governor. on my landing at callao, i observed a considerable bustle on what may be called the pier. this pier was made in , during the viceroyalty of don antonio amat, by running an old king's ship on shore, filling her with stones, sand, and rubbish, and afterwards driving round the parts where the sea washes piles of mangroves, brought from guayaquil, and which appear to be almost imperishable in sea water. at the landing place i saw several boats employed in watering their ships, for which purpose pipes have been laid down, three feet under ground, to convey the water from a spring; hoses being attached to the spouts, the casks are filled either floating on the sea or in the boats. the houses make a very sorry appearance; they are generally about twenty feet high, with mud walls, flat roof, and divided into two stories; the under one forms a row of small shops open in front, and the upper one an uncouth corridor. about a quarter of a mile from the landing place is the draw-bridge, over a dry foss, and an entrance under an arched gateway to the castle, the real felipe. i was presented to the governor, a spanish colonel, who immediately ordered me to the _caloboso_, one of the prisoners' cells: this was a room about one hundred feet long and twenty wide, formed of stone, with a vaulted roof of the same materials, having two wooden benches, raised about three feet from the ground, for the prisoners to sleep on. a long chain ran along the bench for the purpose of being passed through the shackles of the unhappy occupants, whose miserable beds, formed of rush mats, were rolled up, and laid near the walls. i had an opportunity to make a survey of this place before the prisoners entered; until then i was left quite alone, pondering over my future lot, for this was the first time i could consider myself a prisoner; however, i consoled myself with the hope of release, or if not, a removal to some more comfortable situation. in this hope i was not mistaken, for before the prisoners, who were malefactors employed at the public works, arrived, a soldier came and ordered me to follow him. he took up my bed, while i took care of my trunk, and in this manner i left the abode of crime and misery in which i had been placed. i was conducted to the guard-house, where that part of the garrison on duty are usually stationed. i now found myself among such a curious mixture of soldiers as eyes never witnessed in any other part of the world; but i reconciled myself to my lot, especially as it was not the worst place in the castle. in a short time i was sent for to the officers' room. i there found several agreeable and some well-informed young men, with two very obstinate and testy old ones, who, though of superior rank, were heartily quizzed by their subalterns. such is the ease and frankness of the south americans in general, that before i had been an hour in the room, one of the officers, a young lieutenant, and his brother, a cadet, had become as familiar with me as if we had been old acquaintance. they were natives of lima, both had been educated at san carlos, the principal college, and both lamented that the most useful branches of science were not taught in the spanish colleges to that extent, and with that precision which they are in england. the lieutenant also observed, that as the rectors and heads of their colleges were churchmen, the studies were confined principally to theology, divinity and morality, which circumstance caused them to neglect the useful sciences; and this he ascribed as a reason why in those studies the students made little progress. but, continued he, our libraries are not destitute of good mathematical and philosophical books, which some of our young men study, and they are at all times willing to instruct their friends. i spent the time in a very agreeable chit chat with my new acquaintance till ten o'clock, when the lieutenant rose and requested me to wait his return, saying he was going to the governor for _el santo_, the watchword, and for the orders of the night. he returned in about half an hour, pulled off his uniform coat, put on a jacket, and then told me, in the most friendly manner, that the governor had given orders for my removal to lima on the following morning; on which he congratulated me, saying, that as that was a large city i should be more comfortable, although a prisoner, than at callao; he also informed me that, it being the first day of the month, september, , part of the garrison would be relieved by detachments from the capital, and that he was included in that number, and would be happy in giving me a seat in the _valancin_, hackney coach, which he should hire. about twelve o'clock my bed and trunk were carried to his sleeping room, and i remained in conversation with him till day broke; we slept about an hour, and then arose to breakfast, which consisted of a cup of very good chocolate for each of us, some dry toast, and a glass of water. at eleven o'clock, the detachment having arrived, we left callao in a valancin, which is a kind of carriage, having the body of a coach on two wheels, drawn by two horses, one in the shafts and the postillion mounted on the other. the city of callao, which was destroyed by an earthquake in and swallowed up by the sea, was at a short distance to the southward of the present town. on a calm day the ruins may yet be seen under water at that part of the bay called the _mar braba_, rough sea, and on the beach a sentry is always placed for the purpose of taking charge of any treasure that may be washed ashore, which not unfrequently happens. by this terrible convulsion of nature upwards of three thousand people perished at callao alone. i afterwards became acquainted with an old mulatto, called eugenio, who was one of the three or four who were saved; he told me that he was sitting on some timber which had been landed from a ship in the bay, at the time that the great wave of the sea rolled in and buried the city, and that he was carried, clinging to the log, near to the chapel, a distance of three miles. from callao to lima it is six miles, with a good road, for which the country is indebted to don ambrose higgins; but he unfortunately died, after being viceroy three years, leaving this useful work incomplete. the finished part extends only about two miles from the gateway, at the entrance to the city, and has a double row of lofty willows on each side, shading the foot-walk. he also furnished it, at every hundred yards, with neat stone benches; and at about every mile a large circle with walls of brick and stone, four feet high, and stone seats are erected. these circles are formed for carriages to turn in with greater ease than on the road. on each side of the foot-walk runs a small stream of water, irrigating the willows in its course, and nourishing numberless luxuriant weeds and flowers. it was the intention of the viceroy to carry the road down to callao in the same style as it now exists near the city, but only the carriage road was finished. it has a parapet of brick raised two feet high on each side, to keep together the materials of the road. on the right hand side, going from the port, may be seen the ruins of an indian village, which was built before the discovery of south america. some of the old walls are left, formed of clay, about two feet thick and six feet high, and which perhaps owe their present existence to the total absence of rain in this country. to the right is the town of bellavista, to which parish callao is attached, being called its _anexo_. here is a hospital for seamen and the poorer class of the inhabitants. half way between the port and the city stands a very neatly built chapel, to which is connected a small cloister; it is dedicated to the virgin of mount carmel, and many visit it to fulfil some vow or other which they have made at sea to this madonna, she being the protectress of seamen. near the chapel is situated a house at which are sold good brandy and wine, and it may easily be guessed which establishment has the most customers! on approaching the city the quality of the soil appears to be very good; large gardens with luxuriant vegetables for the market, and fields of lucern and maize are here cultivated, and close to the city walls there are extensive orchards of tropical fruit trees, all irrigated with water drawn by canals from the river rimac. the gateway is of brick, covered with stucco, with cornices, mouldings, and pillars of stone: it has three arches; the centre one for carriages has folding doors, the two lateral posterns are for foot passengers. the mind of a traveller is naturally led to expect to find the inside of a city correspondent with the appearance of its entrance; but at lima he will be deceived. the distant views of the steeples and domes, the beautiful straight road, its shady avenue of lofty willows, and its handsome gateway, are contrasted, immediately on passing them, with a long street of low houses with their porches and patios; small shops with their goods placed on tables at the doors; no glass windows; no display of articles of commerce; numbers of people of all colours, from the black african to the white and rosy coloured biscayan, with all their intermediate shades, combined with the mixture of colour and features of the aborigines of america:--the mere observation of this variety of colours and features produces a "confusion beyond all confusions." as a prisoner of war, although the two nations were at peace, i was conducted by my kind friend to the city gaol, _carcel de la ciudad_, where i remained shut up for eight months with about a hundred criminals of the worst description. owing, however, to a recommendation and the promise of a remuneration from my good friend the lieutenant, the alcalde lodged me in a room at the entrance of the prison, allotted to persons of decent families, or to such as had the means of paying for this convenience. i was fortunate enough to find here a native of lima, an officer in the army, who was confined on suspicion of forgery. he was a very excellent man, and conducted himself towards me in a manner which contributed, not only to my comfort whilst i was a prisoner, but finally to my liberation. my first object in my confinement was to make myself perfectly master of the spanish tongue, and to obtain some knowledge of _quichua_, the court language of the incas, and used wherever their authority had been established. i was the more desirous of becoming acquainted with this language, because it is spoken in the interior of peru by all classes of people: the respectable inhabitants, however, also speak spanish. chapter viii. lima, origin of its name....pachacamac....foundation of lima....pizarro's palace....situation of the city....form of the valley rimac....river....climate....temperature....moists and rain....soil....earthquakes....produce. lima is the capital of peru, and derives its name from _rimac_, which original name its river still retains; but the valley was called by the indians _rimac malca_, or the place of witches; it being the custom among the aborigines, even before the establishment of the theocrasia of the incas, as well as during their domination, to banish to this valley those persons who were accused of witchcraft. its climate is very different from that of the interior, and having a great deal of marshy ground in its vicinity, intermittent fevers generally destroyed in a short time such individuals as were the objects of this superstitious persecution. it is recorded, that when manco capac and his sister mama ocollo were presented by their grandfather to the indians living at couzcou, and were informed by him that they were the children of the sun, their god, the fair complexion of these strangers, and their light coloured hair, induced the indians to consider them as rimacs, and they were in consequence exiled to rimac malca, the place of witches, now the valley of lima. in september, , don francisco pizarro arrived at pachacamac, a large town belonging to the indians, where a magnificent temple had been built by pachacutec, the tenth inca of peru, for the worship of pachacamac, the creator and preserver of the world. this rich place of worship was plundered by pizarro, and the virgins destined to the service of the deity, though in every respect as sacred as the nuns of pizarro's religion, were violated by his soldiers; the altars were pillaged and destroyed, and the building was demolished. however, when i visited it in , some of the walls still remained, as if to reproach the descendants of an inhuman monster with his wanton barbarity. i wandered among the remains of this temple, dedicated by a race of men in gratitude to their omnipotent creator and preserver: a house unstained with what bigots curse with the name of idolatry; unpolluted with the blood of sacrifice; uncontaminated with the chaunt of anthems, impiously sung to the deity after the destruction of a great number of his creatures; of prayers for success, or thanksgivings for victory; but hallowed with the innocent offerings of fruits and flowers, and sanctified with the incense breath of praise, and hymns of joyous gratitude. it is difficult to describe the feelings by which we are affected when we witness the ruins of an edifice destined by its founder to be a monument of national glory, or even of personal honor; but when we contemplate with unprejudiced eyes the remains of a building once sacred to a large portion of our fellow creatures, and raised by them in honour of the great father of the universe, wantonly destroyed by a being, in whose hands chance had placed more power than his vitiated mind knew how to apply to virtuous purposes--we cannot avoid cursing him, in the bitterness of our anguish. cold indeed must be the heart of that man who could view the ruins of pachacamac with less regret than those of babylon or jerusalem! pizarro having arrived at pachacamac, and being desirous of building a city near the sea coast, he sent some of his officers to search for a convenient harbour either to the north or to the south. they first visited the harbour of chilca, which, though a good one, and near pachacamac, was still defective; the coast was a sandy desert, and the poor indians who lived upon it for the purpose of fishing were often forced to abandon their houses, because their wells of brackish water became dry. the commissioners were obliged to look out for another situation, and having arrived at callao they found that its bay was very capacious, with the river rimac entering it on the north. they afterwards explored the delightful surrounding valley, and reported their success to pizarro, who immediately came from pachacamac, and approving of the situation, laid the foundation of lima, on the south side of the river, about two leagues from the sea. on the th day of january, , he removed to it those spaniards whom he had left for the purpose of building a town at jauja. lima is called by the spaniards la ciudad de los reyes, from being founded on the day on which the roman church celebrates the epiphany, or the feast of the worshipping of the kings or magi of the east. its arms are a shield with three crowns, or, on an azure field, and the star of the east; for supporters the letters j. c. jane and charles, with the motto--_hoc signum vere regum est_. these arms and the title of royal city were granted to lima by the emperor charles v. in . pizarro built a palace for himself, about two hundred yards from the river, on the contrary side of the great square, or _plasa mayor_, to that where the palace of the viceroy now stands; and the remains of it may yet be found in the _callejon de petateros_, mat maker's alley. he was murdered here on the th of june, . according to several spanish authorities lima is situated in ° ´ ´´ south latitude, and in ° ´ ´´ longitude west of cadiz. to the northward and eastward of the city hills begin to rise, which ultimately compose a part of the great chain of the andes; or rather they are parts of the high mountains which run north and south about twenty leagues to the eastward of lima. these mountains gradually descend to the sea coast, producing between each row beautiful and fertile valleys, of which the rimac is one. the chain opening at the back of lima forms the valley lurigancho, which closes on its suburbs. that of the greatest height, bordering on the city, is called _san cristobal_, and the other _amancaes_; the former is feet above the level of the sea, and the latter . the mountains slope towards the west, and when seen from the bridge appear to have reached the level about three miles from that station, which extremity, viewed from the same place, is the point where the sun disappears at the time of the winter solstice. to the south west is the island called _san lorenzo_; more to the south lies _morro solar_, about eight miles distant, where large hills of sand are observed, which, stretching to the eastward and gently rising, form with the amancaes a crescent, enclosing the picturesque valley rimac, through which the river of that name majestically flows, producing in its course or wherever its influence can be obtained all the beauties of flora and the gifts of ceres. the site of lima gradually inclines to the westward, the great square, plasa mayor, being feet above the level of the sea. thus all the streets in this direction, with many of those intersecting them at right angles, have small streams of water running along them, which contribute very much to the cleanliness and salubrity of the city and its inhabitants. the water which runs through the streets, as well as that which feeds the fountains and the canals for the irrigation of gardens, orchards and plantations, which fill the whole valley, is drawn from the river rimac. this river has its origin in the province of huarochiri, and receives in its course several small streams, which descend the mountains, and are produced by the melting of the snow on the tops of the andes, as well as by the rains which fall in the interior, at which time the river swells very much, and covers the whole of its bed, which at other times is in many places almost dry. the water in lima is said to be crude, holding in solution a considerable quantity of selenite, besides being impregnated with abundance of fixed air; hence, indigestions and other affections of the stomach are attributed to it; but dr. unanue very justly asks, "may not these diseases be derived from cupid and ceres?" the water is certainly far from being pure; for the _artaxea_, which supplies the city fountains, and the _pugios_, which supply the suburbs, called san lazaro, are stagnant pools; both are often full of aquatic plants, which decay and rot in them; they moreover contain water that has been employed in the irrigation of the plantations and farms at the back of the city, and not unfrequently animals have been drowned in them. the climate of lima is extremely agreeable; the heat which would naturally be expected in so low a latitude is seldom felt, and those who have been accustomed to the scorching sun and suffocating heat of bahia, on the opposite side of the continent, or to those of carthagena, in the same latitude, are astonished at the mild and almost equable climate of lima. the following thermometrical observations, made in the years and , will evince the truth of what has been asserted:-- thermometrical observations, made at noon in the shade of an open room at lima. . . ____/\____ ____/\____ / \ / \ max. min. max. min. january ¾ ¾ february ½ ¾ march ½ ¾ ¾ april ¾ ¾ ¼ may ¾ ¼ june ¾ july ¾ august ½ ¾ ¾ september ½ ¾ october ¾ ½ ¾ ½ november ½ ¾ ½ ½ december ¾ ½ ½ ------ ------ ------ ------ mean height during} ½ ¾ the year. } ====== ====== ====== ====== the coolness of the climate is occasioned by the wind and a peculiar state of the atmosphere. the wind generally blows from different points of the compass between the south west and the south east. when from the former direction, it crosses in its course a great portion of the pacific ocean, and when it comes from the eastward it has not to pass over sandy deserts or scorching plains, but to traverse first the immense tract of woodland countries lying between the brazils and peru, and afterwards the frozen tops of the cordillera, at a distance of twenty leagues from lima; so that, in both cases, it is equally cool and refreshing. a northerly wind is very seldom felt in lima; but when it blows, as if by accident, from that quarter, the heat is rather oppressive. on the th of march, , the wind being from the north, i made the following observations with a farenheit's thermometer, at one o'clock, p. m. in the shade in an open room ° in the air, five yards from the sun's rays ° in the sun ° water in the shade from sunrise ° water in a well yards below the} ° surface of the earth } sea water at callao at p. m. ° heat of the body, perspiring ° ------------------after cooling in the shade ° the heat of the sun in summer is mitigated by a canopy of clouds, which constantly hang over lima, and although not perceptible from the city, yet when seen from an elevated situation in the mountains, they appear somewhat like the smoke floating in the atmosphere of large towns where coal is burnt; but as this material is not used in lima, the cause and effect must be different. if i may be allowed to give an opinion different from that of several eminent persons who have written on the climate of lima, it is, that the vapours which rise on the coast or from the sea are lifted to a sufficient height by the action of the sun's rays to be caught by the current of wind from the southward and westward, and carried by them into the interior; whilst the exhalations from the city and its suburbs only rise to a lower region, and are not acted upon by the wind, but remain in a quiescent state of perfect equilibrium, hanging over the city during the day, and becoming condensed by the coolness of the night, when they are precipitated in the form of dew, which is always observable in the morning on the herbage. lima may be justly said to enjoy one of the most delightful climates in the world; it is a succession of spring and summer, as free from the chills of winter as from the sultry heats of autumn. notwithstanding this almost constant equability, some writers have imagined that four seasons are distinguishable. such persons, however, must undoubtedly have either been endowed with peculiar sensibility, or have been gifted with an amazing philosophy. not content with the beauties of this climate, some have attached to it the properties which belong to the ultra-tropical countries--jealous perhaps of the theoretical comforts from which they are practically free, and in the full enjoyment of a climate the maximum heat of which seldom exceeds ° of farenheit's thermometer, and the minimum of which is seldom below °, wishing to perfect it by having the maximum at °, and the minimum below zero! peralta, in his th canto, has very quaintly described the beautiful climate of this city:-- "en su orisonte el sol todo es aurora eterna, el tiempo todo es primavera solo es risa del cielo cada hora cada mes solo es cuenta del esfera. son cada aliento, un halito de flora cada arroyo una musa lisongera; y los vergeles, que el confin le debé nubes fragantes con que el ciclo llueve." one of the peculiarities of this climate, as well as that of the coast of peru from arica to cape blanco, being a distance of about degrees of latitude, is, that it can scarcely ever be said to rain. several theories have been advanced to account for this anomaly of nature. the following facts and explanations will, perhaps, tend to unravel the difficulty. in april or may the mists, called _garuas_, begin, and continue with little interruption till november, which period is usually termed the winter solstice. the gentle winds that blow in the morning from the westward, and in the afternoon from the southward, are those which fill the atmosphere with aqueous vapours, forming a very dense cloud or mist; and owing to the obliquity of the rays of the sun during this season the evaporation is not sufficiently rarified or attenuated to enable it to rise above the summits of the adjacent mountains; so that it is limited to the range of flat country lying between the mountains and the sea, which inclines towards the north west. thus the vapours brought by the general winds are collected over this range of coast, and from the cause above-mentioned cannot pass the tops of the mountains, but remain stationary until the sun returns to the south, when they are elevated by his vertical heat, and pass over the mountains into the interior, where they become condensed, and fall in copious rains. that rain is not formed on the coast from these mists is attributable, first, to a want of contrary winds to agitate and unite the particles, and, secondly, to their proximity to the earth, which they reach in their descent, before a sufficient number of them can coalesce, and form themselves into drops. the figure of the coast also contributes to the free access of the water that has been cooled at the south pole, on its return to the equatorial regions. from cape pilares to latitude ° the direction of the coast is nearly n. and s.; and from ° to ° it runs out to the westward: thus the cold water dashes on the shores, and produces in the atmosphere a coolness that is not experienced in other parts, where the coasts are filled with projecting capes and deep bays; because the current, striking against those, sweeps from the coast, and the water in these becomes heated by the sun, and is deprived by the capes of the current of cold water, excepting what is necessary to maintain the equilibrium, which is diminished by absorption in the bays. the heat increases with astonishing rapidity from latitude ° south to ° north; the gulph of choco being deprived of the ingress of cooled water from the south by the cape san francisco, and from the north by cape blanco. the eastern shores of the south continent of america are much warmer than the western, owing to the great number of capes and bays. the atmosphere does not enjoy the cooling breezes from the pole, which are diverted from a direct course in the same manner as the currents of water, nor the refrigerated winds from the cordillera. the southern hemisphere is altogether much cooler than the northern: perhaps in the same ratio that the surface land of the northern hemisphere exceeds that of the southern. during the months of february and march it sometimes happens that large straggling drops of rain fall about five o'clock in the afternoon. this admits of an easy elucidation. the exhalations from the sea being elevated by the heat of a vertical sun, and impelled by the gentle winds during the day towards the interior and mountainous parts of the country, are sometimes arrested in their progress by a current of air from the eastward, which, having been cooled on its passage over the snow-topped andes, is colder than the air from the westward; and wherever these currents meet the aqueous particles are condensed, and uniting become too heavy to continue in the upper region of the atmosphere, when they begin to fall, and in their descent combine with those that fill the lower regions, and hence some large drops are formed. the following table of the weather will perhaps furnish a better idea of the climate of lima than any verbal description:-- . . --------------------------------------- -------------------------- sun. cloudy. variable. sun. cloudy. variable. jan. days days days days days days. feb. march april may .. june .. .. july .. .. .. august .. .. sept. october nov. dec. ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- during the } year.... } ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== _sun_ indicates those days in which the sun was never clouded; _cloudy_, those in which the sun was not visible; and _variable_, those in which the sun was generally clouded in the morning but afterwards became visible. from the foregoing explanations it must naturally be inferred, that the dry season in the interior occurs at the time that the mists or fogs predominate on the coast, and vice versa: this is what really takes place. the rivers on the coast are nearly dry during the misty weather, but during the summer heat they often become impassable, owing to their increase of water from the melting of the snow on the mountains and the fall of rain in the interior. the _chimbadores_, or _badeadores_, men who ford the larger rivers with goods and travellers, know from experience and minute observation, according to the hour at which the increase begins, at what place the rain has fallen. it may be well here to advert to a phenomenon which has as yet remained unnoticed. the heavy rains which fall on the cordillera of the andes are the effect of evaporation from the pacific ocean, and these rains feed the enormous streams which supply those rivers that empty themselves into the atlantic. it therefore follows, that the atlantic is furnished with water from the pacific; and if, as some have believed, the atlantida existed between the coasts of africa and america, its western shores being opposite to the mouth of the river amazon, its inundation may have been occasioned by the heavy rains in the andes. the vegetable mould in the valley of lima is about two feet deep, and is extremely rich, amply repaying the labour of cultivation. below the mould is a stratum of sand and pebbles, extending about three leagues from the sea-coast; and under this a stratum of indurated clay, apparently of alluvial depositions. the latter seems to have been once the bottom of the sea, and may have been raised above the level of the surface by some great convulsion; for i cannot suppose with moreno, unanue and others, that the water has retired from this coast so much as to occasion a fall of more than four hundred feet in perpendicular height, which the stratum of sand and pebbles holds above the level of the sea at its extreme distance from the coast. may not the same principles account for the general belief, that the surface of the atlantic on the eastern shores of the new world is above the level of the pacific on the western shores, notwithstanding the apparent contradiction of the currents running round cape horn into the atlantic? perhaps the asserted elevation, particularly in the gulph of mexico, is owing to the prevailing winds that drive the surface water into the gulf, its free egress by a sub-current being impeded by the range of the antilles, whose bases may occupy a greater space than their surfaces, and also to the existence of rocks under water. although lima is free from the terrifying effects of thunder and lightning, it is subject to dreadful convulsions which are far more frightful and destructive. earthquakes are felt every year, particularly after the mists disperse and the summer sun begins to heat the earth. they are more commonly felt at night, two or three hours after sunset, or in the morning about sunrise. the direction which they have been observed to keep has generally been from south to north, and experience has shewn, that from the equator to the tropic of capricorn the most violent concussions have taken place about once in every fifty years. since the conquest the following, which occurred at arequipa, lima and quito, have been the most violent:-- arequipa. lima. quito. it has been remarked, that the vegetable world suffers very much by a great shock, the country about lima, and all the range of coast were particularly affected by that which happened in . the crops of wheat, maize, and other grain were entirely destroyed, and for several years afterwards the ground was totally unproductive. at that period wheat was first brought from chile, which country has ever since been considered the granary of lima, guayaquil, and panama. feijo, in his description of the province of truxillo, says, "that some of the valleys which produced two hundred fold of wheat before the earthquake in did not reproduce the seed after it for more than twenty years;" and according to the latest information from chile the crops have failed since the earthquake in . the following shocks were felt in lima in the years and :-- . . ______/\______ _________/\__________ / \ / \ january , at ½ p. m. january , at a. m. ... , ... a. m. ... , ... p. m. ... , ... p. m. may , ... ½ a. m. february , ... p. m. ... , ... a. m. ... , ... ½ p. m. ... , ... p. m. march , ... a. m. june , ... ½ a. m. june , ... ½ p. m. nov. , ... a. m. july , ... a. m. ... , ... ½ a. m. nov. , ... p. m. ... , ... p. m. ... , ... ½ p. m. ... , ... ½ p. m. dec. , ... ½ p. m. ... , ... ½ p. m. when one or two faint shocks are felt in the moist weather, they are supposed to indicate a change, and the same is expected in the dry or hot weather. the principal produce of the valley of lima is sugar cane, lucern, _alfalfa_, maize, wheat, beans, with tropical and european fruit, as well as culinary vegetables. the sugar cane is almost exclusively of the creole kind: fine sugar is seldom made from it here, but a coarse sort, called _chancaca_, is extracted, the method of manufacturing which will hereafter be described. the principal part of the cane is employed in making _guarapo_; this is the expressed juice of the cane fermented, and constitutes the chief drink of the coloured people; it is intoxicating, and from its cheapness its effects are often visible, particularly among the indians who come from the interior, and can purchase this disgusting vice at a low rate. the liquor is believed to produce cutaneous eruptions if used by the white people, on which account, or more probably from the vulgarity implied in drinking it, they seldom taste it. i found it very agreeable, and when thirsty or over-heated preferred it to any other beverage. the manufacture of rum was expressly forbidden in peru both by the monarch and the pope; the former ordained very heavy penalties to be inflicted, the latter fulminated his anathemas on those who should violate the royal will. the whole of this strange colonial restriction had for its object the protection and exclusive privilege of the owners of vineyards in the making of spirits--a protection which cost the proprietors upwards of sixty thousand dollars. great quantities of lucern, alfalfa, are cultivated, for the purpose of supplying with provender the horses and mules of lima; and not less than twelve hundred asses are kept for the purpose of bringing it from the _chacras_, small farms in the valley. it generally grows to the height of three feet, and is cut down five times in the year; it prospers extremely well during the moist weather, but there is a great scarcity in the summer or hot season, because it cannot then be irrigated, for it has been observed, that if, after cutting, the roots are watered they rot; on this account fodder is not plentiful in summer, so that if a substitute for the lucern could be introduced it would prove a source of great wealth to its cultivator. i never saw dried lucern, and on inquiring why they did not dry and preserve it, was told, that the experiment had been tried, but that the green lucern when dried became so parched and tasteless that the horses would not eat it, and that the principal stems of the full-grown or ripe lucern very often contain a snuff-like powder, which is very injurious to the animals, producing a kind of madness, and frequently killing them. fat cattle brought to lima are generally kept a few days on lucern before they are slaughtered; the farmers are therefore very attentive to the cultivation of this useful and productive plant. guinea grass was planted near the city by don pedro abadia, but it did not prosper; whether the failure were occasioned by the climate, or by ignorance of management, i cannot say, but i am inclined to believe that the latter was the case. wheat is sown, but no reliance can be placed on a produce adequate to repay the farmer, although the quality in favourable seasons is very good. it often happens, that the vertical sun has great power before the grain is formed, at which time the small dew drops having arranged themselves on different parts of the ear into minute globules, these are forcibly acted on by the sun's rays before evaporation takes place, and operating as so many convex lenses, the grain is burnt, and the disappointed farmer finds nothing but a deep brown powder in its place. i have sometimes seen a field of wheat or other grain most luxuriantly green in the evening, and the day following it has been parched and dry; this transition the farmer says is the effect of frost; which will perhaps be admitted to be a correct explanation, if we consider that during the night the wind has come from the eastward, and has passed over a range of the andes at a short distance. it sometimes also happens that the moist season continues for a long period, or that after clear weather the mists return; now should the farmer irrigate his fields during this intermission, or should the mists continue, the plants shoot up to such a great height that straw alone is harvested; but in this case, aware of the result, he often cuts the green corn for fodder, or turns his cattle on it to feed. the growth of maize is much attended to, and very large quantities are annually consumed in lima by the lower classes, and as food for hogs, some of which animals become extremely fat with this grain, and in less time than if fed on any other kind. three sorts of maize are cultivated here, each of which has its peculiar properties and uses. it appears to have been in very extensive use among the indians before the arrival of the spaniards; for, on digging the _huacas_, or burying grounds, at the distance of forty leagues from lima, i have often found great quantities of it. a large deposit was discovered in square pits or cisterns, made of sun-dried bricks, on a farm called vinto, where no doubt there had either been a public granary, or, as some people imagine, a depôt formed by huaina capac, on leading his troops against the chimu, a king of the coasts, about the year . the grain was quite entire when it was taken up, although, according to the above hypothesis, it had been under ground about four hundred years; owing its preservation perhaps to the dry sand in which it was buried. its depth beneath the surface was about four feet, on the ridge of a range of sand hills, where no moisture could reach it by absorption from below, its elevation being about feet above the level of the sea, and above that of the nearest river. i planted some of it, but it did not grow: however its fattening qualities were not destroyed, and the neighbouring farmers and inhabitants of the adjacent villages profited by the discovery. large quantities of beans are harvested in this valley for the support of the slaves on the estates and plantations, but the market of lima is principally supplied from _valles_, the valleys on the coast to the northward. although abundance of tropical and ultra-tropical fruit trees are cultivated in the gardens and orchards belonging to the farm houses, and _quintas_, seats, in the valley, i shall defer an account of them until i describe the gardens in and about the city. culinary vegetables are grown here in abundance, including a great part of those known in europe, as well as those peculiar to warm climates. the _yuca_, casava, merits particular attention, on account of its prolific produce, delicate taste, and nutritious qualities; it grows to about five feet high; its leaves are divided into seven finger-like lobes of a beautiful green, and each plant will generally yield about eight roots of the size of large carrots, of a white colour, under a kind of rough barky husk. in a raw state its taste is somewhat similar to that of the chesnut, and of a very agreeable flavour when roasted or boiled; the young buds and leaves are also cooked, and are as good as spinage. it is propagated by planting the stalks or stems of the old crop, cutting them close to the ground after about four inches are buried in the mould, which must be light and rather sandy. two species are known; the crop of the one arrives at full growth in three months, but this is not considered of so good a quality, nor is it so productive as the other, which is six months before it arrives at a state of perfection. they are distinguished by the yellowish colour of the latter, and the perfectly white colour of the former. the disadvantage attending these roots, is, that they cannot be kept above four or five days before they become very black, when they are considered unfit for use. starch is made from them in considerable quantities, by the usual method of bruising, and subjecting them to fermentation, in order to separate the farina. the mandioc, a variety of this genus, is unknown on the western side of the continent: thus all danger of injury from its poisonous qualities is precluded. several varieties of the potatoe are cultivated and yield very abundant crops. they appear to have been known in this part of the new world before it was visited by the spaniards, and not to have been confined to chile, their native country. i found this probability on their having a proper name in the quichua language, whilst those plants that have been brought into the country retain among the indians their spanish names alone. _camotes_, commonly called sweet potatoes, and by the spaniards _batatas_, are produced in great abundance, of both the yellow and purple kinds. i have seen them weighing ten pounds each; when roasted or boiled their taste is sweeter than that of the chesnut, and all classes of people eat them. they become much more farinaceous if exposed for some time to the sun after they are taken out of the ground; and if kept dry they will remain good for six months. they are propagated by setting pieces of the branches of old plants, to procure which the camote itself is sometimes planted. although the _arracacha_ which is grown in this valley is neither so large nor so well tasted as that which is produced in a cooler climate, it is nevertheless an exceedingly good esculent. it is cultivated in a rich, loose soil, and has generally five or six roots, something like parsnips, but of a different flavour; they are not very mealy, and require but little cooking; they are, however, very easy of digestion, on which account they are given to the sick and convalescent; the leaves bear a great resemblance to those of celery. the plantation is either from cuttings of the root, like potatoes, or from the seed; in the first case the roots are full grown in three months, but in the latter in not less than five. if allowed to remain in the ground double the time mentioned the roots continue to increase in size, without any detriment to their taste. starch is sometimes made from the roots, and used in the same manner as the arrow root is in other countries. only the white arracacha is here cultivated. the arracacha deserves the attention of europeans; it would, i am pretty certain, prosper in england, because its natural temperature, where it thrives best, is in about ° of fahrenheit. the _tomate_, love apple, is very much cultivated, and is in frequent use both in the kitchen and for confectionary, and produces a very agreeable acid. capsicum, cayenne pepper, _aji_, is abundant; i have counted nine different sorts, the largest, _rocotos_, about the size of a turkey's egg, and the smallest, which is the most pungent, not thicker than the quill of a pigeon's feather; the quantity of this spice used in america is enormous; i have frequently seen a person, particularly among the indians, eat as a relish, twenty or thirty pods, with a little salt and a piece of bread. one kind called _pimiento dulce_ is made into a very delicate salad, by roasting the pods over hot embers, taking away the outer skin, and the seeds from the inside, and seasoning with salt, oil, and vinegar. it is rather a surprising fact, that manure is never used on the farms or plantations. the astonishing fertility of the soil, which has been under cultivation for upwards of three hundred years, and produced luxuriant annual crops, appears to be supported by the turbid water from the mountains, during the rainy season, with which it is irrigated. this water, like that of the nile, leaves on the ground a slimy film, which is said to contain a considerable quantity of animal matter. chapter ix. viceroys and archbishops of lima....viceroyalty, extent....viceroy's titles and privileges....royal audience....cabildo....forms of law....military.... religion....inquisition....sessions and processes....archbishop.... royal patronage....ecclesiastical tribunals....chapter, _cabildo ecclesiastico_....curates....asylum of immunity....minor tribunals...._consulado_....crusade....treasury, accompts...._temporalidades_, _protomedicato_. lima is the metropolitan, and the richest city of south america. under the spanish regime it has been the residence of forty-three viceroys, counting from don francisco pizarro to the present don jose de la serna, who abandoned the capital in , when the patriot army entered. it also enumerates nineteen archbishops, from don fray geronimo de loaisa, who arrived in , to don bartolome maria de las heras, who was compelled by general san martin to retire in . in the list of viceroys we find four grandees of spain, two titled princes, one archbishop, one bishop, and three licentiates; the rest were military officers, but none of them americans. among the archbishops is saint thoribio de mogroviejo, who was presented in , and in the exercise of his ecclesiastical duties was so unremitting, that he visited his extensive diocese three times, and confirmed upwards of a million of persons, one of whom was saint rose of lima. he died in , and was canonized by benedict xiii. in . the viceroyalty of peru formerly extended from the south confines of mexico to those of chile, including all the spanish possessions in south america, and what the spaniards call meridional america. the viceroyalty of santa fe de bogotá was separated from peru, and established in ; that of buenos ayres in . the titles of the viceroy of peru were his excellency don ----, viceroy and captain-general of peru, president of the royal audience, superintendent subdelegate of the royal finances, posts and temporalities, director-general of the mining tribunal, governor of callao, royal vice-patron, &c. as viceroy he was the immediate representative of the king, and answerable to him alone as president of the council of indies, _consejo de indias_: to which tribunal all complaints and appeals were directed, as well as the residential reports. petitions of every description were presented directed or addressed to him, for the despatch of which he was assisted by a legal adviser, called _asesor general_, whose written report was generally confirmed by the sub-signature of the viceroy, but from these there was an appeal to the royal audience. it has been the custom of the viceroys to appoint an hour in the morning, and another in the afternoon, for receiving personally from the hands of the petitioners papers addressed to them; but the secretary's office was always open for such documents. in his quality of captain-general he was charged with all political affairs, those relating to fortification, and the defence of the country by land and sea, for which purpose the whole of the military and naval departments were subject to his immediate orders; but in cases of emergency he usually called a _junta de guerra_, council of war. all courts martial were held by his orders, and their sentences required his confirmation before they were put in execution, but if he chose he could refer the whole to the revision of the _consejo de guerra permanente_, in spain. in the capacity of president of the royal audience the viceroy assisted at the sittings whenever he pleased, and entered at any hour which he thought proper during a session. when he proposed to assist in state, he announced his intention, and a deputation of the judges attended him from his palace to the hall; on his arrival at the door the porter called aloud, the president! when all the attorneys, advocates and others met and conducted him to his chair; the judges continued standing until he was seated and nodded permission for them to resume their seats. the session being finished, all the members of the audience, regent, judges, _oidores_, and fiscal, accompanied him to the door of his apartment in the palace, the regent walking on his left, and the other members preceding him two and two. the presidency of the audience was merely honorary, as the president had neither a deliberative nor a consulting voice, but all sentences of the tribunal must have had his signature, which may be called the _veto_, before they could be put in execution. on the arrival of any new laws, royal ordinances, or schedules, the viceroy was summoned by the tribunal to the hall of accords, _sala de acuerda_, where they were presented to him, and the ceremony of obedience to them performed by his kissing the king's signature and then laying the paper on his head, which act was recorded by the _escribano de camara_. the viceroy, as president of the royal audience made a private report annually to the king, through the council of indies, of the public and even of the private characters of the members of the tribunal. he could also direct secret inquiries respecting any member whose conduct might have excited suspicion. all presidents of audiences, as well as the members, were forbidden to marry within the boundaries of their jurisdiction without the express permission of the king; they were likewise prohibited all commercial concerns, possession of personal property, becoming godfathers to infants, and even visiting any private family. the marquis of aviles, viceroy of lima, was, before his appointment, married to a native of lima, but he was never known to visit any of her relatives; however, abascal, marquis de la concordia, judging it to be a prudent and conciliatory measure to break through this restriction during the unquiet times of his government, visited different families, and attended at several public feasts, giving others in return. at the expiration of five years, the term for which viceroys, governors, &c. were appointed, and on the arrival of a successor, a commissioner, generally a judge, was nominated by the king, to take what was termed _la residencia_. six months were allowed for all persons who considered themselves aggrieved to lay before this commissioner a full statement of their case, and at the termination of the six months the whole of the papers which had been presented were forwarded to the council of indies for the inspection of that tribunal. as superintendent subdelegate merely placed the viceroy above all the tribunals, he had no other authority over them, except, indeed, the nomination of the higher officers, who had afterwards to obtain a confirmation from the king; or of confirming the lower officers nominated by their superior ones. it may be considered an honorary distinction, except that of royal financier, as such he presided quarterly at the general passing of accounts and inspection of treasures. as royal vice-patron all collated benefices required his confirmation. the archbishop proposed to him three individuals, and it generally happened that the first on the list received the confirmation; but this was optional in the vice-patron, who could confirm any one of those whom he chose. this prerogative was often the cause of serious disputes between the viceroy and the archbishop. as governor-general of callao, he visited its fortifications twice a year, for which he had an additional sum of five hundred dollars for each visit. his whole salary amounted to sixty-one thousand dollars. the royal audience of lima was established in , and composed of a president, regent, eight oidores or members, two fiscals, (one civil, the other criminal) _relatores_, reporters, _escribanos_, scriveners or recorders, porters, and an _alguacil mayor_, also two _alcaldes de corte_. the official costume of the regent and members was a black under dress with white laced cuffs over those of the coat, a black robe or cloak with a cape about three quarters of a yard square, generally of velvet, called the toga; and a collar or ruff having two corners in front; this was black and covered with white lace or cambric: a small trencher cap, carried in their hands, completed their costume. when divested of their robes they bore a gold-headed cane or walking-stick with large black silk tassels and cord, which was the insignia of a magistrate, or of any one in command, and called the _baton_. the sessions of the audience were held every day, excepting holidays, from nine o'clock in the morning till twelve; and here all cases both civil and criminal were tried, either by the whole of the members or by committees, and there was no appeal, except in some few cases, to the consejo de indias. the audience was a court of appeal from any other authority, even from the ecclesiastical courts, by a _recurso de fuersa_; but all its sentences required the signature of the viceroy or president; for the obtaining of which, an escribano de camara waited on his excellency every day with all those papers that had received the signatures of the audience and required to be signed by him. papers addressed to the audience were headed with _mui poderoso señor_, most potent lord; and the title of the members in session was highness, _altesa_, individually that of lordship, _senoria_. the cabildo of lima had two _alcaldes ordinarios_, twelve _regidores_, a _sindico procurador_, a secretary, an _alguacil mayor_ and a legal advisor called the _asesor_. the cabildo appointed out of its own members a justice of police, _jues de policia_; a _jues de aguas_, who decided in all questions respecting the water-works belonging to the city and suburbs; also a _fiel egecutor_, for examining weights and measures. the royal ensign, _alferes real_ was another member _de oficio_, appointed by the king, who held in his possession the royal standard, (the same that was brought by pizarro) which was carried by the alferes real, accompanied by the viceroy, a deputation from the audience, another from the cabildo, including the two alcaldes, and others from the different corporate bodies, in solemn procession through some of the principal streets of the city, on the th of january, being the anniversary of the foundation of lima. the title of alferes real was hereditary in the family of the count of monte mar, y monte blanco. the viceroy was president of the cabildo. the alcaldes had cognizance in all causes cognizable by governors; their sentences had the same force, and were carried by appeal to the audience. the forms of law in the spanish tribunals were very complicated, tedious and expensive. the escribano wrote down all declarations, accusations, and confessions, and the courts decided on the merits of the case according to what was read to them by the _relator_ from the writings presented; the client, if in prison, not being admitted to hear his own cause. the tribunals, or judges very reluctantly deprived a man of his life, but they had no regard to his personal liberty; even a supposition of criminality was sufficient to incarcerate an individual, perhaps for years, during which he had not the power to prove himself innocent. from the facility of imprisonment it was not considered a disgrace, and a prisoner often received visits from his friends in a jail, which he returned as a matter of politeness when liberated. i saw prisoners here who had been incarcerated for twenty years, some for murder; their causes were not then and probably never would be finished till death stepped in. the viceroy visited all the prisons on the friday before easter, and two days before christmas, when he discharged some persons who were confined for petty crimes. a surgeon and one of the _alcaldes_ visited the prisons every day, which visits produced much good; the alcalde _de corte_ examined their food two or three times a week, and attended to any complaints respecting the internal arrangements made by the _alcaide_, jailor. of the military, not only those who were in actual service, but the militia, and persons who had held military rank, and had retired, were tried by their particular laws, or court martials. this exemption was called _fuero_, but its enjoyment was not equally extended. the private, the corporal, and the serjeant might be tried, condemned and executed, but the sentence of an officer required the confirmation of the captain-general, and in some cases the approbation of the king. the roman catholic religion was established here in the same manner as in all the spanish dominions, all sectaries being excluded. the inexorable tribunal for the protection of the former, and for the persecution of the latter, held its sessions in lima, and was one of the three instituted in south america, the other two being at mexico and carthagena. much has been written at different times respecting this _tribunal de la fe_, tribunal of faith, and much more has been said about it, in opposition to the old spanish adage, _de rey e inquisicion--chiton_, of the king and the inquisition--not a word. the primitive institution was entirely confined to adjudge matters strictly heretical, but it soon assumed cognizance of civil and political affairs, becoming at the same time the stay of the altar, and the prop of the throne. all the sessions of the inquisition being inaccessible, and the persons tried, consulted, or called in as evidence having been sworn to keep secret every thing which they should hear, see, or say, has, in a great measure, deprived the public of any knowledge respecting what transpired in its mysterious proceedings. this tribunal could condemn to fine, confiscation, banishment, or the flames. since its erection in , not fewer than forty individuals have been sentenced to the latter punishment, from which one hundred and twenty have escaped by recantation. the last who suffered was a female of the name of castro, a native of toledo, in spain. she was burnt in the year . formerly the portraits of those unfortunate individuals who had been burnt were hung up, with the names annexed, in the passage leading from the cathedral to the sagrario, where also the names of those who had recanted were exposed, having a large red cross on the pannel, but no portrait. in the year , as one of the results of the promulgation of the constitution, this revolting exhibition was removed. the tribunal was composed of three inquisitors and two secretaries, called of despatch and of secret, _del despacho y del secreto_; _alguasiles_, or bailiffs, porters, brothers of punishment, being lay brothers of the order of dominicans, whose duty it was to attend when requested, and to inflict corporal punishment on the unhappy victims of persecution. there were also brothers of charity, of the hospitallery order of saint juan de dios, to whom the care of the sick was confided; and both were sworn not to divulge what they had done or seen. besides these, a great number of commissaries were appointed by the inquisitors, in the principal towns within their jurisdiction, for the purpose of furnishing them with information on every matter denounced; also of forwarding accusations, processes, and persons accused, to the tribunal. qualifiers were elected, whose duty it was to spy out whatever might appear to them offensive to religion, in books, prints or images; they likewise reported to the tribunal their opinion of new publications. these were wretches worse than slander, for not even the secrets of the grave could escape them! all books, before they were offered for sale, must have had a permit from the inquisition; and if they were contained in the published list of prohibited works, the possessor was obliged to go to a _calificador_, qualifier, and deliver them to him; and should a person have known that another had such books in his possession, it was his duty to denounce the individual, whose house, through this circumstance, was subject to a visit from those holy men. when such books were found, the owner became amenable to any punishment which these arbitrary priests might think proper to inflict. the punishment was generally a fine, which was of the greatest utility to the judges, because all the salaries were paid out of fines and confiscations, and a stipend arising from a canonry in each cathedral within their jurisdiction. it was often said by the people, that some books were prohibited because they were bad; others were bad, because they were prohibited. the inquisitors were secular priests, and distinguished from the others by wearing a pale blue silk cuff, buttoned over that of the coat. they were addressed as lords spiritual, and when speaking, although individually, used the plural pronoun _we_. the inquisitorial power was never exercised over the indians or negroes, who were considered in the class of neophytes; but every other individual, including the viceroy, archbishop, judges, prebends, &c. was subject to its almost omnipotent authority. lima was the see of a bishop from to , when it was created an archbishopric by paul iv., being a suffragan to the mitre of seville till the year . it was afterwards erected into a metropolitan, and has for suffragans the bishops of panamá erected in cuzco " quito " santiago de chile " conception de chile " truxillo " guamanga " arequipa " cuenca " maynas " the two bulls of alexander vi. of and gave to ferdinand and isabella the entire possession of those countries discovered, and that might from time to time be discovered by them and their successors, in america; and the pope, being _infallible_ in his decrees, these bulls deprived the see of rome of all direct influence in the spanish colonies, and gave to the kings of spain the right of repulsing any jurisdiction which the popes might attempt to exercise there. thus any decree, mandate, bull, or commission from the pope required the sanction of royal approbation before it was valid in this country; and even for the prevention of what were termed reserved cases, the kings took care to obtain extensive privileges for the archbishops and bishops. all briefs, bulls, dispensations, indulgences, and other pontifical acts were sent from rome to the king; and the council of indies had the exclusive examination, admission or rejection of them, as they might consider them advantageous or injurious to the royal prerogative in the colonies. the right of patronage belonged exclusively to the king; he had the presentation to all archbishoprics and bishoprics, and every other office even to the lowest was filled by the royal will. the presentation to vicarages, curacies, chaplainries, &c. was delegated to the viceroy, as vice-patron; and if any dispute should arise respecting the due exercise of this delegated authority, it was carried before the council of indies, which was authorized to regulate any such controversies. this entirely deprived the pope of all interfering power; indeed he enjoyed no other right than that of granting bulls, briefs, &c. when they were requested, and of deciding in cases of conscience, when they were submitted to him by the council of indies. all bishops and other beneficed priests rendered to the king, as patron, the entire rent of their benefice for one year; it was called the _annata_, and was paid in six annual instalments. the revenue of the mitres was derived from the tithes; two ninths of which belonged to the king, one fourth to the mitre and the remainder was applied to the other ministers of the gospel, both of the choir and collated benefices. for the security of the royal privileges, every bishop made oath, before he took possession of his see, that he would respect the royal patronage, and never oppose the exercise of its rights. the archbishop had his ecclesiastical tribunal, and so had all bishops in the spanish colonies. it was composed of himself, as president, the fiscal, and provisor vicar general. all ordinary sentences were given by the provisor, the president's signature being subjoined; but all important cases were judged by the archbishop. the jurisdiction of this tribunal embraced all causes spiritual, such as orders, marriages, divorces, legitimations, pious legacies, monastical portions or dowries, with the defence and preservation of the immunities of the church, and contentious disputes between the members of the church, as well as those preferred by laymen against priests. all who had received holy orders enjoyed the _fuero ecclesiastico_, and all criminal complaints against the clergy must be laid before the ecclesiastical tribunal, but there was an appeal to the royal audience, as has been mentioned, by a _recurso de fuersa_. suits instituted in an ecclesiastical court were equally as tedious and expensive as those of a secular one. five provincial councils have been held here for the regulation of church discipline. the two first were held in and by don fray geronimo de loaisa, and the other three in , , and , by saint thoribio de mogroviejo. the provincial of each monastic order was the prelate, or head of the order; he judged, in the first instance, of any misdemeanour committed by the individuals wearing the habit; he also inflicted corporal as well as spiritual punishments; besides ordering temporal privations, on which account monasteries were not subject to the ordinary. the chapter, or _cabildo ecclesiastico_, of lima had a dean, a subdean, a magisterial canon, a doctoral, a penitentiary and a treasurer; six prebendaries, four canons, six demi-proporcionaries, _medio racioneros_, and for the service of the choir four royal chaplains, two choral chaplains, a master of ceremonies, besides chaunters, musicians, _monacillos_, who served at the altar; porters, beadles, &c. the prebendaries and canons were distinguished from other clergymen by wearing white lace or cambric cuffs. in the spanish colonies the care of souls was confided to rectoral curates, who officiated in parishes where the population was principally spanish or white creoles; they received a stipend out of the tithes, and from their parishioners they were entitled to the firstlings, _primicias_, which consisted of one bushel of grain of each description, harvested by each separate individual, if the quantity harvested exceeded seven bushels; but no more than one was exacted, however great the quantity of grain might be. for animals and fruits they generally compounded with their parishioners. they were also paid for baptisms, marriages and funerals; besides which they had perquisites arising from church feasts, masses, &c. the doctrinal curates were those destined to towns or parishes the population of which was composed chiefly of indians; they had fewer perquisites, and received nothing for baptisms, marriages, or funerals, but a sum established by the synod, which was very small. they had however a stipend assigned them by the king, which they got from the treasury: it seldom exceeded dollars. the missionaries enjoyed curial and apostolical privileges in their villages, or reductions; they were of the order of franciscans, who at the extinction of the jesuits filled all the missions vacated by this death-blow to the advancement of christianity among the unchristianized tribes of indians in south america. the election of curates took place about every four years, and was called the _concurso_, at which time all those possessed of benefices, and who wished to be removed, presented themselves; having first obtained permission from the archbishop, and left another clergyman in charge of their parish. the archbishop and four _examinadores_ examined them in latin and theological points, and either approved or reproved them. if the former, an allegation of merits and services was presented, without any expression of inclination to any particular parish, and after all the examinations were ended the archbishop nominated three individuals to each of the third class or richest livings. these nominations were forwarded to the vice-patron, who confirmed one of each three, and presented him with the benefice, returning immediately the two remaining ones. out of these, other nominations were made for the second class, and then sent for confirmation. the returns furnished names for the first or lowest class. the archbishop could appoint, on the death of a curate, any priest to fill the vacancy pro tempore without the confirmation of the vice-patron. all persons who received holy orders must possess a sufficient _congrua_ to support them decently, if not, they were ordained by a title of adscription, by which the archbishop could attach them to any curacy as assistants or coadjutors. no curate or priest could enjoy two livings or benefices, nor absent himself under any pretence from the one he held without an express permission from the vicar-general; none could appear as evidence in cases where there was a possibility of the culprits being sentenced to death, and they were expressly prohibited from interfering, either directly or indirectly, as magistrates. it is certainly to be regretted, that in all parts of the world, i mean the christian world, the same laws are not established; for what ought to be more dear to a shepherd than his flock; but alas! many take charge of it for the sake of the fleece, and for that only. some of the popes, imagining in their ardour of usurpation, that they should increase the sanctity of the church by elevating it above the reach of the law, barred its doors against the civil magistracy, and made it the refuge of outlaws; thus mistaking pity for piety, christian forgiveness for religious protection: hence the temple was opened to the murderer, his hands still reeking with the blood of his fellow citizen, and closed against the minister of justice, whose duty it was to avenge the crime; as if god had established his church for the protection of vices in this world, which he has threatened with eternal punishment in the next. spain, either through fear or as the bigot of ancient customs, maintains her asylums on the plan to which charlemagne reduced them in france in the eighth century. by the request of the king a bull was issued, dated th sept. , limiting the place of immunity throughout the spanish dominions to one church in each smaller town, and to two in large cities; the sagrario and san larazo enjoyed this privilege in lima. the immunity of the church protected a man who had killed another by chance or in his own defence; but if he had been guilty of murder, or had maliciously wounded a person so as to cause his death, it delivered him over to the civil authorities at their request. the commission of a crime in the church or its dependencies precluded immunity, which was also withheld from persons convicted of high treason, although they might take refuge in a privileged church; from those suspected of heresy; heretics; jews; forgers of royal or apostolic letters or patents; the defrauders of any bank or public treasury; false coiners of coin current in the country; violaters of churches, or destroyers of church property; persons who escaped from prison, from the officers of justice, from exile, public labours or the galleys; blasphemers; sorcerers; the excommunicated; debtors and thieves. thus it appears, that immunity was available only in cases of manslaughter; but if the person accused had been guilty of murder, before it could be proved against him, he generally took care to make his escape and elude the punishment. the same may be said of the greater number of the instances to which immunity was denied; for few suffered, like joab, after having taken hold of the horns of the altar. the other tribunals in lima were _el consulado_, or the board of commerce, founded in . it had a prior and two consuls, who decided in all mercantile affairs; they had an _asesor_ or legal adviser, secretary, notary and porters; the tribunal of the holy crusade, founded in , for the promulgation of the pope's bulls, and collection of this part of the royal revenue; the royal treasury, established in , for the receipt of all treasure appertaining to the crown, and the payment of all persons in the employ of the government; the tribunal of general accompts; that of temporalities, for recovering the value or rents of the possessions and property of the ex jesuits; and, lastly, the tribunal of the _protomedicato_, for the examination of students in medicine and surgery: it was composed of a president, a fiscal and two examiners. chapter x. taxes, alcavala....indian tribute....fifths of the mines....lances ....stamped paper....tobacco...._media anata_...._aprovechamientos_ ...._composicion and confirmacion_ of lands....royal ninths.... venal offices....estrays....confiscations....fines....vacant successions...._almoxarifasgo_...._corso_...._armada_....consulate ...._cirquito_....vacant benefices...._mesada ecclesiastica_.... _media anata ecclesiastica_....restitutions....bulls. the system of taxation in the spanish colonies was as complicated as their law suits in the courts of justice, and the ingenuity of the theory practised in the exchequer can only be equalled by the resignation of the people to the practice. the _alcavala_ was the most ancient and most productive tax in the colonies; it was granted by the cortes to the king of spain, in , to defray the expenses of the war against the moors. at that time it was rated at five per cent., but in the year it was increased to ten per cent. the order for the collection of this tax in peru was issued in ; it was first fixed here at two per cent., and afterwards increased, according to the exigences of the state, and the submission of the people, to six and a half per cent. this tax was levied on every sale and resale of moveable and immoveable property; all merchandize, manufactured produce, animals, buildings, in fine, all kinds of property were liable to this impost the moment they were brought into the market, and all contracts specified its payment. retail dealers generally compounded according to their stock and presumed sale, and were compelled to abide by the composition. those indians who became subject to the law of conquest, that is, all whose forefathers did not voluntarily resign themselves to the spanish authorities, and solicit a curate, without causing any expense to be incurred in their discovery or subjection, paid an annual tribute from the age of eighteen to fifty. this tribute varied very much in different provinces; some paying seven dollars and a half a year, others only two and a half. an indian might redeem his tribute by advancing a certain sum, proportionate to his age and the annual tribute. the tax was collected by the _subdelegados_, governors of districts, who were allowed six per cent. on the sum gathered, according to the tribute roll, which was renewed every five years by a commissioner called the _visitador_. this direct tax was more irksome to the people than any other, and caused much general discontent, although those who paid it enjoyed privileges more than equal to the impost. all metals paid to the king a fifth, for the collection of which proper officers and offices were established. gold in its native state was carried to the royal foundry, _casa real de fundicion_, where it was reduced to ingots, each of which was assayed and marked, its quality and weight being specified; after which the fifth was paid, and then it was offered for sale. silver was also taken in its pure state, called _piña_, and it was contraband to sell it until it had been melted, and each bar marked in the same manner as the gold. base metals were subject to a similar impost, but reduced to bars by the miners, who afterwards paid the fifth. titles paid an annual fine of five hundred dollars each to the king, unless the person in possession redeemed it by paying ten thousand dollars. this tax, although unproductive in some parts, was worthy of attention in lima, where there were sixty-three titled personages, marquises, counts and viscounts. all judicial proceedings in the different courts of justice, civil, criminal, military and ecclesiastical; all agreements, testimonies, and public acts, were required to be on stamped paper, according to a royal order dated in . it was stamped in spain, bearing the date of the two years for which it was to serve, or was considered to be in force; after which term it was of no use. the surplus, if any, was cut through the stamp, and sold as waste paper, and the court took care to supply another stock for the two succeeding years. if the court neglected to do this, the old paper was restamped by order of the viceroy, bearing a fac simile of his signature. there were four sorts of this paper, or rather paper of four prices. that on which deeds and titles were written, or permissions and pardons granted, cost six dollars the sheet; that used for contracts, wills, conveyances and other deeds drawn up before a notary, one dollar and a half; that on which every thing concerning a course of law before the viceroy or audience was conducted, half a dollar; and for writings presented by soldiers, slaves, paupers and indians, the fourth class was used, and cost the sixteenth of a dollar each sheet. the first sheet of the class required in any memorial or document, according to the foregoing rules, was of that price, but the remainder, if more were wanted, might be of the fourth class or lowest price, or even of common writing paper. tobacco was a royal monopoly, a price being fixed by the government on the different qualities of this article, according to the province in which it was grown; at such price the whole was paid for; after which it was brought to lima, where it was sold at an established rate at the _estanco_, or general depôt. if any person either bought or sold tobacco without a license, confiscation of the article and a heavy fine were the result, and frequently the whole property of the offender became a forfeit. on an average, the king purchased it at three reals, three eighths of a dollar, per pound, and sold it again at two dollars; but such was the number of officers employed to prevent smuggling, collect the tobacco, and attend the estanco, that, on the whole, the revenue suffered very considerably, although the profit was so great. snuff was not allowed to be manufactured in peru; one kind called _polvillo_ was brought from seville, and rappee from the havanna; but both were included in the royal monopoly. to secure the tax imposed on tobacco, no one could cultivate it without express permission from the director; and, on delivery, the planter was obliged to make oath as to the number of plants which he had harvested; also that he had not reserved one leaf for his own use, nor for any other purpose. this tyrannical monopoly produced more hatred to the spanish government than all the other taxes. not only every tobacco planter, but every consumer joined in execrating so disagreeable an impost. the _media anata_, or moiety of the yearly product of all places or employments under government, was paid into the treasury, or rather reserved out of the stipend when the payment was made by the treasury. this moiety was deducted for the first year only, and if the individual were promoted to a more lucrative situation, he again paid the surplus of his appointment for one year. _aprovechamientos_, or profits, were, in seized goods, the excess of their valuation over their sale, which excess was paid into the treasury so that the king took the goods as they were appraised by _his officers_, and appropriated to himself the profit of the public sale. composition and confirmation of lands were the produce arising from the sale of lands belonging to the crown, and the duty paid by the purchaser for the original title deeds. the royal ninths, _novenos reales_, were the one ninth of all the tithes collected: the amount was paid into the treasury. tithes were established in america by an edict of charles v. dated the th of october, . they were at first applied wholly to the support of the church; but in it was ordained that they should be divided into four parts; one to be given to the bishop of the diocese, one to the chapter, and out of the remainder two ninths should belong to the crown, three for the foundation of churches and hospitals, and four ninths for the support of curates and other officiating ecclesiastics. this distribution was afterwards altered, and the seven ninths of the moiety were applied to the latter purpose. the tithe on sugar, cocoa, coffee and other agricultural productions which required an expensive process before they were considered as articles of commerce paid only five per cent.; but ten per cent. was rigorously exacted on all produce and fruits which did not require such a process. tobacco, being a royal monopoly, paid no tithes. all offices in the _cabildos_, excepting those of the two _alcaldes_; those of notaries, _escribanos_, receivers and recorders of the audience, paid a fine to the king on his appointment, in proportion to the value of the office, but the incumbent was allowed to sell his appointment, on certain conditions established by law, which conditions, however, almost debarred any person from being a purchaser. all property found was to be delivered to the solicitor of the treasury; and if it remained one year unclaimed it was declared to belong to the crown. all contraband or confiscated property paid to the king the duties which would have been paid had the commodity been regularly imported or exported; after which the value produced by sale, the _aprovechamiento_ being deducted, was divided among the informer, the captors, the intendant, the council of indies and the king. fines imposed as penalties in the different courts of justice belonged to the crown, and were paid into the treasury. the property of any person dying intestate appertained to the king. the revenue arising from commerce was exacted under a great many heads, and was as complicated a system as the rest of the spanish proceedings, which appeared to be directed to the employment of a number of officers and the diminution of finance. the _almoxarifasgo_ was paid on whatever was either shipped or landed; on entering any spanish port five per cent. was paid, on going out, two per cent. the _corso_ was levied on entry as well as departure, being in both cases two per cent. the duty called _armada_ was a tax established for defraying the expenses incurred in the protection of vessels against pirates; that of _corso_ against enemies in time of war; but although the former might not exist, and the latter have ceased, the tax was still levied, in contradiction to the old rule, that the effect ceases with the cause. the armada was four per cent. on entry, and two on departure. the duty of the consulate was received at the maritime custom houses, and the product accounted for to the tribunal; it was one per cent. on entry, and one on departure. besides the foregoing taxes, the tariff taxes were paid, the list of which would be too long for insertion. in the viceroy abascal issued a decree, by which british manufactured goods were permitted to be brought across the isthmus of panama, and thence to callao, on condition of their paying a duty of thirty-seven and a half per cent., called _el derecho de cirquito_, circuit duty, in addition to all the other taxes. a merchant in lima assured me, that having remitted thirty thousand dollars to jamaica, to be employed in the purchase of cotton goods, the expenses of freight, the porterage, and the duties together amounted to forty-two thousand three hundred and seventy-five dollars by the time the goods were warehoused in lima. among the ecclesiastical contributions to the state were major and minor vacancies, which were the rents of vacant bishoprics, prebendaries and canonries; these rents were paid into the treasury until the new dignitary was appointed, and took possession of his benefice. the _mesada ecclesiastica_ was the amount of the first month, or the twelfth part of the annual income of each rector after his presentation to a new benefice. this was estimated by the solicitor of the treasury, and religiously exacted. the _media anata ecclesiastica_ was the proceeds of the first six months which the dignitaries and canons of the chapters paid out of the income of their benefices. restitution was the money which penitents delivered to their confessors, being the amount of what they believed they had defrauded the crown, by smuggling, or other unlawful practices. the name of the restitutionist was kept a profound secret; all that the confessor had to do was, to deliver the money he might receive to the collector at the treasury. this was giving to cæsar the things that are cæsar's. the greatest amount of revenue which the king received from the church arose from the sale of bulls; and of these there was a great variety. jovellanos says, in his description of the pope's bulls, "that they are a periodical publication of the highest price, least value, meanest type, and worst paper; all buy them, few read them, and none understand them." the bulls were first granted by the popes as a kind of passport to heaven to all those who died in the wars against infidels; they contained most extraordinary dispensations, both with respect to christian duties in this world and to the punishment due to crimes in the next; and although the crusades, and other wars that drove men to heaven, or to some other place, at the point of the lance, or sword, had ceased, yet the influence of the bulls in increasing the revenue was of too great importance to the king for him to allow them to die with the cause that gave them birth: their effects were too useful to be renounced. according to the original terms of the bulls, no person could reap the benefit unless he were actually serving in the war; afterwards he might procure a substitute and remain secure at home; but now he can enjoy the blessings of peace at a much cheaper rate. the bulls sold in south america were, the general bull for the living, or of the holy crusade; the bull of _lacticinios_, milk food; of _composicion_, accommodation; and the bull for the dead. the general bull for the living retained its virtue in the hands of its possessor for two years, at which period it expired, but the benefit might be renewed by purchasing another. the advantages derived from the possession of this bull included generally all those of the other three though not in so direct a manner; having this, no cases were reserved for papal absolution; all kinds of vows might be released, excepting those which would contribute more to the church by their fulfilment; blasphemy was forgiven; any thing except flesh meat might be eaten on fast days; and one day of fasting, one prayer repeated, or one good deed done, was equal to fifteen times fifteen forties of fast days, prayers, or good deeds done by the unlucky being who had not purchased this bull. nay more--the buying of two bulls conveyed to the purchaser a double portion of privileges. the price of this precious paper varied according to the rank of the sinful purchaser: a viceroy, captain-general of a province, lieutenant-general of the army and their wives paid fifteen dollars for each bull; archbishops, bishops, inquisitors, canons, dukes, marquises, and all noblemen, also magistrates and many others, five dollars each; every individual who was in possession of property to the amount of dollars, paid one dollar and a half for his bull; and all persons under this class enjoyed all the privileges conceded to the rich and powerful, for two and a half reals, or five sixteenths, of a dollar each. the bull of _lacticinios_, or milk food, was issued for the benefit of the clergy, they not being allowed by the general bull to eat such dainties on fast days; but as the result did not answer the expectations of the crown the commissary-general recommended the laity to purchase it for the prevention of conscientious scruples. archbishops, bishops, and conventual prelates paid six; canons, dignitaries and inquisitors, paid three; rectors and curates one and a half, and all other secular priests one dollar for each bull. a celebrated spanish writer, speaking of this bull, says, "the holy father has only allowed them these dainties when they can be procured, another bull is wanting to eat them at all events, but for this purpose the bull of _composicion_ may be made to answer." this bull of composition, or accommodation, is monstrous; for it gives to the possessor of stolen property a quiet conscience and absolute possession, on condition that he has stolen it evading the punishment applicable by law; that he knows not the person whom he has robbed or defrauded, and that the knowledge of this accommodating bull did not induce him to commit the theft. thus this papal pardon by accommodation or agreement insures to a lawless villain a quiet possession of property, the means of acquiring which ought to have been rewarded by the hangman! the possessor of the unlawfully acquired property fixed a value on it, and purchased bulls to the amount of six per cent. on the principal. only fifty bulls could be purchased in one year by one individual, but if he required more, he applied to the commissary-general, whose indulgence might be purchased. the bull for the dead was a kind of safe conduct to paradise--the masonic sign to saint peter for admission there, or a discharge from purgatory, if the soul of the deceased had reached this place before the bull was purchased, or if by some mishap the name of the individual had not been written on it, or had been wrongly spelled. how unfortunate must those pious christians have been who lived, or rather who died at a great distance from the bull vender, or who had not the means of purchasing this pontifical passport; for every person must have one, the article not being transferable, because this would injure the market; but any person was allowed to purchase more than one and at any period after the death of the person he wished to befriend, as its powerful influence might be extended to the general benefit and alleviation of souls in purgatory. thus it is that piety when accompanied with money has wonderful powers! all persons included among the first class of purchasers of the general bull paid six eighths of a dollar, six reals, for one for the dead, if he belonged to this class, but if he were of the fourth it only cost two reals, two eighths of a dollar. i shall not pretend to give an estimate of the sum produced by the taxes, the jealousy of the spaniards towards a foreigner being so great that it would have been dangerous for me even to have inquired. the two following items i obtained by chance: dollars. the custom house of lima received in - ½ ditto in - produce of bulls in the commissary's } office for the viceroyalty of peru } in ditto in - chapter xi. city of lima....figure and division....walls....bridge....houses ....churches....manner of building....parishes....convents.... nunneries....hospitals....colleges...._plasa mayor_....market.... interior of the viceroy's palace....ditto archbishop's ditto.... ditto sagrario....ditto cathedral....ditto cavildo. the figure of the city of lima approaches to that of a semicircle, having the river rima for its diameter; it is two miles long from east to west, and one and a quarter broad from the bridge to the wall; it is chiefly divided into squares, the length of each side being yards; but in some parts approaching to the wall this regularity is not preserved; all the streets are straight, and they are generally about feet wide; the place contains _quadras_, being either squares or parallelograms, with a few diagonal intersections towards the extremities of the city. the wall which encloses lima, except on the side bordering on the river, is built of _adobes_, sun-dried bricks, each brick being twenty inches long, fourteen broad and four thick; they are made of clay, and contain a very large quantity of chopped straw: these bricks are considered as better calculated than stone to resist the shocks of earthquakes, and from their elasticity they would probably be found pretty tough in resisting a cannonading; however, of this there is little risk. the walls are on an average twelve feet high, with a parapet three feet on the outer edge: they are about ten feet thick at the bottom, and eight at the top, forming a beautiful promenade round two-thirds of the city. the wall is flanked with thirty-four bastions, but without embrasures; it has seven gates and three posterns, which are closed every night at eleven o'clock, and opened again every morning at four. this wall of enclosure more than of defence was built by the viceroy duke de la palata, and finished in the year ; it was completely repaired by the viceroy marquis de la concordia, in the year . all the gateways are of stone, and of different kinds of architecture; that called _de maravillas_, leading towards the pantheon, is very much ornamented with stucco work. at the south east extremity of the city is a small citadel called santa catalina; in it are the artillery barracks, the military depôt, and the armoury. it is walled round and defended by two bastions, having small pieces of artillery. the viceroy pezuela being an officer of artillery, and formerly commandant of the body guard at lima, paid great attention to the citadel, and expended considerable sums of money in altering and repairing it during the time of his viceroyalty. the bridge leading from the city to the suburb called san lazaro is of stone; it has five circular arches, and piers projecting on each side; those to the east are triangular next the stream, and those on the opposite side are circular; on the tops are stone seats, to which a number of fashionable people resort and chat away the summer evenings. from eight to eleven o'clock, or even later, it is remarkably pleasant, both on account of the quantity of people passing to and fro, and from the river being at this season full of water. on the east side the water falls from an elevated stone base about five feet high, and forms a species of cascade, the sound of the falling water adding much to the pleasure enjoyed during the cool evenings of a tropical climate. at the south end of the bridge is a stone arch, crowned with small turrets and stucco, having a clock and dial in the centre; the whole was built and finished by the order of the viceroy marquis of montes claros, in the year . the general aspect of the houses in lima is novel to an englishman on his first arrival; those of the inferior classes have but one floor, and none exceed two; the low houses have a mean appearance, too, from their having no windows in front. if the front be on a line with the street they have only a door, and if they have a small court-yard, patio, a large heavy door opens into the street. some of the houses of the richer classes have simply the ground floor, but there is a patio before the house, and the entrance from the street is through a heavy-arched doorway, with a coach house on one side; over this is a small room with a balcony and trellis windows opening to the street. part of these houses have neat green balconies in front, but very few of the windows are glazed. having capacious patios, large doors and ornamented trellis windows, beside painted porticos and walls, with neat corridors, their appearance from the street is exceedingly handsome. in some there is a prospect of a garden through the small glazed folding doors of two or three apartments; this garden is either real or painted, and contributes very much to enliven the scenery. the patios, in summer, have large awnings drawn over them, which produce an agreeable shade; but the flat roofs, without any ornaments in front, present an appearance not at all pleasing; if to this we add the sameness of the many dead walls of the convents and nunneries, some of the streets must naturally look very gloomy. of the principal churches the fronts are elegant and the steeples more numerous and more elevated than might be expected in a country so subject to earthquakes as peru. the architecture displayed in the façades of these churches is more worthy of being called a peculiar composite than any regular order; but in a great many instances this peculiarity is pleasing: a particular description of them will be given in the course of this work. the outer walls of the houses are generally built of adobes as far as the first floor, and the division walls are always formed of canes, plastered over on each side; this is called _quincha_: the upper story is made first of a frame-work of wood; canes are afterwards nailed or lashed with leather thongs on each side the frame-work; they are then plastered over, and the walls are called _bajareque_. these additions so considerably increase their bulk, that they seem to be composed of very solid materials, both with respect to the thickness which they exhibit, and the cornices and other ornaments which adorn them. porticos, arches, mouldings, &c. at the doorways are generally formed of the same materials. canes bound together and covered with clay are substituted also for pillars, as well as other architectural ornaments, some of which being well executed, and coloured like stone, a stranger at first sight easily supposes them to be built of the materials they are intended to imitate. the roofs being flat are constructed of rafters laid across, and covered with cane, or cane mats, with a layer of clay sufficient to intercept the rays of the sun, and to guard against the fogs. many of the better sort of houses have the roofs covered with large thin baked bricks, on which the inhabitants can walk; these asoteas, as they are called, are very useful, and are often overspread with flowers and plants in pots; they also serve for drying clothes and other similar purposes. among the higher classes the ceilings are generally of pannel work, ornamented with a profusion of carving; but among the lower they are often of a coarse cotton cloth, nailed to the rafters and whitewashed, or painted in imitation of pannel work. in several of the meaner, however, the canes or cane mats are visible. some of the churches have their principal walls and pillars of stone; others of adobes and bajareque; the towers are generally of the latter work, bound together with large beams of guayaquil wood; the spires are commonly of wood work, cased over with planks, and painted in imitation of stone; with mouldings, cornices and other ornaments, either of wood or stucco. in large buildings of every description there is generally a great proportion of timber, keeping up a connection from the foundation to the roof; thus there is less danger from the shocks of earthquakes than if they were built of brick or more solid materials; for the whole building yields to the motion, and the foundation being combined with the roof and other parts, the whole moves at the same time, and is not so easily thrown down. i suggested to a friend in lima the idea of placing between every tenth layer of adobes one of long canes; this he put in practice, and afterwards informed me, that it was considered a great improvement, so much so, that he thought the plan would be generally adopted, especially as it produced a saving of timber, which is a dear article; had also the effect of preventing the walls from cracking by the shocks of earthquakes, and was equal to that of rafters of wood or frame-work and bajareque. the city is divided into four parishes, the sagrario, with three rectors; saint ann, two; saint sebastian, two; saint marcelo, one. here are two chapels of ease, that of saint salvador in the parish of saint ann, and that of the orphans in the parish of the sagrario. over the bridge are the suburbs of saint lazaro, with one rector, a curate at the cabesas and another at carabaillo, five leagues from the city, beside several chapels on the different plantations. in the cercado there is a parish of indians, founded by the jesuits, and formerly under their care. the convents are numerous. i shall first give a list of them, and afterwards mention those that are individually worthy of notice. { la casa grande. san francisco { nuestra señora de guadalupe } in the suburbs. { recoleto de san diego } { la casa grande. { recoleta de la magdalena. santo domingo { santo tomas, college for studies. { santa rosa, hermitage. { casa grande. { san ildefonso, college for studies. san augustin { nuestra señora de guia, for novices. { cercado, college, formerly of the jesuits. { casa grande. la merced { san pedro nolasco, college for studies. { recoleta de belen. { san pedro, formerly colegio maximo of the san pedro { jesuits, now oratorio de san felipe neri. { nuestra señora de los desamparados, formerly desamparados { belonging to the jesuits, now to the oratorio { de san felipe neri. { angonizantes, buena muerte. san camilo { recoleta, in the suburbs of san lazaro. san francisco { san francisco de paula, minims, new. de paula { do. old, both in the suburbs of san lazaro. { nuestra señora de montserrat, hospicio of the san benedicto { benedictine monks. { convalecencia of san rafael. san juan de dios { nuestra señora del carmen, on the road to callao. { casa grande, outside the walls, for convalescents. bethlemitas { incurables, inside the walls. the nunneries in lima are la encarnacion, la concepcion, santa catalina, santa clara, las trinitarias, el carmen alto, santa teresa, or carmen baxo, descalsos de san jose, capuchinas de jesus maria, nasarenas, mercedarias, santa rosa, trinitarias descalsas. el praso, and nuestra señora de copacavana for indian ladies. the following are _beaterios_, houses of seclusians, which do not take the monastic vows: santa rosa de viterbo, nuestra señora del patrocinio, san jose for women divorced from their husbands, and the recogidas for poor women, somewhat similar to the magdalen hospital in london. each of these religious houses has a church or chapel, making in the whole as follows:-- parish churches semi-parochias, chapels of ease conventual churches and chapels -- -- besides these each hospital has a chapel; many of the convents also have chapels attached to them: san francisco has that of los dolores and el milagro, and several of the principal inhabitants have private oratories, there being altogether upwards of one hundred places of worship, supporting more than eight hundred secular and regular priests, and about three hundred nuns, with a great number of lay brothers and sisters. lima has the following hospitals, each appropriated to some peculiar charity:-- san andres, for spaniards and maniacs--santa ana, for indians--san bartolome, for negroes and african castes--san pedro, for poor ecclesiastics--el espiritu santo, for seamen--san pedro alcantara, for females--la caridad, for females--bethlemitas, for females, opposite the convent--san lazaro, for lepers; in addition to the three already mentioned. the colleges in lima are:--santo toribio, an ecclesiastical seminary--san martin, afterwards san carlos, now san martin again, for secular studies--colegio del principe, for latin grammar and the sons of indian caciques, besides the conventual colleges, where many of the lower classes are taught latin, and some branches of science, gratis, by the friars. the _plasa mayor_, principal square, stands nearly in the centre of the city (the suburbs of san lazaro being included) about yards from the bridge; on the north side stands the viceroy's palace, having an ornamented gateway in the centre, where the horse guards are stationed; this front is feet long: the lower part is divided into petty pedlars' shops, filled with all kinds of wares, open in front, the doors which enclose them being thrown back; so that those of one shop meet those of two neighbouring ones, and all of them are generally adorned with part of the stock in trade, hung on them for sale. over these runs a long gallery, with seats rising one above another, for the accommodation of the inhabitants when there is any féte in the square; on the top there is a railing, carved in imitation of balustrades. at the north-west corner is a gallery for the family of the viceroy, which on days of ceremony was fitted up with green velvet hangings, ornamented with gold lace and fringe; a state chair to correspond being placed for his excellency in the centre. it was here that the viceroy marquis de castel-forte presented himself to witness the death of the innocent fiscal antequera, in ; here lord cochrane stood, when the independence of lima was declared in ; and from hence the medals commemorative of that glorious day were distributed. on the east side is the cathedral, having a light ornamented façade, with large folding doors in the centre and smaller ones on each side, surmounted by a handsome balustrade and two steeples, each of which contains a peal of fine-toned bells, a clock and dials. the entrance to this rich building is by a flight of steps, the area being ten feet above the level of the plasa. on the north side of the cathedral is the sagrario, with a very beautiful façade; and adjoining stands the archbishop's palace, which surpasses in appearance every other building in the square. green balconies, glazed, run along the front, on each side of an arched gateway, which leads into the patio; but the lower part is disgraced with small shops, the nearest one to the sagrario being a _pulperia_, grog shop! under the area of the cathedral there is also a range of small shops, one of which formerly belonged to don ambrosio higgins, who was a pedlar and failed. he afterwards went to chile, entered the army, obtained promotion, discovered the city of osorno, and was honoured with the title of marquis of osorno. in he returned to lima in the high capacity of viceroy, and found his old friend and brother pedlar, la reguera, enjoying the archiepiscopal mitre: a coincidence of good fortune not often equalled. la reguera had some time before left lima for spain, his native country, and having been more fortunate in trade than higgins, had prosecuted his studies, and returned archbishop in . on the south side is a row of private houses, having a balcony and trellis windows: over the piazza, which is ten feet broad, the pillars are of stone; a row of mercers' and drapers' shops occupies the piazza, and between the pillars are stationed a number of men, principally indians, employed in making fringe, silk buttons, epauletts, &c.; hence it is called, _el portal de botoneros_. in the middle of this piazza is _el callejon de petateros_, remarkable as being the site of pizarro's palace, and where he was murdered. the west side is similar to the south, and at the north end of it is the _casa consistorial_, corporation house; under it is the city gaol, in front of which is the council hall, which has on one side the door a canopy over the royal arms. under this the alcaldes formerly stood to administer justice. here it was that, some years ago, the young viscount de san donas sentenced the coachman of judge nuñes to receive a hundred lashes for carrying prohibited arms: the man was tied to an ass, and the hangman, having inflicted twenty-five stripes, was marching him to the next corner to administer the same number, when the judge, informed of the affair, left the audience chamber, and proceeded in his robes to the rescue of his servant; but in this he was prevented by the alcalde; the judge became boisterous,--the punishment was continued; at length his lordship insulted the alcalde, who immediately ordered his alguazils to seize him and conduct him to the court gaol, where san donas confined him in a dungeon, took the keys, went home, ordered his horse, and left the city. when he returned in the evening he waited on the viceroy, castel-forte, who urgently interceded for the judge; but the alcalde kept him in prison until he apologised for his improper attempt to prevent a magistrate from enforcing the execution of a lawful sentence. in the centre of the square is a beautiful brass fountain, erected by the viceroy count de salvatierra in . the basin is very capacious: in the middle rises a brass column twenty two feet high, on the top of which is a small cupola supported by four pillars; the whole is surmounted by a figure of fame. through the trumpet water is ejected; but the greater portion rises within the dome, after which it falls into a large basin, from thence into another of greater dimensions, and from thence through four orifices into a basin which has an ornamented brass enclosure, surmounted by four treble lions, ejecting water from their mouths into the basin. there are also four smaller fountains at the angles of the central one, having each a brass pillar five feet high, with four orifices, whence water issues. the water is the best in lima, and at all hours of the day the carriers are busy in conveying it to different parts of the city. for this purpose they have a mule, with a pack-saddle and two hoops affixed to it, into which they put two barrels, each containing about ten gallons, behind which a man generally jumps up and rides. the carrier has a thick stick with an inverted iron hook near the top, with which he props one barrel when he takes out the other. if the water be for sale a small bell is attached to one of the hoops, which continues tinkling as the mule trots along. the price is one real for the two barrels. in this square the principal market is held, and one of the greatest luxuries which the eye can witness is enjoyed by visiting it about five or six o'clock in the morning, when the articles for sale are just brought in. it is divided into several compartments by rows of large pebbles, which are placed merely to limit the venders, and prevent their encroaching on the public walks. the butchers' market is generally well supplied with excellent beef and mutton; but calves and lambs are never killed, this being prohibited by an old law for the promotion of the breed of cattle. pork is sold in one part; in another all kinds of salted and dried meats, principally brought from the interior; these are _charque_, jerked beef; _sesina_, beef salted and smoked or dried in the sun: hams, bacon, and frozen kid from the mountains, which last is most delicate eating: there are likewise many kinds of sausages; salt fish, principally _bacalao_, from europe; _tollo_, _congrio_, and corbina. the fish market is in some seasons abundantly supplied from the neighbouring coasts with corbina, _jureles_, mackerel, _chita_, plaice, turbot, peje rey, lisa, anchovies, &c., and most excellent crayfish, _camarones_, from the rivers, some of which are six or seven inches long. fish is generally cheap; but during lent, and particularly in passion week, it is excessively dear; which arises from the indians enjoying the exclusive privilege of fishing, and being at that time of the year too much occupied with their religious duties to attend to their regular business. indeed no indian will fish on the thursday, friday, or saturday in passion week; and i have seen a fish sold on those days for twenty or twenty-five dollars, which at other times might have been bought for one, or even less. the poultry market is divided, one place being set apart for the live, and another for the dead. poultry is almost always dear; a turkey costs from three to five dollars; a fowl from one to two dollars; ducks, muscovy, the same price; pigeons half a dollar each; geese are seldom seen in the market, for as the natives never eat them, very few are bred. here is also a market for all kinds of pulse--beans of several descriptions, peas, lentils, maize of five or six kinds, _gurbansos_, quinua, &c. the vegetable market contains every description of horticultural produce known in england, as well as the _arracacha_, _yuca_, casava root, _camote_, sweet potatoe, yam, _oca_, &c. the vegetables are remarkably fine, in great abundance, and generally cheap. the fruit market is splendid, furnishing the most delicious fruits of europe--the grape of several varieties, the peach, apricot and nectarine, the apple, the pear, the pomegranate, the quince, the tomate, and the strawberry; and an abundance of luscious tropical fruits--the pine, the melon, badeas, granadillas, sapote, lucuma, nisperos, guavas, paltas, guanabanas, custard apples, the sweet and sour orange, lime, and lemon, the shaddock, the citron, the plantane, the banana, and above all the chirimoya, the queen of tropical fruits. the portion allotted to the flower sellers is appropriately called the _calle del peligro_, street of danger; for here the gentle fair resort, and their gallant swains watch the favourable opportunity of presenting to them the choicest gifts of flora. this corner of the market, at an early hour in the morning, is truly enchanting; the fragrance of the flowers, their beauty and quantity, and the concourse of lovely females--altogether would persuade a stranger that he had found the muses wandering in gardens of delight! in the vicinity stands a _fresquera_, vender of iced lemonade, pine-apple water, _orchata_, almond milk, pomegranate water, &c. which offer another opportunity for gallantry. it is no exaggeration in the citizens of lima when they assert, that they have one of the finest markets in the world, for every thing in art and nature contributes to its support: the beautiful climate near the coast, the vicinity of the mountains, where all climates may be found, from the ever-during snow to perpetual sunshine--send their abundant and rich produce to this cornucopia of ceres and pomona. the interior of the viceroy's palace is very mean; but it is said to have been a magnificent building before it was destroyed by an earthquake on the th october, . its principal entrance is on the west side, in a narrow street leading to the bridge from the plasa; to the right of the entrance is the guard-room, where a company of infantry, a captain, lieutenant, and ensign are stationed: to the left there are four flights of steps leading to the _sala de los vireys_, at the door of which is a guard of halberdiers, dressed in blue coats with full trimming of broad gold lace, crimson waistcoat and breeches with gold lace, silk stockings, velvet shoes, a laced hat, and a halberd. these soldiers are generally of good families: they are twenty-five in number, and the captain, their only officer, was always a young nobleman, because the situation was considered as highly honourable. each viceroy nominated a captain on his arrival. don diego aliaga, son to the marquis de lurigancho, was captain to abascal and pezuela. the _sala de los vireys_, so called on account of its containing full-length portraits of all the viceroys from pizarro to pezuela,[ ] was used only on days of ceremony, when the viceroy stood under a canopy of crimson velvet, trimmed with gold, and received in the name of the king the compliments addressed to him, which however were generally set speeches, studied for the occasion. the regent pronounced the first harangue, then followed the controller of the tribunal of accompts, the dean in the name of his chapter, the alcalde of the first vote, the prior of the consulate, the inquisitor mayor, the commissary of the crusade, the rector of the university, a senior collegian from each college, and a master friar from each community. these levees were called _dias de besa manos_, which ceremony was performed _de facto_ in madrid, the whole court kissing the king's hand, and this was almost the only ceremony which the royal representative in lima dispensed with. to the right of this hall there is a narrow corridor, looking into a small garden on the right, having a suite of rooms on the left, which on days of ceremony were used as assembly rooms; there are also some closets, which may serve as sleeping rooms or studies, each having a small glazed balcony next the street. two young british officers, belonging to the briton, were one night detected by the sentry attempting to pay a visit, at one of those commodious _ventanas_, to miss ramona abascal, the viceroy's daughter, and her female companion. the young ladies made fast the end of the sash belonging to mr. b., but an unfortunate laugh alarmed the intruding sentry. from the north-west corner another range of rooms extends along the north side, which leads to those of the pages and other domestics; on the east side of the garden there is a terrace forming a passage to a range of apartments, where the chaplain, surgeon and secretary usually resided. a private passage under the terrace leads to one of those rooms constructed by the viceroy amat, for the purpose of receiving the midnight visits of the famous perricholi. this name was given to the lady by her husband, an italian, who wishing to call her a _perra chola_, indian b----h, gave an italian termination to the words, and a name to his wife, by which she was ever afterwards known in lima. in she was living at the new mills, at the corner of the _alameda vieja_. this circumstance i take the liberty to mention, because persons going to lima will often hear on their arrival the name of this once handsome and generous woman, whose beauty had so far influenced her admirer, the viceroy, that she at one time persuaded him to feed her mules at midnight, _en camisa_; and at another obtained from him the reprieve of a criminal on the morning he was to have suffered. in her youth she was on the stage; but she spent her last days in seclusion, and her last dollars in works of charity. the dining room is on the east side of the garden, and has a staircase leading from the kitchen; it is low and dark, and has a dirty appearance. the rooms used on public occasions have each a crimson velvet canopy, under which were hung portraits of the reigning king and queen; beside some antique furniture which belonged to the palace, glass chandeliers, &c.; but the whole was a very mean display for a viceroy of peru. the palace also contained the royal treasury, the courts of the royal audience, the viceroy's chapel, the county gaol, the secretary's offices, and some others belonging to the attendants. each front of the palace was disgraced with mean pedlars' and shoemakers' shops, and close to the principal entrance was a pulperia, common grog shop, for the accommodation, i suppose, of the coachmen, footmen and soldiers on duty. the north and south sides of this building are four hundred and eighty feet long; the others four hundred and ten. the interior of the archbishop's palace is but small; a flight of steps opposite the entrance leads to a corridor that runs round the court-yard; on the north side are the dining and drawing rooms; on the west, fronting the plasa, are the principal levee rooms; on the south the secretary's offices; and on the east the apartments belonging to the domestics. the principal rooms are neatly fitted up; in some of them the walls are covered with crimson damask, having gilt cornices and mouldings. the interior of the sagrario, which may be called the principal parish church, or matrix, is more splendid than rich; the roof is beautifully pannelled, having a cupola in the centre, resting on the four corners formed by the intersection of the cross aisle; it is lofty, and the several altars are splendidly carved, varnished and gilt. great part of the high altar is cased with silver; the sacrarium is highly finished, and the custodium of gold, richly ornamented with diamonds and other precious stones. the whole service is costly, both in plate and robes. the baptismal font is in a small chapel on one side; it is large, and covered with a thick casing of pure silver. the cathedral, like all others, is spoiled by having the choir in the centre, blocking up the view of the high altar, which otherwise would present a most majestic appearance from the centre porch. the walls and floor are of good freestone, and the roof, which is divided into compartments, is most beautifully pannelled and carved; it is upheld by a double row of neat square pillars of stone work, supporting the arches, and corresponding with the buttresses in the walls; all these, on festivals, are covered with italian crimson velvet hangings, except in passion week, when they are clothed with purple ones of the same quality. both sets are edged with broad gold lace, with a deep gold fringe at the bottom, and festoons with lace and fringe at the top. the lateral altars are placed in niches between the buttresses, having ornamented gates before them, which, when opened inwards, form the presbytery. some of these altars are rich, but none of them handsome. at the back of the high altar is a chapel dedicated to saint francisco xavier, in which there are effigies of two archbishops, in white marble, kneeling before reclinatories. in this chapel was the archbishops' burying vault, which is now closed, and they, in common with all other people, are carried to the pantheon, where the first corpse interred was that of archbishop la reguera, being exhumed for the purpose. the throne, or high altar, has a most magnificent appearance; it is of the corinthian order, the columns, cornices, mouldings, pedestals, &c. being cased with pure silver; it is also surmounted with a celestial crown of gilt silver; in the centre is the sacrarium, richly ornamented with chased silver work. the custodium is of gold, delicately wrought, and enriched with a profusion of diamonds and other precious stones: from the pedestal to the points of the rays it measures seven feet, and is more than any moderate sized person can lift. the front of the altar table is of embossed silver, very beautiful. on each side of the altar is an ornamented reading desk, where the gospel and epistle are chaunted. from the foot of the presbytery runs on either side to the choir a railing, and the front of the choir is closed by tastefully wrought gilt iron palisades, having two large gates in the centre. the stalls are of carved cedar, and the state chair of curious workmanship; it is considered as a relic, because it was used by saint toribio de mogroviejo, archbishop of lima, from to . the choral music is very select, and the two organs finely toned. the pulpit is in the modern taste, highly varnished and gilt. on grand festivals this church presents an imposing coup d'oeil; the high altar is illuminated with more than a thousand wax tapers; the large silver candelabra, each weighing upwards of a hundred pounds; the superb silver branches and lamps, and the splendid service of plate on the left of the altar, are indescribably striking. the archbishop in his costly pontifical robes is seen kneeling under a canopy of crimson velvet, with a reclinatory and cushions of the same material; a number of assisting priests in their robes of ceremony fill the presbytery; from which, leading towards the choir, are seats covered with velvet, on the left for the officers of state and the corporation, on the right for the judges, who attend in full costume. in the centre, in front of the altar, is a state chair covered with crimson velvet, with cushions, and a reclinatory to match, for the viceroy, when he attended in state, having on each side three halberdiers of his body guard; behind him stood his chaplain, chamberlain, groom, captain of the body guard, and four pages in waiting. if any ceremony can flatter the vanity of man, it must be that of offering incense to him in such a situation:--three times during mass one of the acolites came down from the presbytery with an incensary, and bowed to the viceroy, who stood up amid a cloud of smoke; the acolite bowed and retired, and the viceroy again knelt down. the gold and silver brocades, tissues and other stuffs, the laces and embroidery for robes, vestments and decorations, are of the most costly kind that can be procured. the sacred vessels, chalices, patenas, hostiarias, &c. are often of gold, enriched with a profusion of the rarest gems, so that nothing can display more grandeur than is beheld here on great festivals, when divine service is performed with a pomp scarcely to be imagined. at the east end are two doors, corresponding with the two lateral doors in the front, and producing a fine effect. the area is spacious, and paved with freestone on the west, south, and east sides of this building, and the surrounding wall is surmounted by an ornamental palisade. the corporation hall, sala consistorial, on the north-west side of the plasa, or square, offers nothing worthy of notice; it is a large room, containing benches for the members of the cavildo, a state chair and canopy for the president, some plans of the city hanging on the walls, and a closet for the archives. footnote: [ ] it is a curious circumstance, that the hall was exactly filled with portraits when the liberating forces entered lima, there not being one spare pannel, nor room to place another painting, without removing some of the old ones. chapter xii. particular description of parish churches....of santo domingo....altar of the rosary, st. rosa and other altars....cloisters....sanctuary of saint rosa....church of san francisco....chapels _del milagro_, _de dolores_, de los terceros....pantheon....cloisters....san diego....san agustin ...._la merced_....profession of a nun, or taking the veil....hospitals of san andres, of san bartolome and others....colleges of santo toribio, san carlos, _del principe_....university....inquisition....taken to it in ....visit to it in , after the abolition....inquisitorial punishments....foundling hospital....lottery....mint....pantheon. the parish churches of lima have nothing to recommend them particularly to the notice of a stranger. st. lazaro has an elegant façade, and presents a good appearance from the bridge; the interior is tastefully ornamented; the ceiling is of pannel work, and the several altars highly varnished and gilt. the living is said to produce about thirty thousand dollars annually, and is often called the little bishopric. of the conventual churches, only those belonging to the principal houses are remarkably rich. st. dominic, santo domingo, about a hundred yards from the plasa mayor, is truly magnificent; the tower is the loftiest in the city, being sixty-one yards high, built chiefly of bajareque; the bells are good, especially the great one, which was cast in : none of the large bells are rung as in england; having no swing wheels, the clappers are merely dragged backwards and forwards till they strike the sides of the bells. the roof of the church is supported by a double row of light pillars, painted and gilt; the ceiling is divided into pannels by gilt mouldings, and the large central pannels exhibit some good scriptural paintings in fresco. the high altar, as usual, is on an elevated presbytery: it is of modern architecture, of the ionic order; the columns are varnished in imitation of marble, with gilt mouldings, cornices and capitals. at the foot of the presbytery, on the right, stands the beautifully rich chased and embossed silver cased altar of our lady of the rosary. this altar exceeds any other in lima both in richness and effect; it is entirely covered with pure silver; its elegant fluted columns, highly finished embossed pedestals, capitals, cornices, &c., some of which are doubly gilt, are magnificently superb. in the centre of the altar is the niche of the madonna, of exquisite workmanship; the interior contains a transparent painting of a temple, the light being admitted to it by a window at the back of the altar. the effigy is gorgeously dressed--the crown is a cluster of diamonds and other precious gems; and the drapery of the richest brocades, laces and embroidery; the rosary is a string of large pearls of the finest orient. such is the abundance, or rather profusion, of drapery, that the same dress is never continued two days together, throughout the year. before the niche fifteen large wax tapers are continually burning in silver sockets; and in a semicircle before the altar are suspended, by massy silver chains, curiously wrought, fourteen large heavy silver lamps, kept constantly lighted with olive oil. besides these are, similarly suspended, eight fancifully wrought silver bird cages, whose inmates, in thrilling notes, join the pealing tones of the organ and the sacred chaunt of divine worship. four splendid silver chandeliers hang opposite the altar, each containing fifteen wax tapers; below are ranged six heavy silver candelabra, six feet high, and six tables cased in silver, each supporting a large silver branch with seven tapers; also four urns of the same precious metal, filled with perfumed spirits, which are always burning on festivals, and emit scents from the most costly drugs and spices; the whole being surrounded by fuming pastillas, held by silver cherubim. on those days when the festivals of the virgin mary are celebrated, and particularly at the feast of the rosary and octavo, the sumptuous appearance of this altar exceeds all description: at that time, during nine days, more than a thousand tapers blaze, and the chaunting and music of the choir are uninterrupted. at the celebration of these feasts many miracles are pretended to be wrought by this madonna; and many absurd legends are related from the pulpit, tending more to inculcate superstition than religion--more to increase pious frauds, than to enforce sound morality. it was for speaking thus irreverently of these ceremonies, to one of the double-hooded brethren, that i was brought before the holy inquisition, of which i shall say more when i conduct my readers to that now-deserted mansion. on the left of the high altar stands one dedicated to saint rose; it is richly ornamented, and has a large urn, containing an effigy of the saint, in a reclining posture, of white marble, and good sculpture. on each side of the church are six altars, coloured and varnished in imitation of different marbles, lapis lazuli, &c. with gilt mouldings, cornices, and other embellishments. the choir is over the entrance at the principal porch; it is capacious, and has two good organs. the music belonging to this church is all painted on vellum by a lay brother of the order, and some of the books are ably done. three of the cloisters are very good; the principal one is elegant; it has two ranges of cells, and the pillars and arches are of stone, of fine workmanship. the lower part of the walls is covered with dutch tiles, exhibiting sketches from the life of st. dominick, &c. above are large indifferently executed paintings of the life and miracles of the tutelary saints: they are generally concealed by panelled shutters, which are opened on holidays and festivals. at the angles of this cloister are small altars, with busts and effigies, most of them in bad style. the lower cloisters are paved with freestone flags--the upper ones with bricks. some of the cells are richly furnished, and display more delicate attention to luxury than rigid observance of monastic austerity. the library contains a great number of books on theology and morality. on the wall of the stairs leading from the cloister to the choir is a fine painting of christ in the sepulchre. the rents of this convent amount to about eighty thousand dollars annually, and the number of friars belonging to the order is one hundred and forty. the provincial prelates are elected by the chapter every year, being a spaniard and a creole alternately, and the contests run so high, that a military force has sometimes been found necessary to prevent bloodshed. belonging to this order is the sanctuary of saint rose, she having been a _beata_, a devotee of the order, wearing the dominican habit. in the small chapel are several relics or remains of the saint, as bones, hair, &c., but more particularly a pair of dice, with which, it is pretended, when rose was exhausted by prayers and penance, christ often entertained her with a game. shame having become paramount to deceit, the pious brethren have lately been loath to expose these dice, which, however, were shewn to me in , and i kissed them with as much pious devotion as i would have done any other pair. the church, chapels and convents of san francisco, belonging to the casa grande, about yards from the great square, plasa mayor, are the largest and most elegant in lima. the church does not possess the riches of st. dominick's, but its appearance is more solemn; the porch is filled with statues and other ornaments, and the two steeples are lofty and somewhat elegant. the roof is supported by two rows of stone pillars, and is of panel work of the gothic order: some of the altars are curiously carved and gilt, and the pillars, moulding, &c. of the sacrariums are cased with silver: the service of plate is rich, and the robes of the priests are splendid. like the cathedral, this church has a complete set of crimson velvet hangings, laced and fringed with gold. the chapel called _del milagro_ is most tastefully ornamented; some of the paintings executed by don matias maestre are good: the high altar is cased with silver, and the niche of the madonna is beautifully wrought of the same material. mass is celebrated here every half-hour, from five in the morning till noon. in the vestry of this chapel are paintings of the heads of the apostles, by reubens, or, as some assert, by morillo; however this may be, they are undoubtedly very fine. the following story is related of this madonna. on the th of november, , a very severe shock of an earthquake was felt; the effigy was then standing over the porch of the church, fronting the street; but at the time of the shock she turned round, they say, and facing the high altar, lifted up her hands in a supplicating posture, and thus, according to many pious believers, preserved the city from destruction! from this act she is called _del milagro_, of the miracle. [illustration: females of lima. _engraved for stevenson's narrative of south america._] another chapel, elegantly ornamented, is of nuestra señora de los dolores; and one in the interior of the convent is dedicated to the fraternity of terceros of the order, and the religious exercises of st. ignacio de loyola, with a cloister of small cells for _exercitantes_. the chapel contains five beautiful paintings from the passion of christ, by titian; they belong to the count of lurigancho, and are only lent to the chapel. inside the convent is a pantheon or mausoleum for the order and some of the principal benefactors; but it is at present closed, all the dead being now interred at the pantheon on the outside the city walls. the principal cloister is very handsome: the lower part of the walls is covered with blue and white dutch tiles, above which is a range of paintings, neatly executed, taken from the life of st. francis. the pillars are of stone; the mouldings, cornices, &c. of stucco. the roof is of panel work, which with the beams is most laboriously carved: at the angles are small altars of carved wood. in the middle of this cloister there is a garden and an arbour of jessamine on trellis work, crossing it at right angles: in the centre is a beautiful brass fountain; and in the middle of each square, formed by the intersection of the arbour, is a smaller one, throwing the water twenty feet high. the minor squares are filled with pots of choice flowers, and a number of birds in cages hang among the jessamines. two large folding gates lead from the church to the cloister, and whether the garden be viewed from the former, or the music of the choir be heard from the latter, the effect is equally fascinating. the stairs from the lower cloister to the upper, as well as the church choir, are beautifully finished. there are two flights of steps to the first landing place, and one from thence to the top; the centre flight is supported by a light groined arch; over the whole is a dome of wood-work, elegantly carved, and producing a most noble effect. this convent has nine cloisters, including the noviciate, and belonging to it there are about three hundred friars. the provincial prelate is elected by the chapter, a spaniard and a creole alternately; the order is of mendicants, and consequently possesses no property; it is supported by charity, and having the exclusive privilege of selling shrouds, it acquires a very large income, as no one wishes that a corpse should be buried without the sacred habit of st. francis. the shroud is in fact exactly the same as the habit of the friar, which gave rise to the curious remark of a foreigner, "that he had observed none but friars died in this place." the library is rich in theological works. belonging to st. francis is the recluse of st. diego. the friars in this small convent wear the coarse grey habit, and are barefooted. they lead a most exemplary life, seldom leave their cloisters except on the duty of their profession, and even then one never goes alone; if a young friar be sent for, an old friar accompanies him, and vice versa: to the intent that the young friar may profit by the sage deportment of the old. at this convent, as well as at every other of the order of st. francis, food is daily distributed to the poor at twelve o'clock, at the postern, and many demi-paupers dine with the community in the refectory. the gardens of st. diego are extensive, and contain a large stock of good fruit trees, as well as medicinal plants. the solemn silence which reigns in the small but particularly clean cloisters of this convent seem to invite a visitor to religious seclusion; for, as it is often said, the very walls breathe sanctity. here is also a cloister of small cells, and a chapel for religious exercises, where any man may retire for a week from the hurry and bustle of the town, and dedicate a portion of his life to religious meditation. during lent the number of those who thus retire is very great; their principal object is to prepare themselves to receive the communion; and they have every assistance with which either precept or example can furnish them. the church of san agustin is small, light, and ornamented with sculpture and gilding. the convent is of the second class, but the order is rich, and their college of san ildefonso is considered the best conventual college in lima. the church of nuestra señora de la merced is large, but not rich. this order, as well as that of san agustin, elect their provincial prelates every year; they are always natives, no spaniard being allowed to become a prelate; even the habit is denied them, so that few spaniards of either of the two orders are to be found in lima, and these few belong to other convents. the duty of the order, which is denominated a military one, is to collect alms for the redemption of captive christians. in the churches belonging to the nunneries there is a great quantity of tasteful ornaments, but nothing very costly, although the income of one, the concepcion, exceeds a hundred thousand dollars annually. it is said, that the four best situations in lima are the mother abbess of concepcion, the provincialate of santo domingo, the archbishopric, and the viceroyalty. the enormous sums of money which the nunneries have received at different times almost exceed belief; for independently of gifts and other pious donations, the dowry of each nun, when she takes the veil, amounts to three thousand dollars; and many females who have been possessed of large sums have declared their whole property to have been their dowry--thus preventing the possibility of a law-suit, and often depriving, by this subterfuge, poor relatives from enjoying what they had long hoped for at the death of the possessor. nuns, as well as friars, have one year of probation, as novices, before they can profess or take the veil, which seals their doom for life. when a female chooses to become a nun she is usually dressed in her best attire, and attended by a chosen company of friends, whom she regales at her own house, or at that of some acquaintance; in the evening she goes to the church of the nunnery, and is admitted into the lower choir by a postern in the double gratings; she retires, but soon re-appears dispossessed of her gay attire, and clothed in the religious habit of the order, without either scapulary or veil, and then bids adieu to her friends, who immediately return to their houses, whilst the nuns are chaunting a welcome to their new sister. at the expiration of a year, the novice is questioned as to the purity of her intentions, by the mother abbess, or prioress; and if she express a desire to profess, a report is made to the prelate of the order, who is the bishop, or his delegate, or the provincial prelate of the monastic order; for some nunneries are under the jurisdiction of the ordinary, or bishop, and others under that of the regulars of their own order. the evening before the day appointed for the solemn ceremony of taking the veil, the prelate, accompanied by the chaplain of the nunnery, and the parents and friends of the nun, goes to the gate or locutory of the nunnery, and the novice is delivered to him by the mother abbess and community, in their full habits of ceremony; she is then led to the church, when the prelate seating himself, the chaplain reads to her the institute or laws and regulations of the order; he questions her as to her own will, explains to her the duty of the profession she is going to embrace, and warns her not to be intimidated by threats, nor hallucinated by promises, but to say whether by her own consent, free will, and choice she have determined to become a sister of the order, and a professed spouse of christ, according to the spirit of the church. if she answer in the affirmative, she is re-conducted to the locutory, where she spends the evening with her friends, or, if she desire it, she can go to the house of her parents, or visit other religious houses. early the next morning the novice makes her private vows of chastity, poverty, obedience and monastic seclusion, in the hands of the mother abbess, the whole sisterhood being present. at a later hour the prelate and the officiating priests attend the church, and high mass is celebrated; the novice is now presented at the communion grating, where she receives the sacrament from the prelate; she then retires, and the rules of the order are again read to her, and if she still give her assent to them, she kisses the rules and the missal. a funeral pall is spread on the floor of the choir, on which the novice lies down, and is covered with another; the knell for the dead is tolled by the nunnery bells, the nuns holding funeral tapers in their hands, with their veils down, chaunting a mournful dirge, after which a solemn requiem is performed by the priests and the choir. the novice rises, assisted by the nuns, and the prelate, going to the communion table, takes a small veil in his hands, and chaunts the anthem, "veni sponsa christi." the novice approaches the table, the veil is laid on her head, and a lighted taper put into her hand, ornamented as a palm, after which she is crowned with flowers. the mother abbess next presents her to each nun, whom she salutes, and lastly the abbess. she then bows to the prelate, priests, and her friends, and retires in solemn procession, the whole community chaunting the psalm, "laudate domini." much has been said and written respecting nuns and nunneries, and most unfeeling assertions have been made both with regard to the cause and effect of taking the veil; but, from what i have heard and seen, these assertions are generally as false as they are uncharitable; they are too often the effusions of bigots, who endeavour to load with the vilest epithets as well the cloistered nun, the devout catholic, and the pious protestant, as the immoral libertine. they apply to themselves the text, "he that is not for me, is against me," and every thing that militates against their own peculiar doctrines must be wrong. i never knew a nun who repented of her vows, and i have conversed with hundreds: many have said that they doubted not but that happiness was to be found without the walls, and discontent within, but that neither could be attributed exclusively to their being found in or out of a nunnery. let those who would revile the conduct of their fellow creatures look to their own; let those who pity, search at home for objects: they who would amend others, should set the example. if we suppose that some of the inmates of cloisters are the victims of tyranny, we should recollect how many others are sacrificed at the shrine of avarice to the bond of matrimony! for the vows at the altar are alike indissoluble, and their effects are often far more distressing. the vows of a friar are similar to those of the nuns; but owing perhaps to the door of the convent being as open as that of the choir, they are not so religiously fulfilled. the friars may indeed be considered as a nuisance, for they are generally formed of the dregs of society. when a father knows not what to do with a profligate son, he will send him to a convent, where having passed his year in the noviciate, he professes, and relying on his convent as a home, he becomes a drone to society, a burden to his order, and a disgrace to his own character. it was well said, by jovellanos, that "friars enter their convent without knowing each other, live without loving one another, and die without bewailing one another." i have nevertheless known many virtuous and learned men among the hooded brethren, but rarely have i heard any one state, that he did not regret having taken the solemn oath that bound him to the cloister, and made him one of a fraternity which he could not avoid disliking. it generally happens, that the respectable individuals who assume a religious habit apply themselves to study, and by becoming lecturers, or getting a degree of d. d. in the university, they escape the drudgery of a hebdomadary, and take a seat in the chapter of the order. the hospital of san andres is appropriated to white people; it has several large neat wards, with clean beds; these are placed in small alcoves on each side the ward, and are so constructed, that in case of necessity, another row of beds can be formed along the top of the alcoves; it contains about six hundred beds, a number which can be doubled. the wards are well ventilated from the roof, and are kept wholesome. when a patient enters, he has a bed assigned him; his clothes are taken away, deposited in a general wardrobe, and not returned to him until orders are given by the physician or surgeon. the sick are not allowed to have any money in their possession, nor are visitors permitted to give them any thing, without the consent of one of the major domos, or overseers. a good garden, called a botanic garden, belongs to the hospital; also an amphitheatre, or dissecting room. the college of san fernando, built by the viceroy abascal, for the study of medicine and surgery, adjoins this hospital, and here the students practise. it has also a department for drugs, where all the prescriptions are attended to by regular professors. the druggists, as well as the physicians and surgeons, are subject to examination in the university, and cannot practise without permission from the college of physicians, to whose annual visits they are liable, for the purpose of examining their drugs. no physician or surgeon is allowed to have drugs at his own house, or to make up his own prescriptions: even the barbers, who are phlebotomists, are examined by the board of surgeons. the hospital of san bartolome is for negroes and other people of colour; if they are free, they are received gratis, but if slaves, their owners pay half a dollar a day for the time they remain. st. ana is for indians, and was founded by an indian lady, called catalina huanca. this casica was very rich, and besides this pious establishment she left large sums of money for other charitable uses; but her most extraordinary bequest was a sum for forming and paying the body guard of the viceroy, both the halberdiers and the cavalry, consisting of a hundred men. the hospital del espiritu santo is for sailors, and a portion of the wages is deducted, called hospital money, from the pay of every sailor who enters the port of callao. san pedro is part of the convent bearing the same name, formerly belonging to the jesuits, and now occupied by the congregation of san felipe neri. this hospital is for poor clergymen. san pedro de alcantara, and la caridad, are both for females, and san lazaro for lepers. particular care is taken in the different hospitals, as well to the administration of medicine and surgical operations, as to the diet, cleanliness, ventilation, and comfort of the sick. besides these hospitals, there are the convalescencies of belen and san juan de dios, under the management of the friars of the two orders. more particular attention is paid here to the sick than in the hospitals; any individual is received on paying half a dollar a day, or through the recommendation of one of the benefactors. i was twice in san juan de dios, and received every assistance and indulgence that i had a right to expect. the college of santo toribio is a tridentine seminary, where young gentlemen are educated principally for the church; four collegians attend mass at the cathedral every morning, for the purpose of being initiated into the ceremonies of their future professions. their habit is an almond coloured gown, very wide at the bottom, and buttoned round the neck; when spread open its form is completely circular, having a hole with a collar in the centre; this is called the _opa_. a piece of pale blue cloth, about eight inches broad, is passed over one shoulder, then folded on the breast, and the end thrown across the opposite shoulder, the two ends hanging down behind the bottom of the opa. on the left side of this cloth, called the beca, the royal arms are embroidered. a square clerical cap or bonnet of black cloth is worn on the head. this college bears the name of its founder, and is supported by rents appertaining to it; there is also a subsidy paid annually by each beneficed curate in the archbishopric, and a certain sum by each collegian. the college of san carlos is called the royal college; it was founded by the jesuits, under the title of san martin, but after the extinction of that order it was changed to san carlos. the principal studies in this college are a course of arts and law; but theology is also taught. the dress is a full suit of black, a cocked hat, dress sword of gold or gilt, and formerly the royal arms suspended at a button-hole on the left side by a light blue ribbon. the college is capacious, having a chapel, refectory, garden, baths, different disputing rooms, and a good library, containing many prohibited french and other authors. san carlos is supported by a yearly stipend from the treasury, assisted by what the collegians pay for their education. lectures are delivered by _pasantes_, or the head collegians, to the lower classes; for which they receive a pecuniary reward, and wear as a distinguishing badge, a light blue ribbon or scarf, crossing from the left shoulder to the right side, to which the arms are suspended instead of the button-hole. in the college del principe, young noble indian caciques are educated for the church; their dress is a full suit of green, a crimson shoulder ribbon and cocked hat. that of san fernando, for medicine, has for dress a full suit of blue, yellow buttons, the collar trimmed with gold lace, and a cocked hat. all the secular colleges have a rector and vice-rector, who are secular clergymen; some of the lecturers are also clergymen, but more commonly collegians pasantes. there is a proviso in the synodal laws for collegians from santo toribio and san carlos; among those who receive holy orders benefices are insured to a certain number. in what was the palace of the viceroy, is a nautical academy, where several young men study astronomy, navigation, &c.: it has a good stock of instruments, maps, and charts. many of the maps are original, from surveys made at different times, and which have not been published. the university stands in the _plasa de la inquisicion_. it is a handsome building, containing several good halls, beside the public disputing room, which is fitted up with desks and benches, tribunes, galleries, &c.; a neat chapel, a small cloister, and an extensive library. the rector enjoys a good salary, and has many perquisites; one is elected by the professors every three years, and the one chosen is alternately a secular priest and a layman. the professors' chairs are sinecures, for the professors never lecture, and only attend on days of public disputation, or when degrees are conferred. degrees of bachelor and master are granted by the rector, on paying the fees. that of doctor in any faculty requires a public examination, and plurality of votes of the examiners and professors in the faculty of the degree solicited. previous to the examination the rector holds a table of the points of controversy; the candidate pricks into one of them, and is obliged to defend this point on the following day, at the same hour. the discussion is opened by the candidate with an harangue in latin, which lasts an hour, after which the point is discussed in forma scholastica by the candidate and the examiners; this lasts another hour, when the rector and professors retire, and vote the degree. on the following day the candidate presents a thesis to the rector, who reads it, and challenges the students who are present to dispute it. this act is generally opened by the candidate with an elegant speech in latin; after which he supports his argument against the wranglers who may present themselves. if the degree be voted him, he goes up to the rector, who places on his head the bonnet, which bears in deep silk fringe from the centre the distinguishing colour of the faculty, blue and white for divinity, red for canons, green for jurisprudence or law, and yellow for medicine. the young doctor takes his place on his proper bench, and is complimented by the senior professors of the faculty; when the whole company adjourns to a splendid collation prepared by the new brother of the bonnet and fringe. this university, now under the title of san marcos, was founded in by a bull of pius v. with the same privileges as those enjoyed by that of salamanca in spain; it was, till , in the hands of the dominican friars; but by an edict of felipe iii. it was placed under the royal patronage, and built where it at present stands. it has produced many great scientific characters, the portraits of several of whom adorn the walls of the principal hall. among the faculty, those whose talents are most conspicuous are, in theology, rodrigues, rector of san carlos; in law, vivar, rector of the college of advocates; unanue, president of the college of physicians, _protomedico_, and director of san fernando; valdes, president of the board of surgeons: (he is a man of colour, the first who has taken the degree of doctor in the university); parades, professor of mathematics; and many others, who are famous in the pulpit, the forum or the hospitals. in the same square are the holy tribunal, whence the plasa derives its name, and the hospital of la caridad: it is often called the plasa of the three cardinal virtues--faith, the inquisition; hope, the university; and charity, the hospital. i shall now describe the inquisition as it was, "_bearing its blushing honours thick upon it_," or rather, what i saw of it when summoned to appear before that dread tribunal; and also what i saw of it after its abolition by the cortes. having one day engaged in a dispute with father bustamante, a dominican friar, respecting the image of the madonna of the rosary, he finished abruptly, by assuring me that i should hear of it again. on the same evening i went to a billiard-room, where the count de montes de oro was playing. i observed him look at me, and then speak to some friends on the opposite side of the table. i immediately recollected the threat of father bustamante--i knew, too, that the count was alguazil mayor of the inquisition. i passed him and nodded, when he immediately followed me into the street. i told him that i supposed he had some message for me; he asked my name, and then said that he had. i said i was aware of it, and ready to attend at any moment. considering for a short time, he observed, "this is a matter of too serious a nature to be spoken of in the street," and he went with me to my rooms. after some hesitation, his lordship informed me that i must accompany him on the next morning to the holy tribunal of the faith; i answered that i was ready at any moment; and i would have told him the whole affair, but, clapping his hands to his ears, he exclaimed "no! for the love of god, not a word; i am not an inquisitor; it does not become me to know the secrets of the holy house," adding the old adage, "_del rey y la inquisicion, chiton_,--of the king and the inquisition, hush. i can only hope and pray that you be as rancid a christian as myself." he most solemnly advised me to remain in my room, and neither see nor speak to any one--to betake myself to prayer, and on no account whatever to let any one know that he had anticipated the summons, because, said he, "that is certainly contrary to the laws of the holy house." i relieved him from his fears on this point, and assured him, that i should return with him to the coffee-house, and that i would remain at home for him on the following morning at nine o'clock. at the appointed hour, an under alguazil came to my room, and told me that the alguazil mayor waited for me at the corner of the next street. on meeting him there, he ordered me not to speak to him, but to accompany him to the inquisition. i did so, and saw the messenger and another person following us at a distance. i appeared unconcerned until i had entered the porch after the count, and the two followers had passed. the count now spoke to me, and asked me if i were prepared; i told him i was: he then knocked at the inner door, which was opened by the porter. not a word was uttered. we sat down on a bench for a few minutes, till the domiciliary returned with the answer, that i must wait. the old count now retired, and looked, as he thought, a long adieu; but said nothing. in a few minutes a beadle beckoned me to follow him. i passed the first and second folding doors, and arrived at the tribunal: it was small, but lofty, a scanty light forcing its way through the grated windows near the roof. as i entered, five franciscan friars left the hall by the same door--their hoods were hung over their faces--their arms folded--their hands hid in their sleeves--and their cords round their necks. they appeared by their gait to be young, and marched solemnly after their conductor, a grave old friar, who had his hood over his face, but his cord round his waist, indicating that he was not doing penance. i felt i know not how--i looked upon them with pity, but could not help smiling, as the idea rushed across my mind, that such a procession at midnight would have disturbed a whole town in england, and raised the posse comitatus to lay them. i turned my eyes to the dire triumvirate, seated on an elevated part of the hall, under a canopy of green velvet edged with pale blue, a crucifix of a natural size hanging behind them; a large table was placed before them, covered and trimmed to match the canopy, and bearing two green burning tapers, an inkstand, some books, and papers. jovellanos described the inquisition by saying it was composed of _un santo cristo, dos candileros, y tres majderos_--one crucifix, two candlesticks, and three blockheads. i knew the inquisitors--but how changed from what at other times i had seen them! the puny, swarthy abarca, in the centre, scarcely half filling his chair of state--the fat monster zalduegui on his left, his corpulent paunch being oppressed by the arms of his chair, and blowing through his nostrils like an over-fed porpoise--the fiscal, sobrino, on his right, knitting his black eyebrows, and striving to produce in his unmeaning face a semblance of wisdom. a secretary stood at each end of the table; one of them bad me to approach, which i did, by ascending three steps, which brought me on a level with the above-described trinity of harpies. a small wooden stool was placed for me, and they nodded to me to sit down; i nodded in return, and complied. the fiscal now asked me, in a solemn tone, if i knew why i had been summoned to attend at this holy tribunal? i answered that i did, and was going to proceed, when he hissed for me to be silent. he informed me, that i must swear to the truth of what i should relate. i told him that i would _not_ swear; for, as i was a foreigner, he was not sure that i was a catholic; it was therefore unnecessary for me to take that oath which, perhaps, would not bind me to speak the truth. at this time a few mysterious nods passed between the fiscal and the chief inquisitor, and i was again asked, whether i would speak the truth: i answered, yes. the matter at last was broached; i was asked if i knew the reverend father bustamante? i replied, "i know _friar_ bustamante, i have often met him in coffee houses; but i suppose the reverend father you mean is some grave personage, who would not enter such places." "had you any conversation with father bustamante, touching matters of religion?" "no, but touching matters of superstition, i had." "such things are not to be spoken of in coffee houses," said zalduegui. "no," i rejoined, "i told father bustamante the same thing." "but you ought to have been silent," replied he. "yes," said i, "and be barked at by a _friar_." zalduegui coloured, and asked me what i meant by laying such a stress on the word friar. "any thing," said i, "just as you choose to take it." after questions and answers of this kind, for more than an hour, abarca rang a small bell; the beadle entered, and i was ordered to retire. in a short time i was again called in, and directed to wait on sobrino the following morning at eight o'clock, at his house: i did so, and breakfasted with him.[ ] he advised me in future to avoid all religious disputes, and particularly with persons i did not know, adding, "i requested an interview, because on the seat of judgment i could not speak in this manner. you must know," said he, "that you are here subject to the tribunal of the faith, you, as well as all men who live in the dominions of his catholic majesty; you must, therefore, shape your course accordingly." saying this he retired, and left me alone to find my way out of the house, which i immediately did. in the evening i went to a coffee house, where i saw my friend, friar bustamante; he blushed, but with double civility nodded, and pointed to a seat at the table at which he was sitting. i shrugged my shoulders, and nodded significantly, perhaps sneeringly; he took the hint, and left the room. soon afterwards i met the old count de montes de oro, who looked, hesitated, and in a short time passed me, caught my hand, which he squeezed, but spoke not a word. the act of the cortes of spain which abolished the inquisition, and which, during its discussion, produced many excellent though over-heated speeches, was published in lima just after the above occurrence. the señora doña gregoria gainsa, lady of colonel gainsa, informed me that she and some friends had obtained permission of the viceroy abascal to visit the ex-tribunal; and she invited me to accompany them on the following day, after dinner. i attended, and we went to visit the monster, as they now dared to call it. the doors of the hall being opened, many entered who were not invited, and seeing nothing in a posture of defence, the first victims to our fury were the table and chairs: these were soon demolished; after which some persons laid hold of the velvet curtains of the canopy, and dragged them so forcibly, that canopy and crucifix came down with a horrid crash. the crucifix was rescued from the ruins of inquisitorial state, and its head discovered to be moveable. a ladder was found to have been secreted behind the canopy, and thus the whole mystery of this miraculous image became explainable and explained:--a man was concealed on the ladder, by the curtains of the canopy, and by introducing his hand through a hole, he moved the head, so as to make it nod consent, or shake dissent. in how many instances may appeal to this imposture have caused an innocent man to own himself guilty of crimes he never dreamt of! overawed by fear, and condemned, as was believed, by a miracle, falsehood would supply the place of truth, and innocence, if timid, confess itself sinful. every one was now exasperated with rage, and "there are yet victims in the cells," was universally murmured. "a search! a search!" was the cry, and the door leading to the interior was quickly broken through. the next we found was called _del secreto_; the word secret stimulated curiosity, and the door was instantly burst open. it led to the archives. here were heaped, upon shelves, papers, containing the written cases of those who had been accused or tried; and here i read the name of many a friend, who little imagined that his conduct had been scrutinized by the holy tribunal, or that his name had been recorded in so awful a place. some who were present discovered their own names on the rack, and pocketed the papers. i put aside fifteen cases, and took them home with me; but they were not of great importance. four for blasphemy bore a sentence, which was three months' seclusion in a convent, a general confession, and different penances--all secret. the others were accusations of friars, _solicitantes in confesione_, two of whom i knew, and though some danger attended the disclosure, i told them afterwards what i had seen. prohibited books in abundance were in the room, and many found future owners. to our great surprise we here met with a quantity of printed cotton handkerchiefs. these alas! had incurred the displeasure of the inquisition, because a figure of religion, holding a chalice in one hand and a cross in the other was stamped in the centre: placed there perhaps by some unwary manufacturer, who thought such devout insignia would insure purchasers, but who forgot the heinousness of blowing the nose or spitting upon the cross. to prevent such a crime this religious tribunal had taken the wares by wholesale, omitting to pay their value to the owner, who might consider himself fortunate in not having his shop removed to the sacred house. leaving this room we forced our way into another, which to our astonishment and indignation was that of torture! in the centre stood a strong table, about eight feet long and seven feet broad; at one end of which was an iron collar, opening in the middle horizontally, for the reception of the neck of the victim; on each side of the collar were also thick straps with buckles, for enclosing the arms near to the body; and on the sides of the table were leather straps with buckles for the wrists, connected with cords under the table, made fast to the axle of an horizontal wheel; at the other end were two more straps for the ancles with ropes similarly fixed to the wheel. thus it was obvious, that a human being might be extended on the table, and, by turning the wheel, might be stretched in both directions at the same time, without any risk of hanging, for that effect was prevented by the two straps under his arms, close to the body; but almost every joint might be dislocated. after we had discovered the diabolical use of this piece of machinery, every one shuddered, and involuntarily looked towards the door, as if apprehensive that it would close upon him. at first curses were muttered, but they were soon changed into loud imprecations against the inventors and practisers of such torments; and blessings were showered on the cortes for having abolished this tribunal of arch tyranny. we next examined a vertical pillory, placed against the wall; it had one large and two smaller holes; on opening it, by lifting up the one half, we perceived apertures in the wall, and the purpose of the machine was soon ascertained. an offender having his neck and wrists secured in the holes of the pillory, and his head and hands hidden in the wall, could be flogged by the lay brothers of st. dominick without being known by them; and thus any accidental discovery was avoided. scourges of different materials were hanging on the wall; some of knotted cord, not a few of which were hardened with blood; others were of wire chain, with points and rowels, like those of spurs; these too were clotted with blood. we also found tormentors, made of netted wire, the points of every mesh projecting about one-eighth of an inch inward, the outside being covered with leather, and having strings to tie them on. some of these tormentors were of a sufficient size for the waist, others for the thighs, the legs and arms. the walls were likewise adorned with shirts of horse hair, which could not be considered as a very comfortable habit after a severe flagellation; with human bones, having a string at each end, to gag those who made too free a use of their tongues; and with nippers, made of cane, for the same purpose. these nippers consisted of two slips of cane, tied at the ends; by opening in the middle when they were put into the mouth, and fastened behind the head, in the same manner as the bones, they pressed forcibly upon the tongue. in a drawer were a great many finger screws; they were small semicircular pieces of iron, in the form of crescents, having a screw at one end, so that they could be fixed on the fingers, and screwed to any degree, even till the nails were crushed and the bones broken. on viewing these implements of torture, who could find an excuse for the monsters who would use them to establish the faith which was taught, by precept and example, by the mild, the meek, the holy jesus! may he who would not curse them in the bitterness of wrath fall into their merciless hands! the rack and the pillory were soon demolished; for such was the fury of more than a hundred persons who had gained admittance, that had they been constructed of iron they could not have resisted the violence and determination of their assailants. in one corner stood a wooden horse, painted white: it was conceived to be another instrument of torture, and instantly broken to pieces; but i was afterwards informed, that a victim of the inquisition, who had been burnt at the stake, was subsequently declared innocent of the charges preferred against him, and as an atonement for his death, his innocence was publicly announced, and his effigy, dressed in white, and mounted on this horse, was paraded about the streets of lima. some said that the individual suffered in lima, others, that he suffered in spain, and that by a decree of the inquisitor-general this farce was performed in every part of the spanish dominions where a tribunal existed. we proceeded to the cells, but found them all open and empty: they were small, but not uncomfortable as places of confinement. some had a small yard attached; others, more solitary, had none. the last person known to have been confined was a naval officer, an andalusian, who was exiled in to boca chica. having examined every corner of this mysterious prison-house, we retired in the evening, taking with us books, papers, scourges, tormentors, &c., many of which were distributed at the door, particularly several pieces of the irreligious handkerchiefs. the following morning the archbishop went to the cathedral, and declared all those persons excommunicated, _vel participantes_, who had taken and should retain in their possession any thing that had belonged to, or had been found in the ex-tribunal of the inquisition. in consequence of this declaration, many delivered up what they had taken; but with me the case was different--i kept what i had got, in defiance of _flamines infernorum_ denounced by his grace against the _renitentes_ and _retinentes_. it is said, that when castel-forte was viceroy in lima, he was summoned by the inquisition, and attended accordingly. taking with him to the door his body-guard, a company of infantry, and two pieces of artillery, he entered, and laying his watch on the table, told the inquisitors, that if their business were not despatched in one hour, the house would be battered down about their ears, for such were the orders he had left with the commanding officer at the gate. this was quite sufficient; the inquisitors rose, and accompanied him to the door, too happy when they beheld the backs of his excellency and his escort. during my residence in lima, i saw two men publicly disgraced by the inquisition; the one for having celebrated mass without having been ordained, and the other for soothsaying and witchcraft. they were placed in the chapel of the tribunal at an early hour in the morning, each dressed in a _sambenito_, a short loose tunic, covered with ridiculous paintings of snakes, bats, toads, flames, &c. the pseudo priest had a mitre of feathers placed on his head, the other a crown of the same. they stood in the centre of the chapel, each holding a green taper in his hand. at nine o'clock one of the secretaries ascended the pulpit, and read the cause for which they were punished. the poor mass-sayer appeared very penitent, but the old fortune-teller, when some of his tricks were related, burst into a loud laugh, in which he was joined by most of the people present. two mules were brought to the door, and the two culprits were tied on their backs, having their faces towards the tails. the procession then began to move: first several alguazils, with the count de montes de oro at their head; next the mules, led by the common hangman; while the inquisitors, in their state coaches, brought up the rear. two friars of the order of st. dominick carried on each side the coaches large branches of palm. in this order they marched to st. dominick's church, and were received at the door by the provincial prelate and community: the culprits were placed in the centre of the church, and the same papers read from the pulpit, after which the men were sentenced to serve in the hospitals during the will of the inquisitors. to those who visit lima, it may perhaps be interesting to know, that the stake at which the unfortunate victims of inquisitorial tyranny were burnt was near the ground on which the _plasa de toros_, bull circus, now stands; and that at the foot of the bridge, at the door of the church, _de los desamparados_, of the abandoned, they were delivered to the ordinary ministers of justice for execution. it is well known, that many exaggerated accounts have been given of the inquisition, tending more to create doubts, than to establish the truth of the inhuman proceedings of that tribunal. i have stated this fact elsewhere, not with the view of palliating the proceedings, but to put readers on their guard, neither to believe nor disbelieve all that is written. that enough may be said to make humanity shudder, and still more remain untold, is proved by what i saw in the pandemonium of lima. but the inquisitors knew too well, that those who had undergone the pains and torments which they inflicted would be apt to divulge them, so that it was their interest either to be sparing of torture, or to prevent a discovery by sacrificing the victim. when the beloved ferdinand abolished the cortes and the constitution in he restored the inquisition, and often in madrid personally presided at its sessions. this was not however sufficient to encourage its ministers to proceed with that rigour they had been wont to exercise; they had been once dethroned, and were not certain of their own stability. in lima the monsters were tame, nay harmless; but this proceeded from fear. no doubt ferdinand, like his predecessor, pedro, and the inquisitors, like their founder, st. dominick, wished for the arrival of a time when they could repeat, "nothing rejoices my soul so much as to hear the bones of heretics crackling at the stake." to the credit of the new governments in south america, the inquisition has been every where abolished, and all spiritual jurisdiction re-invested in the bishops. the _casa de los huerfanos_, foundling hospital, is an establishment that does honour to its founder, who was an apothecary. all white children are received by tapping at a small revolving window, and placing the child on it when it turns. they are brought up and educated, the males to the age of fourteen, when they are apprenticed to some trade, and according to the rules of the college of medicine, two are received there every two years. the females have a dowry of one thousand dollars each on their marriage, and if they become nuns, there is another charitable institution, founded by the same individual, to which they apply, and the annual dowries, being five of one thousand dollars each, are decided by chance, the names of the solicitors being put into a vase, and drawn in a manner similar to a lottery. charles iv. declared all foundlings to be noble, for the purpose of their being eligible to any situation. before the establishment of the foundling hospital, many children were laid at the doors of the wealthy inhabitants, and they were always taken care of. in small towns this practice still occurs, but they are more frequently exposed near the huts of the indians, or slaves; and as the exposed are generally, or i may say always white, they are received, and their foster-parents often treat them with greater kindness than their own children, shewing a kind of predilection for the foundlings. civilized whites may vaunt of their pious establishments, but let them turn their eyes to the rude hut of an indian, robbed of his country and of his native privileges; or to that of a negro, deprived of the blessings of liberty by the overwhelming power of white men, and behold a female mingling her tears with those of a white child, because she is unable to provide for it what by whites she herself has lost--food, clothing and education! but human nature, not civilized humanity, is the temple of piety. the weekly lottery in lima is an excellent establishment; the tickets cost one real one-eighth of a dollar each; the prizes are, one of a thousand dollars, two of five hundred, and the remainder is divided into smaller sums. there are but few individuals, however poor they may be, who cannot purchase one or two tickets weekly, and many slaves have procured their manumission by means of this lottery. i was passing the fountain belonging to the convent of san juan de dios, when two negroes were disagreeing about the water; an old friar persuaded them to be quiet and friendly; a seller of lottery tickets happened to pass at the time, and the two negroes joined in buying a ticket, which an hour afterwards was drawn a prize of a thousand dollars. in the afternoon the negroes were free, having purchased their liberty; for which piece of good fortune the old friar put in his claim, as being the principal mover. according to the spanish laws, a master is obliged to sign the deed of manumission, if the slave can emancipate himself at a fair valuation; and if the master refuse, the slave may deposit the sum in the public treasury, and the receipt is a sufficient voucher for his liberty. the mint was established in lima in ; in it was removed to potosi, but re-established in lima in . it is a large building, containing all the necessary offices. the machinery was formerly worked by mules, eighty being daily employed, till the year , when don pedro abadia being the contractor for the coinage, mr. trevethick directed the erection of a water wheel, which caused a great saving of expense. the assaying, melting, rolling, cutting, weighing, stamping and milling, are all carried on in different apartments by black men, principally slaves; but the different offices of superintendance are filled by white men. the whole is under the direction of an intendant, and subaltern officers. the coinage is contracted for, and sold to the highest bidder, who is allowed a per centage on all the gold and silver that is coined, which in the year was as follows:-- gold , value in dollars. silver , , do. do. lima owes to the viceroy abascal, marquis de la concordia, the erection of a place for the interment of all those who die in the city and suburbs; it is called the pantheon. situated on the outside of the walls, it is sufficiently large to contain all the dead bodies for six years, without removal; when this becomes necessary, the bones are taken out of the niches, and placed in the osariums. many of the rich families have purchased allotments for family vaults, having their names inscribed above. the building is a square enclosure, divided into several sections; in the wall are niches, each sufficient to hold a corpse, and the divisions are also formed by double rows of niches built one above another, some of them eight stories high, the fronts being open. the walks are planted with many aromatics and evergreens. in the centre is a small chapel, or rather altar, with a roof: its form is octagonal, so that eight priests can celebrate mass at the same time. the corpse is put into the niche with the feet foremost, if in a coffin, which seldom happens, except among the richer classes, the lid is removed, and a quantity of unslaked lime being thrown on each body, its decay is very rapid. for the conveyance of the dead several hearses of different descriptions are provided, belonging to the pantheon, and they are not permitted to traverse the streets after twelve o'clock in the day. before the establishment of this cemetery, all the dead were buried in the churches, or rather, placed in vaults, many of which had wooden trap-doors, opening in the floors; and notwithstanding the plentiful use of lime, the stench and other disgusting effects were sometimes almost insufferable. when the first nun was to be carried to the pantheon, great opposition was made by the sisterhood; but the viceroy sent a file of soldiers, and enforced the interment of the corpse in the general cemetery. footnote: [ ] the lenity shown in this case, by the inquisition, might probably be owing to the expectation that the tribunal would shortly be abolished by the cortes. chapter xiii. the population of lima....remarks....table of castes....the qualifications of creoles....population and division....spaniards ....creoles, white....costume....indians....african negroes.... their cofradias, and royal personages....queen rosa....creole negroes....mestiso....mulattos....zambos....chinos...._quarterones and quinterones_....theatre....bull circus....royal cockpit.... alamedas....bathing places....piazzas _amancaes_....elevation and oration bells....processions of corpus christi, santa rosa, san francisco, and santo domingo....publication of bulls....ceremonies on the arrival of a viceroy. there are few cities in the world whose population exhibits a greater variety of shade or tint of countenance than lima, or, perhaps, a greater contrast of intellectual faculty, if the rules established by physiognomists may be relied on. but these arbiters of physiognomy have been white men, and there appears to be a considerable portion of egotism attached to their opinions. they have not only erected their own tribunal, and instituted their own code of laws, but they have presided, judged, and sentenced in favour of themselves. by giving to the facial line or indicator of talent and genius a particular direction, the european white has been able to place himself at the head, and to degrade the black, or negro of africa, by placing him at the bottom of the list. probably the success of the europeans in their wars and conquests, and in their advancement in the arts and sciences, may give considerable support to this classification. by drawing an horizontal line that shall touch the base of the cranium, and intersecting it by another drawn from the forehead and touching the extremity of the upper lip, the statuaries have found the supposed angle of human perfection. the greeks fixed this angle at °; the romans at °; and according to this rule, the european face varies between ° and °; the asiatic between ° and °; the american, having the forehead more flattened, between ° and °; and, lastly, the negro between ° and °. by this mode of judging, we find the european at the head, and the rude semi-brutal negro at the bottom. but how disconcerted the lovers of this criterion must feel, if any credit can be given to what has been asserted of the egyptians, the founders and promoters of the arts and sciences. colonies from egypt and the east, led by pelasgus, cecrops, cadmus, &c., were the tutors of the greeks, whom they found on their arrival more ignorant than columbus, cortes and pizarro found the americans, at the discovery and conquest of their country. yet herodotus, l. , p. , says, that the egyptians were black, with woolly, curled black hair; and blumenbach asserts, that having dissected several egyptian mummies, he observed that they belonged to the negro race, from their elevated pomulos, thick lips, and large flat noses. the copts also, who are descendants of the egyptians, have the aspect of mulattos, and appear to belong to the negro race. i have repeatedly observed, that a negro born in peru of african parents shews a greater development of the human faculties than is exhibited by either of his parents; nay, even his corporeal agility appears to have increased, and certainly his share of civilized vices is augmented; yet i cannot suppose that these proceed from any other source than an imitation of examples placed before him, without any change in the facial angle! for an examination of the influence of the configuration of the human face, or of its colour, on the intellectual faculties, no place is more _à propos_ than lima; and perhaps a few remarks upon this subject will be acceptable to those who feel themselves interested in such speculations. the annexed table shews the mixture of the different castes, under their common or distinguishing names. ---------+-----------+-------------+------------------------------------ father. | mother. | children. | colour. ---------+-----------+-------------+------------------------------------ european | european | creole | white. creole | creole | creole | white. white | indian | mestiso | / white, / indian--fair. indian | white | mestiso | / white, / indian. white | mestiso | creole | white--often very fair. mestiso | white | creole | white--but rather sallow. mestiso | mestiso | creole | sallow--often light hair. white | negro | mulatto | / white, / negro--often fair. negro | white | zambo | / white, / negro--dark copper. white | mulatto | quarteron | / white, / negro--fair. mulatto | white | mulatto | / white, / negro--tawny. white | quarteron| quinteron | / white, / negro--very fair. quarteron| white | quarteron | / white, / negro--tawny. white | quinteron| creole | white--light eyes, fair hair. negro | indian | chino | / negro, / indian. indian | negro | chino | / negro, / indian. negro | mulatto | zambo | / negro, / white. mulatto | negro | zambo | / negro, / white. negro | zambo | zambo | / negro, / white--dark. zambo | negro | zambo | / negro, / white. negro | chino | zambo-chino| / negro, / indian. chino | negro | zambo-chino| / negro, / indian. negro | negro | negro | this table, which i have endeavoured to make as correct as possible, from personal observation, must be considered as general, and not including particular cases. i have classed the colours according to their appearance, not according to the mixture of the castes, because i have always remarked, that a child receives more of the colour of the father than of the mother. it may be correct to state, that the creoles from either european or creole parents, are endowed with more open generosity than the spaniards, and that they are of a more active and penetrating genius, but not so constant in their pursuits. much has been said against the creoles, or natives of the colonies by those of the parent states; their descriptions, however, are rather accordant with their wishes than the real character of the people whom they undertake to pourtray. writers ought not to sully their pages either by affirming untruths or uttering biassed opinions. de pauw says, "that all the american races are of a degenerated and inferior order;" this is undoubtedly false, for i have known several individuals who have borne down the restrictions of colonial law, and become eminent both in the arts and sciences: mexia eclipsed many of the most famous spanish orators in the late cortes; and morales was elected president of the regency. it is well known also, that the contest in the colonies, where the natives have fought for and gained their independence, brought to light the talent and genius of many both in the cabinet and in the field, whose names would have remained unknown, had not their abilities been thus called into action. the coarse and foul caricature of de pauw, may be contrasted with the over-coloured picture of m. de bercey, and a medium i think would form a correct outline. "those whom we are accustomed to call barbarians and savages are infinitely less entitled to these epithets than ourselves, notwithstanding the refinement and civilization we boast. equally, if not more exempted from prejudice, the americans neither create factitious wants, nor seek imaginary sources of happiness." i have observed the young men in the colleges of lima, as well as in other cities of south america, and i must affirm, that their minds are stored with both just and clear ideas; and surely these are the principal indications of good taste, and the characteristics of true genius. but several causes have contributed to damp the career of literature; among others we may reckon a scanty supply of books, a total want of philosophical instruments, the restrictions of the inquisition, and the prohibitory laws. learning has indeed hitherto been discountenanced, for when some of the collegians of san carlos harangued the viceroy gil de lemos, he inquired of the rector, what sciences were taught in the college, and being briefly informed, he returned "tu, tu, tu, let them learn to read, write, and say their prayers, for this is as much as any american ought to know!" the college _del principe_ has produced many indians who have shone both in the pulpit and at the bar; and among the negroes and the mixed castes, several individuals of merit, both in medicine and surgery, have been distinguished. many also exist who, if they have not been conspicuous in any department of the sciences, undoubtedly owe their failure to the spanish colonial laws, which have shut all preferments against them. yet who can read the harangues of colocolo to the araucanian senate, without declaring them to be as worthy of the poetical pen of ercilla, as those of nestor were of the pen of homer? robertson states the population of lima in at , ; but in it was estimated at , , at which time the deputies of the cortes were elected. of this number about , are whites, the remainder negroes, indians, and mixed breeds, or castes. i shall briefly particularize the most striking features in the population, according to my own observations. among the inhabitants of this city, there are sixty-three noblemen, who enjoy titles either of count or marquis, the greater part of whom are natives of america, and about forty noblemen, or _mayorasgos_, without titles; a number of knights of the different spanish orders of catalrava, alcantara, santiago, malta, and charles iii. many of the nobility are descendants of the conquerors. the most ancient families are those of villafuerte (marquis), lurigancho (count), and montemira (marquis). one of the families in lima traces its descent with undeniable certainty from the incas. ampuero the founder married at the time of the conquest a _coya_, or princess, sister to atabalipa, and the kings of spain granted at different times many distinguishing prerogatives and honours to this family, from which the marquis of montemira is now the lineal descendant. the manners of the nobility are courteous in the extreme, and their complaisance and affability to strangers know no limits; their general conduct also seems to be as free from haughtiness as from flattery, and their politeness, candour and magnificence must charm every stranger who visits them. these qualities were particularly shewn to the officers of several of h. b. m. ships of war who were at lima during the time i resided there. lima is the birth-place of the only person in the spanish colonies who has been canonized by the roman church: santa rosa de santa maria; she is the patroness of peru, and her festival is celebrated with great solemnity. it is said by some that she foretold the independence of her country, asserting, that after the domination of the kings of spain had lasted as long as that of the incas, the sceptre would drop from their hands. this prophecy was printed in the first edition of her life in , but was expunged from all the succeeding ones. saint thoribius de mogroviejo, archbishop, and st. francis solano, of the order of franciscans, flourished here, but both were natives of spain. this city has also produced many other persons of virtuous and literary fame: the most conspicuous among whom are-- the venerable father francisco del castillo the venerable fray martin de porras } the venerable fray juan masias } dominicans the venerable fray vicente vernedo } the venerable fray pedro urraca } the venerable fray gonsalo dias } mercedarias the venerable fray juan de zalasar } the venerable fray juan de vargas } martyred in paraguay the venerable fray juan de albarran } don pedro de la reyna maldonado, a celebrated author don martin del barco zentenera, historian don pedro peralta bernueva, mathematician don jose, marquis of vallumbrosa, a very learned man don diego baños y sotomayor, chaplain of honour to the king don alonzo, count of san donas, ambassador of spain to the french court, in the reign of felipe iv. don fernando, marquis of surco, lieutenant-general, chamberlain and tutor to don felipe, duke of parma don miguel nuñes de roxas, of the council of orders, private judge of confiscations, in the war of succession don jose baquijano, of the council of indies, in the reign of charles iv. and fernando vii. don tomas de salasar, author of "interpretaciones de las leyes de indias." don lope de armendaris, marquis of cadreita, viceroy of nueva españa. besides these and several other eminent persons, lima has given birth to six archbishops, three of whom were conventual priests; and to fifty-two bishops, twenty-five of whom were regulars of the different conventual orders. the spaniard who arrived at lima brought with him either some commission from the government of spain, or an intention of residing in the country for the purpose of gain. of the first class, however low the appointment might be, the individual conducted himself towards the natives with a haughty superiority, which to an impartial spectator was truly disgusting; he assumed the don if he excused the señor, and was never addressed without one or both of these appendages to his name; indeed _el señor don_ was more common in the streets of lima, than at the court of madrid. the second class often consisted of sailors, who ran away from their ships at callao, and got places as servants in a _pulperia_ (a shop where spirits, wines, spices, sugar, and all common place articles are sold), a bakehouse, or a farm. if industrious, they soon obtained as much as was necessary to establish themselves, and many amassed considerable fortunes, married advantageously, and remained in the country; knowing full well, that in their own they would neither be admitted into such society as they enjoyed here, nor be treated with that deference to which they had become habituated. all this would be excusable enough, if the beauty, riches, and comforts of spain--its learned societies, noble families, and enlightened population, were not the universal topic of their conversation and their universal song of praise. i have seen many of this class who, having been taught to read and write in america, and acquired riches, have purchased an order of knighthood! for although it was pretended, that nobility of descent must be proved before any of the military orders could be obtained, yet a _spaniard_ has purchased dispensation, and thus laid the foundation of a _noble_ family. all spaniards in america fancied themselves to belong to a race of beings far superior to those among whom they resided. i have frequently heard them say, that they should love their children with greater ardour if they had been born in europe; and during the struggle in different parts of the colonies between the royalists and the patriots, i have known more than one spaniard assert, that if he thought his children would be insurgents he would murder them in their beds. a spaniard would solicit countrymen of his own to marry his daughters, preferring these without any trade or fortune, to a creole possessed of both; indeed they had one powerful inducement to make this election; the spaniard would be more likely to procure riches; and, generally speaking, they considered nothing else worthy their attention, thus in cases of matrimony, the inclinations of the daughters were not often consulted. the spaniards appeared to form a separate society, not only in their own houses and in the public walks, but even in the coffee houses, where the creoles were seldom seen at the same table. this visible antipathy was carried to such an extent, after the beginning of the dissensions, that several spaniards, although some of them had children born in lima of creole mothers, formed an agreement, and bound themselves by an oath and fine, not to take any native of the country into their employ. this determination became public in the city, and, after the patriot troops entered, was the cause of the most severe insults to its authors. it is well known, however, that in a reverse of fortune, no man is more docile or more servile than a spaniard, who will, according to his own adage, _besar la mano que quisiera ver cortada_--kiss the hand he would wish to see cut off. a creole of lima in many respects partakes of the character of an andalusian; he is lively, generous, and careless of to-morrow; fond of dress and variety, slow to revenge injuries, and willing to forget them. of all his vices, dissipation is certainly the greatest: his conversation is quick and pointed--that of the fair sex is extremely gay and witty, giving them an open frankness, which some foreigners have been pleased to term levity, or something a little more dishonourable, attaching the epithet immoral to their general character--an imputation they may deserve, if prudery and hypocrisy be the necessary companions of virtue; but they certainly deserve it not, if benevolence, confidence, unsuspecting conviviality, and honest intention, be the true characteristics of morality. the creoles are generally kind and good parents, very affectionate and indulgent to their families; and this conduct, with few exceptions, insures the love, respect, and gratitude of their children. i have often heard a creole ask his son, "who am i?" and receive the endearing answer, "my _father_ and my _friend_." it frequently happens, through vanity or weakness, that a creole mother teaches her daughters to call her sister, which may be construed into the desire of not wishing to be considered old; but if this really be a crime, in what part of the world are females innocent? i have no hesitation in asserting, that any impartial person who shall reside long enough among south americans to become acquainted with their domestic manners, will declare, that conjugal and paternal affection, filial piety, beneficence, generosity, good nature and hospitality, are the inmates of almost every house. i have no doubt, too, that these virtues will continue here, until civilization and refinement shall drive them from their abode in the new world, to make room for etiquette, formality, becoming pride, prudery and hypocrisy from the old. then, the children of the first families in lima (whom i have often seen rise from the table, and carry a plateful of food to a poor protegée beggar, seated in the patio or under the corridor, wait and chat with the little miserable till it had finished, and return to the table) will look on such objects with disdain, because mamma has subscribed a competent sum to a charitable institution, and made that sum known to the world through the medium of the newspapers!--i cannot avoid fearing that this modern improvement will supersede their own pure, but almost antiquated customs. this picture may appear to some highly coloured; but i speak from experience, and could relate innumerable instances of the practice of all the social virtues which i have mentioned: sufficient, i am sure, to convince the most hardened sceptic. i arrived at lima a prisoner, pennyless, and, as i thought, friendless; but in this i was deceived; i owe to persons whom i had never seen, and of whose existence i was then ignorant, such friendship, kindness, and pecuniary relief while in prison, and generous and kind protection afterwards, as i hope will never be eradicated from my bosom; and yet i trust, that i neither do, nor ever can, attribute to the creoles virtues which they do not possess: it is my duty, as an author, to speak the truth, however my gratitude and affection might incline me to conceal their failings. gambling is carried on to a great extent in lima, but much more in the higher circles than in the lower. no public gaming houses are permitted by the government, and the police officers are on the alert wherever a house is suspected; but private parties are very common, particularly at the country houses of the nobility, and at the bathing places of miraflores, chorrillos and lurin. the tables, although in the houses of noblemen, are free to all--the master and the slave, the marquis, the count, the mechanic, and the pedlar, mix indiscriminately. this vice is generally confined to the men; but some females now and then join in these fashionable amusements. having observed, that the female creoles are kind mothers, it is scarcely necessary to say, that adultery is rare. one would think that the exclamation of the elder cato to some young romans was here observed: "courage, my friends, go and see the girls, but do not corrupt the married women." concubinage is common, or perhaps only more public than in europe, where civilization appears to have established the law, that to sin in secret is not to sin at all. it is true, that scandal often aggravates the crime, which is certainly mollified by the sincere regard which the father generally entertains for his natural children; making their happiness a principal object of his attention, and frequently at last legitimating them either by marriage or by will. the creoles are careful of the education of their children, and will strain every nerve to support them at college until they have finished their studies, and are thus able to enter the church, to follow the profession of the law, or to practise in medicine. the education of the daughters generally devolves on the mother: proper schools for their instruction are very rare; so that, excepting a little drawing, dancing, and music, for which purposes good masters are scarce, the needle claims the greater portion of their time; and from the highest to the lowest ranks they are continually employed in embroidery or other kinds of needlework, at which they are very dexterous. the necessary accomplishments of reading and writing are, however, never dispensed with among the higher and middle orders. the white inhabitants of lima have sallow complexions, having very little colour on their cheeks; but, to the credit of the ladies, they are not in the habit of using an artificial substitute; their hair and eyes are black, the latter full and penetrating, which, with good teeth, form very interesting countenances. the profusion of beautiful black ringlets over their foreheads appears as if formed to prevent a stranger from being over-dazzled by those sparkling eyes they are intended, but in vain, to hide. their figures are extremely genteel, though rather small and slender. their feet are remarkably diminutive, and the ease and elegance of their gait is not to be surpassed. when i arrived in lima, in , the long spanish cloak was worn by all classes of men; but in it was so little used as a dress, that it was rarely seen. when used, it was put on merely to supply the place of a great coat, or confined to a few of the old spaniards, who are as great enemies to innovation as the chinese. the english costume is now quite prevalent, and as many dandies crowd the streets of lima as those of london. the walking dress of the females of all descriptions is the _saya y manto_, which is a petticoat of velvet, satin, or stuff, generally black or of a cinnamon colour, plaited in very small folds, and rather elastic; it sits close to the body, and shews its shape to the utmost possible advantage. at the bottom it is too narrow to allow the wearer to step forward freely, but the short step rather adds to than deprives her of a graceful air. this part of the dress is often tastefully ornamented round the bottom with lace, fringe, spangles, pearls, artificial flowers, or whatever may be considered fashionable. among ladies of the higher order the saya is of different colours--purple, pale blue, lead colour, or striped. the manto is a hood of thin black silk, drawn round the waist, and then carried over the head: by closing it before, they can hide the whole of the face, one eye alone being visible; sometimes they show half the face, but this depends on the choice of the wearer. a fine shawl or handkerchief hanging down before, a rosary in the hand, silk stockings and satin shoes, complete the costume. the hood is undoubtedly derived from the moors, and to a stranger it has a very curious appearance; however, i confess that i became so reconciled to the sight, that i thought and still think it both handsome and genteel. this dress is peculiar to lima; indeed i never saw it worn any where else in south america. it is certainly very convenient, for at a moment's notice a lady can, without the necessity of changing her under dress, put on her _saya y manto_, and go out; and no female will walk in the street in any other in the day time. for the evening promenade an english dress is often adopted, but in general a large shawl is thrown over the head, and a hat is worn over all; between the folds of the shawl it is not uncommon to perceive a lighted cegar; for although several of the fair sex are addicted to smoking, none of them choose to practise it openly. when the ladies appear on public occasions, at the theatre, bull circus, and _pascos_, promenades, they are dressed in the english or french costume, but they are always very anxious to exhibit a profusion of jewellery, to which they are particularly partial. a lady in lima would much rather possess an extensive collection of precious gems than a gay equipage. they are immoderately fond of perfumes, and spare no expense in procuring them: it is a well known fact, that many poor females attend at the archbishop's gate, and after receiving a pittance, immediately purchase with the money _agua rica_, or some other scented water. even the ladies, not content with the natural fragrance of flowers, add to it, and spoil it by sprinkling them with lavender water, spirit of musk, or ambergris, and often by fumigating them with gum benzoin, musk and amber, particularly the _mistura_, which is a compound of jessamine, wall flowers, orange flowers and others, picked from the stalks. small apples and green limes are also filled with slices of cinnamon and cloves. the mixture is generally to be found on a salver at a lady's toilette; they will distribute it among their friends by asking for a pocket handkerchief, tying up a small quantity in the corner, and sprinkling it with some perfume, expecting the compliment, "that it is most delicately seasoned." the indians who reside in lima have become such exact imitators of the creoles, in dress and manners, that were it not for their copper-coloured faces it would be difficult to distinguish them. i shall at present, however, defer any particular description of this part of the inhabitants of south america. the principal occupation of the indians who reside in lima is the making of fringes, gold and silver lace, epaulettes, and embroidery; some are tailors, others attend the business of the market, but very few are servants or mechanics. the african negroes, owing to the kind treatment they receive, appear to be completely happy. on their arrival they used to be exposed for sale in some large house, and the first attention of their purchasers was to have them taught the necessary prayers and rudiments of the christian religion, a task which generally fell to the lot of the younger branches of the family. i have often seen the children of noblemen, as well as those of the wealthy inhabitants, instructing their african slaves in the christian duties; for it is here considered quite disgraceful to have a negro in the house for any length of time without being baptized; and this ceremony cannot be performed until they are first prepared for it by being taught their prayers and the catechism. they are then taken to the parish church, and examined by the priest, and if he find that they are sufficiently instructed, he christens them, some of the oldest and most steady of the slaves belonging to the family standing as sponsors, on whom the duty of teaching them afterwards devolves. it very seldom happens that, after a year's residence in a christian family, an african is not fully prepared to receive the communion. in the suburbs of san lazaro are _cofradias_ or clubs belonging to the different castes or nations of the africans, where they hold their meetings in a very orderly manner, generally on a sunday afternoon; and if any one of the royal family belonging to the respective nations is to be found in the city, he or she is called the king or queen of the cofradia, and treated with every mark of respect. i was well acquainted with a family in lima, in which there was an old female slave, who had lived with them for upwards of fifty years, and who was the acknowledged queen of the mandingos, she being, according to their statement, a princess. on particular days she was conducted from the house of her master, by a number of black people, to the cofradia, dressed as gaudily as possible; for this purpose her young mistresses would lend her jewels to a considerable amount, besides which the poor old woman was bedizened with a profusion of artificial flowers, feathers, and other ornaments. her master had presented her with a silver sceptre, and this necessary appendage of royalty was on such occasions always carried by her. it has often gratified my best feelings, when _mama rosa_ was seated in the porch of her master's house, to see her subjects come and kneel before her, ask her blessing, and kiss her hand. i have followed them to the cofradia, and seen her majesty seated on her throne, and go through the ceremony of royalty without a _blush_. on her arrival, and at her departure, the poor creatures would sing to their music, which consisted of a large drum, formed of a piece of hollow wood, one end being covered with the skin of a kid, put on while fresh, and braced by placing it near some lighted charcoal; and a string of catgut, fastened to a bow, which was struck with a small cane; to these they added a rattle, made of the jaw-bone of an ass or a mule, having the teeth loose, so that by striking it with one hand they would rattle in their sockets. for a full chorus, they sometimes hold a short bone in their hand, and draw it briskly backward and forward over the teeth: it does not produce much harmony, it is true; but if david found harmony in his harp, pan in his pipes, and apollo in his lyre; if a shepherd find music in his reed, and a mandarin in the gong, why should not the queen of mandingo find it in the jaw-bone of an ass or a mule! the walls of the cofradias are ornamented with likenesses in fresco of the different royal personages who have belonged to them. the purpose of the institution is to help those to good masters, who have been so unfortunate as to meet with bad ones; but as a master can object to selling his slave, unless he prove by law that he has been cruelly treated, which is very difficult, or next to impossible, the cofradias raise a fund by contributions, and free the slave, to which the master cannot object; but this slave now becomes tacitly the slave of the cofradia, and must return by instalments the money paid for his manumission. i shall not attempt to defend all the actions of the africans in a state of slavery; but i must say, that when they are treated with compassionate kindness, they are generally faithful and honest; frequently become personally attached to their master, and though they may be sometimes loath to exert themselves in laborious tasks to serve him, yet in an emergency of danger they would often die for him. on the contrary, when harshly and unjustly treated they become stubborn in the greatest degree, and the master is only secure from personal violence through the irresolute temper of the slave and his fear of punishment. but place a white man in the same situation, and what, let me ask, would be the line of conduct he would pursue? the negro creole is generally more athletic and robust than his african parents; he has no more virtues than they have, but he has commonly more vices; he seems to be more awake to revenge, and less timid of the consequences; he considers himself as better than the _bozales_, the name given to african slaves, and will rarely intermarry with them. the mestiso is generally very strong, of a swarthy complexion, and but little beard; he is kind, affable and generous, and particularly inclined to mix in the society of white people; very serviceable, and something like the gallegos in spain. in some parts of the interior of the country there are great numbers of mestisos; here their colour is whiter, and they have blue eyes and fair hair during childhood, but both become darker as they advance in years. the mulatto is seldom so robust as his parents; he appears of a delicate constitution, and in his mental capacities is far superior to the negro; indeed when assisted by education he is not inferior to a white man. fond of dress and parade, of a fiery imagination and inclined to talk, he is often eloquent, and very partial to poetry. many mulattos in lima obtain a good education by accompanying their young masters to school while children, and afterwards attending on them at college. it is very common at a public disputation in the university, to hear a mulatto in the gallery help a wrangler out with a syllogism: they are generally called _palanganos_, which is a local term, signifying a chatterer. many of the surgeons here are mulattos, and frequently do great honour to themselves, and credit to their profession. some of the females have agreeable countenances, and fine figures; they are witty and generous, and remarkably faithful in their connexions; they are very fond of dress, dancing, and public amusements, where they generally appear with their curly hair scarcely reaching to their shoulders, adorned with jessamine and other flowers. in the evening they will sometimes fill their hair with jessamine buds, which in the course of an hour will open, and present the appearance of a bushy powdered wig. they are often the confidential servants in rich families, and have the direction of all domestic concerns. occasionally they are the duennas of the young ladies, and not unfrequently sisters to them; but a very just law decrees manumission to a female slave, if she can only prove that she has had a criminal connexion with her master. the zambos are more robust than the mulattos, they are morose and stubborn, partaking very much of the character of the african negro, but prone to more vices. a greater number of robberies and murders are committed by this caste than by all the rest, except the chino, the worst mixed breed in existence:--he is cruel, revengeful, and unforgiving; very ugly, as if his soul were expressed in his features; lazy, stupid, and provoking. he is low in stature, and like the indian has little or no beard, but very harsh black hair, which is inclined to curl. the quarteron and quinteron are often handsome, have good figures, a fair complexion, with blue eyes and light coloured hair; they are mild and obliging, but have not the intrepidity nor lively imagination of the mulatto. i have not attributed drunkenness to any of the castes, for excepting that of the african negro it is not common: perhaps the example of the abstemious spaniards is the cause of this sobriety. the principal place of public amusement in lima is the theatre, which is a small but commodious building; its figure is nearly a semicircle, having the stage for its diameter. the boxes, of which there are two rows, are all private, being separated from one another by slight partitions: they will each hold eight persons very comfortably. the pit is filled with benches, which have backs, and are most conveniently divided into seats by low arms. this part of the theatre exclusively belongs to the men; but no soldiers, sailors, or people of colour, without they be genteelly dressed, are admitted. behind the pit and under the lower tier of boxes is an area for the lower classes of men; the gallery is the part appropriated to women of the lowest order. the viceroy's box was on the left side of the stage, and the nearest to it: thus his excellency gave his right side to no one; it was neatly fitted up, with a crimson velvet canopy over it, and hangings of the same colour on the outside, with a state chair, and others for his family, gentlemen in waiting, and pages. the box for the cabildo is in the centre, in the front of the stage. a guard of soldiers always attends on the nights of performance, which are thursdays and sundays, and every great festival, except during lent, when the theatre is closed. the scenery is not despicable, and i have seen some good performers, both comic and tragic; but these are principally spaniards. the bull circus is a capacious building; with rooms in the lower parts, having a sufficient open space to witness the fight; over these are eight rows of seats, rising one above another; and behind them are the boxes, or rather galleries, where the principal spectators take their stations, and to which all the youth and beauty of lima, in their richest attire, resort. the gallery for the viceroy is opposite to the door where the bulls enter: it is large and handsome. the area is eighty yards in diameter, and in the centre is a safety station, formed by driving poles into the ground, at a sufficient distance from each other to allow a man to pass when he is closely pursued by a bull. scarcely any person speaks of the spanish diversion of bull-fighting without pretending to be shocked; but the same person will dilate on a boxing-match with every symptom of delight. i have seen englishmen shudder and sympathize with a horse wounded by a bull, who would have been delighted to have seen spring "darken one of langan's peepers." when we have nothing to correct at home let us find fault with our neighbours; for my own part, i am a friend to bull-fights, but an enemy to pugilistic homicide. if the amateurs of this "manly exercise" assert, that it teaches a man how to defend himself against another, i reply, that bull-fighting teaches him how to defend himself against a furious animal. i shall not give a precise detail of this spectacle; but merely notice a few circumstances connected with it. at three o'clock, the circus, which holds nearly twenty thousand persons, is generally full. the spectators are of every colour--we have the european white, the american indian, and the african negro, with all the shades produced by their mixture, and all are dressed in as fine attire as they can afford. one or two companies of soldiers attend, and after performing some fanciful evolutions in the arena, they take their stations, the band of military music being placed in front of the viceroy's gallery. on the arrival of his excellency the trumpets sounded, the fighters, on foot and on horseback, handsomely dressed in pink and pale blue satin, with cloaks of the same stuff, began to parade the area; the first bull immediately entered, often very gaily caparisoned--his horns sheathed in silver, the body covered with a loose cloth of tissue, brocade, or satin, having on his back a silver filigree basket filled with artificial flowers or fireworks. he is at first baited by holding a cloak to him, at which he butts, when the baiter, drawing himself on one side, shakes it over his head as he passes: at a signal from one of the regidores, who presides as umpire, the man appointed kills the bull, either by running him through with a sword, receiving him on the point of a strong lance, or, crossing him when at full speed at a cloak presented to him, he stabs him behind the horns, and the ferocious animal experiences so sudden a check, that he frequently falls dead at the feet of the matador. six horses drawing a small car immediately enter, and the horns of the dead bull being secured by hooks and a chain, he is dragged out, and another brought in. the annual fightings are on the eight mondays next after christmas, and the number of bulls killed each afternoon, from three to six o'clock, is generally sixteen or eighteen. the royal cockpit is a daily resort, excepting sundays. many good mains of cocks are fought, and an afternoon seldom passes without four or five pair being matched. the pit is surrounded with ranges of seats, above and behind which is a range of galleries. every cock has one large lancet-shaped spur fastened to his leg, his own spur being first cut off: for this operation, as well as for placing the game within the ring, several fancy men attend, and one of the regidores always acts as umpire, and is paid for performing this judicial duty. the cockpit, as well as the theatre, belongs to the hospital of san andres. there are several places in the suburbs for skittles and bowls; but they are more frequented by spaniards, particularly biscayans, than by creoles. the public walks, _paseos_, are part of the callao road, as far as the willows extend. the new _alameda_, which has a double row of high willows, a coachway between them, and foot walks on each side, with two ranges of seats built of brick, is about a mile in length along the river side, having a very commodious cold bath at the farther end, formed by a spring of beautiful limpid water. one large bath is walled round, with a covering of vines over a trellis roof. there are also twenty small private baths, to which a great number of people resort during the summer. the water after supplying the baths is employed in turning a corn-mill, and then in the irrigation of several gardens. the old alameda is also in the suburbs of san lazaro: it is about half a mile long, has a double row of willows and orange trees on each side, enclosing shady foot walks with stone benches, and a carriage-way in the middle. there are three old fountains in the carriage-way, and a beautiful view of the convent and church of san diego at the northern extremity, having the _beaterio_, house of female seclusion, called the patrocinio, with a neat chapel, on one side, and the small chapel and convent of the _recoleta de los agonizantes_, on the other. on one side of this alameda the viceroy amat had built a large shallow reservoir or basin, with some beautiful lofty arches, like a portico, in the grecian order, at one end; also the necessary pipes were laid for conveying water to the top of the central arch, from whence it was to have fallen into the basin, forming a most beautiful cascade; but he was superseded before the work was finished; and, as one viceroy has seldom attended to any thing left unfinished by his predecessor, this work, like the road to callao begun by the viceroy higgins, remains unfinished. to these public paseos such numbers of the fashionable inhabitants resort on sundays and other holidays, particularly in the afternoons, that as many as three hundred carriages may sometimes be counted: the richer tradesman in his calesa, drawn by one mule; the nobleman in his coach and two; the titled of castile in a coach and four; and formerly, the viceroy in his coach and six; he being the only person in lima, excepting the archbishop, who enjoyed this distinction. gentlemen seldom go in the coaches, so that the beauty of lima have the temporary privilege of riding alone, and nodding without reserve to their amorous _galanes_, who parade the side walks. the _paseo de los alcaldes_, the procession of new mayors, is in the old alameda, and is always an occasion of great bustle, being on new year's day. the viceroy never attended, because his dignity would have been eclipsed by the brilliant liveries and gay appearance of the alcaldes. the principal bathing places are miraflores, one league from the city: it is a pretty village, with several handsome _ranchos_, or cottages. chorrillos, two leagues from lima; a large village, with a very neat church, being a parish of indians. here the descent to the sea is very commodious, and those who prefer bathing to gaming generally visit this place; but there is nevertheless a considerable portion of the latter fashionable amusement here. lurin is about seven leagues from the capital, it is also a parish of indians, and a place of great resort for the higher classes of gamesters:--the distance precludes a too numerous concourse of the lower orders of society. the piazzas of the plasa mayor are crowded every night from seven o'clock till ten with the frail part of the female sex. a range of tables with ices, lemonade, and other refreshments stand on the outside of the piazzas, with benches for the weary and thirsty to rest upon. at eight o'clock the _retreta_, the different bands of military music, leave the palace door: this is a great attraction, and forms an excuse for many a fair visitor to attend the piazza. the bridge, as has been already mentioned, is another place for evening chit chat. the piazzas are the genteel lounge on a sunday and the morning of a holiday, when they are generally much crowded. the _paseo de las lomas_, or _de los amancaes_, as it is called, is a visit to the hills on the north side of lima on the days of st. john and st. peter. the _amancaes_, yellow daffodils, being then in flower, the hills are covered with them. at this time of the year the cattle are driven from the farms to the mountains to feed; for as soon as the _garuas_, fogs, begin, they are covered with verdure, so that the principal incitement is to drink milk, eat custards, rice-milk, &c. in the evening it is very amusing to see thousands of people in coaches, on horseback, and on foot, returning to the city, almost covered with daffodils, of which each endeavours to collect the largest quantity. one of the peculiarities which excites the attention of a stranger in lima is the tolling of the great bell of the cathedral at about half-past nine in the morning: at this time the host at high mass is elevated; the oracion bell is rung at sunset. in the morning the bustle and noise in the market may be loud enough to astound an unaccustomed observer, but the bell tolls, and instantaneously all is silent as the tomb--not a whisper, not a footstep is heard; as if by enchantment all in a moment becomes motionless; every one takes off his hat, many kneel till the third knell is heard, when the bustle, noise, and confusion again commence. in the evening the scene is repeated, the oracion bell tolls, and motion ceases in every direction; the buyer and the seller stand like statues, and the half spoken word hangs on the lips until the third knell is heard, when crossing themselves devoutly, they bow to each other, and a general "good night," _buena noche_, sets them at liberty again to follow their avocations. i never could help admiring this method of reminding every individual to thank his creator for blessings received during the day, and to crave his kind protection during the night. i have often been pleased with the solemnity produced, for, without entering any particular place of worship, a place perhaps where the tenets are contrary to the religious creeds of many individuals, all "to thee whose temple is all space, whose altar, earth, sea, skies," may pray and praise in the manner their inclination or fancy may direct them. if the curfew of england were tolled for the same purpose it would perhaps be more consonant to the use of bells placed in a building dedicated to god, than to the now obsolete order for extinguishing fires, of which not one in a hundred knows the origin. respecting the feasts of the church, that of corpus christi is very splendid. the procession leaves the cathedral attended by all the civil and military authorities holding large wax tapers, the different orders of friars, the dean and chapter, and the archbishop, under a splendid canopy, supported by twelve priests in their robes of ceremony, his grace bearing the host or consecrated wafer, which is deposited in a superbly rich hostiarium. the military force is drawn up in the square, or plasa mayor, and after kneeling and pointing their bayonets to the ground, the banners and flags being prostrated as the sacrament passes, they all join in the procession, falling in at its rear; and when the archbishop turns round at the principal porch and blesses the people, the artillery and musquetry fire a salute. the most particular feature in this procession is the assistance of all the clubs or cofradias of the africans: each separate company has its appropriate national music and songs, some of them carrying wooden idols on their heads, and dancing about with them among those who belong to their confraternity. santa rosa, being a native of lima, and patroness of america, has a solemn feast and procession from the church of santo domingo to the cathedral on the last day of august. it is generally attended by a great number of ladies, wearing wreaths of red and white artificial roses round their waists and the bottom of their _sayas_. the viceroy and the tribunals also attended in this procession. there are many other processions which it would be useless and unentertaining to mention. those of san francisco and santo domingo present the peculiarity of having the two effigies carried from their respective churches, so as to meet in the plasa mayor, where they salute each other by bows, &c., and are then carried to the church where the feast is celebrated. the host gives his right side to the guest, and after the feast is concluded he accompanies him home to his own church. on the day of san francisco the friars of the order regale all the prisoners in the different gaols with a good dinner; and those of santo domingo do the same on the day of their patriarch. the publication of the bulls, once in two years, happened on the day of st. thomas the apostle. the commissary-general was received at the door of the cathedral under a pall or canopy: he carried a bull of the crusade hung round his neck, and proceeded to the high altar, where he delivered it to the notary-public of the crusade, who, although a civilian, ascended the pulpit, and read the address of the commissary-general to the congregation. after this high mass was celebrated, and an appropriate sermon preached, setting forth the virtue of the bulls, and the great benefit derived from their purchase. this discourse in the year was rather ridiculous, because the king had raised the price of the bull of the crusade, and the good priest had not only to exhort the faithful to continue the holy practice of purchasing the bull, but to reconcile them to the additional tax imposed. this, he said, was to supply his catholic majesty with money for the purpose of carrying on the war against the english and other heretics. such is the belief in the efficacy of these bulls, and so great is the revenue derived from the sale of them, that the new governments of chile, buenos ayres, and, i was told, of mexico and colombia, re-printed them, and for some time continued the hoax. a priest in chile, of whom i inquired whether the new government had a right to profit by a papal dispensation granted to the king of spain, their enemy, answered me very archly, that a bull of the patria was as good as a bull of the pope; and that if the viceroy pesuela had a right to take the money from the treasury of the crusade at lima, for the purpose of paying the expedition sent against chile, the government of chile had only followed the christian-like example of their forefathers, who came to america for the purpose of preaching the gospel, and thus saving from the power of satan the souls of millions of infidels; but, continued he, laughing most heartily, if they try it again, i dare say they will find themselves like the man who went for wool and returned shorn: _que fue por lana, y volvio trasquilado_. i was at lima when the viceroy abascal made his public entrance, and also when the viceroy pesuela entered, who was probably the last that ever will enter, (la serna, the nominal viceroy, being no better than a traitor to spain, having assumed the authority after he deposed pesuela) i shall therefore give a short description of this formal ceremony. on the arrival of the new viceroy at mansanilla, about four miles from lima, he sent an officer, with the title of ambassador, to inform his predecessor, that it being the will and pleasure of his majesty that he should take upon himself the government of the kingdom of peru, he should enter the capital the day following; a circumstance of which he begged leave to apprize his excellency, that he might be prepared to resign the command, because his authority would cease: such being the orders of the sovereign. the viceroy immediately sent a messenger to his successor, to compliment him on his safe arrival. the two persons chosen by the chiefs for this ceremony were rewarded by them respectively with minor governments in peru, this being the general custom; so that the first and the last act of a viceroy was to confer a favour on some protegée. on the following morning the viceroy marquis de aviles had an interview with his successor abascal, but he returned to dinner at the palace, while his successor partook of a splendid dinner at mansanilla, to which the principal nobility were invited. in the afternoon the viceroy aviles went in state to meet abascal; they met on the road, and each alighted from his carriage: aviles here presented abascal with a gold headed cane or bâton, the insignia of the government of the kingdom; they then stepped into each other's coach, and entered the city, which on this occasion was splendidly adorned, all the streets through which the cavalcade passed being hung with tapestry, silk curtains, and other gay hangings. the steeples of the churches were ornamented with flags, and every bell was ringing. when the viceroy marquis de la palata entered lima in , the streets through which the procession passed were all paved with bars of silver. the new viceroy proceeded to his palace, where one of the alcaldes, deputed for the purpose, waited his arrival, and received and acknowledged him on the part of the city. on the following day all the courts, civil and ecclesiastical, bodies corporate, and communities waited on him, and at ten o'clock accompanied him to the cathedral, where te deum was chaunted. on his return to the palace the archbishop called on the viceroy, who immediately afterwards returned the compliment; this is the only visit which a viceroy paid. at twelve o'clock the new viceroy went in state to the chamber of the audience, and took the oath of administration. the viceroy abascal dispensed with many ceremonies which pesuela did not; i shall therefore subjoin them. a few days after the arrival of pesuela in lima, a day was fixed for his entrance in state; the streets and steeples were ornamented as on the public entrance, with the addition of several triumphal arches, one with a gate was placed close to the church of montserrat, near to the city wall. the viceroy left the city early in the morning for callao, and visited the fortifications; at nine o'clock he returned, and having arrived at the gate, which was shut, the captain of the escort alighted and knocked; the captain of the guard at the gate opened the postern, and asked who was there? being answered, the viceroy and captain-general of the kingdom, he closed the postern. the principal alcalde now advanced and passed the postern, and the viceroy alighted from his horse, and the gate was thrown open: the alcalde then presented a golden key to the viceroy, who, and his retinue of chamberlain, groom, chaplain, physician and pages, mounted their gaily caparisoned horses, prepared by the city, and the procession began in the following order:-- the cavalry then in the city; four pieces of artillery and the necessary artillery-men; the city militia; the troops of the line; the colleges, the university, the professors being dressed in the habits of their respective professions; the chamber of accompts; all the members of the audience, with their togas and golas, mounted on horses covered with black velvet embroidered trappings; the magistracy in crimson velvet robes, lined with crimson brocade, and small black caps on their heads. eight members of the corporation, regidores, walked supporting an elegant crimson and gold canopy over the head of the viceroy on horseback, and the two alcaldes in their magisterial robes, acted as equerries to his excellency, holding the reins of his horse. the whole cavalcade was closed by the body guard of halberdiers and that of cavalry. it passed through several of the principal streets, and halted in the plasa mayor, in front of the cathedral, where the archbishop and chapter received the viceroy as vice-patron, and one of the minor canons offered incense to him at the door. being seated, te deum was chaunted, after which the viceroy mounted his horse and proceeded to his palace, where a splendid dinner was provided for him by the city. on the evening of this and the two following days grand balls and routs were given at the palace to the nobility, and free admittance to the _tapadas_ was granted to the galleries, corridors, and gardens. the tapadas are females who are either not invited, or their rank does not allow them to attend in public, but who come to the fête covered, so as to prevent their being known; a great deal of vivacity and spirited wit is often heard among them. this manner of being present at any public entertainment is general in south america, and it is almost impossible to prevent it. three days of bull fighting followed in honour of the viceroy, and two in honour of the ambassador who brought the news of his arrival; all at the expence of the cabildo. these were held in the plasa mayor, which was converted into a temporary circus on the occasion; there were also performances at the theatre on the evenings of the same days. the university prepared for pesuela a poetical wrangle, adapted to display the ingenuity and learning of the professors and members. the rector published the themes, and an account of the different prizes, which consisted of pieces of plate. on the day appointed, the cloister and courts of the university were adorned with splendid magnificence; the pillars and walls were hung with emblematical devices, and with shields containing poetical inscriptions in latin and spanish. on the entrance of the viceroy, he was conducted to the rectoral chair, ornamented for the occasion, which with the canopy, cushions, and table cover, had a most magnificent appearance. the rector took his seat opposite to his excellency, and in a formal manner expressed the happiness which the university enjoyed in the presence of its vice-patron, with more flattery and more adulation than ever were uttered by any other man. several of the professors next addressed him, in speeches as fulsome as need be; after which the rector rose, and presented to pesuela, on a silver salver of great value, four nominations to the degree of doctor, which he had the privilege to give to any of his protegées, certain that in their examination they would not only pass for the nominations, but be excused the payment of the honorarium, which is about a thousand dollars for each diploma. the viceroy was then conducted to the library, where a grand collation was set out for himself and suite, after partaking of which he retired to his palace. in the evening there was a splendid assembly, and _refresco_, a cold collation, prepared for those who had the honour of an invitation, as well as the tapadas, who attend uninvited. on the following day the salver, which cost two thousand dollars, was presented to the viceroy, with the nominations, by two deputies from the university. a few days afterward the rector waited on the viceroy and presented him with a printed copy of the speeches, poetry, &c. elegantly bound, and covered with crimson velvet, with gold clasps and other ornaments. the colleges and convents had similar days of poetical contest, and each of them presented his excellency with an ornamented copy of their effusions. flattery in these cases knows no limits. all the prize productions were signed with the names of the different individuals belonging to the family of the viceroy; so that all the prizes, being as i have said pieces of plate, valuable both for the metal and workmanship, go to the palace. chapter xiv. fruits in the gardens of lima....flowers....particular dishes, or cookery...._chuno_, dried potatoes...._chochoca_, dried maize....sweetmeats....meals....diseases....medical observations....on the commerce of lima....profitable speculations. the south and east sides of lima are covered with gardens and orchards of the most delicious fruits, both tropical and equinoctial; towards the east there are several gardens within the walls; but the greater number are on the outside. among the fruits known in european gardens, and produced in great perfection at lima, are several varieties of the grape; for the colonial laws of spain have not prohibited the cultivation of the vine in peru and chile, as they have done in mexico and new grenada. olives grow in great abundance and of an excellent quality; they are not preserved here, as in france, while small and green, but are left on the trees till they are ripe, and are then pickled in salt and water; others are pressed and dried, when they take the appearance of prunes. oil is made in considerable quantities, but it is not so fine nor so good as the french or italian oils. the first olive was brought to peru in by don antonio de ribera, a native of lima. apples and pears prosper extremely well, though but few varieties are cultivated. peaches and apricots do well; of the former here are many varieties; some called _aurimelos_ and _priscos_ are very delicate. nectarines, plums and cherries are scarce, and only to be found in a few places; i have seen them in the gardens of don pedro de la presa, who laid out a most magnificent garden and orchard in the suburbs of san lazaro; besides which he built a stately house, and expended on both more than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. one of the gardens is called de don jaime, the other is at miraflores. gooseberries or currants i never saw in any part of south america, excepting some small plants brought to chile for lord cochrane, which, owing to inattention, died. a wild species of currant, however, is common in some parts both of peru and chile, but the fruit is small and bitter, perhaps through want of cultivation. several kinds of melons are produced in great abundance and of fine flavour; the _sandias_, water melons, are large and good. figs are most plentiful, and well flavoured. the pomegranates are fine and full of juice; the quinces also grow very large. among the tropical and equinoctial fruits, the plantain and banana ornament the orchards with their large green leaves, being the emblem of luxuriant fertility: this luscious and wholesome fruit ministers to the appetite of the rich, and satisfies the hunger of the poor. no native will drink water immediately after eating the plantain, nor any thing but water after the banana. much has been said respecting the banana by several writers. forster and other naturalists pretend that it did not exist in america before the conquest; but i consider the existence of it in the river ucayale, where it was found cultivated by the first missionaries, as well as in some of the more internal parts of maynas, and by count ruis in the valley of st. ana, to the eastward of cusco, when first explored, and by myself in archidona and napo, to the eastward of quito, at cocaniguas and pite to the westward--i look upon these facts as sufficient proofs to the contrary; but what will place beyond a doubt, that the banana and plantain are indigenous, is, that i have found beds of leaves of both these plants in the huacas at paramongo. four varieties of the musa are known in lima, the _platano arton_ (musa paradisiaca), the _camburi_ or _largo_ (musa sapientum), the _dominico_ or _guinea_ (musa regia), and the _maiga_ of the sea, called _de la isla_, the first plants being brought from otaheite, in the frigate aguila, in . garcilaso de la vega, and father acosta, also assert, that the banana was cultivated before the conquest. the former says, that in the warm and temperate regions it constituted one of the principal sources of nourishment of the natives; and the latter speaks of its being grown in the mountains of las emeraldas, where i have seen it myself, and particularly in some old plantations, now uncultivated, called by the natives _incas vicuri_, bananas of the incas. the sour and the sweet oranges, lemons, limes, citrons, and shaddocks, grow in all the gardens, and contribute greatly to their beauty. the trees at the same time are loaded with delicious and beautiful fruit, both ripe and green; their delicate white flowers, in clusters, shedding their perfume around: indeed, nothing can exceed the beauty and fragrance of these trees during the greater part of the year. i have seen orange trees, from forty to fifty feet high, covered with large bunches of ripe oranges; but the gardeners generally keep them at from ten to twenty feet high, because they then bear more fruit, and also of a better quality. the lucuma is a large tree: the fruit is round, and about the size of an orange; it has a green skin or rind, and contains three large kidney shaped kernels covered with a very hard shell: the eatable part is of a deep yellow colour, in substance and appearance not unlike the yolk of a hard boiled egg: it is dry, and to my taste not very palatable; but it is esteemed by many. the _palta_, alligator pear or vegetable marrow, is sometimes round, and sometimes pear shaped: the tree is large and handsome, the fruit is contained in a coriaceous rind, having in the centre a large kernel, of a brown colour and very harsh taste. it is often used as a dye, when it gives a nankeen colour. it is also used for marking linen; this is effected by spreading the linen over the kernel, and with a pin pricking through it into the kernel an indelible mark is obtained. the eatable part of the fruit is delicious; it is seasoned with salt, pepper, &c. according to the palate, and its taste is similar to marrow: few persons approve of this fruit at first, but almost all become passionately fond of it afterwards. the _pacay_ is a moderately sized tree; its fruit is contained in a large green pod--there are several varieties--the pod of one is sometimes more than a yard long and three inches broad. the eatable part is a soft, cotton-like substance, which is sweet and juicy. it envelops a black bean, and these frequently germinate in the pods, and have a very curious appearance. the _guayaba_, guaba, grows in great abundance, and here there are several varieties, some of which are very good. the _granadilla_ is a creeping plant, one of the varieties of the passion flower; the fruit is of the shape and size of a duck's egg; the shell is rather hard, of a brown hue, and contains a very delicate substance full of small black seeds, in taste not unlike that of a ripe gooseberry. another variety of this fruit has a thick rind, the interior being much like the common granadilla: it is called _de quixos_, because, very probably, the first seed was brought from the woods in the province of quixos. the _tumbo_ or _badea_ is another variety, but the fruit is as large as a moderate sized melon, which it nearly resembles when cut, except that the seeds are of a brownish colour. it is commonly prepared for the table by cutting the fleshy substance or outside into small slices, and mixing them with the juicy inside and seeds, adding to it sugar, wine, and spices; and in this state it is really delicious. the _palillo_ is the delicate custard-apple, which is very sweet and fragrant. the females of lima often dry the rind or skin, and burn it with other perfumes. the _capuli_ is the cape gooseberry; it grows on a small bush, and when ripe has an agreeable acid taste. the _chirimoya_ is often called the queen of fruits, and it undoubtedly deserves that name. the tree is low and bushy; the flower is composed of three triangular fleshy leaves; the appearance is mean, but its fragrance surpasses that of any other flower which could be mentioned; however, it only continues in perfection for one evening--indeed the fragrance is so great, that one flower will scent a large room, and particularly if it be warmed by enclosing it in the hand. the fruit has somewhat the shape of a heart--the exterior is green, with a reticulated appearance, occasioned more by brownish lines on the fruit than by any indented marks, like the pine-apple: it contains several blackish seeds, about the size of horse beans; but the larger the fruit the fewer are the seeds. the eatable part is extremely delicate; it resembles a custard in substance, and is generally eaten with a spoon. on the arrival of the first spaniards in peru, the description they sent of this fruit to spain was, that it was a net filled with honey; for they knew of nothing else to which they could compare it. their weight in lima is from one to three pounds each; but in the woods of huanuco and loxa they are often found to weigh from fifteen to twenty pounds each and even more. the _guanabana_, or sour sop, has greatly the appearance of the chirimoya; but the fruit is generally larger as well as the flower, which is also quite different. the fruit of the guanabana often grows on the main trunk of the tree and on the largest branches, whilst the other grows on the branches when they are two years old. the guanabana has a grateful acid taste, and is often dissolved in water, which is afterwards strained and sugar added to it, forming an agreeable beverage: a very good jelly is also made from it as a preserve, which is most delicately transparent. the _pepino_ is an egg-shaped fruit, and smells like a cucumber. here are several varieties, and when ripe they have a sweet but peculiar taste, between the raw vegetable and fruit: they are considered unwholesome, and often called _mata serranos_, mountaineer killers; because these people when they come down to the coast eat large quantities of them, on account, perhaps, of their cheapness: they bring on intermittent fevers, dysentery, &c. the _piña_, pine-apple, is not cultivated in lima, but brought from the neighbouring valleys, where the climate is hotter. it does not thrive well, but it certainly would if a little care were taken of the plants during the season when the easterly winds blow; for these winds are often very sharp after passing over the cordilleras. the date does not flourish in lima, owing to the same cause. the orchards here, unlike those of europe, are always beautiful; excepting the foreign fruit trees, which give a wintry appearance when their branches become naked by the falling of the leaves, all the others are evergreens, and appear in the pompous garb of spring during the whole year. the new leaves take possession of their inheritance before the death of their predecessors; and the inflorescence and fructification in many trees follow the example of the leaf. the highly rich green of the banana and plantain, their enormous leaves rustling with every breeze, and discovering their pendent bunches of fruit; the orange tree enamelled with green and white and gold; the pomegranate with its crimson bell; the shady chirimoya breathing aromas to the evening breeze; the tripping granadilla stretching from tree to tree, and begging support for its laden slender branches; the luxuriant vine creeping over trellises, and hiding under its cooling leaves the luscious grape--are beauties certainly not to be surpassed; but these, and all these, are found in every garden in the valley through which the rimac meanders. the flower gardens here contain most of the varieties seen in our gardens in england, excepting the family of ranunculuses and tulips, neither of which did i ever see in south america; indeed, the climate is so favourable to all kinds of vegetation, where water can be procured for irrigation, that little care is required; but less than what is necessary is usually bestowed. the ladies are passionately fond of flowers, and will give very high prices for them. i have known a white lily, a little out of season, sold for eight dollars; and good hyacinths for two or three dollars each; and i am certain that a clever gardener and florist, who would take to lima a stock of seeds and roots, would very soon amass a considerable fortune. i have observed that the generality of the flowers of indigenous plants are yellow; and it is a common saying, _oro en la costa, plata en la sierra_, gold on the coast, silver in the mountains, where the general colour of wild flowers is white. the _floripondio_ is very much admired by many for its fragrance: it partakes of that of the lily; the tree is bushy, and grows about ten feet high. the flowers are white, each about eight inches long, bell shaped, and hang in clusters: one tree will scent a large garden; but if there are more the smell is overpowering, and produces headache. the _suche_ is a great spreading tree, and is filled with clusters of flowers, each about two inches in diameter, which are the largest kind, and others about an inch: they are bell-shaped, and of a fleshy substance; some are white, others yellow, and others of a pink colour; all are very fragrant. the _aroma_ bears a number of round yellow flosculous flowers, deserving their name, for they are most delicately fragrant. the inhabitants of lima have many dishes peculiar to the place. the spanish _olla podrida_, called _puchero_, is found almost on every table: it is composed of beef, mutton, fowl, ham, sausage, and smoked meats, mixed with casava root, sweet potatoe, cabbage, turnips and almost any vegetables, a few peas, and a little rice--these are all well boiled together, and form the standing family dish: bread or vermicelli soup is made from the broth. _lahua_ is a thick porridge from the flour of maize boiled with meat, particularly fresh pork or turkey, and highly seasoned with the husks of the ripe capsicum. _carapulca_ consists of dried potatoes, nuts, or garbansas, parched and bruised, and afterwards boiled to a thick consistency with meat, like the lahua. _pepian_ is made from rice flour, and partakes of the ingredients of the lahua and the pepian; it is a very favourite dish, and the natives say, that on being presented to the pope by an american cook, he exclaimed, _felice indiani, qui manducat pepiani_! _chupi_, which is made by cooking potatoes, cheese and eggs together, and afterwards adding fried fish, is a favourite dish, not only on days of abstinence, but during the whole year. guinea pigs, _cuis_, make a very delicate dish; they are roasted, and afterwards stewed with a great quantity of capsicum pods, pounded to the consistency of paste: sometimes potatoes, bruised nuts, and other ingredients are added. this is the favourite _picante_, and to my taste is extremely delicate. many more dishes, peculiar to the country, are seen on the tables, all of which are seasoned with a profusion of lard, and not a small quantity of garlic and capsicum. i have mentioned dried potatoes--they are thus prepared: small potatoes are boiled, peeled, and then dried in the sun, but the best are those dried by the severe frosts on the mountains; they will keep for any length of time, and when used require to be bruised and soaked. if introduced as a vegetable substance in long sea voyages, i think the potatoe thus prepared would be found wholesome and nourishing. the dried potatoe is sometimes ground into flour; this is called chuno, and is used to make a kind of porridge, either with or without meat. the maize, whilst green, is prepared in the same manner, by boiling the cobs, cutting off the grains and drying them; this is called chochoca, and is cooked like the chuno. great quantities of pumpkins and gourds are eaten, and form the principal part of the vegetable food of the poor classes; they are large, plentiful and cheap, and will keep nearly the whole year if placed in a dry room. maize and beans, _frijoles_, are in general use among the lower classes, indeed i may say among all classes, but they are the common food of the slaves: the bean is considered very nutritious, and those who have been accustomed to eat it prefer it to any other vegetable, and use it as an equivalent for animal food. an abundance of sweetmeats is eaten in south america, more, i believe, than in any other country, and particularly in lima, where there is such a variety of fruit, and such plenty of sugar; but there is a great defect in the preserves, which are always too sweet, either from a superabundance of sugar, or by destroying the flavour of the fruit before it is preserved; the citron and shaddock, which have a taste so agreeable and even powerful, always lose it when preserved. a paste is made by pounding together equal weights of blanched almonds and sugar; it is then packed in chip boxes, and will keep for a long time; by dissolving a small quantity in water, an excellent substitute for milk is formed, which is very palatable with tea, and would be found useful in long voyages. the usual breakfast hour at lima is eight o'clock; they seldom take more than a cup of thick chocolate with toast, and a glass of cold water afterwards; or sometimes a little boiled mutton, fried eggs, ham, or sausage. the dinner hour is one o'clock. it is a very plentiful meal, and may indeed be considered the only one during the day; soup and _puchero_ are generally the first dishes, the rest come to table indiscriminately, and fish is not unfrequently the last, excepting sweetmeats, after which a glass of cold water is always drunk. coffee is often brought in immediately after dinner; but in the higher classes the company rise from table and adjourn to another room, where coffee and liquors are placed. fruit is commonly introduced between the services, as it is considered more wholesome to eat it then than afterwards. in the evening a cup of coffee or chocolate is taken, or a glass of lemonade, pine-apple water, almond milk, or some other refreshing drink, and among the higher circles chocolate and ices are served up. the following account of the diseases prevalent in lima is from dr. unanue:-- "heat and humidity are the two great causes of disease in this climate; the first predisposes and the second excites it. the suavity of the climate promotes the pleasures of venus, and produces those of ceres, and both contribute to enervate and relax the tone of the human frame. the first symptoms of debility present themselves in the digestive organs, and many infants, constitutionally weak, die of convulsions produced by indigestion: epileptic affections are very common when children begin to eat ordinary food. young people suffer much from cholics, particularly in autumn, owing to the debility of the stomach, caused by excessive transpiration; indeed the inhabitants of lima are so well aware of the weakness of their digestive organs, that they attribute every indisposition to _empacho_, indigestion. owing to the same constitutional weakness of the stomach, youth are very apt to become afflicted with phthisis and asthma, and many who escape from these affections, if they indulge their passions, are afterwards borne down by obstructions of the abdominal viscera and dropsies, which, owing to the dampness of the climate, are incurable. the functions of the internal and external vessels becoming inverted, those being surrounded by a body of water, these augment it incessantly by absorbing an abundance from the humid atmosphere. lima is often called _el pais de los viejos_, the country of old people, because they generally live abstemiously, and instances of extreme longevity are not uncommon." an extract from medical observations made by dr. unanue, in the year , may serve to convey an idea of the particular diseases prevalent during the different seasons, beginning with the month of january, at which time the summer solstice commences. "in january the small pox made its appearance, hemorrhages and bilious diarrhoeas were common; these were followed by eruptive fevers in february. during this and the succeeding month violent catarrhs and coughs were prevalent, particularly among children, and those adults who were affected with asthma suffered very much. in some years, when the summers have been oppressively warm, copious perspirations and _lipirias_ (cholera morbus) have been known to afflict many persons, but they were not observed in . "during march, april, and the beginning of autumn, intermittent fevers were very common, particularly the tertian, often accompanied with dysentery; in may and the beginning of june dry and violent coughs were observed, that produced an irritation of the throat and sometimes small ulcers. "during july quinsies afflicted several people, and cutaneous eruptions (exanthemata milliaria) were frequent, intestinal inflammations and dysentery were also prevalent; and during the months of august and september pulmonic inflammations and pleurisies were frequent. "inflammations of the lungs were common during the month of october, as also bilious diarrhoea; during this month the autumnal tertian began to disappear; in november many died of the dysentery, and cutaneous eruptions were very common. out of patients received into the hospital of san andres this year died." i have observed that syphilis is never very virulent in lima and on the coasts of peru, but in the interior, particularly in cold situations, it is more prevalent and more severe. _berrugas_, warts of a peculiar kind, are common in some of the valleys of the coast. they are supposed to be caused either by drinking or being washed by the waters of certain rivers. the first symptoms are most excruciating pains in the legs, thighs and arms (the parts where the warts generally make their appearance), which frequently last for one or even several months. when the warts begin to appear the pain is relieved, and when they burst a large quantity of blood is discharged, the pain ceases, and the patient recovers. no medicines are ever administered for this disease, the natives believing that patience is the only remedy. they carefully keep themselves warm, and avoid wetting themselves, because it often produces spasms, and sometimes death. in a new disease made its appearance during the summer in the valley of huaura, and proved mortal to many individuals, particularly indians and negroes, to whom it seemed to be almost confined; for few or no white people were infected by it. the first appearance was a small pustule, the centre depressed, bearing a small purple spot; as it extended, several other small pustules arose on the edges of the original one, filled with a limpid fluid; these pustules increased to a large size, having the resemblance of blisters raised by burning. if an incision were made in the part affected, no blood flowed, nor did the patient feel the operation; the flesh had a spongy appearance, and a very pale red colour. if not relieved, the patient usually died between the fifth and tenth day, and sometimes earlier. the method of cure adopted was the total extraction of the diseased part, and the application of a poultice. this disease was called by the natives _grano de la peste_, pest pimple. the _uta_ is another disease known in some of the valleys of peru. it is supposed to proceed from the sting of a small insect; however the fact has never been ascertained. the first appearance is a small, hard, red tumour; this bursts, and the fluid it contains produces an incurable sore, which gradually extends, and at last occasions the most aggravated sufferings, till death brings relief to the afflicted patient. i shall conclude my account of lima with some observations on its commerce, particularly that part which is interesting to british manufacturers. callao being the principal port of peru, and the only one denominated _abilitado general_, or free for the ingress and egress of vessels to and from every part of the spanish dominions, lima was consequently the general market for all foreign as well as home commerce, and here the traders from the provinces repaired with such productions as were destined for exportation, as well as to purchase a stock of manufactured goods, either foreign or from other parts of the country, besides such raw materials as were necessary for mining tools and those of husbandry. owing to the diversity of the climates in the vice-royalty of peru, all kinds of european manufactured goods find a ready sale; those from england are mostly preferred to any other: indeed many can only be procured from that country; and the supplying of those by great britain to a population of a million and a half of people must be considered as a means of extending her commerce, and the decided preference given to them must be highly flattering as well as beneficial to the british nation. on entering a house in lima, or in any other part of peru that i visited, almost every object reminded me of england; the windows were glazed with english glass--the brass furniture and ornaments on the commodes, tables, chairs, &c. were english--the chintz or dimity hangings, the linen and cotton dresses of the females, and the cloth coats, cloaks, &c. of the men were all english:--the tables were covered either with plate or english earthenware, and english glass, knives, forks, &c.; and even the kitchen utensils, if of iron, were english; in fine, with very few exceptions, all was either of english or south american manufacture. coarse cottons, nankeens, and a few other articles were supplied by the philippine company. spain sent some iron, broad cloth, barcelona prints, linen, writing paper, silks, and ordinary earthenware. from the italians they had silks and velvets; from the french, linens, lace, silks and broad cloth; from germany, linens (platillas), common cutlery and glass; every thing else was either english or of home manufacture. i do not hesitate to assert, that goods of a superior quality always meet with early purchasers, because those who can afford to buy foreign goods always inquire for the best; and the more modern and fashionable the goods are, the better and the quicker is the sale. thick broad cloths, in imitation of the spanish san fernando cloth, are best for the interior; and thin fine cloth, in imitation of the french sedan cloth, is most suitable for lima. the manchester broad flannels, either twilled or plain, with a long nap, dark and light blue, crimson and pink, bright green, pale yellow, brown, white, and any shades or half colours, are very saleable commodities, either on the coast or in the interior. kerseymeres, cords, and velveteens; irish linens and common lawns cut into pieces of eight yards each, in imitation of the french bretagnes and estopillas; coarse linen in pieces of about thirty yards, imitating the german platillas; and fine scotch cambrics, as well as table linen, sheeting, &c., meet a great demand. all kinds of cotton goods, particularly stockings, muslins, and fashionable prints of delicate colours; also dark blue prints with small white sprigs, &c., which are used for mourning by every class, are in common use among the poor; besides dimities, jeans, and white quilts (marseilles), which are all very saleable articles. silks, damask (crimson), ribbons, particularly narrow, and good velvets (black), are in great demand. glass and earthenware, all kinds of hardware and cutlery (few forks), mechanics' tools, large hammers and wedges for the miners, spades, shovels, pickaxes, &c.; quicksilver, in the mining districts, also iron and steel, are saleable articles. trinkets are not in much estimation, because the inhabitants seldom wear any that are not of gold and precious gems. hats are well made in lima, and the materials are of the best quality. shoes and boots are another manufacture in which the natives excel, and their materials are tolerably good. the cordovans from lambayeque are excellent. drugs are extremely dear, for even those produced in different parts of the spanish colonies are generally first sent to europe, and thence back again, except, in lima, the chinchona bark, sarsaparilla, copaiva balsam, guaiacum, and some others, the produce of peru. i shall have occasion to mention, at different places, the utility that would result from the introduction of machinery, not only as it was evinced at the date of my narrative, but as rendered more apparent by the subsequent political changes of the country. in lima, an intelligent spaniard, don matias de la reta, established looms and other machinery for weaving cotton sail-cloth, and some coarse articles of the same material. at his death the manufactory was abandoned; but there is no doubt that the plan would have answered well had the projector lived. at present ( ) a pottery or manufactory of common earthenware would be a very lucrative establishment; as also, a work for ordinary glass ware; because the materials for both may be had conveniently, and of good qualities: the consumption of both is very great, and their prices comparatively high. indeed, if the introduction of either will pay the freight and other indispensable charges, it is evident that a speculation of this kind could not fail. all the earthenware for ordinary purposes is manufactured here; but it is heavy, and very clumsy: however, as it is, large quantities are sent to different parts of the country. good steady mechanics--carpenters, cabinet makers, millwrights, blacksmiths, whitesmiths, silversmiths, watchmakers or repairers, shoemakers, and tailors, would meet with constant work and good wages; but it would be advisable for each artificer to take a supply of tools with him. i mention this on account of the changes that have occurred in the governments; because during the colonial system, a foreigner was liable to be ordered to leave the country at a very short notice; but, notwithstanding that risk, several were established in lima in and the succeeding years, and were never interrupted. the subjoined is an account of the prices of some articles, which will convey an idea of the profits derived by the merchants, principally old spaniards, before the revolutions in america affected this market. good broad cloth, per yard, from to dollars.--kerseymeres from to --broad coloured flannels from to --fine irish linen from to --fine german platillas from ½ to --ordinary german platillas from to --fine french lawn from to --fine french cambric from to --printed calicoes to ½--fine printed calicoes from to ½--fine muslins from to --fine cambric muslins from to --silk velvet from to --fine velveteens ½ to . blue and white earthenware plates, per dozen, from to dollars--common german half-pint glasses from to --common knives with bone handles from to --common knives with wood handles from to . much has been said by every writer on south america respecting the spanish colonial restrictions. they certainly were, like all others, most severe, until experience proved to the government of the parent state, that it was not the welfare of the individuals or of particular companies or corporations employed in commerce, that could enrich the government. the conde de aranda, when prime minister in spain, was well apprized of this truth, and what was really sound policy in him was called liberality. however, as peru was at so great a distance from europe, she never was so much oppressed as those colonies on the opposite side of the new world. the returns from this market have been gold, silver, and tin; bark, cocoa, cotton, vicuña wool, sheep wool, and some drugs. chapter xv. visit to pisco....town of pisco....bay of pisco....curious production of salt...._huano_...._huanaes_....vineyards, brandy....vineyards _de las hoyas_....fruits....chilca, village of indians....leave lima, road to chancay....pasamayo house...._nina de la huaca_....maize, cultivation use of _huano_....hogs....on the produce of maize....different kinds of....time of harvesting.... uses of....chicha of....sugar of....town of chancay...._colcas_ ....town of huacho...._chacras_ of the indians....on the character of the native indians....refutation of what some authors have said of....manners and customs of....tradition of manco capac....ditto camaruru....ditto bochica....ditto quitzalcoatl....these traditions favourable to the spaniards....government of manco capac.... representation of the death of the inca....feast of corpus christi at huacho....indian dances....salinas. during my residence in lima, i availed myself of an invitation to visit the city of pisco, about fifty leagues to the southward. this place, although it bears the name of a city, is only a miserable village. the present town is situated about two leagues to the northward of the old one. it was sacked in by the dutch pirate, james hermit clark--in by edward david--and in it was entirely demolished by an earthquake; after which, the new town was begun to be built, about a league from the shore. the bay is very large, and the anchorage good, but the landing is difficult near the small battery, erected for the purpose of protecting the landing place; it is better however at _las palmas_, about two leagues higher up the bay, called _la paraca_, and fresh water, which is very difficult to procure near the fort, may be had here. at the southern extremity of the bay, beneath a bed of broken indurated clay and sand stones, a stratum of salt is found, extending from fifty to one hundred yards from the sea, and sometimes more. on removing the upper covering of sand, the broken stones and the clay, the salt is discovered, forming a kind of small white columns, about three or four inches long, the upper part curling, as it were, and hanging downwards again, the whole appearing somewhat like a cauliflower. it is extremely white, and composed of transparent filaments not so large as a human hair. i examined these slender bodies with a good lens; they all appeared perfectly cylindrical and hollow, closely placed together, but not attached to each other, for by a slight pressure they separated, assuming the appearance of asbestos. the salt is as palatable as the common culinary salt, dissolves slowly in a large quantity of cold water, and is not at all deliquescent from absorption. it is seldom used by the inhabitants, except when there is a scarcity of salt from huacho. some small islands at the entrance to the bay of pisco are famous for the manure which they produce, and which is embarked and carried to different parts of the coast, and often into the interior on the backs of mules and llamas. the quantity of this manure is enormous, and its qualities are truly astonishing; of this i shall have occasion to speak when treating of the cultivation of maize at chancay. several small vessels are constantly employed to carry it off; some of the cuts, where embarkation is convenient, are from forty to fifty feet deep, and their bottom is yet considerably above the level of the sea. this valuable production appears to be the excrement of sea birds, immense numbers of which frequent and breed on the islands; and the accumulation is doubtless owing to the total absence of rain. it is of a pale brown colour when dry, and easily reducible to powder; when fresh it has rather a reddish appearance; the surface stratum for a foot deep is whitish, and contains feathers, bones of birds, and shells of eggs. it is asserted, that the _huano_, the name by which this production is known, is certainly fossil earth; but the quality of the upper stratum, which although at first white, gradually inclines to yellow, being incontestibly the excrement of birds, and equal to the other, the subject seems to demand a stricter scrutiny. a species of birds frequenting these islands in great abundance is called _huanay_: hence the original name of the matter now used as manure. the bird is of black plumage, is as large as the seagull, and breeds during the whole year, with this peculiarity, that each nest, being only a hole in the huano, contains a fledged bird, an unfledged one, and one egg; whence it appears, that there is a constant succession, without the old birds undergoing the confinement of brooding their eggs. the indians take many of the young birds, salt them, and consider them a great delicacy; however they have a strong fishy taste. the principal produce of the neighbourhood of pisco, including the valleys of chincha and cañete, is vines, from which about one hundred and fifty thousand gallons of brandy are annually made. the brandy is kept in earthen jars, each holding about eighteen gallons. the vessels are made in the neighbourhood; their shape is that of an inverted cone, and the inside is coated with a species of naptha. the brandy, generally called pisco, from the name of the place where it is made, is of a good flavour, and is not coloured, like the french brandy. one kind, made from the muscadine grape, and called _aguardiente de italia_, is very delicate, possessing the flavour of frontignac wine, and is much esteemed. little wine is made, and that little is of a very inferior quality; it is generally thick and sweet, owing perhaps to the juice of the grape being boiled for a considerable time before it is fermented. near to pisco is a vineyard called _de las hoyas_, of the pits, or holes; these are excavations made originally by the indians, or aborigines, who being well versed in agriculture, cleared away the sand, and opened a species of pits, in search of humidity. this immense labour was occasioned by the difficulty or impossibility of procuring water from the river cañete for irrigation. the original use of the hoyas was perhaps the growth of maize or camotes; but vines are now planted in them, which produce most abundantly, requiring no other cultivation or care than merely pruning, for the branches are allowed to stretch along the sands. the vine planters monopolized the making of spirituous liquors in peru. they procured from the king of spain, carlos iii., a royal order, prohibiting the manufacture of any ardent spirit in peru, except from the grape; and the importation of spirits subjected the importers to very severe penalties; for having also represented to the pope, clement xiv., the destructive qualities of any other spirituous liquors in peru, the royal order was backed by a papal excommunication, fulminated against all contrafactors and contraventors. dates abound, and when properly dried are superior to those of the coasts of barbary. here are many prolific plantations of olives; the figs are also very good, and pine-apples prosper well. in the valley of chincha are several large sugar plantations; two belong to the count de montemar y monteblanco, and one near the coast, called caucato, to don fernando maso, where there is an extensive manufactory of soap. the number of slaves on the plantations of chincha, pisco, and cañete is estimated at about eight thousand. between pisco and lima there is an indian village, called chilca; it is on a sandy plain, devoid of water as well as vegetation; the natives often procure water by digging pits in the sand, but these sometimes fail them, and they are then obliged to fetch this indispensably necessary article from the cañete river, a distance of five leagues. the principal occupation of the inhabitants is fishing; they are very averse to the society of the whites, so much so that they allow none to reside in their village; even their parish priest is an indian cacique, a native of the village, whose education, and the expences of his ordination were paid by a subscription raised by them for the purpose. five leagues to the northward of lima is the small port of ancon, the residence of a few indian fishermen; the anchorage is good, and the landing is excellent. a few large fig trees grow on the sand, near the beach, the fruit of which is extremely delicate. the road leading from ancon to chancay is over very deep sand; some parts of the road are level, while others lead over hills of sand, quite bare in summer or during the dry season: but scarcely do the _garuas_, fogs, make their appearance, when the whole is covered with the most luxuriant vegetation; at which time the cattle is driven on them from the neighbouring farms. near to chancay, before crossing the small river, stands the old family residence of the marquis of villafuerte, almost in ruins; this is the case with many of the country seats belonging to the nobility of lima, who have no idea of country pleasures, nor of rural beauties. many of the principal country houses are built on the ruins of some ancient building of the indians: these people never encroached on cultivated lands, but fixed their residence either on the declivities where they could not procure water for irrigation, or on the tops of the hills; which is a convincing proof of their great economy, and leads us to surmise that the population of this country was very extensive before the conquest. this estate, called pasamayo, is principally destined to the breeding of hogs for the lima market. pasamayo house, standing on the top of a hill, commands a noble prospect of the sea, as well as of the valley of chancay, in which there is a small parish of indians, called aucayama, most delightfully situated: in the tribute roll contained three thousand seven hundred indians, but it is at present ( ) composed of only one hundred and seventy. of this decrease in the indian population i shall have occasion to speak afterwards, when at huacho. the valley of chancay contains some fine plantations of cane, and sugar manufactories; as also extensive pastures of lucern for cattle; and very large quantities of maize and beans are grown in the neighbourhood. this valley is the birth place of the celebrated _niña de la huaca_, young lady of the huaca, taking her name from the huaca, the farm where she was born. she stood six feet high, which was a very extraordinary stature, as the peruvian females are generally low. extremely fond of masculine exercises, nothing was more agreeable to her than to assist in apprehending runaway slaves, or in taking the robbers who sometimes haunt the road between this place and lima. she would mount a spirited horse, _al uso del pais_, astride, arm herself with a brace of pistols, and a _hasta de rejon_, a lance, and with three or four men she would scour the environs of the valley and the road to lima, where she became more dreaded than a company of _encapados_, or mounted police officers. i visited her at her residence, and found her better instructed in literature than the generality of the native females; she was frank, obliging, and courteous, managing her own estate, a sugar plantation, to the best advantage, superintending the whole of the business herself. the quantity of maize cultivated in the ravine, _quebrada_, and on the plains of chancay, is very great; but the cultivators are indebted to the huano from the islands of pisco and chincha for their abundant harvest. i have seen the fields quite yellow, from the parched state of the plants, when they were about a foot high, having four or five leaves each, at which time they are manured, by opening a hole at the root of every three or four plants, for they grow in clusters of this number, and putting into it, with the fingers, about half an ounce of huano, which is covered with a little earth, thrown on by the foot. the field is then irrigated as soon as possible; and in the course of ten or twelve days the plants will be more than a yard high, of a most luxuriant green colour, and the stalks pregnant with the cobs of corn. a second quantity of huano is now applied in the same manner, and the ground again irrigated; and thus the most abundant crops are produced, yielding from one thousand to twelve hundred fold. the cobs are frequently fourteen and even sixteen inches long, well set with grain, and the grain very large. beans are often planted with the maize, by which means a double crop is produced; but in this case the maize is not so prolific, nor are the beans so good, because the best quality of the bean is grown without irrigation, being sown long before the _garuas_ disappear, and being ripe earlier than the maize. chancay is famous for the breeding and feeding of hogs for the lima market: the hogs are all black, with little or almost no hair, short snouts, small pointed ears, and of a low stature; but they become so amazingly fat, that they can scarcely walk; and as their value depends on the quantity of fat which they yield, it is the principal object of the feeder to bring them to this state as soon as possible. when killed, the whole of the body is fried, and the fat is sold as lard for culinary purposes. the consumption of lard in every part of peru is enormous, and it is principally owing to the abundance of maize that the _hacendados_, farmers, enjoy this lucrative trade. maize grows on the ridges of the cordilleras where the mean temperature is about ° of fahrenheit, and on the plains or in the valleys where it is °,--where the climate is adverse to rye and barley, and where wheat cannot be produced, either owing to the heat or the cold, this grain, whose farinaceous property has the greatest volume, produces its seed from to fold. thus it may be said to be the most useful grain to man; and it is peculiarly adapted to the country in which it was planted by the provident hand of nature. on this account, the maize occupies in the scale of the various kinds of cultivation a much greater extent on the new continent than that of wheat does on the old. it has been erroneously stated, that maize was the only species of grain known to the americans before the conquest. in chile, according to molina, the _mager_, a species of rye, and the _tuca_, a species of barley, were both common before the fifteenth century; and as there was neither rye nor barley, it is evident that if they were common even after the conquest, and not european grain, that they were indigenous. in peru the bean and quinua were common before the conquest, for i have frequently found them in the huacas, preserved in vases of red earthenware. some writers have pretended that the maize, which is also a native of asia, was brought over by the spaniards to their colonies in the new world. this is so evidently false, that it does not deserve contradiction: indeed, if the aborigines were destitute of maize, beans, plantains, and all those articles of food which have been said to be introduced by the europeans, a new query would arise--on what did the numerous population of indians feed? for what purpose did they cultivate such large tracts of land, and why procure water for irrigation on the coasts of peru with such immense labour, and such extraordinary ingenuity? why did the peruvians always build their houses in such sterile situations as labour could never have made fertile? i have enumerated five varieties of maize in peru; one is known by the name of _chancayano_, which has a large semi-transparent yellow grain; another is called _morocho_, and has a small yellow grain of a horny appearance; _amarillo_, or the yellow, has a large yellow opaque grain, and is more farinaceous than the two former varieties: _blanco_, white; this is the colour of the grain, which is large, and contains more farina than the former; and _cancha_, or sweet maize. the last is only cultivated in the colder climates of the _sierra_, mountains; it grows about two feet high, the cob is short, and the grains large and white: when green it is very bitter; but when ripe and roasted it is particularly sweet, and so tender, that it may be reduced to flour between the fingers. in this roasted state it constitutes the principal food of the _serranos_, mountaineers, of several provinces. it is considered a delicacy at lima and all along the coast, and without a bag full of this roasted maize a serrano never undertakes a journey. it is sometimes roasted, and reduced to coarse flour, like the ulpa in chile, and is then called _machica_. according to the climate, and the kind of maize, its state of perfection or ripeness varies very much--from fifty days to five months. the morocho is ripe within sixty days in climates that are very hot and humid, as for instance at guayaquil, and on the coast of choco: the blanco within three months, in the vicinity of lima and on the peruvian coast, _valles_: and the chancayano in about five months. the last is the most productive, and the best food for cattle, poultry, &c. although wheat and barley are cultivated in different parts of peru, maize is generally considered the principal harvest; and where barley is even commoner than maize, (as in some of the more elevated provinces of the interior, and where it constitutes the principal article of food for the indians) they all greatly prefer the maize, if attainable, and will always exert themselves to cultivate a small patch of ground for this grain. thus, where it is not used for daily food, or calculated upon as an article of trade, it is considered as a species of luxury. among the indians and poor people on the coast it supplies the place of bread; for which purpose it is merely boiled in water, and is then called _mote_. puddings are also made of it, by first taking off the husk. this operation is performed by putting a quantity of wood ashes into water with the maize, exposing it to a boiling heat, and washing the grain in running water, when the husks immediately separate themselves from the grain, which is afterwards boiled in water, and reduced to a paste by bruising it on a large stone, somewhat hollowed in the middle, called a _batan_. the bruiser, or _mano_, handle, is curved on one side, and is moved by pressing the ends alternately. i have been the more particular in describing this rude mill, because it was undoubtedly used by the ancient peruvians, having been found buried with them in their huacas; and because it may serve some curious investigator in comparing the manners of these people with those of other nations. by the same implements they pulverized their ores for the extraction of gold and silver; and to this day many of their batanes of obsidian and porphyry remain near to the mountain in the neighbourhood of cochas; but the bruisers have never been discovered. that these stones were used for the purpose just mentioned is obvious, from the relics of a gold mine being here visible; besides, i have several times found fragments of gold ore in this place. after the paste is made from the boiled maize it is seasoned with salt and an abundance of capsicum, and a portion of lard is added: a quantity of this paste is then laid on a piece of plantain leaf, and some meat is put among it, after which it is rolled up in the leaf, and boiled for several hours. this kind of pudding is called _tamal_, a _quichua_ word, which inclines me to believe, that it is a dish known to the ancient inhabitants of the country. sweet puddings are made from the green corn, by cutting the grains from the cob, bruising them, and adding sugar and spices, after which they are boiled or baked. _choclo_, being the quichua name for the green cobs, these puddings, if boiled in the leaves that envelop the cob, are called _choclo tandas_, bread of green maize, and also _umitas_. this useful grain is prepared for the table in many different ways, and excellent cakes and rusks are made from the flour, procured from the grain by various means. a thick kind of porridge, called _sango_, is made by boiling the flour in water, which constitutes the principal food of the slaves on the farms and plantations. another sort, similar to hasty-pudding, is common in many places, but particularly in lima; it is called _masamorra_, and the people of lima are often ironically denominated _masamorerros_, eaters of masamorra. the grain is bruised and mixed with water; it is thus allowed to ferment until it become acid, when it is boiled, and sweetened with sugar. it resembles scotch sowins. a great quantity of maize is also made into a fermented beverage, called _chicha_. the grain is allowed to germinate, and is completely malted; it is then boiled with water, and the liquor ferments like ale or porter; but no other ingredients are added to it. chicha is the favourite drink of all the indians, and when well made it is very intoxicating. in some parts of peru the natives believe that fermentation will not take place if the malted grain be not previously subjected to mastication; from this circumstance many old men and women assemble at the house where chicha is to be made, and are employed in chewing the _jora_, or malt. having masticated a sufficient quantity they lay the chewed substance in small balls, mouthfuls, on a calabash; these are suffered to dry a little, after which they are mixed with some newly made chicha while it is warm. when travelling i always inquired if the chicha was _mascada_, chewed, and if it were i declined taking any;--however, as the question seemed to express a dislike, i was often assured it was not mascada when it probably was. no spirituous liquor is extracted from it, on account of the prohibition. two kinds of chicha are usually made from the same grain--the first, called claro, is the water in which the malt has been infused; this is drawn off, and afterwards boiled. in taste it has some resemblance to cider. the second kind is made by boiling the grain with the water for several hours, it is then strained and fermented, and is called neto; the residue or sediment found in the bottom of the jars is used in fermenting the dough for bread, which when made of maize is called _arepa_; and that of wheat, in the quichua language, _tanda_. this beverage was well known to the ancient inhabitants before the conquest; for i have drunk, at patavilca and cajamarca, chicha that had been found interred in jars in the huacas, or burying places, where it must have remained upwards of three centuries. garcilaso de la vega relates, that the manufacture of intoxicating liquors, particularly the _vinapu_ and _sora_, was prohibited by the incas; and this part of peru was annexed to their government in the time of pachacutec, the tenth inca of peru. the peruvians, as well as the mexicans, made sugar from the green stalks of the maize plant, and sold it in their markets--cortes, in one of his letters to the emperor charles v., speaks of it. at quito, i have seen the green canes brought to market, and have frequently observed the indians sucking them as the negroes do the sugar cane. the town villa de chancay stands about a league and a half from the pasamayo river, and fifteen leagues from lima. it was founded in by the viceroy conde de nieva, who intended to form a college and a university here, but this intention was never fulfilled. it has a large parish church, a convent of franciscans, dedicated to san diego, and a hospital, managed by friars of san juan de dios. the town contains about three hundred families, some of which are descendants of noblemen, although perhaps by african favourites. chancay is pleasantly situated, about a league from the sea; its port is small, the anchorage bad, and the landing difficult. its market is abundant in fish, flesh-meat, vegetables, and fruit: of the latter considerable quantities are carried to lima; it is also famous for delicate sweet cakes, called _biscochos_. this is the capital of a district, which contains thirty-seven settlements, of different climates, because part of it is mountainous. the subdelegado, or political governor of the district, generally resides at chancay, besides whom there are two alcaldes or mayors annually elected in the town. at a short distance is torre blanca, the seat of the conde de torre blanca, marquis of lara; and an excellent farm-house at chancaillo; not far from which, and near the sea, are the _colcas_, deep pits dug in the sand. these pits have been surrounded with adobes, sun-dried bricks; and they are reported to have been granaries belonging to the army of pachacutec, when this inca was engaged in the conquest of the chimu of mansichi. fourteen leagues from chancay stands the indian village huacho; it is situated in a delightful valley, watered by the huaura, which rises in the province of cajatambo, and in its course to the sea irrigates more than thirty thousand acres of land. the village contains about four thousand inhabitants, all indians; it has a large parish church and three small chapels, besides a chapel of ease at lauriama, where mass is celebrated on sundays and festivals. the principal employment of the natives is the cultivation of their _chacras_, small farms, cutting salt at the salinas, fishing, and making straw hats, at which they are very dexterous. the hats are not made of plat: they begin at the centre of the crown, and continue the work by alternately raising one straw and depressing another, inserting or taking out straws, as the shape requires it, till the hat is finished. these hats are generally made either of fine rushes which grow on swampy ground, or of _mocora_, the produce of a palm tree, in the province of lambayeque. the _chacras_, plots of ground distributed to the indians by the government, and held during life, are supposed to be an equivalent for the tribute; and indeed they are an excellent compensation, for the produce is usually worth six times more than the sum paid, leaving at least five-sixths for the expences or trouble of cultivation. to the great credit of the indians no land is any where kept in better condition, nor more attention paid to the crops, which generally consist of wheat, maize, beans, camotes, yucas, pumpkins, potatoes, and many kinds of vegetables. there is an abundance of fruit trees, the produce of which is often carried to lima. the hedges are almost entirely composed of those trees, such as the orange, lime, guava, pacay, palta, &c. in some places the vine and the granadilla are seen creeping about, craving support for their slender branches, as if unable to sustain the burthen of fruit they are destined to bear. the maguey is much cultivated in the hedges; besides this destination it produces cordage for general uses, and the flower stems growing twenty feet high serve as beams for the houses, and other similar purposes; being, if kept dry, of almost everlasting duration. i had an excellent opportunity here of observing the character, manners, and customs of the indians, with whom i was very much pleased. they are kind and hospitable, but timidity and diffidence make them appear reserved and somewhat sullen. their maxims are founded on their own adage--convince me that you are really my friend, and rest secure: _has ver que eres mi amigo, y hechate a dormir_. whether this distrust be a natural characteristic trait, or whether it be the result of the privations they have suffered since the spaniards became their masters, it is difficult to decide; but at all events it surely cannot be called a crime. the indians on the coast of peru are of a copper colour, with a small forehead, the hair growing on each side from the extremities of the eyebrows; they have small black eyes; small nose, the nostrils not protruding like those of the african; a moderately sized mouth, with beautiful teeth; beardless chin (except in old age) and a round face. their hair is black, coarse, and sleek, without any inclination to curl; the body is well proportioned, and the limbs well turned, and they have small feet. their stature is rather diminutive, but they are inclined to corpulency, when they become inactive, and it is a common saying, that a jolly person is _tan gordo como un cacique_, as fat as a cacique. the perspiration from their bodies is acetous, which some have supposed to be caused by a vegetable diet. in the colder climates, although in the same latitude, the complexion of the indians is lighter, owing perhaps to the cold; however, the araucanians, who enjoy a much colder climate, are of a dark copper colour. i shall here endeavour to refute some of the aspersions thrown by several writers upon the character of the peruvian indians, whom i hope to place, in the estimation of unbiassed men, in a situation more honourable to human nature than they have yet enjoyed; and thus one of my principal objects for publishing this narrative will be obtained. m. bouguer says, that "they are all extremely indolent, they are stupid, they pass whole days sitting in the same place, without moving, or speaking a single word." i believe i may state, that in all hot climates an inclination to indolence is common, nay even natural; a hot climate precludes bodily exertion, unless the cravings of nature are satisfied with difficulty, and as this is not the case in peru, half the vice, if it be a vice, disappears at once; add to this, that they have no motive to exertion above supplying the wants of nature--no stimulus--no market for an excess of produce, or the supplying of artificial wants--and the cause for indolence exists as necessarily as a cause for industry is found where the contrary happens. if a climate demand only a shade from the sun or a shelter from the rain, why should men build themselves stately or close habitations? where nature spontaneously produces the requisite articles of food, competent to the consumption of the inhabitants, why should they exert themselves to procure a superfluous stock? and particularly where an introduction of new articles in succession is entirely unknown. what to m. bouguer and others has appeared stupidity, perhaps deserves the name of indifference, the natural result of possessing all the means for satisfying real wants, and an ignorance of artificial ones. but if real stupidity be meant, i must aver that i never observed it either among the wild tribes of arauco on the river napo, or in those of the coasts of choco. i recollect very well an indian, called _bravo_, who was accused at pomasqui of having stolen the mule which he had brought from the valleys to the eastward of quito, laden with fruit. at the moment the accusation was laid before the alcalde, the indian threw his poncho or mantle over the head of the mule, and then desired the challenger to say of which eye his mule was blind? he answered, of the left. then, said the indian, taking off the poncho, this mule cannot be yours, because it is blind of neither. that any beings endowed with speech should "sit whole days without speaking a word," is indeed the acme of taciturnity; but as m. bouguer was perhaps ignorant of the language of the people he describes, he may probably deserve the same compliment from them. i found the araucanians prone to talk; indeed eloquence is considered an accomplishment among them, and extremely necessary among the _mapus_, or chiefs. the peruvians are neither silent in their meetings nor when travelling; however, they have little inquisitiveness, nor do they break out into soliloquys on the beauties of the surrounding scenery; but they converse freely on common place topics, particularly with a white man, if they find that he deigns to enter into conversation with them. several of the tribes in archidona and napo, who are in their free state, certainly did not merit the accusation of dumb stupidity; for although unacquainted with their languages, i tried to converse with them in quichua, aided by signs, and i really discovered more intelligence among them than i had a right to expect. what is often considered a step towards civilization or to social life, is a pastoral one; but if we search for it in a country where animals capable of domestication do not exist, we have no right to consider the inhabitants as barbarous, because they are not possessed of flocks and herds; nor do human beings deserve that epithet, who will share what they are possessed of with a stranger; and such hospitality i have frequently experienced. the kindness which these men show to the dog is no small proof of their sensibility; they will take long journeys to procure one, and value it as much as a lady esteems her lap dog. the utility of the animal may perhaps be said to be the chief motive of the indian's attachment; and what other motive has the shepherd or the herdsman? m. bouguer continues, "they are totally indifferent to wealth and all its advantages. one does not know what to offer them to procure their services; it is in vain to offer money, they answer, that they are not hungry." wealth, in the general acceptation of the word, can procure no advantages to men who have no means of disposing of it. where there is no market, money can purchase nothing; and where the natural wants are abundantly supplied, and men's desires have not created artificial ones, a market is superfluous and useless; but wherever the indians can exchange the produce of the country they inhabit for whatever pleases them, they are always anxious to do it. the logroño indians trade with the city of cuenca; the yumbos, colorados, and malabas with quito; the chunchos, pehuenches, huilliches, and other tribes with conception; the orejones with huanuco; and numerous other tribes frequent the settlements nearest to them, for the purpose of bartering their commodities for others which are either useful or ornamental. had m. bouguer offered them beads, hawks' bells, _machetes_, large knives, bows, arrows, or poison for their darts, he would have obtained their services. dr. robertson considers the indians to have been, at the time of the conquest by the spaniards, less improved and more savage than the inhabitants of any part of the globe; but he afterwards limits this charge to the rudest tribes; a limitation which was very necessary, for the purpose of palliating what i cannot help believing to be a false accusation. he could not mean the tribe of the muysca indians, who have left the fewest remains of their ingenuity, much less the peruvians; and in mexico, some of their cities were equal to the finest in spain, according to the accounts given by cortes, in his reports to the emperor charles v. these reports, and the yet existing monuments of labour and ingenuity, speak strongly in opposition to robertson's statement. ulloa says, "one can hardly form an idea of them different from what one has of the brutes." paul iii. thought differently, when, by his celebrated bull, he declared them worthy of being considered as human beings. ulloa might have said, with more truth, one can hardly form an idea of treatment more brutal than that which many of them receive. in the interior of peru, as ulloa speaks of the peruvians, they were degraded by the _mita_, a scion of the law of _repartirnientos_, distribution of indians at the time of the conquest. by this law, the men were forced from their homes and their families to serve for a limited time an imperious master, who, if he approved of their labour, took care to advance them a little money or some equivalent above what their wages amounted to, and then obliged them to serve him until the debt was liquidated. by this time another debt was contracted; and thus it was that they became worse than slaves, except in the name. i have been on several estates in different parts of peru and quito where the annual stipend of an indian was no more than eighteen or twenty dollars; with which pittance he had probably to maintain a wife and family, besides paying his annual tribute of five or seven dollars and a half to the king. the result was generally this:--the father died indebted to his master, and his children were attached to the estate for the payment. i would now ask don antonio ulloa, who are the brutes? the hut of one of these miserable indians consists of a few stones laid one upon another, without any cement or mortar, thatched over with some long grass or straw, which neither defends the unhappy inmates from the wind nor the rain; and such is the case on the _paramos_, or bleak mountains. one small room contains the whole family; their bed, a sheep skin or two, their covering, the few clothes which they wear during the day, for they have no others; their furniture, one or two earthen pots; and their food, a scanty provision of barley. who that is possessed of christian charity could witness this, and, instead of pitying their miserable condition, call them brutes? if of these ulloa says, "nothing disturbs the tranquillity of their souls--equally insensible to disasters and to prosperity," his observation is just. born under the lash of an imperious master, subject to the cruelty of an unfeeling mayordomo, they had no disasters to fear, because their condition could not possibly be rendered worse: with prosperity they had been totally unacquainted, it was a blessing which had fled the land they were born to tread, or rather it had been transferred to usurpers. ulloa continues, "though half naked, they are as contented as a monarch in his most splendid array." and does the spaniard imagine, that these miserable men are destitute of corporal feeling as well as of intellectual sensibility? does neither the bleak wind nor the cold rain make any impression on them? can content be the companion of the half-naked, half-starved slave? it may be the gloom of despair that hangs on their countenances; but it is certainly not the smile of content. "fear makes no impression on them, and respect as little." this rhapsody is taken from the mouth of some spanish master, as a palliative of his own cruel conduct. "their disposition is so singular, that there are no means of influencing them, nor of rousing them from that indifference, which is proof against all the endeavours of the wisest persons. no expedient which can induce them to abandon that gross ignorance, or lay aside that careless negligence which disconcert the prudent, and disappoint the care of such as are attentive to their welfare." if a man be so oppressed by a tyrannical and proud master, that he finds himself lower in his estimation than the cattle which he tends--so worn down with hunger, cold, and fatigue that he is only anxious for the approach of night or of the grave,--what can rouse him from that indifference or despondency which señor ulloa describes? now this has been the state of the south american indian on the large farms, and in the _obrages_, manufactories. he dreads to finish his task early, fearful of an increase of labour; he dares not appear cheerful, because it might be called impudence by his overseer; he dares not be cleanly or well clothed, because the first condition would be considered a negligence of his duty to his master, or an attention to his own comforts, and the second the result of theft. then, what, let me ask, is left, but misery in appearance, and wretchedness in reality? i well remember what the pious dr. rodrigues said to me at quito:--"not half the saints of the romish church, whose penitent lives placed them in the calendar and on our altars, suffered greater privations, in the hopes of enjoying everlasting glory, than one of these indians does through fear of offending a cruel master, or for the purpose of increasing his wealth." "how dear," added he, "has the religion of christ cost these once happy innocent creatures, and at what an usurious price it has been sold to them by the proud pedlars who imported it. oh! heaven," exclaimed he, "till when! till when! hasta quando! hasta quando!" well too do i remember, when passing, with the conde ruis de castilla, by the cloth manufactory of san juan, near riobamba, an old indian woman, who was tending a flock of sheep, and spinning with her distaff and spindle, her head uncovered, her grey locks waving wildly in the wind, and her nakedness not half concealed by an old coarse _anaco_, running to his excellency, and on her knees exclaiming, with sobs and tears, "bless your worship, i have seen seven viracochas who came to govern us, but my poor children are still as naked and as hungry as i was when i saw the first; but you will tell the king of this, and he will make me happy before i die; he will let us leave san juan; oh! taita ya, taita ya--oh! my father, my father." "no expedient can induce them to lay aside their gross ignorance," says el señor ulloa. what expedients have been tried? no schools have been established for them; no persons employed to teach them, except an old man or a friar, who once a week teaches them their prayers; and i can safely aver, that thousands of indians employed by white people live and die in their service without ever seeing any other book than the missal on the altar, or their master's account book on his table. but let us turn from this loathing sight, and look to indians where they are blessed with a greater portion of rational liberty, where they are considered more on a level with their white neighbours, and have more opportunities of evincing that they are not a disgrace to human nature, nor beneath the merited name of men. the towns of huacho and eten, inhabited almost exclusively by indians, may serve to pourtray the character of these people when in society. i have already mentioned their employment at huacho; to which may be added the manufacture of many articles of cotton at eten, such as napkins, tablecloths, and counterpanes, some of which are remarkably fine, and ornamented with curious figures interwoven, somewhat like damask. i have seen their felt or frieze counterpanes sell for twenty or twenty five dollars each. they also make large floor mats of _junco_, a species of fine rush, and they manufacture hats. these are sufficient proofs, that when an indian reaps the benefit of his labour he is not averse from work. ulloa has also mistated the character of the american indian, in asserting, "that he will receive with the same indifference the office of an alcalde or judge, as that of a hangman." an indian alcalde is as proud of his _vara_, insignia of office, as any mayor of england is of his gown, and always takes care to carry it along with him, and to exact that respect which he considers due to him in his official capacity. when the oidor abendaño passed through the indian town of sechura, in , he had neglected to take the necessary passport from the governador of paita; the indian alcalde requested to see it; the oidor informed him that he had not one; adding, that he was one of the ministers of the royal audience of lima; and i, said the indian, am the minister of justice of sechura, and here my vara is of more importance than your lordship's. i shall therefore insist on your returning to paita for your passport, or else of sending some one for it: two of my bailiffs will wait on you, my lord, till it is procured, as well as for the purpose of preventing you from pursuing your journey without it. the number of indians who receive holy orders, natives of the coast as well as the interior, is a convincing proof that they are not destitute of understanding, nor incapable of at least becoming literary characters, if not learned men. some have also shone at the bar, in the audiences of lima, cusco, chuquisaca, and quito; among these was manco yupanqui, of lima, protector-general of indians, whom i knew. he was a good latin scholar, was well versed in the english and french languages, and considered the only good greek scholar in the city. i knew also don jose huapayo, vice-rector of the college del principe, a pasante of san carlos, a young man of natural talents, which were well cultivated. extreme cowardice has also been attributed to the indians; but this imputation very indifferently accords with the tribes of araucania, darien, &c. during the present contest in south america the indians have sustained more than their share of fighting; and had the unfortunate pumacagua of cusco, or pucatoro of huamanga, been supplied with arms and ammunition, they would not have been subdued by ramires and maroto. the indians who reside among the creoles and spaniards on the coasts of peru and in the province of guayaquil are docile, obliging, and rather timid. their timidity has been the cause of their being supposed totally indifferent to what passes; indeed, as i have before said, there does not appear to be any eager curiosity about them, they have little to satisfy; but at its lowest ebb, this disposition surely can only be termed apathy. they are industrious in the cultivation of their farms and gardens; attentive to their other occupations, and faithful in their engagements; they know the value of riches, strive to obtain them, and are fond of being considered rich, although they never boast of being so. infidelity between man and wife is very rare; they are kind parents, which generally makes their children grateful as well as dutiful. robertson says, that "chastity is an idea too refined for a savage." i must beg leave to state, that his compilation, founded on spanish writings, is not always deserving of credit. had dr. robertson travelled over half the countries he describes, or observed the native character of the people which he has depicted, he would have expressed himself in very different terms. chastity is more common, and infidelity more uncommon, among the peruvians than in most countries of the old world. the same author remarks, "in america, even among the rudest tribes, a regular union between husband and wife was universal, and the rights of marriage were understood and recognized." this surely is a proof that chastity was known among these _savages_; and i cannot conceive that polygamy, when sanctioned by law or custom, is any objection to chastity. they are cleanly in their persons, and particularly so in their food; abstemious in general, but at their feasts inclined to gluttony and drunkenness; although disposed to the latter vice in a considerable degree, they are not habitual drunkards, and the females are so averse from it, that i never saw one of them intoxicated. i often observed, when living among the indians, that they slept very little; they will converse till late at night, and always rise early in the morning, especially if they have any work that requires their attention; such as irrigating their fields, when water can only be obtained at night, or tending their mules on a journey. in such cases they will abstain from sleep for three or four nights successively, without any apparent inconvenience, and they seldom or never sleep during the day. both males and females adhere to one kind of dress, which varies little either in towns or villages. the men of huacho wear long blue woollen trowsers, waistcoat, and sometimes a jacket; a light poncho, and a straw hat, but they are without either shoes or stockings, except some of the old men who have been alcaldes, and who afterwards wear shoes adorned with large square silver buckles when they go to church or to lima. the alcaldes also usually wear a long blue spanish cloak. the dress of the females is a blue flannel petticoat, plaited in folds about half an inch broad, a white shirt, and a piece of flannel, red, green, or yellow, about two yards long and three quarters of a yard broad; this they put over their shoulders like a shawl, and then throw the right end over the left shoulder, crossing the breast. they wear ear-rings formed like a rose or a button, the shank being passed through the aperture made in the ear, and secured by a small peg passed through the eye of the shank; they have also one or more rosaries, which like the ear-rings are of gold, and hang round their necks with large crosses, medals, &c. they seldom wear shoes, except when they go to church, and then often only put them on at the door; stockings they never wear. the hair both of the men and women is generally long; the former have one plat formed with the hair of the forehead, at the top of the head, and another with the rest behind, and both are fastened together at the ends; the women plat their hair in a number of very small tresses, but comb the whole from the forehead backwards. there is a considerable portion of superstition among them; old women are always afraid of being considered witches, and when a person dies his death is generally attributed to witchcraft. a widow will often, while lamenting the death of her husband, throw out a volume of abuse against some female who, as she imagines, had cast an evil eye on him. when a person praises a child or even a young animal, a by-stander will exclaim, god protect it! _dios lo guarda!_ to avert its being withered by an evil eye. they are considered as neophytes, and the inquisition has no power over them, nor are they included among the bull buyers. as to their religion, they are particularly attentive to all the outward forms, and strict in their attendance at church; but an instance of cunning in evading a reprimand from the rector happened at this town. an indian being questioned by the _cura_, rector, why he did not attend mass on a day of precept, to hear _mass_ and _work_, replied, "that he had fulfilled the commandment of the church, for as he did not intend to work, mass was undoubtedly excused by the precept." i observed at huacho one of the ancient rites of the peruvians; it was the ñaca feast. a child never has its hair cut till it is a year old, or thereabouts; the friends then assemble, and one by one take a small lock and cut it off, at the same time presenting something to the child. this ceremony among the ancient peruvians was practised at the naming of the child, and the name was generally appropriate to some particular circumstance which occurred to the child on that day. the seventh inca was called yahuar huacar, weeper of blood, because on that day drops of blood were observed falling from his eyes; and huascar, the fourteenth inca, was so named because the nobles on this day presented him with a golden chain called a _huasca_, after the ceremony of cutting the ñacas. at this village i heard for the first time the oral tradition of the first inca, manco capac; it was afterwards repeated to me by indians in various parts of the country, and they assured me that it was true, and that they believed it. a white man, they say, was found on the coast, by a certain cacique, or head of a tribe, whose name was cocapac; by signs he asked the white man who he was, and received for answer, an englishman. he took him to his home, where he had a daughter; the stranger lived with him till the daughter of the cacique bore him a son and a daughter, and then died. the old man called the boy ingasman cocapac, and the girl mama oclle; they were of a fair complexion and had light hair, and were dressed in a different manner from the indians. from accounts given by this stranger of the manner in which other people lived, and how they were governed, cocapac determined on exalting his family; and having instructed the boy and girl in what he proposed to do, he took them first to the plain of cusco, where one of the largest tribes of indians then resided, and informed them that their god, the sun, had sent them two of his children to make them happy, and to govern them; he requested them to go to a certain mountain on the following morning at sunrise, and search for them; he moreover told them that the _viracochas_, children of the sun, had hair like the rays of the sun, and that their faces were of the colour of the sun. in the morning the indians went to the mountain, _condor urco_, and found the young man and woman, but surprised at their colour and features, they declared that the couple were a wizard and a witch. they now sent them to rimac malca, the plain on which lima stands, but the old man followed them, and next took them to the neighbourhood of the lake of titicaca, where another powerful tribe resided; cocapac told these indians the same tale, but requested them to search for the viracochas on the edge of the lake at sunrise; they did so, and found them there, and immediately declared them to be the children of their god, and their supreme governors. elated with his success, cocapac was determined to be revenged on the indians of cusco; for this purpose he privately instructed his grandchildren in what he intended to do, and then informed the tribe that the _viracocha_, ingasman cocapac, had determined to search for the place where he was to reside; he requested they would take their arms and follow him, saying, that wherever he struck his golden rod or sceptre into the ground, that was the spot where he chose to remain. the young man and woman directed their course to the plain of cusco, where having arrived, the signal was given, and the indians here, surprised by the re-appearance of the viracochas, and overawed by the number of indians that accompanied them, acknowledged them as their lord, and the children of their god. thus, say the indians, was the power of the incas established, and many of them have said, that as i was an englishman, i was of their family. when h. b. m. ship breton was at callao, some of the officers accompanied me one sunday afternoon to the alameda at lima; on our way we were saluted by several indians from the mountains, calling us their countrymen, and their relations, begging at the same time that we would drink some chicha with them. there is a curious analogy between this tradition and one that i had from the mouth of don santos pires, at rio de janeiro, in . he told me, that before the discovery of the brazils, an englishman had been shipwrecked, and fell into the hands of the coboculo indians; he had preserved or obtained from the wreck a musket and some ammunition, with which he both terrified and pleased the indians, who called him _camaruru_, the man of fire, and elected him their king. he taught them several things of which they were before ignorant (as did manco capac and mama oclle the peruvians); he was alive at the conquest of the country, and was carried to portugal, when emanuel granted him a valley near to bahia, independent of the crown. don santos is the brother of the baron da torre, both lineal descendants of camaruru, of which he boasted not a little, adding, that to the present time none of the lineal descendants had ever married a portuguese. the muysca indians of the plains of cundinamarca have a white man with a beard, called bochica, nemquetheba, or suhé, for under these different names he is spoken of, as their legislator. this old man, like manco capac, taught them to build huts and live in communities, to till the ground, and to harvest the produce; as also to clothe themselves, with other comforts; but his wife, chia, yubecayguaya, or huythaca, for she is also known by three different names, was not like mama oclle, who taught the females to spin, to weave, and to dye the cloths. chia, on the contrary, opposed and thwarted every enterprize for the public good adopted by bochica, who, like manco capac, was the child of the sun, dried the soil, promoted agriculture, and established wise laws. the inca did not separate the ecclesiastical authority from the political, as bochica did, but established a theocracia. the first opened an outlet to the lake titicaca, for the benefit of his subjects, at a place now called _desaguadero_, the outlet; while the latter, for the same purpose, opened the lake of bogotá, at tequendama. the inca bequeathed his sovereign authority to his son, while bochica named two chiefs for the government, and retired to _tunja_, holy valley, where he lived two thousand years, or, as other traditions state, where his descendants governed the muysca tribe for two thousand years. the first of these successors was called huncahua, and the rest huncas, which was the name of the holy city; but the spaniards have changed the name to tunja. the mexicans have likewise a bearded white man as a legislator, called quatzalcoatl; he was the high priest of cholula, chief of a religious sect, and a legislator; he preached peace to men, and prohibited all sacrifices to the deity, excepting the first fruits. we have here the tradition of four white men distinguished by the people of the new world, as having beards, a circumstance as remarkable to them, as it was visible, for they being beardless, would consequently be surprised at seeing men whose faces bore what they would be led to consider a feature so distinguishing. two of these are said to have been englishmen. of the laws established by camaruru i have no information, but those established by manco capac i know have no analogy, nor do they bear any resemblance to those of any of the northern governments, except, setting aside lineal descent, the papal, where the spiritual authority is exercised by the king of rome. this coincidence of four men, bearing the same mark of a beard, three of whom were priests and legislators, occurred at places the most distant from each other, the one at rio de janeiro, in latitude ° ´ ´´ s., longitude ° ´ ´´ w.; one at cusco in lat. ° s., long. ° w.; one at cundinamarca in latitude ° ´ n., long. ° ´; and the other at cholula in latitude ° ´ n., longitude ° ´ w. the traditions of manco capac, bochica, and quatzalcoatl agree in predicting the arrival of bearded men at some future period, and the conquest of the different countries by them; which predictions operated strongly in favour of pizarro, benalcazar, and cortes, and produced that submission of the peruvians, muyscas, and mexicans, which finally laid the foundation of the degraded state of their descendants. from some accounts of the government of the incas of peru, it is easy to observe how well acquainted they were with the natural character of the people whom they had to govern. the whole empire was modelled like a large monastic establishment, in which each individual had his place and his duty assigned to him, without being permitted to inquire into the conduct of his superiors, much less to question the authority of the high priest, or to doubt the justness of his mandates. passive obedience to the decrees of their master could not but crush the germ of enterprize and ambition. thus it is that the peruvian indians are destitute of an active love for their country, and incapable of any exertion, unless roused by the orders of a superior. patient in adversity, and not elated with prosperity, their most indifferent actions are regulated by almost superstitious precision. their veneration for the memory of their incas is beyond description, particularly in some of the interior districts, where his decollation by pizarro is annually represented. in this performance their grief is so natural, though excessive, their songs so plaintive, and the whole is such a scene of distress, that i never witnessed it without mingling my tears with theirs. the spanish authorities have endeavoured to prevent this exhibition, but without effect, although several royal orders have been issued for the purpose. the indians in the territory of quito wear black clothes, and affirm that it is mourning for their incas, of whom they never speak but in a doleful tone. i cannot quit this subject without again saying, that from the unconquered tribes to the east and the west of quito, both from those who were subject to the laws of the conquerors, as well as the warlike tribes of arauco, i received the kindest treatment, and a degree of respect to which i was in no way entitled; and i hope i shall never permit ingratitude to guide either my pen or my tongue when their character is discussed. among the feasts which the indians of huacho celebrate, that of corpus christi deserves to be spoken of. besides the splendid decorations of the church, at the gratuitous expence of the indians, there are at the houses of the mayordomos, alfereces, and mayorales sumptuous dinners, from the feast to the octave, provided for all persons who choose to partake of them. they consume an enormous quantity of their favourite beverage, chicha, of which i have been assured, that a thousand jars, each containing eighteen gallons, have been drunk at one feast; and i do not doubt it, for besides the natives, numbers of people flock to the feast from the surrounding villages, and many come from lima. at these dinners there are always several dishes of guinea pigs, stewed, and seasoned with an abundance of capsicum. indeed, an indian of the coast of peru never dispenses with this picante at a feast; and i must acknowledge that i became almost as partial to it as any indian. during the week the village is enlivened with different companies of dancers: one called huancos is composed of eight or ten men; they have large crowns of ostrich feathers (from the plains of buenos ayres) on their heads; the quills are fastened in a roll of red cloth, which contains not less than five hundred long feathers dyed of various colours, but particularly red. they have small ponchos of brocade, tissue, or satin; on their legs they wear leather buskins, loaded with hawks' bells; their faces are partly covered by a handkerchief tied high above their mouths; and they carry as arms a cudgel, and bear on the left arm a small wooden buckler. they dance along the streets to the sound of a pipe and tabor, keeping pace to the tune, that the bells on their legs may beat time to the pipe and tabor. when two companies of these dancers meet, neither will give way for the other to pass, and the result is, the cudgels are applied to open it. some of their skirmishes produce broken heads and arms, although they are very dexterous in guarding off the blows with their small bucklers; but no intreaties nor threats from magistrates, who have sometimes interfered, can appease or separate them, until the criollaos appear, when, as if by magic, each party dances along quite unconcerned. the criollaos go by pairs, accompanied by a pipe and tabor. they have small helmets on their heads, a poncho like the huancos, and a short petticoat; they carry in their right hands a small wooden sword, in their left a bunch of flowers, and they dance to a melancholy tune, while that of the huancos is very lively. they are the peace makers, and such respect is paid to their interference, that not a blow is struck after their arrival; but neither threats nor intreaties will hurry them on to the place of action. the chimbos are very gaily dressed: they have crowns ornamented with all the jewellery which they can borrow; necklaces, ear-rings, bracelets, and rosaries are fastened on them in abundance, and when these cannot be procured, they have holes drilled in doubloons and new dollars, with which they load them. i have seen fifty of each on one crown. their dress is a gay poncho, with wide moorish trowsers; and their music consists of one or more harps or guitars. for the purpose of dancing along the streets, two boys support the bottom of the harp, whilst the top is fastened with a handkerchief tied round the neck of the player. all these dance before the procession, which, considering the smallness of the town, is very splendid. a double row of indians, the men on one side and the women on the other, with large lighted wax tapers, often as many as two thousand, go before; in the centre are indian boys and girls, burning perfumes in small incense burners, and strewing flowers. a rich pall with six silver cased poles is carried over the priest bearing the host, by the mayordomos, alfereces, and mayorales; and the procession is closed with all the music they can muster. in the course of the procession, as well as every night during the octave, great quantities of fireworks are burnt. longevity is common among the peruvian indians. i witnessed the burial of two, in a small village, one of whom had attained the age of , and the other of ; yet both enjoyed unimpaired health to a few days within their decease. on examining the parish books of barranca, i found, that in seven years, eleven indians had been buried, whose joint ages amounted to . the diseases most incidental to the indians, both along the coast of peru and in the interior, are of an inflammatory nature--consumptions in puberty, and pleuritic affections in old age. with what certainty the origin of syphilis has been traced to america, i know not; but the wild tribes of arauco, archidona, napo, in the vicinity of darien, and several others, as well as those that live in small settlements among the spaniards, are totally unacquainted with it; and although i have been particularly inquisitive on this head, i never could hear of one solitary instance of the disease, except in large towns and cities, and then it was limited to a certain class, where it was likely to be most prevalent. the great decrease of indian population in peru may almost be called alarming; many theories have been published respecting it, but in my opinion none have given the true cause. some have attributed it to the introduction of the small pox; but the virulence of this disease was mitigated, as in europe, by inoculation, and latterly by the introduction of vaccination, which at a great expence was carried from spain in , by the order of charles iv. not less than eighty boys were sent over in a vessel of war, for the purpose of preserving the fluid by transferring it from one to the other; and a tribunal was formed in lima, of which the viceroy was the president, having professors with competent salaries, for the preservation of this _magnum dei donum_, as it was justly called in the royal order. on examining some church books, i found that the number of deaths was not uncommonly augmented when the small pox was prevalent, although undoubtedly for several years after the conquest many people died of it through ignorance of the method of treatment. perhaps, too, superstition and fear made the healthy abandon the sick, to avoid the contagious effects of what appeared to them to be a disease brought by the spaniards for their destruction. of this idea they were doubtlessly possessed, for while valdivia was at talcahuano, several indians took up their residence in the town with the spaniards, until on the arrival of a vessel from peru with provisions, a barrel of lentils fell on the ground and burst; the grains appeared to the terrified indians to be a new importation of the small pox, on which account they all immediately fled, and carried the appalling news to their countrymen. others have attributed this decrease to the number of indians who died in the mines, being driven there by the laws of _repartimiento_, distribution, and _mita_, temporal labour: these also belong to the first years after the conquest. some have fancied that a social life does not agree with their nature; but this is equally trifling, because the comforts, conveniency, and regularity of such a life cannot be detrimental to human nature; besides, those who were latterly subject to the spanish domination in peru, were formerly subject to that of the incas, and the decrease was as visible on the coast, where the indians may be said to be their own masters, as in the interior, where many are not. perhaps the introduction of spirituous liquors may have tended to diminish the population; if so, this is almost an incurable evil; and certainly the division of the country, or the cultivated lands into large estates, as they were granted to many of the conquerors and first settlers, was a pernicious error, the fatal effects of which are often felt, and are inimical to the increase of population. about three leagues to the south of huacho are the salinas, or plains of salt. this natural production is covered with sand, in some places thicker than in others; under this is a stratum of solid salt, from eight to twelve inches thick. for the purpose of taking it up, it is marked out into square pieces, by chopping it gently with an axe; a bar of iron is then introduced underneath the salt, and the squares are turned over to dry; beneath the solid salt the ground is quite soft and rather watery, which allows the salt to separate from the bed with much facility. after three years have expired, the salt is again in a state to be cut; and from this small plain, which is not more than five miles square, salt enough is extracted for the consumption of the greater part of peru and chile. it is carried into the interior on the backs of mules, and to different places on the coast by shipping, for which there is an excellent port called _de las salinas_, though some go to that of huacho, which is not so commodious. chapter xvi. villa of huaura....description....village of supe....ruins of an indian town...._huacas_, burying places....bodies preserved entire....village of barranca....earthquake in ....barranca river....bridge of ropes....village of pativilca....sugar plantation....produce and profit....cane cultivated....mills.... sugar-house....management of slaves....regulations, &c. of slaves. two leagues to the northward of huacho is the villa or town of huaura; it consists of one long street and about two thousand inhabitants, some of whom are respectable creole families; it has a parish church, a convent of franciscan friars, and a hospital. owing to the situation of this town, having a range of high hills between it and the sea, and which keep off the sea breeze, it is very sultry; to this circumstance a cutaneous disease is attributed, which leaves a bluish mark on the skin. it is most prevalent among the mulattos; and on those negroes who are affected by it a stain is left which is almost white, and is called by the natives _carati_. near to huaura is a plantation, the _ingenio_, formerly belonging to the jesuits; here the cane is crushed by cylinders put in motion by a water wheel, which is said to be the first ever constructed in peru. a very handsome brick bridge of one arch, the centre of which was forty-seven yards above the bed of the river, and the span twenty-six yards wide, was erected at the entrance of the town; it was thrown down by an earthquake on the st of december, , and the old wooden bridge, which had formerly a redoubt to guard it, has been repaired. the english pirate edward david took huaura and sacked it in , putting to death the _alcalde de la hermandad_, don bias carrera, whom he had made his prisoner; this so terrified the inhabitants that they immediately abandoned the town, nor could they be persuaded to avail themselves of the drunken state of the sailors during the night to revenge the injuries they had suffered; they were fearful of being captured and treated in the same manner as their alcalde. the charter of villa was taken from the town by the king, but afterwards restored. the valley of huaura extends about twelve leagues to the eastward, and contains many excellent farms, plantations of sugar cane, and about three thousand slaves. seven leagues from huaura is the village of supe, with a parish church and eight hundred inhabitants, the greater part of whom are indians. between these towns there is a large plain, called _pampa de medio mundo_, which before the conquest was under irrigation; the vestiges of the old canals, _asequias_, are still visible, and bear witness of the enormous labour of the ancient peruvians, as well as of their uncommon skill in conveying water for the purpose of watering their fields to immense distances, without the aid of engines; the principal asequia here took its water from the huaura river, and winding round the foot of the mountains conveyed it to the distance of ten leagues, irrigating in its course some very beautiful plains, which are now only deserts of sand. near to supe are the remains of a large indian town, built on the side of a rock, galleries being dug out of it, one above another, for the purpose of making room for their small houses; many remains of these are still visible, and also of small parapets of stone raised before them, so that the hill has the appearance of a fortified place. at a short distance are the ruins of another town, on an elevated plain, where water doubtless could not be procured for irrigation; for, as i have already observed, the indians never built on land that could be cultivated. i was fully convinced here that the indians buried their dead in the houses where they had resided, as i dug up many of them. they appear to have been buried with whatever belonged to them at the time of their death; i have found women with their pots, pans, and jars of earthenware, some of which are very curious. one kind is composed of two hollow spheres, each about three inches in diameter; they are connected by a small tube placed in the centre, and a hollow arched handle to hold it by, having a hole on the upper side; if water be poured into this hole till the jar is about half full, and the jar be then inclined first to one side and then to the other, a whistling noise is produced. sometimes a figure of a man stands on each jar, and the water is poured down an opening in his head, and by the same means the noise is occasioned. i saw one of these at the carmelite nunnery at quito, having two indians upon it carrying a corpse on their shoulders, laid on a hollow bier resembling a butcher's tray; when the jar was inclined backwards and forwards a plaintive cry was heard, resembling that made by the indians at a funeral. the jars and other utensils were of good clay, and well baked, which, with the ingenious construction just alluded to, prove that the indians were acquainted with the art of pottery. i have also found in these huacas long pieces of cotton cloth, similar to that which is made by the indians at the present time, called tocuyo; many calabashes, quantities of indian corn or maize, quinua, beans, and the leaves of plantains; feathers of the ostrich from the plains of buenos ayres, and different dresses; some spades of palm wood, similar to the _chonta_ of guayaquil, and of which none grow near to supe; lances and clubs of the same wood; jars filled with chicha, which was quite sweet when discovered, but became sour after being exposed to the air for a short time. i have also found small dolls made of cotton, their dress similar to that worn at present by the females of cajatambo and huarochiri: it consists of a white petticoat, _anaco_, a piece of coloured flannel, two corners of which are fastened on the left shoulder by a cactus thorn, the middle being passed under the right arm, girt round the waist with a coloured fillet, and open on the left side down to the bottom; this part of the dress was called the _chaupe anaco_; a piece of flannel, of another colour, of about two feet square, was brought over the shoulders and fastened on the breast with two large pins of silver or gold, called _topas_: this part of the dress is called the _yiglla_. the hair is divided into two side tresses, and these are fastened behind, at the extremity, with a coloured fillet. the principal motive for digging the huacas is to search for treasure; i have found rings and small cups of gold; they are beat out very thin, and their size is that of half a hen's egg-shell; it is supposed that they were worn in the ears, for a small shank is attached to them, like the buttons worn by the indian females at present. slips of silver, about two inches broad and ten long, as thin as paper, are also frequently dug up. any small piece of gold which was buried with them is generally found in their mouths. owing to the nitrous quality of the sand, and to its almost perfect dryness, the bodies are quite entire, and not the least defaced, although many of them have been buried at least three centuries: the clothes are also in the same state of preservation, but both soon decay after being exposed to the sun and air. i dug up one man whose hair grew from his eyebrows, covering his forehead, or rather he had no visible forehead; a great quantity of dried herbs had been buried with him, some small pots, and several dolls: the indians who saw him assured me, that he had been a _brujo_, a wizard or diviner; but i was inclined to believe him to have been a physician: however, the two sciences might be considered by them as somewhat similar. many persons are persuaded that these huacas were only burying grounds, and not places of residence for the living: if so, it shews the respect which the people had for their dead; but as some of the tribes of wild indians bury their dead in the house where they lived, and then abandon it, building for themselves another, this appears to be a sufficient reason for suspecting that such was the practice with the ancient peruvians. i resided several months at the small village of la barranca, and i here witnessed the great earthquake that happened on the st of december, , supposed to be one of the periodical shocks felt in lima and its vicinity; they have occurred in the following years:-- , , , , , , and . this earthquake, however, did not extend its desolating effects to the capital; these appear to have been limited by the rivers of barranca and huaura, an extent of about ten leagues; but the shock was felt at ica, a hundred leagues to the southward, although it was not perceived at huaras, thirty leagues to the eastward. no hollow sound was observed to precede this shock, a circumstance particularly remarked by several of the old people, who said, that it came on so suddenly, that the dogs did not hear it, nor the pigs smell it, before every one felt the shock. i inquired their reason for thus expressing themselves, and was informed, that it had always been found when the shocks were severe, that they were announced by the howling of the dogs and the squealing of the pigs. this effect, i think, can only be accounted for by the dogs lying on the ground, and either hearing the noise or feeling the motion before either become perceptible to the people; and probably if any gaseous vapour be ejected the olfactory nerves of the pigs may be affected by it. immediately after the earthquake many people saw red flames rising out of the sea, and others burning over a low piece of ground on the shore called the totoral. the cattle which were feeding here at the time, died shortly afterwards from the effect produced on the grass by this burning vapour. the motion of the earth during the shock was oscillatory, resembling the waves of the sea; and the sensation which i experienced was similar to that which is felt in a boat when approaching the land. the motion was so great, that some bottles of wine and brandy, placed on a shelf about two yards high and three from the door, were thrown from a shop into the street to a distance of more than two feet from the door; if, therefore, they fell from the shelf without any projecting impulse to impel them forward, the wall must have inclined so as to form with its natural base an angle of degrees. the ground was rent in several places, and quantities of sand and a species of mud were thrown into the air. trees were torn up by the roots; the church and several of the houses, both here and at supe, were destroyed; while pativilca, a town at only two leagues distance, on the opposite side of the river, suffered very trivially. the undulations of the earth lasted twenty-one minutes; but there was no repetition of shocks, nor was any subterraneous noise heard. the perpendicular height of the land on the sea side is fifty-three yards, notwithstanding which several canoes and boats were thrown by the waves nearly to the top, and left among the trees, and for more than two months afterwards enormous quantities of fish drifted daily on the beach. perhaps the effect produced on the grass at the totoral, and this on the fish, may throw some light on the problem of the sterility occasioned by earthquakes, which i have already noticed--in particular, as the gaseous matter having become condensed was left on the surface to produce its effect on the ground, where it could not be washed off by the rains. an old mulatto, one of the four men who escaped at callao in , when that city was submersed in the sea, assured me, that the convulsion there did not appear to him so terrible as the one i have just mentioned. near to this village is a convenient port and landing place, called de la barranca, and about a mile to the northward of the village is the river de la barranca. during the rainy months, in the mountainous districts of the interior, it is so filled with water, that its passage is attended with considerable danger without the assistance of the _chimbadoros_, ferrymen. the bottom is very stony, which also occasions much danger, if the horses are not sure-footed and accustomed to ford rivers. the rapidity of the current precludes the use of boats or canoes, and its width would render the construction of a bridge extremely expensive. i have often crossed it when the water covered the space of half a mile, and was divided into thirteen or fourteen branches, through some of which the horse on which i was mounted had to swim. about six leagues from the main coast road, and the usual fording place of the river, there is a bridge of ropes, made from the fibres of the maguey leaves. these are first crushed between two stones, immersed in water till the vegetable matter easily separates from the fibres, when they are taken out, beat with a stick, washed, and dried; the ropes are then twisted by hand, without the assistance of any machinery, the fibrous parts of the leaves being inserted when the diminished strength of the rope requires them. this bridge is called _de cochas_, from the small village which stands near to it: it is thirty-eight yards across. on one side, the principal ropes, five in number, each about twelve inches in circumference, are fastened to a large beam laid on the ground, secured by two strong posts buried nearly to their tops: on the opposite side the beam is secured by being placed behind two small rocks. across these five ropes a number of the flower stalks of the maguey are laid, and upon them a quantity of old ropes and the fibrous parts of leaves are strewed, to preserve the stalks and the principal ropes. a net-work, instead of railings, is placed on each side, to prevent the passengers from falling into the river. although the whole construction appears so flimsy, the breadth being only five feet, i have seen droves of laden mules, as well as horned cattle, cross it; and i have repeatedly done so myself, on horseback, after i had reconciled myself to its tremulous motion. these swing bridges, which are common in south america, are called _puentes de maroma_, or _de amaca_; and by the indians, _cimpachaca_, bridge of ropes, or rather, of tresses--as cimpa signifies a platted tress. some persons, however, call them _huascachaca_, huasca being more properly a twisted rope; but i apprehend that they were originally made from platted ropes, in which the insertion of leaves is more easy. bridges of this description were general in peru before the conquest, and they are unquestionably the best calculated for a mountainous country, where some of the ravines requiring them are very steep, and the currents impetuous. bridges were likewise formed by the indians by laying large beams across stone piers; but these were not so common nor so appropriate as the rope bridges. the largest of them was over the river apurimac, which runs between lima and cusco, and is crossed by travellers who frequent this road to and from the ancient and modern capitals of peru. the bridge was two hundred and forty feet long, and nine feet broad; the ends of the principal ropes were fastened on one side the river to rings of stone, cut in the solid rock: one of these was broken in , when the stream rose so high that it caught the bridge, and dragged it away. two leagues to the northward of barranca is the neat village of pativilca, without any indian population: it was formerly a country covered with wood, and a place of retreat for malefactors; but the viceroy castel-forte sent people to form a village, and ordered a church to be built, offering an indult to all persons who should leave the bush, and build themselves houses in the town. by this wise policy he accomplished his end--reclaiming many outcasts, and rendering the road secure to travellers. while residing at barranca i had an excellent opportunity of judging of the condition of the slaves on the plantations; and i shall here give a brief account of one of the best regulated that i visited, which was huaito, the property of doña josefa salasar de monteblanco. this plantation is principally dedicated to the cultivation of cane and the elaboration of sugar; but a part is destined to ordinary agricultural pursuits, such as the growth of maize, beans, camotes, pumpkins, &c., beside some pasture land for cattle. the number of slaves employed on it, including all descriptions, is six hundred and seventy-two; and the weight of sugar produced annually, according to the statement given to me by don manuel sotil, who superintended the manufactory, is as follows:-- loaves of clayed sugar , each weighing } on an average lbs. at dollars per } dollars. quintal } chancaca, or coarse brown sugar in cakes coarse sugar made from the refuse molasses sold on the estate ----- value of produce of sugar ----- expences:--clothing of slaves at dollars each chaplain surgeon overseer sugar boiler premium to slaves drugs ---- ==== the result of this statement is, that after defraying all the expences of the cultivation of the cane, and the elaboration of the sugar, the profit amounted to dollars. besides this profit, another of considerable importance was derived from the feeding of cattle on extensive fields of lucern, and the breeding of hogs. there was also generally, a surplus of maize and beans beyond the consumption of the estate; but without this, according to the valuation made of the whole estate, including buildings, slaves and utensils, which amounted to , the clear profit on this capital exceeded five per cent.; which, with the assistance of the requisite machinery for cultivating and harvesting the cane, and manufacturing the sugar, might be doubled. i have made no deductions for the food of the slaves, because they were maintained by the produce of the estate, leaving a great surplus for sale; probably as much in value as would defray the expences of their clothing. the cane usually cultivated in peru is the creole; but in the year plants of the otaheitean cane were first introduced at guayaquil, by don jose merino, who procured them from jamaica, whence in they were brought to some of the plantations of peru, and from the advantageous result which has been experienced in the growth of this cane, it would follow that the creole will soon be exploded, notwithstanding the assertion, that the sugar obtained from the cane of otaheite abounds more in mucilage than in essential salt, and that it is susceptible of but a feeble consistency, which exposes it to decomposition on long voyages, or if it be warehoused any considerable length of time. but the peruvian cultivator has neither of these drawbacks to fear, because there is always an immediate demand for it at home, or the longest voyage to which it is subjected is to chile. the otaheitean cane, on the same land, and with equal labour with the creole, grows to the height of nine or ten feet in eighteen or twenty months, while the creole only grows six in thirty-five or thirty-six months, at which times they are respectively in a state of maturity. the large canes of the former are from seven to eight inches in diameter, but those of the latter seldom exceed three and a half, and the same measure of juice produces nearly the same weight of sugar: besides this, the saving of labour at the mills and manufactory is very great. the cane of otaheite is more tenacious, and comes from the cylinders whole, while the creole is frequently completely crushed, and incapable of being returned to the operation of the cylinders, on which account a considerable portion of the juice is lost; the pressed cane of otaheite is also conveyed to the furnace with much more facility than the other. the cane is usually planted in the foggy season, that it may have taken root before the dry weather commences; the land is prepared by repeated ploughings, and by breaking the lumps of earth with clubs, harrows and rollers for this purpose being unknown. the ploughs are similar to those used in chile, and which i have already described. if suitable ploughs and other utensils were introduced, it is easy to conceive what great relief would be given to manual labour; and if the horse or mule were substituted for the drowsy, slow-paced bullock, the result would be much more favourable. the canes are planted in drills made with hoes, so formed, that when the water for irrigation enters the upper end of a field it can flow without any hinderance to the lower; but before this operation of watering takes place the earth is hilled up to the plants. according to the dryness of the season, and the quality of the land, irrigation is repeated three or four times during the summer, and owing to the disposal of the furrows it is neither laborious nor troublesome. the water is generally allowed to remain on the ground twenty-four hours. when the cane is ripe it is cut close to the ground, and all the leaves are stript off, which with the rubbish are left until the whole field be cut, when they are burnt; and immediately afterwards the roots are irrigated. the cane is carried to the mill on the backs of asses; but for this purpose carts might be used with much saving of labour. in some parts of the province of guayaquil and on the coast of choco the natives, who cultivate the cane for their household consumption of molasses, guarapo, and rum, cut all that is ripe, leaving that which is green; they next bare the roots, mix the soil so obtained with the soil in the furrow, by digging and turning them over, and then hill up the cane again. by repeating this operation every time they cut their cane, they have a constant succession of crops, and the plantation never fails; while in peru a plantation only yields two crops, for the third is often scarcely sufficient to plant the ground for the ensuing harvest. the general method of pressing the cane is by means of three vertical grooved brass cylinders, which are put in motion by two pairs of oxen, yoked to two opposite points of a large wooden wheel, placed above the cylinders, and attached at its centre to the axle of the central cylinder, the cogs or teeth of which communicate the rotatory motion to the other two. this tardy method of pressing is used on many plantations; but on the one i am now speaking of vertical water-wheels supply the place of the bullocks, one wheel being attached to each mill. there is however great room for improvement, particularly in the adoption of iron cog and lantern wheels, or at least of metal cogs to the large wheels, iron axletrees, &c.; but rude as the present plan is, the expence of keeping a considerable number of oxen is avoided. the juice of the cane is received in the boiling house, in a large bell-metal pan, a small quantity of lime being first thrown into it; from this receiver it is carried in large calabashes to a pan ten feet deep, where it is evaporated to a proper consistency, and at intervals caustic ley is added to it, prepared at a considerable expence from the ashes of the _espino_, or _huarango_. after throwing into the pan about half a pint of this ley, a considerable quantity of fecula rises to the top, which is immediately taken off with a skimmer made of a large calabash, bored full of holes. when the syrup has become cool it is put into another pan, and evaporated to a proper consistency for crystallization; it is then poured into the moulds, made of common baked clay, in which it is repeatedly stirred, and on the following day it is transferred to the purging house, where the plug is taken from the bottom of the mould, and the coarse molasses run from the sugar. it is next removed to the claying house; each mould, like an inverted cone, is placed on a jar, and soft clay of the consistency of batter poured on the sugar. this operation is repeated three or four times, or till the loaf is purged from the molasses it contained, when it is taken out of the mould and carried into the store to dry. the whole process requires a month or five weeks, according to the season, for it is much sooner ready for the store house in damp weather than in dry. unlike other countries, where the cane is only cut during a certain season, on the plantations on the coast of peru it is cut and sugar is made from it during the whole year. the pans for boiling the juice are of brass, being a mixture of copper and tin; the lower pan is generally three feet in diameter at the bottom, five feet at the top, and five feet deep; the rim which is placed above this is three feet deep, and above that the brick and wood work commences, making the whole boiler ten feet deep. the pans, cylinders, and receivers are cast on the estate by the slaves, and by them also all the carpentery and blacksmith work are performed. i have been rather more particular on this subject than some persons may think necessary; but it has been with the view of opening another outlet to british manufactures, namely, that of iron machinery and implements of agriculture. if the evaporation of the cane juice were effected by heat communicated by steam, or by preventing atmospheric pressure on the surface of the liquid while boiling, a considerable quantity of sugar which is burnt by the present method, and which constitutes the molasses, would be saved: it would be an advantage of at least thirty per cent. at the same time that i advert to iron machinery for the mills, as an article worthy the attention of mercantile speculators, i would also recommend some stills on an improved principle, for the brandy distilleries at pisco, ica, cañete, and other vine countries, as well as those of rum; because the political change in south america will annul the prohibitory colonial law, and because the sugar manufacturer would be glad to convert to his advantage that refuse from which the rum is distilled; at present it is a nuisance to him, or if applied to any use, it is thrown to the oxen and asses, and they eat it with great avidity. the management of the slaves here is worthy of the imitation of every planter, both with regard to the comfort of the negroes, and the profitable result to the owner. i shall describe the laws established, and mention some other regulations which i suggested to doña josefa, which she approved, and put in practice: she afterwards frequently told me, that they deserved to be generally adopted, because they would eventually tend to ameliorate the condition of the slave and benefit the proprietor. a slave was never flogged at huaito without the consent of the mistress, who, having heard the complaint made by the overseer or other task-master, adjudged the number of lashes to be inflicted, or else determined on some other means of punishment, which she thought more proper. her motive for this regulation was, to prevent their being improperly chastised by any one during the heat of passion, or perhaps under the influence of revenge. the slave was never questioned as to the imputed delinquency, because, as she observed, it would only induce them to disregard the overseer, if he were not implicitly believed, or the slave were allowed to contradict him. when any doubt presented itself, she would sometimes send for some other slave, who had either been present or was near at the time, and make the necessary inquiry; but she would often say, that she trusted very little to what they said about each other, quoting the old spanish proverb as a reason, _la peor cuña, is del mismo palo_, the worst wedge is from the same block. no slave was punished privately; those at least were present who were acquainted with the crime which had been committed. if a slave absented himself, and were afterwards caught, he was sentenced for the first offence to carry a chain at his leg as many weeks as he had been absent days; for a repetition, he was sentenced to the mill, where the most laborious work is to be done; it is also esteemed the most degrading situation, very few except delinquents being employed at it. if a recurrence took place, the slave was kept at the mill during the day with a chain to his leg, and slept in the gaol during the night. if the fugitive returned home and presented himself to his mistress, he was pardoned for the first offence; the penalty of the first was inflicted if it were the second; and that of the second if it were the third; after which, if the slave persevered in running away he was sold. to promote marriages, all children born out of wedlock were sold while young; and as the slaves, except some few domestic servants, were all negroes, if a tawny child made its appearance it was also sold: this mode was adopted to prevent the negresses from having any intercourse with the people of the neighbouring villages. the negresses from the age of eleven or twelve years were kept separate from the men, and slept within the walls of the house, under the care of a _duenna_, until they were married. the greatest care was taken of child-bearing women, both with regard to relief from work and the administration of proper food; a separate building, called the lying-in hospital, was furnished with beds and other comforts for them; and if a slave reared six children so that they could walk, she obtained her liberty, or a release from work for herself and husband for three days in each week; when, if they worked on the estate, they were regularly paid for their labour. as an improvement of this regulation, i proposed the allowing one day of rest weekly either to the father or the mother for each child; and doña josefa acknowledged the propriety of it, for, said she, the manumission of a slave is his ruin if young, and the origin of his distress if old. she assured me that, at different times, she had given freedom to fifty slaves, out of whom, she was sorry to say, she could not find one useful member of society; much less one that was grateful to herself, although all of them were young at the time they were manumitted, and some had been put to different trades at her expence. i have frequently observed, that nine-tenths of the convicts for different crimes at lima were freed slaves, generally zambos. i am convinced from experience, that if proper magistrates were appointed in all districts where there is a number of slaves, each having a competent salary for his subsistence, but removeable every year, to prevent private connexions with the planters, that the state of slavery would be freed from its greatest evil, that of a human creature being subjected to the whip of an offended, irritable, or unjust master; for how can justice prevail where the plaintiff is the judge, and the defendant the criminal? or when _a prima instantia_ the accused is brought to receive his sentence, or suffer the infliction of an arbitrary punishment. if proprietors were prohibited from using the whip, or any other cruel chastisements, without the concurrence of an order from the magistrate, who should inquire summarily into the circumstances, under the penalty of a heavy fine, the odious epithet of slave-driver would lose its stigma, at the same time that the slave would reverence the law that protected as well as punished him, instead of hating his arbitrary master, and lurking for an opportunity of revenge. it is the interest as well as the duty of a master to preserve the health and life of his slave, and the slave has only to dread the presence of his master under the influence of passion or misinformation: let this occasion for the exercise of cruelty be avoided, by transferring the authority to punish from the interested master to an unbiassed person, and the hand of justice would fall like the invigorating dew of heaven, while that of passion often rages like the destructive tornado. the principal food of the slaves at huaito was the flour of maize boiled with water to the consistency of a hardish paste, to this was added a quantity of molasses; and beans boiled in the same manner. they had meat once or twice a week, either fresh or jerked beef. the quantity allowed was quite sufficient; and i have frequently seen them feeding their poultry with what they could not eat. each married man and each widow or widower was presented annually with a small pig, which they reared with the refuse of the cane, and some pumpkins which they cultivated: it was afterwards fattened with maize from their own small plots of ground. this was an inducement to the slaves to marry, and it kept them from strolling abroad on sundays and holidays. indeed, all the married had small portions of land allotted to them, and were allowed the use of the oxen and ploughs belonging to the estate. on an average two hundred fat pigs were sold annually by the slaves at huaito, and these generally produced twelve dollars each; so that two thousand four hundred dollars were distributed yearly among the slaves for this article alone; but several of the more industrious fed two, three, or four pigs, by purchasing maize for them. a convincing proof of their comfortable life was afforded on a sunday afternoon; many of the negresses, dressed in white muslins or gaudily printed calicoes, gold ear-rings, rosaries and necklaces, stockings and coloured shoes, and a profusion of handkerchiefs, might be seen dancing with the negro youths to the sound of their large drums and unharmonious songs: this exhibition certainly evinced that their minds were uncankered with care. each slave had two working dresses given to him yearly; the men a flannel shirt and woollen trowsers--the women a flannel petticoat and a cotton shirt with long sleeves; they had also an allowance of blankets and ponchos, but whatever other clothes they possessed were purchased by themselves. weekly premiums and a small quantity of tobacco were given according to the class of work in which they were individually employed; they were also permitted to have the skimmings and other refuse from the sugar-house for their _guarapo_ or fermented drink. the _galpon_, where the slaves lived, on this as on every other plantation, was a large square enclosure, walled round about twelve feet high; it was divided into streets, having an open square in the centre for dancing and their other amusements; the small houses were uniform, and whitewashed, which with the clean streets made a very neat appearance. the slaves slept in the galpon, by which means they were kept from visiting the neighbouring villages or plantations and from committing depredations. mass was celebrated every morning at six o'clock, and those who chose to hear it had sufficient time, as the field labourers never went to work till seven; their tasks were light, they had two hours' rest at noon, and always returned at six in the evening, and many at four in the afternoon; after which they attended to their own little farms. i am certain that a labourer in england does more work in _one_ day than any slave i ever saw in the spanish colonies performs in _three_. those employed at the mills are more hours at work; but this is considered a punishment: those employed in the sugar-house have also more hours to attend; but they have always sufficient rest between the time of emptying one pan and waiting till it boils again, and this leisure some occupy in making baskets or in knitting stockings for their own profit. the slaves are mustered at mass on sundays and holidays, and are required to confess, and receive the communion once a year. the chaplain teaches the boys and girls the necessary prayers and catechisms, and superintends the moral conduct of the slaves, being allowed to order them for punishment in cases of misbehaviour, on reporting them to their mistress. i am ignorant of the treatment which the slaves may receive in the british colonies; but i feel loath to believe that that mercy which i have observed to guide the actions of a spaniard or a spanish creole should be a stranger in the breast of an englishman or an english creole. if the lot of english slaves be not worse than that of spanish slaves, they are more fortunate and more happy than the labouring classes at home. i have no doubt, but that if a slave were brought to england, and subjected to the half-starved and hard-worked state of a day-labourer--to experience all his penury and all his privations--he would lift up his hands, and request that he might return to his master, who fed him when hungry, clothed him when naked, and attended to his wants when sick. if any thing be really wanting to ameliorate the condition of the english slave, let a wise legislature enact such regulations as will secure it to him; not place in his hand a weapon wherewith to sacrifice his master in a fit of frantic exasperation; let english slaves enjoy the blessings of the english poor, the boast of every englishman--an impartial distribution of justice--an equality in the administration of the law. it is as preposterous to suppose that the same law should not govern the master and the slave, as that a judge should not be amenable to the law by which he judges others: and i sincerely hope, for the honour of my country and countrymen, that they all feel as did my uncle toby: "'tis the fortune of war that has put the whip into our hands now, where it will be afterwards heaven only knows; but be it where it will, the brave, trim, will never use it unkindly." end of volume i. _printed by harris and co. liverpool._ +-------------------------------------------------+ |transcriber's note: | | | |obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | | | +-------------------------------------------------+ [illustration: chilean farmer. _engraved for stevenson's narrative of south america._] a historical and descriptive narrative of twenty years' residence in south america, _in three volumes_; containing travels in arauco, chile, peru, and colombia; with an account of the revolution, its rise, progress, and results. by w. b. stevenson, formerly private secretary to the president and captain general of quito, colonel, and governor of esmeraldas, captain de fragata, and late secretary to the vice admiral of chile,--his excellency the right honourable lord cochrane, &c. vol. iii. london: hurst, robinson, and co. constable & co. and oliver & boyd, edinburgh. mdcccxxv. contents of vol. iii. page chap. i.--first revolutionary symptoms in south america....morales and quiroga....character of morales....of quiroga....discovery made by captain salinas to two friars....their report to the government....imprisonment of morales, quiroga, salinas, and riofrio....character of salinas....of dr. riofrio....liberation of the prisoners.... junto formed at quito....advice of to the president, count ruis....manner in which the revolution was conducted....new oath....marquis of selva alegre....character of....dissensions in the new government....count ruis reinstated....arrival of troops from lima and santa fé....imprisonment of the insurgents....trial of....character of the count ruis....of the oidor don felipe fuertes amar....of the fiscal arrechaga ....of colonel arredonda...._proceso_ sent to santa fé chap. ii.--second revolution at quito....massacre of the prisoners....general meeting held....spanish troops leave quito....revolution at santa fé....arrival of don carlos montufar at quito....arredonda invades quito....arrives at huaranda....flies from....montufar marches towards cuenca ....desists from attacking the city....returns to quito....my appointment to esmeraldas....capture and escape....general montes enters quito....death of montufar....quito taken by general sucre chap. iii.--state of lima in ....constitution proclaimed ....some effects of....wishes of the inhabitants of lima....manifest of venezuela chap. iv.--state of lima....expedition to chile under colonel gainsa....exit of....regiment of talavera arrives from spain ....part of sent to huamanga....revolution of cusco and arequipa....death of pumacagua, and the patriot melgar.... arrival of flags taken by osoria in chile....viceroy abascal superseded by pesuela....character of the former....beginning of pesuela's administration....arrival of la serna....state of lima to ....battle of chacabuco in chile....extract of a journal....new expedition to chile under osoria....news of battle of maypu....loss of the spanish frigate maria isabel, and part of convoy....arrival of lord cochrane off callao chap. v.--state of lima on the arrival of the chilean squadron....arrival of at huacho....at supe....chilean naval force, how composed....capture of the maria isabel by commodore blanco....arrival of lord cochrane....appointed admiral....leaves valparaiso....arrives at callao, huacho, barranca, huambacho....proclamation of cochrane, san martin, and o'higgins....description of huambacho....paita taken.... proceed to valparaiso....arrival....description of....road from valparaiso to santiago chap. vi.--santiago....foundation....description of the city....contrast between the society here and at lima....state of chile....manners and customs....revolution ....carreras....o'higgins....defeat at rancagua....chileans cross the cordillera....action of chacabuco....of maypu.... death of don juan jose, and don luis carrera....murder of colonel rodrigues....formation of a naval force....death of spanish prisoners at san luis....naval expedition under lord cochrane....failure of the attack on callao....attack at pisco....death of lieutenant-colonel charles....capture of vessels at guayaquil....squadron returns to chile chap. vii.--passage from guayaquil river to valdivia....lord cochrane reconnoitres the harbour....capture of the spanish brig potrillo....arrival at talcahuano....preparations for an expedition to valdivia....troops furnished by general freire....o'higgins runs aground....arrival off valdivia.... capture of valdivia....attempt on chiloe fails.... return of lord cochrane....leaves valdivia for valparaiso....victory by beauchef.....arrival of the independencia and araucano.... o'higgins repaired....return to valparaiso....conduct of chilean government....lord cochrane resigns the command of the squadron chap. viii.--lord cochrane and the chilean government.... preparations for the expedition to peru....captain spry ....charges presented by the admiral against capt. guise ....lord cochrane throws up his commission....letters from the captains and officers....commission returned by the government....offer made by san martin to the foreign seamen....embarkation of troops for peru....announcement of sailing of the expedition....force of the squadron chap. ix.--sketch of o'higgins, san martin, lord cochrane, las heras, and monteagudo....sailing of the expedition, and arrival at pisco....debarkation....occurrences at pisco.... colonel arenales, with a division of the army, marches to arica....troops embark, and proceed to ancon....news of the revolution of guayaquil....capture of the spanish frigate esmeralda....army goes down to huacho....head quarters at huaura chap. x.--battalion of numancia joins the liberating army ....victory at pasco by arenales....route of arenales from ica....courts martial held in the squadron on officers.... conduct of general san martin....viceroy pesuela deposed.... expedition to pisco....to arica....action at mirabe under lieutenant-colonel miller....description of arica....of tacna....of ilo....armistice celebrated by generals san martin and la serna....prorogation of....lord cochrane leaves mollendo, and arrives at callao chap. xi.--lima evacuated by la serna....occupation of by the liberating army....loss of the san martin....arrival of lord cochrane at lima....conduct of the spaniards after leaving lima....independence of peru sworn....san martin constitutes himself protector of peru....interview between lord cochrane and san martin....announcement of the views of the spanish army....state of the squadron....san martin takes the field ....arrival and departure of cantarac....proclamation of san martin....treasure taken at ancon by lord cochrane ....surrender of callao....tribunal of purification established at lima....lieutenant wynter arrested at callao ....paroissien and spry visit the squadron at midnight ....squadron leaves callao, arrives at guayaquil chap. xii.--revolution and state of guayaquil....squadron leaves....island of cocos....bay of fonseca....visitors from the shore....leave fonseca....volcano....arrive at acapulco ....general waevell and colonel o'reilly....letter from iturbide....leave acapulco....description of....gale of wind off tehuantepec....tacames or atcames....news of the enemy ....arrive at the puná....guayaquil....lord cochrane hoists the chilean flag in the vengansa....conduct of the people at guayaquil....treaty with the government....letter from general la mar....leave guayaquil, and arrive at huambacho....callao chap. xiii.--commercial code at lima....provincial statutes announced....liberty of the press....foreigners declared amenable to the laws....institution of the order of the sun ....new commercial rules....titles changed....order to convene the constituent congress....san martin delegates his authority to the marquis de torre tagle....san martin leaves lima and returns....army defeated under tristan at ica....state of lima on our arrival....visit of monteagudo to lord cochrane ....san martin annuls the treaty at guayaquil....exile of spaniards from lima....lord cochrane leaves callao for valparaiso....spanish vessels that surrendered to the chilean squadron....convention of chile meets....monteagudo exiled from lima....disturbances in chile....san martin arrives at valparaiso....o'higgins abdicates....lord cochrane leaves the pacific chapter i. first revolutionary symptoms in south america....morales and quiroga....character of morales....of quiroga....discovery made by captain salinas to two friars....their report to the government....imprisonment of morales, quiroga, salinas, and riofrio....character of salinas....of dr. riofrio....liberation of the prisoners....junta formed at quito....advice of to the president, count ruis....manner in which the revolution was conducted....new oath....marquis of selva alegre....character of....dissensions in the new government....count ruis reinstated....arrival of troops from lima and santa fé....imprisonment of the insurgents....trial of....character of the count ruis....of the oidor don felipe fuertes amar....of the fiscal arrechaga....of colonel arredonda...._proceso_ sent to santa fé. shortly after the arrival of his excellency the count ruis de castilla at quito, the capital of his government, the collegians of san fernando presented him with four theatrical representations, at which the whole of the nobility attended as spectators. the pieces chosen were cato, andromacha, zoraida, and the auraucana, the whole of them tending in their design and argument to inculcate a spirit of freedom, a love of liberty, and principles of republicanism. however, as is often the case with people who visit public exhibitions with a predetermination to be pleased, this tendency passed unobserved by the president and the other members of the government. inattentive to what the state of affairs in the mother country might produce in the colonies, the american rulers judged that they themselves were surrounded by the same obedient vassals whom their predecessors had governed, without ever dreaming that the people were awake to what was actually passing in the parent state; for, although the opportunity of deriving information from the press was prevented by the government, yet the americans who resided in spain at this period were very actively employed in communicating to their friends in america the true state of affairs, and the natives were generally better informed of what passed in the mother country, than the spaniards resident in america or even the government itself; because spanish correspondents being loath to place their property in america in jeopardy, or judging that the colonists had only to obey whatever orders they might receive, either gave indistinct or favourably exaggerated accounts; or else treated the americans with that contempt which as their superiors they fancied they had a right to exercise. after the performance of the pieces, i became gradually acquainted with the individuals who had selected them--dr. quiroga and don manuel morales; the former an advocate of some respectability, a native of arequipa in peru, married in quito; the latter, a native of the city of mariquita in the viceroyalty of santa fé de bogotá, had been secretary to the government when the baron de carondelet was president; but having offended him, morales was discarded from his situation by the orders of the baron. he hoped to have been restored on the arrival of the count ruis; but this chief having in his suite a young advocate of the name of don tomas arrechaga, whom he had educated, and for whom he wished to provide, the claims of morales were disregarded, and arrechaga was nominated secretary to the government. morales was possessed of a strong mind, had received a liberal education, and having been employed many years in the secretary's office, had obtained a knowledge of the affairs of the government and an insight into the intrigues of the spanish court. he considered himself unjustly dealt with by the baron de carondelet, and more so by the count ruis, who could only know his failings through the too often distorted medium of report: he saw his situation filled by a stranger, himself an exile, and was determined to be revenged on those whom he regarded as the supporters if not the authors of his disgrace. to this end circumstances that could not possibly escape his observation aided him; and had not rashness prompted him to execute his designs prematurely, he might have succeeded, and have lived to receive the thanks of his countrymen; whereas, his ashes can only be revered by them, his name can only dwell in their memories with painful regret, or gratitude drop a tear at the recollection of his untimely death. quiroga was of an unquiet aspiring disposition, rash and undaunted in his undertakings, but very self-opinionated: unable to brook controul in any shape, but open to conviction when persuasion was the medium. he was successful as a pleader at the bar, loquacious and eloquent, but even here his hasty temper drove him into difficulties; he was repeatedly reprimanded by the tribunal, and at length was not only mulct, but even suspended from the exercise of his office as an advocate. in one instance, when a fine was imposed upon him, he declared that he could in no manner pay it, because the tribunal was not competent to levy it; that the regent and oidores had taken possession of their seats on the bench contrary to law, or held them contrary to justice; and he proved his assertions by stating the cases, quoting the laws, and citing the regulations of the tribunal. this necessarily drew down upon him the hatred of the members, and obliged him to leave the bar. quiroga was the constant companion of morales, and, like him, expected that on the arrival of count ruis, an appeal to his excellency, as president of the royal audience, would restore him to the exercise of his profession; but a report from the regent bustillas prevented the fulfilment of his expectations, and this circumstance drove him to despair. these two disappointed individuals chose the dramatic pieces which were performed at the college of san fernando in october, , selected perhaps in order to probe the government; if so, the result was completely satisfactory to their views, for not the least suspicion was evinced, nor any alarm taken. in february, , captain salinas, who was commander of the infantry at quito, informed two friars, father polo and another, of a plan that was about to be formed to depose the spanish authorities in quito, and to elect others from among the most respectable citizens, as substitutes. the information was immediately reported by the friars to the president, and a secret commission was given to the oidor fuertes amar to proceed against all suspected individuals according to law. don pedro muños was appointed to act as privy secretary, but this man had no other qualification than that of being a native of spain. quiroga, morales, and the parish priest of sangolqui, dr. riofrio, and captain salinas, were apprehended, and placed under an arrest in the convent of la merced. their declarations were taken down in writing by muños, and every possible means employed to prevent the people from becoming acquainted with the state of the _proceso_; no person was allowed to see the prisoners, and they were deprived of the means of communicating to their friends any particulars relating to their situation; the secretary was not allowed the assistance of an amanuensis, and every inquisitorial practice was brought into action. in the beginning of april, when muños was going in the evening to the palace to report on the proceedings to the president, the papers were stolen from him. this accident produced considerable confusion; many who were really concerned in the plot were assured that their names had never been mentioned by the prisoners, who uniformly denied having any knowledge of it; and salinas protested against having mentioned any thing concerning it to the friars. thus by a fortunate accident the plans of the government were frustrated, the prosecution ceased, and the prisoners were liberated. this occurrence, however, taught them to be more on the alert, and to be more careful in future; but the torch was lighted, and although the flame had been smothered for a short time, it was not extinguished. the character of salinas was well known to morales and quiroga. he was a true quiteño, volatile and variable, embracing every novel object with avidity, without reflection, or discrimination; the pursuit of any new scheme was as ardently begun by salinas, as it was easily abandoned the moment it ceased to be new, or the moment that another was suggested; but as this officer was at the head of the infantry, which consisted of about four hundred men, with part of which he had been formerly stationed at panama, and which in their opinion was considered a campaign in a foreign country, he had become the idol of the soldiers; so that it was absolutely necessary that salinas should be brought over to second the plans of morales and quiroga; and this was easily effected--the plan was novel, and promised a succession of what was most congenial to his feelings. dr. riofrio was a secular clergyman, of a sullen morose temper, ready to coincide with any set of men whose plans were calculated to bid defiance to any thing that did not please him; yet, whether from natural imbecility, or natural cowardice, he seemed to be only an instrument, and probably became acquainted with the plans in agitation by being a frequent visitor at a house in quito where morales had lived, and on account of his own house being sometimes the residence of morales, when he was estranged from quito by the president carondelet. this man and salinas were both natives of quito, but neither of them of families of rank or fortune, although from the situations which both had held they were very respectable. after the release of the four denounced conspirators, salinas and riofrio returned to their former occupations; quiroga to his home, more injured than ever; and morales went into the country, without having reaped any advantage except experience. the government now appeared quite satisfied in having declared the acquittal of the prisoners honourable; they were pleased that no act of injustice had been committed, and flattered themselves that the papers lost by muños had fallen into the hands of some pick-pocket, or that having been dropt in the street, they had ceased to exist in a shape which might betray their intentions. but they were deceived; the papers found their way into the study of quiroga, who drew such conclusions from them as best suited his own ends, and disseminated their contents among such individuals as he judged most proper to entrust them with. from april to august, , nothing particular occurred, except new advices from spain; so that the abdication of carlos, the accession of fernando, the imprisonment of the king, and the invasion of the country by the french, were the subject matter of every conversation. but still tranquillity reigned in every part of the colonies, and their inhabitants seemed to vie with each other in enthusiastic demonstrations of loyalty and attachment to their _amado fernando_. every new advice from spain served to increase the apprehension and the dismay of the governments and spaniards residing in america; and their whole attention was so engrossed with the state of affairs in the country to which they belonged, that they had not time to meditate on the effects which might be produced by it in the country in which they were stationed--satisfied that the colonies must follow the fate of the parent state, just as if it had been annexed to it by the ties of nature, instead of being attached to it by the most unnatural connexions. but the bubble burst when and where it was perhaps least expected to happen, and although the effects of the explosion were soon repressed, yet it rent the veil, and laid the foundation of that emancipation which the whole of the heretofore enslaved nations of the new world now enjoy. on the morning of the th of august, , at an early hour, two natives of quito, ante and aguire, waited on the president with a letter. the orderly who was at the door of the antechamber objected to carry any letter or message to his excellency at so unusual an hour; but ante persisted in the necessity of its immediate delivery, saying, that it contained matters of importance from the junta soberana, sovereign junta, a name as new in the ears of the orderly as was the body itself new in america. the orderly awoke the president, delivering the letter, and repeated the words which he had heard, as an excuse for his untimely errand. the president having read the superscription--"from the sovereign junta to the count ruis, ex-president of quito," dressed himself, and read the following: "the present unsettled state of spain, the total annihilation of the lawfully constituted authorities, and the dangers of the crown of the beloved ferdinand vii. and his domains falling into the hands of the tyrant of europe, have impelled our trans-atlantic brothers to form provincial governments for their personal security, as well against the machinations of some of their traitorous countrymen, unworthy of the name of spaniards, as against the arms of the common enemy: the loyal inhabitants of quito, resolved to secure to their legitimate king and master this part of his kingdom, have established a sovereign junta in this city of san francisco de quito, of which, and by the command of his serene highness the president and the vocal members, i have the honour to inform your lordship, and to announce to you, that the functions of the members of the old government have ceased: god preserve your lordship many years. hall of the junta in quito, august th, : manuel morales secretary of the interior." after reading this unexpected epistle, his excellency entered the antechamber, and walked towards the messengers, who inquired whether he had received the note, and on being answered in the affirmative, they bowed, turned round, and retired. the count followed them to the outer door and attempted to pass it, but he was prevented by the sentry. he now sent his orderly to call the officer of the guard, who politely answered, that he could not consistently with the orders he had received, speak with the _count_, pronouncing the last word with considerable emphasis. a great number of people began to assemble in the square before the palace, at six o'clock, when a royal salute was fired, and the military music, stationed on the esplanade in front of the palace, continued playing some national airs till nine o'clock. at this time the members of the new executive government met, the marquis of selva alegre, president, the vocal members, the marquis of orellana, marquis of solanda, count of casa guerrero, marquis of miraflores, don manuel zambrano, don manuel mateus, and don pedro montufar, the two ministers. morales and quiroga: the declaration of the installation was published, and the form of the oath to be administered to all persons employed under the new government was drawn up. the bishop of quito was elected vice-president, but he refused to assist at this or any subsequent meeting. the whole of the revolutionary change was effected in the night of the ninth. morales came to quito, and, with quiroga, convened a meeting; he informed the members of the risk in which the country at large stood, set forth the intention of the government to acknowledge napoleon as their sovereign, because the kings of spain had ceded their sovereignty to him, and exhorted them at the same time to preserve themselves and this part of the spanish dominions from the fate that awaited the rest; and this he told them could only be done by establishing a provincial government in the name of fernando, and of removing all suspicious persons from their offices. this harangue was nothing but a matter of form, because all the preliminaries had been agreed on beforehand. salinas, being present, was deputed to bring over the soldiers, which he immediately did; he went to the barracks, and having formed the infantry in the square or patio--he informed them that their beloved king was a prisoner in france; expatiated on his sufferings; told them that the existing governments in america were determined to deliver up the country to the common enemy, and concluded by asking them, whether they would defend their beloved ferdinand, or become the slaves of bonaparte? the deluded soldiers immediately shouted viva fernando septimo! viva quito! the commandant of the cavalry, don joaquin saldumbide, received orders for the same purpose, and executed them in the same manner. on the return of these two individuals to the junta, they were commanded to give the necessary orders to the different guards, and to administer to the troops the following oath: "i swear by god and on the cross of my sword, to defend my legitimate king, ferdinand vii.; to maintain and protect his rights; to support the purity of the holy roman catholic church; and to obey the constituted authorities." after the conclusion of this ceremony, the necessary orders were given to the officer of the guard at the president's palace, barracks, and prisons: a guard was placed at the door of each suspected person, particularly at those of the regent and oidores; and the members of the government retired to their houses. an express was immediately sent to chillo, an estate belonging to the marquis of selva alegre, with the news of what had taken place, and a request that his lordship would immediately come to quito, and take possession of the supreme command of the government of the kingdom. thus, in one night, without bloodshed or even without any popular commotion, a government which had been established for more than three centuries was displaced, and a new one erected on its basis. the marquis of selva alegre arrived on the morning of the tenth, and was visited by the members of the new government, while the two ministers proceeded on their duty to place new officers and clerks in the secretary's office, and to take charge of the archives belonging to the royal audience. the character of selva alegre is almost indefinable. as a private man he was extremely kind and polite, having more of the polished courtier about him than might be supposed to exist in an individual born in what may be termed a sequestered country. both in his town and country house a great deal of taste and splendour were exhibited, in a manner somewhat uncommon at quito; yet neither his income nor his popularity could in any way be compared to those of miraflores nor solanda. as a public character selva alegre was extremely unfit; wavering and timid, wishing rather to reconcile the two parties than to support either; fond of show and parade, but frightened at his own shadow, as if it mocked him. at the gaze of the people he would, like a peacock, have allowed his gaudy plumage to fall to the ground; he would have endeavoured to hide himself, or, as the most enthusiastic quiteños expressed themselves, "his shoes did not fit him." on the thirteenth the new government visited the church of the carmen alto, the different members dressed in their robes of ceremony; his serene highness in the full costume of the order of charles iii., of which he was a knight; the members of the junta in scarlet and black; the two ministers were distinguished by large plumes in their hats; the corporation, officers of the treasury, and other tribunals, in their old spanish uniforms, and the military in _blue_, faced with _white_ instead of _red_, as heretofore. after the thirteenth of august, anarchy began to preside at all the meetings of the junta. morales insisted on a reform in the regulations of the tribunals; quiroga, that preparations offensive and defensive against the neighbouring provinces which did not follow the example of quito should be made; selva alegre and the members wished that every thing might remain as it was. however the army was increased, and detachments sent to guallabamba against the pastusos, and to huaranda, to prevent an invasion by the guayaquileños. the people began to shew marks of discontent, particularly dreading a scarcity of salt, which article was procured from guayaquil. the governor of guayaquil first threatened to invade the provinces, next the viceroy of santa fé, and lastly the viceroy of peru. advices arrived that troops from these different quarters were absolutely on their march, and to complete the consternation of the people, the count ruis retired from his palace into the country, to a small _quinta_, or country seat, two leagues from the city, where he remained, till on the night of the eighth of november a deputation from the sovereign junta waited on him with proposals for his reinstatement in the presidency, to which he acceded. on the part of the president the condition was, that the members of the junta should retire to their respective homes, and become quiet citizens, as before the tenth of august; and on the part of the junta, that what had passed should be referred to the central junta in spain, and that no prosecution should take place against them until the resolution of the representative authority of spain should be known. these simple preliminaries being agreed to, his excellency the count ruis entered quito on the following morning, and was received with the most enthusiastic demonstrations of joy; the inhabitants and the members of the ex-junta presented themselves, and made a tender of their several titles, which were accepted by the president, and with all the acts and other papers belonging to the intrusive government, as it was stiled, were ordered to be burnt; but arrechaga, instead of obeying the order given to him, kept them with the most depraved intention for the most execrable purposes. on the second of december the auxiliary troops arrived from lima and guayaquil, composed of five hundred infantry, and fifty artillery men, under the command of colonel arredonda. the inhabitants of quito, relying on the fulfilment of the conditions agreed to by the count ruis, erected triumphal arches to receive them, and strewed flowers along the streets as they passed; but scarcely had they taken quiet possession of the city, and disbanded the native troops, than arrechaga, who had been appointed fiscal on the death of yriarte, advised arredonda to solicit of the president an order for the apprehension of all persons who had taken an active part in the late revolt, grounding his solicitude on the law of power, that good faith ought not to be kept with traitors. the count had the weakness to accede to the request of arredonda, and an order was immediately issued commanding don manuel arredonda, colonel of infantry, and commandant of the pacifying troops, _tropas pacificadoras_, to arrest all the persons who had been concerned in the late rebellion, the names of whom were subministered by arrechaga, and on the twelfth of december upwards of fifty of the most respectable inhabitants of quito were dragged from their homes, and immured in cells in the barracks. judge fuertes amar was again appointed to form the _proceso criminal_. every succeeding day brought new victims to the prison, for not only those who had taken an active part in the affair were apprehended, but many individuals also to whom letters had been written by the insurgents; and some because they had not declared themselves hostile to the revolutionary government; however the regent, oidores, fiscals, and other persons who had remained neuter, and some spaniards in office who had kept their places during the administration of the junta, were not included in the number; but the bishop, who, being an american, was included in the list of insurgents, and accused of having connived at the treason of his flock, because he did not anathematize them, interdict the places of public worship, and sentence to everlasting torments all schismatics to royalty and passive obedience. two hundred more soldiers arrived from santa fé de bogotá, and brought with them a greater security to the ministers of despotism, and the whole of the provinces of quito groaned under their tyranny. many of the most wealthy inhabitants fled to their estates in the country, and many, although totally unconnected with the affairs of the junta, were afraid of being swept away by the torrent of persecution. among those who fortunately absconded, and eluded the vigilance of the government, was the marquis of selva alegre: the marquis of miraflores died of grief in his own house, and a guard of soldiers was placed over him even till he was interred. not content with imprisoning those persons who might be termed the ringleaders, the soldiers were taken into custody, and placed in a separate prison, called the presidio. this alarmed the lower classes, who began to steal into the country, and seek in the mountains and woods an asylum against the systematic persecution that now pervaded the miserable hut of the labourer as well as the residence of his employer--the cabin of the indigent as well as the mansion of the wealthy. provisions became daily more scarce in the city, the soldiery in the same ratio became more insolent, when, to crown the state of desperation among all classes of the inhabitants, except the natives of spain who resided here, the examination of the prisoners was concluded, and the _vista fiscal_ was drawn up. this horrible production, worthy of its author, arrechaga, divided the prisoners into three classes, but sentenced them all to death: their number was eighty-four, including the prisoners and the absent, who were outlawed; even the bishop was not excluded, although, according to the laws of spain, he could only be tried by the council of castile. distress, affliction, and grief now reigned triumphant: mothers, wives, and daughters filled the air with their cries for mercy on their sons, their husbands, and their brothers, who had been torn from them and immured in dungeons, where they were not allowed to visit them; and who lay under sentence of an ignominious death, no hopes being left, except that the president would not confirm the sentence, and in this hope they were not deceived. when the proceso was concluded, and required no more than the veto of the president, it was presented to him; but instead of concurring in the opinion of the fiscal, and giving way to the entreaties of colonel arredonda, he ordered the papers to remain in his cabinet. the agitation of the old count was now truly distressing, and he frequently said to me, that he would prefer signing his own death-warrant to the sacrificing of so many deluded victims, the greater part of whom had only committed an error of judgment, founded, perhaps, on a mistaken sense of loyalty; at last he determined to refer the case for revision to the viceroy of santa fé, to the inconceivable chagrin of fuertes, arrechaga, and arredonda, who all founded their hopes of preferment in spain on the execution of the prisoners, who had been denominated traitors. the count ruis was at this time eighty-four years of age; he had resided in america upwards of forty; first in the capacity of corregidor of oruro, then of governor intendent of huancavilica, afterwards as president of cusco, and lastly of quito. when at huancavilica he commanded the troops, in , against the unfortunate tupac umaru, who was taken prisoner, and quartered alive in the plasa mayor at cusco, by being tied to four wild colts, which were driven to the four opposite angles of the square. when president of cusco, the unhappy victims of spanish jealousy and cruelty, ubalde and ugarte, in , were executed on an ex-parte evidence. this proceso was conducted by the oidor berriosabal, afterwards count of san juan and marquis of casa palma, and who was afterwards, in , proscribed in lima by san martin. the count ruis as a private individual was remarkably kind and familiar, and excessively charitable: in his public capacity he was too easily overruled, especially by persons in authority under him, and when he could be induced to believe them to be actuated by motives of justice; but he was obstinate in the greatest degree if he once suspected their integrity. the court of spain was so well convinced of the virtuous character of this nobleman, that in a royal order was issued inhibiting him from a residenciary investigation at the expiration of his first government of cusco: an honour which i believe was never conferred on any other governor in the spanish colonies. the oidor don felipe fuertes amar was remarkably timid, in fact he was a complete coward, and this weakness brought him to the gallows, during a commotion of the indians in . the fiscal don tomas arrechaga was a native of oruro, said to be the offspring of a friar of san juan de dios and a mestisa of oruro. the count ruis took him when a boy under his protection, educated him, and brought him to quito to establish him in the profession of the law, which he had studied. arrechaga was brutal in his looks, his manners, and his actions; he was possessed of all the subtle cruelty peculiar to the caste of chinos, which is a mixture of african and indian blood: his mother was of the latter race, and his father was not entirely exempt from the former. arrechaga would have waded through the blood of his countrymen to secure promotion; and from the first discovery of the country this had been too often the means of obtaining it. don manuel arredonda was the son of the viceroy of buenos ayres, and nephew to the regent of the royal audience of lima; he was in search of reputation, fame, and promotion--not in the cannon's mouth--no, for indeed he was the original fop described by hotspur, he was effeminate, proud and cruel, the general qualifications of a coward soldier; an imperious tyrant when in prosperity, but the most abject of all wretches when in adversity. the person chosen to convey to santa fé the whole of the proceso was dr. san miguel, a young advocate who had become the constant companion to arrechaga. not less than six reams of written paper formed the important charge, for the safety of which a piquet of horse was ordered to escort san miguel as far as pasto, lest some of the outlaws might surprize him on the road. the prisoners expected no favour at the hands of the viceroy, because he was the uncle of the oidor fuertes who had tried them. it was natural to suppose that he would not extend his mercy against what he would consider the justice of the law as expounded by his nephew; for, although it may appear very strange in england, that the inclinations of persons in such elevated situations should be biassed by personal interest, this was too frequently the case in south america. chapter ii. second revolution at quito....massacre of the prisoners....general meeting held....spanish troops leave quito....revolution at santa fé....arrival of don carlos montufar at quito....arredonda invades quito....arrives at huaranda....flies from....montufar marches towards cuenca....desists from attacking the city....returns to quito....my appointment to esmeraldas....capture and escape....general montes enters quito....death of montufar....quito taken by general sucre. after the departure of san miguel for santa fé many of the soldiers who had belonged to the insurgent army returned to the city, supposing that the prosecution had closed; but they were apprehended, and sent to the presidio. several individuals also who came from different parts of the country were apprehended on suspicion, and, although they were liberated after examination, the alarm flew from one place to another, so that none would bring their produce to market, and a consequent dearth of provisions began to be experienced in the city. this, instead of producing conciliatory measures for procuring them, enraged the spanish soldiers, who committed several depredations, and the injured individuals through fear abstained from complaining to the officers, or if they ventured to do it, they were insulted with the epithets of rebels, insurgents, and traitors. thus the evil increased daily till the second of august, , when some of the soldiers confined in the presidio surprized the guard, and depriving them of their arms, and putting on their uniforms, ran to the barracks at one o'clock in the afternoon; the disguise prevented all suspicion on their approach, and they succeeded in driving the sentry from his post at the door, and securing the officer of the guard: at this moment a bell was rung in the steeple of the cathedral, as an alarm: the officers who had just sat down to dinner in the palace rushed into the plasa mayor, and observing a considerable degree of commotion at the door of the barracks not fifty yards from that of the palace, the guard was ordered to fire on those at the barracks, which firing was returned by the opposite party. this lasted about ten minutes, when, all being silent, an officer ran to the barracks to inquire into the cause of the disturbance: on being informed of what had taken place, as well as that all was then safe, he returned with the report to his commandant, arredonda. another officer was immediately sent to inquire into the state of the prisoners, and he as briefly returned with the news, that they were all dead. some had been shot during the uproar by the sentries placed over them, and many had been murdered by a zambo boy, one of the cooks to the soldiers, who had entered their cells, and despatched them with an axe. terror and consternation for a moment were visible in the countenances of the president and officers, when, on a sudden, the spanish soldiers rushed from the barracks into the streets, shouting revenge! revenge! our captain is murdered. scarcely was the alarm given, when the infuriated soldiers abandoned their posts, and running up and down the streets, murdered every individual they met with, without distinction either of age or sex: the drums in different parts of the city beat an advance, and murder and pillage raged in this horrid manner till three o'clock, all the officers standing on the esplanade of the palace, without making any effort to check the massacre: at length, the soldiers having expended their stock of cartridges began to return to the barracks, some of them so laden with plunder, that they had left their arms they knew not where. the number of prisoners confined in the cells, many of whom were secured with irons, and who fell a sacrifice to the insubordination of the soldiery, and the imbecility of the officers, was seventy-two; a clergyman of the name of castelo, and an individual of the name of romero, were the only prisoners that escaped, and they saved their lives by feigning to be dead. morales, quiroga, riofrio, and salinas perished; but to the memory of these, and their fellow sufferers, the government of venezuela ordered a day of mourning to be kept annually; thus paying to them the greatest possible respect; they also afterwards determined to call them the martyrs of quito. in the streets of quito about three hundred individuals perished, including seven of the spanish soldiers, who were killed by some indian butchers, whom they had repeatedly insulted. such was the fury displayed by the pacifying troops, that a party of them having met a captain in his uniform, who belonged to the guayaquil cavalry, a soldier seized the sword of his captain, and ran him through the body with it, laying him weltering in his gore not fifty yards from the door of the barracks. no powers of language can describe the anxiety which this dreadful affair excited in the minds of the inhabitants, who, ignorant of the origin, considered it as an unprovoked slaughter of their countrymen, and consequently dreaded that it might be again repeated in the same manner. only five of the soldiers who left the presidio entered the barracks--had twenty entered, they would doubtlessly have succeeded in liberating the prisoners; but these were murdered while those were engaged with the guard at the door. the streets of the city were entirely deserted; groups of people were scattered about on the neighbouring hills, looking wistfully at their apparently desolated town; dead bodies were strewed about the streets and squares, and all was horror and dismay. during the night the bodies of the prisoners were conveyed to the church of san augstin, and those that were murdered in the streets, to the nearest churches. the two succeeding days, the third and the fourth of august, the inhabitants kept within their houses, and, except the soldiers, not an individual ventured into the streets. the government now began to fear that the whole of the provinces would rise _en masse_; and as the news of the revolution at caracas, which took place on the nineteenth of april, , had reached their ears, this, with their ignorance of what was passing in the mother country, except that bonaparte had taken possession of madrid, suggested to them an effort at reconciliation, but without in the least reflecting on their own baseness and treachery, in having violated the conditions which had replaced the president in his authority, and thus branded themselves with the name which they most justly deserved, that of _infames traidores_, infamous traitors. on the fifth an order was published for the heads of all the corporate bodies, officers, and principal inhabitants to meet at the palace, and resolve on such means as were most likely to restore peace, tranquillity, and confidence to the country. accordingly the persons who were summoned met; the president took the chair, having the bishop on his right, and colonel arredonda on his left, the regent, oidores, fiscals, attorney-general, and other officers and persons of distinction took their seats. the president rose, and in very few words expressed his sorrow for what had happened, and his sincere wish to restore peace and unanimity among the people. the bishop in a short speech answered, that he was afraid such wishes would never be fulfilled, until those persons who had advised his excellency to forget his promises made to the people were removed from that part of the country. arrechaga rose and observed, that his lordship recriminated on his conduct; to which the prelate replied, that years and dignity precluded any recrimination on don arrechaga from him. this debate induced the president to request, that arrechaga would leave the hall, which request was reluctantly complied with; although such a rebuff from the bishop would only four days before that of the meeting have shewn him the way to a dungeon. dr. rodrigues, a secular priest, greatly revered for his wisdom and his virtue by all who knew him, rose from his seat, and, advancing to the centre of the hall, delivered a most eloquent and animated speech, which lasted for more than an hour. he portrayed the character of the quiteños in general, explained the causes of the late revolution with evangelical charity, and dwelt on the fatal results with the truest symptoms of grief, in such a manner, that, not through sympathy but sensibility, conviction, shame, and remorse, the big tear flowed down the cheeks of his hearers. he concluded by repeating what his prelate had said, and added further, that the people of quito could no longer consider their lives and property secure, unless those individuals who had so lately forfeited their title of pacificators were removed from the country. "i allude," said he, "to the officers and troops; they have already made upwards of three hundred unoffending fellow-creatures, as faithful christians and as loyal subjects as themselves, the peaceful tenants of the grave, and, if not stopped in their career of slaughter, they will soon convert one of the most fruitful regions of the spanish monarchy into a desert; and future travellers, while execrating their memory, will exclaim, 'here once stood quito!'" don manuel arredonda, trembling for his personal safety, now rose. he observed, that he was fully convinced the government of quito ought to rely on the loyalty of the quiteños, and allow _him_ to retire with the troops under his command. this was immediately agreed to, and the act of the meeting having been drawn up, was signed by the president, the bishop, the commander of the troops, and several other members. preparations for the evacuation of the city immediately commenced, and the troops under the command of arredonda began their march on the following morning, leaving the two hundred soldiers from santa fé and the government to the mercy of a populace driven almost to despair by their cruel and murderous conduct. a few days after the departure of arredonda and the soldiers, dr. san miguel returned from santa fé, bringing tidings of an insurrection having taken place in that city. it commenced on the twenty-third of july, , the day before the arrival of san miguel with his cargo of papers. when he presented himself before the new authorities at santa fé, he was commanded to repair to the plasa mayor with his papers, and here he was ordered to deliver them into the hands of the hangman, who immediately committed them to the flames. thus a trial was concluded, which, perhaps, in point of infamous intrigue was unparalleled in any age or nation; and had the conductors of it suffered a similar fate at the same time, numbers of americans would have had just cause to have been satisfied. the return of san miguel only served to throw the government of quito into greater consternation, and the citizens who had lost their relatives or their friends on the second of august into deeper sorrow. the insurrection of santa fé was conducted, like that of quito, without any bloodshed; the news of the commission conferred on villaviencio by the central junta of spain, to visit his native place, and to make any such alterations in the form of the government as might appear necessary for the preservation of the country, had arrived at santa fé. the friends of this american wished to prepare a house for his reception; one of them begged the loan of a chandelier of a european spaniard, who, chagrined at the idea of a royal commission having been conferred on a colonist, insulted the borrower; this conduct produced an altercation between the parties, a mob collected at the door, the spaniard attempted to drive the people away with threats and insults, which at last produced a cry of _cabildo abierto!_ an open meeting at the city hall. scarcely had the shout been re-echoed by the mob, when it was extended to every part of the city, and cabildo abierto became the watchword. crowds of people flocked to the plasa mayor, the doors of the town hall were thrown open, and several individuals, all natives, ranged themselves round the table. at this juncture some one advanced to the door, and asked the populace why they had collected in that manner, at this particular time? some one answered, _queremos gobierno nuevo, fuera españoles!_ we want a new government--out with the spaniards! nariño was then sent to request the presence of the viceroy amar, as president of the meeting. his excellency refused; a second message was sent, and met with the same refusal: this conduct exasperated the people, and the cry of fuera españoles! _fuera chapetones!_ again resounded from every quarter. a third messenger was shortly after sent to inform don antonio amar, that his functions, with those of all european spaniards in the government, had ceased. amar now volunteered to go and preside at the meeting; but he was told, that only his baston of command was requested; this, after a little altercation, he delivered up. the new government took possession of the barracks, the park of artillery, and the government stores. the ex-viceroy and some of the ex-oidores were sent to carthagena to be embarked for spain. in one day the change in the government was completed, and on the following the people retired to their several homes and occupations in the most perfect order, after witnessing the public burning of the papers brought by san miguel. in the month of september of the same year, don carlos montufar, son to the outlawed marquis of selva alegre, who with several others had again presented himself publicly in quito, arrived, bringing with him powers from the central junta of spain, to establish such a government, or make such changes in the one existing, as might ensure the allegiance of the country to ferdinand on his restoration. the joy which this arrival would have occasioned a short time before it took place was considerably damped by the recollection of the second of august. however, to support, and as it were to exculpate the conduct of the government with respect to the treatment of the unfortunate victims who had perished on that day, montufar and his friends determined on re-establishing the junta. a meeting was convened at the hall of the university, at which the count ruis presided; the commission conferred on montufar was read, and the formation of a junta proposed, which was immediately agreed to. the count ruis was nominated president, and the marquis of selva alegre vice-president; the members for the city were elected by the five parishes, and those for the country by the parishes of the heads of the provinces. don carlos montufar, desirous of preserving tranquillity, and maintaining a good understanding with the viceroy of peru in particular, immediately forwarded to his excellency don jose de abascal his original commission; but the innovation was so great, and the decrease of spanish authority so alarming to the viceroy, that he returned the papers with an assurance, that he "should exert himself in the support of his own authority, and that of all the faithful subjects of the crown of spain." this imprudent and ill-timed answer, accompanied by a knowledge of the present state of affairs in santa fé and venezuela; of the revolt of san miguel and el valle de los dolores in mexico, which took place on the nineteenth of august; of that of buenos ayres on the twenty-sixth of may, ; together with the condition of the mother country--distracted the attention of the spaniards, and first disseminated the whisper of independence: a whisper which was confined to private conversations, and was heard only among the higher classes. colonel arredonda and his troops were at first ordered to remain at guayaquil; but on the arrival of the news communicated by the newly-established government of quito, he was commanded to invade the territory belonging to that jurisdiction, and to declare war against the newly-established authorities, as being traitors to the crown of spain. at the same time that arredonda began his march, montufar collected the armed force of quito, began to discipline new troops, and proceeded with them to riobamba. popayan and pasto, under the influence of samano the governor of the former place, declared their adherence to the old government, and avowed their intention of invading quito to the northward, while arredonda should attempt the same to the southward. a few troops placed by montufar at guaitara precluded all fear with regard to samano, and montufar waited at riobamba the advance of arredonda. a sentinel placed at an advanced post at the ensillada was alarmed early one morning by a sudden report, caused by the ice on chimboraso, which, when the rising sun first illumes it, sometimes cracks with a tremendous report. alarmed at what he heard, he abandoned his post, and communicated intelligence of the approach of montufar with a train of artillery. arredonda was now filled with the greatest possible consternation, and without waiting to inquire into the cause of the alarm, or to investigate the report, he mounted his horse, and fled: the officers and soldiers followed the example of their chief, and, leaving every thing behind them, placed their safety in their heels. montufar, being immediately apprised of what had passed at huaranda, arredonda's late head quarters, went and took possession of the abandoned stores, consisting of eight hundred muskets, six field-pieces, a quantity of ammunition, the military chest, and all the public as well as private property belonging to the tropas pacificadoras. the city of cuenca declared its attachment to the royal cause, as it now began to be called, in opposition to the insurgents, and montufar, flushed with his good fortune at huaranda, marched towards that city; the bishop, quintian aponte, who with a crucifix in one hand and a sword in the other had marshalled the natives, and exhorted them with more than pastoral eloquence, fled on receiving advices that the insurgents were within ten leagues of the city, and left his flock at the mercy of the very man whom he had described the day before as a ravenous wolf. in this state of affairs, when every thing seemed to promise success to the insurgents, a post arrived from spain, bringing the news of the dissolution of the junta central, and the formation of a regency and cortes, and commanding all his majesty's faithful subjects to abjure the traitorous junta, and to take the oath of allegiance to the newly-constituted authorities. an order of the regency commanded that every thing in the colonies should remain in the same state in which it might then be, until the regency and the cortes should decide. carlos montufar, on the receipt of this intelligence, communicated to him by the viceroy of peru, answered his excellency, that as a loyal subject, and trusting that the conduct of his excellency would evince equal loyalty and deference to the supreme order received, he should immediately retire to quito with the troops under his command. a small detachment of soldiers continued on the heights of guaitara, and every thing in quito remained tranquil until the middle of november, when general molina arrived at cuenca, and, by the order of the viceroy abascal, peremptorily insisted on the dissolution of the junta, which was objected to. captain villavicencio arrived from guayaquil to treat with the government on the proposals made by general molina, and such was the spirit of party, and the dread of again being oppressed by pacifying troops, that on the arrival of villavicencio, a woman, named salinas, a servant to captain salinas, who was murdered on the second of august, collected a body of females, who armed themselves with lances, and escorted villavicencio to the house prepared for him, where they remained on guard till he quitted the city. nothing could be more ridiculous than the appearance of this naval hero when he had to attend the meeting of the junta, marching along the street with an amazonian guard, composed of twenty-five females with lances, who conducted him to and from the hall. during the time that montufar was absent from the city with the troops, several popular commotions took place, particularly of the indians; these were principally excited by a native of the name of peña, who had had a son slain in the massacre of the second of august. during this time, the oidor fuertes and the postmaster-general attempted to escape, with an intention of proceeding down the marañon, but they were seized by the indians, brought back to quito, and before the respectable part of the inhabitants could relieve them from the danger in which they were placed, the indians erected a temporary gibbet in the plasa mayor, and hanged them: being in the street myself, the indians seized me also, and were hurrying me along towards the place of execution, but i was providentially rescued by the interference of an old clergyman, to whom i was known, and to whom i undoubtedly owe the preservation of my existence. the adherence of popayan and pasto to the spanish governors precluded all communication between quito and santa fé, venezuela, and other places. the junta determined to open a communication by the coast with cali and buga, and also with those parts of the country which had established the same form of government as themselves. owing to the knowledge which i had acquired of the coast, the title of governor of esmeraldas, and military commander of the coast, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of artillery was conferred on me; and on the fifth of december i left quito with fifty soldiers, took possession of my command, opened the communication, and secured the depôt of arms belonging to the spaniards at tumaco. during my residence on the coast of esmeraldas, nothing particular occurred in the capital, except preparations for defence: general molina died at cuenca, and the bishop of cuenca at guayaquil. aymerich, the governor of popayan, solicited a brig of war, which was sent by the governor of guayaquil; with this assistance esmeraldas was invaded, and i was taken prisoner in may, ; but with the permission of captain ramires i made my escape from the brig. don toribio montes was appointed by the regency president of quito, and immediately took the command of the troops stationed at guayaquil and cuenca, and began his march on quito. the president, count ruis, retired to a small convent in the suburbs of quito; but a popular commotion of the indians in the city occurred, a party of them went to the convent and dragged the venerable good old man into the street, where they murdered him. montes had a few skirmishes with the quiteños; but he entered the city, and caused several of the principal individuals who had been concerned in the late transactions to be put to death. among these was don carlos montufar, who, being sentenced as a traitor, was shot through the back, his heart taken out and burnt. some of the indians who had been the ringleaders in the death of the count ruis were hanged, and their heads placed in iron cages in different parts of the city, where they remained until taken down by order of general sucre. from the year quito continued to be governed by the spanish authorities, till may, , when general sucre entered by force of arms, and at that time it became a part of the republic of colombia. chapter iii. state of lima in ....constitution proclaimed....some effects of....wishes of the inhabitants of lima....manifest of venezuela. on my arrival in lima i found the same spirit of revolutionary principles disseminated among all ranks of creoles, excepting some few individuals who possessed lucrative employments under the government. the viceroy abascal endeavoured to check the spirit of rebellion by the mildest measures possible, avoiding all acts of persecution; he established a regiment, called _de la concordia_, of concord, from the respectable inhabitants of the city, constituted himself the colonel of it, and nominated the officers from among the more leading individuals, whether spaniards or creoles: this for a short time lulled the spirit of insurrection. the victory of guaqui, gained by general goyoneche over the army of buenos ayres, was welcomed with feasts and rejoicings; but the scarcity of wheat, the ports of chile being closed, began to be very apparent. in the constitutional government was proclaimed, and copies of the constitution of the spanish monarchy were the only books that were read, consulted, and studied by all classes. the formation of a constitutional corporation, cabildo, and the election of constitutional alcaldes, caused some uproar in the city; but the measures became alarming to the spaniards when the election of deputies for the cortes took place. the spaniards, accustomed to consider the natives as inferiors, and almost as intruders in their own country, had now to brook their contempt in return, to bear with their opposition, and sometimes with their reproaches. the poll was conducted in the patio, or principal cloister of the convent of la merced; several collegians of san carlos placed themselves on the hustings, and, according to the _ley de partido_, no native of spain is permitted to reside in the colonies without a special license of the casa de contratacion of seville, or in the employ of the government, and the latter were declared by the constitution, tit. , cap. iv. art. , to have no vote. thus as no spaniards in lima could produce a license, or passport, they were not allowed to vote; and this excited in them the most frantic rage and chagrin. one spaniard presented himself with his passport, and insultingly advanced towards the hustings to vote; but one of the collegians, looking over the paper, found that the voter was a native of the canary islands, which being african islands, and all africans, or descendants of africans, being declared by art. , tit. , cap. iv. of the constitution, as not having an elective vote, unless they had obtained a letter of denizenship from the cortes, he was obliged to retire amid the shouts of the creoles, and the curses against the cortes of the spaniards. nothing could possibly be more favourable to the colonies than the publication of a constitutional form of government, and the liberty of the press, as it was sanctioned by the cortes. the restrictions were such as would have produced a clamour in england, but to a slave an hour of rest is an hour of perfect freedom, and to men whose pens had been chained by political trammels and inquisitorial anathemas, a relief from such restrictions was hailed as an absolute immunity. those colonies that still remained faithful to the mother country had an opportunity of reading the periodical papers, a thing unknown at this time, unless we except the government gazette; and although such news as was unfavourable to the spanish system did not appear in print, yet the barefaced falsehoods of the old ministerial paper were checked in their exaggerations, by the appearance of authentic intelligence in the new papers, and the public were informed of such facts as had taken place: they were apprised of the establishment of republican governments in mexico, colombia, buenos ayres, and chile--facts that would have been disguised by the old established authorities, and the people would have been stigmatized by the name of banditti, of discontented indians, a gang of traitors, or a horde of highwaymen and freebooters. the inhabitants of lima wished for a change in their form of government as ardently perhaps as those of any other part of america; and for not having established one, they have been considered by many as a race of effeminate listless cowards, and have been reported as such--but most undeservedly. although in a cause adverse to their own interest, for many years they sustained the brunt of the war against all the forces that could be brought to the field by those whom they were taught to consider as enemies. soldiers are instructed by the precepts and the examples of their commanders, and rarely reflect on what is right or wrong; otherwise history would not present us with such numberless instances of armed forces acting in open hostility against their very homes, their friends, and their parents; wherever a city is garrisoned by a military force, the inhabitants as well as the soldiers must submit to the will of the commanders. such was the state of lima: many of the soldiers it is true were limeños, but many were from different parts of peru, and nearly the whole of the officers were spaniards, and those who were not were under the suspicious eye of jealous masters. at first, the several provinces that revolted, and which had established new governments, most solemnly declared, that it was not their intention to separate from the crown of spain, but to govern themselves in such a manner as would secure to that crown the possession of america. the regency of spain, however, invested with the authority to govern the peninsula, insisted on the prerogative of governing the american colonies, forgetting that the famous grant of america made by pope alexander vi. annexed america to the crowns of castile and arragon, and not to the nation nor to any representative body belonging to that nation. every individual that was apprehended during the first years of commotion was treated as a traitor. at quito the words "constituted authorities" contained in the oath which was administered were converted into high treason, and there is no doubt but arrechaga would have solicited the sentence of capital punishment on all those who had taken it, had not their number included many of his friends. declarations of independence, and manifestos containing the motives for at once separating from the mother country, now began to circulate among the natives of peru; and although some of them contained exaggerations, and the government of lima became possessed of copies of them, yet such was the apathy or the timidity of the chiefs, that no attempt at refutation was ever made. the following are translations of papers from venezuela, which fully express all the grievances of which the hispano-americans complained. they were drawn up for the purpose of instilling into the minds of their countrymen a determination to shake off those grievances, and to convince the world at large that the insurrection of the spanish colonies had become a matter of necessity and not of choice: "manifesto made to the world by the confederation of venezuela in south america, of the reasons on which it founds its absolute independence of spain, and of every other foreign power. done by the general congress of the united states, and ordered to be published. "spanish america, condemned for more than three centuries to exist only for the purpose of increasing the political preponderance of spain, without the least influence in, or participation of her greatness, would, according to the order of events in which she had no other part than that of sufferance, have been the victim and the sacrifice of the disorder, corruption, and conquest, which have disorganized the nation her conqueror, if the instinct of self-preservation had not dictated to the americans, that the moment of action had arrived, and that it was time to reap the fruits of three centuries of patience and forbearance. "if the discovery of the new world was to the human race an occurrence highly interesting, the regeneration of this same world, degraded from that period by oppression and servitude, will not be less so. america, raising herself from the dust, and throwing off her chains without passing through the political gradations of other countries, will in her turn triumph over the world, without deluging it in blood, without enslaving it, without brutifying it. a revolution most useful to mankind will be that of america, when she shall constitute her own authorities and govern herself, opening her arms to receive those people of europe who may be trampled on by policy, wish to fly from the evils of war, or escape the persecution and the fury of party. the inhabitants of one hemisphere will then cross the ocean to the other in search of peace and tranquillity; not with the lust nor perfidy of conquest, like the heroes of the sixteenth century--as friends, not as tyrants: as men willing to obey, not as lords to command--not to destroy, but to save--not as ravenous tigers, but as human beings, who, horror-struck at the account of our past misfortunes, were taught to estimate them by their own--who will not convert their reason into a spirit of blind persecution, nor wish to stain our annals with blood and misery. then shall navigation, geography, astronomy, industry, and trade perfected by the discovery of america, though until now the source of her debasement, be converted into the means of accelerating, consolidating, and making more perfect the happiness of the two worlds. "this is not a flattering dream, but the homage of reason to prudence, whose ineffable wisdom designed that one part of the human race should not groan under the tyranny of another; consequently, the great fiat of what should precede the dissolution of the world could not take place before one part of its inhabitants had enjoyed their inherent rights. every thing has long been preparing for this epoch of felicity and consolation. in europe the shock and the fermentation of opinions, the contempt and the inversion of the laws; the profanation of those bonds which ought to have held states together; the luxury of courts, the cessation of industry, the consequent unproductiveness of lands, the oppression of virtue, and the triumph of vice accelerated the progress of evil in one world, while the increase of population in america, of the wants of foreign countries dependent on her, the development of agriculture in a new and fertile soil, the germ of industry under a beneficent climate, the elements of science under a privileged organization, the means of a rich and prosperous trade, and the strength of a political adolescence, all, all contributed to accelerate the progress of good in the other. "such was the advantageous alternative that enslaved america presented to her mistress, spain, on the other side of the ocean, when oppressed by the weight of every evil, and undermined by every principle destructive to society, america called upon her to ease her of her chains that she might fly to her succour. fortunately prejudice triumphed, the genius of evil and disorder seized on the government, goaded pride usurped the seat of prudence; ambition triumphed over liberality, and substituting deceit and perfidy for generosity and integrity, those very arms were turned against us which we ourselves used when impelled by fidelity and good faith; we taught spain herself the way to resist her enemies, under the banners of a presuming king, unfit to reign, and void of all title except the generous compassion of the people and his own misfortunes. "venezuela was the first in the new world to pledge to spain that generous aid which she considered as a necessary homage; venezuela was the first to pour the consoling balm of friendship and fraternity into her wounds when afflicted; venezuela was the first that knew the disorders which threatened the destruction of spain; she was the first to provide for her own safety, without severing the bonds that linked her to the mother country; the first to feel the effects of her ambitious ingratitude; she was the first on whom war was declared by her brethren; and she is now the first to recover and declare her independence and civil dignity in the new world. in order to justify this measure of necessity and of justice, she considers it an incumbent duty to present to the universe the reasons which have urged her to the same, that her honour and principles may not be doubted, nor endangered when she comes to fill the high rank which providence restores her to. "all those persons who are aware of our determinations know what was our fate previous to the late inversion of things, which alone dissolved our engagements with spain, even granting that these were legal and equitable. it would be superfluous to present again to impartial europe the misfortunes and vexations she has so often had cause to lament, at a time when we were not allowed to do so; neither is it necessary to assert the injustice of our dependence and degradation, when every nation has viewed as an insult to political equity, that spain unpeopled, corrupted, and plunged into a state of sloth and indolence by the measures of a despotic government, should have exclusively usurped from the industry and activity of the rest of the continent, the precious and incalculable resources of a world constituted in the fief and monopoly of a small portion of the other. "the interest of europe cannot oppose the liberty of one quarter of the globe, which now discovers itself to the interest of the other three; yet a mere peninsula is found to oppose the interests of its government to those of its nation, in order to raise the old hemisphere against the new one, since the impossibility of oppressing it alone for any longer period is now visible. in opposition to these endeavours, more fatal to our tranquillity than to our prosperity, we will disclose to the world the causes which operated on our conduct on the fifteenth of july, , and the acts that have wrested from us the resolutions of the nineteenth of april, , and of the fifth of july, . these three epochs will form the first period of the glories of regenerated venezuela, when the impartial pen of history shall record the first lines of the political existence of south america. "our manifests and public papers testified almost all the reasons that influenced our resolutions, as well as our designs, and all the just and decorous means that were employed to realize them; it might be supposed that an exact and impartial comparison of our conduct with that of the late governments of spain would of itself suffice to justify not only our moderation, not only our measures of security, not only our independence, but also even the declaration of an irreconcilable enmity to those who directly or indirectly have contributed to the unnatural system now adopted against us. nothing in truth should we have to do if good faith had been the spring of action, used by the partisans of oppression against liberty; but, as the last analysis of our misfortunes, we cannot extricate ourselves from the condition of slaves without being branded with the disgraceful epithets of ungrateful rebels. let those therefore listen and judge us who have no part in our misfortunes, and who are now desirous of having none in our disputes, in order not to augment the prejudices of our enemies, and let them not lose sight of the solemn act of our just, necessary, and modest emancipation. "caracas was apprised of the scandalous scenes which took place at the escurial and aranjues at a time when she was already convinced of what were her rights, and the state in which they were placed by those extraordinary occurrences; but the habit of obedience on the one hand, the apathy that despotism had produced on the other, and in fine our fidelity and good faith, were at that moment paramount to every other feeling. after the communication of murat, the kingly substitute of joseph bonaparte, had reached the capital of the monarchy, the authorities did not even hesitate respecting the reception of it, the people only thought of being faithful, consistent, and generous, without premeditating on the evils to which this noble and gallant conduct would expose them. without any other view than that of honour, venezuela refused to follow the opinions of the leading characters in madrid, some of whom, in support of the orders of the french regent of the kingdom, exacted of us the oath of allegiance to the new king; others declared and published that spain had received a new existence since her old authorities abandoned her, since the cession made by the bourbons and the entrance of the new dynasty; that they had recovered their absolute independence and liberty, and that they offered the same alluring terms to the americans, who by the same means might procure the same rights. but the first step we took for our own security convinced the junta central that there was something in us besides habits and prejudices, and they began to change their tune respecting liberality and sincerity; they perfidiously adopted the talisman ferdinand at first practised in good faith; they suppressed, but with cunning and suavity, the plain and legal project of caracas in to form a junta, and to imitate the representative system of the governments of spain; and they began to set up a new species of despotism under the factitious name of a king, acknowledged only from a principle of generosity, and destined to oppress and tyrannise us by those who had usurped the sovereignty. "new governors and judges initiated in the new system projected by spain against america, decided in the support of it at our expense, and provided with instructions for even the last political change which might occur in the other hemisphere, were the consequences resulting from the surprize that our unparalleled and unexpected generosity caused to the central junta. ambiguity, artifice, and disorder were the springs employed to keep in motion this short-lived administration: as they saw their empire exposed and tottering, they wished to gain in one day what had enriched their ancestors for many years; and as their authority was backed by that of their parasites, all their endeavours were directed to the support of each other under the shadow of our illusion and good faith. no statute or law against these plans was effective; and every measure that favoured the new system of political freemasonry was to have the force of law, however opposed it might be to the principle of equity and justice. after the declaration of the captain-general emparan made to the _audiencia_, that in caracas there was no other law nor will but his own, and this fully demonstrated in several arbitrary acts and excesses, such as placing on the bench of the judge the king's accuser-general; intercepting and opening the papers sent by don pedro gonsales ortega to the central junta; expulsing from the provinces this same public functionary, as well as the captain, don francisco rodrigues, and the assessor of the consulate, don miguel jose sanz, who were all embarked for cadiz or porto rico, as well as sentencing to labour in the public works without any previous form of trial a considerable number of men, who were dragged from their homes under the epithet of vagrants; revoking and suspending the resolutions of the royal audience, when they were according to his caprice and absolute will, after naming a recorder without the consent of the corporation; creating and causing the assessor to be received without either title or authority for the same, after he had supported his pride and his ignorance in every excess; after many scandalous disputes between the audience and the corporation, and after all the law characters had been reconciled to the plan of these despots, in order that these might be more inexpugnable to us, it was agreed to organize and carry into effect the project of espionage and duplicity. "of all this there remains authentic testimony in our archives, notwithstanding the vigilance with which these were examined by the friends of the late authorities: there exists in cuenca an order of the spanish government to excite discord among the nobles and among the different branches of american families. there are besides many written and well-known documents of corruption, gambling, and libertinism promoted by guevara, for the purpose of demoralizing the country; and no one can ever forget the collusions and subornings publicly used by the judges, and proved in the act of their residencia. "under these auspices the defeats and misfortunes of the spanish armies were concealed. pompous and imaginary triumphs over the french on the peninsula were forged and announced; the streets were ordered to be illuminated, gunpowder was wasted in salutes, the bells announced the rejoicings, and religion was prostituted by the chanting te deums and other public acts, as if to insult providence, and invoke a perpetuity of the evils we groaned under. in order to allow us no time to analyze our own fate, or discover the snares laid for us, conspiracies were invented, parties and factions were forged in the imagination of our oppressors, every one was calumniated who did not consent to be initiated in the mysteries of perfidy; fleets and emissaries from france were figured as being on our seas, and residing among us; our correspondence with the neighbouring colonies was circumscribed and restricted; our trade received new fetters, and the whole was for the purpose of keeping us in a state of continual agitation, that we might not fix our attention on our own situation and interests. "when our forbearance was once alarmed, and our vigilance awakened, we began to lose all confidence in the governments of spain and their agents; through the veil of their intrigues and machinations we perceived the horrid futurity that awaited us; the genius of truth, elevated above the dense atmosphere of oppression and calumny, pointed out to us with the finger of impartiality the true fate of spain, the disorders of her governments, the unavailing energy of her inhabitants, the formidable power of her enemies, and the groundless hopes of her salvation. shut up in our own houses, surrounded by spies, threatened with infamy and banishment, scarcely daring to bewail our own situation, or even secretly to complain against our vigilant and cunning enemies; the consonance of our blinded sighs exhaled in the moments of the most galling oppression, at length gave uniformity to our sentiments and united our opinions. shut up within the walls of our own houses, and debarred from all communication with our fellow-citizens, there was scarcely an individual in caracas who did not think that the moment of being for ever free, or of sanctioning irrevocably a new and horrid slavery, had arrived. "every day discovered more and more the nullity of the acts of bayonne, the invalidity of the rights of ferdinand, and of all the bourbons who were privy to the arrangements; the ignominy with which they delivered up as slaves those who had placed them on the throne in opposition to the house of austria; the connivance of the head functionaries in spain to the plans of the new dynasty; the fate that these same plans prepared for america, and the necessity of forming some resolution that might shield the new world from the calamities which from its relations with the old were about to visit it. all saw their treasures buried in the unfathomable disorders of the peninsula; they wept for the blood of americans spilt in defence of the enemies of america, in order to support the slavery of their own country. notwithstanding the vigilance of the tyrants, all saw the very interior of spain, where they beheld nothing but disorder, corruption, factions, misfortunes, defeats, treacheries, dispersed armies, whole provinces in the hands of the enemy and their disciplined troops, and at the head of all a weak and tumultuary government formed out of such rare elements. "dismay was the general and uniform impression observed in the countenances of the people of venezuela by the agents of oppression sent from spain to support at any hazard the infamous cause of their constituents; a word might cause proscription, or a discourse banishment to the author; and every attempt to do in america what was done in spain, if it did not shed the blood of the americans, it was at least sufficient to occasion the ruin, infamy, and desolation of many families, as may be seen by the act of proscription of several officers and citizens of rank and probity, decreed on the twentieth of march, , by emparan.[ ] such a miscalculation could not fail to produce or multiply the convulsions, to augment the popular reaction, to prepare the combustible, and dispose it in such a manner that the least spark would kindle it, and create a blaze that would consume, and even efface every vestige of so hard and melancholy a condition. spain needy and almost desolate, her fate dependent on the generosity of america, and almost in the act of being blotted out from the list of nations, appeared as if transported back to the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries, she again began to conquer america with arms more destructive than iron or lead; every day gave birth to some new proof of the fate that awaited us, a fate that would place us in the sad alternative of being sold to a foreign power, or obliged to groan for ever under a fresh and irrevocable bondage, whilst we alone were expectant on the happy moment that might bring our opinions into action, and join us in such a manner that we could express them, and support them. "amidst the sighs and imprecations of general despair, the entrance of the french in andalusia, the dissolution of the central junta brought about by the effects of public execration, and the abortive institution of another protean government, under the name of regency, reached our ears. this was announced under ideas more liberal, and on perceiving the efforts of the americans to avail themselves of the opportunity which the vices and nullities of so strange a government presented to them, they endeavoured to strengthen the illusion by brilliant promises, by theories barren of reform, and by announcing to us that our fate was no longer in the hands of viceroys, ministers, or governors; at the same time that all their agents received the strictest orders to watch over our conduct, and even over our opinions, and not to suffer these to exceed the limits traced by the eloquence that gilded the chains forged in the captious and cunning promise of emancipation. "at any other period this would have sufficed to deceive the americans, but the junta of seville, as well as the central junta, had already gone too far in order to remove the bandage from our eyes, and what was then combined, meditated, and polished to subject us again with phrases and hyperboles, only served to redouble our vigilance, to collect our opinions, and to establish a firm and unshaken resolution to perish rather than remain any longer the victims of cabal and perfidy. the eve of that day on which our religion celebrates the most august mystery of the redemption of the human race, was that designated by providence to be the commencement of the political redemption of america. on holy thursday, april nineteenth, , the colossus of despotism was thrown down in venezuela, the empire of law proclaimed, and the tyrants expelled with all the suavity, moderation, and tranquillity that they themselves have confessed, so much so in fact, as to have filled with admiration of, and friendship for us the rest of the impartial world. "all sensible persons would have supposed that a nation recovering its rights, and freeing itself from its oppressors, would in its blind fury have broken down every barrier that might place it directly or indirectly within the reach of the influence of those very governments that had hitherto caused its misfortunes, and its oppression. venezuela, faithful to her promises, did no more than ensure her own security in order to comply with them, and if with one strong and generous hand she deposed the authors of her misery and her slavery, with the other she placed the name of ferdinand vii. at the head of her new government, swore to maintain his rights, promised to acknowledge the unity and integrity of the spanish nation, opened her arms to her european brethren, offered them an asylum in their misfortunes and calamities, equally hated the enemies of the spanish name, solicited the generous alliance of england, and prepared to take her share of the success or misfortunes of the nation from whom she could and ought to be separated. "but it was not this that the regency exacted of us, when it declared us free in its theories, it subjected us in practice to a small and insignificant representation, believing that those to whom it considered nothing was due, would be content to receive whatever was granted to them by their masters. under so liberal a calculation the regency was desirous of keeping up the illusion, to pay us with words, promises, and inscriptions for our long slavery, and for the blood and treasure we had expended in spain. we were fully aware how little we had to expect from the policy and intrusive agents of ferdinand, we were not ignorant that if we were not to be dependent on viceroys, ministers, and governors, with greater reason we could not be subject to a king, a captive and without the rights of authority; nor to a government null and illegitimate, nor to a nation incapable of holding sway over another, nor to a peninsular corner of europe, almost wholly occupied by a foreign force. nevertheless, desirous of effecting our own freedom by the means of generosity, moderation, and civic virtues, we acknowledged the imaginary rights of the son of maria louisa, we respected the misfortunes of the nation, and officially announced to the regency that we disowned, that we promised not to separate from spain so long as she maintained a legal government, established according to the will of the nation, and in which america had that part given to her, required by justice, necessity, and the political importance of her territory. "if three hundred years of former servitude do not suffice to authorize our emancipation, there has been sufficient cause in the conduct of the governments which arrogated to themselves the sovereignty of a conquered nation, which never could have any property in america declared an integral part of the same, whilst they attempted to involve it in conquest. if the governors of spain had been paid by her enemies, they could not have done more against the felicity of the nation, bound in its close union and correspondence with america. with the greatest contempt of our importance, and of the justice of our claims when they could not deny us the appearance of a representation, they subjected it to the despotic influence of their agents, over our municipalities, to whom the election was committed; and whilst spain allowed even for the provinces in possession of the french, the canaries and balearic islands, one representative for each , souls, freely elected by these, in america a , , scarcely sufficed to have the right of one representative, named by the viceroy or captain-general, under the signature of the municipality. "at the same time that we, strong in the right of our own justice and the moderation of our proceedings, hoped that if the reasons we alleged to the regency to convince them of the necessity of our resolution did not triumph, at least that the generous disposition with which we promised not to become the enemy of our oppressed and unfortunate brethren would be successful, dispositions which the new government of caracas was desirous should not be limited to barren promises; and the unprejudiced and impartial world will know, that venezuela has passed the time which intervened between april th, , to july th, , in a bitter and painful alternative of acts of ingratitude, insults, and hostilities on the part of spain; and of generosity, modesty, and forbearance on ours. this period is the most interesting of the history of our revolution, so much so, that its events present a contrast so favourable to our cause, that it cannot have failed to gain over for us the impartial decision of those nations that have no interest in disparaging our efforts. "previous to the result of our political transformation, we received daily new motives sufficiently strong for each to have caused us to do what we have now done, after three centuries of misery and degradation. in every vessel that arrived from spain new agents with fresh instructions came to strengthen those who supported the cause of ambition and perfidy. for the very same ends, those europeans who wished to return to spain, and assist in the war against the french, received a refusal to their request. on the tenth of april, , the schools were ordered to be closed, to the end, that under the pretence of attending solely to the war, both spain and america might be sunk deeper into a state of ignorance. it was also ordained, that rights and rewards should be forgotten, and that we should do nothing but send to spain our money, our men, provisions, productions, submissions, and obedience. "the public press teemed with nothing but triumphs and victories, with donations and acknowledgments wrested from the people, as yet uninformed of our resolution; and under the most severe threats of punishment, a political inquisition with all its horrors was established against those who should read, possess, or receive papers, not only foreign but even spanish that were not issued at the manufactory of the regency. contrary to the very orders of the self-constituted sovereignty, previously issued to deceive us, every bound was over-leaped in the re-election of ultramarine functionaries, whose only merit consisted in swearing to maintain the system contrived by the regency. in the most scandalous and barefaced manner, that order which favoured our trade and encouraged our agriculture was annulled, condemned to the flames, and its authors and promoters proscribed. every kind of aid was expected of us; but we were never informed of its destination, inversion, and expenditure. in contempt of even a shadow of public faith, and without any exception whatever, all epistolary correspondence from these countries was ordered to be opened, an excess unheard of even under the despotism of godoy, and only adopted to make the espionage over america more tyrannical. in fine, the plans laid for the purpose of perpetuating our bondage now began to be practically realized. "in the mean time, venezuela, free, and mistress of herself, thought of nothing less than imitating the detestable conduct of the regency and its agents: content with having secured her fate against the ambition of an intrusive and illegitimate authority, and shielded it against the blackest and most complicated plans, was satisfied with shewing by positive acts her desire for peace, friendship, correspondence, and co-operation with her european brethren. all those of this class who were among us, as such were considered, and two-thirds of the political, civil, and military employments, both of the high and middle classes, remained or were placed in the hands of europeans without any precaution, but with a sincerity and good faith that nearly proved fatal to our own interests. "our treasures were generously opened to our enemies, that they might enjoy every convenience and profusion in their passage from our country: the captains of the packets, carmen, fortuna, and araucana were received into our ports, and assisted with money to enable them to proceed on their voyage, and fulfil their respective commissions, and even the insolence and crimes of the captain of the fortuna were referred to the judgment of the spanish government. notwithstanding the junta of government of caracas made manifest the motives of precaution which obliged them not to expose the public funds which were destined to recover the nation, to the veracity of government they allowed and exhorted the people to be generous, and use their fortunes according to the impulse of their own sensibility, by publishing in the public papers the mournful statement of the regency, in which was portrayed the agonizing state of the nation, with the view to solicit our aid, and the same time that they represented it, through the medium of their public prints, as vigorous, organized, and triumphant; but these were destined to deceive us. the commissioners of the regency sent to quito,[ ] santa fé, and peru were hospitably received, treated as friends, and their pecuniary wants supplied to their own satisfaction. but we lose time in thus analyzing the dark and cunning conduct of our enemies, as all their endeavours have not sufficed to warp the imperious and triumphing impression of ours. "the arrogant mandataries of our country were not, however, the only persons authorized to support the horrid plans of their constituents; the same uniform and universal mission was brought out by all those who inundated america from the sad and ominous reigns of the junta of seville, the central junta, and the regency, and under the system of political freemasonry, founded on the machiavelic pact; they all accorded in mutually substituting, replacing, and assisting each other in the combined plans against the felicity and political existence of the new world. the island of puerto rico was immediately made the haunt of all the agents of the regency; the place of equipment for all the expeditions; the head quarters of all the anti-american forces; the workshop of all the impostors, calumnies, triumphs and threats of the regents; the refuge of all the wicked; the rendezvous of a new gang of bucaniers, in order that there might not be wanting any of the calamities of the sixteenth century in the new conquest of america in the nineteenth. the americans of puerto rico, oppressed by the bayonets, cannons, fetters, and gibbets which surrounded the bashaw melendes and his satellites, had to add to their own misfortunes the painful necessity of contributing to ours. such was the fate of the americans; condemned not only to be galley-slaves, but to be the drivers of each other. "the conduct observed by spain to america is harder and more insulting than that which she appears to exercise towards france. it is well known that part of the dynasty, still resisted by part of the nation, has had decided partizans in many of those who considered themselves the first national dignitaries, for their rank, offices, talents, and knowledge; among these may be counted morla, azanza, ofarrill, urquijo, masarredo, and many others of every class and profession; but still there has not appeared one of those who so much desire the liberty of independence and regeneration of the peninsula, that has raised his voice in favour of the american provinces. these, therefore, adopting the same principles of fidelity and national integrity, have of their own accord been ambitious of preserving themselves independent of such intrusive, illegitimate, weak, and tumultuary governments, as have been all those that have hitherto called themselves the agents of the king, or representatives of the nation. it is vexing to see so much liberality, so much civism, and so much disinterest in the cortes with regard to disorganized, exhausted, and nearly conquered spain, and full of so much meanness, suspicion, prejudice and pride, towards america; tranquil, faithful, generous, decided to assist her brethren, when she alone can give reality, at least in the most essential point, to the theoretical and brilliant plans which make the spanish congress so arrogant. how many treasons, murders, assassinations, perfidies and convulsions have appeared in spain; these have passed by as the inseparable misfortunes of circumstances, yet not one of the provinces that surrendered, or was attached to the french domination, has been treated like venezuela; their conduct must however have been analyzed, and characterised according to reasons, motives, and circumstances that dictated it; this must have been judged in conformity to the rights of war, and the sentiments of the nation must have been pronounced according to the statements laid before it, but not one of them has yet been declared traitorous, in open rebellion, and unnaturalized as was venezuela; for none of them has been created a public commission of diplomatic mutineers, to arm spaniard against spaniard, to fan the flame of civil war, and to burn and annihilate all that cannot be held in the name of ferdinand vii. america alone is condemned to endure the until now unheard of condition of being warred upon, destroyed, or enslaved with the very means of assistance which she destined for the liberty and common felicity of the nation of which she was led to believe for a few moments that she constituted a part. "it appears that the independence of america creates more irritation to spain, than the foreign oppression that threatens her, for against her are in preference employed measures that have not even been adopted against the very provinces that have proclaimed the new king. the incendiary and turbulent talent of a minister of the council of indies could not have a more dignified employment than that of again conquering venezuela with the same arms as those of the alfingers and the welzers, those first tyrants of venezuela, authorized by charles v., and the promoters of civil war amongst her primitive inhabitants, now re-assumed in the name of a king placed on the throne against the pretensions of the family of him who let out these provinces to the german factors. under this name of ferdinand all the sluices of iniquity are opened upon us, and the horrors of conquest are renewed, the remembrance of which we had generously endeavoured to blot out from the memory of our posterity; under this name we are treated with more severity than those who abandoned it before we did; and under this name it is attempted to continue the system of spanish domination in america, which has been looked upon as a political phenomenon even in the times of the reality, energy and vigour of the spanish monarchy. and can there be found any law that obliges us to preserve it, and to suffer in its name the torrent of distresses heaped upon us by those who call themselves the agents of the peninsula? by their means this very name obtained the treasures, the obedience, and acknowledgments of america, and by means of their flagitious conduct afterwards, in the exercise of their powers, the name of ferdinand has lost every consideration amongst us, and consequently we ought to abandon it for ever. _ex qua persona quis lucrum capit, ejus factum præstare tenetur._ "the tyrant of borrigum (primitive name of puerto rico) not content with constituting himself a sovereign, to declare war against us, and with insulting and calumniating us in his flimsy, mean, and self-flattering papers; not satisfied with creating himself the gratuitous gaol-keeper of the emissaries of peace, and confederation sent to him by his comrade migares from the castle of zapáras de maracaibo; because they overturned the plans he had received, and accepted from the regency and the new king of spain, in exchange for the captain-generalship of venezuela, purchased at a cheap rate of the regents; not considering such superior merit sufficiently rewarded with the honour of faithfully serving his king; in the most barefaced manner plundered upwards of a hundred thousand dollars from the public funds belonging to caracas, that had been embarked in the ship ferdinand vii. in order to purchase stores and military clothing in london, where the insurance was effected; and in order that his insult might be the more complete, he alleged that the spanish government might waste and misapply them, that england might appropriate them to herself, disowning our resolution, so that in no place they could, or ought to be more secure than in his hands, negociated by means of his partners in trade, as in fact they were in philadelphia, adding that an account should be given in when puerto rico had conquered venezuela, when the latter should deliver herself up to the regency, or when ferdinand vii. should return to reign in spain. such it appears were the periods that the governor of puerto rico imposed upon himself to render an account of so atrocious and scandalous a depredation; but this is not all that this worthy agent of the regency has done in favour of the designs of his constituents. "notwithstanding so much insult, robbery, and ingratitude, venezuela maintained her resolution, not to vary the principles she had traced out for her conduct; the sublime act of her national representation was proclaimed in the name of ferdinand vii.; under his phantasmagorical authority all the acts of our government and administration were maintained, though they required no other origin than the people who had constituted them. by the laws and regulations of spain a horrible and sanguinary gang of european conspirators were tried, and these laws were mercifully infringed to save their lives, in order that the philanthropic memory of our revolution might not be stained with the blood of our brethren, although they were perfidious. under the name of ferdinand, and through the interposition of the bonds of fraternity and patriotism, endeavours were used to inform and reduce the imperious mandataries of coro and maracaibo, who kept separated from our interests our brethren of the west; under the auspices of reciprocal interests, we triumphed over the oppressive acts of barcelona, and under the same we will conquer guayana, twice snatched from our confederation, as was maracaibo, against the general wishes of its inhabitants. "it would appear as if nothing now remained to be done to secure a reconciliation with spain, or the entire and absolute separation of america, equally as ruinous and calamitous to the one, as it was ungratefully despised by the other party; but venezuela was desirous of draining every means left within her reach, in order that justice and necessity should leave her no other alternative than that of total independence, which ought to have been declared on the fifteenth of july, , or on the nineteenth of april, . after appealing to sensibility and not to vengeance, in the horrid scenes that took place at quito, pose, and la pas; after beholding our own cause supported by the uniformity of opinions in buenos ayres, santa fé, the floridas, mexico, guatemala, and chile; after obtaining an indirect guarantee on the part of england; after having our conduct applauded by impartial individuals in europe; after seeing the same principles triumph from the orinoco to the magdalena, and from cape codero to the andes; we have still to endure fresh insults, before we fly to the extreme of breaking with our brethren for ever. "caracas, without having done more than imitate the conduct of many of the provinces of spain, and practised the rights that the regency declared to appertain to america; without having had in this conduct other designs than those inspired by the necessity of not being involved in an unknown fate, and to relieve the regents from attending to the government of countries as remote as they are extensive, at the same time they protested to attend to nothing but the expulsion of the french from spain; without having rent her unity and political integrity with spain; without having disowned as was possible and proper the lame rights of ferdinand; the regency, far from applauding on the right of convenience, if not of generosity, so just, modest and necessary a resolution, and without even answering or submitting to the judgment of the nation our complaints and our claims: caracas is declared in a state of war, her inhabitants are proclaimed rebels and unnaturalized, every communication with her brethren is cut off, england is deprived of her trade, the excesses of melendes are approved of, and he is authorized to commit whatever the malignity of his heart may suggest to him, however opposed to reason and to justice; all this is proved by the order of the fourth of september, , unparalleled for its enormity even among the despots of constantinople or indostan; and not to deviate in the least from the plots of the conquest, a new _encomendero_ is sent out, under the title of a pacificator, (pacificador) who with more prerogatives than conquerors and settlers themselves, was to fix his residence in puerto rico, and thence to threaten, rob, pirate, promise, deceive, excite civil disturbances, and all in the name of the beloved ferdinand vii. "till then the progress of the system of subversion, anarchy, and depredation, which the regency proposed to itself on hearing of the movements of caracas, had been but slow; now the principal fears of civil war being transferred nearer to us, the subaltern agents acquired more strength, the flames of passion were increased, as well as the efforts of the parties guided by the directions of cortavarria and melendes. hence originated the incendiary energy acquired by the ephemeral sedition of the west; hence the flame of discord, newly formed by myares, rendered vain and arrogant by the imaginary and promised captain-general-ship of venezuela; hence the american blood spilled in spite of ourselves on the plains of coro; hence the robberies and assassinations committed on our coasts by the commissioned pirates of the regency; hence that miserable blockade, intended to reduce and disaffect our settlements on the coast; hence the insults committed on the english flag; hence the falling off of our trade; hence the conspiracies of the valleys of aragua and cumaná; hence the horrid perfidy in guayana; and the insulting transportation of its leading characters to the moorish dungeons of puerto rico--dungeons constructed like those of tunis and algiers; hence the generous and impartial offices of reconciliation sincerely interposed by a representative[ ] of the british government in the antilles, and rejected by the pseudo pacificator; hence, in fine, all the evils, all the atrocities, and all the crimes which are and ever will be attached to the names of cortavarria and melendes in venezuela, and which have impelled her government to exceed what was proposed when it took upon itself the fate of those who honored it with their confidence. "the mission of cortavarria in the nineteenth century, and the state of spain which decreed it, compared with america, against whom it is directed, evinces to what an extent the illusion of ambition blinds those who found all the origin of their authority on the depravity of the people. this act alone sufficed to authorize our conduct. the spirit of charles v., the memory of cortes and pizarro, and the names of montesuma and atahualpa, are involuntarily reproduced in our imagination, when we see the _adelantados_, the _pesquisadores_, and the _encomenderos_, officers peculiar to the first settlement of america, renewed in a country which, having suffered three centuries of sacrifice and debasement, had promised to continue faithful on the only condition of being free, in order that accidents of slavery might not tarnish the merit of fidelity. the scandalous plenitude of power conferred on a man who is authorised by an intrusive and illegitimate government, under the insulting name of pacificator, to tyrannize and plunder, and to crown the vexation, that he might pardon a noble, generous, tranquil, innocent people, who were masters of their own rights, could only be credited in the impotent delirium of a government that tyrannizes over a disorganized nation, stunned by the fury of the tempest that reaches her; but as the evils of this disorder, and the abuses of such an usurpation might be considered as not derived from ferdinand, already acknowledged in venezuela, at the time that he was unable to prevent such accumulated insults, such excesses, and so much violence, committed in his name, we consider it necessary to retrace the origin of these rights, that we may descant on the nullity and invalidity of our generous oath, by which we acknowledged him conditionally; notwithstanding, we have in spite of ourselves to violate the spontaneous silence we had imposed upon ourselves respecting every thing that occurred prior to the affairs at the escurial and aranjues. "the fact, that america does not belong to the territory of spain is self-evident, and it is equally evident that the right which the bourbons justly or unjustly exercised over it, and notwithstanding this was hereditary, yet it could not be disposed of without the consent of the people, and particularly of those of america, who, on the election between the french and austrian dynasties, might have acted in the seventeenth century as they now have done in the nineteenth. the bull of alexander vi., and the titles which the house of austria alleged in the american code had no other origin than the right of power and conquest, partially ceded to the conquerors and to the settlers for their assistance rendered to the crown in extending its dominion in america. without taking into consideration the scanty population of the country, the extermination of the natives, and the emigration which the self-called mother country sustained; it appears that when the fury of conquest had ceased--when the thirst for gold was satisfied--when the continued equilibrium was declared in favour of spain, by the advantageous acquisition of america--the feudal government destroyed and rooted out from the time of the bourbons in spain, and every right extinct that did not originate in the new concessions or commands of the prince, the conquerors and the settlers then became absolved of theirs. as soon as the faultiness and invalidity of the rights which the bourbons have arrogated to themselves are demonstrated, the titles by which the american descendants of the conquerors possessed these countries revive--not to the detriment of the natives and primitive proprietors, but to equalize them in the enjoyment of liberty, property, and independence, which they always held by a right stronger than that of the bourbons or any other person or persons to whom they may have ceded america, without the consent of its natural owners, the americans. "that america does not belong to the territory of spain is a principle of natural, and a law of positive right. no title just or unjust which exists of american slavery can belong to the spaniards of europe, and all the liberality of alexander vi. could only declare the austrian kings promoters of the faith, in order to find out for them a preternatural right by which to make them lords of america. neither the pre-eminence of the parent state, nor the prerogative of the mother country, could at any time constitute the origin of lordship on the part of spain. the first was lost the moment the monarch who was acknowledged by the americans left his country and renounced his rights; and the second never was more than a scandalous abuse of words, as great as that of calling our slavery felicity; that of calling the fiscals protectors of the indians; and that of saying that the sons of americans were divested of every right and civil dignity. by the mere act of even passing from one country to another to settle in it, those who do not leave their homes acquire no property, nor do they expose themselves to the hardships of emigration. those who conquer and obtain possession of a country by means of their labour, industry, cultivation, and connection with the natives thereof, are the individuals who have a right of preference in preserving it, which right they transmit to their posterity born therein; for if the country where one is born possessed the origin of sovereignty, or gave the right of acquisition, the general will of nations, and the fate of the human race, would then be riveted to the soil, as are the trees, mountains, rivers, and lakes. "neither could it ever be considered as a title of property to one part of a nation, the other having gone to another country to settle in it; for by such a right spain would belong to the phoenicians, or their descendants, or to the carthagenians, wherever these may be found; even the whole of the nations of europe would have to change their abodes to make room for and re-establish so singular a territorial right; home would then become as precarious as are the wants and caprices of men. the moral abuse of the maternity of spain, with regard to america is still more insignificant, for it is well known that in the natural order of things, it is the duty of the father to emancipate the son, so soon as his minority expire, and he is able to use his strength and reason in providing for his subsistence; and also that it is the duty of the son to emancipate himself, whenever the cruelty or extravagance of the father or tutor endanger his welfare, or expose his patrimony to become the prey of a miser, or an usurper. under these principles let a comparison be made of the three hundred years of our filiation to spain; and even when it is proved, that she was our mother, it still remains to be proved that we are yet her minors or pupils. "at any period when spain has entertained any doubt of the rights of the bourbons, or of any other dynasty, the only source, and that not a very clear one, of the spanish dominion in america, it would appear that the americans were excluded from alleging any reasons that might destroy such claims, though doubtful from their very origin; but as venezuela may hereafter be reproached for the conditional oath by which the representative body that now declares its absolute independence of any foreign power previously acknowledged ferdinand vii., the same august body feels anxious that no room should be left for scruples of conscience, for the illusions of ignorance, and for the malice of wounded ambition, whereby to discredit, calumniate, and weaken a resolution, taken with such maturity and deliberation as best suited its magnitude and importance. "it is well known, that the promissory oath in question is no more than an accessory bond, which always pre-supposes the validity and legitimacy of the contract ratified by the same. when in the contract there is no defect that may render it null and illegitimate, it is then that we invoke god by an oath, believing that he will not refuse to witness it, and guarantee the fulfilment of our promises, because the obligation to comply with them is founded on an evident maxim of the natural law instituted by the divine author. god can at no time guarantee any contract that is not binding in the natural order of things, nor can it be supposed that he will accept any contract opposed to those very laws which he himself has established for the felicity of the human race. it would be insulting his wisdom to believe that he would listen to our vows when we implore his divine concurrence to a contract that is opposed to our own liberty, the only origin of the right of our actions--such a supposition would inculcate an idea that god had an interest in multiplying our duties by means of such agreements, to the prejudice of our national liberty. even in case the oath could add any new obligation to that of the contract thereby confirmed, the nullity of the one would consequently be inseparable from the nullity of the other; and if he who violates a sworn contract be criminal, and worthy of punishment, it is because he has violated good faith, the only bond of society, without the perjury being more concerned than to increase the crime, and to aggravate the punishment. that national law which binds us to fulfil our promises, and that divine one which forbids us to invoke the name of god in vain, do not in any manner alter the obligation contracted under the simultaneous and inseparable effects of both laws, so that the infraction of the one supposes the infraction of the other. for our good we call on god to witness our promises, and when we believe that he can guarantee them, and avenge their violation, it is only because the contract has nothing in itself that can render it invalid, illicit, unworthy of or contrary to the eternal justice of the supreme arbiter to whom we submit it. it is according to these principles that we are to analyze the conditional oath by which the congress of venezuela has promised to preserve the rights legally held by ferdinand vii., without attributing to it any other which, being contrary to the liberty of the people, would consequently invalidate the contract, and annul the oath. "we have seen that the people of venezuela, impelled by the government of spain, became insensible of the circumstances that rendered the tolerated rights of ferdinand void, in consequence of the transactions of the escurial and aranjues, as well as those of all his house, by the cessions and abdications made at bayonne; and from the demonstration of this truth, follows, as a corollary, the invalidity of an oath, which, besides being conditional, could not subsist beyond the contract to which it was added as an accessory bond. to preserve the right of ferdinand was all that caracas promised on the nineteenth of april, at a time when she was ignorant that he had lost them--_judicio caret juramentum, incantum div. tom. , p. , art. . si vero sit quidem posibile fieri; sed fieri non debeat, vel quid est per se malum, vel quia est boni impeditivum, tunc juramento deest justitia, et ideo non est servandum_. quest, cit. art. . even if ferdinand retained them with regard to spain, it remains to be proved, whether by virtue of the same he was authorized to cede america to another dynasty, without the concurrence of her own consent. the accounts which venezuela, in spite of the oppression and cunning of the intrusive government, was enabled to obtain of the conduct of the bourbons, and the fatal effects that it was likely to entail on america, have constituted a body of irrefragable proofs, evincing that as ferdinand no longer retained any rights, the preservation of which venezuela promised, as well as the oath by which she confirmed this promise, consequently are, and ought to be cancelled--_jurabis in veritate, et in judicio, et in justicia_. from the first part of the position, the nullity of the second becomes a legitimate consequence. "but neither the escurial, aranjues, nor bayonne were the first theatres of the transactions which deprived the bourbons of their rights to america. by the treaty of basil, made july fifteenth, , (by which godoy obtained the title of prince of the peace), and in the court of spain the fundamental laws of the spanish dominion were broken. charles iv., contrary to one of them (recopil. de indias, law . tit. .) ceded the island of santa domingo to france, and disposed of louisiana to the same foreign power, which unequalled and scandalous infractions authorised the americans, against whom they were committed, as well as the whole of the colombian people, to separate from the obedience, and lay aside the oath by which they had bound themselves to the crown of castile, in like manner as they were entitled to protest against the imminent danger which threatened the integrity of the monarchy in both worlds, by the introduction of french troops into spain previous to the transactions at bayonne, invited no doubt by one of the bourbon factions, in order to usurp the national sovereignty in favour of an intruder, a foreigner, or a traitor; but as these events are prior to the period that we have fixed on for our discussion, we will return to those which have authorised our conduct since the year . "every one is aware of the occurrences that took place at the escurial in , but perhaps all are not acquainted with the natural results of those events. it is not our intention to enter here into the discovery of the origin of the discord that existed in the family of charles iv.; let england and france attribute it to themselves, both governments have their accusers and their defenders; neither is it to our purpose to notice the marriage agreed on between ferdinand and the daughter-in-law of napoleon, the peace of tilsit, the conference at erfuhrt, the secret treaty at st. cloud, and the emigration of the house of bragansa to the brasils. what most materially concerns us is, that by the transactions of the escurial, ferdinand vii. was declared a traitor to his father charles iv. a hundred pens and a hundred presses published at the same time in both worlds his perfidy, and the pardon which at his prayer was granted to him by his father; but this pardon, as an attribute of the sovereignty and of paternal authority, only absolved the son from corporal punishment; the king his father had no power to free him from the infamy and inability which the constitutional laws of spain impose on the traitor, not only to prevent him from obtaining the royal dignity, but even the lowest office of civil employment; ferdinand therefore never could be a lawful king of spain, or of the indies. "to this condition the heir of the crown remained reduced till the month of march, , when while the court was at aranjues, the project that was frustrated at the escurial was converted into insurrection, and open mutiny, by the friends of ferdinand. the public exasperation against the ministry of godoy served as a pretext to the faction of ferdinand, and as an indirect plea to convert to the good of the nation what was perhaps allotted to other designs. the fact of using force against his father, instead of supplication and convincing arguments; his having excited the people to mutiny; his having assembled the mob in front of the palace, in order to take it by surprise, to insult the minister, and force the king to abdicate his crown, which, far from giving ferdinand any title to it, tended to increase his crime, to aggravate his treachery, and to complete his inability to ascend the throne, vacated by violence, perfidy, and faction. charles iv., outraged, disobeyed, and threatened, had no other alternative suitable to his decorum, and favourable to his vengeance, than to emigrate to france to implore the protection of bonaparte, in favour his offended royal dignity. under the nullity of the abdication of aranjues, and contrary to the will of the people of spain, all the bourbons assembled at bayonne, preferring their personal resentments to the safety of the nation. the emperor of the french availed himself of this opportunity, and having under his controul, and within his influence the whole family of ferdinand, and several of the first spanish dignitaries, as well as many substitutes for deputies in the cortes, he obliged ferdinand to restore the crown to his father, and then the latter to cede it to him, the emperor, in order that he might afterwards confer it on his brother joseph. "when the emissaries of the new king reached caracas, venezuela was ignorant or knew but partially what had happened. the innocence of ferdinand, compared to the insolence and despotism of the favourite, godoy, directed the conduct of venezuela when the local authorities wavered on the fifteenth of july, ; and being left to choose between the alternative of delivering himself up to a foreign power, or of remaining faithful to a king who appeared to be unfortunate and persecuted--the ignorance of what had occurred--triumphed over the interests of the country, and ferdinand was acknowledged, under the belief, that by this means, the unity of the nation being maintained, she would be saved from the oppression that threatened her, and the king ransomed, of whose virtues, wisdom, and rights we were falsely prepossessed. but less was requisite on the part of those who relied on our good faith to oppress us. ferdinand, disqualified, and unable legally to obtain the crown--previously announced by the leaders of spain as dispossessed of his right of succession--incapable of governing in america, and held in bondage by a foreign power--from that time became by illusion a legitimate but unfortunate prince. as many as had the audacity to call themselves his self-created heirs and representatives became as such, and taking advantage of the innate fidelity of the spaniards of both worlds, and forming themselves into intrusive governments, they appropriated to themselves the sovereignty of the people, under the name of a chimerical king, began to exercise new tyrannies, and, in a word, the commercial junta of cadiz sought to extend her controul over the whole of spanish america. "such have been the antecedents and consequences of an oath, which, dictated by candour and generosity, and conditionally maintained by good faith, is now arrayed against us, in order to perpetuate those evils which the dear-bought experience of three years has proved to be inseparable to so fatal and ruinous an engagement. taught as we are by a series of evils, insults, hardships, and ingratitude, during the interval of from the fifteenth of july, , to the fifth of july, , and such as we have already manifested, it became full time that we should abandon it, as a talisman invented by ignorance, and adopted by a misguided fidelity, as from its first existence it has constantly heaped upon us all the evils that accompany an ambiguous state of suspicion and discord. the rights of ferdinand, and the legitimate representation of them on the part of the intrusive governments of spain on the one side, demonstrations of compassion and gratitude on the other, have been the two favourite springs alternately played on to support our illusion, to decrease our substance, to prolong our degradation, to multiply our evils, and ignominiously to prepare us to receive that passive fate prepared for us by those who have dealt with us so kindly for three centuries. ferdinand vii. is the universal watch-word for tyranny, as well in spain as in america. "no sooner was that vigilant and suspicious fear, produced among us by the contradictory acts and artificious falsehoods of the strange and short-lived governments which have succeeded one another since the junta of seville, made known to these governments, than they recurred to a system of apparent liberality towards us, in order to cover with flowers the very snare we had not perceived while covered by the veil of candour, which was at length rent asunder by mistrust. for this purpose of deceit were accelerated, and tumultuously assembled, the cortes, so wished for by the nation, and opposed by the commercial government of cadiz, but which were at length considered as necessary to restrain the torrent of liberty and justice, which on every side burst the wounds of oppression and iniquity in the new world; it was even still supposed that the habit of obedience, submission, and dependence, would be in us superior to the conviction which at so high a price we had just obtained. "it is most strange by what kind of deception, fatal to spain, it has been believed, that the one part of a nation which crosses the ocean, or is born under the tropics, acquires a habit united to servitude, and incapable of bending to the habits of liberty. the effects of this strong-rooted prejudice, as notorious to the world as they are fatal, were at length converted into the welfare of america. without it spain would perhaps not have lost the rank she held as a nation, and america in obtaining this blessing would have had to pass through the bitter ordeal of a civil war, more ominous to its promoters than to ourselves. "our public papers have already sufficiently demonstrated the defects under which the cortes laboured respecting america, and the measures as illegal as insulting adopted by that body to give us a representation which we could not but object to, even though we were, as the regency had loudly boasted us to be, integral parts of the nation, and had no other complaints to allege against their government than the scandalous usurpation of our rights at a moment when they most required our aid. they have, no doubt, been informed of the reasonings we used with their perfidious envoy, montenegro, at a time that the former missions being frustrated, the great shipments of newspapers filled with triumphs, reforms, heroic acts, and lamentations, being rendered useless; and the inefficacy of blockades, pacificators, squadrons and expeditions, made known; it was thought convenient to dazzle the self-love of the americans, by seating near to the throne of the cortes deputies whom we had never named, and who could not be chosen our substitutes by those who created them such, in the same manner as they did others for the provinces in possession of the french, submitting to, and alleging themselves content under their domination. in case this puerile measure of the prolific genius of spain should not produce a due effect, the envoy (and for this purpose an american, a native of caracas, was selected) was ordered, that in case the energy of the country, now called rebellion, should prevail against fraternity, (the name given to perfidy), he was to add fuel to the flame already kindled in coro and maracaibo, and that discord, again raising her serpent head, might lead the herald of the cortes by the hand under the banner of rebellion through those deceived districts of venezuela that had not been able to-triumph over their oppressing tyrants. "stratagems and artifices were repeatedly forged, in order that duplicity and cunning might prepare the road for the sanguinary armies of the chiefs of coro, maracaibo, and puerto rico; and when the cortes were convinced that the conduct of ferdinand, his bonds of affinity with the emperor of the french, and his influence over all the bourbons already placed under his tutelage, began to weaken the insidious impressions, which fidelity, sustained by illusion, had produced in the americans; preventatives were employed to stop the flame already kindled, and limit it to what was yet necessary for their vast complicated and dark designs. for this purpose was written the eloquent manifest which the cortes on the ninth of january directed against america, worded in a stile worthy of a better object; but under the brilliancy of diction the dark side of the argument, designed to deceive, was discovered. fearing that we should be the first to protest against the whole of these nullities, they began to calculate on what was already known, not to risk what was yet hidden. the misfortunes of ferdinand were the pretexts that had obtained for his pseudo-representatives the treasures, submission, and slavery of america; and ferdinand seduced, deceived, and prostituted to the designs of the emperor of the french, is now the last resource to which they fly to extinguish the flames of liberty which venezuela had kindled in the south continent. we have discovered and published the true spirit of the manifest in question, reduced to the following reasoning, which may be considered as an exact commentary:--'america is threatened with becoming the victim of a foreign power, or of continuing to be our slave; but in order to recover her rights, and to throw off all dependency whatever, she has considered it necessary not violently to break the bonds that held her to this country. ferdinand has been the signal of reunion which the new world had adopted, and we have followed; he is suspected of connivance with the emperor of the french, and if we give ourselves up blindly to him, we afford the americans a pretext for believing us still his representatives; and as these designs already begin to be understood in some parts of america, let us previously manifest our intention not to acknowledge ferdinand, except under certain conditions; these will never be carried into effect, and whilst ferdinand neither in fact nor right is our king, we shall reign over america, the country we so much covet, which although so difficult to preserve in slavery, will not then so easily slip through our fingers.' such are the expressions illustrative of the opinions of spaniards, agitated in the cortes, respecting the allegiance to ferdinand. "the above brilliant appearance of liberality is now the real and visible spring of the complicated machine destined to excite and stir up commotions in america; at the same time that within the walls of the cortes justice towards us is overlooked, our efforts are eluded, our resolutions are contemned, our enemies are supported, the voices of our imaginary representatives are suppressed, the inquisition is renewed against them, when the liberty of the press is proclaimed, and it is controversially discussed whether the regency could or could not declare us free, and one integral part of the nation. when an american, worthy of that name, speaks against the abuses of the regency in puerto rico, endeavours are made to silence his just, energetic, and imperious claims, that distinguish him from the slaves of despotism, and by means of a short, cunning, and insignificant decree, they strive to avoid the conflict of justice against iniquity. melendés, named by the regency king of puerto rico, is by a decree of the cortes left with the equivalent investiture of a governor, names synonymous in america, because it now appeared too monstrous to have two kings in a small island of the spanish antilles. cortavarria only was capable of eluding the effects of a decree dictated merely by a momentary fit of decency. it happened that when the investiture, granted by the regency to melendes was declared iniquitous, arbitrary, and tyrannical, and a revocation was extended to all the countries of america, then situated as was puerto rico, nothing was said of the plenipotentiary cortavarria, authorized by the same regency against venezuela, with powers the most uncommon and scandalous ever registered in the annals of organized despotism. "after this decree of the cortes the effects of discord promoted, sustained, and denied at the fatal observatory of puerto rico were more severely felt; it was after this decree that the fishermen and coasters were inhumanly assassinated in ocumare, by the pirates of cortavarria, after the report of which cumana and barcelona were blockaded, threatened, and summoned. a new and sanguinary conspiracy against venezuela was formed, and organized by a vile emissary, who perfidiously entered the peaceable bosom of his country, in order to destroy it; deceptions were successively practised on the most innocent and laborious classes of the imported colonists of venezuela, principally emigrants from the canary islands, and in spite of our endeavours the chief instigators were led to the block as a sacrifice to justice and to tranquillity. by the suggestions of the pacificator of the cortes, and posterior to their said decree, the political union of our constitution was lacerated in valencia; attempts were made in vain to reduce other cities of the interior; a false summons was sent to carora, by the factious leaders of the west, to the end that venezuela might on the same day be deluged in blood, and sunk in affliction and desolation, and be hostilely assaulted from every point within the reach of the conspirators, who were scattered amongst us by the same government that issued the decree in favour of puerto rico and of all america. the name of ferdinand vii. is the pretext under which the new world is about to be laid waste, if the example of venezuela does not henceforward cause the standard of our unshaken and established liberty to be distinguished from the banners of a seditious and dissembled fidelity. "the bitter duty of vindicating ourselves would carry us still further, if we did not dread splitting on the same rocks as have the governments of spain, by substituting resentment for justice; at the same time that we can charge her with three centuries of acts of injustice, we have opposed three years of lawful, generous, and philanthropic efforts to obtain what it was never in our power to dispose of, although by nature ours. had gall and poison been the chief agents of this our solemn, true, and candid manifest, we should have begun by destroying the rights of ferdinand, in consequence of the illegitimacy of his origin, declared by his mother at bayonne, and published in the french and spanish papers; we should have proved the personal defects of ferdinand, his ineptitude to reign, his weak and degrading conduct in the court at bayonne; his inefficient education, and the futile securities that offered for the realization of the gigantic hopes of the governments of spain; hopes founded in the illusion of america, nor any other support than the political interests of england, much opposed to the rights of the bourbons. the public opinion of spain, and the experience of the revolution of the kingdom, furnish us with sufficient proofs of the conduct of the mother, and the qualifications of the son, without recurring to the manifest of the minister azanza, published after the transactions of bayonne, and the secret memoirs of maria luisa; but decency is the guide of our conduct, to which we are ready to sacrifice even our reason. sufficient has already been alleged to prove the justice, necessity, and utility of our resolution, for the support of which, nothing is wanting but the examples by which we will strive to justify our independence. "it were necessary for the partizans of slavery in the new world either to destroy, or to falsify history, that unchangeable monument of the rights and of the usurpations of the human race, before they could maintain that america was not liable to the same changes that all other nations have experienced. even when the rights of the bourbons had been incontestible and indelible, the oath that we have proved never did exist, the injustice, force, and deceit with which the same was exacted of us would suffice to render it null and void, so soon as it was found to be opposed to our liberty, grievous to our rights, prejudicial to our interests, and fatal to our tranquillity. such is the nature of an oath made to the conquerors and to their heirs, at the same time that the crown holds them in oppression by means of the same additional strength that it obtained by means of the result of their conquest. it was in this manner that spain herself recovered her rights, after she had sworn allegiance to the carthagenians, romans, goths, arabs, and almost to the french; nevertheless she yet disowns the rights of america, no longer to depend on any nation when she is capable of throwing off the yoke, and following the example of spain and of other nations. "it would be superfluous to remind our enemies of what they already knew, and in what they have themselves founded the sacred right of their own liberty and independence; epochs so memorable, that they ought not to have been tarnished with the slavery of the greater part of a country situated on the other side of the ocean. but unfortunately it is not they alone whom it is necessary to convince by palpable examples of the justice and common resemblance that our independence bears to that of all other nations which had lost and again recovered it. the illusions of slavery, kept alive by the candour of the americans, and supported by the most criminal abuse that superstition can form of the established belief and religion, which one would suppose were only dictated for the happiness, liberty, and salvation of the people, namely, by the excommunications denounced against the people of caracas for changing their government, render it necessary to tranquillize the deceived piety of some, to instruct their unwary ignorance, and stimulate their apathy, that had slumbered since the unusual tranquillity of the new order of things: in short, it is time to inculcate, that governments never had nor ever can have any other duration than the utility and happiness of the human race may require; that kings are not of any privileged nature, nor of an order superior to other men; that their authority emanates from the people, directed and supported by the providence of god, who leaves our actions to our own free-will; that his omnipotence does not interfere in favour of any peculiar form of government; and that neither religion nor its ministers can anathematize the efforts of a nation struggling to be free and independent in the political order of things, and resolved to depend only on god and his ministers in a moral and religious sense. "the very people of god, governed by himself, and guided by such miracles, portentous signs and favors as will perhaps never again be repeated, offer a proof of the rights of insurrection on the part of the people sufficiently satisfactory to the orthodox piety of the friends of public order. the subjects of pharaoh, and bound by force to obey him, collect round moses, and under his guidance triumph over their enemies, and recover their independence without being blamed by god or his prophet and legislator, moses, for their conduct, or being subjected by them to the least malediction or anathema. this same people being afterwards subjected by the forces of nebuchadnezzar; first--under the direction of holofernes, judith was sent by god to procure their independence by the death of the babylonian general. under antiochus, epiphanes, mattathias and his sons raised the standard of independence, and god blessed and aided their efforts till he obtained the entire liberty of his people against the oppression of that impious king and his successors. not only against the foreign kings who oppressed them did the israelites resort to the right of insurrection by breaking through the obedience to force; but even against those whom god had given them in their own country and of their own nation do we behold them claim this imprescriptable right wherever their liberty and their advantage required it, or when the sacred character of those facts by which god himself bound them to those he chose as their governors, had been profaned. david obtained the allegiance of the israelites in favour of his dynasty, and his son solomon ratified it in favour of his posterity; but at the death of this king, who had oppressed his subjects by exactions and contributions to support the splendour of his court and the luxury and sumptuousness of his pleasures, then the tribes of judah and benjamin alone acknowledged his son, and the other ten, availing themselves of their rights, recovered their political independence, and in excuse thereof deposited their sovereignty in jereboam, the son of nabath. the momentary and passing hardships of the reign of solomon were sufficient for the israelites to annul their obedience sworn to his line, and to place another on the throne without waiting for an order from the deity, informing them, that their fate no longer depended on the kings of judah, nor on the ministers, chiefs, or priests of solomon. and shall the christian people of venezuela and of all spanish america be still in a worse plight, and after being declared free by the government of spain after three hundred years of captivity, exactions, hardships, and injustice, shall they not be allowed to do what the god of israel, whom they equally adore, formerly permitted to his people without being spurned, and without vengeance being hurled upon their heads? it is his divine hand that guides our conduct, and to his eternal judgments our resolution shall be submitted. "if the independence of the hebrew people was not a sin against the written law, that of a christian people cannot be such against the law of grace. at no time has the apostolical see excommunicated any nation that has risen against the tyranny of those kings or governments which had violated the social compact. the swiss, dutch, french, and north americans proclaimed their independence, overturned their constitution, and varied their forms of government without having incurred any other spiritual censures than those which the church might have fulminated for the infringements on the belief, discipline, or piety, but without their being connected with political measures or alluding to the civil transactions of the people. the swiss were bound by oath to germany, as were also the dutch to spain, the french to louis xvi., and the north americans to george iii.; yet neither they nor the princes that favoured their independence were excommunicated by the pope. the grandfather of ferdinand vii., one of the most pious and catholic kings that ever filled the throne of spain, together with his nephew, louis xvi., protected the independence of north america, without dreading ecclesiastical censures or the anger of heaven; and now that the order and succession of events more justly place it within the reach of south america, those who call themselves the authorized agents of the grandson wish to abuse that same religion so much respected by charles iii., in order to prolong the most atrocious and unparalleled usurpations. just, omnipotent, and most merciful god! till when will fanaticism dispute the empire of that sacred religion which thou sent to the uncorrupted regions of america for thy glory and her felicity. "the events which have accumulated in europe to terminate the bondage of america, beyond doubt entered into the high designs of providence. placed at a transatlantic distance of two thousand leagues, we have done nothing in the three years which have elapsed since we ought to be free and independent, till the period when we resolved to be so, than pass through the bitter trials of stratagems, conspiracies, insults, hostilities, and depredations on the part of that same nation whom we invite to partake of the good of our regeneration, and for whose welfare we wished to open the gates of the new world, heretofore closed to all communication with the old one, now wasted and inflamed by war, hunger, and desolation. three distinct oligarchies have declared war against us, have despised our claims, have excited civil dissensions amongst us, have sown the seeds of discord and mistrust in our great family, have planned three horrible conspiracies against our liberty, have interrupted our trade, have suppressed our agriculture, have traduced our conduct, and have sought to raise against us an european power, by vainly imploring its aid to oppress us. the same flag, the same language, the same religion, the same laws, have till now confounded the party of liberty with that of tyranny: ferdinand vii. as liberator, has been opposed to ferdinand vii. as oppressor; and if we had not resolved to abandon a name at the same time synonymous with crime and virtue, america would in the end be enslaved by the same power that is exercised for the independence of spain. "such has been the nature of the imperious impulse of conviction, tending to open our eyes, and to impel venezuela to separate eternally from a name so ominous and so fatal. placed by it in the irrevocable alternative of being the slave or the enemy of her brethren, she has preferred the purchase of her own freedom at the expense of friendship, without destroying the means of that reconciliation she desired. the most powerful reasons, the most serious meditations, the most profound considerations, long discussions, contested debates, well analyzed combinations, imperious events, imminent dangers, and the public opinion clearly pronounced and firmly sustained, have been the precursors of that solemn declaration made on the fifth of july, by the general congress of venezuela, of the absolute independence of this part of south america; an act sighed for and applauded by the people of the capital, sanctioned by the powers of the confederation, acknowledged by the representatives of the provinces, sworn to and hailed by the chief of the church of venezuela, and to be maintained with the lives, fortunes, and honour of all the citizens. "freemen, companions of our fate! ye who have known how to divest your hearts of fear, or of hope; give from the elevation on which your virtues have placed you an impartial and disinterested look on the portrait that venezuela has just traced out to you. she constitutes you the arbitrators of her differences with spain, and the judges of her new destinies. if you have been affected by our evils, and are interested in our felicity, unite your efforts with ours, that the artifices of ambition may not any longer triumph over liberality and justice. "to you it belongs to convince spain of what an unfortunate rivalship places beyond the reach of america. refrain the giddiness that has seized on her new governments; point out to them the reciprocal advantages of our regeneration; unfold to them the soothing prospect that they are prevented from beholding in america by that monopoly which has hardened their hearts; tell them what threatens them in europe, and point out to them what they may expect in america, tranquil, uncorrupted, and already covered with all the blessings of liberty; nay swear to them in our name, that venezuela awaits her brethren with open arms to share with them her happiness without asking any other sacrifice than that of prejudice, pride, and ambition, which for three centuries have produced the united misery of both countries." "juan antonio rodriguez dominguez, _president_." "francisco isnardy, _secretary_." "_federal palace of caracas, july th, ._" footnotes: [ ] the occurrences at quito also bear testimony to this. [ ] montufar, villavicencio, goyoneche. [ ] admiral sir alexander cochrane. chapter iv. state of lima....expedition to chile, under colonel gainsa....exit of....regiment of talavera arrives from spain....part of sent to huamanga....revolution of cusco and arequipa....death of pumacagua, and the patriot melgar....arrival of flags taken by osoria in chile....viceroy abascal superseded by pesuela....character of the former....beginning of pesuela's administration....arrival of la serna....state of lima to ....battle of chacabuco in chile....extract of a journal....new expedition to chile under osoria....news of battle of maypu....loss of the spanish frigate maria isabel, and part of convoy....arrival of lord cochrane off callao. the preceding manifest from venezuela, shewing the principal grievances of the americans in that particular part of the country, was equally applicable to the colonists in general; but many of the provinces laboured under peculiar disadvantages and oppressions, particularly those situated on the western side of the continent; nor were the creoles the first nor the loudest in their clamours. the spanish merchants felt very severely the decrease of their monopoly, by the non-arrival of vessels from cadiz, as well as by the arrival of several vessels, under hamburgh colours, with british cargoes and masters, under the protection of passports from the constituted sovereignties of spain; the large planters also felt the want of new importations of slaves, and although the creoles suffered equally with the spaniards, yet accustomed to suppress their feelings, they remained silent, while the former were loud in their deprecations. the sugar planters began, under the sanction of the new laws of the constitution and the cortes to manufacture rum, to the detriment of the owners of vineyards at pisco and cañete, many of whom were spaniards. secret meetings were held in every part of the city; those of the spaniards were permitted by the government under the pretence that they were innocent or virtuous, while those of the natives were called seditious and unwarrantable. every opportunity was taken to lull the people with stories of victories obtained against the insurgents in upper peru, and the most tyrannical espionage was set on foot by the government, for the purpose of thwarting any communication of the true state of affairs in america, when the government of peru could only expect support from the native troops. every thing seemed to augur to the government in lima the fate of those of the other capitals of south america; indeed mexico and lima were the only two capitals that preserved their ancient authorities; the other two viceroyalties, buenos ayres and santa fé, and the captain-generalships and presidencies of chile, chuquisaca, quito and caracas, with the greater part of the governments of south america, were under the protection of their own constituted authorities, and declared by the spanish viceroys in open war with the mother country. colonel gainsa was sent with an expedition against the revolted chileans in , and having landed at talcahuano, he marched towards the capital: his successes were the continued boast of the spaniards in lima, who insulted with taunts the creoles respecting their inferiority, forgetting that the army of gainsa was almost exclusively formed of natives; however, in it was found that the career of gainsa was at an end, and that he had come to terms with the insurgents, the principal import of which was, that things should remain as they then were, until the decision of the cortes in spain; for the purpose of obtaining which the chileans should send their deputies. this treaty was guaranteed by captain hillyer, and sent to lima for the ratification of the viceroy, who, expecting troops from spain, deferred its signature. in april, , the regiment of talavera arrived, and abascal followed the example of the count ruis; he declared that gainsa had no powers to capitulate, and prepared another expedition against chile. the arrival of spanish troops made the resident spaniards more imperious and insolent than ever; but they had soon cause to regret having solicited the assistance of an armed force from spain, for all the expenses incurred in the equipment of the expedition at cadiz were ordered to be defrayed by the merchants of lima. the officers and soldiers were also of the worst character, the former having been expelled from different corps in the mother country for crimes which they had there committed, and the latter were taken from the common gaols, places of exile, and the galleys. the insolence of these protectors was not limited to any class of people in lima: they had been informed in spain, that the booty or plunder of the insurgents in america would make them as rich in the nineteenth century as that of the indians had rendered their forefathers in the sixteenth; thus robberies and even murders were committed under the sanction of rich promises; and it was dreaded by the government, that the very force sent to protect them would cause a revolution, or perhaps head one in lima; however an opportunity presented itself to dispose of two hundred of the nine that had arrived. the cacique pucatoro revolted at huamanga, deposed the spanish authorities, and declared himself in favour of the buenos ayres army: this blow so near to lima called for an immediate remedy. two hundred soldiers of talavera were sent to quell the rebel indian, who led them into a narrow ravine, and ascended the mountains on each side, where large piles of stones had been so artfully placed, that by removing one, placed as a key-stone, the whole mass rolled down the sides of the mountains, and not one of the spaniards escaped. the victorious indians then continued throwing and rolling down pieces of rock till they had completely buried their enemies. this patriotic cacique was afterwards taken prisoner by a party of troops sent from cusco, and was hanged and quartered at huamanga. this disgraceful expedition only tended to render the spanish soldiers more insolent; and it became a difficult matter to prevent an open revolt. early in july, , the transports for a new expedition to chile were ready, and, on the thirteenth, colonel maroto and the troops of talavera embarked for talcahuano. lima resumed her tranquillity, with what she considered her safety, and the departure of the protecting force was hailed as that of an insolent and oppressive enemy. but the calm was not of long duration. the news from the north, of the conquests in quito by general montes was accompanied by that of the revolution of cusco in the south, and the possession of arequipa by the cacique pumacagua; this threatened the most fatal consequences to lima; however, general ramires was sent from upper peru with a division of the army, then under the command of general pesuela, and retook cusco and arequipa, where he put the old cacique and upwards of a hundred of his followers to death, among whom was my particular friend, jose maria melgar. friendship and admiration demand of me a short account of this virtuous youth. he was a native of arequipa, and educated for the bar at lima: he had retired to his native city, and was on the eve of marriage with a female whom he loved. pumacagua arrived at arequipa, and took it; melgar was a patriot, he offered his services to the cacique-general, they were accepted, and he was appointed judge advocate to the army. on the capture by ramires, melgar was apprehended, tried, and sentenced to be shot. his parents, his relations, and his friends solicited his pardon, which was promised, on condition that he would publicly recant: to this he objected, and he was led to the place of execution. the assisting priest seated himself on the stool, and melgar knelt to confess his sins, invoke a pardon, and receive absolution; but he suddenly rose from his knees, and, in a state of agitation, said to his confessor, "is it possible that you should here speak to me of things of this world! it was your duty to speak to me of those in the next, which i am on the verge of witnessing: this world must soon cease to exist for me, and i had hoped to have left it in peace; but your request and promises have unsettled my mind, and agitated my soul. i took a part in the cause of my country; i believed it to be my duty, i did it, i considered it just; i embraced it, and i die for having done my duty, and only regret at this moment that i shall not die so calmly as i expected. you, father, who ought to have endeavoured to create tranquillity in my soul in my last moments, have destroyed my peace!"--he then asked the adjutant if he might be allowed to smoke a segar, which being granted, he turned round and said, "will any one for the love of god give me a segar?" a soldier handed him one; he sat down on the stool, and smoked about half the segar, knocked off the ashes, and threw it aside; he then thanked the adjutant and the soldier, and said "thank heaven i am again calm and resigned; now, sir, do your duty." the bandage was ordered to be tied over his eyes, but he begged that this ceremony might be omitted: "i am not afraid to die," said he, and clasping his hands over his eyes, he exclaimed, "this will do!" the fatal signal was then given--the soldiers fired, and the virtuous patriot melgar fell! the executioners muttered, "so may the enemies of spain perish;" but the genii of american liberty sang for joy, and the response was--so may the sons of america evince to posterity, that no sacrifice is too great for a true patriot! the arrival of new troops from spain in , the defeat of the chileans, and the occupation of santiago by general osorio; the victory of vilcapugio in upper peru by pesuela, all seemed to threaten american independence, and the spaniards grew more insolent and haughty. the colours taken by osorio in chile were brought to lima and carried in procession to the church of santo domingo, where they were presented at the altar of the rosary, and there deposited. the new president and captain-general of chile, don casimiro marcó arrived, and proceeded to his presidency. the finances began to be insufficient for the payment of the troops, and those from spain marched from their barracks in la recoleta, and took possession of the citadel, santa catalina, where they declared, that unless the government paid them their arrears, they would pay themselves; assuring the natives at the same time, that no hostilities should be committed against them. the alarm was so great, that the viceroy abascal sent a message to the soldiers, declaring, that their request should be complied with; but he received for answer, that they would not alter their determination until the money due was actually paid to them. the viceroy then went in person, and harangued the troops; but he received only a repetition of the former answer; nor did they desist until their arrears were paid. in the viceroy abascal was superseded by general don joaquin de la pesuela, when he immediately retired to spain. on the arrival of the new viceroy, the city was entertained with the _entrada publica_, public entry, balls, feasts, and bull-fights, with all of which his predecessor abascal, had dispensed on his arrival, not wishing to oppress the city with such unnecessary expenses. it is due to the viceroy abascal to say, that his prudence preserved the capital to the crown of spain; and although no viceroy of peru had ever more accidental duties to attend to, or more critical affairs to manage, yet lima is indebted to him for the foundation of the college of san fernando, instituted for medicine and surgery; the pantheon or general cemetery, and the absolute prohibition of burying within the walls of the city; the rebuilding of the college del principe, for the study of latin; the thorough repair of the city walls; as well as several excellent police establishments; and notwithstanding the public feeling at this time in lima, he was accompanied to callao by all the respectable inhabitants, and his departure was a day of mourning in the city: such are generally the sentiments, even towards an enemy, when moderation has presided at his councils, and justice has guided his actions. pesuela, the hero of huiluma and vilcapugio, on taking cognizance of the treasury, discovered what was too well known to his predecessor--the low state of the funds: many plans were proposed for replenishing them; donations were at first solicited, and afterwards contributions were exacted; but these were incompetent to support the expenses of the government and the army, which, during the first years of warfare, levied large sums of money, as well on friends as on enemies, and derived some support from the different royal treasuries at arequipa, at cusco, charcas, and other cities in upper peru; but, notwithstanding these temporary resources, the means continued to fail, and the exigences continued to increase. the equipment of expeditions to quito, upper peru, and chile; the demand of arrears by the troops that arrived from spain, and the necessary remittances for the support of the royal armies, preyed heavily on the national funds, so much so, that the treasury dreaded a bankruptcy. the pay of all civil officers was reduced one-third, and at last a viceregal decree was issued, augmenting the tithes from ten to fifteen per cent.: this impost caused the greatest consternation throughout the country, and met with strong opposition from the inhabitants; many of the provinces refused to pay, and the governors were unable to exact it for want of an armed force to protect them against the fury of the people. general ramires was left by pesuela in the command of the army of upper peru; but he was soon superseded by general don jose de la serna, who landed at arica, and proceeded direct to head quarters. this general was sent by the king to command the army, and with power to act independently of the viceroy, at a time when any change in the established order of things was likely to be most productive of injury to the spanish cause, and to this may be attributed the inactivity of the army under la serna. the tranquillity experienced in lima till the beginning of induced the spaniards to believe that all was well: chile was quiet, the enemy made no advances in upper peru, quito was under the dominion of spain, morillo victorious in venezuela and santa fé; the mexican insurgent chief, morelos, had ceased to exist; ferdinand was restored to his throne; the constitution was abolished; the inquisition was re-established, and monarchical despotism had resumed its seat; new auxiliary troops were preparing in spain to give the last blow to the patriots in america, and the most sanguine american began to droop for the cause of his country. but a change, unexpected by the spaniards, and unhoped for by the americans, took place in chile on the twelfth of february, , the news of which reached lima on the ninth of march. this was no less than the entire defeat of the spanish army at chacabuco by general o'higgins: the victory has generally been attributed, but most unjustly, to general san martin, who was not even present in the action. the following is an extract from the journal of a spaniard with whom i was acquainted in lima. "february th, don miguel atero, chief of the staff, informed the government of santiago, that the enemy had surprised the guards of the andes, placed about twelve leagues in advance of santa rosa, (twenty-five leagues from the capital) and that of seventy-five men, thirteen only had escaped, bringing with them the news, that the enemy was advancing; at the same time major vila reported to the government, that the advanced guard at the paso de los patos had reconnoitred the enemy, and requested a reinforcement. atero immediately sent a company of talavera infantry, and then retreated with the division of the army stationed at santa rosa, to chacabuco, leaving behind him two pieces of artillery, ammunition, baggage, and warlike stores: the force stationed at santa rosa amounted to about four hundred men. "february th, the captain-general marcó ordered colonel quintanilla to join the army at chacabuco, with the battalion of carabiniers; they arrived on the th, when quintanilla immediately advanced to the convent of curimon to reconnoitre the enemy in villa vieja, and having reported to atero that their number did not exceed six hundred, an attack was immediately ordered, which took place on the morning of the seventh. "the cavalry engaged that of the enemy in a place called de las comas; the crafty enemy retired towards the cordillera, and halted at putendo, where they were joined by an ambuscade of a hundred horse. our infantry did not advance with the cavalry, so that as soon as they were overpowered by the enemy they fled in the greatest disorder towards our infantry for support; on their return, to their great surprise they found that the infantry also was in a disordered retreat, without having taken part in the action, and also that the commander in chief, atero, had fled. colonel quintanilla now took the command, and collected the dispersed soldiers; he placed the infantry in the centre, and flanked it with the cavalry, although harrassed in the rear by the enemy in his retreat. having at length reached villa vieja, a council of war was held by the officers, and it was resolved to continue their march to curimon; on their arrival they learnt that the enemy was about to renew the attack; on hearing which, colonel marqueli, to whom atero had given the command, continued his march to chacabuco. the victorious army took up its quarters in villa vieja: our loss was about thirty carabiniers. there is no doubt that the whole of our loss is to be attributed to atero, who, observing a party of the enemy's cavalry on an eminence to the right, exclaimed, "we are cut off!" when he immediately mounted his horse and fled. at ten o'clock at night the news arrived at santiago, and the greatest confusion began to prevail. "on the morning of february th, the two judges, pereyra and caspi, and the general of brigade, olaguer feliu, fled to valparaiso. "on the th, colonel barañao arrived at santiago with colonel eloriga, and hussars. "on the th, lieutenant-colonel morgado arrived with dragoons; at ten o'clock at night brigadier-general maroto was appointed by marcó to take the chief command: our whole force consisted of cavalry and infantry. "on the th, at six o'clock in the afternoon, an officer arrived at santiago with a verbal communication from general maroto, declaring, that he had suffered a total defeat. this was confirmed on the th by the arrival of maroto and quintanilla; marcó had left the city with about men, and resolved on renewing the attack; but after more private conversation with maroto, he returned to the capital, and summoned a council of war. after a long conference nothing was determined on, and the sub-inspector-general bernedo, the judge advocate lescano, and the commandant of artillery, cacho, fled to valparaiso. from the th at noon to the evening of the th, officers, soldiers and civilians continued to arrive at valparaiso, where they embarked on board several vessels then at anchor in the bay, and fled to lima; but it was not known till our arrival at callao, that the president marcó was left behind at the mercy of bernardo o'higgins, to whom the insurgents owe their victory, and we our disgrace." the most astonishing difference in the behaviour of the spaniards was now observable. the haughty maroto, who, when in lima with his regiment of talavera, despised and insulted every one, now that he had neither an officer nor a soldier left, was humbled, and the bow of a negro or an indian was most courteously answered by this vaunting coward. new insurrections in the provinces of upper peru began to break out; the victories of general bolivar in colombia became known, and although reports from the mother country were flattering, yet the repeated requisitions for money were distressing. notwithstanding this state of affairs, the viceroy pesuela determined on another expedition to chile, the command of which was again given to general osorio. the spanish troops consisted of a battalion of hussars and the regiment of burgos, the best troops that had arrived from europe. their destination was to talcahuano, which place, as it had been fortified by the spaniards, was still held by them, with the auxiliary troops of chile. for the equipment of this expedition, the viceroy took possession of the treasury belonging to the commissariat of the crusades, money, which in the opinion of all the lower classes, could only be appropriated to the support of war against turks, moors and infidels, and the greatest clamour was raised when it was applied to the purpose of waging civil war with christians. this treasure being insufficient, that called of the holy places, _santos lugares_, at jerusalem, was also added to that of the bulls. after many difficulties had been surmounted, the expedition left callao in october, ; and calculating on its success, the spaniards again resumed their arrogance, which in some was carried to such an extreme as to enter into a bond with one another of two thousand dollars never again to employ a creole. a spaniard said to me one evening, that he had six children, but if he thought that they would ever be insurgents, he would go to their beds and smother them. this chivalrous fanaticism had risen to such a height, that a peruvian officer, landasuri, said, in the presence of pesuela, that he hated his father and mother, because he was born in america, and that if he knew in what part of his body the american blood circulated, he would let it out; however pesuela reprimanded him severely for such unnatural expressions. nothing but reports of victories arrived from chile, the bells scarcely ever ceased ringing in lima, and the choristers were hoarse with chanting te deums; the haughtiness of the spaniards became insupportable; they paraded the streets in triumph, and, forming themselves into groups, insulted every creole who chanced to pass them. but their insolence was at its highest pitch in april, , when the news of the victory over san martin and o'higgins at cancha-rayada arrived; they considered osorio more than a human being; his wisdom and valour were the theme of the pulpit, the palace, the coffee-house, and the brothel. the hero osorio was at santiago; he would soon cross the andes, and release his virtuous and brave countrymen from their dungeons at san luis and las bruscas, and with the reinforcements expected from spain, in a convoy under the protection of the spanish frigate maria isabel, he would conquer the buenos ayreans, and return to lima with the heads of san martin, o'higgins, and those of all the other chiefs of the banditties. this ferment of insolence and insults continually increased till the evening of the fourth of may, when about ten o'clock at night a _valancin_, post chaise, drove up to the gates of the viceregal palace, bringing the hero osorio, and the news of his total defeat at maypu. on the morning of the fifth a creole was allowed to pass the streets unmolested, and might even presume to seat himself in a coffee-house at the same table with a spaniard. confusion and dismay were visible in the countenances of the royalists, the great osorio suddenly became an ignorant coward, who had sacrificed his countrymen, and indecently fled to save his own life; even the americans were now courted to join the spaniards in declamations against the late demi-god osorio, and no hope was left but that the arrival of the expedition from spain would retrieve the losses occasioned by the dastardly conduct of this chief. the first news, however, which they obtained of the issue of the boasted expedition was, that the soldiers of la trinidad, one of the transports, had murdered their officers, taken possession of the vessel, and carried her to buenos ayres; this was seconded in november, , with the news, that the maria isabel and part of her convoy had been taken at talcahuano and the island of santa maria by the insurgents of chile; and this blow was aggravated with the abandonment of talcahuano, the strong hold of the spaniards in chile, by general sanches, who took the command after osorio fled. still there was gall in reserve for the humbled spaniards. the chilean squadron, commanded by the right honourable lord cochrane, made its appearance off callao on the twenty-eighth of february, , his lordship's flag waving at the main of the ex-spanish frigate maria isabel, now the chilean flag ship o'higgins. it became impossible for me to remain longer in lima, so i left that city for the barranca, where i arrived on the first of march. chapter v. state of lima on the arrival of the chilean squadron....arrival of at huacho....at supe....chilean naval force, how composed.... capture of the maria isabel by commodore blanco....arrival of lord cochrane....appointed admiral....leaves valparaiso....arrives at callao, huacho, barranca, huambacho....proclamation of cochrane, san martin, and o'higgins....description of huambacho....paita taken....proceed to valparaiso....arrival....description of.... road from valparaiso to santiago. the arrival of the chilean squadron on the coast of peru produced at once a dread that this part of south america would become the theatre of war, and that retaliating fate would inflict on this part of the colonies all the distresses which had been so universally spread among the others: it was feared, that the calamities produced by invasion would now be wreaked on it in return for those that had been experienced in the provinces of upper peru, quito and chile. war was at the very door, and the system of offence had almost rendered that of defence nugatory. it was believed that an army accompanied the squadron; and the patriots of lima busied themselves in surmising which would be the point of debarkation. on wednesday, the third of march, a rumour arrived at the capital, that the land forces would debark at ancon, five leagues to the northward of lima; at midnight the report of rockets was heard in the large street in the suburbs of san lasaro, called malambo; this was supposed by the patriots to be a signal for reunion; and by the royalists, of the landing of the army: upwards of a thousand of the former immediately repaired to malambo, and so completely filled the street, that the cavalry sent by the government could not pass the mob, and they retired to the bridge: both parties were anxiously inquiring the cause of the reports, and both retired without obtaining any satisfactory information: had the squadron landed five hundred more, and marched to the city, there is not the least doubt but that with the assistance of the native inhabitants, they would have entered and taken possession of santa catalina and the different barracks, as the number of spanish troops at that time did not exceed three hundred. on the th of march, part of the squadron anchored in the bay of huacho, for the purpose of obtaining news from the patriots on shore, and also of landing two spies, sent down by the chilean government, as well as for the distribution of proclamations and other papers. lord cochrane here received the intelligence, that a quantity of money, belonging to the phillipine company, had been sent down to huarmey to be embarked in the north american schooner macedonia, and that another considerable sum was on the road to the same destination; and as the port of the barranca was better calculated for the purpose of intercepting the treasure than that of huacho, the o'higgins and the brig galvarino dropped down to it, and a party of marines were sent ashore, and took the money in the river of the barranca before the muleteers could cross it. this was effected without any opposition from the spanish soldiers that were sent to protect it as a guard. mr. eliphalet smith, of the united states, at first claimed the money; but he afterwards signed a document which specified the names of its true owners; this was also corroborated by several documents which mr. smith delivered to his lordship. during the few days that the chilean vessels of war remained at huacho, the indians were at first allowed by the governor to take down to the beach their fruit and vegetables, and sell to them; but the commandant of the county militia having collected about two hundred of his troops, ordered the indians to desist, and in the most insolent manner commanded lord cochrane to depart, unless he wished to be driven out of the port. on receiving this message his lordship immediately ordered the marines to land and march to huaura, which was done, and the town taken: indeed the troops never attempted to defend it, but fled with their chief at their head: the property belonging to the government at the custom house and the _estanco_ of tobacco were taken on board: no private property was touched. after this the trade with the indians was resumed; however, on the departure of the squadron, five young indians were apprehended, tried by a court martial, without their even having been soldiers; and, contrary to the laws of the country, they were sentenced to death and shot, without any other reason being assigned to their protector-general, manco yupanqui, in lima, than that it was necessary to set such an example, because it might deter others from having any communication with the insurgents. such were the feelings of the people in this part of peru, that the inhabitants of the village, called supe, deposed the alcalde, who was a spaniard, and declared themselves independent; but after the departure of the squadron, the principal ringleaders, villanueva and aranda, retired to a farm in the interior, where they bade defiance to the viceroy and his powers. these two, with reyes, a respectable farmer, franco, requena, a priest, and myself, were summoned to a court martial; but having embarked in the flag ship, we could not appear, in consequence of which we were sentenced to death, declared contumacious, and all justices were authorized to apprehend any or all of us, and put the sentence into immediate execution. before i proceed with the operations of the chilean squadron, i shall give some account of its origin, and the arrival of lord cochrane to take the command. the brig pueyrredon of fourteen guns was the first vessel of war that the state possessed: the brig araucana of sixteen, and the sloop chacabuco of twenty-two, were afterwards purchased. captain guise brought out the brig galvarino of eighteen guns, formerly in the british service, and sold it to the government; the san martin of sixty-four guns, and the lantaro of forty-four, were two east indiamen, purchased by the state, and converted into vessels of war. when chile was possessed of this force, the news arrived of the sailing of the expedition from cadiz, under the convoy of the maria isabel, and having obtained possession of the orders given to the captains of the transports from the trinidad that entered buenos ayres, and of their rendezvous in the pacific, don manuel blanco was appointed to command the chilean vessels of war, san martin, flag ship, captain wilkinson, commander; lantaro, captain worster; and the araucana: they had the good luck to take the frigate, maria isabel in the bay of talcahuano on the twenty-eighth of october, , and four of the transports off the bay and at the island of santa maria. on the seventeenth of november the victorious blanco entered valparaiso with his prizes, amid manifestations of joy in this port. the government of chile, to commemorate the action, ordered a badge of honour to be presented to commodore blanco and each of his officers: this was a scutcheon of a pale green colour, having a trident in the centre, with the motto, "this first essay gave to chile the dominion of the pacific"--_este primer ensayo dió a chile el dominio del pacifico_. the naval force of chile having a native as commander in chief, and the captains, officers, and crews composed principally of foreigners, must of course have been conducted in a very irregular manner; and as don manuel blanco had never served in a situation higher than that of an ensign, alferes, in the spanish navy, it could not be expected that he was competent to fill that of a commander in chief, and to conduct with either honour to himself or profit to his country the operations of a body composed of such discordant materials as the squadron of chile then was. it must be recollected, notwithstanding, that he added a page of glory to the annals of south american naval triumphs by the capture of the maria isabel of forty-eight guns, and part of her convoy. for the future success of the chilean navy, the welfare of the state, the progress of independence, and the consummation of south american emancipation, lord cochrane arrived at valparaiso, on the twenty-eighth of november, . the known valour of this chief, his love of rational liberty, and the voluntary sacrifice which he had made by accepting a command in the new world, had reached chile before the hero himself, and his arrival was hailed with every demonstration of jubilee by the natives. before his arrival, however, captain spry, an englishman, and captain worster, a north american, both in the chilean service, had been very loud in declaiming against him; without alleging any other reason, than that it was quite contrary to all republican principles to allow a "nobleman" to retain his title in the service; but the true motive was too visible to escape the most blunted apprehension. commodore blanco had then the command of the squadron, and these gentlemen had assured themselves that they could controul him just as they chose, on account of his indifferent knowledge of his duties as commander in chief, and especially as he had to manage british seamen. this with all possible delicacy had been mentioned to blanco, together with many whispers detrimental to the character of lord cochrane. on the arrival of his lordship, commodore blanco was one of the first to hail him as the preserver of the liberties of his country, and to offer his services under the command of his lordship; and thus the patriotic chilean smothered dissention in the bud, and left its cultivators to feel the rankling of those thorns which they themselves had planted. a few days after the arrival of lord cochrane he received from the government of chile his commission as vice-admiral of chile, admiral and commander in chief of the naval forces of the republic; and on the twenty-second of december he hoisted his flag at the main of the ex-maria isabel, now the o'higgins, which flag chile can exultingly say, was never hauled down until the last spanish flag in the pacific had acknowledged its empire, and either directly or indirectly struck to it. at the close, when the fleet had finished its career of glory, it was lowered by the same individual who hoisted it; it dropped like the sun in the west, while the descendants of the incas blessed it, for the benefits they had received, with songs of heartfelt gratitude. on the sixteenth of january, , lord cochrane left the port of valparaiso on board the o'higgins, captain forster, with the san martin bearing the flag of rear-admiral blanco, captain wilkinson, the lantaro, captain guise, and the galvarino, captain spry; the chacabuco, captain carter, followed, but a mutiny taking place on board, he entered coquimbo, where the principal mutineers were landed, sentenced by a drum head court martial, and shot. lord cochrane chose the first day of the carnival for his first entrance into the bay of callao, suspecting that the whole of the inhabitants would be engaged in the follies of the season--but he was deceived. the viceroy pesuela had chosen that day for one of his visits to callao, and was sailing about the bay in the brig of war pesuela; when the chilean squadron appeared off the headland of san lorenzo, the captain at first mistook the chilean vessels for spanish merchantmen expected from europe; however, fortunately for himself and the party, he immediately came to an anchor under the batteries. the circumstance of the visit of the viceroy had caused the whole of the military force to be under arms, and the whole of the batteries were manned. a thick fog coming on, the san martin, lantaro, and galvarino, lost sight of the flag ship; however, without waiting for them, the admiral stood close in under the forts, and dropped his anchor; a very brisk cannonading immediately commenced, and the dead calm that followed obliged his lordship to remain alone nearly two hours, under the continued cannonading from ashore, besides a brisk fire from the two spanish frigates esmeralda and vengansa, brigs pesuela and maypu, and seven gun-boats. as soon as the breeze sprang up, the o'higgins stood out, having sustained very little damage either in her hull or rigging, and without a single person on board having been killed. the north corner of the real felipe was considerably shattered by the shot from the o'higgins, and thirteen persons were killed on shore. his lordship next entered into a correspondence with the viceroy, concerning the treatment which the prisoners of war (chileans and buenos ayreans) had received, and were actually receiving in the casas matas of callao; the viceroy denied that they had received any ill treatment, asserted that they were considered as prisoners of war, although rebels, and traitors to their king, and concluded by expressing his surprise, that a nobleman of great britain should so far have forgotten his dignity, as to head a gang of traitors against their legitimate sovereign, and his lawfully constituted authorities. to this his lordship replied by saying, that the glory of every englishman was his freedom, and that this had entitled him to choose to command the vessels of war of a free country, in preference to that of a nation of slaves--a command which had been offered to him by the duke de san carlos in the name of his master, ferdinand vii. the following proclamations were distributed along the coasts of peru, and sent also to the viceroy. lord cochrane to the inhabitants of lima, and other towns of peru: compatriots! i flatter myself, that ere long i shall address you more cordially with this epithet. the repeated echoes of liberty in south america have been heard with pleasure in every part of enlightened europe, and more particularly in great britain; i, not being able to resist the desire of joining in the defence of a cause that was interesting to all mankind, the felicity of half the new world to thousands of generations, have determined to take an active part in it. the republic of chile has confided to me the command of her naval forces. to these the dominion of the pacific must be consigned; by their co-operation your chains of oppression must be broken. doubt not but that the day is at hand, on which, with the annihilation of despotism, and the infamous condition of colonists which now degrades you, you will rise to fill the rank of a free nation; that august title to which your population, your riches, your geographical position in the world, and the course of events naturally call you. but it is your duty to co-operate in preparing for this success, to remove obstacles, and to pursue the path to glory: under the assurance that you will receive the most efficacious assistance from the government of chile, and your true friend, cochrane. don jose de san martin, to the soldiers of the army of lima: soldiers of the army of lima!--the object of my march towards the capital of peru is to establish an eternal reconciliation for the happiness of all. nine years of horror have inundated america with blood and tears. you have been oppressed and fatigued with the evils of war, undertaken by the proud agents of spain, to satisfy their own passions, and not for the good of the nation. the opinions and the arms of this part of the world will soon be presented before lima, to put an end to so many misfortunes. you will only prolong the sterile sacrifice, if, blind to the irresistible force of the general will, you attempt to support so rash an enterprize. each of you has belonged to the cause of the people; each of you belongs to the cause of humanity; the duties of a soldier cannot alter those of nature. the soldiers of the patria, as faithful in the path of honour as in that of victory, are terrible only to the enemies of liberty. they set a higher price on the value of a victory, more from the injustice which it prevents, than for the glory they acquire. fly then from the ignominy of perishing with your detestable tyrants. in the ranks of your brother patriots you will find the path to honour, to felicity and peace. a general who has never asserted a falsehood ensures this to you.--head quarters, santiago de chile, th december, . jose de san martin. the supreme director of chile, to the inhabitants of peru: liberty, the daughter of heaven, is about to descend on your fertile regions; under her shade you will occupy among the nations of the globe that high rank which awaits your opulence. the chilean squadron, now in sight on your coasts, is the precursor of the great expedition destined to establish your independence. the moment desired by all generous hearts approaches. the territory of chile, and her adjacent islands are free from the yoke of the oppressor. our naval forces may compete with those of spain, and destroy her commerce; in them you will find a firm support. it will be an inexplicable enigma to posterity, that enlightened lima, far from aiding the progress of columbian liberty, shall endeavour to paralyze the generous efforts of her brothers, and deprive them of the enjoyment of their imprescriptible rights. the time is arrived for you to wash out the stain, and in which to revenge the innumerable insults you have received from the hand of despotism, as the reward of your blindness. fix your eyes on the havoc occasioned by the tyrants in your delightful country; at the sight of them engraved in its depopulation, want of industry, monopoly and oppression; observe the insignificancy under which you have so long groaned; fly to arms, and destroy in your just indignation the standard of that despotism which oppresses you, and you will then soon arrive at the summit of prosperity. believe not that we wish to treat you as a conquered country; such an idea never had existence except in the heads of our enemies--of your common oppressors; we only aspire to see you free and happy. you[ ] shall establish your own government, selecting that which is most analagous to your customs, situation, and inclination; you shall be your own legislators, and of course you will constitute a nation as free and independent as we are. peruvians! why do you hesitate? hasten to break your chains; come and sign on the tombs of tupac amaru and pumacachua, the illustrious martyrs of liberty, the contract that must ensure _your_ independence, and _our_ everlasting friendship. bernardo o'higgins. on the twenty-sixth a spanish merchant ship, called la victoria, laden with cedar planks and horses, from chiloe, was taken by the san martin, and on the twenty-eighth the attack was made on callao, and two of the gun-boats were taken, after which his lordship dropped down to huacho, and ordered rear admiral blanco to continue in the blockade of callao with the san martin and lantaro, and any other vessels that might arrive from chile; but blanco, after remaining a few days, raised the blockade, and sailed to valparaiso, where he was immediately placed under an arrest by the government until the arrival of the admiral, when he was tried by a court martial for a dereliction of duty, but acquitted. lord cochrane proceeded from huacho to barranca, and thence to huarmey and huambacho, where he found a french brig that had received on board part of the money belonging to the phillipine company, and which the captain immediately delivered up. the bay of huambacho, about fifteen miles to the southward of santa, is one of the most convenient on the western shores of america: it is completely land-locked: the anchorage is capital, and the landing is very good: a small river of excellent water enters the bay, and in the valley abundance of fire-wood may be procured. this valley formerly belonged to the ex-jesuits; but on account of the decrease of water in the river at certain periods of the year, there not being sufficient for the ordinary purposes of irrigation, the government has never yet found a purchaser for it. the soil is sandy, with a mixture of vegetable mould; but like the generality of the lands cultivated in peru it is extremely productive when irrigated. this is evinced at the small indian hamlet of huambacho, about two leagues from the sea, and it would doubtlessly be a very fit situation for a cotton plantation, which does not require so much water as the sugar-cane or lucern. the hills that surround the valley are covered with the remains of houses belonging to the indians before the conquest; great numbers of huacas are found here, and probably much treasure is buried in them. lord cochrane, after the o'higgins and galvarino had wooded and watered, proceeded down the coast to paita, where having anchored, he sent a flag of truce on shore, by don andres de los reyes, a peruvian, who embarked at la barranca, stating that the town and inhabitants should receive no injury, and that nothing but the treasures belonging to the government should be taken, as had already happened at huaura. he requested that no resistance should be made, as it would be unavailing, and only subject the town to the destructive effects of war. the answer was, that the town and the lives and property of the inhabitants belonged to the king, and that all should be sacrificed in defence of the spanish flag. the same individual was sent a second time, to request that the military force would not expose the town and its inhabitants; but instead of receiving the message they fired on the flag, and opened their battery on the galvarino. this insult was immediately resented; the marines were landed, and soon drove the spaniards from the battery and the town, which was then pillaged; the artillery was embarked, and the fort blown up. the o'higgins and galvarino went to the port of barranca, and took some cattle, sugar, and rum from the farm of san nicholas, belonging to don manuel garcia, a spaniard. it was the constant practice of lord cochrane to quarter on the common enemy, and nothing was ever taken from a native by force, or without paying for it. hence we proceeded to callao, and thence to valparaiso, where we arrived on the fifteenth of june. valparaiso, situate in latitude ° ´ ´´ s., and longitude ° ´ ´´ west of greenwich, is the principal port in chile. the natives flatter themselves, that this name was given to the port by the first spaniards who visited it, and that it is a syncope of valle del paraiso, valley of paradise; but it is equally possible, that the spaniards, who had received exaggerated accounts of the country, comparing it to paradise, on their first approaching this part of the coast, might have exclaimed, valde paraiso! vain paradise! which designation its appearance at present would better justify. the bay is of a semicircular form, surrounded by very steep hills, which rise abruptly almost from the edge of the water, particularly to the southward and about half of the range to the eastward; the other half forms a kind of recess, and the hills are not so perpendicular. during the winter season they are covered with grass, with some stunted trees and bushes, such as molles, myrtles, espino, and maytenes; but the soil being a red clay, the verdure soon disappears when the summer sun begins to shine on them and the rain ceases to fall. the principal part of the town is built between the cliffs and the sea, forming a row of houses, or rather shops; a few good houses stand also in a narrow street, but they cannot be seen from the bay, because a row of low houses with their backs to the sea prevent the prospect. the greater number of the inhabitants of this part of the town, called the port, to distinguish it from the suburbs, called the almendral, reside in the ravines of san francisco, san augustin and san antonio, where the houses rise one above another, forming a species of amphitheatre; in many of them a person may sit in his parlour, and look over the roof of his neighbour's house; at night the appearance of this part of the town is pleasing, the lights being scattered about the hills in every direction. the almendral, or suburbs, stands in a kind of recess in the hills, on a sandy plain, and most probably was in times past a part of the bay of valparaiso; indeed it is now often inundated by the spring tides. some regularity begins to be adopted here in the formation of streets, and some of the houses are neat. at the bottom of the almendral there is a small rivulet. valparaiso is defended by a fort on the south side of the harbour, one at the residence of the governor, and one on the north side of the bay: a citadel on the hill behind the governor's palace on an extensive scale is and will perhaps remain unfinished. the places of worship are the parish church, the conventuals of san francisco, san augstin, la merced (in the almendral) santo domingo, and the hospital chapel of san juan de dios. some of the principal houses are built of stone, but the greater part are of adoves; all of them are covered with tiles, and those that have an upper story have a balcony in front. since the revolution many english conveniences and luxuries in dress and furniture, as well as improvements in the manners and customs of the inhabitants, have been adopted, and almost any thing _a la inglesa_ meets with approbation. the market of valparaiso is well supplied with meat, poultry, fish, bread, fruit, and vegetables at very moderate prices and of good quality. the climate is agreeable except when the strong winds prevail. in the months of june and july the winds from the northward are at times very heavy; on this account the anchorage is insecure, because the bay is not sheltered in that quarter. from the time of the discovery to the year this port was only visited by vessels from lima, bringing sugar, salt, tobacco, a small quantity of european manufactured goods, and some other articles of minor importance; shipping in return wheat, charqui, dried fruits, and other produce of chile and peru. the population amounted to about five thousand souls; the commerce was in the hands of four or five merchants, spaniards, and the annual duties at the custom-house amounted to about twenty-five thousand dollars. after the victory obtained by the chileans at chacabuco almost two-thirds of the population of valparaiso abandoned their homes, or were forced on board spanish vessels and taken to peru, and the town was nearly depopulated; but since the revolution it has been constantly increasing in size, population, and riches. in it contained about fifteen thousand souls, three thousand of whom were foreigners. from to upwards of two hundred houses were built; at the latter date there were thirty-one established wholesale merchants, besides an incalculable increase of retail dealers: there were also twenty-six inns, coffee-houses, &c. besides the vessels of war belonging to the state, forty-one traders bear the national flag; and the bay, formerly empty more than half the year, contains on an average fifty foreign vessels either of war or commerce during the whole year. the hospital of san juan de dios has been transferred from the centre of the town to the suburbs, and a lancasterian school is established in the old building. a general cemetery for catholics is building by subscription, and upwards of two thousand dollars have been collected for another for the dissenters. as a proof of the increase of trade and speculation, a daily post is established between the port and the capital. dollars. the receipts at the custom-house in , chile being then a spanish colony, were ½ do. in , being a free port ¾ number of vessels that entered and left valparaiso in , all spanish do. that entered and cleared out in that is:--vessels of war of commerce it is quite unnecessary to dwell on the advantages of commerce to any nation; but here the result is peculiarly apparent, not only among the higher and middle classes, but among the lowest: the peasant who at the time of my residence in chile, , if possessed of a dollar, would bore a hole through it, and hang it to his rosary--the same peasant can now jingle his doubloons in his pocket. those who in wore only the coarsest clothing, of their own manufacture, are now dressed in european linens, cottons, and woollens; those who were ashamed to present themselves to a stranger or who dared not even speak to a master, now present themselves with confidence, as if conscious of the importance of their civil liberty; they boast too of christian patriotism, generosity, and valour. the monopolizing spanish merchants who purchased the wheat and other produce before it was ready for market at almost any price, especially if the owner were necessitated, or who lent the farmer money, to be paid in produce at his own price--such merchants have disappeared, and a regular market is substituted, where the natives of every class enjoy an opportunity of speculating and of reaping the advantages of experience. labourers of every class have a choice of work and of masters, and this secures to them a just remuneration for their labour. the higher and middling classes now know their importance as citizens of a free and independent country, in the prosperity of which they are interested, because they are aware, that with it their personal prosperity is connected; they can express and discuss their political opinions, and in short, from the lowest order of colonial vassals they have become the subjects of an elective government and citizens of the world. the road from valparaiso to the capital, santiago, crosses the first range of mountains at the northern extremity of the almendral, and after passing over very uneven ground for about five leagues, a dismal looking plain presents itself; the grass is entirely parched in summer, and in winter the water forms itself into several small lakes or swamps; and scarcely a tree is to be seen in the vicinity. a small number of horned cattle is fed, but the prospect is cold and dreary. after crossing this plain more uneven ground presents itself, but being covered with grass, brushwood, and trees, forming several small ravines, quebradas, with a few cottages straggling in different directions, the country appears beautifully romantic. the plain of casa blanca next presents itself, having the town of the same name nearly in the centre.[ ] the plain is perfectly level, about two leagues broad, and two and a half long; it has the appearance of having been at some remote period a large lake, but as the race of promaucian indians, who inhabited this part of the country before the conquest, has become extinct, all oral traditions have been extinguished with them. the soil is a hard clay, scantily covered with grass, and the only trees are a considerable number of espinos. the town contains about two thousand inhabitants, who are generally employed in the cultivation of the surrounding farms. having slept here i proceeded on the following day to bustamante, passing the cuesta de prado, and the small town and river of curucavé. some parts of the road are remarkably picturesque; in the ravines or valleys the view of the mountain scenery is grand; from the mountains the prospect of the ravines and valleys, as well as the distant view of the snow-topped andes, is magnificent. the myrtle, of three or four varieties, the different species of cactus, the arrayan, the peumos, the boldos, and the beautifully drooping mayten adorn the sides of the ravines, offering a shade and rich pasture, on which a considerable number of horned cattle, horses, and mules, are seen feeding. bustamante is a post house, where travellers often pass a night when on their journey to or from the capital; the accommodations are indifferent, but a few years ago nothing of the kind existed: it must therefore be considered an improvement. after leaving bustamante the road gradually ascends, and at the distance of about a league from the house the cuesta de zapata commences. from the top of this eminence the view of the andes is most enchanting; the snow-covered mountains rise majestically, one range behind another, until their summits are lost in the clouds, or, when the sky is clear, till they are most exactly defined in the azure vault of heaven. when nearly at the foot of the cuesta, the city of santiago, the capital of chile, makes its appearance; it is situated in a large plain, having a small rocky mountain, called santa lucia, almost in the centre of which is a small battery. the excellent road from valparaiso to santiago was made by the order and under the direction of don ambrose higgins, when president of chile. before the formation of this road all goods were carried to and from the capital or the port on the backs of mules, but the greater part is now conveyed in heavy carts, _carretas_, drawn by two or three yokes of oxen. a coach was established in by mr. moss, a north american; it went from valparaiso to santiago, and returned twice a week. the distance is thirty leagues. footnotes: [ ] from the very first proclamation this promise was made to the peruvians; but we shall soon see how it was fulfilled by san martin. [ ] this town was completely destroyed by the earthquake in . chapter vi. santiago....foundation....description of the city....contrast between the society here and at lima....state of chile....manners and customs....revolution....carreras....o'higgins....defeat at rancagua....chileans cross the cordillera....action of chacabuco....of maypu....death of don juan jose, and don luis carrera....murder of colonel rodrigues....formation of a naval force....death of spanish prisoners at san luis....naval expedition under lord cochrane....failure of the attack on callao....attack at pisco....death of lieutenant-colonel charles....capture of vessels at guayaquil....squadron returns to chile. santiago, the capital of chile, was founded on the th february, , by the spanish conqueror pedro de valdivia. its situation is in an extensive valley called de mapocho, bounded on the east by the cordillera, on the west by the hills or mountains de prado and poanque, on the north by the small river of colina, and on the south by the river mapocho, or topocalma, which passes the city on one side, and feeds many _asequias_, small canals for irrigation; it also supplies the city with water. about the year chile was invaded by the prince afterwards the inca sinchiroca, who, more by persuasion than by force, possessed himself of this valley; it was called at that time, promocaces, the place of dancing, or merriment. the peruvian government was not established here on the first arrival of the spaniards, owing perhaps to the opposition made by the promaucians, who resided between the rivers rapel and maule, and whom they never subdued; thus, although garcilaso de la vega inca places the boundary of the territory governed by the incas on the river maule, it is more probable that it was on the rapel, for near the union of the cachapoal with the tinguiririca, taking the name of rapel, there are some ruins of a peruvian fortress, built in the same manner as those of callo and asuay, in the province of quito; these apparently mark the frontier, and especially as none are found more to the southward. santiago is divided into squares or _quadras_, containing in the whole, if we include the suburbs, about a hundred and fifty, which are marked out by the streets; but many are incomplete, wanting houses to finish the boundaries. the principal public buildings are the mint, the palace of the supreme director, and the cathedral, which, like that of conception, is in an unfinished state. the mint is a very handsome edifice, vieing in elegance with any other in south america, and equal to many of considerable note in europe. it was built by don francisco huidobro, at the expense of nearly a million of dollars: he presented it to the king, and in return received the title of marquis of casa real; but this and all other titles are declared extinct by the independent government. the palace of the supreme director is incomplete; the right wing, which should correspond with the left, is entirely wanting. in it are the different offices belonging to the government, and also the public gaol. the unfinished state of the cathedral is likely to continue; for large funds are wanting to finish so extensive a building. the bridge across the mapocho is a handsome structure of brick and stone. the _tajamar_, breakwater, serves to preserve the city from being inundated by the river when the waters increase, either by heavy rains in the cordillera, or the melting of the snows in the summer, at which time this stream, though at other times insignificant, becomes a rapid torrent. here is a public promenade, like the alamedas at lima, having a double row of lombard poplars on each side, forming a shady walk for foot passengers, while the middle one serves for carriages and horses. the tajamar is formed of two walls of brick-work, and the interior is filled with earth; a very agreeable promenade is made on the top, having several flights of steps to ascend it; some seats are also placed in the parapet which fronts the river; the whole being two miles long. the snow-covered andes are about twenty leagues from the city, yet they seem to overhang it, and the view of them from the tajamar is very majestic. santiago is divided into four parishes; san pablo, santa ana, san isidro, and san francisco de borja. it has three franciscan convents, two of the dominicans, one of san augustin, and two of la merced: those belonging to the jesuits were five. here are seven nunneries, two of santa clara, two of carmelites, one of capuchins, one of dominicans, and one of augustinians; a house for recluse women called el beaterio, and a foundling hospital. santiago was made a city by the king of spain in , with the title of very noble and very loyal; its arms are a shield in a white ground, in the centre a lion rampant holding a sword in his paw, and orle eight scallops, or. it was erected into a bishopric by paul iv. in . it was the residence of the president, and captain-general of the kingdom of chile, and counts fifty governors from pedro de valdivia, the first, to don casimiro marcó del pont, the last; also twenty-three bishops, from don rodrigo gonsales marmolijo to the present don manuel rodriguez. here was also a tribunal of royal audience, one of accompts, a consulate, or board of trade, treasury, and commissariate of bulls. the whole of the territory extends from the desert of atacama to the confines of arauco, and was subject to the above-mentioned authorities from the foundation of the government in to the beginning of the fortunate revolution in . the contrast between the society which i had just quitted in the capital of peru and that which i here found in the capital of chile was of the most striking kind. the former, oppressed by proud mandataries, imperious chiefs, and insolent soldiers, had been long labouring under all the distressing effects of espionage, the greatest enemy to the charms of every society: the overbearing haughty spaniards, either with taunts or sneers, harrowing the very souls of the americans, who suspected their oldest friends and even their nearest relations. in this manner they were forced to drain the cup of bitterness to the last dregs, without daring by participation or condolence to render it less unpalatable; except indeed they could find an englishman, and to him they would unbosom their inmost thoughts, believing that every briton feels as much interest in forwarding the liberty of his neighbour, as he does in preserving his own. in lima the tertulias, or chit-chat parties, and even the gaity of the public promenades, had almost disappeared, and _quando se acabará esto?_ when will this end? was the constantly repeated ejaculation. in santiago every scene was reversed; mirth and gaity presided at the _paseos_, confidence and frankness at the daily tertulias; englishmen here had evinced their love of universal liberty, and were highly esteemed; friendship and conviviality seemed to reign triumphant, and the security of the country, being the fruits of the labour of its children, was considered by each separate individual as appertaining to himself; his sentiments on its past efforts, present safety, and future prosperity were delivered with uncontrolled freedom, while the supreme magistrate, the military chief, the soldier, and the peasant hailed each other as countrymen, and only acknowledged a master in their duty, or the law. another prominent feature in chile is the state of her commerce, entirely formed since the revolution; it has rendered her not only independent of spain, but of peru also. formerly the fruits and produce of this fertile region of the new world were entirely indebted to peru for a market; but with the spirit of freedom that of speculation arose, and markets and returns were found in countries, of whose existence ten years ago ( ) even the speculators themselves were ignorant. several of these provinces were conceived to be so situated, that no one attempted to visit them, judging that such a journey would be attended with almost insurmountable difficulties; dangers as great as the majority of the inhabitants of europe supposed were to be encountered by a visit to the coasts of peru. the manners and customs of the inhabitants of santiago are now very different from those of conception in , which was at that time nearly as affluent as the capital; the estrado is almost exploded; the ladies are accustomed to sit on chairs; the low tables are superseded by those of a regular height, those on which the family, who at that period crossed their legs like turks or tailors, sat on a piece of carpet, are now abolished; formerly all ate out of the same dish, but now they sit at table in the same manner as the english, and their meals are served up with regularity and neatness. the discordant jarring of the old half strung guitar has given place to the piano, and the tasteless dance of the country to the tasteful country-dance. in many respects, indeed, the chileans here appear half converted into english, as well in their dress as in their diversions and manners. the following brief statement of the revolution in chile, extracted from official documents, and faithful reports, will i flatter myself be found interesting to all classes--its details, however, must necessarily be confined within short limits. one of the peculiar features in all the south american revolutions was the accomplishment of the principal object, which consisted in deposing the constituted authorities without bloodshed. this was the case at caracas, santa fé de bogotá, quito, buenos ayres and chile; and at a later period at guayaquil, truxillo, tarma, and even at lima; for the spanish forces quitted the city, and the chilean entered without the occurrence of a skirmish either in the capital or its vicinity. the same causes which operated in venezuela and quito, and have been already stated, were felt in chile, and produced similar effects. on the th july, , the president carrasco was deposed by the native inhabitants, under the plea of his incapacity of preserving this part of the spanish dominions for ferdinand, when he should be freed from his captivity, and a junta which was formed of the cabildo took upon itself to govern according to the old system, but with the secret intention of following the course and example of buenos ayres in declaring her independence. in don juan jose carrera, the son of don ignacio carrera of chile (who had been sent to europe, and in the continental war had attained the rank of a lieutenant-colonel and commandant of a regiment of hussars) crossed the atlantic to succour his native country, which he was considered by his friends as the only person capable of saving from the impending ruin which threatened it from the result of the steps taken; and he was in consequence nominated by the junta supreme president of the congress which was convened, besides which he was appointed general in chief of the army about to be formed. the first step which carrera took was to establish a defensive army, which he immediately began to recruit and discipline, choosing his officers from among the most zealous friends of liberty. he constituted himself colonel of the national guards, appointed his elder brother, don jose miguel, colonel of grenadiers, and his younger, don luis, colonel and commandant of artillery. at this time the principal military force of chile was at conception; indeed the whole of the force, excepting two companies, which had always been on duty in the capital, and about fifty stationed as a garrison at valparaiso, was employed on the frontiers of arauco. on hearing of what had taken place in the capital, the troops at conception declared themselves in favour of the cause of liberty. the inhabitants of conception pretended that their city was better calculated to be the seat of government than santiago; and as the troops were principally composed of pencones, natives of the place, they were persuaded to join in the request, which occasioned some difficulties to carrera, and it was feared that this untimely pretension would be the cause of a civil war; but it was finally adjusted that, for a specified time, the troops of conception should remain to the southward of the river maule, and those of santiago to the northward. this gave carrera an opportunity to gain over the troops, which he did by sending emissaries to conception, when a general reconciliation took place, and the whole of the troops were placed under the command of don juan jose carrera. the spanish troops from lima, coquimbo and chiloe, under the command of colonel gainsa, began hostilities in the south of chile; various actions and skirmishes occurred between them and the undisciplined chileans, the result being favourable to the latter. in , don bernardo o'higgins (then a captain of militia) joined carrera, who bestowed on him the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the line, and shortly afterwards raised him to that of brigadier general, for the important services he rendered with the guerilla parties. in , the three carreras, with a considerable number of their officers, were retaken prisoners by the spaniards, and confined at talca. the command of the army devolved on o'higgins, he being the senior officer. he availed himself of this opportunity, assumed the civil power, caused himself to be proclaimed president, and appointed a substitute in the capital to govern during his absence. the carreras being possessed of money bribed the soldiers at talca and made their escape. o'higgins instantly offered a reward for their apprehension. the three carreras immediately set off to santiago, disguised as peasants, and made themselves known to some friends; don luis was apprehended and imprisoned; don juan jose went in his disguise to the artillery barracks, and having entered, discovered himself to the officers and soldiers, who welcomed his arrival, and promised to support him; in consequence of which he marched with the soldiers to the plasa, and liberated his brother luis. the citizens promptly reinstated the carreras, and the news being conveyed to o'higgins, he marched his army towards the capital, leaving the enemy to avail himself of the civil discords of the chileans. carrera proposed to unite their respective forces, proceed against the common enemy, and leave their private quarrels to be decided by the fortune of war, or by the suffrages of the people. to these proposals o'higgins objected, and the two generals prepared for action. carrera chose the plain of maypu, when o'higgins soon began the attack, and was repulsed; the peasantry, under the command of carrera, although victorious, called on their countrymen to desist, not to fly, but to surrender to their first and best chief; this they did, were generously received, and forgiven. o'higgins and his principal officers were made prisoners. they all expected that their offended general would bring them to judgment as traitors; but they were pardoned, restored to their former situations in the army, and o'higgins was reinstated in the command of the van-guard, and received orders to march towards rancagua, where carrera soon afterwards repaired with the remainder of the army. the spaniards profited by the dissentions of the patriot chiefs, recruited and disciplined more troops, and invested the town of rancagua on the first of october, . carrera and his troops defended themselves here forty-eight hours, and when their ammunition was expended and they were obliged to evacuate the place, they cut their way through the ranks of the spanish soldiery sword in hand. general carrera and his two brothers, o'higgins, benevente, the unfortunate rodrigues, and several of the more wealthy citizens, crossed the cordillera, leaving general osorio in possession of the whole of chile. the spanish regime being thus re-established in chile, the different functionaries who had been deposed resumed their offices, and a new tribunal called _de la purification_ was established, through which ordeal all those natives who wished to be considered as loyal subjects to spain had to pass. it was composed of spaniards, principally officers, having the celebrated major san bruno as president. nothing can be imagined more arbitrary than the conduct of this tribunal; its assumed duties were to examine the proceedings of the inhabitants, and, independently of any established laws or set forms, to sentence or acquit. the prisons were filled with the objects of persecution, the places of exile were crowded with the victims of this political inquisition, and chile groaned under the unwise administration of osorio. this tyrannical general and marcó, instead of pursuing conciliatory measures, which would have attached the mal-contents to their party, adopted every kind of persecution, and cultivated distrust; until enmity, which ripened in secret, at the first favourable opportunity produced conspiracies and all the fatal effects of revenge. general carrera pursued his route to buenos ayres, where he embarked for the united states to solicit assistance; while o'higgins, rodrigues, mckenny, and calderon began to recruit and discipline a new army for the re-occupation of chile: the command of the army was given to san martin; it crossed the cordillera, and the battle of chacabuco was fought on the twelfth of february, , the result of which has already been stated. on the arrival of the patriot troops in santiago an elective government was formed, of which general san martin was nominated the supreme director; but he declined the offer, and recommended his friend, general o'higgins, to fill the place. the refusal of san martin to accept the first and highest post of honour in chile was misunderstood at the time; it was construed into a deference to the superior abilities of o'higgins, and to modesty on the part of the hero of chacabuco; whereas some who knew him better were persuaded, that he intended to govern the government, and to make it subservient to his own purposes. besides, a wider field for the ambition of san martin now presented itself. he began to look forward to peru, which afterwards became the theatre of his warlike virtues. the spaniards kept possession of talcahuano, as well as the southern provinces, and received supplies from peru, principally composed of the regiment of burgos, one of the finest bodies of troops ever sent from spain. general osorio again took the command of the army, and marched towards the capital, while the patriots mustered all their forces to oppose him. the spanish force was composed of about five thousand regulars, and it gained several advantages, particularly one at cancharayada, where they surprised the chilean army in the night, and completely dispersed it; and had osorio continued his march, he might have entered the capital without any opposition; but he remained at talca, and allowed the patriots to collect their scattered forces. this they were not slow in performing, for on the fifth of april they presented themselves on the plain of maypu about seven thousand strong, including the militia; indeed very few of them could be called veterans, except in their fidelity to the cause of their country. o'higgins having been severely wounded in his right arm at cancha-rayada, could not take the field, but remained in his palace at santiago. san martin and las heras commanded the patriots, and osorio the royalists on this memorable day, which sealed the fate of chile. the conflict was obstinate and sanguinary during the greater part of the day; in the afternoon fortune appeared to favour the chileans, when lieutenant-colonel o'brian observed, that the regiment of burgos were endeavouring to form themselves into a solid square; he immediately rode up to general san martin; and begged him to charge at the head of the cavalry and prevent the completion of this manoeuvre, stating, that if it were effected nothing could prevent their marching to the capital. san martin, instead of charging at the head of the cavalry, ordered o'brian to charge, which he did, and completely routed the spaniards, and gave the victory to the patriots. osorio on observing the fate of the regiment of burgos fled with a few officers and part of his body-guard. when o'brian returned to the commander in chief and reported to him the news of the victory, he was answered by a bottle of rum being offered to him by the hero of maypu, accompanied with this familiar expression, _toma!_ take hold! of the five thousand men commanded by osorio two thousand fell on the field, and two thousand five hundred were made prisoners, with one hundred and ninety-three officers, who were immediately sent across the cordillera to the punta de san luis and las bruscas; general osorio, with about two hundred followers, escaped from the field of action and fled to conception. this victory over the spaniards gave to the chileans that complete independence for which they had been struggling ever since ; but the glory of the achievement was tarnished by what took place as well at mendosa on the east side of the cordillera as at quillota on the west. on the return of general carrera from the united states, bringing with him several officers and some supplies of arms, for the purpose of equipping an expedition for the liberation of his country, he found, on his arrival at buenos ayres, that his two brothers were on their parole of honour in this city, and were not allowed to return home nor to join the army. this proceeding astounded carrera, but he had scarcely time to inquire into what had taken place, when he was himself arrested and placed on board a gun brig belonging to buenos ayres; at which time his two brothers, fearing the same fate, fled, don luis on the nineteenth of july, , and don jose miguel on the eighth of august: on the seventeenth they were apprehended near mendosa, and thrown into prison, when they were in hopes of having been able to cross the cordillera and again to serve their country. it appears that don jose miguel carrera when at rio janeiro had obtained a copy of the negociation which had been carried on in france by don antonio alvares jonte, the agent of the supreme director of buenos ayres, pueyrredon, for the purpose of establishing a monarchy in this place, and of giving the throne to charles louis prince of lucca, the son of don louis of bourbon, heir apparent to the dukedom of parma, and dona maria louisa of bourbon, daughter to charles iv. of spain, afterwards called the king and queen of etruria. the possession of these documents, and a knowledge of all that had transpired, rendered carrera an unwelcome visitor at buenos ayres, and a suspicious character to pueyrredon, who, to provide for his own safety, determined on the destruction of this individual, but he escaped from the brig and fled to monte video. don jose miguel and don luis were equally dangerous opponents to the vices of san martin, who on hearing of their being arrested sent over his arch-secretary don bernardo monteagudo to bring them to their trial; and as it was necessary to forge some ostensible motive for their execution, as that of having disobeyed the orders of a government to which they had never promised fealty could not be accounted sufficient, don juan jose was accused of having murdered the son of the postmaster of san jose in the year , of which act, however, monteagudo himself says, in his _extracto de la causa seguida contra los carreras_, _p. _, "although from the nature of the circumstances the murder could not be proved by evidence, yet the whole of the procured evidence was such, that the probability of the aggression was in the last degree approaching to a certainty." as this accusation did not include don luis another plan was laid that should inculpate the two brothers. some of the soldiers then on duty at mendosa were directed to propose to the prisoners the means of escaping, to which they acceded, and on the th of february, , pedro antonio olmos informed the governor of mendosa that don juan jose and don luis carrera had formed a plan to escape from prison on the following night, and brought in manuel solis to support the information. this put the machine in motion, and five other soldiers were adduced as evidence against the unfortunate brothers. on the th of march the examinations closed, on the th they were requested to appoint their counsel, and on the th of april the fiscal solicited the sentence of death; on the th the solicitation was approved of, as being according to law, by miguel jose galigniana and bernardo monteagudo, to which was subjoined the following order: "let the sentence be executed--don juan jose and don luis carrera are to be shot this afternoon at five o'clock." (signed) toribio de lusuriaga. the two unhappy brothers heard their sentence at three o'clock in the afternoon, and they were slaughtered at six. they left the dungeon arm in arm, walked to the place of execution, and having embraced each other, sat themselves down on a bench, and ordering the soldiers to fire, they again embraced each other in death. the conduct of general san martin in this affair may perhaps be defended by his friends and partisans; but the prevalent belief is, that on finding a considerable party in chile in favour of the carreras, he was determined on their destruction, and that the order for the execution of don juan jose and don luis was sent by him to lusuriaga the governor. nothing however can be conceived more brutal than what occurred at santiago after the execution of the two brothers. san martin sent to their unhappy father an account of the expenses incurred on their trial and execution, with an order for immediate payment, or that the father should be committed to prison. the venerable old man defrayed the bloody charge, and two days afterwards he expired, the victim of malice and of persecution. i was at santiago at the period, and followed the corpse to the grave. at the same time that this tragedy was performed on the eastern side of the cordillera, another, which for its midnight atrocity exceeds even the fabulous legends of cold-blooded cruelty, was performed by the same manager on the western side: an act that would curdle the milk of sympathy into a clotted mass of hatred. don manuel rodrigues obtained the rank of colonel in the service of his country; he crossed the cordillera after the defeat of the patriots at rancagua, remained with o'higgins, and assisted to discipline the army commanded by san martin; the battle of chacabuco added honour and glory to his name, and the field of maypu crowned him with laurels. his conduct as a soldier and his manners as a gentleman had endeared him to all who knew him; but the record of his virtues was the instrument of his destruction; the jealousy of san martin could not brook a rival in those glories which he considered exclusively his own, and that the popularity of rodrigues might withdraw for one moment the attention of a single individual from contemplating the greatness of the hero of maypu. rodrigues was apprehended, and sent to quillota, where after he had remained a few days, san martin sent a corporal and two soldiers, with an order for rodrigues to be delivered up to them; he was conducted along the road leading to the capital, and not permitted to stop at night at a house which they passed, and where he requested they would allow him to rest. the morning dawned on the everlasting resting place of this gallant chilean--he was murdered at midnight by his ruffian guard, and buried at a short distance from the high road. inquiries were afterwards made by the relatives of rodrigues, but no satisfactory accounts could be obtained at head-quarters; the soldiers who were the only persons capable of giving information were not to be found; this was easily accounted for; general san martin had sent them to the punta de san luis, to be taken care of by his confidant dupuy, who was at this time under training for another scene of bloodshed, more horrible, if possible, than the past. after the expulsion of the spaniards, the supreme director, o'higgins, knowing the importance of a naval force, which might protect the shores of chile and its commercial interests against the spanish vessels of war, applied himself seriously to the acquisition not only of vessels but of officers and crews. the two east-indiamen, the cumberland and the windham, afterwards the san martin and the lautero, were purchased; the chacabuco and the pueyerredon were equipped; the galvarino was purchased, and the maria isabel was taken. but after all this the possession of vessels would have been attended only with expense, had not the good fortune of south america been supported by the devoted services of lord cochrane, to whom the western shores of the new world owe their emancipation, and england the commerce of this quarter of the globe. o'higgins being desirous of lightening the burden of the administration which had been confided to him, nominated five individuals as consulting senators; but he unwarily granted to them such powers as made them independent of his own authority, and consequently rendered himself subservient to their determinations. this caused innumerable delays in the despatch of business, and prevented that secresy which is often indispensably necessary in the affairs of state; indeed these two defects of tardiness and publicity were often visible in chile, for by such delays the enemy was informed of the designs of the government, and prepared to thwart their execution. after the squadron had sailed from valparaiso on the fifteenth of january, , under the command of lord cochrane, the whole attention of the chileans was engrossed with the expectation of decisive victories which were to be obtained over the spaniards in peru; they felt themselves secure under the protection of the fleet, and congratulated each other on having now transferred the theatre of war from their own country to that of their enemy; but a new scene of horror presented itself, sufficient not only to astonish the inhabitants of this part of the new world, but to call down on the head of its author universal execration. the following extract is from the ministerial gazette of santiago of the fifth of march, :-- "on the eighth of february last, between eight and nine o'clock in the morning, my orderly informed me that some of the spanish officers confined here wished to see me. i ordered him to allow them to enter; i was at this time conversing with the surgeon don jose maria gomes and my secretary don jose manuel riveros. colonel morgado, lieutenant-colonel morla, and captain carretero entered; carretero sat himself down on my left hand, and after a few compliments, he drew from his breast a poignard, and struck at me with it, but i fortunately parried the blow. carretero exclaimed at the same time, "these are your last moments, you villain, america is lost, but you shall not escape!" i drew back to defend myself against colonel morgado, who attempted a second blow, at which time general ordoñes, colonel primo, and lieutenant burguillo entered; gomes, the surgeon, immediately left the room, calling for assistance, and my secretary riveros endeavoured to do the same, but was prevented by burguillo. for a considerable time i had to defend myself against the six assassins, who began to desist on hearing the shouts of the people that surrounded the house, and were using every effort to enter it; i requested they would allow me to go out and quiet the populace, to which they consented; but the moment i opened the door leading from the patio to the plasa, the people rushed in, and put the whole of them to death, except colonel morgado, whom i killed, and thus the attack on my person was revenged. "i immediately discovered that a plot had been formed by the whole of the officers confined here, to liberate themselves, and to pass over to the guerilla parties under the command of carrera and alvear; however, the populace and the soldiery took the alarm, and several of the prisoners have paid with their lives the temerity of the plan they had laid. i immediately ordered don bernardo monteagudo to form a summary process, which on the fourth day after receiving the order he informed me was finished, and i agreeing with his opinion, ordered the following individuals to be shot: captains gonsales, sierra and arriola; ensigns riesco, vidaurazaga and caballo; privates, moya and peres. the number of enemies who have ceased to exist is, one general, three colonels, two lieutenant-colonels, nine captains, five lieutenants, seven ensigns, one intendent of the army, one commissary, one sergeant and two privates." this was signed by vicente dupuy, lieutenant-governor of san luis. many other statements of the transaction were circulated by the friends of each party. i received the following from a person entirely independent of both, and who had no motive for furnishing me with an exaggerated account: "on the night of the seventh of february, , when the spanish field officers confined at san luis were playing at cards with don vicente dupuy, this lieutenant-governor happened to lose some money, and immediately seized what was lying before colonel ribero; ribero expostulated, and notwithstanding the entreaties of his friends, at length struck dupuy on the face, whose friends immediately seized some arms, which had been placed in the room, and the spaniards also availed themselves of part of them. the uproar that was formed alarmed the guard, and the spanish prisoners, fearful of the result, laid down their arms and begged dupuy's pardon; it was granted, and he pledged his word and honour, that if they would allow him to go out, he would pacify the tumult made by the guard and populace; the spaniards believed him; he went out; but instead of quieting the disturbance he spread the alarm, and called upon the people to revenge the insults he had received from the godos (goths, the name by which the spaniards were known); dupuy re-entered the house with some soldiers and other armed individuals, and general ordoñes, colonel morgado, with six other officers were immediately butchered by them; colonel primo seeing that he could not escape, took up a pistol and shot himself; every spaniard found in the streets was also massacred at the same time, and many were murdered in their houses; in all fifty spanish officers were massacred, and only two escaped of the whole number, which at that time were at san luis. for this memorable action dupuy was created a colonel-major, and a member of the legion of merit of chile. "dupuy was afterwards tried, by order of the government of buenos ayres, for several acts of assassination and cruelty which he had committed, and he defended himself by producing written orders from san martin for the assassination of raposo and conde, as also for the murder of the unfortunate rodrigues--these orders were very laconic--_pasará por san luis, tiene mi pasaporte, recibale bien, pero que no pase el monte al atro lado de san luis. prontitud, y silencio, asi, conviene para el bien de la patria_: will pass through san luis, he has my passport, receive him politely, but allow him not to pass the wood on the other side of san luis.--promptitude and silence, this is necessary for the good of the country. however, dupuy was exiled to la rioja, whence he escaped, and followed san martin to peru. he also proved, that the order for the execution of the carreras was a verbal one given by san martin before he left mendosa." with respect to general san martin, it may be observed, that as his character and actions have been so grossly mis-stated by other writers, it becomes necessary that some traits which have hitherto been withheld should be published, as well for the purpose of historical truth, as for that of dissipating the cloud which envelopes the conduct of several individuals who have lent their assistance to the cause of american liberty. the presence of monteagudo at mendoza for the execution of the carreras, and of his being employed on a similar mission at san luis, are rather strange coincidences; with the additional circumstance, that he was arrested in the house of an english merchant residing at santiago, and in the supposed character of a prisoner, was sent by the order of san martin to san luis, where he was considered a prisoner until called upon to form the process, and draw up the sentence of death against the spanish officers, which sentence appears to have decreed his own liberation, for he immediately recrossed the cordillera, and remained with his patron. in the spaniards under the command of general sanches evacuated conception and talcahuano, crossed the biobio, and proceeded through the araucanian territory to valdivia. sanches plundered the city of conception of every valuable which he could take with him; the church plate and ornaments, and even many of the iron windows belonging to the houses; he also persuaded the nuns to leave their cloisters and to follow the fortunes of the army: they did, and were abandoned at tucapel, and left among the indians. a native of chile named benavides was left by sanches at the town of arauco, for the purpose of harassing the patriots at conception, and several spaniards of the most licentious characters chose to remain with him. benavides was a native of the province of conception, and served some time in the army of his country, but deserted to the royalists: at the battle of maypu he was taken prisoner, and, among other delinquents, was ordered to be shot, in the dusk of the evening. however, benavides was not killed, although his face was stained with the gunpowder, and having fallen, he made some motion, which the officer observing, cut him across the neck with his sword, and left him for dead; but even after this he recovered sufficient strength to crawl to a small house, where he was received and cured of his wounds. it is said that after his recovery he held a private conference with san martin; i have been perfectly satisfied on this head, and i am certain that no such interview ever took place; indeed san martin is not the man for such actions, nor would it have been prudent for any chief to have risked his existence with a desperado like benavides. this monster fled from santiago, joined general sanches at conception, and was left by him in the command of the small town of arauco, where the most atrocious hostilities commenced that have ever disgraced even the war in america. the attention of the government was employed in fitting out a second naval expedition to the coast of peru, for the latest advices from europe confirmed the former, which stated, that a naval force preparing in cadiz, and composed of the two line of battle ships alexander and san telmo, the frigate prueba, and some smaller vessels, was destined to the pacific. the chilean squadron was by no means competent to cope with such a force; besides which, two frigates, the esmeralda and vengansa, three brigs of war, and some small craft, as well as armed merchantmen at callao, being added to what was expected from spain, the force would have been overwhelming. it was therefore determined, that the squadron should attempt the destruction of the vessels in callao, by burning them. mr. goldsack, who had come to chile, was employed in making congreve's rockets, of which an experiment was made at valparaiso, and which answered the expectations of lord cochrane. every necessary arrangement being completed, the squadron, consisting of the o'higgins, san martin, lautaro, independencia, (which arrived on the rd may, , having been built in the united states for the government of chile) the galvarino, araucano, the victoria, and xeresana, two merchant vessels which were to be converted into fire-ships if necessary, left the port of valparaiso on the twelfth of september, and having first touched at coquimbo, arrived in the bay of callao on the twenty-eighth. lord cochrane announced to the viceroy pesuela his intention of destroying the shipping in the bay, if possible; but he proposed to him terms on which he would desist; namely, that he would diminish the number of his vessels by sending part of them to leeward, and fight the spanish force man to man, and gun to gun, if they would leave their anchorage, and this, said he, might be the means of preserving the property of individuals then in the bay. his excellency, however, declined the challenge, observing, that it was of a nature which had never been before heard of. the preparations for throwing rockets among the shipping immediately commenced, and on the night of the first of october several were thrown, but without effect: the firing from the batteries and shipping began at the moment the first rocket was thrown, which appeared as a signal to the enemy. from our anchorage we could distinguish the heated shot that flew through the air like meteors in miniature; however, little injury was sustained on either side: our loss consisted in lieutenant bayley of the galvarino and one seaman. one of the rafts under the direction of lieutenant-colonel charles was protected by the independencia; the second by two mortars under that of major miller, now ( ) general miller, was protected by the galvarino; and the third under captain hinde was defended by the pueyrredon. by accident captain hinde lost his lighted match rope, and sent on board the brig for another, which the soldier dropped on stepping from the boat to the raft; it fell among the rockets, and an explosion took place, but no serious injury was experienced. in the nights of the second, third, and fourth several more rockets were thrown, without particular success: some damage was done to the enemy's vessels, but on the fourth they were completely unrigged, which was undoubtedly a wise precaution. several of the rockets exploded almost immediately after they were lighted, others at about half their range, others took a contrary direction to that in which they were projected, and it became evident that some mismanagement had occurred in their construction. on examining them, some were found to contain rags, sand, sawdust, manure, and similar materials, mixed with the composition. colonel charles, who had been commissioned to superintend the making of the rockets, was at first incapable of accounting for this insertion, but at length he recollected, that the government of chile, with a view of saving the wages of hired persons, had employed the spanish prisoners to fill the rockets, to which mistaken policy the whole squadron might have fallen a sacrifice; for had the vessels which were expected from spain arrived, the chilean forces would never have been able to cope with the spanish, especially when joined by what was in the bay of callao. on the fifth a large vessel was observed to windward. it proved to be the spanish frigate la prueba, part of the expected squadron: advices which we received from shore informed us, that the alejandro had returned to spain, and the general belief was, that the san telmo had been lost off cape horn, which was afterwards proved to be the case. the fire-ship being ready was sent into the bay under the direction of lieutenant morgel; an unceasing cannonade was kept up both from the batteries and the shipping; the wind died away, and such was the state of the fire-ship, that lieutenant morgel was obliged to abandon her, and she exploded before she came to a position where she could injure the enemy. owing to the news which we received the following day, the admiral determined not to send in the second fire-ship, but to proceed to the northward, to procure fresh provisions and water, as well as to obtain news respecting the spanish frigate. the crew of the san martin being unhealthy, his lordship ordered her, the independencia and araucano to santa, and the lautaro and galvarino to pisco, to procure spirits and wine, the royal stores being full at this place. a military force being stationed at pisco, part of the marines were sent from the o'higgins and independencia, and the whole were placed under the orders of colonel charles. on the th of october we anchored in the harbour of santa, and immediately began to drive the cattle from the farms belonging to the spaniards down to the beach; but whatsoever was received at any time from the natives was always punctually paid for; this so enraged a spaniard, don benito del real, that he headed some of his own slaves and dependents, and came from nepeña to santa, where he surprised one of our sailors, and took him prisoner; he immediately returned, and reported by an express to the viceroy pesuela, that he had secured lord cochrane's brother in disguise. this news made its appearance in the lima gazette, and nothing could exceed the disappointment of the royalists in lima, when they discovered that their noble prisoner was only a common sailor. on the th the lautaro and galvarino arrived from pisco, and as nothing can give a better account of what occurred at this place than the official dispatch of the admiral to the chilean government, the following translation is subjoined: "the absolute want of many indispensable articles in the squadron, as i have already informed you, left me no other alternative than to abandon the object of the expedition, or to take the necessary provisions from the enemy. i adopted the latter, and sent the lautaro and the galvarino to pisco for the purpose of procuring spirits, wine, rice and some other articles. "the result of this expedition has been glorious to the arms of chile in the valour shewn by her officers and soldiers when fighting hand to hand with the enemy, and in the assault on the city of pisco, and the fort to which the forces of the viceroy retired. it is my painful duty notwithstanding to inform you, that the unfortunate lieutenant-colonel charles closed in this action his career in the cause of liberty, to which his soul was devoted, at a moment when it promised to be the most brilliant which the human mind could desire. the courage and judgment of charles were not more visible than the talent and general knowledge which he possessed; such as could only receive an additional lustre from his peculiarly agreeable suavity of refined manners, and from that diffidence in his behaviour, as if he considered that he had not arrived at the portal of wisdom, when all who surrounded him saw that he was one of the inmates of the temple. "would to god that that sword, the companion of his travels over the greater part of the globe, in search of information, in the day of danger, and in the hour of death, be employed by his brother, to whom in his last moments he bequeathed it, with equal zeal in the just and glorious cause, in which my ever to be lamented friend charles has prematurely fallen. "lamenting the loss which the cause of liberty and independence has suffered in the death of charles, as well as all those who knew this able and meritorious officer, i subscribe myself with an anguished heart, your most obedient servant, (signed) cochrane." "to the minister of marine of chile, november seventeenth, ." the spanish force at pisco was composed of six hundred infantry and two hundred cavalry, part veteran and part militia; six pieces of eighteen pound calibre in the fort, and two field pieces, mounted and served in the city. the force under the unfortunate charles consisted of two hundred and eighty marines. after taking the fort they advanced on the city, and took it. colonel charles fell about a hundred yards from the town, and was immediately conveyed on board the lautaro, where he died on the following day. his last expressions were, "i hoped to have lived longer, and to have served chile; however, fate decrees the contrary; but, captain guise, we made the spaniards run!" major miller took the command of the troops, and having arrived at the plasa, he was severely wounded by a musket shot passing through his body, but he recovered, and has continued to serve the cause of liberty in the new world. a considerable quantity of spirits and wine was embarked, but the seamen, owing to the facility of obtaining their favourite beverage on shore, became so unruly, that captain guise was obliged to burn the stores, consisting at that time of about fourteen thousand eighteen gallon jars of spirits and wine. health being in some degree established among the crew of the san martin, she, with the independencia, was ordered to valparaiso, and his lordship with the o'higgins, lautaro, and galvarino, proceeded to the river of guayaquil, in the hopes of falling in with the prueba. on the twenty-seventh we entered the mouth of the river, at eleven p. m., and at five the following morning, to the astonishment of the natives, we were at the anchorage of the puná, where we found two large spanish merchant ships. la aguila and la begoña, almost laden with timber; after some resistance the crews cut their cables, and allowed them to drop down the river, as the ebb tide had begun to run; however the boats from the o'higgins, the only vessel that had arrived, manned them before they received any damage. the spaniards took to their boats, and fled up the river. a slight dissention happened here between lord cochrane and captain guise, who asserted, that the prizes had been plundered by the officers of the flag ship; but on being questioned by his lordship respecting the assertion, he denied having ever made it. a report was afterwards circulated by captain spry, that it was the intention of the admiral not to allow the lautaro and galvarino to share in the prizes, they not having been in sight when the vessels were captured, nor until the boats from the flag ship had taken possession of them; however, captain spry declared to the admiral, "on his honour," that the report was absolutely false. spry being now convinced that no objection would be made to the vessels that were not present at the capture, sharing in the prizes, next circulated a rumour, that lord cochrane had no right to share in the double capacity of admiral and captain; but he also declared, "on his honour," that he had neither made nor even heard such a report. these trifling circumstances would be unworthy of detail, were they not connected with future transactions in the squadron of serious importance, which it will be my painful duty to relate. the spanish frigate la prueba had arrived at the puná on the fifteenth of october; and having placed her artillery on rafts, she went up to the city, where, for want of pilots, it was impossible for us to follow. having watered, and purchased a large stock of plantains and other vegetables, we left guayaquil river on the twenty-first of december. the vessels of war and the prizes received orders to proceed to valparaiso; the o'higgins appeared to have the same destination; but having made the island of juan fernandes, the admiral gave orders to stand towards valdivia instead of valparaiso, saying, that he wished to examine that port, because the viceroy of peru had assured the peruvians, that one of the line of battle ships had entered valdivia, and was there refitting, for the purpose of making an attack on valparaiso. chapter vii. passage from guayaquil river to valdivia....lord cochrane reconnoitres the harbour....capture of the spanish brig potrillo....arrival at talcahuano....preparations for an expedition to valdivia....troops furnished by general freire....o'higgins runs aground....arrival off valdivia....capture of valdivia....attempt on chiloe fails....return of lord cochrane....leaves valdivia for valparaiso....victory by beauchef....arrival of the independencia and araucano....o'higgins repaired....return to valparaiso....conduct of chilean government....lord cochrane resigns the command of the squadron. one peculiarity which accompanied our voyage was, that having the larboard tacks on board at our departure from the mouth of the guayaquil river, they were never started until our arrival off valdivia, the difference of latitude being ° ´. the currents which run from the southward seem to decrease in about ° west longitude, and at ° in ° of south latitude they are scarcely perceptible. here also the wind gradually draws round to the eastward, and in twenty-seven spanish journals which i have examined of voyages made at all seasons of the year, this has been universally observed. on the seventeenth of january, , we made punta galera, the south headland of the bay of valdivia, having the spanish flag hoisted. early on the morning of the eighteenth the admiral entered the port in his gig, and returned on board at day-break, having examined the anchorage, and convinced himself that the spanish ship of war was not there, the only vessel in the harbour being a merchantman. for an excursion of this nature the spirit of enterprize of a cochrane was necessary. when the strength of this gibraltar of south america is considered, the number of batteries, forming an almost uninterrupted chain of defence, crowned with cannon, the shot of which cross the passage in various directions; under such circumstances, the resolution to brave all danger for the advancement of the chilean service reflects the highest possible honour on the admiral; besides, to this brief and perilous survey south america owes the expulsion of her enemies from this strong hold. at half-past six o'clock a boat with an officer, three soldiers, and a pilot, came alongside, having been deceived by the spanish flag which we hoisted; they were detained, and proved an acquisition of considerable importance. immediately afterwards a brig hove in sight, which we chased and captured; she proved to be the spanish brig of war the potrillo; she had been sent from callao with money for the governments of chiloe and valdivia, and was at this time on her passage from the former to the latter place. after the capture i was most agreeably surprised to find, that two of the daughters of my kind friend don nicolas del rio, of arauco, were on board; and that, at the expiration of seventeen years, it was in my power to return part of the kindnesses which i had received from their family, when a forlorn and destitute captive in araucania. on the th we anchored in the bay of talcahuano, and in the course of two hours general freire, the governor of the province and suite came on board to welcome the arrival of lord cochrane. i availed myself of this opportunity and solicited permission for the two miss rios to return to their home, to which the general immediately acceded; although, said he, with the exception of their brother luis, all the family have been determined enemies to the cause of their country. late at night an officer came on board and informed me, that two soldiers were under sentence of death at conception, that they were to be executed on the following morning for the crime of desertion, and that he had been deputed by some of his brother officers to solicit the intervention of the admiral in their behalf. i reported this to his lordship, and a letter was sent in the morning, to which the following answer was received: "my lord--chile and chileans are every day more and more indebted to you; the favour which you have this day done me, in relieving me from the necessity of enforcing the execution of another sentence of death, is equal, in the scale of my feelings, to the pardon. i shall send the two deserters to thank your lordship, for i have impressed on their minds what they owe to your lordship's goodness. i have to beg that they be incorporated in the marines, where, fighting under your immediate orders, they may evince their love of the patria, and erase the stain with which they have soiled a cause which has the honour of counting lord cochrane among its most worthy defenders &c.--ramon freire." on the day after our arrival, lord cochrane had a private conference with general freire, and proposed to him an attempt on valdivia, which his lordship offered to undertake with four hundred soldiers, if the general would place them at his disposal, secresy being a positive condition. this truly patriotic chief immediately acceded to the terms, and pledged himself not to communicate the plan even to the supreme government, until the result should be known. it is impossible not to admire this generous conduct of freire. he lent part of his army, when he was on the eve of attacking benavides, and exposed himself, by thus weakening his division, to the displeasure of his superiors, should lord cochrane not succeed. but his love for his country, and the high opinion which he entertained of the admiral, overcame every objection. the generosity of freire is equally praiseworthy in another point of view: he gave part of his force to another chief, for the purpose of obtaining a victory, in the glory of which he could not be a participator, except as an american interested in the glorious cause of the liberty of his country. orders were immediately given to prepare for a secret expedition; but as this proceeding was so novel, a _secret_ was put in circulation, that the destination was to tucapel, in order to harass the enemy's force at arauco; and the distance being so very short, neither officers nor privates encumbered themselves with luggage. all was ready on the afternoon of the th, and two hundred and fifty men, with their respective officers, under the command of major beauchef, were embarked on board the o'higgins, the brig of war intrepid, and the schooner montezuma, which were at talcahuano on our arrival. we got under weigh in the morning, because the wind continued calm during the whole of the night. about four o'clock in the morning his lordship retired to his cabin to rest, leaving orders with lieutenant lawson to report if the wind should change, or any alteration should take place. as soon as his lordship had left the quarter deck, lawson gave the same orders to mr. george, a midshipman, and also retired to his cabin. the morning was so remarkably hazy, that it was impossible to see twenty yards ahead of the ship, and a slight breeze springing up, the frigate ran aground on a sand-bank off the island quiriquina, and so near to it, that the jib-boom was entangled among the branches of the trees on shore. this accident brought the admiral on deck, half-dressed, when to his astonishment he saw large pieces of sheathing and fragments of the false keel floating about the ship. a kedge anchor was immediately carried out astern, and in a few minutes we were again afloat. the carpenter sounded, and reported, "three feet water in the hold:" the men at the pumps were almost in despair, all imagining that the expedition had failed at its very outset: in half an hour the carpenter reported, no abatement in the depth of water: well, said his lordship, but does it increase? no, said the carpenter, and orders were immediately given to stand out to sea. on the second of february, to the southward of punta galera, the whole of the troops, including the marines of the o'higgins, were placed on board the brig and the schooner; his lordship embarked in the latter, and proceeded to the bay of valdivia; having anchored at sunset near to a small bay, called aguada del yngles, english watering place, major beauchef took the command of the troops, embarked at talcahuano, and major miller, having recovered of the severe wounds which he received at pisco, took the command of his brave marines, and assisted in adding new lustre to the arms of chile. an advanced party of six soldiers and a sergeant was despatched under the command of the ensign vidal, a young peruvian, having as a guide one of the spanish soldiers, who came off to the o'higgins in the boat on our first appearance off valdivia: they drove the spaniards from the two guns stationed at the avansada, and following their footsteps, arrived at the battery of san carlos, but not before the gate was closed. this battery is formed on the land side by placing pieces of the trunks of trees one upon another to the height of ten feet; and vidal finding it impossible to scale the wooden wall exerted himself in dragging out two of the logs, and then crept through the hole, followed by his piquet. having entered, he formed his veteran gang and began to fire on the spanish soldiers, who not being able to distinguish either the number or situation of their enemy fled in disorder, some clambering over the palisade, while others opened the gate and fled in less apparent disorder. two officers came to vidal, and said to him, why do you fire on us, we are your countrymen, we do not belong to the insurgents? i beg your pardon, answered vidal, you now belong to the insurgents, being my prisoners of war. the two astonished officers immediately surrendered their swords. at this moment captain erescano, a buenos ayrean, arrived with forty marines, and without any hesitation butchered the two officers, heedless of the remonstrances and even threats of vidal, who told him, that at another time he should demand satisfaction: he now immediately left erescano, and with his brave soldiers followed the enemy. the batteries of amargos and the two chorocamayos fell in the same manner that san carlos had fallen, and vidal had passed the bridge of the castle del corral when captain erescano arrived with forty marines: thus in five hours all the batteries on the south side of the harbour were in our possession. at nine o'clock in the morning of the third, the o'higgins laid to at the mouth of the harbour, under spanish colours. the spaniards at niebla were a second time deceived; for believing her to be a vessel from spain, they made the private signal, which not being answered by the frigate, the soldiers immediately abandoned the battery, and fled in the greatest disorder. after the o'higgins was brought to an anchor, detachments of troops were sent to niebla and the battery of mansera on the small island bearing the same name. the vessel at anchor, in this port was the dolores, formerly under the chilean flag; but in november, , part of the crew took possession of her at talcahuano, and having slipt her cables, sailed her to arauco, where benavides landed those of the crew who were accused of being insurgents, and immediately ordered them to be shot on the beach: a boy who witnessed this horrid spectacle began to cry, which being observed by benavides, he immediately beat out his brains with his baston. this murderer not knowing what to do with the ship, sent her to valdivia, where she became our prize; the ringleader, a native of paita, was also secured, sent to valparaiso, tried and executed. the important strong hold of valdivia was thus annexed to the republic of chile by one of those inexhaustible resources in war which have marked the career of the hero under whose immediate directions and unparalleled intrepidity the plan was formed and executed. lord cochrane having personally attended to the landing of the troops, and given his final orders to miller and beauchef, took his gig, and, notwithstanding the shot from the battery of san carlos, rowed along the shore, watching the operations of the troops, and serving as the beacon to glory. in fifteen hours from our landing we were in possession of the advanced posts of aguada del yngles, el piojo, de la boca, and de playa blanco; of the batteries of san carlos, amargos, chorocamayo alto and bajo, mansera, and niebla; and of the castle del corral, mounting on the whole one hundred and twenty-eight pieces of artillery. in the magazines there were eight hundred and forty barrels of gunpowder, each weighing one hundred and twenty-five pounds, one hundred and seventy thousand musket cartridges, about ten thousand shot, many of copper, besides an immense quantity of all kinds of warlike stores. our loss consisted of seven men killed, and nineteen wounded; that of the enemy of three officers and ten soldiers killed, and twenty-one wounded; besides six officers prisoners, among whom was the colonel of cantabria, don fausto del hoyo, and seventy-six spanish sergeants, corporals, and privates. every thing being secured in the port, his lordship went with part of the troops to the city, which had been sacked by the spaniards, who had fled towards chiloe. a provisional government was immediately elected by the natives who were present, at which, by his lordship's orders, i presided, and received the elective votes; the person chosen being afterwards confirmed in his situation as governor _ad interim_ by the admiral. on examining the correspondence in the archives, i found that many serious complaints had been made by quintanilla, the governor of chiloe, to montoya the ex-governor of valdivia, stating his fear of a revolution at san carlos, the principal town. this induced his lordship to appear off chiloe, and even to land part of the force that could be spared at valdivia. he gave orders to prepare for embarkation on the th, but unfortunately the brig intrepid was driven from her anchorage by a strong northerly wind, and wrecked on a sand-bank that stretches into the bay from the island of mansera. this very serious loss was regarded by the admiral like our former accident at talcahuano, and orders were immediately issued for the soldiers to embark in the montezuma and dolores. the short respite from active duty allowed his lordship to inform the supreme government of chile of his success at valdivia; which he effected by sending a small piragua, with orders to touch at talcahuano, and to report to general freire the result of the expedition. the receipt of the unexpected news at valparaiso was a moment of exultation to the friends of lord cochrane, and a very severe check on the tongues of his detractors; some of these had been busily employed in forming matter wherewith to tarnish the rocket expedition; and they generously attributed its failure to the unskilfulness, not of those who had prepared the missiles, but to the persons who had used them. his absence from chile was adduced as a proof of his disobedience to the orders of the government. now, however, all was hushed, and every one exclaimed, "we knew that our admiral would not return to chile without adding new laurels to his brows." this was re-echoed in valparaiso; and long live cochrane! was the general cry; long live the hero of valdivia! resounded in every street. on the th, lord cochrane went on board the schooner montezuma, and sailed with the dolores for chiloe, where the troops were landed, and two small batteries taken, and afterwards demolished. the young ensign vidal was again appointed to command an advanced party of twenty-four soldiers, and when, ascending the hill on which the castle de la corona is built, he lost eleven of his men by a volley of grape from the battery, he immediately ordered the drummer to beat a retreat: that is impossible, said the boy, knocking the sticks together, for my drum is gone. in fact it had been shattered to pieces by a shot; however vidal retired, carrying three wounded men with him, and miller being wounded at the same time by a grape shot which had passed the fleshy part of his thigh, the retreat to the boats was immediately ordered. the resistance made at this place by the natives, headed by several friars, was a convincing proof that they were determined supporters of the cause of spain, and as the patriot force was not sufficient to attempt a conquest of the town, the soldiers were re-embarked. during the absence of the admiral with the marines, part of the troops embarked at conception were left on duty at the castle del corral, under the command of ensign latapia, who in cold blood, and without the slightest provocation, ordered two of the prisoners, a corporal and a private, to be shot. i immediately ordered four officers who were on shore to be sent on board the o'higgins, fearful that they might be treated in the same manner. on the return of his lordship on the twentieth, latapia was placed under arrest on board, and the necessary declarations were taken, according to the spanish forms, for his trial by a court-martial. he was conveyed to valparaiso as a prisoner; his conduct, together with that of erescano, was reported to the government, and when we expected to hear of their being sentenced to some kind of punishment, we were surprized to find that they had been promoted. these two individuals were afterwards employed by san martin, and by him they were again promoted in peru. his lordship having given orders for the o'higgins to be overhauled and repaired, considering it unsafe to venture again to sea in her, he embarked on the twenty-eighth in the montezuma for valparaiso, taking with him five spanish officers, and forty privates, prisoners, leaving directions with me to superintend what was going on here, until i should receive orders from the supreme government. major beauchef having collected all the force he was able, which, including the troops embarked at conception, and some volunteers of valdivia, amounting only to two hundred and eighty individuals, marched to the llanos, having received information that the spaniards who fled from valdivia had sworn at chiloe that they would return and either conquer or die in the attempt. the two armies met near the river toro, on the sixth of march, and after an engagement of less than an hour, the spanish officers mounted their horses and fled, leaving the soldiers to their fate. on the tenth beauchef arrived at valdivia, bringing with him two hundred and seventy prisoners, with all the arms and baggage belonging to the spaniards. the independencia and araucano arrived on the twelfth, with the necessary workmen and tools for the repairs of the o'higgins; after she was hove down, it was discovered that besides a great quantity of sheathing, she had lost nineteen feet of her false keel, and about seven of her main keel. on the eleventh of april the repairs were finished, and we embarked for valparaiso, where we arrived on the eighteenth. the spanish force stationed at valdivia consisted of part of the regiment of cantabria, part of the casadores dragoons, artillery, pioneers, marines, infantry of conception, artillery of ditto, battalion of valdivia, dragoons of the frontier, and lancers of the laxa; these were the remains of the spanish army which left conception, under the command of general sanches, in , besides the regular garrison of the port, amounting in all to about one thousand six hundred, while the expedition under lord cochrane amounted only to three hundred and eighteen. the government of chile ordered a medal to be struck in commemoration of this important victory, and it was distributed to the officers. his lordship expected some remuneration for his men as prize-money, but the government could not understand how prize-money could be due to a naval expedition for services done on shore. the dolores had been laden with warlike stores at valdivia; the admiral requested that the value of these might be decreed to the captors, but the answer to this request was an order for the stores to be disembarked in the arsenal at valparaiso, and the following paragraph from the pen of the hireling monteagudo made its appearance in the censor de la revolucion, which was conducted by this patriotic scribbler:-- "we are informed that admiral lord cochrane is determined not to allow the debarkation of the warlike stores brought from valdivia in the ship dolores, on the plea of their being a prize to the squadron which has restored that province from the hands of the enemy to chile. we cannot persuade ourselves that his lordship does not acknowledge, that all the stores existing at valdivia at the time of its restoration belong to the state of chile in the same manner as those in the provinces actually forming the state, without any other difference than that these were restored to the free exercise of their liberty before that was. even if valdivia did not belong to chile, we do not make war on every section of america, but on the spaniards who hold a domination over it: these are the principles which have always regulated the conduct of our armies; and nothing save the exclusive property of the spaniards has been subjected to the rights of war. it would also be a pernicious precedent to future operation if whatever was found in a conquered territory should belong exclusively to the victors. we are persuaded that some misunderstanding has taken place respecting these warlike stores brought by the dolores: admiral cochrane is well acquainted with public rights, and the high opinion which we entertain of his honourable character obliges us to doubt that which we are not inclined to believe." lord cochrane afterwards asked monteagudo if he believed what he had published was just or according to law; no, said he, certainly not, but i was ordered to write and to publish what appeared in the censor. his lordship being convinced that the government was determined not to reward the services of the squadron, assured them, that this would certainly be the last service of the kind which they would receive from it: he also warned them against expecting that men would risk their lives, after undergoing the greatest privations, without any remuneration: he told them, moreover, that as he considered the proceedings on the part of the government as most unjust, he should never request of his officers or men any sacrifice, except when the means of rewarding them were in his own hands. the government wishing to conciliate the admiral, made him a present of a large estate in the province of conception; but his lordship immediately returned the document, stating, that it was the services of the men which ought to be rewarded, that his own were amply repaid by the glory of the achievement. all his pleadings, however, were in vain, and no reward was ever given to them by the government for the capture of this most important fortress; nay more, it was questioned whether lord cochrane ought not to be tried by a court-martial for having fought and conquered an enemy without the sanction of the government! a fair proof of what would have been the consequence had not the result been favourable to his lordship. a series of plots now began to take place one after another, which seemed to threaten even the stability of the government: the regiment number one, stationed at mendosa, revolted, benavides entered conception, and committed several most daring outrages; and a conspiracy was said to have been formed in the capital against the government by the carrera party, and the supreme director was so thwarted by the senate, that he could not act with that promptitude and decision which circumstances required: the greatest possible evils, publicity and procrastination, where secresy and despatch were necessary, counteracted in the most essential points the wishes of the supremacy. the persons who were accused of being conspirators were apprehended, among whom were included the last remains of the carrera family, and other individuals who were obnoxious to o'higgins: these were all embarked on board the brig of war, pueyrredon, and sent down to the coast of choco, where it was expected that they would shortly die, and where in fact the uncle of the carreras did die; but, contrary to the expectation and even the request of the chilean government, that of colombia received them as friends, and some of the exiles being officers, bolivar incorporated them in his army, with a promotion; for which act of justice he never had any reason to complain. the fluctuations in the designs of the government are well portrayed in the following letter from lord cochrane to the supreme director: "most ext. sir--being at present indisposed with a palpitation of my heart, which at times afflicts me most severely, and which would be increased with a journey to santiago, were i to undertake it according to the request of the government, i feel myself obliged to solicit an excuse; persuaded as i am, that the following exposition, which contains all that is necessary to remind you to reflect on what is past, and to anticipate what is to come, will be sufficient. i also hope that my exposition will be ascribed to the sincere desire that i have of serving your excellency, to whose interests i am most sincerely attached, as being the august representative of the sacred cause of your country's welfare. "touching on what is past, you will do me the honour to recollect, that i recommended to you the indispensable necessity of removing among the seamen all kinds of distrust with respect to their pay and prize-money: the first of which they have not yet received, and of the second they have been totally defrauded; your excellency promised me that they should be regularly paid, and that whatever prizes were taken should be entirely appropriated to these two objects; the moiety belonging to the captors should be immediately distributed, and the other, appertaining to government, should be applied to the payment of arrears, and equipment of the vessels of war. i am well aware of the lowness of your funds; but having, according to your promise made to me, informed the crews of the different vessels what would be the course pursued, the men expect a fulfilment of the promise made, and will consider me to be the author of the deception if they discover that what has been promised to them is applied to other purposes. your excellency will allow me to assure you, that if i had not supported the promise made to the seamen, the real squadron would not have now existed, and that if the promises are not fulfilled, the squadron will now cease to exist. "nothing is more difficult than to manage a mass of such heterogeneous materials, as that of which the squadron is composed--men of different nations, manners, and religions--men whose suspicions are easily alarmed, and whose interests cannot be contradicted with impunity; they may be reconciled if duly attended to, and incorporated with those of the state: but if this is not done, they will become opposed to its welfare. "the experience which i acquired during the first cruize, convinced me most completely, that in addition to the punctual payment of the crews, it was necessary for their health and comfort, as well as for the cleanliness of the vessels, which contributes so much to these objects, that proper clothing and beds should be provided. with respect to the means for procuring these articles themselves, the poverty of some, and the relaxed habits of others, are obstacles, besides which the temptations met with at valparaiso, generally deprive them of the power before they leave the port. for the acquirement of this desirable object, i made several applications to the different departments of the government, requesting that such articles might be purchased and distributed to the crews, according to the practice observed in all naval countries. the treasury not being able to pay the value of the articles, this was done with part of the prize-money taken during the cruize; at the same time that the money so employed ought to have been applied to the payment of the captors of the montezuma; and although frequent applications have been made, this, like the debts of the crews of the squadron, has never yet been attended to; but, on the contrary, such sums as were destined, according to the promise of your excellency, to the sole purpose of liquidating such debts, have been applied to other purposes, while part of the seamen who have fulfilled their contract, are wandering about the streets in a state of despair; others, naked and clamorous, remain on board; the invalids are begging alms, and all are cursing the authors of their misfortunes. the result of this conduct on the part of the government is, even at present, that not only the seamen and soldiers, but even some of the officers, avail themselves of every opportunity to dispose of prize goods, as well as of the naval stores belonging to the vessels of the squadron; and when they are discovered, the infliction of punishment is prevented by their alleging that they neither receive pay nor prize-money, and that they despair of ever receiving either. "on my return from the first cruize, your excellency will also be pleased to recollect, that i reported the necessity of marking each barrel, or package of provisions, with the weight or quality which it contained; making the purveyor responsible both for the quantity and quality of the contents, in order to prevent all kinds of fraud; because, from the purser's reports, i should then have been able to know for what period the squadron was victualled. i was compelled to make this request, because i found that the purveyor had reported at the commissariate that he had delivered twenty-one quintals of beef to the independencia, when in fact only eleven had been received. thus the state was charged with the value of ten quintals which had not been delivered, for the purpose of filling the purse of an impostor, whose nefarious conduct might have frustrated the object of our expedition, or even have involved part of the squadron in inevitable ruin. for the purpose of counteracting such iniquitous proceedings, no order has, as yet, been issued, nor am i authorised to correct such as punishable crimes. "on my return to valparaiso, after the first cruize, i hoped to find the manufacture of rockets completed, according to the promise of the government, made to me before i sailed; but i found that even the manufactory was not finished; that notwithstanding the various solicitations made by the late lieutenant-colonel charles, for the necessary materials, that these were retained, or denied through jealousy, or some other criminal motive; this might have involved the whole of the squadron in complete ruin, had the forces arrived at callao, which were expected from spain. as it was, the operations of that expedition became a reproach to the officers and crews employed in it, and allowed the enemy to call it imbecility in them, and ignorance of their undertaking; but, in reality, the neglect or treachery lay in those appointed by your government to construct those missiles, on whose speculations the persons employed in the expedition were induced to rely. the unexpected result of this expedition obliged me to raise the blockade, to the apparent disgrace and positive injury of the interest of the squadron; although it had been destined for the purpose of contending with the enemy before a re-union could be effected between the vessels in callao, and the expected reinforcement from spain. "my orders were limited to impracticable operations, by the concurrence of unexpected accidents, which deprived me of destroying at once the force of the enemy in the pacific. our provisions were exhausted; the ships of war had neither rice, cocoa, sugar, wine, spirits, nor any substitute for those articles; with the addition of a considerable number of sick on board. in this dilemma, it was once my intention to return to valparaiso; but not wishing to provoke the indignation of your excellency, and bring down condign punishment on those persons who had been the cause of this state of the squadron, i determined on taking from the enemy at pisco spirits, wine, and other necessaries, although my orders expressly forbade such a procedure, i being limited by them to take only water, and that in a case of necessity. but the government of chile inadvertently believed that foreign seamen would be content with putrid water, a short allowance of beef and bread, a total want of wine, or grog, when they were on an enemy's coast, where those articles might be procured in abundance. "on being informed that the spanish frigate la prueba had sailed for the puná, and that she was the only vessel of the expedition which had doubled the cape, i again found myself either obliged to abandon the attempt to capture her, or to take upon myself the responsibility of violating my instructions, by taking provisions from the enemy on the coast of peru. i determined on the latter, and although a large quantity of cotton, tobacco, rice, sugar, and other valuable articles, belonging to spaniards, were collected at santa, they were all abandoned for the purpose of following the enemy with all possible despatch; although i was fully convinced, and still remain so, that nothing is obtained by excluding the enemies of liberty from contributing to support the defenders of so just a cause;--for the purpose of exacting from them the whole of the sacrifice. "your excellency must be completely satisfied, that our efforts in the river of guayaquil to take the prueba were rendered nugatory by the want of soldiers; there i requested that they might co-operate with the squadron, when the efforts of the squadron alone were of little avail; my request was opposed; but why the opposition was made, or on what principles it was founded, i am totally ignorant, and more so of the reasons that exist for communicating such strange determinations of the supremacy to any one except myself; because, if any difficulties presented themselves in what i had the honour to propose to your excellency, why was i not requested to explain them, and to do away with what were accounted obstacles; but the conduct observed implies a want of confidence in my knowledge, as to the proper application of such a force, or a conviction on the part of my opponents in your councils, that they could not support their opposition, because their arguments are founded on unsound principles. perhaps what took place at paita may have been quoted by some of your senators, who did not recollect the assurance given by the flags of truce which i sent in, that nothing, except the property of the king of spain, would be touched. the enemy fired on the flag, and now, allow me to ask, if i had any other alternative, than, like a coward, to submit to such an insult offered to the flag of chile, or permit the indignant and provoked soldiers to obliterate the outrage? "when i had the honour to see your excellency last, at santiago, a plan was established, and as i then believed, a secret one, the only persons present being your excellency, general san martin, and the minister of marine; this to my utter astonishment, soon became as public as if it had been given to the gazette, or the town crier; the detail was in the possession of every speculator, who calculated solely on his private gain. i was ordered to equip the transports aguila, begona, dolores, and xeresana, and my orders for the accomplishment of this object were scarcely issued, when i was officially informed, that these being prize vessels, were to be sold immediately; and the orders given by the government to me were unexpectedly abolished, for the purpose of placing the fate of the expedition in the hands of mercantile speculators, who to the present moment have only finished the equipment of one vessel, which has been allowed to sail from this port, when declared under an embargo; and this for the purpose of conveying merchandize belonging to one of the contractors to coquimbo. this happened at the very moment when i was assured that the expedition was about to be verified. this conduct of the government most positively evinces that a mercantile speculator enjoys more of the confidence of the supreme authority than i have the honour to deserve. i had subsequent orders for the san martin to sail, and to cruize off talcahuano, she being the only efficient vessel of war in valparaiso; that the montezuma should sail for callao for the purpose of obtaining a correct account of the state of the enemy; next that the san martin should cruize in the mouth of this port. i was shortly afterwards informed, that instead of an expedition of two thousand men that should be ready to sail within fifteen days, that one of four thousand would be ready within the same time; this led me to inspect the naval preparations made by the contractors, which i found to consist of one new rigged ship. i next visited the provision store, and found there no preparations whatever; there was not even a sufficient quantity for the consumption of the crews of the vessels of war for one month. "these circumstances, and many other similar ones, oblige me to adopt a line of conduct which my duty to your excellency, to the states, and to myself, most imperiously prescribes; this is, to solicit your acceptance of the important commission with which i have been honoured, and which i now beg leave to resign. "i have detailed some of the motives which oblige me to abandon the service of a state, in which i have been so highly honoured, particularly by your excellency; but my firm conviction is, that if i agree to the tardy and procrastinated measures of the government, i shall make myself tacitly instrumental in forwarding that ruin which cannot but be the result of the plans of the advisers of your excellency. "allow me to offer to your excellency, &c.--valparaiso, may th, ." the official answer to this note consisted of a mere list of excuses from the minister of marine, indicating any thing but the real cause of the inconsistency of the government; indeed, the real cause was enveloped in mystery for a considerable time afterwards. however, the determination of lord cochrane, not to continue in the command of the squadron unless that part of the management of it which was not under his control was placed on a better footing, seemed to rouze the government from the state of apathy which they now began to perceive would soon lead to a state of imbecility. o'higgins and san martin addressed private letters to his lordship, begging his continuance in the command of the naval forces of chile, and assuring him, that the most active measures would be immediately adopted for the realization of the grand expedition; the success of which, they were well aware, depended in many very material points on the character and efforts of lord cochrane. chapter viii. lord cochrane and chilean government....preparations for the expedition to peru....captain spry....charges presented by the admiral against captain guise....lord cochrane throws up his commission....letters from the captains and officers....commission returned by the government....offer made by san martin to the foreign seamen....embarkation of troops for peru....announcement of....sailing of the expedition....force of the squadron. lord cochrane, whose whole soul was engaged in the total emancipation of the spanish colonies, desirous of contributing to the acquisition of this interesting object, re-assumed the command of the squadron, relying on the fulfilment of the promises made by the government of chile, supported by the guarantee of general san martin; who, however extraordinary it may appear, pledged himself not only to sanction but also to fulfil the promises made by a government in whose _employ_ he was himself engaged. the supreme director, in the name of the republic, again made to lord cochrane a donation of an estate in the province of conception, as a token of gratitude for those important services which the country had received from him; this was again rejected, and his lordship, wishing to give an unequivocal proof of his attachment to the country, and of his intention to establish his residence in it, purchased an estate called quintero, about eight leagues to the northward of valparaiso. on visiting quintero, lord cochrane examined the bay called de la herradura, and made a report to the government, accompanied with a plan, stating that this harbour had many advantages which that of valparaiso did not possess; he solicited that it might become an establishment for the vessels of war belonging to the state, pointed out many important results that would accompany the adoption of such a plan, with respect to the discipline, order and regulation of the squadron; and concluded with an offer to the state, of all the land that might be necessary for an arsenal and general marine depôt; when, to his utter astonishment, the answer to this signal generosity and sacrifice of private property, for the good of the service, was a notification, that "in consideration of the peculiar advantages of the harbour of herradura, and the estate of quintero, advantages of the highest importance to chile, lord cochrane is ordered not to continue any improvements on the said estate, as they will not be paid for by the state, to whom quintero and herradura are declared to appertain, on condition that lord cochrane shall be paid by the state the purchase money, and improvements made." this blow affected lord cochrane more than any other which the government could have given him; at a moment when he had been entreated to continue in the command of the squadron, and an estate in the country had been presented to him, when he became the proprietor of another, by purchase, wishing to convince all parties that he adopted chile as his home, he tacitly received an order to abandon such ideas. his lordship immediately addressed to the supreme director an answer to this unexpected notification, which produced an apology, and an assurance that the proceedings were founded on the old spanish laws, which as yet had not been repealed; and that the notification rested only on the _vista fiscal_, the solicitude of the attorney general. it was very apparent, at this time, that something was brewing in the chilean government; but it was impossible either to comprehend the matter, or to foresee the effect; all parties seemed to endeavour to conciliate the good will of the admiral, yet something occurred daily, which tended to alienate him even from the cause of the country; and although, upon inquiry, the most polite excuses were given, and apologies often tendered, yet some busy hand seemed always to be employed in feeding the flame of provocation and mischief. nothing but the active preparations of the government for the grand expedition to peru, and the repeated solicitations of general san martin, would have prevented lord cochrane from resigning the command of the squadron, and of embarking for england. san martin visited the port of valparaiso in june, for the purpose of inspecting the transports; and the troops began to move from their encampments at rancagua to quillota, twelve leagues from valparaiso, for the purpose of embarking. every thing appeared at first to contribute towards the accomplishment of this most important object, and all persons concerned to act in unison, as if animated by one spirit, that of extending to peru the happiness enjoyed by chile, the fruit of her emancipation from the spanish yoke. at this period, quite unexpected by all concerned, captain spry was promoted to the rank of capitan de frigata, and appointed flag captain to lord cochrane, at the same time that his lordship had solicited the appointment of captain crosbie; and to add to this irregular proceeding, the minister of marine informed his lordship, that although don tomas crosbie had held the command of the araucano, and had been treated as a captain, and addressed as such by the government, that as yet he had not received a commission appointing him to that rank, nor was he as such placed on the navy list. his lordship was also informed, that the appointment of captain spry must be acceded to. this order received from the admiral a positive denial, and he wrote in answer, that captain spry should never tread the quarter-deck of the flag-ship as captain of her, so long as he held the command of the squadron; not because his lordship had any personal objection to captain spry, but because he would not consent to any encroachment on the privileges he enjoyed as admiral and commander in chief. this affair was stated by cochrane to san martin, who merely answered, it shall be as you choose, _sera como v. quiera_, and on the following morning crosbie was appointed flag captain, and spry ordered to continue in the command of the galvarino. scarcely had this matter been thus adjusted, when lord cochrane was obliged to place captain guise of the lautaro under an arrest, and to forward to the government charges against him, requesting that he might be tried by a court-martial. the charges were for repeated acts of neglect of duty and insubordination; they were arranged under thirteen heads, finishing with "endeavouring in the various acts of disobedience herein mentioned to set at defiance, and bring into contempt the authority of his superior officer, the commander in chief, in the execution of his duty, to the subversion of discipline, and in violation of the articles of war on the foregoing heads, made and provided." this act of the admiral astonished the government; the principal part of which was now at valparaiso, for the purpose of forwarding as much as possible the equipment of the expedition. it met with their most determined opposition, and after some very warm correspondence, the following note was addressed by his lordship to the minister of marine:-- "sir,--the apparent determination of the supremacy to support a junior officer in the commission of the most outrageous breaches of his public duty, and of acting not only contrary but in direct opposition to the orders communicated to him by his commander in chief, not only encourages his dereliction from duty, and is a precedent of the most pernicious character for the imitation of others, but brings my authority into contempt, and renders my exertions in the service of the republic nugatory. i have nothing to add at present to what i have already stated to you, except that you will place in the hands of his excellency the supreme director my resignation of the command of the squadron of chile, and express to him my sincere wish, that, whoever may be appointed to supersede me, his endeavours to serve the cause of liberty in the new world may be crowned with greater success than mine have been; and that he may be better qualified to preserve that discipline in the squadron which is not only essentially necessary, but indispensably requisite, for the honour of himself, the success of his operations, and the welfare of the cause he serves. i have to request you will inform me at the earliest period of the acceptance of my resignation, that i may order my flag to be struck, as also, whether it would be agreeable to the present views of the supreme government that i should continue to reside as a citizen of chile, among those persons who, after having exerted themselves in the support of her sacred cause, have retired to enjoy the fruits of their labours; if not, i request permission to leave the country; and my passport constituting my ultimate request, i remain, &c." "cochrane." "valparaiso, july th, ." the first tender of his commission which lord cochrane made was unexpectedly kept a profound secret by the government; indeed at that time the greatest danger would have attended a disclosure of the matter; the greater part of the foreign seamen were unpaid, and the natives, both seamen and marines, were more clamorous on this head than the foreigners, and all seemed determined on some desperate proceeding, if their claims were not directly satisfied. the present act of the commander in chief became known immediately; and the following invitation was on the th laid on the capstern-head of the flag-ship: "it is reported that lord cochrane, wearied out by the illiberal treatment of the government, has at last been forced to resign the command of the squadron, because their jealous policy no longer enables him to hold it with honour to himself or benefit to the state. "it is requested that all who feel themselves attached to his lordship, or who are aware how much the honour, safety, and interest, not only of the navy, but of the state of chile, depend on his continuing in the command, will to-day meet on board the independencia, at one o'clock, for the purpose of taking into consideration what steps it may be most proper to adopt." on the th, lord cochrane received the following letter from the captains of the fleet, which received the subjoined answer: "my lord,--it being very currently reported, and generally believed, that your lordship has resigned the command of the squadron of chile, and as our views are so closely connected with those of your lordship, we beg leave most respectfully to solicit your information on this subject. (signed.) robert forster, w. wilkinson, cladius charles, t. sackville crosby, james ramsey." "gentlemen,--i have been favoured with your letter of this date, and assure you, that whether i remain in the command of the squadron or not, is a matter of perfect indifference so far as i am personally concerned. "my object in proceeding from england to this quarter of the globe was to promote the furtherance of liberty and independence, more than any private object, or to promote the views of others inconsistent therewith. "i have only to add, that my desire is to be permitted to surrender the command of a squadron which i can no longer hold with benefit to the state nor credit to myself, since the orders which appeared necessary to be given, and the limited powers vested in me, are disobeyed with impunity, and not only disobeyed, but made the objects of persevering scorn and ridicule, by persons who ought to be under my authority, but who for their personal views wish by insinuations, falsifications, and detraction, to overthrow all that stood in the way of their vain ambition. under this impression, i tendered my commission to the government three days ago, but am ignorant of the result, which i expect, however, to learn to-morrow. believe me, gentlemen, with feelings of gratitude for your anxious inquiries on the subject, yours, &c." "cochrane." "my lord,--your lordship's reply to our letter has created feelings of the deepest regret in our breasts, and it behoves us to act in a manner which will stamp our characters, not only as true patriots, but as men looking up to your lordship, as the only man capable of commanding the naval forces of chile with effect, against the enemies of liberty and independence. we, the undersigned, have come to the resolution of resigning the commissions we respectively hold in the service of chile; we have therefore to request that your lordship will be pleased to acquaint us with the result as soon as you are aware that the government of chile have accepted your resignation of the command of the squadron. "we avail ourselves of this opportunity of expressing our confidence in your lordship's talents, and our determination to act hand in hand with your lordship; in doing which, we are persuaded that we are most effectively and faithfully serving the republic of chile, and acting honestly and sincerely towards you, our commander in chief." signed by the same five captains. the only two who did not sign it were guise and spry. on the same day, the eighteenth of july, the following was addressed to his lordship, by the officers of the squadron: "my lord,--the general discontent and anxiety which your lordship's resignation has occasioned among the officers and others of the squadron afford a strong proof how much the ungrateful conduct of the government is felt among those serving under your command. "the officers, whose names are subscribed to the inclosed resolutions, disdaining longer to serve under a government which can so soon have forgotten the important services rendered to the state, or treat with indignity a character the most implacable of the enemies of his own country have been forced to respect, beg leave to put into your hands their commissions, and to request you will be so kind as to forward them to the minister of marine for the state. at the same time that we are thus forced to withdraw ourselves from the service, our warmest wishes continue to be offered up, not only for the prosperity and liberty of the country, but that of the whole world. "we pray your lordship all health and happiness, and have the honour to remain, &c." (signed by twenty-three commissioned officers.) "resolutions entered into at a meeting of the lieutenants, and other officers of the same class, belonging to the squadron of chile, held on board the independencia, the eighteenth of july, , for the purpose of taking into consideration the resignation of the commander in chief: "resolved, that the honour, safety and interest of the navy of chile entirely rest on the abilities and experience of the present commander in chief. "that as the feelings of unbounded confidence and respect which we entertain for the present commander in chief cannot be transferred to another, they have induced us to come to the resolution of resigning our commissions, and of transmitting the same to government, through the hands of the admiral. "that our commissions shall be accompanied by a letter, expressive of our sentiments, signed by all those whose commissions are inclosed." (signed by the same twenty-three officers as the foregoing letter.) although his lordship was convinced of the inability which the whole expedition would labour under should his resignation be accepted, he still left the government at liberty to act according to their own discretion. in the public duties on board the vessels of war no relaxation took place; the preparations were carried on with the same alacrity, and the unremitting attention of the commander in chief to their speedy equipment suffered no diminution; the determination of the captains and officers of the squadron was not forwarded to the government, lest the threatening danger might force them to adopt a measure contrary to their wishes; however, as some of the captains and officers had not joined the others in their resolutions, and were aware of their proceedings, the government soon became acquainted with the whole transaction, and general san martin, on the night of the th, when in conversation with lord cochrane, expressed his astonishment and disapprobation of the proceedings of the government, and pretended to be totally ignorant of what had taken place. this assertion was entirely void of truth, as was proved on the following night, when he said, that "he only wanted to be convinced how far the supreme director would allow a party spirit to oppose the welfare of the expedition." it was moreover corroborated by the subsequent conduct of this chief. san martin concluded on the th, by saying, "well, my lord, i am general of the army, and you shall be admiral of the squadron; _bien, mi lord, yo soy general del exercito y v. sera almirante de la esquadra_." after this expression. lord cochrane shewed to him the letters he had received from the captains and officers, at which san martin was very much astonished, for he was not aware of the positive determination of those individuals not to continue their important and indispensable services, except under the command of their present admiral; a determination which was certainly as honourable to themselves, as it was fraught with danger to the government and to the state. san martin asked lord cochrane if he would consent to the suspension of the arrest of captain guise, and delay his trial to a future and more convenient time, should such be the request of the government; to which his lordship assented, on condition that the supremacy should confess that the accusations furnished and charges exhibited were just, and that the conduct of captain guise was highly reprehensible, as being not only prejudicial to the necessary discipline of the squadron, but in every other point of view injurious to the general cause of america. in consequence of this agreement, the admiral received on the twentieth, the following official note from the government: "my lord,--at a moment when the services of the naval forces of the state are of the highest importance, and the personal services of your lordship indispensable, the supremacy with the most profound sentiments of regret has received your resignation, which, should it be admitted, would involve the future operations of the arms of liberty in the new world in certain ruin, and ultimately replace in chile, your adopted home, that tyranny which your lordship abhors, and to the annihilation of which your heroism has so greatly contributed. "his excellency the supreme director commands me to inform your lordship, which i have the honour of doing, that should you persist in resigning the command of the squadron, which has been honoured by bearing your flag, the cause of terror and dismay to our enemies, and of glory to all true americans; or should the government unwisely admit it, this would be indeed a day of universal mourning in the new world; the government, therefore, in the name of the nation, returns you your commission, soliciting your re-acceptance of it, for the furtherance of that sacred cause to which your whole soul is devoted. "the supremacy is convinced of the necessity which obliges your lordship to adopt the measures which placed captain guise of the lautaro under an arrest, and of the justness of the charges exhibited against this officer of the state; but being desirous of preventing any delay in the important services on which the ships and vessels of war are about to proceed, it is the pleasure of his excellency the supreme director, that the arrest of captain guise be suspended, as well as his trial by a court-martial on the charges exhibited, which will remain in the archives of the marine department, to be postponed till the first opportunity which does not interfere with the service of the squadron, so important as at the present epoch.--(signed) jose yguacio zenteno, minister of marine. valparaiso, july th, ." lord cochrane immediately discharged captain guise from his arrest by the following note: "whereas certain charges had been exhibited by the commander in chief, touching the conduct of martin george guise, of the c. s. s. lautaro; and whereas his excellency the supreme director has been pleased to order, that the investigation of the same by court-martial shall be suspended, in order to prevent delay in the important services on which the ships and vessels of war are about to proceed: it is the pleasure of his excellency, signified to me under his sign-manual, that the said captain martin george guise shall be replaced in the command of the lautaro, and (as in justice due) shall be deemed innocent of the said charges during the suspension of his trial. "july th, . (signed) cochrane." on the same day his lordship returned the commissions to the different officers, with letters addressed to them, thanking them for their personal marks of esteem and support in the performance of an unpleasant public duty, and assuring them, that he was convinced that their conduct had been governed by their zeal for the true interests of the public service. i consider any comment on these extraordinary proceedings unnecessary at present, as the spirit which dictated them will become too visible to be mistaken in the course of these pages. had general san martin observed a different line of conduct to that which marked his operations in peru, when he could not shield himself by any specious pretext, importing that they were regulated by a superior authority, or that they emanated from a source over which he had no direct control, the government of chile might have been considered the authors; whereas, they were only the agents of the machinations of the general in chief of the expedition, who foresaw, that in lord cochrane he should have a rival, to whose merits south america could not be blind: he also knew, that the opinions of his lordship in council would not be overawed by those of a superior, be biassed by hope or fear, nor be led away by subserviency: however, his excellency expected to be as implicitly obeyed as a dey of algiers, and as universally flattered as a sultan of the east; and to those two over-ruling passions may be attributed part of the disgrace of his administration in peru. the following announcement appeared in the last number of the censor on the tenth of july: "to-day the staff officers of the liberating army leave santiago for valparaiso. we have authentic advices, that the expedition will leave that port for its destination on the twenty-sixth of the present month. the presence of the supreme director and of the general in chief has given in valparaiso a most extraordinary impulse to the last preparations. at all events, the sun of august will behold the expedition on its march. valparaiso is at this moment the most interesting point in america: it contains as in outline her destiny: the time will arrive in which its name will be the register of the most renowned epoch of our history. the army anxiously awaits the moment to embark on the pacific, and to present a spectacle entirely new, a spectacle which has never been seen since the continent was laved by its waters. happy are those who shall partake of this enterprize! their lot shall be the envy of all those whom the love of glory inspires with a passion for great designs. follow me in the path of my fame. equal my deeds in the war." a new difficulty unexpectedly presented itself, and which the government at first thought beneath their consideration--the want of foreign seamen in the vessels of war. the delay on the part of the presidency in the fulfilment of their contract had weaned this class of individuals from the service of the state; that great stimulus to exertion, prize-money, had been and was witheld, and despair instead of confidence had been so ripened in their breasts, that although many were unemployed and wandering about the streets of valparaiso, few would enter themselves at the rendezvous opened for this purpose. the evil began to be most serious, and the supremacy consulted the admiral if coercion ought not to be used; but this insinuation met with just opposition from his lordship; he expressed to the government his total abhorrence of impressment, and stated to them, that such a proceeding would also meet with the lawful opposition of the senior british officer then in the port. captain sherriff would be compelled by his duty to interfere in the protection of british seamen, however interested he might personally feel himself in the cause of liberty and the views of chile, which it was well known to every individual acquainted with the sentiments of captain sherriff, he regarded as of the first magnitude. the day destined for the embarkation of the troops approached, still the vessels of war were deficient in their complement of seamen, and those who could not remain ashore preferred to serve in the transports, in which service greater pay was offered than in the squadron. general san martin being convinced that the most energetic measures were necessary to man the vessels of war, subjoined his name to a proclamation dictated by lord cochrane, stating, among other things--"on my entry into lima, i will punctually pay to all such foreign seamen who shall voluntarily enter the service of chile, leaving the port of valparaiso in the vessels of war belonging to the state, the whole arrears of their pay, to which i will also add to each individual according to his rank one year's pay over and above his arrears, as a premium or reward for his services, if he continue to fulfil his duty to the day of the surrender of that city, and its occupation by the liberating forces." this proclamation, with the subjoined signature of lord cochrane, as a guarantee for the fulfilment of the promise, had the desired effect, and the crews of the ships were immediately completed. on the twentieth of august the expedition left the port of valparaiso. the following account of it was published by order of the government: "the fortunate day to chile has at length arrived; a day on which, by an extraordinary effort which almost elevates her above herself, she presents to both worlds an example of unheard of constancy and pure patriotism. never did any people exert themselves with greater energy, nor obtain such rapid progress in the brief space which chile measures of real and stable emancipation. the liberating expedition which to-day leaves our port to re-establish independence, and diffuse civil liberty among the oppressed children of the ancient empire of the incas, will be an imperishable testimony of this truth, and a monument as lasting as time itself, in the history of the age of achievements. "a brief view of the successes which have paved the way to this memorable event will demonstrate to the most disinterested observer, the great and heroic sacrifices that it has cost. chile abandoned to her own resources, without arms, without money, and without the other elements sufficient to oppose force to force, was burthened from with a desolating and ferocious war in her own territory, carried on to the degree of involving the whole of the country in its calamities. she succumbed for a moment; for her last resources which at some future period might give re-action to her social body seemed to fail; the bowels of the country were torn to pieces by the implacable fury of her enemies; but in the midst of these disasters, oppressed with the most direful tyranny, and threatened with universal ruin, chilean valour and constancy opened the path to that honour and glory, which in crowned the army of the andes, the restorer and preserver of chile. the immortal action of chacabuco marked the epoch of the aggrandizement and prosperity of the republic. "from that time the state and the government conceived the sublime object of advancing to the very throne of spanish tyranny, the enormous weight of which oppressed peru. they were aware that for the subversion of this colossal power, where, although it trembled, the principles of motion still existed, which vomited hostilities among us--it must be sought for and destroyed in its origin. but exhausted of all the means that could animate so arduous an enterprize, it was necessary that time, and an unexampled decision should overcome these great obstacles. soldiers of all classes were formed, to constitute a national army. arms and ammunition of all kinds were purchased in almost indefinite quantities. every resource was drained, and every effort employed to form a military depôt, that should excite the attention even of europe. "in the mean time our territory was inundated with the disasters of war, as with a torrent. her adverse fortune seemed to threaten with total ruin our very existence, till we obtained the renowned victory of maypu; this victory cost us nearly as much blood as the unfortunate result at cancha-rayada, when we lost a treasure in money and implements of war, now recovered. that triumph was really and truly crowned with all the circumstances of a decisive action: but our republic did not reap the benefit of our advantageous state. our resources were annihilated; the greater part of private fortunes was ruined; the capital was oppressed with an immense number of emigrants, who had arrived even from the other side of the biobio, searching for security within her walls. the enormous and inevitable expenses necessary for the preservation of a sedentary army which occupied the centre of the state, and of a belligerent army employed in the south against the last, but desperate relics of our enemies, who were yet invincible under the protection of the fortifications of talcahuano. these were the afflicting circumstances that pervaded chile, and which would have made many others despair of saving the patria, especially if they were not her children. notwithstanding, to this unpromising epoch belongs the first intimation of the great enterprize of sending an expedition to peru. we now saw the squadron appear, as if it had sprung from the waves, rather than as the results of human efforts, attending to the absolute nullity of means by which we might procure its formation. we were without the necessary materials, destitute of any relations with foreign states; we had only one port, where by extraordinary efforts something might have been effected, and this was blockaded; and lastly, we were in absolute want of every thing but boldness and resolution. one vessel (the lautaro) little better than a hulk, and manned in a moment by determined patriots rather than seamen, hoisted triumphantly the national flag, and obliged our blockading enemies, the national marine of spain, to betake themselves to a shameful flight. a prodigious rapidity of circumstances favourable to our navy were the immediate results; the enemy was driven from talcahuano; the excellent frigate maria isabel, and several transports from cadiz, sent to assist in devastation and extermination, were captured; in fine, our navy obtained the dominion of the sea from guayaquil to chiloe, and deprived spain of valdivia, her most important bulwark in the pacific ocean. "chile now contemplated, not without surprize, the progress of her operations; but it was necessary to advance them with greater endeavours, for such were required at the altar of liberty. it was yet necessary to recruit troops, to re-equip the squadron, and to procure a large quantity of materials, for the purpose of forming an expedition that should carry with it the necessary resources for a campaign of indetermined duration. it was also necessary to stifle the machinations of some anarchists, who more iniquitous than the gracchi or the catalines, opposed obstacles almost insurmountable to the government, in the transaction of the public business. "at last all difficulties were overcome, the desires of the virtuous have been fulfilled, and the nation has arrived at that pitch of power and respectability, to which perhaps none ever arrived under similar circumstances. for the acquisition of this, our sacrifices have been of a most extraordinary class; there scarcely exists a town, a river, or a valley in our territory, which has not vibrated with the report of cannon, or been the witness of some obstinate encounters; but according to the opposition and deformity of the conflicts, the civic virtues of our citizens have shone with greater brightness. the most compromised personal services, donations, and erogations from all classes have been so repeated, and so heroic, that it is impossible to transfer to paper the expression of their just value; time will do that justice to us which is due to such marked and indelible actions of the most ardent patriotism. our government would not have acted gratefully to its fellow-citizens, had it not proclaimed and published them to all freemen; because to such efforts the realization of the liberating expedition, whose description we have proposed to give, is due. "after twelve or fifteen days had been employed in embarking the necessary depôt of articles for the immediate service of the expedition, it was announced in the general orders of the thirteenth inst., that the different corps of the army, including the troops of the andes and those of chile, should begin to move from their encampment at quillota, and embark on the eighteenth, as follows:--at eight, ten, and twelve, a. m.; and two and four, p. m., the regiments no. , , , and of infantry, and the mounted casadores: on the nineteenth at eight, ten, twelve, a. m. the artillery, regiment no. , of infantry, and the mounted grenadiers; the companies no. , of infantry, squadron no. , of dragoons, the companies of sappers, the workmen and implements; the part of the beach between the castle san jose and the arsenal was chosen for this purpose, as being the most convenient. "the spectacle presented by the different bodies in the progressive order of their march was as interesting and imposing as was the enthusiasm and joy of all concerned: the spectacle was sublime, and every individual from the general in chief to the lowest of the soldiers seemed to rejoice. they had scarcely left the land of their birth, and which had been a grateful witness to their victories, when the spontaneous and simultaneous shout was heard, "viva la patria!" "viva la libertad!" was re-echoed by the spectators, and produced a most interesting, soothing, and consoling effect, the best prognostic of their future triumphs, which were destined to fix the liberty of the south. "on the nineteenth, at nine, a. m., the national flag of the republic was displayed: it was saluted by every battery and every vessel of war with twenty-one guns. at this time the captain-general don jose de san martin visited the vessels of war and transports, enlivening the jubilee of his brave soldiers. "to-day, the twentieth, the expedition weighed, and left the port in the following order: the flag ship, o'higgins, with the hero of valdivia on board, the commander in chief of the squadron, the right honourable lord cochrane (whose illustrious talents promise the most flattering results, as well with respect to the expedition, as the future glory of our navy) led the vanguard, with two other vessels of war. then followed, in column, the transports, flanked by three other vessels of war: the rear was closed by eleven gun-boats, following the independencia and san martin, bearing the general in chief and his staff. "these are the happy effects which order, constancy, and valour have achieved; their progress in a great measure is owing to the existence of the squadron: its establishment, increase, and superiority over that of lima is the result of firmness and boldness: chile has the glory of owing this to herself, and may call it the child of her sacrifices, her resolution, and her valour. the time will come when america will offer to chile demonstrations of her acknowledgment, and pay to her the homage which is due: this they will do in return for her laudable and meritorious services, because they, more directly than any others, have been serviceable to the common welfare of the continent. and should the fates be adverse, even in despite of every probability, should the precious expectations of this formidable expedition be disappointed, neither calumny, nor envy, nor all the vicissitudes of time will be sufficient to wrench from us the glory of having realized the most liberal project which the history of infant states can present. (signed) zenteno, minister of war and marine." the supreme director of chile, o'higgins, addressed the following proclamation to the liberating army, at the moment of sailing from valparaiso: "soldiers,--i have repeatedly witnessed your courage, and know full well what may be expected from you in the most important campaign of the revolution. the general who commands you is the same who conducted you to the field of battle at chacabuco and maypu; remember what ye there did, and think of the glorious destiny that awaits you. "_soldiers of the andes!_ you gave liberty to chile; go now to peru, and enrol your names with the blood of its oppressors! "chileans! your intrepidity, with that of the auxiliary troops, saved the republic a second time, in the action of the fifth of april; go on in your career of glory, and deserve the gratitude of the inhabitants of peru, as you have even that of your patria. "expeditionary army! march to victory; go and close the calamities of warfare, and seal the fate of rising generations--these are the wishes and the hopes of your friend and comrade. (signed) o'higgins." the number of troops destined to the liberation of peru was four thousand seven hundred; fifteen thousand stand of arms were embarked for the purpose of raising troops in peru, and the whole equipment was highly honourable to chile, and truly the fruit of the most patriotic sacrifices. chile, ten years before this memorable epoch, was considered as little more than a province dependent on peru, and supported by the sale of her productions in the markets of this country; her inhabitants were looked upon as ignorant boors, and the term _huaco_, the epithet given in chile to the farmers and people who resided in the country, was synonymous in peru, with loon, or booby; but the sincere patriotism, the steady and unremitting efforts, and the undaunted valour of these people, triumphed after having resisted the efforts of the spanish expeditions, sent both from peru and the mother country. having struggled under, and thrown off the yoke of oppression at home, they prepared a new offering at the altar of liberty, and united their persons and fortunes to make peru a partaker of that glorious state of freedom and independence which at the point of the bayonet they had won for themselves and their descendants. the naval force under the command of lord cochrane, consisted of-- the frigate o'higgins, flag ship, of guns. san martin lautaro independencia brig galvarino araucano pueyrredon these had on board individuals, of whom were foreign officers and seamen, chiefly english. chapter ix. sketch of o'higgins, san martin, lord cochrane, las heras, and monteagudo....sailing of the expedition, and arrival at pisco....debarkation....occurrences at pisco....colonel arenales, with a division of the army, marches to arica....troops embark and proceed to ancon....news of the revolution of guayaquil....capture of the spanish frigate esmeralda....army goes down to huacho....head quarters at huaura. few things are more irksome, or perhaps none more difficult, than to pourtray living characters, especially those of great men. misapprehension, flattery, or odium, generally constitute the _chiara obscura_ of the painting; however, as this task has at this period of my narrative become indispensable, i shall endeavour to fulfil it with impartiality, hoping that at its conclusion my readers will confess that the colours have not been carelessly selected, nor in any way misapplied. don bernardo o'higgins, the supreme director of chile, possesses a considerable share of real courage; is resolute in executing a determination, but tardy in forming it; diffident of his own abilities, he is willing to take advice from any one, but always inclined to consider the last as the best. thus, without forming his plans on the judicious analysis of the counsels offered, by eschewing the good, and rejecting the evil, he has often been led into difficulties in his political administration. these waverings were highly injurious to the furtherance of chilean prosperity, which was, no doubt, the idol of his soul; and this same want of determination often produced evils of no less moment in the military department. his love of his country was doubtless sincere, and perhaps his earnest desire to be always right sometimes led him into errors; but in this case it is more just to judge of the motive, or the cause, than of the action, or the effect. the establishment of the _senada consulta_ was in itself a virtuous measure; but the expectation of finding five individuals who should see the good of the country, and the advancement of its true interests, through the same medium as himself, was one of the virtuous mistakes of o'higgins, which placed him under the control of his own creatures, and often retarded the execution of plans of vital importance to the state, and rendered their execution either abortive or nugatory. the private character of o'higgins was truly amiable. he was kind and condescending; apparently more at home at his evening tertulias than when under the canopy of the supreme directorship. in the whole of his conduct it might be truly said, that "e'en his vices lean'd to virtue's side." being the son of an irishman, don ambrose higgins, who died in the high situation of viceroy of peru, he was passionately fond of the countrymen of his father, and i believe an irishman was never deceived in his expectations of support and protection in o'higgins. in short, the character which a chilean gave to me conveys a very accurate summary of his general outline. "there is too much wax, and too little steel in his composition; however, there are few better, and many worse men than don bernardo." the character of general san martin will be best drawn from the conduct which he has observed. he was first known while in a military capacity in spain, where he served as edecan de policia to general jordan, with the rank of captain. at this time a majority became vacant, which he solicited of general castanos, but meeting with a refusal, he abandoned spain and her cause, came over to england, where he took shipping and proceeded to buenos ayres in . he there received the command of a division of the patriot troops, and defeated a party of of the enemy at san lorenzo. he was afterwards appointed commander in chief of the army of buenos ayres, in upper peru, where nothing transpired to render an account of his command of any importance. when superseded, he went to mendoza, and there met o'higgins and the chilean refugees; a plan for the restoration of chile was formed, san martin took the command of the army. the success of the patriots at chacabuco and maypu has already been related, from which time nothing of importance occurred till , when he was appointed by the chilean government general in chief of the forces sent to peru, called the "liberating expedition." i shall abstain from making any comments on the character of general san martin, leaving my readers to form their own opinions concerning him, founded on the facts which i shall present, authenticated by the circumstances as they arose. lord cochrane is too well known to require any encomium from my pen. his services to his native country entitled him to the honour of knighthood in the military order of the bath; being the only captain in the british navy, who enjoyed this distinguished badge of national glory. in the new world, when his services were not needed in the old, his career of glory has been as brilliant as his most important services were necessary; and i do not hesitate in asserting, that but for his assiduity and unremitting attention, his military knowledge, and determined valour, the western shores of america would have still been in the possession of spain; her fleet would have now commanded the pacific, and "british commerce" would have been excluded from the extensive market which it enjoys. chile, peru, and columbia have repeatedly expressed their gratitude, the high sense they entertain, and the just appreciation which they hold of the merits of this hero; this supporter of their rights; this defender of their liberty--and if the name of cochrane can ever be forgotten in the old world, or his services not duly requited, it will be found enrolled in the imperishable archives of the new, enshrined in the gratitude of the present and future generations. "lord cochrane is such a miracle of nautical skill and courage; his cause of banishment from his country is so lamentable--his adventures have been so romantic--and his achievements so splendid, that no englishman can read them without pride, that such things have been done by his countryman; and without solemn concern that such talents and genius should be lost to the land that gave them birth."[ ] don juan gregorio de las heras, major-general, and second in command of the army, had established his character as a soldier and a commander, by his boldness and intrepidity at talcahuano, in . this general merited the applause of every one, and his conduct in peru endeared him to every soldier, and every lover of the cause in which he fought;--there can be no doubt that had he been the commander in chief, those torrents of blood which have been shed in peru since , would most certainly have been spared. in his actions las heras was mild, affable, and unassuming, and in his manners he was a perfect gentleman. in his general character he was sincere and candid; uniting always such qualities as made him beloved by his friends, and feared by his enemies; in fine he is an ornament to society, and an honour to his birth-place, buenos ayres, where his patriotic virtues have been rewarded with the supreme magistracy. don bernardo monteagudo was one of those individuals who too often appear on the stage in revolutionary times, who "without feeling mock at all who feel." he is a native of upper peru, of the lowest rank in society, of spurious offspring, and african genealogy; he applied himself to the study of the law, and his mind is composed of the very worst materials which characterize the sullen zambo; his imagination is active and aspiring, like that of the mulatto, a composition which is formed to fulfil the spanish adage, "_tirar la piedra, y esconder la mano_, throw the stone, and hide the hand." he had been repeatedly employed by his master san martin to gild over, under the forms of law, such proceedings as even he, with a blushless cheek was ashamed to avow. the murder of the two carreras at mendosa, and that of the spanish officers confined at san luis, are examples of what one monster can execute, and another defend. his subsequent conduct in peru will better serve to define his true character than what i dare even venture to attempt--for fear it should be supposed that prejudice has acted as a stimulus. the talents and literature of monteagudo have been held up as possessing considerable perfection; but it was justly said by un limeño[ ] in his _alcance al postillon_, printed at santiago, september th, , "that his productions were impertinent comparisons, formed for benumbed and monotonous newspaper paragraphs." the expedition having left valparaiso, the o'higgins entered the bay of coquimbo, where the araucano and a transport had been sent to embark some troops; these joined the rest, and we proceeded to our rendezvous, pisco, and entered the bay on the seventh of september. on the eighth the troops began to disembark, but such was the prudence of general san martin, that they were not allowed to proceed towards the town of pisco, until about three thousand were landed; these advanced on the ninth, formed in three solid squares, under the command of major-general las heras, while san martin ran down the coast of the bay, in the schooner montezuma, to observe the operations of the enemy, which was composed of forty regulars, and two hundred militia, commanded by the count of monte-mar. this extraordinary prudence gave the inhabitants of pisco time to retire, which they did, and took with them even the furniture from their houses, while they drove before them their slaves and their cattle into the interior. san martin, not willing to attribute the absence of the inhabitants, and the loss of provisions, to his own tardy movements, but to the inimical feelings of the peruvians, was very much chagrined, and stated it as his belief, that he had been deceived with respect to the accounts he had received from different parts of peru; and, in fact, he began to doubt of the success of the expedition. what a contrast was this to the landing of the gallant lieutenant-colonel charles, about a year before; who, with less than one-tenth of san martin's troops, disembarked, and in three hours possessed himself of the battery and town of pisco. but this was considered an imprudent act, and a want of generalship: and so it was, if the greatest skill consists in avoiding danger, and in sparing both friends and enemies for a more convenient occasion, to which may be added, that charles lost his life. on the day on which the expedition arrived at pisco, the constitutional government had been restored in lima, and the viceroy was at the theatre when he received the first news: he immediately retired, after having heard the old spanish adage frequently repeated, "_a cada cochino gordo, le llega su san martin_--for every fat hog, san martin, will arrive;" alluding to the fairs held in spain on the day of saint martin for the sale of hogs. the idea, that "all was not right in denmark," induced pesuela to send immediately for the manager of the theatre, and to examine the prompter's book; when convinced that there was no collusion between the south american hero and the clown of the lima stage, his excellency dismissed the manager, stating, that being a native of spain, he could not doubt his loyalty. had he been an american, he would perhaps have been sent to prison for the prophetic crimes of calderon, the author of the comedy. on the fourteenth, part of the convoy which had been separated from us at sea arrived; and in the evening a spanish vessel of war, bearing a flag of truce, having on board a spanish officer, was sent by the viceroy to san martin to solicit a cessation of hostilities, and to appoint commissioners to conciliate the interests of spain and america. on the twenty-sixth, the deputies met at miraflores, two leagues to the southward of lima, and signed an armistice of eight days; but at their conferences nothing was agreed to, the spanish deputies requesting an acknowledgment of the constitutional government of spain, and the evacuation of the peruvian territory by the chilean forces; and the patriots that of the absolute independence of the country. such being the respective basis on which the conciliating deputies were ordered to insist, the conference ended on the fourth of october, and on the fifth hostilities again commenced. on the arrival of the expedition at pisco, several proclamations were issued: that of the supreme director of chile contained the following paragraph: "peruvians,--behold the pact and conditions on which chile, in the face of the supreme being, and calling on all the nations of the earth as witnesses and revengers of a violation, faces fatigues and death to save you. you shall be free and independent; you shall constitute your own laws by the unbiassed and spontaneous will of your representatives; no military nor civil influence, either direct or indirect, shall be exercised by your brethren in your social dispositions; you shall discharge the armed force sent to protect you at the moment you choose, without any attention to your danger or security, should you think fit; no military force shall ever occupy a free town, unless it be called in by a legitimate magistracy; neither by us nor through our assistance shall any peninsular or party feelings, that may have preceded your liberty, be punished: ready to destroy the armed force which resists your rights, we pray you to forget, on the day of your glory, all past grievances, and to reserve the most severe justice for future obstinate insults." on the thirteenth of october, san martin issued the following paragraph from the army press: "people of peru,--i have paid the tribute which, as a public man, i owe to the opinion of others: i have shewn what is my object and my mission towards you: i come to fulfil the expectations of all those who wish to belong to the country that gave them birth, and who desire to be governed by their own laws. on that day when peru shall freely pronounce as to the form of her institutions, be they whatever they may, my functions shall cease, and i shall have the glory of announcing to the government of chile, of which i am a subject, that their heroic efforts have at last received the consolation of having given liberty to peru, and security to the neighbouring states." the sequel will shew how these solemn promises were forgotten; and how the dreadful results which followed such a system of duplicity and deceit are characteristics which blacken the name of a private individual, and blast the honour of a "public man." on the fifth of october, hostilities having recommenced, colonel arenales, with a division of twelve hundred men and two pieces of artillery, left pisco for ica, where he arrived on the sixth, and was received by the corporation and inhabitants of the city with the strongest marks of the most sincere enthusiasm in the cause of liberty. colonel quimper and the count de monte-mar, with a force of eight hundred men, fled from ica, but two companies of infantry, with their officers, returned and joined arenales. part of the division under arenales was sent to la nasca on the twelfth, where they entered, and completely routed the enemy. quimper and monte-mar made their escape, owing to the fleetness of their horses; but all the baggage, consisting of arms, ammunition, and equipage, was taken, together with six officers and eighty privates. on the fifteenth, about a hundred mules laden with stores belonging to the enemy were also captured; and arenales having established an independent government at ica, proceeded on his route towards guamanga. the troops of the expedition were distributed on the different estates in the neighbourhood of pisco, chincha, and cañete, which either belonged to spaniards, or americans who had proved themselves inimical to the object of the liberating forces, particularly on those belonging to the count of monte-mar. all slaves capable of bearing arms, and willing to serve in the army of san martin, were declared free; however, the number that presented themselves did not accord with the sanguine expectations of the chief, and his uneasiness at what he considered lukewarmness in general in the sacred cause began to produce impatience bordering on despair. he informed lord cochrane that he should remove his head quarters to truxillo; but his lordship fortunately advised him to desist from a plan which would undoubtedly at once have ruined all his hopes. truxillo being at the distance of a hundred leagues to the northward of lima, it would have been almost impossible for his troops to have marched across a country such as i have already described without experiencing the greatest privations; and for want of the necessary stores they could not possibly have returned by sea; besides, the division under the command of arenales would have been abandoned to its fate, and almost delivered up to the enemy. the only temptation that such a position could hold out to san martin was, that truxillo is a walled city, easily tenable, and at a short distance from the sea-port of huanchaco; however it was determined to remove the head quarters to the north of lima, and on the twenty-second the troops began to embark. on the twenty-sixth, the whole of the liberating expedition left the bay of pisco, and on the twenty-ninth it arrived off callao, where the vessels anchored under the island of san lorenzo, presenting at once to lima a view of the forces sent to free the metropolis of south america from the chains of colonial thraldom. on the thirtieth, the transports, under convoy of the san martin, dropped down to the bay of ancon; the o'higgins, lautaro, independencia, and brig araucano, still remaining in the bay of callao. on the third of november, his lordship astonished the inhabitants of callao, by sailing through the narrow passage that lies between the island of san lorenzo and the main, called the boqueron. never had the spaniards known a vessel of more than fifty tons attempt what they now saw done with a fifty gun frigate. expecting every moment to see us founder, the enemy had manned their gunboats, and formed themselves in a line ready to attack us the instant they should observe us strike; to witness which, the batteries were crowned with spectators; but to their utter astonishment we passed the straight, leaving them to ruminate on the nautical tactics of the admiral of the chilean squadron. having passed the boqueron, a ship and a schooner hove in sight; the ship proved to be english, the schooner to be the alcance, from guayaquil, bringing the news of the revolution and declaration of independence of that city and province, and having on board the ex-governor and other spanish authorities. guayaquil followed the example of the other south american cities in the manner in which she threw off the colonial yoke; the spanish mandataries were deposed, and a new government established on the ninth of october, without any bloodshed, or even insults offered to the individuals deposed. the adventurous spirit of lord cochrane immediately formed the project of performing the most gallant achievement that has honoured the exertions of the patriot arms in the new world. the two spanish frigates prueba and vengansa had left the coast of peru, and the only vessel of respectable force left at callao was the frigate esmeralda. she was at anchor in this port, guarded by fifteen gunboats, two schooners, two brigs of war, and three large armed merchantmen, besides the protection of the forts and batteries on shore, and a floating boom surrounding all the vessels, open only on the north side, lying close to the shore of bocanegra. his lordship determined on cutting out the frigate, the brigs and schooners, and as many of the boats and merchantmen as might be possible. this daring enterprize was to be executed by volunteers alone; but when the act was proposed on the third of november to the crews of the different vessels, the whole of them wished to share in the glory of the undertaking. on this account it became necessary to issue the following proclamation, which was received with that enthusiasm which the voice of a hero causes, when he speaks to those who know his character: "soldiers and sailors,--to-night we will give a mortal blow to the enemy; to-morrow you will present yourselves before callao, and all your companions will look on you with envy. one hour of courage and resolution is all that is necessary to triumph; remember that you are the victors of valdivia, and fear not those who have always fled before you. "the value of all the vessels taken out of callao shall be yours; and, moreover, the same sum of money offered by the government of lima to the captors of any vessel of the chilean squadron, shall be distributed among you. the moment of glory is at hand. i hope, chileans, you will behave as you have hitherto done; and that the englishmen will act as they are accustomed to do both at home and abroad. nov. th, . cochrane." on the fourth of november, fourteen boats belonging to the chilean vessels of war were manned, and left the ships, filled with volunteers, at half past ten o'clock at night; but this was only intended by his lordship to exercise the men. on the fifth, being the day determined on by the admiral for the gallant enterprize, the signalman of the flag-ship was sent to the signal staff erected on the island of san lorenzo, where he hoisted two or three flags, and was answered by the o'higgins; the lautaro, independencia, and araucano immediately weighed anchor, and stood out of the bay, leaving on board the o'higgins the boats and volunteers. this _ruse de guerre_ completely succeeded, and the spaniards were persuaded that they had nothing to fear that night, for they supposed that some strange sail had appeared in the offing, and that our vessels had gone out in pursuit of it. all being thus ready, at ten o'clock at night we again embarked in the boats, and proceeded towards the inner anchorage, on the outside the boom the united states frigate macedonia, and the english frigate hyperion, were at anchor; and, as we passed the former, after being hailed by the sentry at the gangway, who was immediately hushed by the officer on deck, many of her officers hung over the bulwarks, cheered us in whispers, wishing us success, and wishing also that they themselves could join us. not so the hyperion; although not so near to her, the sentries continued to hail the boats till we had passed. the boats containing two hundred and forty volunteers proceeded in two divisions; the first under the command of captain crosbie, of the flag ship, the second, of captain guise of the lautaro, both under the immediate direction of his lordship. at midnight we passed the boom; lord cochrane being in the first boat, was hailed from a gun boat, but, without answering, he rowed alongside her, and standing up, said to the officer, "silence! or death; another word and i'll put you every one to the sword!" without waiting a reply, a few strokes of the oars brought the boats alongside the esmeralda, when his lordship sprang up the gangway and shot the sentry; the one at the opposite gangway levelled his musket and fired; his lordship returned the fire, and killed him, when turning round to the boats he exclaimed, "up my lads, she's ours!" the soldiers and sailors now boarded her in every direction, and possession of the quarter deck was immediately taken. the spaniards flew to the forecastle, where they defended themselves, and kept up a continued fire of musquetry for seventeen minutes, when they were driven below, and obliged to surrender. we had scarcely obtained possession of the quarter deck, when a gunboat close astern of the frigate fired a shot into her; the shot tore up the deck under the feet of captain coig, the commander of the esmeralda, and wounded him severely; it also killed two english sailors, and one native; but the officer and crew of the boat immediately abandoned her. the frigate was in an excellent state of defence, and her crew under good discipline; the men were all sleeping at their guns, and the guard of marines on the quarter deck; and so prompt were the latter, when his lordship jumped up the gangway, that they appeared as if they had been ordered out to receive him; indeed had not the boats under the command of captain guise boarded at almost the same moment, behind the marines, the admiral and many others who boarded her on the starboard side must have fallen by their fire. his lordship at this time received a shot through the thigh, but, until the ship was ours, he paid no attention to the wound, except binding a handkerchief round it; after which he stood on one of the guns of the quarter deck, and laid his leg on the hammock netting, where he remained till three o'clock in the morning, and then went on board the o'higgins to have it dressed by the surgeon. the following order was issued by the admiral to the captains on the first of november, : "the boats will proceed, towing the launches in two lines parallel to each other, which lines are to be at the distance of three boats' length asunder. "the second line will be under the charge of captain guise, the first under that of captain crosbie. each boat will be under the charge of a commissioned officer so far as circumstances permit, and the whole under the immediate command of the admiral. "the officers and men are all to be dressed in white jackets, frocks, or shirts, and are to be armed with pistols, sabres, knives, tomahawks, or pikes. "two boat-keepers are to be appointed to each boat, who, on no pretence whatever, shall quit their respective boats; but are to remain therein, and take care the boats do not get adrift. "each boat is to be provided with one or more axes or sharp hatchets, which are to be kept slung to the girdle of the boat-keepers. the frigate esmeralda being the chief object of the expedition, the whole force is first to attack that ship, which, when carried, is not to be cut adrift, but is to remain in possession of the patriot seamen, to ensure the capture of the rest. "on securing the frigate, the chilean seamen and marines are not to cheer as if chilenos; but, in order to deceive the enemy, and give time for completing the work, they are to cheer, viva el rey! "the two brigs of war are to be fired on by the musketry from the esmeralda, and are to be taken possession of by lieutenants esmond and morgell, in the boats they command; which being done, they are to be cut adrift, run out, and anchored in the offing as quickly as possible. the boats of the independencia are to busy themselves in turning adrift all the outward spanish merchant ships; and the boats of the o'higgins and lautaro, under lieutenants bell and robertson, are to set fire to one or more of the headmost hulks; but these are not to be cut adrift so as to fall down upon the rest. "the watchword, or _parole_, and counter-sign, should the white dress not be sufficient in the dark, are '_gloria_,' to be answered by '_victoria_!' (signed) cochrane." it was the intention of lord cochrane to clear the bay, according to the instructions given; but being wounded, and the resistance made by the spaniards on board proving much greater than was expected, captain guise ordered the cable to be cut; which being done, the frigate began to drift from her anchorage. the batteries were pretty active during the engagement, and when the hyperion and macedonia sheeted home their topsails and began to move out of the way of the shot, the firing increased. these ships shewed two lights, one at the mizen peak, the other at the jib boom, as distinguishing signals, which being observed by lord cochrane, he immediately ordered the same to be shewn on board the esmeralda: thus she was brought out of the anchorage with less damage than either of the other two sustained. indeed, excepting the shot from the gun boat, the esmeralda sustained none whatever. from the lists that were found on board the prize it appeared, that she had three hundred and twenty persons on board, besides some visitors, who, from what had been observed, imagined that nothing uncommon would take place that day. on the following, when the prisoners were mustered, their numbers only amounted to one hundred and seventy-three; thus their loss was one hundred and fifty-seven, besides several wounded, who at nine o'clock on the sixth were sent ashore with a flag of truce. our loss amounted to eleven killed, and twenty-eight wounded. his lordship immediately proposed to the viceroy an exchange of prisoners; which being acceded to, ours were immediately sent ashore, and those from the dungeons of casas-matas were ordered to join the army under san martin. the loss of the esmeralda was a death blow to the spanish naval force in the pacific, and created a most extraordinary effect in lima; the natives looked congratulations to each other, but dared not to speak, while the spaniards indulged themselves with every kind of useless vociferation. to such a degree of frenzy were they wrought up in callao, that on the sixth, when the market boat belonging to the united states' ship macedonia went ashore, the crew was murdered by the infuriated spaniards, who fancied that they had assisted the patriots on the preceding night. of this achievement of lord cochrane, captain hall says, "the skill and gallantry displayed by lord cochrane, both in planning and conducting this astonishing enterprize, are so peculiarly his own, and so much in character with the great deeds of his early life, &c." captain downes, of the macedonia, in a letter to general san martin, says, "i do most sincerely congratulate lord cochrane upon the capture of the esmeralda; the exploit was executed in a gallant stile never surpassed." the bulletin of the army presented, in the report of the capture of the spanish frigate, a specimen of the jealous feelings of the general in chief. the first statement is, "before the general in chief left the vice-admiral of the squadron, they agreed on the execution of a memorable project, sufficient to astound intrepidity itself, and of itself to make the history of the liberating expedition of peru eternal."--again: "those valiant soldiers who for a length of time have suffered with the most heroic constancy the hardest oppression, and the most inhuman treatment in the dungeons of casas-matas, have just arrived at our head quarters. flattering promises of liberty and the threats of death were not sufficient to destroy their loyalty to their country; they have waited with firmness the day on which their companions in arms should rescue them from their misery, and revenge the insults which humanity has received in their persons. this glory was reserved to the liberating _army_, whose efforts have snatched from the hands of tyranny these respectable victims. let this be published for the satisfaction of these individuals and that of the army, to whose _arms_ they owe their liberty. (signed) san martin." were the character of lord cochrane not known in the world, it might be believed that the plan and execution of this action were the offspring of the wisdom of san martin; but how the liberty of the prisoners of war confined in callao could be owing to the efforts of the army is quite paradoxical. indeed the first assertion is as void of truth as the second, and it would be as easy proved to be so, were it necessary. the only way to praise the hero of this enterprize is to leave here a blank: all those who contemplate this achievement must pay the tribute due to the friend of rational liberty, the advocate of south american emancipation, the supporter of the civil rights of the new world, the true friend of the oppressed. on the ninth of november the army left the bay of ancon, and dropped down to huacho, where the troops immediately began to disembark, and head quarters were established at huaura on the twelfth. at ancon general san martin distributed several proclamations. in one addressed to the spaniards residing in peru, he says "spaniards, your destiny is in your own hands; i come not to declare war against the fortunes and persons of individuals; the enemy of the liberty and independence of america alone is the object of the vengeance of the arms of the patria.--i promise you in the most positive manner, that your property and persons shall be inviolable; and that you shall be treated as respectable citizens, if you co-operate in the great cause." to the spanish soldier who wishes to abandon his arms, he promises a "safe and commodious passage to europe should he request it," or wishing to remain as a soldier, or as a private citizen, "the same enjoyments and securities as the defenders of the country." similar promises were repeated at huacho by a decree. "i. the goods and property of all spaniards, excepting those who have publicly endeavoured to prolong the evils of the war by their seditious writings, shall be under the protection of the liberating army of peru, in the same manner as the property of americans. ii. those spaniards who after we have taken possession of lima (if the fortune of war favour us) shall solicit letters of citizenship, shall receive them, and shall be declared citizens of the state of peru." had not general san martin compromised himself in this solemn manner, his subsequent conduct in lima could only have been called arbitrary; but when acting in direct violation of such public assurances, it is not harsh to call it dishonourable and unjust. footnotes: [ ] sir james mackintosh, in the house of commons. [ ] dr. don jose cabero y salasar, peruvian charge d' affairs in chile. chapter x. battalion of numancia joins the liberating army....victory at pasco by arenales....route of arenales from ica....courts martial held in the squadron on officers....conduct of general san martin....viceroy pesuela deposed....expedition to pisco....to arica....action at mirabe, under lieutenant-colonel miller....description of arica.... of tacna....of ilo....armistice celebrated by generals san martin and la serna....prorogation of....lord cochrane leaves mollendo, and arrives at callao. on the third of december the battalion of numancia, being six hundred and fifty strong, left the service of the viceroy of lima, and passed over to that of the patria, joining a detachment of the liberating army, sent to meet them at retes in the valley of chancay. this corps, which was entirely composed of colombians, had retained the name of a regiment sent from spain under general morillo, and was considered the stay of the viceregal authority in peru. a private correspondence had been held between san martin and the officers of this battalion, and promises made to them by san martin, which, like many if not all similar ones made by this great man, were never fulfilled. the loss of so important a part of the spanish army was a severe blow to pesuela and the spaniards in lima, and a great addition to the physical strength of the liberating army. the arrival of officers and private individuals from lima increased daily; on the eighth, thirty-six officers, and a greater number of persons of respectability in lima, arrived at chancay, and joined the patriot forces. on the eleventh, the news of the victory at pasco, obtained by colonel arenales over general o'reilly and a division of the royal army of twelve hundred men, arrived at huaura. after the action at ica on the sixth of october, arenales marched with his division into the interior, and on the thirty-first he entered the city of huamanga; but the spanish authorities had fled, carrying with them the public funds. the inhabitants of huamanga welcomed the arrival of the patriot forces, and voluntarily declared their independence of spain and her mandataries. on the sixth the division left the city, and continued their march towards the district of tarma; and the advanced guard arrived at jauja, thirty leagues from lima, at the same time that the spaniards were abandoning it; a skirmish took place, and the spaniards lost eight killed and twenty-one prisoners, including four officers. on the twenty-second a division advanced on the city of tarma, and entered it on the twenty-third. tarma immediately proclaimed itself independent of spain. on the sixth of december the action was fought at pasco; the loss of the enemy consisted in fifty-eight killed in the field of battle, nineteen wounded, three hundred and forty-three prisoners, including twenty-eight officers, two pieces of artillery, three hundred and sixty muskets, flags, ammunition, baggage, and utensils of war; but general o'reilly made his escape to lima. on the arrival of the news of the victory obtained at pasco over the royalists, the city and province of huanuco declared their independence, and the cities of cueñca and loxa, in the jurisdiction of quito, advised general san martin of their having also abjured all foreign domination, and enrolled their names in the list of free and independent states. on the fourth of january, the news arrived of the revolution of truxillo, under the direction of its spanish governor the marquis of torre tagle. such a concatenation of successful events was certainly more than the general of the liberating army could have anticipated. from the fifth of november to the fifth of january the spaniards had lost the whole of their naval force in the esmeralda, the prueba and vengansa having disappeared: numancia, considered the flower of their army and the prop of their authority, had deserted their cause; the division under the command of their trusty general, o'reilly, had been defeated by a minor force; all the provinces to the northward of lima had declared their independence, and were contributing with men and every other necessary to support the army then encamped within thirty leagues of the capital of peru; every thing save hope seemed to have abandoned them, while every thing appeared to favour the cause of the liberating forces, and to invite them to crown their career of glory by entering lima, which at this moment was the pandemonium of oppression and despair. the incomparable prudence of san martin, however, revolted at the effusion of blood which must necessarily be the precursor of so much glory: he felt more sympathy at knowing that both his own and the enemy's troops were falling victims almost hourly to the ravages of the tertian fever and other diseases, for want of proper medicines, care, and rest. the situation occupied by the royal troops between lima and ancon, at a place called asna pugio, is very swampy, and the number of men who became affected with intermittent fevers increased daily; the hospitals in lima were filled with them, and their decrease by death, as well as by desertion, was alarming to the viceroy. the desertions would have increased if the distance of the head quarters of san martin had not been so great, for several deserters were apprehended, and shot by the royalists. on the second of february the officers of the ex-esmeralda, named by general san martin the valdivia, in commemoration of the important victory gained by lord cochrane over this place, addressed the following letter to captain guise: "sir,--we have heard with regret and disappointment, that his excellency general san martin has been pleased to order that the name of this ship shall be changed, and that she shall henceforward be known under the appellation of the valdivia. we regret that in the squadron of chile the immortal memories of lautaro and galvarino, who have, ages past, been sacrificed on the ashes of the aspiring liberty of their country, and the names of their surviving countrymen, o'higgins and san martin, (the avengers of their wrongs, and the restorers of their rights) should be associated with 'valdivia,' a spaniard who has shed such torrents of american blood, the conqueror and enslaver of chile, and founder of the city which bears his name; and we are disappointed to find nothing in the new name commemorative of the capture of the esmeralda, but that it has been made subservient to the celebration of another victory over the enemy, which, although we had the misfortune not to participate in it, yet claims our admiration and gratitude, but which bears no more relation to the capture of this ship, than the battle of chacabuco does to that of maypo; and, what would the victors of maypo have thought had that memorable event borne the name of chacabuco! it is further to be remembered, that very few of the captors of the esmeralda took part in the affair at valdivia.--we are fully aware, that there are instances in the squadron of ships being named after particular victories, (viz. chacabuco) but these were bought into the service by the property of the state; the esmeralda was purchased by the blood of her subjects.--if the esmeralda be destined to lose the name under which she was captured, we express a hope that she will bear one more consonant to the feelings of those by whom the service was achieved, than that which has been selected. we have not had an opportunity of communicating with our brother officers of the squadron, and these remarks are to be understood as individually our own; we trust however that they will not appear to yourself or to the commander in chief irrelevant with the interest which we must always take in every thing in which the glory and prosperity of the navy of chile are concerned.--may we beg, therefore, that you will take the earliest opportunity of bringing the subject before the admiral and his excellency general san martin, for their consideration. (signed.) robert bell, lieutenant, h. c. freeman, lieutenant, j. m. michael, surgeon, james l. frew, purser, hugh jerome kernan, assistant surgeon." this letter, and the subsequent behaviour of the officers, obliged the admiral to order them under an arrest, and to exhibit charges against them for their trial by a court martial, which was held on the second of march. the charges were "for having, by their letter bearing date the second of february, , addressed to martin george guise, esq., combined falsely to represent to the said martin george guise, esq., captain in the naval service of chile, and on divers other occasions, that the appellation of the 'valdivia,' given to the frigate esmeralda was in disrespect to, and derogation of, the names of o'higgins and san martin, and thereby to excite dissatisfaction against the admiral and commander in chief, in commemoration of whose service in the capture of the fortifications of 'valdivia' the said name was given to the 'esmeralda.' for attempting to excite dissatisfaction against their aforesaid superior officers, by misrepresenting the name of the fortress of 'valdivia,' so given in commemoration of useful services, as the name of a man whom the said officers further, with the intent aforesaid, have pronounced to be a spaniard who shed torrents of american blood; and moreover, that the said officers did further, with the intent aforesaid to create dissatisfaction against the superior officer, falsely represent the person named valdivia to have been the enslaver of chile. that the said officers did hold various conversations derogatory to the vice-admiral of chile, their commanding officer, and unnecessarily and impertinently did interfere in the matter of naming the 'esmeralda,' contrary to the rules and subversive of the discipline of the naval service of the state." the sentence given by the court was, that "james m. michael, surgeon, and james frew, purser, be dismissed the naval service of the state; and robert bell, lieut., henry c. freeman, lieut., and hugh j. kernan, assistant surgeon, be dismissed their ship, to be severely reprimanded and admonished by the court, but to be recommended by the court to the commander in chief for other appointments. (signed) robert forster, president, w. wilkinson, t. sackville crosbie, william prunier, henry cobbett." during the arrest of the officers of the valdivia, lord cochrane wished to make an attack on the vessels of war, blockships, gunboats, and fortifications of callao, and communicated the order for the same on the twentieth of february, which order to captain guise was answered by a private note to his lordship, stating, that he could not think of entering on this service with any officers except those under arrest, and that in case they were not permitted to rejoin their ship for this attack, he must resign the command of her, and begged lord cochrane to appoint another person to the command. the admiral answered captain guise, that he could not appoint another person to the command of the valdivia, nor admit the resignation of captain guise on a private solicitude, nor even on an official one, without some reasons being alleged. captain guise now wrote officially, stating the refusal of lord cochrane to be a sufficient motive for his resignation, and expressing a request to be permitted to accompany his officers to head quarters, and tender his commission to general san martin. his letter was also accompanied with one from the petty officers of the valdivia, who refused to serve under any other commander than himself. after some further correspondence captain guise informed lord cochrane that he had given the command of the valdivia to lieutenant shepherd, and considered himself superseded. the admiral, for the fourth time, sent captain guise an order to act as commander of the valdivia, requiring a categorical answer to "whether he would or would not obey his orders, and signal to weigh, made four hours previous to this communication," again requesting some grounded reason for his resignation. the order to weigh was on service of importance, and captain guise refused to obey it, repeating, that his officers having been separated from his ship, he could not act, and had given over to lieutenant shepherd the command of the valdivia. on the twenty-second of february lord cochrane ordered captain spry to proceed in the brig galvarino to the rendezvous off chorillos, which order was answered by captain spry, who requested leave to resign the command of the galvarino, as "his friend captain guise had been obliged to resign that of his ship," and alleging that he held no appointment from the chilean government. lord cochrane demanded his motive for this letter, and why, without the appointment alluded to, he had exercised the authority of commander of the brig. the answer was, that "i (captain spry) entered the chilean navy conditionally, to serve only during the period of the services of captain guise, under whose patronage and protection i left england;" that his appointment was a verbal one from the governor of valparaiso, when he received his commission of captain. he added a desire to be permitted to go to head-quarters at huacho, and explain his conduct to general san martin, concluding "if captain guise is compelled to resign the command of the valdivia, i am determined no longer to hold that of the galvarino." captain spry was placed under an arrest on the twenty-second of february, on charges to be exhibited, and such was the state of mutiny on board the galvarino, that captain crosbie, of the flag-ship, was ordered to anchor her in a safe situation, which induced captain spry to write to the admiral, stating, that as he had been superseded by captain crosbie, he considered himself on half-pay, and free from the jurisdiction of the martial law. his letter was answered by an assurance, that he was not superseded; but that having disobeyed the orders given, and declared his determination not to hold the command of the galvarino, captain crosbie had been ordered to anchor her on the starboard beam of the o'higgins, this appearing necessary from the state of the crew of the brig, and that he was not superseded in consequence of his said determination, nor had he gone through the usual forms of delivering up the brig. captain spry again insisted on his exemption from martial law; but finding the admiral determined to bring the affair to the decision of a court-martial, of which he was aware that if the sentence were consonant with the crime, and according to the ordinances of the navy, he would never leave the deck of the brig, he now expressed no objection to being tried by his brother officers, who were "neither prejudiced nor interested." the charges exhibited by the commander in chief were "for neglecting or refusing to proceed on service in the chilean state brig galvarino, pursuant to an order of the commander in chief, both verbally, and in writing, given on or about the twenty-second of february, , in breach of the th article of war, made and provided.--for having contrary to his duty as an officer written or caused to be written, a certain letter to his commander in chief, signed john tooker spry, further declining, or refusing to proceed on the duty so ordered, or longer to serve than during the period of the services of captain guise, under whose patronage and protection he had left england, and for setting forth in the said letter, that if captain guise was compelled to resign the command of the valdivia, he the said john tooker spry would no longer hold the command of the galvarino; thereby delaying and discouraging the service, in breach of the th article of war.--that the said john tooker spry did by his conduct aforesaid, hold forth an evil example to his ship's company (who immediately thereafter did in writing and otherwise, refuse to weigh anchor until certain grievances, which they did not set forth in the said writing, should be redressed), the same being subversive of all discipline and subordination, and in violation of the th article of war, made and provided." the sentence of the court-martial was, that "john tooker spry be dismissed the command of the brig galvarino, be placed at the bottom of the list of captains, and be severely reprimanded by the court." on the fourth of march captain guise communicated to lord cochrane, that captain spry having been dismissed the service by sentence of a court-martial, he requested permission to accompany him in his own boat to huacho, which lord cochrane informed him he could not allow at that critical moment. on the sixth the two captains and the officers went down by the o'higgins to head-quarters, where ld. cochrane on the twelfth again offered to captain guise the command of the o'higgins, which he refused, as also ever to serve under lord cochrane again. the whole of this affair was the result of what had passed at valparaiso, before the expedition quitted that port; and from several circumstances connected with the conduct of these officers, and their publicly asserting, that general san martin would not swerve from his promises made to them, their firm reliance on his support and patronage, as well as the subsequent behaviour of the general himself, evinced that he had been the entire instigator of what had passed at valparaiso in july and august, , both on the part of the chilean government, and on that of the different officers who then and there misconducted themselves. he well knew that he could not tamper with lord cochrane, whose honourable feelings would not allow him to deviate from that line of conduct which had marked the whole tenour of his public life: and had not the officers of the squadron stood forth in support of their commander in chief, his tender of his commission would have been accepted by the government. on the arrival at head-quarters of captains guise and spry, the latter, in defiance of decorum and example, was appointed by general san martin his naval adjutant, edecan naval, as if to gall the feelings of lord cochrane, and bring into supreme contempt the sentence of a court-martial, by protecting in the most public manner the individual who had merited the chastisement of the law. so elated was captain spry with his new appointment, that in the house of colonel, now general miller, he conducted himself towards lord cochrane in the most ungentlemanly manner, so much so, that the honourable feelings of miller were wounded, and he apologized to the admiral for the conduct of spry. on the fourth of march, general san martin sent captain guise and his officers with a request to the admiral to reinstate them in their former appointment: his lordship again offered captain guise the command of any vessel in the squadron with such officers as might at the time belong to the vessel, and to those officers who had not been dismissed the service, appointments to the vacancies in the squadron, according to the recommendation of the court-martial; but captain guise again refused to act with any other officers than those who accompanied him, and the officers returned their appointments, with the assurance that they would only serve under the orders of captain guise; they therefore all returned to the head-quarters of the army, where they remained until the surrender of callao. at the same time that the chilean squadron was a scene of insubordination and irregularities among those officers whose duty it was to obey the orders of their commander in chief, not only for the good of the service of chile, but to the end that they themselves might meet with that deference and obedience in their subalterns which constitute the very essence of military discipline, lima was the theatre of anarchy and confusion. on the twenty-ninth of january a revolution took place in the spanish army at asnapugio, founded on the plea of inability in the viceroy pesuela to conduct the affairs of the viceroyalty, during such critical circumstances as the present. the result was, that an official communication was made to pesuela, stating the absolute necessity of his abdication, and that it must take place within four hours. pesuela answered, that the time specified was insufficient for him to deliver up the authority, but cantarac, caratalá, valdes, ricafort, and the other officers at the head of the insurrection replied, that the answer of his excellency did not correspond with their expectations, and that "the troops were under arms, with all their officers, without a single exception, and that they would not lay them down until they had obtained an order to acknowledge general la serna viceroy of peru, and were assured that a similar order had been given to the different tribunals and authorities. in consequence of this intimation, pesuela issued the order, and la serna was proclaimed viceroy and captain general of peru. this change only proves the right of power, which admits of no interpretation, nor leaves any subterfuge to obedience. the similarity of the fate of the first and last of the spanish viceroys as governors general is rather remarkable. the first, don francisco pizarro, was murdered in his own palace at lima, by his subaltern officers; the last, don joaquin de la pesuela, was forced to abdicate his authority in the viceregal palace at lima, by his subalterns, and to nominate an usurper as his successor. on the seventh february la serna addressed the following proclamation to the royal troops:-- "soldiers!--your will and support has placed me at the head of the government of the viceroyalty!"--a declaration more rebellious than any one presented by the insurgent chiefs of america, until the conduct of the spaniards forced them to declare their independence of spanish domination. on the thirteenth february capt. carter, in the brig of war araucano, arrived at chancay, with the spanish schooner of war aransasu, which he had taken on the ninth. the aransasu was from panama, bound to callao, having on board three officers belonging to the regiment of numancia, and several spanish merchants, as passengers. on the thirteenth march part of the squadron left the bay of huacho, having on board a division of the patriot forces, under the command of lieut.-colonel miller, destined to cause a diversion in the spanish troops, by landing at pisco. this object was effected on the twenty-first; but owing to the written instructions given by general san martin, and from which lord cochrane was determined not to swerve, the result was what might have been anticipated: nothing of importance to the cause of america. after the abdication of the viceroy pesuela, he retired to a country residence at the small village of la magdalena, and wishing to send his lady and family to europe, he solicited the necessary passport of general san martin, well knowing that they could not escape the chilean vessels of war employed in the blockade of callao; but the permission was refused. lady cochrane and family having arrived at callao in the british frigate andromache, for the purpose of seeing his lordship before she left south america for england, dona angela, the vicequeen, supplicated her ladyship to interpose her influence with the general, as the only means by which she could expect to obtain leave to embark for europe. lady cochrane, actuated by that sincere philanthropy which so eminently distinguishes and adorns her, went immediately to huaura, and obtained of general san martin the favour she solicited, on condition that her ladyship would remain on shore in peru one month, which was agreed to; but being the "better half" of a sailor, her ladyship declined remaining at head quarters among soldiers, and spent the whole of the time at huaito, a plantation belonging to doña josefa monteblanco, highly gratified with the kind and hospitable treatment of her host. the viceroy's lady took her passage on board the andromache, and lord cochrane was honoured by an introduction to her by captain sherriff. after some conversation. doña angela declared, that his lordship was a polite _rational_ being, and not the _ferocious brute_ she had been taught to consider him--a compliment which his lordship received with all due respect to her vicequeenship. on the return of lord cochrane to head quarters, it was determined by general san martin, that a second division under the command of lieutenant miller should embark, and act according to the discretionary instructions of the admiral. the admiral left the bay of huacho, and proceeded to pisco, where some minor skirmishes took place with the enemy. the troops were re-embarked at pisco on the twenty-second of april: his lordship hoisted his flag on board the san martin, and with the schooner aransasu proceeded to arica, where with the assistance of uncommonly favourable winds we arrived on the fifth of may. the landing in the bay of arica is attended with almost insurmountable difficulties; indeed sometimes it is not practicable, except on the balsas made by the natives. these are composed of seal-skins inflated: two are generally sewed together end to end, and the balsa is formed by lashing two of these side by side, laying some canes on the top. the man who manages the balsa sits astride on the aftermost part, and impels the balsa with a double paddle, broad at each end, which he holds by the middle, and so dexterous are the natives, that there is not the least danger of being upset, or even of being wetted with the surf. on these original and apparently precarious rafts, all the merchandize is landed at arica, and all the specie brought to the vessels, except the sea be very calm and the surf run low. immediately on our arrival at arica, a flag of truce was sent on shore with a summons to surrender, accompanied by an assurance that all persons and personal property would be respected, except those and such as belonged to those who by their present conduct should prove themselves enemies to the cause of south american liberty. this was answered by an assurance that the persons and property at arica were all under the protection of the arms of his most catholic majesty, whose rights would be defended by his faithful vassals against his rebel subjects and foreign pirates. nothing was now left but to enforce obedience, and the situation in which the san martin had anchored not being a commanding one, she was hauled nearer in shore on the sixth, and a few shells thrown over the town; but as this had not the desired effect of intimidating the enemy, a landing of the troops was determined on, and in the night a convenient place was sought for to the southward, but the search proving fruitless, part of the troops were embarked on board the schooner aransasu, under the command of major soler, and ordered to proceed to the northward to sama, to land and march upon the town. on the eighth lieutenant-colonel miller followed with the remainder of the troops, to join major soler. a few shots and shells were occasionally thrown into the town, to keep the spanish troops on the alert as to the movements of the ship, while our troops should make their appearance on shore, which happened on the morning of the eleventh, when the whole of the inhabitants and troops abandoned the town. captain wilkinson with the marines landed with considerable difficulty, and hoisted the patriot flag on the staff at the small battery. major soler captured from the enemy fifty-eight thousand dollars and six bars of silver, under the protection of a guard of soldiers on their way to arequipa. on the fourteenth the whole of the troops and the marines belonging to the san martin, amounting to two hundred and seventy men, under the command of lieutenant-colonel miller, left arica, and marched towards tacna, twelve leagues from arica, where they arrived on the fifteenth, and without any opposition took possession of the town; they were here joined by two companies of infantry, who deserted the cause of the king. lord cochrane ordered that these should form the base of a new regiment, to be called the first independents of tacna, and as the particular flag for the troops of peru was not determined on at head quarters, his lordship presented them with one having a sun in the centre on a blue field. from original papers found in the custom-house at tacna, it appeared, that the quantity of european goods in the stores at arica belonged to spanish merchants residing at lima; consequently an order was issued for their being embarked in the san martin. immediately on the landing of lord cochrane, he called upon the inhabitants to form a civil government, for the protection of their property against many individuals who began to come into the town from the country for the purpose of plunder, assuring them at the same time, that, although they had not attended to his invitation to remain in their houses, it was not his intention to deliver up the town to be sacked, nor had he done it, but at the same time he could not be answerable for thefts committed, unless the inhabitants would assist in the protection of their houses and property, and in apprehending all suspicious and disorderly persons; he also promised them that all private property belonging to americans, the friends of the cause of their country, should be returned if claimed, and, consequent to this promise, the schooner dos amigos, and other property seized, were delivered to their owners. colonel miller advanced with his division towards moquegua, and had a sharp engagement with a party of royal troops at mirabe, commanded by colonel sierra, who was taken prisoner. on the morning after the engagement, which took place in the night, another detachment of troops arrived to join the one stationed at mirabe; but on hearing the fate of their comrades they thought it better to retreat than to enter into any dispute with the victorious troops, and their valiant leader. on the arrival of this news, and that the troops were at moquegua, lord cochrane dropped down to ilo, with the san martin, for the purpose of being nearer to colonel miller's head quarters. the town of arica is the capital of the province of the same name; it is situated in a small valley, and stands close to the sea. it was anciently a place of considerable importance and size; but since the year , when it was destroyed by an earthquake, it has gradually decreased, the more respectable inhabitants having retired to tacna; their departure was also hastened by its being sacked in by the pirate john warren. arica has at present a parish church, and three poor convents, san francisco, la merced and san juan de dios. the population is composed of whites, indians and a few slaves. owing to some low swampy ground, produced by the annual overflowings of the river and the want of proper drainage, intermittent fevers are very common here, of which many _serranos_, people from the interior, die, when they come down on business. all our people who slept on shore at arica, including the admiral, suffered by them, and some died. the climate is similar to that of lima, it seldom rains, but the fogs are very heavy. the valley of arica is small, but at the distance of a mile from the town it is pretty, owing to the relief which the eye feels when resting on vegetable productions, after being fatigued with the barren sandy scenery which surrounds the town. the principal produce of the valley is _aji_, capsicum, and olives, which are remarkably large, and finely flavoured; plantains, bananas, camotes, yucas, and other vegetables, are cultivated in the gardens, and some tropical fruits. the town of arica will doubtless become of considerable importance with the changes that have taken place in south america. indeed it always would have been so, had not the colonial laws declared it a close port, _no abilitado_. it is the key to the provinces of upper peru, arequipa, la pas, potosi, chuquisaca, &c., being a better landing place than ilo, mollendo, or quilca; it possesses also the advantage of fresh water for shipping, which is extremely scarce at the other ports. arica is situate in ° ´ ´´ south latitude, and ° ´ ´´ west longitude. the town of tacna stands in a very pleasant and fruitful valley, it is considerably larger than arica, and has a much better appearance; some of the houses are large, commodious, and well furnished; thus, among other articles, i saw several piano-fortes. the principal wealth of the inhabitants consists in their large droves of mules, for the purpose of conveying the merchandize from arica into the interior, and from some parts of upper peru to lima. tacna is to arica what piura is to paita. on the twenty-seventh of may we came to an anchor in the bay of ilo, and immediately supplied colonel miller with everything that he wanted; he had removed his head-quarters from the town of moquegua to a farm called rinconada, judging that the climate of this place was better for his troops, as it was cooler here than in the town. ilo is an indifferent anchorage, and a bad landing place; the village is composed of miserable huts, and a few houses which indicate the residence of penury; a scarcity of water prevails, and consequently of fruit and vegetables. col. sierra and capt. suares were here embarked, having been sent down by colonel miller; but they were soon afterwards liberated at mollendo on their parole of honour, having sworn not to act hostilely until they should be exchanged according to the regulations of war. at the moment when colonel miller was about to advance into the interior, having disciplined a number of recruits from different parts of the adjoining provinces, and when everything promised a general revolt in favour of the cause of independence, he transmitted to lord cochrane the original communication which he had received from the governor of arequipa, announcing a cessation of hostilities for twenty days, from the date of the receipt of the communication. this armistice was ratified by general san martin and the viceroy la serna on the twenty-third of may, and sent express by the latter to ovalle, the governor of arequipa. the armistice had been personally formed by the contending chiefs, who met at punchauca, and agreed on appointing new deputies for the purpose of conciliation; they were to hold their conferences on board of a neutral ship in the bay of callao, for which purpose the cleopatra was chosen. such was the state of lima at this period, that the cabildo addressed the following official note to the viceroy la serna: "most excellent sir,--no title is more glorious, nor more amiable, than that of a pacificator. augustus, when stifling the volcano of civil war among the romans, and giving peace to the universe, was the greatest of mortals, and almost a god upon earth. it is the duty of every prince to imitate this example, if he be desirous of, and interested in the health and prosperity of the people committed to his guardianship. whoever knows the great advantages and feels what it is to reign over grateful hearts, will find more charms than in the most fortunate and prosperous warfare. "your excellency, placed at the head of the junta of pacification of peru, has gained the love, the veneration, and the confidence of this city. the hope of this great felicity has caused us to suffer with resignation, losses and privations of every class. the end of the armistice is fast approaching, and we do not yet perceive one ray of this celestial gift. why is it so long retarded, while lima suffers such a train of evils that fill her with consternation? "to the distance of twenty-five leagues round the city, the most frightful devastation every where reigns. our cattle, our grain, and our fruits are the victims of military fury. the richest and most opulent of our provinces have succumbed to the prepotent force of the enemy, and the rest are threatened with the same fate; while this suffering capital experiences the horrible effects of a rigorous blockade, hunger, robberies, and death. our own soldiers pay no respect to the last remains of our property, even our oxen, indispensably necessary for the cultivation of the land, are slain. if this plague continue, what will be our lot--our miserable condition! "the soldier must be supported as well as the citizen, but not to the injury of the latter: they must both be guided by the same laws, and must both be equal. both compose the state, and the support of both is necessary; founded on the same right of nature and of society. but let us abandon these melancholy relations, and confine ourselves entirely to those of peace. "peace is the general wish of the people: they have laboured since the year under the grievances of war, and have not force to support it any longer. without the money, without the provisions, without the desire, and without the means of supporting an opposition, the people flock to the standard of general san martin; hundreds of men leave our walls, that they may not die of hunger. a swarm of robbers infest our roads and intercept our provisions, insult us, and plunder our houses. the public speak loudly against our apathy and silence, and evils worse than those usually produced by war must soon be the result. the happiness of the capital and of the kingdom depends on peace, and this depends on the "yes" of your excellency. the corporation of lima hopes to see it established, and promises to your excellency the constant and everlasting gratitude of the people. god preserve your excellency many years. hall of the corporation of lima, june th, . (signed) the count of san isidro, and all the members of the body corporate." to this note the viceroy gave the following answer: "most excellent sir,--unquestionably war is the exercise of the right of force, and the most terrible of all the plagues that destroy the human species: it does not pardon even the victorious, and the most fortunate partake of its effects. "as a philanthropist i love and desire peace; but as a soldier and a public man, i cannot accede to a peace which is indecorous: thus, if the general in chief of the invading army will agree to an armistice honourable and fair to the arms of the spanish nation, you and every one of you may remain assured that my vote shall be for peace; but if he will not, no! for i never will assent to any thing derogatory to the honour of the spanish nation, in which case it would be better to die than to live. i believe that these are also the sentiments of the individuals who compose the body corporate; and of this city, which is called heroic, whose inhabitants are well aware, that to deserve this epithet valour, patience and the other virtues, not common, are necessary. "in fine, although i am at the head of the junta of pacification, in it i have only one vote, so that the corporation is deceived in supposing, that peace depends on my "yes;" but i repeat, that if it did, i would prefer war to an indecorous peace; and even supposing that preponderance which your excellency actually gives to the forces of general san martin, you must be aware, that war is a game where more or less is risked according to the passions of the gamblers: at one time one wins, and another loses; and when much is won, it generally happens that the winner continues gambling in the hope of increasing his store; or he who loses will not desist, in hopes of regaining what he has lost; at last fortune varies, and the winner not only loses what he had won, but also what he had when he began. "this is what i have to say in answer to your note of yesterday. god preserve your excellency many years. (signed) jose de la serna." from the number of deserters who daily arrived at huaura, the head quarters of general san martin, the state of lima was well known. the officers of the army were divided in their opinions; the cabildo in open war with the viceroy; the opinion of the people in favour of liberty; the troops disserting or dying in the hospitals; hunger parading the streets, and every one, high and low, general and soldier, master and slave, convinced that the idea of resisting the patriot forces was the chimera of a madman. hence it followed that when la serna proposed to san martin an armistice of sixteen months, under the pretence that both parties should refer the decision to the court of madrid, the latter declined acceding to it. notwithstanding the favourable appearance of things, the army of san martin was tired of their inglorious inaction, knowing full well that to take the capital of peru only required them to enter it, and this opinion was supported by every new arrival from lima. the consummate prudence of san martin, however, did not allow him to risk the firing of a shot, lest the ball might slay "a brother;" at the same time that his guerilla parties were actively engaged in committing all the cruelties incident to predatory warfare. but the presence of the general was not necessary in such skirmishes, nor his humanity compromised; the truth is, his person was in no jeopardy. complaints began to be every day more loud in the army, and dissention more visible, so much so, that it became a daily task at the tables of the officers, to drink to "those who fight for the liberty of peru, not those who write, _a los que pelean por la libertad del peru, no los que escriven_." san martin, aware of the state of his army, embarked in the schooner montezuma, in order to re-establish his health, and a prorogation of the armistice for twelve days more was ratified. during this cessation of hostilities, his lordship dropped down to mollendo, where a neutral vessel was taking in wheat, for supplying the city of lima. the admiral immediately wrote to the governor of arequipa, expressing his astonishment that neutrals should be allowed to embark provisions during an armistice, for the purpose of supplying one of the belligerents, to the injury of the other, and contrary to the spanish colonial laws; to which the governor answered, that the whole of the wheat at mollendo belonged to spanish merchants residing at lima, or arequipa, and that no part of it whatever belonged to neutrals, and that if any had been embarked since the celebration of the armistice, it was in violation of the orders of the government, to correct which he had again issued the most positive orders against such an infraction of the stipulations of punchauca. with this answer his lordship retired from mollendo, but sent in a boat with a lieutenant belonging to the san martin, to watch the actions of the enemy at mollendo; on being assured that the embarkation of the wheat was persevered in, the san martin returned to mollendo on the nineteenth of june, and shipped the remainder of the wheat found on shore. when every thing was ready for colonel miller to proceed into the interior, the news arrived, on the fifth of july, of the prorogation of the armistice. this with the news received from the army, through private letters, induced his lordship to equip and victual some of the prizes taken at arica, and leave them for the reception of the troops under col. miller, in case of any emergency, and repair to callao, for the purpose of learning the true state of affairs at head-quarters. we arrived at callao on the eighth of july, . chapter xi. lima evacuated by la serna....occupation of by the liberating army....loss of the san martin....arrival of lord cochrane at lima....conduct of the spaniards after leaving lima....independence of peru sworn....san martin constitutes himself protector of peru....interview between lord cochrane and san martin....announcement of the views of the spanish army....state of the squadron....san martin takes the field....arrival and departure of cantarac....proclamation of san martin....treasure taken at ancon by lord cochrane....surrender of callao....tribunal of purification established at lima....lieutenant wynter arrested at callao....paroissien and spry visit the squadron at midnight....squadron leaves callao, arrives at guayaquil. on the arrival of lord cochrane in the bay of callao, on the eighth of july, general san martin came on board the flag ship, from the schooner sacramento, bringing with him the welcome news of the fall of lima, or rather of its evacuation by the spanish troops. on the sixth of july, , the viceroy la serna informed the marquis of monte-mira that it being convenient, he should retire with the troops under his command from the capital of peru, leaving only a few companies of the regiment of la concordia, militias, to preserve order and tranquillity, under the command of his excellency the political and military governor. on the same day la serna informed san martin of his determination; as also that he had deposited in the castles at callao such warlike stores as he had thought requisite for his ulterior operations, leaving the rest in lima as he found them. la serna solicited that such sick as he had been obliged to leave in the hospitals might be kindly treated; he requested, too, that none of the inhabitants might suffer any persecution for their past political opinions and conduct, assuring general san martin that his conduct should be subject to every rule of reciprocity. a detachment of horse entered lima on the evening of the seventh, but without any orders from general san martin, and on the eighth the liberating army took possession of the city, but the general in chief judged it most prudent to remain on board his schooner in the bay of callao, till the night of the ninth, when he made his private entry into lima. on the fourteenth an announcement appeared in the ministerial gazette of lima, that, on account of the great scarcity of wheat in the city, general san martin had directed that two thousand fanegas, then on board the flag ship of the chilean squadron, should be landed at the chorrillos free of duty; and for this purpose, the san martin was ordered to the said port, which she entered on the sixteenth: she was, however, unfortunately run aground by captain wilkinson, and, although every endeavour was made to save her, she was completely lost, owing to the uncommon swell of the sea at the time. on the fourteenth a note was addressed by general san martin to the cabildo of lima, requesting the convocation of a general meeting, that the opinion of the inhabitants might be made public, with regard to their determination on the independence of the country. this request was immediately complied with; and on the fifteenth the members of the corporation, his excellency the archbishop, the prelates of the conventual orders, the titles of castile, and many other individuals, met at the city hall, and the following act was signed by the whole of them: "the general will is decided on the independence of peru with respect to the spanish or any other foreign domination; and to this effect let the form of the necessary oath be drawn up and administered." on the seventeenth lord cochrane entered lima amid the loudest acclamations of the inhabitants. the marquis of monte-mira had sent his carriage for lord cochrane to chorrillos; but a deputation from the cabildo and others from different corporations having met his lordship on the road, he alighted from the carriage, and mounted a horse, brought for the occasion. the inhabitants of lima being desirous of seeing the naval hero of the expedition, a levee was held on the same evening at the palace, where the admiral received the compliments of the principal personages of the city; but general san martin judging it more decorous to be absent when a "subaltern" received the thanks of the cabildo of lima, and the compliments of its inhabitants, remained at la legua, half-way between lima and callao, where he had established his head quarters. on the eighteenth in the morning the archbishop visited his lordship, which visit was immediately returned; when lord cochrane left the city to wait upon the general in chief at his head quarters. on the seventeenth an order was published for the abolition of the spanish royal arms in any part of the city where they had been placed; and this proclamation was accompanied by another, as follows: "having been informed, with great horror to my delicate sentiments, and in violation of my humane principles, that some passionate individuals vex and insult the spaniards with threats and taunts, i order and command, that all persons who shall commit such kind of excesses, in opposition to american gentleness of manners, to decorum, and to good and rational education, be denounced to the political and military governor of the city, that, the fact being proved, he may be punished for such reproachful conduct." on the eighteenth a civic guard was ordered to be formed, to supersede the spanish regiment de la concordia, and the gran mariscal marquis of torre tagle was appointed colonel of it. on the twenty-second of july a proclamation was issued, ordering that the public act of the declaration of the independence of peru should take place on the twenty-eighth of the same month, with all the solemnity due to so memorable a transaction. after the spanish troops left lima on the sixth, their march into the interior was marked with the most horrid outrages: from lurin to bujama, a distance of nine leagues, thirty-four dead bodies were left on the road; some had died of disease, others had been shot; and, according to the uniform statements of the deserters from the spaniards, colonel rodil was the executioner of the greater part of these victims. on the thirteenth, thirty-nine sick and five dead men were found near to bujama, and carried to a temporary hospital. from the village of huaycan advices were received on the twenty-first that la serna had issued an order imposing capital punishment on every individual belonging to, or under the protection of the spanish army, who should leave the route assigned a distance of twenty yards; notwithstanding which, upwards of three hundred deserted at huaycan, and at lunaguaná upwards of six hundred. in a skirmish near the latter place the spaniards lost twenty killed, and more than fifty prisoners, and la serna was completely surrounded in the ravine of pilas. the efforts of the guerilla parties in harassing the spanish troops were constant and successful; and had a division of the liberating army been sent to co-operate with the guerillas, it is most probable that the entire spanish army would have been annihilated; but the whole of the army was disposed of in the barracks of lima, or at bellavista, where they were stationed to watch the operations of about eight hundred men, under general la mar, in the batteries of callao. a small division under general arenales stationed in the province of yauyos was ordered to lima, and the whole of the interior was abandoned to the protection of the guerilla parties, who had to act against the organized spanish army, so that the towns which had declared their adherence to the cause of independence, when they believed themselves under the protection of the liberating forces, were abandoned, to experience all the rigours of their constituted enemies, the spaniards, and thus pave the way to the state of affairs which subsequently took place in peru. [illustration: indian muleteer of mexico. indian of san pedro, western shore of mexico. _engraved for stevenson's narrative of south america._] lord cochrane having retired from lima, on board the o'higgins, in the bay of callao, received on the twentieth the following invitation from the cabildo of lima: "lima, the capital of peru, is about to solemnize the most august act which has been performed for three centuries, or since her foundation; this is, the proclamation of her independence, and her absolute exclusion from the spanish government, as well as that of any other foreign potentate; and this cabildo, wishing the ceremony to be conducted with all possible decorum and solemnity, considers it necessary that your excellency, who has so gloriously co-operated in the consecution of this highly desired object, will deign to assist at the act, with your illustrious officers, on saturday the twenty-eighth inst." on the twenty-eighth the procession, composed of general san martin, lieut.-general marquis of monte-mira, the staff officers of the army, the university and four colleges, the prelates of the religious orders, the military chiefs, the judges, many of the nobility, and the members of the cabildo, left the palace, mounted on richly caparisoned horses, and were followed by the body guard of the ex-viceroy, the escort of the general in chief, and the battalion no. , with the flags of chile and buenos ayres, and proceeded to a stage erected in the plasa mayor. general san martin ascended the stage, and displayed the national flag of peru, pronouncing at the same time--"peru is from this moment free and independent, by the general vote of the people, and by the justice of her cause, which god defend!" the cavalcade then paraded the principal streets of the city, and returned to the palace where lord cochrane was waiting in the balcony, whence medals commemorative of the act were distributed; but even these evinced the ambition of the general, who, from the very outset of the expedition, had endeavoured to monopolize every species of credit: for this purpose, the inscription chosen for the medals was, "lima secured its independence on the twenty-eighth of july, , under the protection of the liberating army, commanded by san martin." on the following sunday a solemn te deum was chanted at the cathedral, and high mass was celebrated by the archbishop; after which the individuals who on the twenty-eighth had formed the procession advanced separately to the high altar, and took the oath, on the sacred gospels, to "defend with their opinions, property and persons, the independence of peru, against the spanish government, and any other foreign power." on the twenty-ninth colonel miller, having been obliged to abandon the province of arica on the twenty-second, landed at pisco, having increased his division to nine hundred and sixty men. on the thirtieth lord cochrane reported to general san martin, that on the twenty-fifth he had ordered captain crosbie to enter the anchorage at callao, and to cut out as many of the enemy's vessels as he could conveniently bring to anchor outside the range of the batteries, which he did in the most gallant manner, bringing out the san fernando and milagro, the two largest merchantmen, and the resolucion, armed as a sloop of war; besides several launches and boats, burning at the same time two hulks within musket shot of the enemy's batteries. after the ceremony on the sunday at the cathedral was concluded, a deputation from the cabildo waited on general san martin, with the request, that he would take upon himself the political and military superintendence of peru, which in the name and on the behalf of the capital they had the honor to offer to him. to this communication, with such a smile as few but san martin can express, he informed them, that the offer was quite unnecessary, for that as he had _taken_ the command he should keep it so long as he thought proper, and that he should moreover allow no juntas, nor assemblies for the discussion of public matters during his pleasure. this was an answer not very congenial to the feelings of men who had just been called on to swear, in the presence of the almighty, to their _liberty_ and _independence_! on the fourth of august fresh advices of the atrocities committed by the spaniards on their march into the interior were published at lima; one piece of intelligence was, that at the town of tauripampa a hospital had been formed of the church, and that at the time that la serna left the town the doors of the church were closed, and the whole set fire to, when the miserable soldiers who could not accompany the spanish army were burnt to death, as well as great numbers of the inhabitants of the town in their houses, rodil at the same time declaring, that it was more honorable for them to die than to serve in the ranks of the rebels. on the third of august the following proclamation was issued at lima: "don jose san martin, &c.--when i took charge of the important enterprize of the liberty of peru, i had no other motive than a desire of forwarding the sacred cause of liberty in america, and of promoting the felicity of the people of peru. a considerable part of this is already realized; but this work would remain incomplete, and my feelings little satisfied, if i did not establish for ever the future security and prosperity of the inhabitants of this region. "after my arrival at pisco i announced, that owing to the imperiousness of the circumstances, i was invested with the supreme authority, and that i was responsible to the patria for the exercise of it. these circumstances yet exist, because peru has yet to combat with her enemies, and consequently it is necessary that the supreme command should continue in my hands. "i hope, that because i thus act, you will do me the justice to believe that i am not induced by any ambitious views, but by public convenience alone. it is abundantly notorious, that i only aspire to retirement and tranquillity, after a life so greatly agitated as mine has been; but i hold a moral responsibility which requires the sacrifice of my most sanguine desires. the experience of twelve years of revolution in venezuela, cundinamarca, chile, and the united provinces of rio de la plata have given me a knowledge of the evils attending the untimely convocation of congresses, while the enemy yet exists in the country; independence must first be secured; we must afterwards think of the solid establishment of liberty. the religious scrupulosity with which i have always in my public life fulfilled my promises gives me the right to be believed; and i compromise myself most solemnly with the people of peru, that at that moment in which the territory is free, i will resign the command, to make room for such a government as they may think fit to elect. the frankness with which i speak ought to serve as a guarantee for the sincerity of my intention. i might have ordained that electors named by the citizens of the free departments should nominate the person who was to govern until the reunion of the representatives of the peruvian nation. the simultaneous invitation of a great number of persons of elevated character and decided influence in this capital who have requested that i should preside at the administration of the state, ensures to me the popular appointment; besides, as i had obtained the assent of the people under the protection of the liberating army, i have judged it more decorous and convenient to follow this loyal and frank conduct, which must tranquillize all those who are jealous of their liberties. "when i have the satisfaction to deliver up the command, and to give an account of my operations to the representatives of the people, i am confident that they will not find in the epoch of my administration any of those strokes of venality, despotism, or corruption, which have characterized the agents of the spanish government in america. to administer strict justice to all, rewarding virtue and patriotism, and punishing vice and sedition wherever it may be found, is the model by which i shall regulate my actions, so long as i am placed at the head of this nation." after this most fascinating description of what a chief magistrate ought to be, but in which the duties of a general are not even hinted at, san martin declares himself the protector of peru, and don juan garcia del rio, don bernardo monteagudo, and dr. don hipolito unanue, his three ministers of state. it is almost unnecessary to say how ill this self-constituted authority agrees with the promises made by the supreme director of chile in his proclamation to the peruvians; and in that of general san martin issued after his arrival in peru. i merely hint at these things, that my readers may not be surprized when they find that his promises were just as binding in one case as in the other. on the following morning, the fourth of august, lord cochrane, uninformed of the change which had taken place in the title of san martin, visited the palace, and began to beg of the general in chief to propose some means for the payment of the foreign seamen, who had served their times, and fulfilled their contract. to this san martin answered, "that he would never pay the chilean squadron unless it were sold to peru, and then the payment should be considered as a part of the purchase money." to this lord cochrane replied, that by such a transaction the squadron of chile would be transferred to peru by merely paying what was due to the officers and crews for services done to peru. san martin knit his brows, and turning to his two ministers, garcia and monteagudo, who were in the room, ordered them to retire; to which his lordship objected, stating that as he was not master of the spanish language, he wished them to remain as his interpreters, fearful that some expression, not rightly understood, might be considered offensive. san martin now turned round to the admiral, and said, "are you aware, my lord, that i am protector of peru?" "no," said his lordship. "i ordered my secretaries to inform you of it," returned san martin. "that is now unnecessary," said his lordship, "for you have personally informed me: but i sincerely hope that the friendship which has existed between general san martin and myself will still continue to exist between the protector of peru and myself." san martin then, rubbing his hands, said, "i have only to say, that i am protector of peru!" the manner in which this last sentence was expressed roused the admiral, who advancing, said, "then it now becomes me, as the senior officer of chile, and consequently the representative of the nation, to request the fulfilment of all the promises made to chile, and the squadron, but first, and principally, the squadron." san martin returned--"chile! chile! i will never pay a single real to chile! and as to the squadron, you may take it where you please, and go when you choose: a couple of schooners are quite enough for me: _chile! chile! yo nunca pagare un real a chile! y en quanto a la esquadra, puede v. llevarla donde quiere, e irse quando guste, con un par de goletas me basta a mi_;" and snapped his fingers in the face of the admiral. on hearing this, garcia left the room, while monteagudo walked to the balcony. san martin paced the room for a short time, and, turning to his lordship, caught his hand, and said, "forget, my lord, what is past!" the admiral, dashing away the tear with which surprize and indignation had suffused his eye, replied, "i will, when i can," and immediately left the palace. his lordship was now undeceived by the man himself: the repeated reports he had heard of his past conduct crowded on his distracted imagination, and knowing what might be attempted, from what had already been done, his lordship agreed with me, that his life was not safe ashore; he therefore immediately took horse, rode to boca negra, and went on board his frigate. this conversation has been denied by some of san martin's partizans; but were it necessary more fully to substantiate the fact, the subsequent official correspondence between the protector of peru and the admiral of the chilean squadron would fully prove the truth of what i have stated. san martin, reflecting that the batteries of callao were yet in the hands of the enemy, and that should the chilean naval force raise the blockade, he did not possess the means of driving them out, nor of forcing them to surrender, exerted himself in conciliatory measures, heaping promise upon promise, both as to the payment of the arrears of the crews and premiums and rewards. he endeavoured to soften down his expressions of the fourth, stating that he only said, or meant to say, that "it might be interesting to chile to sell some of her vessels of war to peru, because this latter wanted them for the protection of her coasts." but even this subterfuge was exposed by his saying further, that "the government of chile would at all times devote their squadron to the furtherance of the cause of peru." san martin, on finding that official correspondence did not produce the desired effect of bringing lord cochrane to agree with him that the squadron was under his controul, even after he had assumed the supreme authority in peru, and constituted himself an independent chief, at the head of a separate government, whose views were seemingly opposed to the interests of chile, now addressed the following private letter to his lordship, which on account of its uncommon expressions i give in spanish: "lima, agosto de .--mi lord,--de oficio contesto a v. sobre el desagradable negocio de los buques de la esquadra, que a v. y a mi nos causa disgustos impresindibles, porque no es posible hacer quanto se desea. nada tengo que añadir si no es la protesta que no he mirado, ni miraré jamas con la menor indiferencia quanto tenga relacion a v. yo le dije en valparaiso que su suerte seria igual a la mia, y ereo haber dado pruebas de que mis sentimentos no han variado, ni pueden variar, por lo mismo que cada dia es mayor la trascendencia de mis acciones. no, mi lord, yo no veo con indiferencia los asuntos, de v. y sentiria no poder esperar que acabe de convencerse de esto mismo. si a pesar de todo v. deliberase tomar el partido que me intimó en la conferencia que tubimos ahora dias, esto sería para mi en conflicto a que no podria substraerme. mas yo espero que entrando v. en mis sentimientos, consumirá la obra que ha empesado, y de la que depende nuestro comun destino. adios, mi lord! se repite de v. con el mas sincero aprecio su eterno amigo. (signed) josé de san martin." omitting the preamble of this letter, let us analyze the expressions from "si a pesar: if in despite of every thing, you are resolved to observe the conduct which you intimated to me, in the conference which we had a few days ago, this would be to me a conflict from which i could not extricate myself. but i hope that, agreeing with my sentiments, you will consummate the work that you have begun, and on which depends our common destiny." the conference here mentioned, alluded to the delivery of the chilean vessels of war to the protector of peru, on the condition of his paying to the officers and crews their arrears, and rewarding them according to his solemn promise made at valparaiso, before the expedition left that port; and the agreement of sentiment cannot signify any thing more, than that lord cochrane should deliver up the squadron to san martin, which would have been a most honourable "consummation of the work" to his lordship, and a most melancholy one to chile; but _she_ was to have been forgotten in the common destiny. on the fourth of august don jose de la riva aguero was nominated president of the department of lima, with the authority of the ex-intendente. on the same day the high chamber of justice, _alta camarca de justicia_ was established in lima, with the powers and attributions of the ex-audiencia. on the same day san martin issued a proclamation, not of the most flattering nature, to spaniards resident in lima and the independent provinces of peru, but which served as the precursor to his future conduct. he here repeats, "i have promised to respect your security and property, i have fulfilled my promise, and none of you can doubt my word. notwithstanding this, i know that you murmur secretly, and some of you malignantly circulate the idea that my designs are to surprize your confidence. my name is of sufficient celebrity not to stain it with the infraction of my promises, even though it be conceived that as an individual i might fail in their fulfilment. spaniards! you well know that the public opinion is such, that even among yourselves there are many who spy and observe your conduct; i am informed of every thing that passes, in the most retired parts of your houses; tremble if you abuse my indulgence!" whether the system of espionage established by san martin was in this state of activity, like a volcano ready to burst and to destroy with its ignited lava the peaceful habitation and the innocent inhabitant, who, confiding in its harmless appearance, ventured to dwell within its destructive range, it may be impossible to determine; but it seems somewhat derogatory to the character of a supreme chief, guarded by twelve thousand armed men, that he should thus threaten two or three hundred unarmed individuals, who, relying on his assurances, had sworn to follow the fortunes of the country, and live subject to the newly-established system of government. besides, such a manifestation was calculated to do away with the apparent object of the proclamation of the seventeenth of july, already quoted, and to fan the flame of civil discord and dissention--the greatest enemies to public tranquillity. the twelfth of august produced the publication of the act in lima, which in all free parts of the ex-spanish colonies so highly distinguishes, and justifies in such a particular manner the revolution in those countries. the voice of reason and of nature announced, that all children born of slaves on or after the twenty-eighth of august, , were to be free, and that they were to be inheritors of the same rights and privileges as the rest of the citizens of peru. on the eighteenth the news arrived, that the divisions of the spanish army under cantarac and caratalá had formed their head quarters at jauja, thirty leagues from lima; and that la serna was at the town of carania on the twenty-ninth of july, advancing with the troops towards the same point. still the liberating army remained quiet in their barracks at lima, or were employed in the siege of callao. one of the first acts of the arbitrary disposition of the protector of peru was the expulsion of the archbishop. the following is a copy of the correspondence: "ministry of war, lima, twenty-second august, .--most excellent sir,--nothing is more conformable with the religious ideas of his excellency the protector of peru than to promote in every possible manner which prudence dictates those pious establishments which serve as a prop to public morals. but it is at the same time his duty to avoid those evils which, under a zeal for religion, might cause a spirit of opposition to the general vote of america. in this dilemma are those houses of spiritual exercises in this city; where (his excellency has been informed) abuses of the most serious tendency to the cause of the country are committed by the venerable influence of the priesthood. "in attention to this, his excellency the protector commands me to inform your most illustrious excellency, that the spiritual exercises be suspended for the present in those houses, until they be placed under the direction of patriotic clergymen, who may merit the confidence of the government, who consult the spiritual welfare of the faithful, and the support of the new institutions to which his excellency is called to peru. i have the honour, &c. (signed) bernardo monteagudo." (answer by the archbishop.) "ever since the establishment of the houses of spiritual exercises they have been protected and supported by the popes and other prelates of the church, fully aware of their utility to the faithful. those founded in this city are deserving of credit for the copious harvest they have produced, in attention to which, without scruples of conscience, and a risk of public disgust, it is impossible for me to order them to be closed. if in them any excess be committed, or any confessor should pretend to disturb the peace or public order, the moment that such is known the necessary measures shall be adopted for his punishment, which is my reply to your note of the twenty-second.--god preserve, &c. lima, august th, . (signed) bartolomé, archbishop of lima." (second note from the government.) "most excellent and most illustrious sir,--on the twenty-second instant his excellency the protector of peru ordered, that you should be informed of the necessity that existed of closing for the present the houses of spiritual exercises. in that note, after expressing those religious sentiments which filled his bosom, and which he never can belie, you are informed, that it was not his intention to close them for any considerable length of time, to the detriment of the faithful, who derived from them spiritual consolation, but that it was only for the present, because this was necessary to public tranquillity. thus his excellency observes with regret that your most illustrious excellency resists the fulfilment of his order, and he commands me to inform you, that you are to lay aside all scruples of conscience in obeying this order of the government, and those scruples which may afterwards present themselves with respect to other orders, the fulfilment of which will be equally necessary. it is convenient that your excellency should meditate on the evils that would follow, should the most perfect harmony not exist between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, and that you decide on that line of conduct which you intend to adopt, in the intelligence that the orders of his excellency the protector are irrevocable. by superior order i communicate this to your excellency for your guidance, and present my sentiments of respect and veneration, &c., &c. lima, august th, . (signed) j. garcia del rio." (the archbishop's reply.) "i have read with the greatest attention your note of the twenty-seventh of august, in which you communicate to me, by order of the protector of peru, that his excellency has observed with regret my resistance to the fulfilment of his order, to close the houses of spiritual exercises: to resist, and to remonstrate submissively are not the same thing: the first is the effect of arms and violence; the second that of veneration and respect, when the inconveniences which present themselves are expressed: in this manner my note was written. i have, moreover, other reasons for thus explaining myself--his excellency in his religious goodness had promised me that in ecclesiastical matters, and points of religion, he would agree with my opinion, to the end that nothing should be done in violation of the rules of the church. "i hope these reflections will save me from the irksome epithet of having resisted the orders of the government, and that consequently the contents of my answer will not be read with regret. i cannot omit saying, that with the greatest anguish, and a heart swimming in bitterness, i have read that the government has several orders to give; and if to them i have scruples of conscience to oppose in their fulfilment, i decide on that line of conduct which i intend to follow, in the intelligence that the decrees which will be issued are to be immutable. this advice carries with it a very elevated spirit, if we suppose that the orders to be given should relate to religious or ecclesiastical matters; for in civil affairs, and those of the government, i have signified my opinion by my prompt obedience: and what may those commands contain? will they in any manner violate the existing discipline of the church? will they be prejudicial to morality? or will they oppose the maxims of the gospel of jesus christ? because, for these cases, god has constituted bishops as the pastors and guards of that flock which jesus christ purchased at the price of his blood, who are to shout, to whistle, and restrain the ill conduct: he tells us, that we are not to be cowards in the presence of the greatest potentates of the earth, and that, if necessary, we should shed our blood and lay down our lives in so just a cause; anathematising us on the contrary as dumb dogs that did not bark when the spiritual health of his flock was in danger. "behold, then, that one of the principal obligations of a bishop is to defend with rigour the deposit of doctrine and faith which has been confided to him; and if the threatened danger be from any great potentate, to remonstrate, with respect and submission, to the end that he be not their accomplices and participators in the crime, by a cowardly condescension. this was practised by saint john chrysostom, with the emperors of the east; by saint ambrose, with those of the west; and by saint augustine with the pro-consuls of africa; those were the great lords on earth; but notwithstanding; those bishops remonstrated when they commanded any thing that might injure religion or the church; and is it possible that the supreme government of this city shall inform the archbishop that he is blindly to obey, and execute the decrees that may be given in religious and ecclesiastical matters, even though they disturb his conscience, and appear to him to be opposed to orthodox doctrines, because such decrees are to be irresistible? oh! "irresistible decrees"--this expression appears to me to be very strong, and little used by jurists and theologians; they opine that all human authority, however great it may be, and however vast and profound its acquired knowledge, can never arrive at a degree of infallibility in its decisions; it may always be deceived or deceive: consequently its resolutions ought never to be invariable--this privilege the supreme being alone possesses. fenelon and other politicians assert, that it is more glorious, and a proof of a more elevated soul in that monarch or government who, convinced of having committed an error against religion, reason or justice in their decrees, shall revoke them, than it is never to err; indeed to insist on the execution of an order, merely because it has been given in despite of the inconveniences and obstacles that have been shown to exist; it being opposed to morality, evangelical doctrine, and the dispositions of the church, is a most oppressive yoke. with respect to myself, i can assure you, that i have often remonstrated and even exclaimed against the decrees of my superiors; who, being satisfied with the justness of my arguments, have ordered them to be revoked, or varied. when a prelate of the church speaks on spiritual or ecclesiastical points, he is worthy of being listened to, and his reasonings examined, because god himself, by his evangelist st. matthew, says, that those who hear him hear the divinity, and that those who despise him despise the supreme being. "notwithstanding this doctrine, you say in your note that i am to obey the decrees of the government, without replying or remonstrating, because they are irrevocable; or that i choose the line of conduct i intend to adopt; this i did on the twenty-fourth of july last, when i put into the hands of his excellency my written resignation of the archiepiscopal dignity, begging his acceptance of it, for the reasons therein alleged; i also begged that he would grant me a passport to europe by panama, as my advanced age of eighty years, and consequent debility, would not enable me to bear the hardships of a passage by cape horn; his excellency acceded to my solicitude, and even promised to procure me a vessel for my passage. "if i then made a tender of my dignity, founded on the motives there alleged, i now repeat it, adding to those causes that of not being able to exist in a country where the prelate of the church is forced to keep silence, and stifle the strongest sentiments of his conscience, and obliged to act in opposition to them--i was born to become a citizen of a celestial country; this is my only aim, and every thing that opposes it, is, to me, disgusting. i hope that as soon as possible my resignation will be accepted, that i may be relieved from a charge which has become insupportable.--our lord preserve your life for many years. "bartolomé maria de las heras." "lima, sept. st, ." the answer to this note set forth, that the urgency of public business did not allow time to answer with "victorious arguments" the archbishop's reasonings; but that the whole correspondence should be laid before the public for their opinion. this, however, never took place, but the protector accepted the resignation of the archbishop, ordering his excellency to leave lima within the term of forty-eight hours, and to wait at chancay, fourteen leagues from lima, the determination of the government. on the thirteenth of november the archbishop embarked at chancay for rio de janeiro; the protector, as in many other cases, forgetting to fulfil his promise of preparing a vessel to conduct him to panama. before leaving chancay, the archbishop addressed the following letter to lord cochrane: "my dear lord,--the time is arrived for my return to spain, the protector having granted to me the necessary passport. the polite attention which i owe to your excellency, and the peculiar qualifications which adorn and distinguish you, oblige me by this measure to manifest to you my most sincere esteem and regard. "in spain, if god grants that i may arrive in safety, or in any other part where i may exist, i request that you will deign to command me. on leaving this country, i am convinced that its independence is for ever sealed. this i will represent to the spanish government and to the papal see, and i will also do every thing to abate their obstinacy, and to preserve the tranquillity, and to further the views of the inhabitants of america, who are dear to me. "deign, my lord, to receive these sentiments as emanating from the sincerity of my heart; and command your obliged servant and chaplain, bartolomé maria de las heras. november, nd, ." on the ninth of november the bishop of guamanga, a native of piura, then residing at lima, was ordered to leave peru within eight days, without any reason being assigned for his exile, by the autocrat of peru. although the chilean squadron was at this moment of the most vital importance to the operations of san martin against the batteries of callao, yet the crews remained unpaid, and the supply of provisions was so scanty, that, added to the general want of clothing, they were in a state fast approaching to open mutiny, which was repeatedly made known to the government at lima, but the knowledge of the circumstances produced no relief; it appeared as if san martin, having failed in gaining possession of it through the commander in chief, was determined to starve it into submission, or to drive it to some more desperate act. this his lordship reported to the government, as also, that he could not be answerable for the conduct of those serving under him, unless the government fulfilled their part of the contract. on the seventeenth of august a decree appeared in the ministerial gazette, ordering, that one-fifth of the duties collected at the custom-house should be applied to defray the arrears and to the pay of the army and navy. instead of quieting the crews, this news drove them almost to desperation, for although they were not aware that the money assigned them was absolutely incompetent to supply the deficit, yet the idea, that even when the time had arrived for the fulfilment of the promise made to them before leaving valparaiso, a new promise was made to them, the fulfilment of which must depend on the receipts of the custom-house, was incomprehensible to men whose only argument is, you owe me money, and you must pay it me. the same decree also stated, that the officers belonging to the chilean squadron were equally officers of peru, and were to be considered as such: yet this step was taken without ever consulting the will of the said officers; and certainly had they accepted the honourable distinction, it must have been at the expense of their oath of fidelity to chile; but the object was to induce them to consider themselves subject to the order of the protector of peru, for the purpose of forming a plan yet in embryo. the spanish army at jauja, in the beginning of september, spread some alarm in lima, from advices received of their movements. it appeared that they were determined to attack the capital, and on the fifth the following proclamation was issued at head quarters, by the protector of the liberty of peru: "inhabitants of lima! it appears that the justice of heaven, tired of tolerating for so long a time the oppressors of peru, now guides them to their destruction. three hundred of those troops who have desolated so many towns, burnt so many temples and destroyed so many thousands of innocent victims, are at san mateo, and two hundred more at san damian. if they advance on this capital, it will be with the design of immolating you to their vengeance; and to force you to purchase at a high price your decision, and enthusiasm for independence: vain hope! the valiant who have liberated the illustrious lima, those who protect her in the most difficult moments, know how to preserve her against the fury of the spanish army. yes, inhabitants of this capital, my troops will not abandon you; they and myself are going to triumph over that army which, thirsty of our blood and property, is advancing, or we will perish with honour, for we will never witness your disgrace. in return for this noble devotion, and that it may receive the favourable success of which it is worthy, all we require of you is, union, tranquillity and efficacious co-operation; this alone is necessary to ensure the felicity and splendour of peru.--san martin." the night before this proclamation was published, the protector rose from his seat at the theatre, after the performance was concluded, and in words similar to those contained in the proclamation, spoke to the people; the greatest enthusiasm was displayed, and the national hymn was sung three times by all present, when the protector retired, and was followed to his palace by the music and an immense concourse of people. on the seventh the army under san martin took the field at mansanilla, to the eastward of lima; the protector occupying the farm house of the same name, about a league from the city. all the spaniards residing in lima were immediately collected in the convent of la merced, to prevent any insult from being offered to them; but a false alarm being given to the inhabitants, that the spanish troops were about to enter the city, they immediately surrounded the convent, where they were with difficulty prevented from entering and putting the spaniards to death. after order had been restored, the prisoners were sent down to ancon, and placed on board two of the transports lying there at anchor. the state of lima on the seventh was the most evident proof of the determination of the inhabitants to defend their city; men, women, and children of every age, colour, and condition, paraded the streets with such arms as they could procure; these however were very useless ones, for san martin had collected the arms belonging to private individuals a few days after his arrival in lima. many persons had carried to the tops of their houses quantities of stones, while others prepared pans and wood, for the purpose of heating water, and all were determined to give a _warm_ reception to the enemy, should they enter the streets of lima. on the evening of the ninth, lord cochrane received on board the o'higgins an official communication, informing him that the enemy was under the walls of lima, and repeating the request, that his lordship would send to the army every kind of portable arms then on board the squadron, as well as the marines, and all volunteers; because the protector was "determined to bring the enemy to an action, and either conquer or remain buried in the ruins of what _was_ lima." this heroic note, however, was accompanied by a private one from monteagudo, containing a request, that the boats of the vessels of war might be kept in readiness, and a look out on the beach of boca negra, for the service of those who might escape, in case of a defeat. on the morning of the tenth lord cochrane, believing that at such a moment the mind of san martin would be too much employed with public affairs to think of private resentment, and that he might partake in the glories of the day on shore, landed at boca negra; but not wishing to pass through the capital, he chose the road leading to la magdalena, for the purpose of crossing the fields to head quarters at mansanilla. passing near some mounds of earth, called las huacas, three officers on horseback were observed standing on one of them, and his lordship, supposing them to belong to the american army, would have gone and asked them the news; but as there was no opening in the tapial, or wall-fence, we rode forward and took a path leading across the fields, about three hundred yards from the mounds. his lordship would not then return, but said to capt. crosbie, let us haste to head quarters; when, on looking to the right, we saw the spanish infantry defiling into the lane, about five hundred yards from us; lord cochrane immediately pressed forward to san martin's camp, where being immediately recognized by several officers, a murmur of congratulation was heard, and even guise and spry exclaimed, "we shall have some fighting now the admiral is come." general las heras, acting as general in chief, saluting the admiral, begged of him to endeavour to persuade the protector to bring the enemy to an action. his lordship then rode up to the house, and alighting, was received by san martin. lord cochrane immediately took the protector by the hand, and in the most earnest manner entreated him to attack the enemy without losing a single moment; his entreaties, however, were in vain, the only answer he received was, "my measures are taken, _mis medidas están tomadas_." notwithstanding this apathy, his lordship remonstrated, stating the situation in which he had not five minutes before observed the enemy's infantry, and begged of the protector to ascend an eminence at the back of the house, and convince himself how easily the victory might be obtained; but he only received the same cold reply, "mis medidas están tomadas." at this instant the clamour of the officers in the patio of the house roused san martin; he called for his horse and mounted. in a moment all was bustle, and the anticipated glow of victory shone in every countenance; the order "to arms" was given, and instantly obeyed by the whole army, which amounted to about twelve thousand men, including the guerilla parties, all anxious to begin the fight, and all determined either to conquer or to die. the protector beckoned to the admiral and general las heras, who immediately left the group of officers with whom they were conversing, and rode up to the protector, hoping that he was either about to consult them respecting the attack, or to inform them how it was to be conducted--but, at this moment, a peasant entered the patio, and walked towards san martin, who with most unparalleled composure lent an attentive ear to his important communications. he told the protector of the liberties of peru, that on the preceding day he had seen the enemy, that they were a great many, but that he did not know their exact number, not being able to count them. these and other such important advices were received; his excellency also questioned him as to his situation in life, and the particular employment he followed; whether or not he was married, how many children he had, and other things equally interesting to a general, when the enemy was in sight. as an irrefragable proof of the patriotism of this peruvian peasant, he took from his pocket a piece of dry bread, and assured his excellency that he had travelled from his home to mansanilla, to report what he knew of the enemy without having tasted it; this was an opportunity not to be lost, in which the greatness of the hero of south american independence might display that coolness in the face of an enemy so peculiarly characteristic of great men; he praised the patriotic virtues of the peasant, and promised him his protection. the admiral being disgusted with this mummery, and highly exasperated at so unnecessary a waste of time, half unsheathed his sword; he bade the peasant be gone; adding, "the general's time is too important to be thus employed in listening to your fooleries." at this indecorous interruption, san martin frowned (as when he chooses he _can_ frown) on the admiral, and riding up to the door of the house he alighted, went in and gave audience to some old women who had come to solicit the discharge of their sons or nephews, to all whom his excellency listened with his accustomed dignity and condescension. lord cochrane and a great number of the officers again ascended the hill at the back of the house, and his lordship afterwards requesting a private conference with san martin, (which was the last time he ever spoke with him) he assured him that it was not too late to attack the enemy; he begged and entreated that the opportunity might not be lost, and offered himself to lead the cavalry; but to all this he only received the cold reply, "i alone am responsible for the liberties of peru, _yo solo soy responsable de la libertad del peru_;" when the protector retired to an inner apartment of the house, to enjoy his customary _ciesta_, afternoon nap, which was however disturbed by general las heras, who came to receive orders, and inform his excellency that the army was still under arms. san martin observing that it was four o'clock, the supper hour for his soldiers, ordered that they should receive their rations. when san martin assured lord cochrane that "he alone was responsible for the liberty of peru," his lordship, convinced that any future attempt would be attended with the same success, mounted his horse; but captain crosbie, still hoping that something would take place, requested permission to remain at head quarters, which being granted, we rode down to boca negra, and embarked. the british ship of war the superb was at this time in the bay of callao, and several of the officers, expecting to see the decisive blow struck in peru, repaired to san martin's head quarters, and were astounded at the coolness of a general, who, commanding twelve thousand men, should first abandon a favourable position in which he might have intercepted the march of the spaniards, and then see an enemy composed of three thousand two hundred men pass without any hinderance, nay, without a single shot being fired, or without one attempt being made to bring them to action. after cantarac had led his troops into the batteries of callao, in a manner that would have done honour to a napoleon, the rejoicing was announced by the firing of guns, and other demonstrations, which would have harassed the soul of any leader, excepting that of the prudent san martin. the american army marched to their old camp at the legua, between lima and callao. on the morning of the eleventh, don fernando maso, who had been permitted by lord cochrane to land at callao from the english brig colonel allen, came on board the o'higgins, and asked his lordship, "if on the preceding day he had observed some officers on the huacas?" "yes," returned his lordship. "they were," said maso, "general cantarac and his two edecans." thus it was evident, that had the admiral rode up to them, as he at first intended, he would in all probability have been taken prisoner, for neither himself nor any one with him had any other arms than their swords. on the evening of the eleventh lord cochrane received an official communication from san martin, stating, "i have taken such measures, that not one of the enemy can escape; by shutting themselves up in the batteries of callao, they have delivered themselves up to me, and not one of them shall escape." but, to the surprise of all unacquainted with the consummate prudence of the protector, cantarac left the batteries on the seventeenth early in the morning, and having crossed the rimac, marched without any molestation into the interior; nothing was done or attempted, except that eight hundred men were ordered to follow him and harass his rear, and protect such soldiers as might desert. thus general cantarac, with three thousand two hundred men, passed to the southward of lima, in sight of the protecting army of peru, composed of twelve thousand, entered the batteries of callao, where he refreshed and rested his troops for six days, and then retired, taking with him arms and treasure, and retreating with his booty on the north side of lima, leaving the victorious san martin to publish the following proclamation, which appeared in the ministerial gazette on the nineteenth: "it is now fifteen days since the liberating army left the capital, resolved not to permit that even the shadow of the spanish flag should again darken the illustrious city of lima. the enemy haughtily descended the mountains, filled with the calculations they had formed in their ignorant meditations; they fancied, that to come and to view our camp was enough to conquer us; but they found valour armed with prudence; they acknowledged their inferiority; they trembled at the idea of the hour of battle, and profited by the hour of darkness; [from eleven to three o'clock in the day!] and they sought an asylum in callao. my army began its march, and at the end of eight days of uncertainty, the enemy has had to fly precipitately, convinced of their impotency to try the fortune of war, or to remain in the position which they held. "the desertion which they experience ensures us, that, before they reach the mountains, there will only exist a handful of men, terrified and confounded with the remembrance of the colossal power which they had a year ago, and which has now disappeared like the fury of the waves of the sea at the dawn of a serene morning. the liberating army pursues the fugitives; they shall be dissolved or beaten. at all events the capital of peru shall never be profaned with the footsteps of the enemies of america: this truth is peremptory: the spanish empire is at end for ever: peruvians, your destiny is irrevocable; consolidate it by the constant exercise of those virtues which you have shewn in the epoch of conflicts. you are independent, and nothing can prevent your being happy, if you will it so to be. san martin." it would be an act of injustice not to mention here, that general las heras, wounded to the very soul at the conduct of san martin, which cannot possibly bear any other epithet than that of cowardice, left the service of peru, or rather of the protector of peru, and requested his passport to chile, which was granted. his example was followed by several officers of the army, who, disgusted with what had taken place, preferred obscurity, and even poverty, to that odious title which every true soldier and patriot detests. had the force under general cantarac been attacked, it must have been beaten: the inferiority of it in every point, except discipline, ensured success to the patriot arms: these were treble the number of the enemy, fresh, vigorous, and enthusiastic; enjoying the opportunity of choosing the most advantageous positions, and in sight of the capital of the country, whose liberty they had sworn to defend; while the spanish division was harassed with a long march, without any personal incitement, and nothing before them but the prospect of a few days' rest, and a return to the interior, in which they knew, that beside the ground they trod on, no one in that part of the globe acknowledged their domination, or obeyed their commands. if it be asked, who is blameable for this dereliction of duty to the cause of american liberty? i must answer, san martin! the spaniards themselves confess, that had the division under cantarac been destroyed on the tenth of september, they should have lost all hopes of re-conquering the country, and should have immediately negociated in the most honourable terms possible for themselves, and abandoned america. consequently, the torrents of blood which have been shed in peru since the tenth of september, ; the miseries and privations of thousands in that portion of the new world; the disaffection of the natives to the just cause of their country, and their services to their spanish leaders; the necessity of an army from colombia to save peru from an ignominious subjection to her ancient oppressors; all owe their origin to the success of the spanish division on this day, which, although they obtained no decisive victory, accomplished the object which brought them from the interior. fearing a reverse at lima, on the approach of the spanish troops under general cantarac, the treasures belonging to the government, as well as the property of many individuals, had been sent down to ancon and embarked, not on board the chilean frigate lautaro, then at anchor in that port, but in several merchant vessels, to prevent them falling into the hands of the enemy. on the fifteenth of september lord cochrane received a letter from captain delano, who commanded the lautaro, informing him that the state of insubordination in the remains of the crew of the lautaro had risen to a very high pitch; for they observed the daily embarkation of money in the different merchant vessels, and this indicated, as they supposed, the jeopardy in which san martin was placed with the army; that they saw no probability their arrears would ever be paid; that should the enemy be successful they would be constrained to continue in the service, under a prolongation of the sufferings they had already experienced; and that on this account he dreaded a mutiny, and consequent plunder of the vessels in the bay. on hearing this lord cochrane went down to ancon in the o'higgins, and personally, before witnesses, sent on board the flag ship all the treasures found on board the different vessels, belonging _apparently_ to the state of peru, leaving all such as had been embarked by individuals, having the customary documents, and for which his lordship took the necessary certificates to prove that such sums had remained untouched. his lordship at the same time informed such persons as claimed any property, and many others at ancon, that his only object was to possess himself of such money or treasures as belonged to the government of peru; and that whatever belonged to private individuals should be restored, on application being made by the owners; as was the case with dr. unanue, don juan aguero, don manuel silva, don manuel primo, and several others. after having given up all the claimed money, two hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars remained on board the flag ship. they were immediately applied to the payment of one year's arrears to every individual excepting the admiral, who declined receiving any part of what was due to him; the surplus was reserved for the repairs of the squadron, and its equipment, and the most rigid account was kept of the several disbursements, and given in to the chilean government. after the return of his lordship to callao, a long correspondence took place with san martin respecting the property taken at ancon. the general requested, and entreated in the most urgent terms the restoration of the treasure, promised the faithful fulfilment of all his former engagements, and that the return of this money was merely insisted on to save the credit of the government. the admiral answered, that the means for the fulfilment of his engagements were now ready, and that by sending a commissioned officer on board to be a witness to the proper distribution; that this being public would certainly save the credit of the government with those individuals to whom it was most indebted, and that the landing of the money would only be an increase of labour, because the persons to whom it was due were not on shore. san martin then asserted, that the money taken at ancon was all that the government was in possession of, for the most indispensable daily expenses; but to this his lordship replied, that had he known that the treasure placed on board the schooner sacramento, for the admission of which, in silver, the captain asserted that he had to throw overboard part of his ballast, besides seven surrones (bags made of hide) of doubloons, and a quantity of brute gold, was not the property of the government but of his excellency, he should certainly have seized it, and retained it until properly claimed. san martin, after availing himself of every possible argument with the admiral, addressed a proclamation to the seamen and marines, which by his lordship's order was distributed on board the vessels of war; but producing no favourable effect, the protector, knowing that the payments had begun, wrote to the admiral, saying that "he might employ the money as he thought most proper." after the departure of cantarac from callao on the seventeenth, lord cochrane was informed of the state of the batteries, and proposed to the governor general la mar terms of capitulation; they were, that the fortifications of callao should be surrendered to the chilean flag; that one third of the private property in the batteries should be given up, for the purpose of paying the arrears of the crews of the chilean vessels of war; that the owners should be allowed to leave the batteries with the remainder, and that at their own expense vessels should be procured to carry them either to europe or to any other place. when these terms were on the point of being acceded to, the protector (who had also been negociating with the governor) was informed of the terms offered by the admiral; and on the morning of the twentieth colonel guido was commissioned to accede to such as general la mar should propose, which were naturally the most honourable and most profitable to the spaniards. at ten o'clock on the morning of the twenty-first the american troops entered the castles, and the peruvian flag was hoisted. on the same day the name of the real felipe was changed into that of castilla de la independencia; that of san miguel, into castillo del sol; and that of san rafael into castillo de santa rosa. although the tribunals of purification, established by general carátalá in upper peru, and in chile by the president marco, had been so oppressive, and had been so reprobated as unjust and tyrannical by the americans, one was established in lima by san martin on the twenty-seventh of september, for the purpose of examining the past conduct of the spaniards, who relying on the promises repeatedly made by san martin, had remained in peru, and taken the oath of independence. this proceeding was aggravated on the twenty-seventh by a proclamation, stating that "no spaniard should leave his house, under any pretence whatever, after sunset (oraciones) under the penalty of confiscation of his property, and exile from the country:" some few exceptions however were added to this protectoral decree. the foreign seamen who were all paid at callao, except the crew of the valdivia, who deserted their ship at ancon, preferring a reliance on the promises of san martin to the certainty of being paid out of the money taken for this purpose, were allowed to go on shore, and after waiting for a few days his lordship sent lieutenant wynter to engage such as were willing to continue in the service of chile, when, to the utter astonishment of every one, he was arrested by the order of san martin, and sent to the castle, but owing to the energetic official communication of the admiral he was liberated on the following day. the same persevering spirit to destroy the chilean squadron was still visible in the conduct of the protector of peru. every officer who abandoned the vessels of war was received under the flag of peru, and many were promoted, amounting in the whole to sixteen, being four captains, three lieutenants, two masters, three pursers, two officers of marines, and two surgeons; besides the captains of the valdivia and galvarino, with five officers belonging to the former. the seamen who had been paid were allured to remain on shore, in hopes of the year's pay as a premium; and when an officer from the very vessels of war whose co-operation had placed san martin at the head of the peruvian government went ashore for the purpose of recruiting foreign seamen for the future operations of the squadron, against the two spanish frigates still in the pacific, he was incarcerated. but the most infamous transaction that can possibly blacken the character of a ruler took place on the night of the twenty-sixth. at midnight lord cochrane was informed that colonel paroissien and captain spry had been on board the brig of war, galvarino, and shortly afterwards captain simpson of the araucano came on board the flag ship, and delivered to his lordship the paper which he had received from these two honourable gentlemen; stating, that the squadron of chile was under the command of the general in chief, and not under that of the admiral, who was an inferior officer in the service; and that, consequently, it was the duty of the captains and commanders to obey the orders they might receive from san martin. after leaving the araucano, the two edecanes, military and naval, went on board the valdivia, where they found captain crosbie of the flag ship, on a visit to captain cobbett of the valdivia. after delivering to captain cobbett a paper similar in import to the one left with captain simpson, the two gentlemen began to expatiate on the munificence and liberality of their employer; the preference which an officer ought to give to the service of a rich and extensive state to that of chile, which must necessarily dwindle into its former insignificance, and become tributary to peru for its support; that the authority of the protector of peru over the whole of the chilean forces was unquestionable, and it consequently became the duty of every officer belonging to the expeditionary forces to obey the orders of their general in chief. on being asked, if, for disobedience of orders or mutinous conduct, they should subject themselves to a court martial by the order of the admiral, whether the authority of the protector would ensure to them a favourable sentence or an honourable acquittal, they became silent. this was bringing the argument too close, and perhaps the idea of a trial and a sentence were not very congenial to the feelings of the nocturnal commissioners, at that time "in or belonging to" the squadron of chile. perceiving that the result was not likely to answer their expectations, and that captain crosbie had left them on board the valdivia and gone to the flag-ship, they judged it more prudent to visit the admiral, than to run any risk of being compelled to do it. at one o'clock the boat came alongside, and colonel paroissien requested an interview with his lordship, which was granted; but captain spry justly thought himself more secure in the boat, and remained there. after some extraordinary conversation between lord cochrane and paroissien, who regretted and lamented in the most pathetic manner, "that the present unlucky difference between the two chiefs should deprive his lordship of the enjoyment of the command of the peruvian navy, (which did not exist) and the possession of property in peru, which it was the intention of the protector to present to him," his lordship put a stop to the harangue, and said, smiling, "i do not doubt your wishes for my prosperity, paroissien, but at present i know you would rather join me in a bottle of wine than be obliged to continue in your regret and lamentation." after drinking a glass or two of wine, colonel paroissien embarked in his boat and pulled ashore, more happy no doubt when under the guns of the batteries of callao than alongside the o'higgins. san martin having failed in this last honourable attempt to seduce the officers belonging to the state of chile, and fearing that the publicity of the act might induce the people of peru to be on the alert, ordered lord cochrane, in the most peremptory manner, to leave the bay of callao, with the vessels under his command, being persuaded, that, for want of european seamen, it would be impossible to do so; but on the sixth of october, eight days after his notification, the whole of the vessels of war, with two prizes, weighed simultaneously, and stood out of the bay. having come to an anchor at ancon, his lordship ordered the lautaro and galvarino to proceed on the eighth to valparaiso; and the o'higgins, independencia, valdivia, auraucano, and prizes san fernando and mercedes weighed and sailed for guayaquil, where the admiral had determined to repair, and refit for a cruize on the coast of mexico, in search of the two spanish frigates. on the fifteenth we reached the puná in the river guayaquil, and on the eighteenth came to an anchor close to the city, where the squadron was saluted with twenty-one guns, and the compliment was returned with an equal number. chapter xii. revolution and state of guayaquil....squadron leaves....island of cocoa....bay of fonseca....visitors from the shore....leave fonseca....volcano....arrive at acapulco....general waevell and colonel o'reilly....letter from iturbide....leave acapulco.... description of....gale of wind off tehuantepec....tacames or atcames....news of the enemy....arrive at the puná....guayaquil ....lord cochrane hoists the chilean flag in the vengansa.... conduct of the people at guayaquil....treaty with the government ....letter from general la mar....leave guayaquil, and arrive at huambacho....callao. guayaquil, early in the morning of the ninth of october, , effected her glorious revolution. the officers belonging to the peruvian garrison, and many of the principal inhabitants, had, during the preceding night, formed the plan, and at daybreak the governor and several other spaniards were embarked on board the schooner alcance, and sent to the head quarters of the army under general san martin. during the first month after the revolution guayaquil experienced the oppression of its governor escobedo, who, being at the head of the military force, constituted himself the supreme political and military chief; but the cabildo circulated the necessary convocation for a meeting of the deputies of the different towns: they met, and escobedo was deposed, and sent to san martin's head quarters. a junta was now formed of three individuals, by the general vote of the deputies; at the head, as president, was placed dr. olmedo, the other two being ximena and roca, who were governing the province on our arrival; but the people were very much divided in their opinions. some were in favour of an incorporation with peru, under san martin; others with colombia, under bolivar; while a third party were equally loud in favour of absolute independence, and seemed to support their opinions with the most solid arguments. a division of the colombian army was stationed, at this time, at babaoyo, commanded by general sucre, with the view of invading quito as soon as the season should permit; yet, excepting such troops as had been sent from guayaquil, and placed under the command of general sucre, the armed force was under the direction of the government; but the fear of being invaded by the spaniards under aymerich, the president of quito, was very visible, and, as a defence to the city, a large fosse had been cut to the northward of cuidad vieja. the arrival of the chilean vessels of war gave the government of guayaquil an opportunity of addressing themselves to the quitenos, "assuring them, that peru was entirely free, and that the liberating naval force had arrived at guayaquil for the protection of that part of the new world." this was a ruse de guerre not uncommon in the new world, and under similar circumstances practised even in the old. on our arrival general sucre sent colonel ibarra to compliment lord cochrane, as the hero of the pacific, the magnanimous supporter of colombian liberty. the repairs of the vessels of war being completed so far as they could be, on the first of december we left guayaquil, but to our great annoyance we found, that the leak in the o'higgins was as bad as ever; indeed, such was the state of this frigate, that ever since our arrival at pisco a hundred and fifty men had been constantly kept at the pumps. it may be asserted, that no expedition ever left port under such peculiarly disadvantageous circumstances as the present. the flag-ship was as rickety as an old basket; indeed it need only be told, that she was a russian built fir vessel, nine years old, and was one of those presented by the emperor to the king of spain. scarcely a bolt could be found that was not loose, her foremast and bowsprit were both rotten in the step, the dry rot had taken possession of the greater part of her timbers; and, it may be added, her crew was composed of every thing but sailors; for we had only thirteen men on board who could be said to merit the name, especially if we except the officers. such was her state, that when his lordship was asked at guayaquil, by a gentleman, if he would come into action with the spanish frigate prueba?--"yes," he answered, "i will lay the o'higgins alongside the prueba, and tell our crew that on board the enemy there are no pumps; this will be quite sufficient to secure the victory." the crews of the independencia, valdivia, and araucano were composed of the same materials as that of the o'higgins. they had just a sufficient number of seamen to steer them, natives of different parts of america, marines and runaway negroes, with about half their complements of officers; yet such was the persevering spirit of the admiral, and such his determination to extinguish the last remains of the spanish naval force in the pacific, that his only wish was to come to close quarters with them. having left the guayaquil river, we touched at a small port in the province of guayaquil, called salango, where we watered the ships, not having done this before because his lordship wished to drop down the river as light as possible; besides, at the puná it is very difficult to procure a sufficient quantity of _good_ water. on the eleventh, we reached the small island of cocos, so called from the abundance of palms which grow there. lord cochrane landed, and a felucca hove in sight; a signal was immediately made to the valdivia to chase, and having captured her, she proved to be a deserter from callao. the men on board informed his lordship, that after the departure of the chilean vessels of war, san martin not only objected to pay them their arrears, even those who left the valdivia at ancon without the year's pay given to the rest, and the reward or premium promised, but the foreign seamen at callao, who had served in the chilean fleet, were pressed into the service of peru. the felucca had been thus manned and sent to the chorillos, to prevent all kinds of smuggling; but she had taken up a cargo of contraband goods, part of which were still on board. when the captain was on shore, the crew rose and took possession of the vessel, which they immediately named the retaliation, and went to sea. their pretence was, that they were in search of the squadron; this was ridiculous; but as they had committed no depredations his lordship did not feel himself justified in punishing them, but allowed them afterwards to escape from the vessels of war. on the fourteenth we made the coast of mexico, the leak of the o'higgins increasing daily, and on the nineteenth we fortunately entered the bay of fonseca or amapalla, with five feet water in the hold, the pumps choaked and worn out, without a carpenter on board, without buckets to bale her, and without a cooper; some beef casks were slung, and by using every exertion, the frigate was brought to an anchor under a small island in the bay. two pumps were now taken out of the valdivia, but they proved to be too short for the o'higgins. under these circumstances his lordship ordered two holes to be cut through her sides, on a level with the birth deck, and two old pumps were placed in them to carry off the water. she was thus kept from sinking; but on examining the magazine a great part of the powder had been damaged by the water, and the remainder was taken on shore and exposed in the sun to dry. while at anchor here, a canoe came to the island, having two indians on board, and a young man of a respectable appearance, who informed me, that every thing was in the most perfect state of tranquillity in mexico, and all under the regularly established royal authorities. the fact was, the young man had been sent from san miguel, to learn who and what we were; but of this, by order of the admiral, i kept him ignorant, and he began to fear, on hearing the spanish language spoken, that ours was a spanish force sent from manilla. after conversing a considerable time, and having been repeatedly assured by him that all was under the kingly authority in mexico, i asked him why he bore the tri-coloured ribbon in his hat; he blushed, hesitated, and then said, "it is too late to deceive you, the whole of mexico is independent of spain; mexico declared its independence on the thirteenth of june last, guadalaxara on the fourteenth, tepec on the seventeenth, and san blas on the nineteenth; the provinces of guadalaxara, tlascala, guanajuato, puebla, zacatecas, oajaca, valladolid, bajio, purnandia, and vera cruz, have also declared themselves independent of the capital." all things being ready, we left the bay of fonseca on the twenty-eighth of december, and on the following night and the five successive ones, we were delighted with the sight of a volcano in its greatest state of activity. the streams of ignited lava rolled down the sides, and at intervals enormous masses of fiery matter were thrown into the air, and falling on the sides of the mountain rebounded and fell to the bottom. we calculated that our distance from the mountain was about thirty miles; we were sometimes nearer to it. from its situation we conceived it to be san miguel el viejo, but of this were not quite certain. we sailed along the coast, which is generally very bold; in some parts the forests extend to a considerable distance from the sea side, and near to the coast are a great abundance of coco-nut palms; from some of them we procured nuts, but they were very small, perhaps from a want of salt at the roots of the trees. this supposition is founded on the fact, that i have seen at different places, where the palms do not grow near the sea, that the proprietors had occasionally put a quantity of salt to the roots, without which they produced no fruit. in other parts the coast was intersected with small ravines, having generally a stream of water in each, and some few huts were scattered about on the sides. at one of these places, called san pedro, two indians came on board in their canoe, and brought us some eggs and capsicum pods; for which they were presented in return with biscuit and tobacco, and they seemed highly pleased with the exchange. they were both of them low in stature, but very muscular; their features and complexion much resembling those of the indians on the coast of peru; but they could neither of them speak a word of spanish, nor could we understand any part of their dialect. on the twenty-seventh of january, , we made the mouth of the port of acapulco, where we found the brig araucano, and schooner mercedes; the former having been sent ahead to watch the entrance to the harbour, and the latter to realejo to obtain information respecting the spanish frigates; but unfortunately no intelligence had been received, except that they had sailed from acapulco on the third of december, with a secret destination. on the evening of the same day we entered and came to an anchor, and his lordship was honoured with a visit from a deputation sent by the governor in the name of his most serene highness don agustin de iturbide, then president of mexico; and of the bishop of guamanga, who had been exiled from peru by the protector, san martin, and who fortunately had been appointed by the government of mexico to the see of puebla de los angeles, having exchanged a bishopric of twelve thousand dollars a year for one of forty. the president iturbide had been apprized of the arrival of lord cochrane on the mexican coasts by general waevell and colonel o'reilly, two officers whom the government of chile had promoted, and to whom they had given passports, judging that their services to the state were not tantamount to their pay. when at guayaquil we met with these two gentlemen. they had impressed the government with the hoax, that they were ambassadors from chile to the newly-established authorities in mexico; but unfortunately the dates of their passports by the chilean government were prior to the news of the establishment of the new authorities in mexico. after this anachronism was discovered. lord cochrane requested the government to close the port until the chilean vessels of war should be ready to sail, to which they agreed: this was done to prevent any intelligence being given to the common enemy. the ambassadors remonstrated, and the government, not wishing to offend that of chile, was intimidated; but, when lord cochrane requested that they would shew their credentials, the whole hoax became public. owing to our delay on the coast they had arrived first at acapulco, and, in revenge for the disclosure made at guayaquil, they had reported both by letter and personally to the mexican government, that lord cochrane had possessed himself, in a mutinous manner, of the chilean squadron, plundered the vessels belonging to the government of peru, committed innumerable piracies at sea, and was coming on the coast of mexico to repeat such atrocities; however, at amapalla i met with her excellency doña gregoria gainsa, the lady of the present captain-general of guatemala, who was at guayaquil when the disclosure was made, and when i informed her that i suspected they would arrive first, her husband had reported the whole of the transaction to the mexican government. the information given by waevell and o'reilly had, to our surprize, when we arrived at acapulco, caused the fort to be strictly guarded, and afterwards a subsequent reinforcement entered the town. thus notwithstanding the politeness of the governor a suspicious reserve was at first visible. this, however, in a short time wore off, and the most solemn assurances were given by the governor of the wish of his serene highness iturbide to cultivate the friendship of the governments on the southern continent of emancipated america. on the third of february, after the squadron was under weigh, his lordship received the following note from the president of mexico: "most excellent sir,--the governor of acapulco has informed me, by note dated the twenty-eighth of january, of your happy arrival, and that of the squadron you honour by commanding, at that port, one of those belonging to this empire, and adds, that every respect has been paid to yourself and those who have the glory to serve under you, who have been treated as friends, ready to assist us in the sacred cause--the protection of our liberty. interested, as i am, in the prosperity of my country, i feel the greatest pleasure in the generous offer of your excellency, and the liberal determination of our brethren of chile. i have ordered the governor of acapulco to offer to your excellency, on the behalf of this government and my fellow citizens, our most grateful acknowledgments. "two commissioners will leave this capital, with orders to communicate to your excellency matters of high importance to the state: i hope you will receive them as freemen--the representatives of this great empire, and with that goodness which is so characteristic of your excellency. "i should feel extremely gratified at having the honour of presenting to you my respects personally, that we might discuss some points which would contribute to the glory of this empire, in addition to the many and interesting services you have rendered to other free states; but a multiplicity of business deprives me of this honour, which my commissioners will enjoy, unless your excellency can allow me the pleasure of accepting our sentiments of gratitude in this court, where you would be received in the honourable manner you deserve, and every care would be taken to render your journey and residence as comfortable as possible. "i remain with all due respect, &c., (signed) agustin iturbide. mexico, february st, ." the news obtained from a vessel which entered the port on the second of february, and the day of the arrival of the commissioners, not being mentioned, his lordship determined to follow the spanish frigates, composing the last relic in the pacific, and on the destruction of which he was fully determined. acapulco lies in ° ´ north latitude, ° ´ ´´ west longitude: the port enjoys every advantage that can possibly be imagined: it is capacious, has a good anchorage, and is completely land-locked; so that from the vessels when at anchor, or from the town, the sea cannot be observed; however, the extreme heat is highly disagreeable. the town is composed of a parish church, two convents, and about forty houses, with many huts built of reeds and rushes. the inhabitants are a mixture of spaniards, negroes, indians, and chinese, which in several families that i noticed seems to have produced almost a new race of mortals; for a great sameness exists in their colour and features. the tinge or colour of these people is similar to that of the malay tribes: their foreheads broad, eyes small and black, rather prominent cheek-bones, small but tolerably well shaped nose, large lips, and beardless chin; their hair black and long, their form slender, yet muscular, but none are of a high stature. a kind of wild ferocity was visible in their countenances, and rather a haughty independence in their manners, heightened a little, perhaps, with the idea of being now imperialists; indeed, every thing here was imperial: the town, the port, the flag, the market, nay, even the language was imperial. the greater part of the inhabitants wore a species of uniform, mostly composed of a blue nankeen, or stuff jacket with a red collar, blue trowsers, and a cap; but without shoes or stockings. the lower classes of females wore full petticoats, and a chemise, with a long blue and white shawl: their hair is platted in long slender tresses, and they have no other covering on their heads. some indians from the interior had a kind of short shirt, not reaching down to their waists, breeches, and sandals of raw hide, with a hat, the crown of which is about three inches high, and the skirts more than thirty inches in diameter: it is made of the leaves of a tree. some of the muleteers from the interior wore a very picturesque dress; over an under shirt they had a short one, like the indians, sitting close to their bodies and arms, blue breeches, the seams being tastefully embroidered with coloured silks; the calves of their legs wrapped in buff-coloured leather, carefully tied on, and hanging loose, with laced boots of the same material and colour; a coloured sash round their waists, and large black hats on their heads, with a thick roll of different coloured cloths for a hat-band. all the people seemed to be particularly clean both in their clothes and persons; but this is generally the case in hot climates. the market is but indifferently supplied, and provisions on the whole are scarce, dear, and of an inferior quality. the appearance of the country in the neighbourhood is extremely sterile and naked; scarcely any vegetables are to be seen, the sandy mountains rising almost abruptly from the water's edge. the climate is excessively hot, the access of cool air being precluded by surrounding mountains, and very little benefit is derived from the cut or opening made at the north end of the town, called _la ábra de san nicolas_, for the admission of the sea-breeze: the winter or wet season is so unhealthy, that few of the white inhabitants remain in the town, almost every one retires into the interior. a large battery stands on an elevation at the southern extremity of this place; it mounts thirty-one pieces of heavy artillery, and is called the fort of san diego. it contains barracks, magazines, and dungeons, named the gaol, carcel. the town was formerly of commercial notoriety, on account of the vessels which arrived here, commonly from manilla, called naos de la china; but as this traffic will now cease, and on account of the mountainous country lying between it and the capital, a distance of eighty-five leagues, it is probable that this port will shortly be almost abandoned, unless, indeed, a commercial intercourse be kept up with the british east india colonies, which might become of considerable importance, and which is at present worthy of the attention of english speculators, as the principal returns would be the precious metals, cochineal, and indigo. on leaving acapulco, the independencia, captain wilkinson, and auracano, captain simpson, were ordered to proceed to the bay of california, for the purpose of purchasing provisions for the vessels of war, and then to follow us to guayaquil, callao, and valparaiso. on the night of the tenth we experienced a very severe gale in the bay of tehuantepec, and owing to the bad state of the frigate, we expected she would go to pieces with every sea that struck her: our only consolation was, that the valdivia being almost within hail we should be enabled to save our lives by taking to the boats, and going on board. in the morning the gale subsided, to our no small joy; but a signal of distress was made by the valdivia, and afterwards a communication by telegraph, that a sea had struck her, and that seventeen timbers had given way on her larboard side; that for want of pumps the water was gaining on them considerably, and the men were nearly exhausted with baling. some logs of wood were sent from the o'higgins, together with every man who fancied himself a carpenter, and the damage done was soon repaired as well as circumstances would permit. on the fifth of march we made the coast of esmeraldas, and early on the morning of the seventh we came to an anchor in the port of tacames or atacames. after i had landed, my old subjects were both astonished and delighted; they had heard no tidings of me since the year , and supposed me to be dead. the news that we obtained here was, that the spanish general crus mourgeon arrived at this port from panama, with a number of officers, and eight hundred men, on the twenty-fifth of december, and marched to join the forces at quito; that immediately after he left panama, which was on the twenty-eighth of november, the inhabitants rose, and declared their independence; and this they did although the two frigates prueba and vengansa had arrived after the departure of crus mourgeon; these two frigates, they told us, left the port of tacames on the first of january, for guayaquil and the coast of peru. with these advices lord cochrane immediately proceeded to guayaquil river, and we arrived at the island of puná on the tenth. the intelligence obtained here was, that the prueba and vengansa were several days at anchor off the island; that deputies had been sent from the city to negotiate with the two captains don jose villegas of the prueba, and don jose joaquin soroa of the vengansa; that on the twenty-third of february the vengansa and sloop of war alexander had proceeded up the river to guayaquil, and on the twenty-fifth the prueba had left the river for the port of callao. on receiving this advice his lordship stood up the river with the following tide, and came to an anchor off the city on the morning of the thirteenth, where we found the vengansa bearing the peruvian flag. lord cochrane was directly informed, that the captains villegas and soroa had negotiated the surrender of the spanish frigates prueba and vengansa with the commissioners appointed by don francisco salasar, the peruvian envoy at guayaquil; which treaty was ratified by the respective parties on the fifteenth and sixteenth of february last, the principal condition being, that the whole of the officers and crews should receive from the government of peru all the arrears due to them; that those who chose to remain in america should enjoy all the privileges of citizens; and that those who preferred returning to europe should have the expenses of their passage defrayed by the government of peru. after several inquiries made on shore, it appeared, that when the negotiations were about to be interrupted by the mutinous crews and some spanish officers, who, indignant at the conduct of the captains, in thus selling the spanish vessels of war to the enemies of spain, began to canvass an opposition, the government of guayaquil availed themselves of the subterfuge of having had a correspondence with lord cochrane, who with the chilean squadron had anchored in the bay of la manta, in the province of guayaquil, on his passage to the capital. this stratagem had the desired effect: the officers and crews came to the terms offered, rather than decide the controversy by honorable warfare. on being positively assured of the transaction, and conscious, that had not the chilean squadron driven them to this last action the spanish captains never would have surrendered their vessels, his lordship on the morning of the fourteenth sent captain crosbie on board the vengansa, with orders to hoist at her peak the flag of chile jointly with that of peru. this act created great confusion in the city, the gunboats were immediately manned, and pieces of cannon were brought down to the side of the river, where the people employed themselves in placing logs of wood to serve as a breastwork; the spanish sailors appeared to take a more than active part in resenting this insult offered to the vessel, which a few days previously they had cowardly sold to their enemies, through the fear of having to defend her while under the spanish flag; indeed every thing on shore bore the most hostile appearance; while on board the o'higgins and valdivia no preparations whatever were made, the admiral being too busy in smiling at their warlike preparations and mock means of defence. on the night of the seventeenth the courage of our self-constituted enemies was put to the test. with the return tide the valdivia drifted up the river near to where the spanish officers and seamen had anchored the gunboats, which the government had allowed them to manage, as being more acquainted with naval tactics; but these heroes, supposing that the frigate was about to attack them, ran the boats on shore, and fled to the back of the city, leaving the natives to replace them on the water before daylight. this, however, was in vain, and the effects of the preceding night's alarm were visible on the following morning. after some correspondence between the government and the admiral, it was agreed on the nineteenth, that deputies from both parties should meet ashore, and adjust such terms as should be most conducive to the public tranquillity, and to the honour and welfare of all parties. accordingly, the government appointed the captain of the port, don manuel lusuriaga, dr. don bernabé cornejo, and captain indaburu. lord cochrane appointed captain crosbie, captain cobbett, and myself. having met at the cavildo, the following articles were agreed to, and immediately ratified by olmedo, ximena, and roca (forming the junta of government) and lord cochrane. "first.--the frigate vengansa shall remain as belonging to the government of guayaquil; she shall hoist the flag of this state, which shall be saluted by the chilean. "second.--the state of guayaquil guarantees to the chilean squadron under the responsibility of forty thousand dollars, that the frigate vengansa shall not be delivered to, nor negotiated for with any governments until those of chile and peru shall have decided on what they may esteem most just. and, moreover, the government of guayaquil is bound to destroy her rather than consent that the said vessel shall serve any other state, till such decision be made. "third.--the corvette alexander shall be delivered to her owners, or their assigns, according to the right which they possessed before she was taken by violence from this river. the owners are to pay the arrears due to the crew from the date of their last leaving panama to that of the fifteenth of february, , with all the other expenses which may have been incurred; and, in the mean time, she shall not be employed in any way whatever without the consent of her owners. "fourth.--any government whatever which henceforward may be established in guayaquil shall be bound to the fulfilment of the articles here expressed. "fifth.--these articles, herein written and agreed to, shall be understood literally, in good faith, and without any mental amplifications or restrictions. guayaquil, &c." after the ratification of these articles, the government of guayaquil addressed a polite note to lord cochrane, expressing the highest sentiments of respect for the most important services which the free states of america had received from him, assuring him, at the same time, that guayaquil would always be the first to honour his name, and the last to forget his unparalleled services, to which she owed her emancipation from the yoke of spain. on the twentieth the guayaquil flag was hoisted on board the vengansa by captain lusuriaga and captain crosbie, to whom the peruvian and chilean flags were delivered. the o'higgins immediately saluted the flag with twenty-two guns, and the salute was returned from the guns placed on shore; and afterwards the gunboats hoisted the chilean flag, and saluted it with twenty-two guns. it having been asserted in peru, before lord cochrane left the bay of callao in october, , that he would supply the garrisons of the fortresses with provisions, on condition that they would not surrender to san martin, his lordship availed himself of the present opportunity with general la mar, who was the governor of callao, and who being now at guayaquil, to write to him through the hands of the government, requesting him to answer, whether he did succour or promise to succour the garrisons of callao, during the time that he was employed in the blockade of that port? to this la mar answered: "most excellent sir,--in consequence of the official note which i yesterday received from your excellency, through the hands of the government, it is my duty to assert, that i have neither said nor written, nor ever heard that you did supply or propose to supply with provisions the place of callao during the whole of the time that it was under my charge. god preserve your excellency many years. (signed) jose de la mar. guayaquil, march th, ." on the twenty-first we weighed, his lordship giving orders to captain crosbie to trip the anchor, and to kedge down the river, by which means he would have a better opportunity to mark the channel, and form a plan of it, should it ever become necessary to ascend it without the assistance of a pilot. the second tide took us to the puná, where we remained till the twenty-fifth, the boats being employed in bringing water and some provisions from balao, on the opposite side of the river. having left guayaquil river on the twenty-fifth of march, we arrived on the twelfth of april at the small port of huambacho, on the coast of peru, where to our surprise and astonishment the alcalde of the village shewed his lordship a written order from san martin, stating that should any of the vessels of war belonging to chile touch at the said port, he was to forbid their landing, and to deny them any assistance whatever, and not even to allow them to wood or water there. exasperated at this conduct, his lordship proceeded to callao, but not before he had convinced the alcalde, that he had not the power to enforce such orders from his master. we arrived at callao on the twenty-fifth, where the first object of instability in the new government which we observed was five different peruvian flags flying in the bay and on the batteries. we here found the prueba under peruvian colours, and commanded by one of the captains who had deserted the chilean squadron; but such was the dread that lord cochrane would take possession of her, that she was immediately hauled close in shore under the batteries, her guns housed, her ports closed, and so crammed she was with soldiers, for her defence, that three men died with suffocation the night after our arrival. i was assured, that no less than two thousand men were crowded on her upper deck, as if such a mob could have intimidated lord cochrane, had he been authorized to take possession of her, after she had been driven into the bay of callao by his efforts, and there purchased from her traitorous crew by the peruvian government. chapter xiii. commercial code at lima....provincial statutes announced....liberty of the press....foreigners declared amenable to the laws....institution of the order of the sun....new commercial rules....titles changed....order to convene the constituent congress....san martin delegates his authority to the marquis de torre tagle....san martin leaves lima and returns....army defeated under tristan at ica....state of lima on our arrival....visit of monteagudo to lord cochrane....san martin annuls the treaty at guayaquil....exile of spaniards from lima....lord cochrane leaves callao for valparaiso....spanish vessels that surrendered to the chilean squadron....convention of chile meets....monteagudo exiled from lima....disturbances in chile....san martin arrives at valparaiso....o'higgins abdicates....lord cochrane leaves the pacific. on the eighth of october, , the provisional commercial code or reglamento was published; but, agreeably to the short sighted colonial system, only callao and huanchaco were declared free ports to all friends and allies. this reglamento established, that all vessels should within ten hours after their arrival deliver up their bills of lading; within forty-eight begin to unload, or leave the port within six days. within the said forty-eight hours a consignee, being a citizen of peru, was to be named by the captain or supercargo. all goods in foreign bottoms were to pay twenty per cent. on the value of the whole, according to the prices current in peru. all goods introduced in vessels under the flags of chile, buenos ayres, or colombia, to pay in the same manner eighteen per cent., and those under the flag of peru sixteen. all manufactured goods which might injure the industry of the country to pay double duty. coined silver to pay the exportation duty of five per cent. and gold two and a half: the exportation of gold and silver in bar or wrought absolutely prohibited. the produce of peru exported in foreign vessels to pay five per cent.; in vessels belonging to chile, buenos ayres, or colombia, three and a half, and in peruvian three per cent. the payment of importation duties to be in three equal parts, one at forty days after debarkation, one at a hundred and twenty, and one at a hundred and eighty. all consignees absolutely prohibited the retailing of their consignments. the coasting trade to be confined to vessels belonging to the state, but limited to the ports of paita, huacho, and pisco. any vessel introducing foreign manufactures, except at callao or huanchaco, to be seized and condemned, both hull and cargo. the most extraordinary article inserted in this reglamento was, that goods landed at huanchaco, the port to truxillo, were not to pass the river santa, under the penalty of being seized as contraband. on the ninth of october the provisional statutes and administration of justice were sworn to by the government; and the creation of the order of the sun was announced with the greatest possible pomp. on the thirteenth the liberty of the press was declared, permitting any individual to publish freely his thoughts, without any previous revision or approbation; but all abuse of religion or of the principles of morality, every thing likely to disturb public tranquillity, or to wound the honour of any citizen, to be subject to the penalty inflicted by the junta conservadora of the liberty of the press. on the seventeenth an order of the government was published, establishing all foreigners residing in peru in the rights of citizenship, subjecting them at the same time to the laws of the country, and the orders of the government, and depriving them of the intervention of the commanders of the vessels of war belonging to their respective nations. all foreigners were also declared liable to take arms in the support of social order, but not against the common enemy, and to be subject to contributions levied by the government, in the same manner as the citizens of the state. on the twentieth of october the institute of the sun was established; it was declared to consist of three classes, founders, well-deservers (benemeritos) and associates or fellows. the badge of the first class was a white ribbon from the right shoulder to the left side, having two gold tassels and a golden medallion of the order; with the title of honourable lordship;--the second class to have a gold medal hanging to a white ribbon placed round the neck; with the address of lordship;--and the third a silver medal hanging to the breast on the left side. the medals to bear the arms of the state, to be of an elliptical figure, and to have on the superior part, on a white field, "peru;" on the inferior, on a red field, "to her liberators." the pensions of the order to be paid out of the fund of forty thousand dollars imposed by the king of spain on the mitres of america for the provisions of the knights of charles iii. and isabel la catolica. the oath to be--"i swear by my honour, and promise to my country to defend the independence, liberty and integrity of the state of peru; to maintain public order, and to procure the general felicity of america, devoting to those ends my life and my property." twenty-six founders were named by the protector, who constituted himself president of the order; among these were included two captains who had abandoned the chilean squadron at callao; one hundred and thirty-eight of well-deservers, including captain spry; and one hundred and two associates or fellows, among whom were the dean of the cathedral, five counts, two marquises, five generals, seven friars, canons of the church, shopkeepers, surgeons, farmers, and deserters from the chilean squadron. not content with this creation of male nobility, one hundred and twelve knightesses of the sun were nominated, including two countesses, four marchionesses, and of every class, even to doña rosa campusano, the favourite of his excellency, the creator of the order; and to complete the corps, thirty-two nuns were added, who might have been honoured with the ancient peruvian title of virgins of the sun. the honourable and illustrious don bernardo monteagudo was appointed secretary, and general the honourable don diego paroissien master of the ceremonies, _pro tem._ as the badge of the order was of the most vital importance, it was decreed on the thirty-first of october, that, instead of a medallion, a golden sun should be suspended to the ribbon of the fundadores, benemeritos, and asociados; but the size of it was to be limited according to the rank of the bearer. on the twenty-third of october a committee was appointed to frame a constitutional code or reglamento de administration de justicia for peru, san martin having determined on being a legislator as well as a liberator; and, as he himself said, on "being crowned with laurels till he could not nod." about this time some verses made their appearance, addressed to the protector, under the epithet of emperor of peru. the idea of an imperial crown was obnoxious to the peruvians, and some street clamour induced the government to announce its supreme displeasure at such productions. desertion in the liberating army now became prevalent, and the government was obliged to issue a decree, stating that any person who should harbour or protect a deserter in his house, or on his property, should subject himself to a general confiscation for the first offence, and to perpetual exile for a repetition. all slaves were invited to inform against their masters, under the assurance of manumission, should the crime of occultation be proved. on the thirty-first of october a new tariff for the coasting trade was published, superseding the one of the twenty-eighth of september, with the addition of the ports of nasca, cañete, and pacasmayo, and also allowing foreigners to sell their own cargoes, without the intervention of a native consignee, on their paying twenty-five, instead of twenty per cent.; and on the twenty-first of november all foreigners, as well as citizens, being merchants, were ordered to enrol their names at the consulado, (board of trade,) that they might all be equally taxed with such contributions as the government might judge necessary to exact. several spaniards having been apprehended and sent to the public gaol, accused of sedition and conspiracies, were sentenced, on the twentieth of november, eight to a confiscation of their property, and exile to europe, and thirteen to partial confiscation, and exile to chancay for two months. on sunday the sixteenth of december the knights of the order of the sun were decorated with the insignia, by the president of the high chamber of justice, _alta camara de justicia_, in the presence of his excellency the protector of peru, institutor of the order, and a most splendid concourse of the nobility of peru, with the assistance of sir thomas hardy, whom the gazette styles the representative of the british nation, on this occasion. every care was taken to make this civic feast as solemn as possible; the troops were formed in the streets; the different military bands continued playing national airs and marches in the balcony of the palace; repeated salutes were fired by the artillery placed in the plasa; all the bells in the city were heard in merry peals; the illuminations on the nights of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth, were of the most brilliant description; and every nerve was strained to produce and support harmony and conviviality on this festive occasion. after the ceremony of condecoration, the procession left the palace and proceeded to the church of santo domingo, where a solemn te deum was chanted, and high mass celebrated, in thanks to the almighty for having inspired the supreme government of lima with such celestial ideas. that the ancient nobility of peru might not be reduced to a level with the plebeians, it was decreed on the twenty-seventh of december, that they should preserve their armorial bearings on the fronts of their houses, as usual, and all the solar nobility were permitted by the same decree to place on theirs a sun, with the initials of the class to which they belonged in the centre. it was also ordered on the same day, that those persons who had enjoyed titles during the spanish domination, under the name of titles of castile, should enjoy the same honours under the appellation of titles of peru, or change them for such as might appear more congenial to the then existing state of things. thus we have a republic with counts, marquises, viscounts, &c. which is certainly an anomaly, and worthy of the wisdom that planned it. on the twenty-seventh, the protector, with the advice of the council of state, ordered, that on the first of may, , the general constituent congress of peru should meet in the capital; and that proxies should be named for such provinces as were oppressed by the enemy. the object of this congress was to be, only, the definitive form of the established government, and the formation of a constitution most proper for peru, according to the circumstances of its territory and population: any other powers given to the deputies to be considered null and of no effect. it was further ordered, that a previous committee be appointed in lima, to draw up the plan for the election of deputies, and to prepare the basis of the constitution, to be finished before the reunion of the congress. thus the laws of the nation were to be formed by a private committee, under the guidance of san martin and his ministers, and the congress were to be called in to sanction the proceeding. this duplicity was ultimately the cause of the protector's _voluntary_ abdication. on the nineteenth of january, , the protector announced, that he was about to leave lima on a visit to guayaquil, where he expected to meet the liberator of colombia, the immortal bolivar, for the purpose of consulting with him on matters of the highest importance to the state. all his executive powers were delegated to the gran mariscal marquis de torre tagle, to the due obedience of whose orders, the tribunals, ministers, corporation, chiefs of the army and navy were called upon to swear. this ceremony took place on the twentieth. the first decree of the supreme delegate was, that all unmarried spaniards, who should leave the state, were to deliver to the national treasury one half of their property, and in case of any attempt at fraud, the whole to be confiscated, and the persons to be exiled. it also contained other articles respecting spaniards residing in peru. on the third of march the protector announced in lima, that having touched at huanchaco in his passage to guayaquil, he received official communication that the liberator of colombia had changed his plans, and would not be at guayaquil as was expected; he had, in consequence, returned to callao; but that it was his will that the marquis de torre tagle should continue in the full exercise of the authority delegated to him. san martin then retired to the country residence of the ex-viceroy pesuela, at la magdalena, which village immediately changed its name to that of the town of the free, "pueblo de los libres." on the thirty-first of march the spanish frigate prueba arrived at callao, and was immediately delivered up to the peruvian government by her commander, larrigada, according to the treaty concluded in guayaquil on the sixteenth of february. the supreme delegate immediately went on board, and the peruvian flag being hoisted, the name of the frigate was changed to that of protector. again, this acquisition was "the fruit of the enthusiasm, and sacrifices of the officers and soldiers who were present at the important moment, as witnesses of this memorable success." the government of lima, aware of the importance of the possession of the valleys of pisco and ica, not only in a mercantile point of view, but as a military position, where a communication might be kept open with the provinces of upper peru, and the enemy, then in huamanga, and other adjacent points, prevented from making incursions on the valuable estates situated along the coast--san martin, as prime mover, (although the civil authority was exercised by his delegate, torre tagle, and general alvarado had been appointed by him general in chief of the army) ordered a force of two thousand men, with their respective officers, to ica, under the command of general don domingo tristan, who a few months before was a colonel of militias, in the province of arequipa, and whose career had been the ploughshare and the pruning hook, not the sword and the lance: a man entirely unknown as a soldier, and if known at all in lima, it was as a complete gambler, and a public lounger. but perhaps the intercession of the protectress, formerly the public favourite of tristan, might on this occasion have been acceptable, (in despite of the superior qualifications of many officers in the army, although the brave general las heras and several other chiefs had retired) and acquired for her _galan de aquel tiempo_ so honourable an appointment. however, on the thirteenth of april, the following proclamations appeared in lima: "limenians! the division of the south, without having been beaten, has been surprised, and dispersed; in a long campaign all cannot be prosperity; you know _my_ character, and you know that _i_ have always spoken the truth to all--i do not mean to search for consolation in conflicts, notwithstanding i dare to assure you, that the iniquitous and tyrannical empire of the spaniards in peru will cease in the year twenty-two.--i will make an ingenuous confession to you: it was my intention to go in search of repose after so many years of agitation, but i believed your independence was secured; some trifling danger now presents itself, and so long as there remains the least appearance of it, until you are free you shall not be left by your faithful friend,--san martin." "companions of the united army!--your brothers in the division of the south have not been beaten, but they have been dispersed; to you it belongs to revenge this insult: you are valiant, and have known long ago the path to glory! sharpen well your bayonets and your swords! the campaign of peru shall finish in this year! your old general ensures it; prepare then to conquer!--san martin." on the same day the following was issued by the marquis de torre tagle: "compatriots! the division of the south has suffered a reverse; this is the first we have experienced amid so many glories. it is of no importance; the grand army yet lives, and will, before the end of twenty-two, leave not one enemy existing among us. compatriots! to be free and happy, only requires you to decide as i have, like those heroes who have come to restore to peru her rights, to lose every thing, to die before they will return to slavery! imitate this example as you have done at other times, and the result will be the same, because valour and enthusiasm, well directed, always ensure victory and peace; you deserve both, prepare for every sacrifice but that of your liberty. "torre tagle." the two supreme chiefs united on the thirteenth in a proclamation to the inhabitants of the interior, assuring them, that the loss of the division, a few days before called the liberating army of the south, "weighed nothing in the balance of the destiny of peru; providence, say they, protects us, and by this action she will accelerate the ruin of the enemies of peru--proud of their first victory, they will spare us part of our march in search of them, which was to have been done. fear not, the army that drove them twice from the capital, is ready to punish them a third time, and to punish them for ever!" had the action taken place at any great distance from the capital, the truth of the transaction might have remained for some time enveloped in mystery; or had the inhabitants of lima not already been taught by the spaniards to become sceptics, this furious bombast might have been believed; but the account was soon rightly explained by the few who escaped, and who arrived at lima; these were but few: the number that fortunately found an opportunity to take to their heels, and availed themselves of their swiftness, were very quickly secured, and sent to callao, to prevent as much as possible a circulation of the truth. on the night of the seventh of april the spaniards under cantarac and caratalá advanced on the americans under tristan, who, for want of the most ordinary precautions, were completely surrounded, and at day break, with the exception of the general, part of his staff, and a few officers, the whole division was in the power of the enemy. the loss of the liberating army was about two thousand men killed or taken prisoners, five thousand muskets, the military chest, containing upwards of a hundred thousand dollars, ammunition, luggage, equipage, printing press, and every utensil belonging to it. notwithstanding all this, we are told, that "the spaniards are ignorant that the balance of power is in our hands, because providence is on our side, opinion and strength favour the interests of peru, she shall be free because she wills it so, and because it is time that she was!!!" on the twenty-fourth of april a decree was published against the spaniards residing in lima, imposing the penalty of exile and confiscation of property on those who should appear in the streets wearing a cloak. that of confiscation of property and exile when more than two should be found together in any private conversation. that of death on those who should be found out of their houses after sunset. and that of confiscation and death on all those who should be found to possess any kind of weapons excepting the knives necessary for the service of their tables. this was the state of affairs in peru when lord cochrane arrived on the twenty-fifth of april. the supreme authority was employed in issuing decrees contradictory to one another, in opposition to the most solemn promises made and repeated by the protector, both before and after he assumed this title, in violation of justice and reason, and all contributing to produce discontent, disunion, and anarchy. the enemy were victorious, the patriots dreaded some dire reverse, the remains of the army were discontented, finding that not one promise made to them had been fulfilled; the gold and silver had disappeared, and paper money had been issued by the government; the contributions were increasing, and were exacted at the point of the bayonet; while the protector of the liberty of the country, after having been employed for six months in creating orders of knighthood, establishing tribunals, sketching embroideries, and inventing uniforms, had retired to his country house, to rest from his labours! many individuals who, when we left callao in october, , condemned the conduct of lord cochrane in taking possession of the money at ancon, were now convinced that it was not only a warrantable but an indispensable step to be taken for the preservation of the squadron of chile, and of good faith with the crews. the non-fulfilment of the promises made to the regiment of numancia had forced them to declare that they would not march out of lima against the enemy, and captain doronsoro was sent, by his brother officers, to inquire, if lord cochrane would receive them on board the chilean vessels, and convey the regiment to the nearest point in the territory of colombia, to which country they belonged, and to which san martin had promised to transport them on the fall of lima. on the twenty-sixth the minister monteagudo came on board, and lamented that his lordship should have addressed to the peruvian government official communications containing expressions calculated to irritate their delicate feelings at the moment when the protector was inclined to adopt the most conciliatory measures; adding, that at the first news of his lordship's appearance off the port his excellency had written a private letter, praying an interview; but that on the receipt of the official notes, he became so indignant, that he was afraid his delicate health was in danger. to this his lordship merely answered, that had san martin sent a private letter it certainly would have been returned unopened; adding, "you may tell him, mr. monteagudo, that it is not my wish to injure him; i neither fear him nor hate him; but tell him, i despise him!" monteagudo begged of his lordship to go and reside on shore a few days, saying that the house of the supreme delegate was prepared for his reception. but his lordship most courteously begged to be excused; and monteagudo retired not well pleased with what he had observed in the countenances of all on board, a species of the most supreme contempt; notwithstanding that, he wore his blazing sun of the first order, his ribbons, his embroideries, and was accompanied by his military escort. the greatest discontent reigned on shore among the chileans: it had circulated, that no chilean would be promoted nor employed by the present government of peru. whether such was or was not really the determination of the government might be difficult to prove; but the fact was, that only one of the nine generals made by san martin belonged to chile, and the ratio among the subalterns was even smaller. the protector of peru, having been informed of the treaty at guayaquil, respecting the vengansa and the emperor alexander, sent down captains carter and young to take the command of them. this was acceded to by the government of guayaquil, and the two vessels again hoisted the peruvian flag, although the alexander, bona fide, belonged to mr. henderson, and was under the english flag, when a revolution took place among the crews of the gunboats in august, , who took possession of her. they proceeded to panama, and there delivered her to the spanish authorities, who afterwards included her in their treaty with the peruvian agent at guayaquil. the most horrid scene during the time of the residence of san martin in peru was reserved for may, . on the night of the fourth a grand ball was given at the palace, being the first meeting of the knights and knightesses of the sun; and while they were thus enjoying themselves parties of soldiers were sent to the houses of the spaniards, who dragged them from their beds, and drove them down to callao, where they were placed on board the milagro. the distress occasioned by this monstrous breach of promises, of justice, and humanity, cannot be equalled. several of these were men of rank and fortune who had confided in the promises made to them; many of them had numerous families; octogenarian clergymen, civil and military officers, all without the least distinction or commiseration, were seized at midnight, some of them half undressed, others almost naked, and every individual was forced to travel six miles on foot: they were then placed on board a vessel, where for two days no provisions were distributed to them, and they were forbidden to hold any communication with their disconsolate wives and families, who surrounded the vessel in boats, and rent the air with their shrieks and lamentations. on the first night two old gentlemen died on board the milagro for want of clothing and food; and many would certainly have perished had not the mercy of san martin been extended so far as to sell them passports. he allowed the purchasers to pass from the milagro to neutral vessels, for the purpose of leaving peru for ever; but many of them dared not go to spain, because they had remained in lima when la serna left it with the spanish army, and had afterwards subscribed to the independence of the country. some passports were sold at one thousand dollars, others at ten, according to the quality of the purchaser; and those whose finances deprived them of the possibility of purchasing their liberation, were sent to chile in the milagro; which vessel, for this most honourable expedition, had been newly named, and was now called the monteagudo: a compliment in every respect merited by that great minister. had general san martin followed a different line of conduct with regard to the spaniards residing in peru; had he never compromised himself with such solemn assurances as he made to them, both before and after his arrival in lima, his conduct towards them might have admitted some palliation. had he from the beginning been silent, and at the earliest opportunity exiled them, the same expression which he used on the subject of calling a congress or national representation, that "a knowledge of what had passed in colombia, chile and buenos ayres, during twelve years of revolution, would have been a reasonable pretence for what he did," might have justified the proceeding. he repeatedly promised to them security, and frequently told them, that their persons and property should be inviolable; and their confidence lost them all claim to the protection of the laws of their native country; they had moreover sworn allegiance to its enemy, and had explicitly become traitors; and when his plans were thus far in a state of ripeness, he exiled them from their adopted homes, from their families, from all their comforts, and cast them out a despairing, wandering, forlorn tribe, surrounded with misery; but their last breath will be employed in execrating his duplicity. i am well aware that the spaniards were dangerous persons in america and that many of them would have employed themselves in thwarting the operations of the newly-constituted authorities; but this mental conviction could not sanction such a proceeding as the one just stated, and at which humanity shudders. but it is now time to wind up the eventful history of the proceedings of the protector of peru; however, before i lose sight of her shores, perhaps for ever, i must add one more trait of his barbarity. a female in lima had dared to speak ill of san martin, at the time that a contribution was extorted from her at the point of the bayonet; she was apprehended, taken to the great square, an accusatory libel was fastened to her breast, a human bone was put into her mouth, and tied behind her head; a halter was hung round her neck, and in this manner she was forced to parade the streets, led by the common hangman; she was then exiled to callao, where the poor creature died on the second day after her arrival. before lord cochrane left the bay of callao he addressed a letter to colonel sanches, an officer belonging to the chilean troops, expressing his ardent desire for the complete success of his adopted countryman; to this note he received the following answer:--"our best friend,--nothing has been so mortifying to us, as that the imperiousness of circumstances deprives us of the communication which we have most esteemed, and which would have been of high importance to the views of your excellency. "the chiefs, officers and troops who have the honour to serve under the flag of chile, have received with the greatest satisfaction the compliments of your excellency, and promise their eternal gratitude to their worthy chief, whose soul is devoted to increase the glory of their country. we have the honour to offer to your excellency the most sincere tribute of our affection and esteem. (signed) jose santiago aldunate.--j. santiago sanches." on the ninth of may the schooner montezuma, belonging to chile, and which had been lent by the government to general san martin, as a tender, entered the port of callao, under peruvian colours; his lordship fired on her, and obliged her to come to an anchor, when he took possession of her, sending her officers on shore, and on the tenth we proceeded to valparaiso, where we arrived on the thirteenth of june. on our arrival at valparaiso his lordship reported his return, adding, "the anxious desires of his excellency the supreme director are now fulfilled, and the sacrifices of the people of chile are rewarded; the naval power of spain in the pacific has succumbed, it is now extinguished, the following vessels having surrendered to the unceasing efforts of the squadron of this free state: frigate prueba of guns frigate esmeralda of frigate vengansa of ship resolution of ship sebastiana of brig pesuela of brig potrillo of schooner prosperina of schooner aransasu, seventeen gunboats, and the armed merchant ships aguila and begona at guayaquil, and others employed as block ships at callao. it is highly gratifying to me, after labouring under such difficulties as were never before witnessed on board of vessels of war, to announce the arrival of the chilean squadron in valparaiso, its cradle; where, owing to its constant services in the cause of the liberty and independence of chile, peru, colombia and mexico, it is the object of admiration and gratitude to the inhabitants of the new world.--i have the honour to be, &c. (signed) cochrane." a few days after our arrival at valparaiso, his lordship visited the capital of chile, and solicited permission to retire for six months to his estate of quintero, unless his services might be necessary; when, at any moment, he would be ready to employ them again in the welfare of the state; at the same time he requested, in the most earnest manner, that the officers and crews might be punctually paid all their arrears. the government acceded to his solicitude, and promised that every possible attention should be given to the request of the admiral, and after some delay it was finally complied with. on the twenty-third of july, , the national congress of chile met at santiago; it was opened by the supreme director, don bernardo o'higgins, who made a tender of his directoral authority to the representatives of the republic, and concluded his harangue with--"compatriots! my command is at an end--defects are inseparable from humanity--the most difficult circumstances have surrounded me on every side--perhaps my want of knowledge and experience may have led me to commit errors against my children, (allow this tender expression to my feelings)--i can never forget the honours i have received, and i hope that my days will be prolonged by my gratitude, until i see chile as happy and as prosperous as the most flourishing countries of the earth." immediately after the director had retired, the convention waited upon him, and reinstated him in the supreme executive authority, with the following compliment: "the representatives of chile most sincerely thank your excellency for the wisdom with which you have managed the affairs of the nation; when a constitution is formed that shall specify the time of the fatigues of the magistrates, the representatives may admit of your resignation, and then your excellency will enjoy your retirement in glory, and future generations will sing hymns of love and gratitude to your name." the first meeting of the preparatory convention was on the twenty-ninth, at ten o'clock in the morning. on the twenty-first of september, , the news arrived in chile, that don bernardo monteagudo had been deposed from the ministry, and exiled from peru. the following are extracts from the papers published in lima: "lima had scarcely obtained a glimpse of a flattering futurity, when a cunning, froward, and saucy individual, a traitor to the confidence of the government that had elevated him to the ministry, began to stifle our patriotism and its defenders. this insolent minister rewarded all praise-worthy services with the most gross invectives, and the most scandalous persecutions. his intriguing ambition filled our gazettes with a multitude of decrees in opposition to the plans which he himself had prescribed. his decrees were written that they might be read, not that they might be obeyed. "unfortunately for us, the genius of the revolution, san martin, had to absent himself twice from our capital, to meet the washington of colombia. this perfidious oppressor availed himself of his absence to manifest the whole perversity of his soul. until that period his persecutions were underhand, but they now became barefaced. all spaniards were considered rich, they, their families and property, consequently became the prey of his insatiable avarice; and at the same time, those patriots who had contributed most to the success of the liberating army were persecuted to the utmost extremity. he formed a long list of proscriptions of men who were to be exiled for ever from their native country, and whose only crimes were their patriotic virtues, for the extinction of which he had formed a nest of the vilest spies, who unceasingly watched the steps of every man of honour. great god! what an epoch of misery! "every honourable citizen found in don bernardo monteagudo (this is the name of the monster of whom we speak) an enemy who at any price would have sacrificed him. how many victims has he not sacrificed in his one year's ministry! more than eight hundred honourable families have been by him reduced to extreme indigence, and the whole city to a state of misery. "among the patriots at lima, nothing was thought of but where they might find an asylum in a foreign land. without agriculture, commerce, industry, personal security, property, and laws, what is society but a mansion of the most afflicting torments! "the religion of our forefathers suffered an equal persecution in its ministers and its temples; these were deprived of their riches, not for the service of our country, but for the reward of espionage, and to deceive us with useless trickeries. the satellites of this bandit were equally despotic with himself, and committed, under his protection, the most horrid crimes. this is not a proper place in which to insert the baseness with which he abused the delicacy and debility of females. fathers of families **** every man was intimidated; every feeling man wept because all were the victims of the caprice of this insolent despot, who made an ostentation of atheism and ferocity. "it is impossible to recapitulate his actions; volumes would be necessary to shew to the world the arbitrary crimes of this factious individual. it would appear, that for the commission of so many offences he must have had some cause that impelled him, for they could not possibly be the effects of ignorance. it was impossible to believe that by insulting and ruining every one; plundering our property; despising the ingenuity and talents of the peruvians; and endeavouring to introduce anarchy, he could be long tolerated in this capital. "his ambition was unlimited, having constituted himself the arbiter of the government. he had the assurance to dictate orders and decrees in opposition to those of the provincial statute, subscribing to them the name of the supreme authority; thus bringing it into contempt. such conduct, when the enemy's army was within twenty leagues of lima, and our government scarcely established, proves that his views were directed to undermine the state. was the reducing of peru to the most degrading slavery, that of obeying his capricious will, the means to make _us_ happy or even _himself_? "foreigners also began to suffer all kinds of vexations and pilferings, with his _carta de morada_ (letter of residence), without considering that the felicity of the country depended on its increase of industrious inhabitants. owing to this, none have established themselves in lima, it being worthy of observation, that not even one person has purchased a house or any immoveable property. and is not this a proof of general disgust and a want of confidence? "in fine, such repeated acts of despotism irritated the people of lima to that degree, that an explosion became inevitable. in eight days after the protector left the capital, his insults to the patriots were incalculable. he caballed in the most barefaced manner to place in the coming congress his own creatures. he hurried off those whom he had sentenced to exile, because they were the favourites of the people; and in the exercise of his fury lima took the alarm." on the twenty-fifth of july the people of lima assembled in the plasa, and insisted on a cavildo abierto, a public meeting of the corporation; this was immediately complied with, and the general voice of the people was, "let the minister monteagudo be deposed, let him be tried, let him experience the severity of the law." at seven o'clock in the evening of the same day, a note was addressed by the corporation to the supreme delegate, requesting that the minister might be deposed; the council of state met, and convinced of the necessity of separating monteagudo from the ministry, immediately informed him of the state of affairs, when to save appearances he made a tender of his appointment, which was accepted, and the supreme delegate in answer to the note of the corporation, assured them, that the ex-minister should be called upon to answer before a committee of the council of state for his past administration, according to the provisional statutes. this note was answered on the twenty-sixth by the municipality requesting that the ex-minister should be placed under an arrest, until called upon for his defence, which request was immediately put into execution. the people of lima being aware of the ascendancy which monteagudo held over the delegate, torre tagle, and fearing that some crafty subterfuge might be practised to replace him in authority, met again on the twenty-ninth, when the corporation, to pacify the popular commotion, requested of the government, that the ex-minister should be embarked privately, and exiled for ever from the state; this was acceded to, and on the thirtieth, the anniversary of his arrival in lima, monteagudo was sent down to callao, under an escort, and at six o'clock in the evening he left the port. this ambitious individual was assassinated at lima on the night of the twenty-eighth of january, , having returned under the protection of bolivar, and the expectation of being replaced in the ministry. while these affairs were transacting in lima, the protector, san martin, was at guayaquil, where he had proceeded for the purpose of soliciting troops from bolivar, for the prosecution of his campaigns in peru. it is impossible to ascertain what took place in the private conference between those two chiefs, but the result was not at all favourable to san martin, for he returned in dudgeon to callao, when to his surprise and mortification, he was informed, that his arch-minister had been exiled for ever during his absence. before his excellency ventured on shore, he had an interview with the principal officers of the army; who assured him that the troops were faithful to him, and under this certainty he presented himself at the palace in lima, where in the most unbecoming language, he reprobated the whole of the proceeding, threatened his councillors of state, the corporation and the city itself, and declared, that he should immediately recall monteagudo and reinstate him in the ministry. notwithstanding the deference and respect which he had been accustomed to receive from every one who acknowledged his authority, he was wounded at observing, that the limenians were not intimidated at his promised vengeance, and leaving the palace he betook himself to his country house near to callao. in the beginning of october, the arbitrary conduct of rodrigues, the minister of war and finance in chile, began to excite the public indignation, and petitions from every part of the state were forwarded to the supreme director, o'higgins, praying his removal from the ministry. crimes the most injurious to the prosperity of the state; his sordid venality, monopoly of commercial transactions, and even illegal appropriations of the public funds, were brought against him, in the most tangible shape; and yet all this was not sufficient, even with the knowledge of what had transpired in peru, to force him to resign, or to induce o'higgins to dismiss him. at the time that all chile was in this state of suspense, and many alarming threats were issued from different quarters, an event not in the least expected took place, which for a while lulled the rising storm--this was no less than the sudden arrival at valparaiso of his excellency general san martin, the protector of the liberties of peru. this great man had continued to reside at his country mansion, until the twentieth of september, when the sovereign congress met, from which he received on the same day the following official communication: "most excellent sir,--the sovereign congress considering that the first duty of a free people is to acknowledge their gratitude to the authors of their political existence and their felicity, convinced that the country of the sun owes this incomparable benefit to the efforts of your excellency, have decreed to you a vote of thanks to be presented to you by a deputation of the house. "the peruvian nation flatters itself that its gratitude is equal to the efficacious efforts which your excellency has made, destroying, like the thunder-bolt on the celebrated mountain that witnessed the last days of lautaro, the iron power of spain in the country of the incas. "the congress manifests, in this communication, the sincerity of their votes, which shall be expressed in the first act of their sessions, and which cannot be obliterated by the hand of time; holding general san martin as the first soldier of their liberty. "by the order of the congress we communicate this to your excellency, for your intelligence and satisfaction. god preserve your excellency for many years.--lima, september , . xavier de luna pizarro, president--josé sanchez carrion, deputy secretary--francisco xavier mariategui, deputy secretary.--to his excellency senor d. josé de san martin." the answer: "sire,--terminating my public life, after i have consigned to the august congress of peru the supreme command of the state, nothing could be more flattering to my heart than the solemnity of the confidence of your sovereignty in appointing me generalissimo of the troops of the nation; an appointment which i have just received from a deputation of your sovereign body. i have had the honour of expressing my most profound gratitude at the time of its announcement to me, when i had the satisfaction of accepting only the _title_, because it was the mark of your approbation of the services which i have rendered to this country. i am resolved not to betray my own feelings and the great interests of the nation; permit me therefore, to say, that long and painful experience has induced me to say, that the distinguished rank to which your sovereignty has deigned to elevate me, so far from being useful to the nation, should i fill it, would only oppose your just designs by alarming the jealousy of those who desire a positive liberty; it would divide the opinions of the people, and decrease the confidence which you alone ought to inspire in the absolute independence of your decisions. my presence, sire, in peru, considering that power which i have left, and the force which i should possess, is inconsistent with the morale of the sovereign body, and with my own opinion; because no forbearance on my part would defend me from the shafts of malediction and calumny. sire, i have fulfilled the sacred promise that i made to peru; i have seen her representatives assembled; the force of the enemy does not menace the independence of a people determined to be free, and who possess the means of being so. a numerous army under the direction of chiefs inured to war is ready to march in a few days, to terminate the contest for ever. nothing remains but to offer to your sovereignty the expression of my most sincere gratitude, and the firm assurance, that if at any time the liberty of the peruvians should be threatened, i will dispute the honour of accompanying them as a citizen to defend their freedom on the field of battle. "may god preserve your sovereignty for many years.--free town, september th, . (signed) josé de san martin." "to the sovereign congress of peru." the following, being the last proclamation by san martin, was issued on the same day, and may be considered as his farewell address to peru: "i have witnessed the declaration of the independence of the states of chile and peru. i hold in my possession the standard which pizarro brought to enslave the empire of the incas, and i have ceased to be a public man--thus i am more than rewarded for ten years spent in revolution and warfare. my promises to the countries in which i warred are fulfilled; to make them independent, and leave to their will the election of their governments. "the presence of a fortunate soldier, however disinterested he may be, is dangerous to newly-constituted states. i am also disgusted with hearing that i wish to make myself a sovereign. nevertheless, i shall always be ready to make the last sacrifice for the liberty of the country, but in the class of a private individual, and _no other_. "with respect to my public conduct, my compatriots (as is generally the case) will be divided in their opinions--their children will pronounce the true verdict. "peruvians! i leave your national representation established; if you repose implicit confidence in it you will triumph, if not, anarchy will swallow you up. "may success preside over your destinies, and may they be crowned with felicity and peace. free town, september, th, . (signed) san martin." had san martin been sincere, even in his last assurances, or had he been conscious that his services would have been of public utility; if, as a citizen, his modesty would not allow him to take upon himself the chief command of the force of the country, he certainly ought not to have abandoned peru, when he was well aware that the army of the enemy was almost under the very walls of the capital; for he himself confesses, that a numerous army would march in a few days to terminate the war for ever: this march, however, would never have been necessary, had he followed the spanish army when it evacuated lima, if he had brought the army under canterac to an action, or if he had headed his troops at ica. the children of his compatriots will "pronounce the true verdict," not, i regret to say, an honourable one to san martin; indeed thousands of them have already shed their blood on those plains which they might have cultivated in peace and security under the protection of their own constituted authorities and laws. it is impossible that a consciousness of not having fulfilled those promises which were calculated to do good, and would have established the absolute independence of rational liberty, and the prosperity of the peruvians, it is impossible but that the memory of those breaches of good faith must ever cling to the heart of this deceiving mortal. san martin remained a few days in valparaiso, until an escort arrived from santiago to conduct him to that city; he resided there until december, or the beginning of january, when, observing the threatening aspect of affairs in chile, owing to the fixed determination of o'higgins not to discard his favourite minister rodrigues, he crossed the cordillera to his old favourite residence at mendosa. general freire, who had the command of the chilean troops, stationed on the frontiers of araucania, consisting of about three thousand men, came to the determination to march on the capital. in this he was supported by the inhabitants of the province of coquimbo, the only object of the whole being to displace rodrigues, and to bring him to justice. this they eventually did, obliging o'higgins at the same time to abdicate his supreme authority on the twenty-second of january, . during this epoch of convulsions, lord cochrane was residing on his estate at quintero, where he received the following communication from peru: "the sovereign constituent congress of peru, contemplating how much the liberty of peru owes to the right honourable lord cochrane, by whose talents, valour and constancy the pacific has been freed from our most inveterate enemies, and the standard of liberty has been displayed on the coasts of peru, resolves that the junta of government, in the name of the peruvian nation, do present to lord cochrane, admiral of the squadron of chile, expressions of our most sincere gratitude for his achievements in favour of this country, once tyrannized over by powerful enemies, now the arbiter of its own fate." "the junta of government obeying this, will command its fulfilment and order it be printed, published and circulated.--given in the hall of congress, lima, the th of september, . (signed) xavier de luna pizarro, president--jose sanches carrion, deputy secretary--francisco xavier marreategui, deputy secretary." "in obedience we order the execution of the foregoing decree. (signed) jose de la mar, felipe antonio alvarado, el conde de vista florida, by order of his excellency francisco valdivieso." here his lordship received from the government of chile a copy of the libel presented to them by the plenipotentiaries of the protector of peru, which he answered with "victorious reasonings," although the supremacy assured his lordship, that the charges had never been believed; perhaps for the best of all possible reasons, that they could scarcely be understood. in december an express arrived from the brazilian charge des affaires in buenos ayres, bringing to his lordship a communication from the imperial government at rio de janeiro, containing a request, that as the common enemy to south american independence in the pacific had, owing to his important services and indefatigable exertions ceased to exist, he would deign to accept the command of the imperial navy of the brazils, for the purpose of securing to that country the felicity which he had been the means of establishing on the opposite side of the continent. lord cochrane would probably have preferred a life of quiet in his adopted country, chile, to that of entering into an engagement which might produce a repetition of those difficulties and vexations which he had already experienced; but, owing to the existing circumstances in chile, this was impossible. lord cochrane was bound by his allegiance to the existing government, not to become a party in any faction and his own honour would not allow him to join general freire, by whom he was solicited, although he was convinced that the authority of o'higgins must succumb; he therefore determined to proceed to rio de janeiro, and to act there as affairs might present themselves. on the nineteenth of january, , his lordship embarked for the brazils; but before quitting chile he drew up the two following addresses: "chileans, my compatriots,--the common enemy of america has fallen in chile. your tri-coloured flag waves on the pacific, secured by your sacrifices. some internal commotions agitate chile: it is not my business to investigate their causes, to accelerate or to retard their effects: i can only wish that the result may be most favourable for all parties. "chileans,--you have expelled from your country the enemies of your independence, do not sully the glorious act by encouraging discord, promoting anarchy, that greatest of all evils. consult the dignity to which your heroism has raised you, and if you must take any steps to secure your national liberty, judge for yourselves, act with prudence, and be guided by reason and justice. "it is now four years since the sacred cause of your independence called me to chile; i assisted you to gain it; i have seen it accomplished; it only now remains for you to preserve it. "i leave you for a time, in order not to involve myself in matters foreign to my duty, and for reasons concerning which i now remain silent, that i may not encourage party spirit. "chileans,--you know that independence is purchased at the point of the bayonet. know also that liberty is founded on good faith, and is supported by the laws of honour, and that those who infringe them are your only enemies, among whom you will never find cochrane." "to the british merchants residing in chile. quintero, january th, : "gentlemen,--i cannot quit this country without expressing to you the heartfelt satisfaction which i experience on account of the extension which has been given to your commerce, by laying open to all the trade of those vast provinces to which spain formerly asserted an exclusive right. the squadron which maintained the monopoly has disappeared from the face of the ocean, and the flags of independent south america wave every where triumphant, protecting that intercourse between nations which is the source of their riches, happiness, and power. "if, for the furtherance of this great object, some restraints were imposed, they were no other than those which are practised by all civilized states; and though they may have affected the interests of a few who were desirous to avail themselves of accidental circumstances presented during the contest, it is a gratification to know that such interests were only postponed for the general good. should there be any, however, who conceive themselves aggrieved by my conduct, i have to request that they will make known their complaints, with their names affixed, through the medium of the public press, in order that i may have an opportunity of a particular reply. "i trust you will do me the justice to believe, that i have not determined to withdraw myself from these seas while any thing remains within my means to accomplish for your benefit and security. "i have the honour to be, gentlemen, your faithful obedient servant, cochrane." the end. printed by harris and co. liverpool. +-------------------------------------------------+ |transcriber's note: | | | |obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | | | +-------------------------------------------------+ [illustration: yumbo indian. indian of the colorads.] a historical and descriptive narrative of twenty years' residence in south america, _in three volumes_; containing travels in arauco, chile, peru, and colombia; with an account of the revolution, its rise, progress, and results. by w. b. stevenson, formerly private secretary to the president and captain general of quito colonel, and governor of esmeraldas, captain de fragata, and late secretary to the vice admiral of chile,--his excellency the right honourable lord cochrane, &c. vol. ii. london: hurst, robinson, and co. constable & co. and oliver & boyd, edinburgh. mdcccxxv. contents of vol. ii. page chap. i.--farm of vinto, cattle, grain, &c....first wheat in peru...._tapiales_, fences....trees, shrubs, and plants....fruit....animals....birds....fish....appearance of the villages...._balsas_....indian feast....indian burial....paramonga....palace of fortalice chap. ii.--visit to caxatambo....roads....manner of travelling ....village of ocros....cura of ditto....indians....road to chiquian....town of chiquian....crimes....mining laws....method of working the ores....frauds in _plata pina_...._taonas_ and _ingenios_....caxatambo...._repartimientos_....manufactures.... inhabitants....amusements....road from caxatambo, _cuesta_....farm house and family....town of huaras....productions of huailas.... manufactures of ditto....huaras, excellent mercantile situation ....province of conchucos....produce, &c....mines....oca.... medicinal plants....character of inhabitants....procession of st. peter....localities in the province....enter huamalies.... productions...._coca_...._charquis_ cinchona....mines....eagle stones....fruits...._mulitas_ and _quiriquineihos_....character of inhabitants....death of the inca represented....observations chap. iii.--general mode of travelling from lima to the different provinces....british manufactures fit for the last provinces visited....general character of the inhabitants.... animals in the provinces of huailas, caxatambo, conchucos, and huamalies....pagi or puma....ucumari....viscacha....comadreja ....ardillas....gato montes....alco....llama.... paco....huanaco ....vicuna....mulita....birds....condor....vegetable productions ....mineral ditto....antiquities....diseases and remedies.... hydrophobia chap. iv.--travels to the north of lima....village of pativilca ....of huarmey....of casma....cotton mill....santa....river santa....nepena....farm of motocachi....vineyard....port of santa...._tambo de chao_....viru....truxillo....itinerary between lima and truxillo....description of truxillo....building ....inhabitants....climate....commerce....jurisdiction....arms ....plain _de chimu_...._huaca de toledo_....tradition of.... huanchaco port....valleys of chimu, chicama, and viru.... productions....road to caxamarca....contumasa....magdalena....gold mines....view of caxamarca....origin of name of....description of....buildings....inhabitants....arts and manufactures of....visit to san pablo....market of caxamarca....trade of....hot baths....description of chap. v.--historical sketch of caxamarca, huaina capac, huascar inca, and atahualpa....arrival of pizarro at tumpis....at caxamarca....spanish embassy....harangue of soto....answer of atahualpa....visit of atahualpa to pizarro....discourse of friar vicente valverde, to atahualpa....answer of atahualpa.... imprisonment of....offered ransom of....cause of the jealousy of pizarro....arrivals of treasure....accusation, for the trial of atahualpa....sentence, baptism, execution, and burial of ....interesting remains in caxamarca chap. vi.--province of caxamarca....manufactures, mines....village de jesus....hawking....farm of lagunilla....inga tambo....village of san marcos....feast....wedding....village of ichocan....mine of gualgayoc....return to the coast....village of chocope....of san pedro....of las lagunas....of monsefu....town of lambayeque ....inhabitants, buildings, new altar....manufactures, soap, cordovans, cotton goods, sweetmeats....fruits, grain, pulse ....vegetables....market...._algarroba_, carob tree....village of eten....of morrope...._simarones_....desert of sechura....town of sechura....city of piura....inhabitants, buildings....mules ....manufactures....climate....effect on syphilis....commerce.... port of paita....excellent situation for an astronomical observatory chap. vii.--leave lima for guayaquil...._amortajado_....puna ....arrival of the spaniards, and conquest of....village of ....inhabitants....passage up the river guayaquil...._punta de arena_....guayaquil....foundation and description of....buildings ....inhabitants....amusements....market....fruit....climate.... insects and reptiles....dock yard....project of sawing mills.... balsa, description of....navigation of....canoes....merchants of guayaquil chap. viii.--productions of the province of guayaquil....cocoa ....cultivation....harvest....tobacco....timber....salt....cattle ....minor articles of trade...._turbines_ found at santa elena ....large bones, &c....animals, _perico_, _ligero_....monkeys ...._iguanas_....toucanes...._trompeteros_....snakes.... curiquinqui, snake-eater...._huaco_, antidote for the bite of snakes...._lagartos_, alligators, description of....methods of killing....fishermen....mineral productions chap. ix.--journey from guayaquil to quito....babaoyo....road to chimbo...._cuesta de san antonio_....arrival at huaranda.... triumphal arch and harangue....description of huaranda and province of chimbo....chimboraso....accident at la ensillada ....road to san juan...._obrage_ of indians....arrival at riobamba....description of....remains of old riobamba....visit to an old cacique....province of riobamba....road to ambato ....description of....produce....arrival of tacunga....description of....earthquakes at....ruins of callo....provincial produce ....arrival at chisinchi, ensillada, and quito....remarks chap. x.--quito, foundation and situation....plasa mayor.... president's palace, bishop's palace and cathedral....parishes ....convents and public buildings....jesuit's college....convent of san francisco....san diego....santa prisca....santa clara ....university....college of san luis....of san fernando.... houses....government....nobility....population....white creoles....occupation and education....character of....mestisos persons, character, employment....dress of creoles....of mestisos....of indians....diversions, bull-fight and masquerade ....dancing....music....religious procession....market, meat, fruit and vegetables....spirituous liquors....ices, confectionary ....cheese....trade and commerce chap. xi.--visit of the academicians to quito in .... inscription left by....climate of quito....view of mountains at ....description of chimboraso....of cayambe-urcu....of antisana ....of cotopaxi....of pichincha....of el altar....description of the fertility of the valleys....mines....ruins of temples, palaces, and fortified places....account of the indians....of commerce chap. xii.--villa of ibarra, description....villa of otavala, description....lakes san pablo and cuicocha....visit to the river mapo....gold mines on the banks of....indians pay their tribute in gold....bæza, the capital of the district....description of the inhabitants, &c....commissioned by the government to explore a road from the capital to the nearest point of the coast.... maldonado's road....leave quito....cross the skirts of pichincha, arrive at the river piti....description of the country.... description of piti....proceed to esmeraldas....description of the river of jaguar....houses, plantations, cattle....method of distilling rum....food of the inhabitants...._saino_ tatabra, and _aguti_, or huatus....monkey and charapa....method of killing game with the _sorbetana_ and poisoned _pua_ chap. xiii.--continuation of esmeraldas; fish caught in the river...._chautisa_, method of taking....preserving of.... method of catching fish in the river....of cooking it....yucas, camotes, yams....palmettos....tobacco....cocoa....new variety of....occupation of the esmeraldenos....origin of....language ....dress....manners and character of....religion....re-ascend the esmeraldas river, to the embarcadero de maldonado....mouth of the river....city of esmeraldas....road to atacames....port of....town of...._manzanillo_....rio verdo....la tola....country produce, timber, and wood....coutchouc....fruit palms.... animals....mines....conclusion chap. xiv.--visit to cayapas....village....inhabitants....houses and furniture....visit to the malabas, wild indians....arrival at the vijia....interview with the cacique, family of.... tribe of the malabas....tradition of the origin of....dress of....manners ....laws....return to cayapas....visit tumaco....description of ....barbacoas....description of....gold mines....manner of working them....leave the coast, malbucho road....river mira...._puentes de maroma_, and _taravitas_...._piquigua_....arrive at ibarra, and return to rio verde and esmeraldas....ascend the river quinindi....boa constrictors....santo domingo de los colorados ....indians....dress....houses....food cocaniguas....quito chapter i. farm of vinto, cattle, grain, &c....first wheat in peru...._tapiales_, fences....trees, shrubs, and plants....fruit....animal....birds, fish....appearance of the villages...._balsas_....indian feast....indian burial....paramonga....palace or fortalice. on the side of the river opposite to huaito i visited the farm of vinto, which from the purposes to which it is dedicated may be considered as something like an english farm. horned cattle are bred in considerable numbers; the cows rear the calves, and are seldom milked. dr. robertson speaks of a degeneration of animals in america, "in the spanish colonies within the torrid zone, or bordering on it;" but he certainly was misinformed with respect to peru; the cattle is not so large as in lincolnshire, but, taking the average, it is as large as the english, french, and spanish cattle: when fed on lucern the meat is well-flavoured, fat, and juicy, and the bones are very small. at vinto great numbers of pigs are reared, and are said to pay very well. barley is sown at a time which allows it to be in ear in the littering season, when the sows are turned on it, and remain until it is all eaten down: the young pigs are then separated from the old ones, and driven to a field of lucern, where they are kept till they are fit for market; this takes place when they are from ten to sixteen months old, at which age they sell at from six to nine dollars each, if of a good breed for fattening. few sheep are bred on the coast, to which during some months of the year large flocks are driven from the interior, and fattened for the lima market; many of these are ewes in-lamb, particularly those brought down in november and december; and the common bargain between the drover and the farmer is, to give the lambs for the pasturage, by which means the farmer obtains a sufficient number of sheep to supply him with mutton, calculating on receiving a hundred and fifty lambs for every hundred ewes. besides this increase in sheep, which is greater than in england, the ewes bear twice a year in south america--in general the lambing season is in june and december. the breed of horses and mules at vinto was of little extent, but some of the latter were very good; the ordinary ones for carriers would sell for forty-five or fifty dollars each, while the prime mules would fetch a hundred or a hundred and fifty. a considerable quantity of wheat is harvested at vinto, as well as on the neighbouring farms and near the surrounding villages; it is sown and ploughed in, and irrigated three or sometimes four times during its growth; after it is cut, it is thrown into a heap, and the grain trodden out by horses; it is then cleared from the chaff, by throwing it up in the wind, as in chile, and it generally yields from fifty to seventy-fold. the first wheat was carried to lima in the year , by doña maria de escobar, wife of doñ diego de chares; the quantity consisted of but a few grains, which she cultivated herself. in the true spirit of the age and country, she invited all her friends to celebrate the first harvest of new wheat in the new world, not knowing that it had been produced in mexico in , by a negro slave belonging to cortes, who accidentally found a few grains mixed among the rice which was supplied to the army. to commemorate the happy event in lima, doña maria presented to each of her friends a few grains, and it is said that some ears were laid as an offering on the altar of the dominican church. the first wheat at quito was sown near to the franciscan convent, by father jose rixi, who carried his seed thither from europe in a small earthen jar, which yet exists in the convent, and is exhibited to visitors; it is of baked clay, and will hold about a quart. among the relics shown to me, in , i admired none so much as this: a circumstance which rather disconcerted the pious sacristan who shewed them to me. the historian, i should think, must feel greater pleasure in recording the name of the individual who has promoted the welfare and contributed to the comforts of his fellow creatures, than in sounding the trumpet of fame to that of a hero whose glory reposes on the mangled bodies of thousands of his comrades, slaughtered to add a letter to the name of the victor, and not unfrequently to bind the chains of thraldom round the necks of the vanquished. maize, beans of five or six varieties, lentils, garbansos, camotes, yucas, and potatoes are cultivated by the farmer for home consumption, as well as for the lima market; the slaves also grow the same articles, and on a sunday take their produce to the neighbouring villages to sell. the fields on these plantations and farms are generally divided by walls, called _tapiales_: these are formed of large square masses of clay or earth, sometimes mixed with stones, each being about four feet long, two thick, and two broad, and are called _adobones_; the walls are sometimes four and sometimes six feet high, being composed of two or three layers of adobones. they are made by laying a frame of wood on the ground, composed of two sides and one end, the sides being secured at the other by thongs of raw hide; the earth on one side the box or frame is then wetted with water, dug over once or twice, and put into the frame, _adobera_, where it is trodden hard, or beaten with a heavy rammer; more earth is thrown in, and again pressed down, until the frame is quite full, when the top is smoothed over with a wooden trowel and some water. the frame is removed by untying the thongs, which allows the sides of the adobera to open a little, and to separate freely from the adobon, which is smoothed with the trowel or hand with a little water; the frame is now placed with its open end to the adobon which is finished, and another is made and placed adjoining to it by the same process. when a second or third tier is raised, two pieces of plank or scantling are laid on the lower adobon, to support the frame, which is filled as before; the scantlings are then drawn out and the frame removed; the holes are sometimes filled up, and sometimes left open. when stones are mixed with the clay or earth they are usually placed along the sides of the frame, the centre being filled up with earth, to which cut straw is occasionally added, particularly when the soil is rather sandy. these fences are very durable; a ditch is formed on one or both sides, according to the will of the master, and the earth dug out serves to make the wall, and at the same time secures it from being undermined by the water, which would be injurious to the foundation. in those parts of peru where it rains, small bundles of brush wood are put across the top of the tapial, and clay laid on them to prevent the rain from penetrating: if tiles were substituted they would answer much better. i have been rather minute in describing these walls, being convinced that with a few improvements they would be found preferable to some fences used in england; indeed the easy method of building them deserves to be communicated to those who are in the habit of constructing fence walls instead of hedges, a common practice in our hilly countries. as a proof of their duration, many of these clay fences are now standing on the coast of peru, and of those cased with stone in the interior, built more than three centuries ago, by the indians, before the spaniards discovered their country. the trees that afford any timber in this neighbourhood are the molle and espino, or huarango; from the latter excellent charcoal is made, and considerable quantities are carried to lima. senna is found in abundance in the hedges, and willows and poplars become very lofty. the indigo plant grows spontaneously in the fields; i have sometimes observed cochineal on the cactus, cultivated for its fruit, the prickly pear, but of an inferior quality; in the interior it is called _pilcay_, and from some cotton cloth which i have found in the huacas, it is evident that the ancient peruvians were acquainted with its colouring principle, this as well as the indigo being among the fillets taken out of the huacas. they procure the yellow tint at present by steeping the berries of the molle in water, and afterwards a quantity of maize; wool dyed in this water takes a bright and permanent yellow. a tree of the mimosa tribe, called tara, bears a quantity of pods which contain a large portion of tanin; ink is generally made from an infusion of these pods, by adding to it some sulphate of iron. the fragrant floripondio grows in many of the hedges, assisted by the odorous ñorbo, a small species of passion flower, which emits in the evening a most delightful fragrance. the prickly apple, holy thistle, and many other medicinal plants grow wild, with the virtues and applications of which the indians are well acquainted. the maguey is very common; it makes a good hedge, no animal daring to pass it, on account of the large prickles with which the point of each leaf is armed. it may be said, that this is one of the most useful plants at present known. of the flower stalks the indians build their houses, and cover them with its large leaves; the fibrous part may be converted into thread and woven for clothing, while its sharp pointed prickles are a good substitute for needles. before the flower stem makes its appearance, if the heart of the plant be cut out, and a hollow place made in the centre, it will be filled in ten or twelve hours with a thick syrup, which may be used instead of sugar; when this is mixed with water and fermented, it forms the favourite mexican beverage _pulque_; of this juice vinegar may be made, or brandy distilled from it: if the leaves are bruised and pressed, they produce by boiling a balsamic syrup, used to cleanse and cure ulcers; the leaves are also used instead of soap: the clothes are wetted, and then beaten with a leaf which has been crushed; a thick white froth is produced, and after rincing, the clothes are quite clean. the flower buds are very delicate eating when boiled or pickled. of the aloes this is the largest species; here are two varieties, the leaves of the one being of a deep green inclining to black, while those of the other are of a beautiful pale green; the latter is the more useful of the two varieties. a tree called _del jaboncillo_ grows in the hedges; it has the appearance of the laurel, and produces a quantity of round fruit, of the size of small plums; a hard kernel is enclosed in a tough rind, which when ripe contains a pulpy matter; this, on being mixed with water, produces a white froth, and is used instead of soap for washing. in some gardens the _achote_ is cultivated; this tree is seldom above ten feet high, the leaves are heart-shaped, and the seeds are enclosed in a prickly capsule about three inches long; they are covered with an unctuous matter, of a vermilion colour, and are thrown into hot water, and afterwards strained, when the liquor is boiled to the consistency of paste, and forms the annotta dye. the natives often use it as a spice, or as a colouring matter for their food. _mani_ is also cultivated; the plant is very frondiferous, is about two feet high, and has white flowers; but the mani, or nuts, are attached to the roots; they are about the size of horse beans, and when roasted or boiled are delicate eating; they contain a considerable quantity of oil, of a beautiful green colour, which is obtained by pressure; it is equally palatable with the best olive oil. the root is remarkably nutritive, and very agreeable to eat when on a long journey. a tree called _pilco_ grows in the hedge rows; the leaves are lancet formed, and the branches very straight; the fruit is like that of the common laurel. if a person remain but a short time under the shade of this tree when the sun shines, swellings and pustules make their appearance on the face and arms, or any other naked part of the body. the juice is extremely caustic, and ulcerates the skin wherever it touches; on which account it is called in the quichua language _capsicarancha_, the itch tree. when it is necessary to cut down any of these trees, a fire is made at the foot of them, and their offensive property is destroyed. the plant which produces the castor bean, from which the castor oil is obtained, grows wild; the oil is often extracted by the natives, and on some sugar plantations it is used for the purpose of burning in lamps. one variety of this plant produces very large beans, which are called _piñones_: it grows about six feet high; the leaves are somewhat like those of the vine; the beans are enclosed in prickly capsules, each containing two beans, which have a thin black shell, and very white kernel; two or three of these chewed and swallowed prove a violent purgative. the natives extract the oil and apply it to the abdomen in cases of dropsy; they also dilute a small quantity in urine, and pour one or two drops into the ear, in cases of deafness or a pain in the ear. during the damp season, in foggy months, a species of cactus grows on the _lomas_ or sand hills which produces a fruit called _caimito_; this resembles in shape a large cucumber; it is first green, afterwards brown, with yellow stripes, and when ripe it is red. the taste is an agreeable subacid; but after eating the fruit a very disagreeable feeling is left on the lips, which is removed by rubbing them with a piece of the rind. the fruit is remarkably fragrant, and on this account it is frequently kept in the houses. in the garden at huaito there were a few plants of coffee; they were very healthy and bore fruit abundantly. cotton of a good quality grows near the cottages of the indians, who always cultivate a few plants for their own consumption; among these plants i have observed many bearing cotton of a nankeen colour, but of this they seldom make any use. quantities of small lizards are to be seen on every heap of rubbish or stones, particularly when the sun shines, busily employed in catching flies, on which they appear to subsist; i have frequently watched them while seizing their prey. as soon as they observe a fly on the sand they creep out of their holes and make their advance with a slow and almost imperceptible motion; they place themselves in a right line with the object, and then make a dart at it open mouthed, and swallow it in a moment, very rarely missing it. they are often beautifully striped with green, yellow, and brown, and are generally about eight inches long. on some parts of the coast the indians eat them; they cut off the tail and the feet and fry the body, which has then the appearance of a fried smelt. i ate some at san pedro, and believed them to be the peje rey until i was undeceived. the indians consider them as a medicinal food for persons afflicted with cutaneous diseases. the opossum is found in all the valleys of the coast; it is about two feet long including the tail, which is as long as the body; the nose is pointed like that of a hog, and has no hair on it from the eyes to the mouth; the ears are thin, without any hair on them, and stand erect; the feet are also naked and small, and it holds its meat with its fore paws, like a monkey; the body is covered with hair, black at the roots and white at the points, which gives it a shady grey colour; the tail is slender and naked, and by it the animal can hang suspended to the branch of a tree. the female brings forth four or five young ones at a time, not larger than mice when first born, and they immediately betake themselves to the pouch under the belly of their mother. the pouch is formed by a fold of the skin, hairy on the outside and covered with a very soft down or fur on the inside; the nipples are so situated, that the young ones can suck them as they are carried about by their mother; when about the size of full grown mice they leave the pouch by an opening in the centre, and bask in the sun, but if any danger threaten them they immediately take refuge in their natural home. i one day caught an old opossum by the tail, when four of her young ones ran out; i chased and captured two of them; they immediately hid themselves by running up the inside of my coat sleeves; i took them home, reared them, and they became perfectly domesticated, were very tame, and would sleep on the same mat with a dog. they feed on fruit or esculents, will eat flesh, and are particularly fond of eggs. the indians esteem them as food, but i never had an opportunity of eating any. the natives sometimes call the opossum _mochilera_, from _mochila_, a knapsack; the indians call it _mucamuca_. the añas of peru is a species of pole cat, and is nearly the size of a domestic cat; its colour is a deep brown approaching to black, with a line of round white spots extending from the nose to the tail; the head is long, the ears broad and covered with hair, the eyes large with small black pupils, the nose sharp like the opossum; the upper lip is shorter than the lower one, which projects, and the mouth contains twelve incisorial, four canine, and sixteen grinding teeth. the hind legs are longer than the fore, and each foot has five toes, armed with long sharp nails, with which it burrows into the ground, and forms a place of security for its young. when walking it carries its head down, and its tail, which is bushy, is turned on the back like that of a squirrel. under the tail and above the vent is a small vesicle, which contains a remarkably fetid oily liquid. when attacked or in danger this animal elevates its posteriors and forcibly ejects upon its assailant this pestiferous fluid, the loathsome effects of which nothing can exceed. clothes that are in the least sprinkled with it become totally useless, for no washing will take off the stench; in the same manner, it will not leave the body, if any part happen to come in contact with it, until the cuticle or surface skin comes off. if a dog by chance receive any of it on his body he immediately runs to the water, rolls himself in the mud, howls, and appears almost mad, nor will he eat any thing for several days, or until the stench begins to abate--this defence is the only one of which the añas ever avails itself. conscious of his offensive powers, the añas is not alarmed at the approach of either men or dogs; it always passes them fearlessly, indeed both generally make way, lest by opposition they might subject themselves to its nauseous and abominable filth, and become disgusting even to themselves by being wetted with its matter. the skin of the añas has a beautiful long soft fur, and is quite free from any disagreeable smell. the animal feeds on poultry and eggs, and is very annoying, for no one chooses to risk the killing of it: when this is effected, it is generally with a trap, but should it be killed in a village or near a house, the smell is quite a nuisance to the neighbourhood for several days. some few snakes are found in the hedges, but they are quite harmless. the _alacran_, scorpion, is venomous, but not more painful than the sting of a wasp. of the feathered tribe the majestic _condor_ stands most conspicuous, whether on the ground extending its wings, which often measure fourteen feet from tip to tip, or soaring among the clouds, in appearance not larger than a swallow. the flight of this bird is truly majestic; it rises with an almost imperceptible tremulous motion of the wings, and falls to the ground in the same manner; it pounces on its prey, if a lamb or any other small animal, and bears it off in its talons to some neighbouring mountain; if the prey be too large, the condor will feed on it till unable to fly, when it becomes itself the easy prey of the villagers, who run it down and kill it with clubs. the _gallinaso_, or turkey buzzard, as it is sometimes called, from its resemblance to a turkey, is a very useful bird; it is the public scavenger, devours all kinds of carrion, and on this account is seldom or never killed. a few small eagles and hawks are troublesome among the poultry, and destroy great numbers. wild ducks frequent the mouths of the rivers, where we find gulls and other aquatic birds, among which we frequently discover the pelican. the singing birds are the _cilguero_, a kind of linnet; the blackbird, resembling in size and note the english blackbird; the _titupuying_, which is something like the cardinal. a species of wood pigeon is very common, and in allusion to its note is called coo coo lee; it is easily tamed, and will coo at any hour of the night, if a candle be lighted, but never more than three times before it ceases or rests. some of the rivers have plenty of _lisa_, a species of mullet, _peje rey_, and _camarones_; the sea fish on the coast are _corbina_, _chita_, _jureles_, a kind of mackerel, _peje rey_, and _lenguado_, a species of turbot. shell fish is scarce, but small muscles and limpets are generally found. the natives cook and eat a sea weed which grows on the rocks, known by the name of _yuyo de la mar_. on the shore among the sand a small white stone is found, called _piedra del ojo_, or _limpia ojos_; it is about the size of a lentil, and of an opaque white colour; the natives pretend that by putting one of them under the eyelid, it will travel round the eye, and then fall out, bringing with it any extraneous matter that may have been lodged in this delicate organ. the villages along the coast have a very neat appearance; the houses are but one story high, with a capacious corridor in front; some of them are supported by pillars made of sun-dried bricks, some round, others square; while others are composed of bundles of canes lashed together and covered with clay, with arches made of the same materials. the whole front is white-washed, and a comfortable promenade is produced under the grotesque piazzas, a range of seats sometimes extending the length of ten or twelve houses; and here in the cool of a summer evening the villagers sit, or lay their mats on the ground and sleep. in those villages where the population consists of creoles and indians few of the latter build their houses in the busy part of the village; they prefer living on their own small chacras, or the allotments of land which they possess. a low table, a few pots and pans to cook in, and some calabashes to eat and drink out of, compose the furniture of an indian's cottage. mats of _totora_, a long rush which grows in swampy ground, are their seats, of which rushes they sometimes make the walls of their cottages, by tying them up in small bundles, putting these close together, and securing them with canes placed horizontally on each side, and tied together at certain distances. they also form _balsas_ of them; for this purpose, they tie together as many as make the middle of the balsa, about two yards in circumference, which they taper to a point at each end; they then shape it like a crescent by winding round it ropes of the totora. seated on the centre of this original boat, they take their nets and go two or three leagues out to sea, and i never heard of any accident happening to the fishermen. as the person who navigates in this manner must sit astride, the indians often call their balsas _potrillos_, colts; and the appearance of a fleet of them floating on a smooth sea in a calm evening is very beautiful. when dry, the balsa only weighs a few pounds, so that on one mule the fisherman can carry his boat, his net, and even sufficient materials to build his hut: in this manner they range up and down the coast in search of fish, which they often salt and take either to lima or some other market. one kind of net is perfectly round when laid open on the ground; the circumference has several pieces of lead attached to it, and in the centre a rope is tied: when used they collect about half the net on the right arm, throw it into the water, and allow it to sink to the bottom; they then draw the line fastened to the centre, and as the net rises, the leads close by their own weight, and the fish are thus secured. with this umbrella net, as i used to call it, they often catch large quantities of fish in the rivers, lakes, and among the surf on the sea shore--the indians name the net ataraya. when an indian celebrates the feast of some particular saint, he provides a dinner for all who choose to partake of it; mats are laid on the ground, and the cloth along the middle of them; large calabashes of chicha, some holding five or six gallons, are placed on the cloth, with a number of smaller ones, holding about a pint, ranged on each side; the men seat themselves, and the women bring in large dishes of beef, cut into pieces about two inches square, and stewed with lard, a quantity of capsicum, and the juice of sour oranges. spoons are placed on the table, if i may so call it, but the fingers supply the place of forks--knives are very seldom wanted, and small calabashes serve instead of plates: when these dishes are removed the chicha goes merrily round. the second course of dishes is generally filled with fowls stewed with some kind of vegetables, but not picante, seasoned with _agi_, capsicum pods; after this course follows a _pepian_, consisting of turkey stewed with rice flour, water, onions, garlic, cayenne pepper, and lard; sometimes peje reyes, smelts, merely laid for five or six hours in the juice of sour oranges, and green capsicum pods are brought in; and, lastly, the favourite dish of cuyes, guinea pigs, highly seasoned with cayenne pepper. between each course the chicha circulates freely, and the company often rise pretty merry; after which they mount their horses and call for the stirrup cup; the mistress of the feast then goes out with a large pongo, calabash of chicha, and distributes a small one to each of the guests, who frequently joke with her about love affairs; indeed, i have often heard very witty repartees on such occasions. after the men are gone, the women sit down and enjoy their dinner in some other room--not unfrequently in the kitchen; but they abstain almost entirely from the chicha or any other intoxicating liquors. on the death of an indian, his relatives immediately repair to the house, and place themselves round the corpse, which is laid on the ground, and wail over him in a kind of plaintive ditty; they mourn his departure, asking him "why he left them so soon?" with other similar questions, enumerating also all his actions, kindnesses, &c. if the deceased leave a widow, she will sing over him, and recount the tales he told when he courted her, say where they first met, mention other things that would be as well forgotten, and conclude with, "why have you gone and left me? but some other loved you as well as myself, and she has bewitched you to death, she has sucked your blood, and she will now be happy." when this lamentation ceases, a relative will approach the house, and begin the wail again, all the company joining, and repeating theirs; the dirge is continued with little interruption until the corpse is buried. about five miles from patavilca, and a hundred and twenty from lima, is a place called paramonga, or the fortalesa. the ruins of a fortified palace of very great extent are here visible; the walls are of tempered clay, about six feet thick; the principal building stood on an eminence, but the walls were continued to the foot of it, like regular circumvallations; the ascent winded round the hill, like a labyrinth, having many angles, which probably served as outworks to defend the place. it is supposed to have belonged to the chimu or king of mansichi, and was a frontier palace during the time of the incas. the oral tradition of the indians says, that at this place the chimu did homage to pachacutec, the tenth inca. near these ruins is a high rock, which overhangs the sea, called _el serro de la horca_, gallows' hill, because from the top of it all criminals were formerly thrown into the sea. near the fortalesa is a very extensive ruin of a town, and a manufactory of saltpetre is established. the salt is obtained by filling large cisterns with the sand taken from the graves or huacas; water is poured on it, and having filtered through the sand, it is drawn off; this is next evaporated and put into large canoes, in which the salt crystallizes. the nitre is very pure, and is carried to lima and sold at the powder mills. considerable treasure, both in gold and silver ornaments, has been found, when taking the sand out of the huacas; beside which many curiosities in earthenware, porphyry, basalt and other stones, as well as cotton and woollen garments, have been collected. the value of treasure dug up by different individuals in the year exceeded twenty thousand dollars. chapter ii. visit to caxatambo....roads....manner of travelling....village of ocros....cura of ditto....indian....road to chiquian....town of chiquian....crimes....mining laws....method of working the ores....frauds in _plata piña_...._taonas_ and _ingenios_....caxatambo...._repartimientos_....manufactures.... inhabitants....amusements....road from caxatambo, _cuesta_ ....farm house and family....town of huara....productions of huailas....manufactures of ditto....huaras, excellent mercantile situation....province of conchucos....produce, &c....mines.... oca....medicinal plants....character of inhabitants....procession of st. peter....localities in the province....enter huamalies.... productions...._coca_...._charquis_....cinchona....mines....eagle stones....fruits...._mulitas_ and _quiriquineihos_....character of inhabitants....death of the inca represented....observations. in i visited caxatambo, the capital of a district, _partido_, bearing the same name. my route was by the _quebrada_, ravine of barranca, which contains two large sugar plantations and several large farms. i rested the first night at cochas, a small village, and was most hospitably treated by don manuel requena, a man who had amassed considerable property by purchasing cattle in the interior and driving it down on the coast to fatten on lucern, for the lima market. the following morning i began to wind up the ravine, which, after traversing the bridge of cords already described, becomes much narrower, sometimes so much so, that the passes are dangerous; a gallery is cut in the rock at one of them a hundred and seventy yards long, but so narrow, that it would be impracticable for two mules to pass each other; nor is it possible to make room in the emergency of meeting a traveller. on one side the mountain is either perpendicular, or it hangs over the heads of those who pass, threatening to fall and crush them; while on the other hand, about four hundred feet below the path, the river foams and roars as it descends towards the coast, having another lofty mountain on the opposite side. what man could travel on a road like this, and not shudder to hear the name of an earthquake mentioned; particularly when he looks on the broken and rugged rocks, and supposes that one of those dreadful convulsions of the earth may have opened the road on which he treads, and that such another shock would bury him in the ruins! our mode of travelling would have been regarded in england as a curiosity; a friend and myself were mounted on two mules, with huge deep saddles covered with red woolly rugs, large wooden box stirrups, broad girths, and straps attached to the saddles both behind and before; these straps passed round the breasts and hams of the mules to prevent the saddles from slipping as we rode up and down the _cuestas_, some of which are exceedingly steep. i had two mules laden with my luggage; on the one was placed my mattress and bedding, put into a large leather case, called an _almaufres_; on the other were two _petacas_, or square trunks, made of untanned bullocks' hides, and curiously wrought with thongs of the same material. my comrade had two mules also laden in a similar manner; for, when travelling in any part of south america that i visited, it is almost always necessary to take a bed, because no inns or houses of accommodation are found on the roads, or even in the towns or cities. our peon or muleteer generally followed the mules, while we proceeded on before; but on approaching a village or hamlet, the peon alighted, and tied the mules together, fastening the halter of one to the tail of another, to prevent them from straggling. about four o'clock in the afternoon we arrived at ocros, a small village, where the indians were all prepared to go to cochas the following day, to repair the bridge. this task is annually imposed on them jointly with those of the neighbouring villages, who pass it toll free, while other passengers pay a real or one-eighth of a dollar: the money is kept to provide food for the indians who assemble to assist in the repairs; they employ a week at the work, although it might be finished in a day; but it is rather a week of feasting than of labour. about thirty mules, all laden with _cabulleria_, as it is called, made from the maguey, were collected in the plasa, or square, and there appeared to be as much bustle as if an army had been removing its camp. my companion was known to the _cura_, rector, to whose house he took me, and we were entertained with his best cheer and most cheerful hospitality. the cura complained bitterly of a want of society in his place of exile, _destierro_, as he called it, and jocosely said, that if the pope himself were cura of ocros, he would wish to have a wife to keep him in good humour: excepting, said he, when a traveller passes this way, i hear no news, and know of nothing that occurs in the world which i have left. i often welcome the arrival of a pedlar, to whom i would not even have spoken at lima, but here he seems to me like something dropt from the clouds, and his words and actions delight me, because they savour of my beloved lima. the village or rather hamlet of ocros is situated on an eminence; the climate is cold, and although but eleven leagues from the coast, it is subject to heavy rains. the inhabitants are for the most part indians, who have some few small flocks of sheep and goats; they labour on the neighbouring farms, and on the whole live miserably. barley, maize, and milk from their goats are their principal food, and a coarse suit of clothes will generally wear out the life of its owner; the contrast between these indians and those on the coast in regard to their manner of living surprised me not a little:--more ragged and dirty in their appearance, their small huts containing but one room having the fire in the middle of it, without any windows, and the absence of every thing that might contribute to their comfort:--indeed their stock of household goods made a most miserable shew. i inquired into the cause of this penury, and was informed by the cura, that their vicinity to the coast allowed them, if they could purchase a mule, to fetch small quantities of brown sugar, _chancaca_, and fruit, and to take them to chiquian and other towns in the interior, to sell, and that they usually spent in eating and drinking the small profits which they derived; they thought, he said, but little of their homes; but left the women to till their plots of ground, to tend their sheep and goats, and to provide for their families. here the quichua language begins to be spoken; the indians use no other among themselves, and many of the women cannot speak a word of spanish. on the following morning, after a very hearty breakfast, we left ocros, with an earnest entreaty to call at the house of the cura, should we ever pass through the village again; but the invitation was almost useless, as there was scarcely a hut, _rancho_, in the village that would have held me and my almaufres. we continued our journey by descending into a deep ravine, where there was no appearance of vegetation, except a few _tunas_ and the _giganton_ rising twelve or fourteen feet high; these, instead of enlightening, gave the scene a more dreary appearance; for these vestiges of vegetation, as they seemed to be, stood on the rocks like way-worn travellers, while their naked trunks craved that moisture from the clouds which they sought for in vain from below. after travelling three dreary leagues, we began to ascend the cuesta of chiquian; at first we perceived the whole extent of the ravine, _quebrada_, but the clouds soon began to roll beneath our feet, and intercept the view of the road we had just travelled over. our ascent was very laborious to the mules, but i alighted twice and led mine; in some places steps were cut in the rock, and hollowed out by the feet of the mules and other cattle that had passed. when we reached the top i expected to have an extensive view of the country, but i was very much mistaken; towards the coast all seemed to be enveloped in a thick mist, and on every other side the mountains rose one above another, or their proximity blocked up the whole view at once. at a distance we could at times see the summit of some mountains belonging to the principal chain of the cordillera, covered with snow, and we appeared as if completely isolated--the bed of clouds behind us looked like the sea, limited only by the horizon, and before us the mountains reared their towering heads, as if to oppose our progress. the top of the mountain was covered with some short grass and moss, with a few horned cattle feeding on it; but after travelling about two leagues we began to descend, and our eyes were once more cheered with the view of some straggling ranchos and patches of cultivated land. at two o'clock we arrived at chiquian, a comfortable looking town, or village, as it would have been called in england. we found here many white families, and some agreeable people; but the whole village was in an uproar, being divided into parties respecting a law suit with the cura; we however went to his house, where we were received with a most hearty welcome. the population of chiquian is composed of white creoles, indians, and mestizos; their principal occupation is farming and grazing; ponchos of wool and cotton are manufactured by the women, some of which are very fine. near to chiquian is a silver mine, formerly worked with tolerable advantage, but at present abandoned. the ore contains iron, arsenic, and sulphur, and is always roasted before it is mixed with the mercury; it was calculated, that if a _caxon_, fifty quintals, of ore produced eight marks of silver, that the proprietor lost nothing; but this calculation is very erroneous, because different ores require different portions of labour, and the loss of mercury is also much greater in some ores than in others; the _paco_, red oxide of silver, pays much better if it yield six marks each _caxon_, than the _bronce_, micaceous pyriferous ores, if they yield ten. some few small veins of ore had produced forty marks; but this may be looked upon generally as a mere temptation to the miner to carry on the work, often to his own ruin. according to the mining laws, the discoverer has one hundred and sixty square yards of surface, and must not extend his works beyond the perpendicular limits of his share; he must first present a sample of ore to the _tribunal de mineria_, and take out a document called _registro_, before he can begin to work; the limits are marked out by the subdelegado, political governor of the district, and the proprietor takes possession by rolling himself on the ground, digging holes, throwing stones, and shouting three times, possession! other persons who solicit as hare petition the tribunal de mineria, and receive a registro of eighty yards only, half the quantity to which the discoverer is entitled. some proprietors pay the labourers, who are indians and mestizos, daily, but others allow them a bonus of twenty-four hours in each week, during which time the ore which they extract belongs to themselves; and purchasers are always ready on the saturday night to buy it of them. in this case a great deal of roguery is generally practised. if the labourers find a rich vein they endeavour to hide it till the friday night and then extract it for themselves; and it is no uncommon thing for this ore to yield twenty or thirty marks to the caxon, when that taken out during the week will not average above eight or ten. the ore is carried to the mouth of the mine in bags made of hide, called _capachos_, on the shoulders of men called _capacheros_; it is there received by the mayor domo, and laid on the ground in a heap; hence it is conveyed on the backs of mules or llamas to the _taona_ or _ingenio_. the first is a mill similar to a bark mill, a stone, like a mill stone, is placed vertically on a wooden axletree, on which it revolves; to the end of this a mule or bullock, or sometimes two, are fastened, and drag the stone round. the stone moves in a groove, into which the ore is thrown; a small stream of water runs along the groove, and washes away many of the impurities, particularly the earth. when the ore is ground sufficiently small it forms a mass with the water, and is taken out of the taona and mixed with a quantity of quicksilver; it is thus allowed to remain a few days, when it is turned over with a spade, and trod on, in order to incorporate the mercury with the mass. this operation is repeated two, three, or more times, till the amalgam is formed; more mercury is added when necessary, which is known by taking a small portion of the mass and washing away the extraneous matter; if the amalgam, _pella_, be hard and granulous, more is added; if not, the whole mass is thrown into a cistern, and a small stream of water allowed to run into it. a man keeps this in motion with a pole till the water has washed away all the earth and other impurities when the amalgam has collected into one mass; it is then put into a strainer of coarse linen or hair, and the superabundant mercury is pressed out; the silver, containing some mercury, is placed in a heated furnace, by which means the remaining quicksilver is evaporated, and the porous ball is called _plata de piña_. before this can be sold it is carried to the _callana_, royal office, where it is melted, the royal fifth paid, and the bar marked with the initials of the treasurer, the date of the year, and the weight. the exportation of plata piña was strictly forbidden by the spanish colonial laws, and some persons who have run the risk of purchasing it have been most miserably deceived; for, on cutting the lumps, they have found adulterated silver in the centre, lead, and even stones, which could not be discovered except by cutting the lumps into pieces. another method of cheating was, by allowing part of the mercury to remain in the mass, which increases its weight, and can only be detected by subjecting it to the heat of a furnace. base metals were sometimes included in the bars which had not the mark of the treasury on them; but by putting these into a proper box containing water, and comparing the quantity of water displaced with the weight of the bar, the trick might easily be discovered. the ingenio differs from the taona only in the operation being performed with the aid of a water-wheel instead of mules or bullocks. some of the taonas are so rudely constructed, that they have two or three stones lashed to the horizontal pole or axletree, and these are dragged round by mules or bullocks, and grind the ore on a stone floor laid below them. some ores require roasting in a furnace before they are crushed; but others are carried from the mine to the mill. the silver is extracted from a few kinds of ore by smelting, which has induced several foreigners to try various experiments, as the saving of labour and other expensive operations would be of serious advantage; but universal failures have been the result; for the ore always came out of the furnaces converted into a hard black ponderous cinder, and was sometimes vitrified. the town of chiquian has a very neat appearance: a large square forms the centre of it, on one side of which there is a well built stone church, and the house of the cura; on another stands the cabildo, and two or three respectable looking houses with stone doorways, large folding doors, white walls, and the roofs tiled--but they are only one story high. the other two sides are filled with houses and shops, and in the centre of the square is a large wooden cross on a stone pedestal. streets lead from the corners of the square, in which there are some neat small houses with pretty gardens. excellent cheese is made on some of the farms in the neighbourhood--not surpassed in richness of flavour by the best parmesan: the butter here is also good, but it is churned from boiled milk, and has a peculiar taste, which, however, is not disagreeable. during my stay, i visited cajatambo, the capital of the district, and the residence of the subdelegado: the town is larger than chiquian; but not so pleasantly situated. the corregidores, as the governors were formerly called, had the privilege of _repartimientos_, or distributions, which was certainly the most oppressive law that was ever enacted. the corregidor, according to this establishment, monopolized the whole trade of the province or district; he had a store of goods and distributed them among the inhabitants, particularly the indians, telling them the price, and when the payment would become due; at which time the debt was exacted with the greatest rigour. it was in vain for any person to resist either to receive the goods, or to pay the value of them. during the repartimientos, that of cajatambo amounted to a hundred and thirty thousand dollars annually; and the _alcavala_, or duty on sales of property, to twelve hundred dollars; but this tax was never paid by the indians, because they were exempted by law. the order for the establishment of repartimientos of goods was obtained in the same manner as ovando obtained his from isabella for that of the indians at hispaniola. the laziness and slothful habits of these unfortunate beings were urged to procure an order or edict, allowing the corregidores to distribute such articles among them as were necessary for their comfort, and oblige them to pay at a reasonable time, leaving to the distributor a necessary profit; but the abuse of this institution became so great as to be almost beyond description. many corregidores, who were not possessed of property to purchase what they wanted of the merchants, would receive on credit their most miserable stock of commodities, and then distribute them to the indians, laying on an enormous profit. gauzes, stained velvets, muslins, unfashionable calicoes, and all the dregs of a draper's store were sent to the houses of the indians, probably in a climate severely cold, where these suffering wretches had not a blanket to cover themselves, nor perhaps a shirt on their backs. spirituous liquors were distributed in the same manner; a jar worth forty dollars would be sent to the house of an indian who had a few mules, horses, or other cattle, which, when the time of payment arrived, were often sold to meet the demand of the governor. i was assured, that a corregidor of huamalies took on credit several large cases of common spectacles, and issued an order in his district, that no indian should present himself before him, in his judicial capacity, without having a pair on his nose; by which means he obliged them to purchase such useless articles, and to advance the sale, whenever a complaint was made, he would summon as many witnesses as he possibly could. a considerable quantity of wool, some of which is of a short staple, but very fine, is carried to lima, where it is principally made up into mattresses: this district sends also large flocks of sheep and some oxen to the lima market. copperas is found in several parts of it, and great quantities of gypsum, yeso, which is carried to different places on the coast, and used in whitewashing the houses. the dress of the inhabitants is similar to the dress of those who reside on the coast; the poncho is seldom or never dispensed with among the men, indeed the cold makes it quite necessary. in caxatambo and chiquian, evening parties are very common; no invitation is necessary except the sound of the guitar, and i have spent many very agreeable hours in listening to the _cachuas_, and _yarabis_--it is delightful to hear both their merry tunes, and their doleful songs. to the former they generally dance, the figure ending with each verse; this dance is somewhat similar to the spanish fandango, or boleras; two persons dance it; and with few variations it consists of tripping backwards and forwards, then forming a semi-circle, the man dancing towards the right, whilst his partner dances in the opposite direction; this is repeated two or three times, and the dance generally concludes with a _sapateo_, beating time to the music with their feet. the dance is something like a minuet, but the movements are quicker. if a couple dance a minuet, they generally receive the noisy applause of the lookers on, and not unfrequently a handful of money is thrown at the feet of the lady by some _enamorado_, when the boys and girls immediately run to pick it up; this creates a bustle, and it is not uncommon for the young lady to be almost unable to extricate herself from the rabble, even with the assistance of her partner. the following was the favourite cachua in cajatambo, introduced, i believe, by an andalusian:-- yo tengo una cachucha, en que camino de noche y andando mi cachuchita, parece que ando en coche ah cachuchita mia, &c. yo tengo una cachucha, que compré a mi padre, y él que quiere cachucha, que lo compre a su madre, ah cachuchita mia, &c. the _yarabis_, or _tristes_, as they are sometimes called, are peculiar to the cierra, and except by a mountaineer, _serrano_, i never heard them sung on the coast; they are plaintive ditties, and some of the tunes are peculiarly sweet. the following is a yarabi which i have often heard:-- ingrato, cruel, e inhumano tus engaños causaron mi desvia, tu contento te rias, y yo lloro, ah alma mia. busca adonde quisieres placeres y cobra, sin jamas pagar el amor el tiempo vendrá, para que llores con duro dolor. la muerte dará fin a mi pesar tu vivirás con goso, y con risas, pero no, te ha or atormentar mi imagen, mis cenisas. on leaving caxatambo we had to pass over the mountains that border the district to the northward, and owing to the rain that had fallen, the ascent was very slippery. i frequently alighted, but my companions never did; they assured me that the mules were sure-footed, and that i need apprehend no accident. the morning was very cold, and on the tops of the mountains we perceived a considerable quantity of snow. during our ascent we observed the rapid decrease of vegetation; the lofty and luxuriant molles which we saw at the foot became more and more stunted, till they totally disappeared, and in their place some small plants of the cactus tribe were clinging to the rocks: on the summit the small patches of ground were covered with long dry grass, which the natives called _pajon_; the rugged rocks were white with moss, and all appeared dreary and lifeless; not a bird nor any living animal was either seen or heard, and the clouds below hid the surrounding scenery from our view. after travelling about six leagues, including the ascent, we began to descend, when the muleteer observed that we were in the province of huailas. the clouds that rested on our heads threatened rain, so we resolved to pass the night at a farm house about a league from the border. the rain soon began to fall in torrents, and although our mules walked and slipped down the cuesta as fast as we dare venture to allow them, we were completely soaked through with the rain. on our arrival at the farm, about four o'clock in the afternoon, we were welcomed by the owner, who begged of us to ride under the corridor and alight; two young men, his sons, assisted us in dismounting, and three young women, his daughters, helped us to take off our wet ponchos and hats, which they hung upon pegs in the corridor. we entered the house and seated ourselves on the _estrado_, which was covered with very neat home-made carpets, and a row of low stools were placed near the wall; a large brass pan, _brasero_, full of burning wood embers was immediately placed before us by one of the daughters, who received it at the door from a female indian servant. the girls helped us to take off our boots and stockings, and offered us some of their own shoes as slippers; matte was immediately made, and i drank five or six cups, or rather sucked it, not with less pleasure when i observed that my pretty caterer (for very pretty she was) took the first suck at the tube before she handed it to me. my companion preferred a large glass of hot brandy and water, and as he was prepared with a bullock's horn, holding about two quarts of the former liquor, his appetite was soon satisfied. our host entered shortly afterwards, and informed us that he had sent for half a dozen lads and lasses to come and dance and be merry with us. but, said i, it rains, will they come? yes, said he, to be sure they will, and they would come if they lived ten leagues off, whereas they only live at the distance of two:--not across such a road as that which we have just passed, i hope? why, said he, they live in the _quebrada_, ravine, and all our roads are pretty much alike in such weather as this; but the sound of a guitar, and the pleasure they take in dancing with strangers, will bring them away; and surely they will be no worse for being a little wet and drabbled: the boys will bring partners too with them, because they cannot well dance with their sisters--bread and bread has no relish, but bread and cheese make a good meal. all was now in a bustle of preparation: a lamb and several fowls were killed for supper; a large calabash of punch was made, containing about seven or eight gallons; but i being tired with my ride, threw myself down on the carpets to sleep, when panchita, the pretty girl who made the matte, came and placed a pillow under my head and threw a white rug over me, and then removed the embers in the brasero, which she placed near enough to keep me warm. my companion, who was a clergyman, said, he must attend to his _officio divino_ before the company arrived, so he took out his breviarium, and began to work at his trade, whilst i slept. after enjoying my nap for about an hour, i awoke, and found an agreeable repast just ready--a _salona_, mutton slightly salted and smoked, and equal in flavour to venison, had been roasted, an agreeable sauce of the green pods of capsicum, _aji verde_, in vinegar had been prepared, and they were served up with some excellent roasted potatoes; after this, a chip box, holding about two pounds of preserved apricots, and another of quince marmalade, for which delicacies the province of huailas is quite famous, were put on the table. this refreshment was placed before my companion and myself, on a low table, as we sat on the edge of the estrado. while we ate and drank, our host informed us that he was a native of cadiz, but that he had lived in america upwards of twenty years. on his arrival at callao, in the capacity of a sailor, he left his ship, and travelled into the interior in search of a wife with a fortune, for, said he, without such an appendage i could have found many maids willing to become wives at home. i chanced, continued he, on my way to huaras, to call at this house to beg a lodging for the night; the old farmer had a daughter, an only one; i was soon convinced that his coffers were not empty, so i prolonged my visit, made love to his daughter, and married her. she has been dead twelve years, and i find myself happy with my five boys and girls, and they seem to be happy with me; but that will perhaps not last long, they will themselves soon want to marry, and i cannot object to it; their father and mother set them the example, and if i cannot then live with them i can live without them. you, father, addressing himself to the clergyman, would advise me perhaps to retire to a convent, and live a penitential life; but if i have given my flesh to the devil, he shall have my bones too. you tell us, continued he, that only our good works will accompany us to the other world; but i shall also take with me good eating and drinking, and a merry heart; for although you preach to us abstinence and other restrictions, yet you enjoy the good things of this world, and example, you know, is more persuasive than precept. but i am happy to see you, and you are welcome to my rancho, for it reminds me of my own arrival at it. in a short time our merry companions appeared, laughing most heartily as they jumped from the backs of their mules, to see each other bespattered with mud and dripping with rain. three healthy looking lasses, with rosy cheeks, and a stately youth, had braved the wind and rain to join our party, which, with this acquisition, was a very merry one. the young women had on hats and ponchos; but their shoes and stockings were kept dry in the pockets of the young man, who was their brother. in a very short time the guitar was tuned, and we began to dance--our kind host, garcia, being the musician. i took panchita as my partner, which caused a good deal of mirth, because our visitor, eugenio, was passionately fond of her: he watched her steps with the anxious rapture of a lover, and no doubt envied me during the dance; at length, unable to suffer any longer the privation of dancing with her, he rose, made me a low bow, and took my place, to the no small satisfaction of the company, who lavished on him many an andalusian joke. after the first dance one of the sisters rose and relieved panchita, who came and sat down on my knee as i sat on one of the low stools; she very soon went to a table and brought me a glass of punch, which we drank; this appeared too much for poor eugenio, but instead of being offended, as might have happened among civilized people, he retired to a seat, after finishing his dance, and placed his partner on his knee; she soon rose and brought him a glass of punch, which they drank together; and all parties appeared completely happy. we made a most hearty supper of roasted and stewed lamb and fowls, sweetmeats and punch; after which several songs were sung, both cachuas and yarabis, and our host entertained us with some andalusian _chuladas_. day dawned, and found us merry, scarcely able to believe that the night was spent. the morning was very fine, and we expressed a wish to proceed on our way to huaras: but my companion told me, that in all probability our mules were lost; lost, exclaimed i! yes, said he, but they will be found again to-morrow morning, if garcia will then consent to our leaving his house. this was really the case, for the mules were not found--for the best of all possible reasons--they were not sought for; the young men were sent in search of them, and soon returned with the news, that they could not be found. the girls began to console us with many promises of their being discovered during the day, and advised us to take our breakfasts and sleep an hour or two, to which we assented without much reluctance. we spent the day and the following night most agreeably--not without plenty of singing and dancing. i learnt from our host, garcia, that his property consisted of about eighty head of horned cattle, and twelve hundred sheep, besides a small farm, which he shewed us, of which about sixty acres were under the plough, and produced good crops of wheat, maize, barley, and potatoes. purchasers for the cattle came annually from the coast. the surplus of wool, some of which is extremely fine, was generally bought by the owners of manufactories, _obrages_, in the province, at about one dollar the arroba, twenty five pounds; the grain, potatoes, &c. were carried to huaras. on the following morning our mules were found, and we proceeded through a country more beautiful at every step we took, and arrived in the evening at huaras, the capital of the district. this town is pleasantly situated, though rather bleak; the houses have a neat and comfortable appearance, and some of the shops are stored with a considerable quantity of european manufactured goods, such as broad cloth, wide coloured flannels, linens, cottons, silks, hosiery, cutlery, and also home manufactured woollen and cotton cloths. in the square, _plasa_, a small market is held every morning of articles brought from the neighbouring country. the town contains a parish church, which is a neat stone built edifice; a convent of franciscan grey friars, and a hospital, under the care of the bethlemites. the subdelegado resides here; the repartimiento of the corregidor amounted formerly to a hundred and seventy thousand dollars annually, and the alcavala to two thousand three hundred. the population of huaras consists of about seven thousand inhabitants, the greater part of whom are composed of mestisos; the people are rather fond of dress, and evening parties are very common. there is not an inn or public house in the town; but a traveller can be accommodated with lodgings, &c. in almost any house. this district contains many towns and villages; the principal ones are requay, carhuas, yungay, caras, and cotopará. the temperature of the centre and lower part of the district is warm, and extremely agreeable. considerable quantities of sugar are manufactured here; it is of a very superior quality, but the cane, which is of the creole kind, is four years before it is ripe, and the first crop only is destined for the making of sugar; the second serves for the following plantation, and of the excess sweetmeats are made with peaches, pears, quinces, and apricots, many mule loads of which are annually taken to lima. the fruits of temperate climates prosper extremely well in the valleys; but on account of the frosty night winds at certain seasons of the year tropical fruits do not thrive. owing to part of the province being subject to a cold atmosphere, particularly on the east side, which is bounded by the cordillera, and the valleys enjoying a very benign one, crops of wheat and barley, as well as maize, quinua, garbansos, lentils and other pulse, are harvested during every month of the year; it is common on the same day, when travelling, to see wheat put into the ground at one place, and under the sickle at another. in this province a great number of large and small cattle are bred, particularly goats, the skins of which are tanned for cordovans, and the tallow is used in the soap manufactories. the wool of the sheep is made into flannels, serges, and coarse cloths, _bayetones_, at the different manufactories, _obrages_, where coarse cotton cloths, _tocuyos_, are also woven; but the distaff and spindle are generally employed for spinning. the white yard-wide flannel sells at about half a dollar a yard; the blue at three quarters of a dollar, and the tocuyos at different prices, from a quarter to three quarters of a dollar. very neat woollen table covers are manufactured in this province, of different sizes, and various prices; when wove they are white, and they are afterwards ingeniously dyed by first tying small patches with two, three, or more threads; the cloth is then dipped in a cochineal dye; more knots are tied in different parts, and an indigo dye is used; when dry, the knots are all untied, and as the colours could not penetrate where the strings were tied, circles of white, blue, and red, or of other colours, according to the fancy of the dyer, are formed in the different parts of the cloth, and if these are symmetrically placed the shades which they produce are pretty, and the whole effect is very pleasing. formerly several gold and silver mines were wrought in huailas; there are upwards of thirty mills for grinding the ore in different parts of the province, but at present little attention is paid to mining; however, small quantities of gold and silver are extracted. at yurumarca there is a mountain which contains large veins and strata of the loadstone; near to which is a copper mine, now abandoned, because the ore did not produce gold, as was expected, when it was first wrought. large quantities of alum are prepared from a mineral near yurumarca, by the process of solution and evaporation; but it is generally subjected to a second operation of refining at lima. on the whole, the province of huailas is most bountifully supplied with all the necessaries, and many of the luxuries of life; the situation is commanding, and huaras is calculated to become a large mercantile town, the general mart for the provinces of huailas, huamalies alto, huamalies bajo, and conchucos; but for the furtherance of such a project, the port of santa ought to be opened; it is a secure harbour, and is the nearest of any to huaras. after visiting the principal towns in huailas, i went to the province of conchucos, which adjoins it to the northward. this province is more irregular than the former; some of the valleys are very low, and consequently very hot; in these the tropical and equatorial fruits come to perfection, and at huari del rey, the capital, i have seen very fine pine-apples, grown in the province. the valleys are generally small, being merely bottoms of the ravines, _quebradas_, and the soil is produced by the heavy rains which fall on the adjoining mountains: these carry down the decayed animal and vegetable matter, as well as the decombres of the stone of which they are composed, and hence the soil is remarkably productive. some of the villages are situated in very cold climates, being from five to eight thousand feet above the level of the sea; they are generally small miserable places, inhabited chiefly by indians, who cultivate patches of barley and maize, which seen from the valleys appear to hang in the clouds. i have often beheld a man ploughing with a yoke of oxen lent to him by the farmers, where i should have imagined that a goat could scarcely have tripped along in safety. a few small sheep and goats are the only animals which they possess, excepting dogs, of which useless animals, each hut, _rancho_, contains at least half a dozen. many of these indians are employed by the more wealthy inhabitants in manufacturing tocuyos, bayetones, flannels, and coarse cotton stockings. the females generally spin and knit at home, and the men go to the obrages to weave, dye, full, &c. some very fine ponchos are made in conchucos, and sold at the amazing price of a hundred or a hundred and fifty dollars each; others, made of brown wool, are called _bordillos_, and fetch from five to ten dollars each; of the coarse wool and all the refuse _jerga_ is made, which is formed into wrappers for sugar, and common dresses for the slaves and the poorer sort of indians. this province manufactures more of this kind of cloth than any of the neighbouring districts, and some of the inhabitants are wealthy, but the poor indians are truly miserable. some silver mines are wrought in conchucos, but the quantity of silver yielded by the ore being small, the hardness of the ore which renders the breaking of it expensive, and the loss of mercury during the process of amalgamation, contribute to render mining a losing speculation, and the mines are consequently almost abandoned. several attempts have been made to smelt the ores, but without success; could this be accomplished there is no doubt but that mining would become profitable in conchucos, particularly as there is coal in several parts of this and the neighbouring provinces. along the margin of the river miraflores, in conchucos, there are _labadores_, washing places, where gold of the finest quality is found in the sand, and after the rains subside many persons are employed in gathering it; but so little are they acquainted with the extensive and easy method adopted on the coast of choco, that the profit derived from their labour is very small; notwithstanding, if proper means were employed, it is very probable that an abundance might be extracted. in the parish of llamellin is a mine of sulphur, great quantities of which are extracted, and carried to lima, and sold at the powder mills. in the same parish is a spring which falls down the sides of a rock, forming in its course innumerable hard white stalactites, that look like candles hung in the water; the natives call them catachi, and apply them, reduced to powder, in cases of violent hæmorrhage, bloody flux, &c.; they also mix the powder with lard or the fat of the puma, or condor, apply it to fractured bones, and consider the application as useful in promoting the union of the parts. the _oca_ is cultivated in some of the colder parts of this and the neighbouring provinces; this plant is of a moderate size--in appearance somewhat like the acetous trefoil; the roots are yellow, each about five or six inches long and two in circumference; they have many eyes, like the potato, and are seldom straight like the the carrot or radish, but curved in different directions: one plant produces several roots, and they are propagated in the same manner as potatoes. the oca when boiled is much sweeter than the camote or batata of malaga; indeed, it appears to contain more saccharine matter than any root i ever tasted; if eaten raw it is very much like the chesnut, and it may be kept for many months in a dry place. the transplanting of the oca to england, where, i am persuaded, it would prosper, would add another agreeable and useful esculent to our tables. among the plants used medicinally by the natives is the _contrayerba_, which grows in the mountains in cold shady places: the stem is about two feet high, of a purple colour; it is divided by knots like a cane, where the leaves grow opposite to each other; these are three or four inches long, narrow, denticulated, and of a very dark green colour. the flower stalks spring from the same knots, and the flower bears a great resemblance to that of agrimony. it is used, the leaves, flowers, and stem, as a febrifuge, and particularly in the small-pox and measles, to facilitate the eruption; it is also used as a tonic, or stomachic, in cases of habitual indigestions, and also in dysenteries. it is pretended that it will counteract the effects of poison, on which account it has obtained the name which it bears. this plant is quite different to that called contrayerba, which grows in chile, and which i have already described. the natives administer this herb in a simple decoction. the _calaguala_ is another herb which grows in moist swampy places, where the climate is mild. the plant is composed of leaves about ten or twelve inches long, and one broad; it bears no flowers. a decoction of the leaves is considered as an excellent dissolvent of the coagulated blood in severe contusions; it is believed to be efficacious in affections of the viscera, when ulceration has taken place, by evacuating the purulent matter; it is also given in the falling sickness. there are two varieties of this plant: the leaves of the one are green; this is considered inefficacious, and is called the female; the other bears leaves of a brown colour, is called the male plant, and is the one used. another medicinal herb, which is found in this and the neighbouring provinces, is the _quinchimali_; it grows in temperate parts, and resembles the herb of the same name which grows in chile. a decoction of it is drunk in cases of severe contusion, if it be suspected that coagulated blood, or lymph, be lodged in the intestines, and in gonorrheas it is used to promote the discharge, and prevent strictures. the inhabitants of conchucos are said to be less civilized than those of the neighbouring districts; there is some reason for this assertion; they are indeed more uncouth and less kind in their manners. there appears to be a certain degree of licentious independence in their behaviour, and more robberies and murders are committed here than in any other part of south america: however, a stranger is generally treated with respect. when at corongos, which is certainly the most disagreeable town i ever entered, i went to purchase some snuff--the shopman was asleep, and i awoke him, at which he became so enraged, that he jumped from his chair and struck at me; i ran into the street, and the man followed me, swearing most lustily, and threatening to strike me; but a person who was passing stepped in between us, pushed back the shopman, and clapping his breast with his hand, he said, with me, with me, that gentleman is a stranger, _con migo, con migo, el señor es forastero_. finding myself thus unexpectedly relieved, i left my champion to settle matters as well as he could, and hastened to the house of the parish priest, _cura_, where i, as usual, had taken up my temporary residence. in a few minutes my friend, though entirely unknown to me, made his appearance, and inquired what quantity of snuff i wanted; on being informed, he immediately went to fetch it, and would not admit of any return for his kindness and trouble, except my thanks. during my stay at corongos, the cura related to me several anecdotes concerning his parishioners, one of which was the following. the titular saint of the town is saint peter, and on the day of his festival an image of a natural size is carried in procession through the principal streets; when, on his return to the church, he arrives at the corner of the plasa, the inhabitants of the upper and lower part of the town place themselves in two rows, having large heaps of stones at their feet, and not unfrequently the boys and women stand behind them with a supply in baskets. the carriers of the image rest here for a few minutes, and then run towards the church in a sort of gallopping procession; but the moment that the saint enters the plasa, he is assailed by volleys of stones from each side, and pursued to the church door. if the saint enter the church with his head on his shoulders, it augurs a bad year, failure of the harvest, death of cattle, and other calamities; but if the contrary happen, which is generally the case, the augury is quite changed; and if the fishes be knocked out of his hand likewise, every good thing is expected in abundance during the year. after the decapitation, a scuffle ensues for the possession of the head, between the inhabitants of the two _barrios_, or wards of the town, in which many bones are broken, and generally two or three lives are lost. the victors carry off the head in triumph, and, like that of a malefactor, place it on the top of a high pole, and pretend that it averts all damage that might be done to them by lightning, while the other half of the town, they say, receives no benefit. the cura told me that his predecessor had endeavoured to do away with this irreligious practice, and wrote to a friend at lima, to charge the sculptor not to finish the new head for saint peter, hoping that if one year passed without such impiety, the practice would be relinquished; but, to his great surprise, on the th of june, the indians informed him, that the procession would take place in the evening, for which purpose they had dressed an image of the virgin mary in the garments of saint peter, and that she looked very much like the saint, but rather younger, as she had no beard. the procession took place; but, to the disappointment of the inhabitants, the female apostle entered the church with her head on her shoulders, and from that time she was called our lady of the miracle. in the year , two englishmen, sent from pasco by mr. trevethick, who afterwards followed with the intention of working some of the silver mines in conchucos, were murdered by their guides at a place called _palo seco_. this horrid act was perpetrated by crushing their heads with two large stones, as they lay asleep on the ground; the murderers were men who had come with them from pasco. it is a well known fact, that many young conchucanos go to lima, and enlist in the army, for the purpose of obtaining possession of a musket, and then desert with it on the first opportunity that offers; indeed there is scarcely a white family in the province that is not possessed of one or more of these muskets. i have observed, that those persons who are employed in the mines in south america are generally the most vile characters; they become inured to every kind of vice, and as they form a kind of body, or rather banditti, they almost defy the arm of justice, and deny the power of the law. this may in some measure account for the character of the conchucanos; many mines were formerly wrought by them, but since the discovery of pasco and gualgayoc, which produced more ore, and of a very superior quality, the miners of conchucos have resorted to them, abandoning their own less profitable ones; but they have, unfortunately, left the seeds of their evil actions behind them, and their example is too frequently followed. the province of conchucos might be one of the most agreeable in peru, if the inhabitants were but more kind to each other, and more happy among themselves. the various climates, assisted by the various localities of the soil, would produce all the necessaries and all the luxuries of life; for in the small compass of fifty leagues, a traveller experiences the almost unbearable heat of the torrid zone, the mild climates of the temperate, and the freezing cold of the polar regions. to the eastward of conchucos lies the district of huamalies: it is a very extensive valley, generally very narrow at the bottom, where a river runs, which takes its origin at the lake of lauricocha, in the province of tarma, and is called the marañon, as it is considered the stream most distant from the mouth of the great river marañon, or amazons. the temperature of this province is very irregular; to the south it is cold, as well as on each side, according to the local height of the different places, but to the northward, particularly in the parish of huacaibamba, it is extremely hot during the whole year; and the people are here of a much darker colour, and are often called zambos. huamalies produces wheat, barley, maize, and the different vegetables, fruits, and pulse of the neighbouring provinces. near to huacaibamba some _coca_ is cultivated. this is a small tree, with pale bright green leaves, somewhat resembling in shape those of the orange tree. the leaves are picked from the trees, three or four times a year, and carefully dried in the shade; they are then packed in small baskets. the natives, in several parts of peru, chew these leaves, particularly in the mining districts, when at work in the mines or travelling; and such is the sustenance that they derive from them, that they frequently take no food for four or five days, although they are constantly working; i have often been assured by them, that whilst they have a good supply of coca they feel neither hunger, thirst, nor fatigue, and that, without impairing their health, they can remain eight or ten days and nights without sleep. the leaves are almost insipid; but when a small quantity of lime is mixed with them they have a very agreeable sweet taste. the natives put a few of the leaves in their mouths, and when they become moist, they add a little lime or ashes of the molle to them, by means of a small stick, taking care not to touch the lips or the teeth; when the taste of the coca diminishes, a small quantity of lime or ashes is added, until the taste disappears, and then the leaves are replaced with fresh ones. they generally carry with them a small leather pouch containing coca, and a small calabash holding lime or ashes; and one of these men will undertake to convey letters to lima, a distance of upwards of a hundred leagues, without any other provision. on such occasions they are called _chasquis_, or _chasqueros_, and this epithet is also given to the different conductors of the mails. the incas had men stationed on all the principal roads for the transmission of any article belonging to the inca, who, according to the quality of the road, had to carry it to different distances, some one league, others two, and others three. these men were continually employed, and when one of them arrived, he delivered to the one in waiting whatever he was charged with, and gave him the watchword, chasqui; this man ran immediately to the next post, delivered his charge, and repeated chasqui; and then remained to rest until the arrival of another. by these means the court of the incas was supplied with fresh fish from the sea near pachacamac, probably from the bay of chilca, where a village of indians employ themselves at present in fishing: it is the place to which pizarro was directed by the indians when in search of a good harbour, before that of callao was discovered. the distance from this part of the coast to cusco is more than a hundred leagues, yet so vigilant and active were the indians, that garcilaco affirms, that the fish often arrived at cusco alive. the communication between the most distant parts of the empire and the capital was maintained, and it is asserted, that by the chasqui news could be conveyed from quito to cusco, a distance of six hundred leagues, in six days; while in their route they had to cross several parts of the cordillera, and many rapid rivers. this, i think, proves a policy in the ancient government of peru, which does not well accord with the epithet of barbarians. large quantities of bark are brought from the woods to the eastward of huamalies, and is known by the name of the arancay bark. it is considered equal in quality with that called calisaya, from the woods to the eastward of la pas. it is much to be lamented, that the destruction of this invaluable vegetable is making great progress, wherever it has been found; the indians discover from the eminences where a cluster of the trees grow in the woods, for they are easily discernible by the rose-coloured tinge of their leaves, which appear at a distance like bunches of flowers amid the deep green foliage of other trees. they then hunt for the spot, and having found it out, cut down all the trees, and take the bark from the branches. if the roots sprout again, as they generally do, no trees of any large size grow up, for they are either smothered by the lofty trees which surround them, or else they are choaked by other young trees, which spring up near to them, and are of quicker growth. if the government of america do not attend to the preservation of the quina, either by prohibiting the felling of the trees, or obliging the territorial magistrates to enforce the cutters to guard them from destruction, before a sufficient population will allow of those tracts of woodland becoming personal property, this highly esteemed production of the new world will be swept from the country. after the indians have stripped off the bark, they carry it in bundles out of the wood for the purpose of drying it. there is undoubtedly a great loss of the medicinal matter of the cinchona or quina, for all the bark of the trunks and of the smaller branches is left to decay in the woods; whereas, if an extract, or the quinine, were made from them on the spot, these drugs would become incomparably more cheap in the european markets; besides which, the consumption of the trees would be retarded in the same ratio, and the useful portion which is now lost according to the present system would be preserved. in a mountain in this province, called chonta, several veins of cinnabar were discovered, and the hope of extracting considerable quantities of quicksilver from them elated the inhabitants for some time: the working of the mine, however, has been discontinued, but for what reasons i could never learn; the specimens of ore which i saw were certainly very rich. several silver mines are wrought in this district, and at certain periods of the year many of the inhabitants attend the _lavaderos_, and collect the gold. near the settlement of llacta is a bed of stones, called _piedras del aguila_, eagle stones. the natives pretend, that one is always found in the nest of an eagle, for the purpose of causing the female to lay, and that during the time of ovation they become heated, and retain the heat longer than the egg does, so that when the bird leaves the nest in quest of food, the warmth which is retained by the stone is communicated to the eggs, and prevents them from becoming addled, and that the first trial of the strength of the talons of the young birds is exercised in endeavouring to carry the stone. whether this fiction had its origin among the indians or not i never could learn; however, some ancient naturalists have related the same tale respecting other ætites. these stones are found loose, as if thrown into a heap; they are of a ferruginous nature, composed of black and reddish lamina, and are all of them dodecaedrons, although of different sizes; some weighing only a few ounces, and others from two to three pounds each. the woods to the north abound in excellent timber: there are cedars, a kind of mahogany, laurel, and a wood called _nasareno_; it is very hard, and of a beautiful bright purple colour, with numerous veins of different shades. the wild indians bring from the woods many delicious fruits, pine-apples, plantains, bananas, _nisperos_, mamays, guavas, &c. as well as sweet potatoes, _camotes_, cabbage palm, _palmitos_, and yucas. a great difference may be observed in the character and manners of the inhabitants of huamalies; those who border on conchucos partake of the unruly disposition of their neighbours; but the more we advance to the northward, the milder and more kind we find the inhabitants; in the warm climates they are remarkably attached to festive sports and rural amusements. they were so much delighted with some country dances which i taught them, that the sun often peeped over the cordillera and convinced some of us that it was time to go to rest, while others were apprized that it was time to go to their work. a disease very prevalent in this province is the _coto_, bronchocele, which greatly disfigures some of the pretty females, and for which they possess no antidote. the subdelegado told me, that during the stay of a detachment of troops destined to maynas, one of the natives, who had a very large coto, offended a drummer, who drew his sword and gave the man a severe cut across the neck; it happened that he recovered, when he applied to the commanding officer for some remuneration for his loss of wages during the time that he was unable to work; the drummer was called, and observing that the man was freed from the swelling on his throat, very wittily remarked, that he was willing to pay him for his loss of time, if he would pay him for performing an operation which had relieved him from a disease, that would otherwise have accompanied him to his grave. while in huamalies i was twice entertained with the representation of the death of the inca. the plasa or square had a kind of arch erected at each corner, adorned with plate, flowers, ribbons, flags made of handkerchiefs, and whatever could be collected to ornament them; under one of these sat a young indian, with a crown on his head, a robe, and other emblems of monarchy; he was surrounded by his coyas or princesses, who sang to him in the quichua language. presently several indians came running from the opposite corner of the plasa, and after prostrating themselves, informed the inca of the arrival of the viracochas, white men, or children of the sun. at this time drums and trumpets were heard, and pizarro, with about a dozen indians, dressed as soldiers, made his entry on horseback, and alighted at the arch opposite to that of the inca. an ambassador was now sent to the inca by pizarro, requesting an interview, and the prince immediately prepared to visit him. a kind of litter was brought, which he entered, and, surrounded by a number of indians and his coyas, he was carried to where pizarro stood, and waited for him. pizarro first addressed the inca, promising him the protection of the king, his master; the answer was, the acceptance of the promise. pizarro then told him, that he must become a christian, but to this he objected, when he was immediately seized by the soldiers, and carried to another corner of the plasa; pizarro followed him, and ordered him to deliver up all his treasures; he now took from him his crown, sceptre, and robes, and then ordered him to be beheaded. the inca was dragged to the centre of the plasa, and laid on the ground, which one of the soldiers struck with an axe, and a piece of red cloth was thrown over the head of the inca; the spaniards then departed, and the indians began to wail and lament the death of their king. although this representation was destitute of what may be called theatrical beauty or elegance, yet the plaintive ditties, _yarabis_, sung by the coyas, particularly after the death of their beloved inca, were, to a feeling mind, superior to the sweetest warblings of an italian _cantatrice_. the surrounding scenery, the view of the cordilleras, the native dresses, the natives themselves, and the very earth which the inca had trod on, all seemed to combine to hush the whisper of criticism, and were well calculated to rouse sympathy and compassion from their slumbers--for however they might be opiated with misrepresentations, or encumbered with fiction, they were not bolstered up with flattery or hypocrisy. after three centuries have elapsed, the memory of the ancient monarchs of this country is kept alive by the annual representations of the cruel and unmerited death of the last of the race; and i flatter myself that those who are the most prejudiced in favour of the blessings that civilization has produced since the discovery and conquest of this country, and its ill fated aborigines, by a christian prince, must still confess, that the preachers of the gospel of jesus christ have sold to them the title of christianity at too usurious a price; they have been taught religion by precept, and vice by example; promised liberty in theory, and received slavery in reality; protection, prosperity, and tranquillity were pictured to them in gaudy colours by their crafty invaders; but persecution and degradation have been the reward of their unsuspecting confidence, and they have only found tranquillity in the grave. the enormities committed by the first spaniards who arrived in america were certainly unauthorized by the spanish monarchs, they were the effects of their own lust for riches. isabella and her successors have been actuated by a zeal for the propagation of the christian faith, and the most earnest charges respecting religious instruction and mild treatment to these their inoffensive subjects have been given to all persons in authority in the new world, and the same mild spirit breathes out in almost every page of the _recopilacion de leyes de indias_. not only the civil magistrate and the military governor were charged with the protection of the indians, but the bishops and other ecclesiastics; these injunctions are set forth in the tenth book of the _recopilacion_, which points out the duty of these individuals, as guardians of the indians, commanding them to defend their persons and property against any oppression or usurpation. the bishops and other ecclesiastics are by the same _recopilacion_ empowered to inform and admonish the civil magistrates, in cases of oppression, and some of them have refused absolution to those spaniards whom they knew to have treated the indians as slaves. the avarice of individuals placed at a great distance from the personal control of their masters is however too violent to be restrained by laws and enactments; and many of the governors sent to the new world were as mercenary and rapacious as their countrymen over whom they presided; the lot of the oppressed was never regarded, if put in competition with their own private views, which led only to the amassing of riches, and of afterwards returning to old spain loaded with the gold of america: this they often effected at the expence of incurring, as they richly deserved, the curses of the americans. chapter iii. general mode of travelling from lima to the different provinces.... british manufactures fit for the last provinces visited....general character of the inhabitants....animals in the provinces of huailas, caxatambo, conchucos, and huamalies....pagi or puma....ucumari.... viscacha....comadreja....ardillas....gato montes....alco....llama ....paco....huanaco....vicuña....mulita....birds....condor.... vegetable productions....mineral ditto....antiquities....diseases and remedies....hydrophobia. during my stay in huamalies, the news of the invasion of the province of la plata, by the english, arrived; this induced me to return to lima, instead of travelling through the country to the northward, because i knew that in the capital i should be less suspected by the government, than by the petty governors and magistrates in the inland towns. before i quit the subject of the foregoing chapter i shall however make a few general observations. the total absence of inns, or any similar establishment on the roads, or in the towns and villages, would present to an english traveller an almost insurmountable obstacle; and as this country is now ( ) likely to be frequented by many of my countrymen, i think it will not be uninteresting to those who may stand in need of some information, nor unentertaining to the public at large, if i give a concise description of the general mode of travelling in peru. if a resident in lima wish to go to any considerable distance from the capital, the best plan he can pursue is to inquire at the tambos for _requas_, mules, which are from the country he intends to visit, and agree with the muleteers or carriers for the number of mules he may want. with an eye to comfort, the traveller must provide himself with a mattress, bedding, and an almaufres, leather bag, already described, sufficiently large to hold, besides the bed, his wearing apparel, because the cargo would be otherwise too light. i always formed another load with a trunk, containing linen, books, and writing materials; also a canteen, holding two or three small pans, oil, vinegar, salt, spices, sugar, coffee, tea, knives and forks, spoons, &c., and thus equipped, having a good poncho, saddle, _al uso del pais_, bridle and spurs, a traveller has little to apprehend from the want of inns. the plan i usually followed was, to go to one of the principal houses in the town or village, and to ask if i could remain there during my stay in that place; this request was never denied me, and nine times out of ten i have had nothing to pay, with the addition, perhaps, of letters of recommendation, or kind messages, to persons residing in the town or village to which i was going. if it happened to be from one cura to another, i was not the less pleased, because their society in such places is generally the best, and their fare is certainly not the worst. it is much to be feared, that the political changes likely to take place in south america will be inimical to the general feeling of hospitality in the inhabitants; civilization will teach them refinements superior to such barbarous practices. the locality of huaras, as i have already observed, is admirably well calculated for mercantile speculations: this town might constitute the general mart for the sale of european manufactured goods, as well as for the purchase of the produce of the provinces of huailas, caxatambo, conchucos, huamalies, patas, and part of huamachucos. among european saleable manufactures may be counted broad cloths, coarse woollen cloths, both single and double widths; linens, such as common irish, or imitation of german platillas and sheeting; fine duck for trowsers, and some lawn resembling french linen, _estopillas_; narrow ribbons from half an inch to an inch broad; some silks and velvets; cottons of all descriptions, both white and coloured, particularly if an imitation of the tocuyos were sent; these are yard-wide unbleached cottons, having the thread more twisted than is generally practised, and velveteens, plain and corded; broad flannels, green, red yellow and brown; hosiery, both cotton and woollen; cutlery, bone-hafted knives with points are in considerable use, and large common scissors for sheep-shearing, as the natives are unacquainted with the kind of shears used in england; hardware, such as pots and pans; these last ought not to be flat-bottomed, but deeper in the middle than along the sides, with two small rings instead of a handle; braseros from eight to twenty-four inches diameter, and from three to five inches deep, according to the size, with three feet, and two large rings to carry them with; those used in the country, and their use is universal, are of copper, principally manufactured at lambayeque, but they are very clumsily wrought, and sell very high; substitutes of iron and brass would find an extensive sale; but they ought to be as light as is possible; copper and bell-metal pans, holding from two to thirty gallons each, are articles in great demand; chocolate pots of brass, copper, or iron, holding from one to three quarts, would also find an extensive sale; paper of a quality similar to the spanish paper has a considerable consumption, as it is used for making segars; but wove paper is always rejected, because its softness induces the natives to suppose that it is made of cotton, the smoke of which they consider injurious. the produce of these provinces is, for the lima market, cattle, sugar, _bayetones_, _tocuyos_, coarse stockings, ponchos, bordillos, jerga, sweetmeats, tobacco, some timber for particular uses, cheese, which is of an excellent quality, butter, and other minor articles; for exportation, bark (cinchona) of arancay, wool, hides, and the precious metals. the inhabitants of these provinces are industrious, and generally speaking kind and hospitable; among the indians poverty is very visible, and the shyness which they show to white people who arrive at their huts, _ranchos_, may be attributed to several causes--the universal oppression which they experience from the whites--their abject state in society--their incapacity of affording any accommodation to travellers--and their ignorance of the spanish language:--all these contribute in some degree to render the accusation of invincible stupidity, as ulloa says, apparently true; but if an indian is in what may be termed easy circumstances, though, alas! this very rarely occurs, he is equally kind, generous, and hospitable with the creoles or spaniards. among the animals indigenous to the new world, the lion, so called by the spaniards, by the peruvians _pagi_, and by some others the _puma_, is found in the mountainous parts of the aforementioned provinces. i have already, when speaking of the province of conception, given a description of this animal, together with the depredations it commits, and the manner of killing it. the habits of the puma in peru are similar to those of the same animal in chile; any further description therefore becomes unnecessary. the name of puma was given by the ancient peruvians to some of their most illustrious families, whose descendants are still called caciques; it seems as if there were two orders of distinction among them, bearing the titles of the particular attributes of the puma and the condor. of these families the unfortunate puma-cagua, or lord of the brave lion, was a cacique; colqui-puma, lord of the silver lion, is another; of the condor here are the families of apu-cuntur, the great condor, cuntur-pusac, of eight condors, and condor-canqui, condor by excellency, or master of the order; this last family resides in the province of caxatambo. the _oso_, or _ucumari_, so called by the indians, is a black bear, which frequents the mountainous parts of these districts. i never saw but one domesticated; it stood two feet five inches high, and was four feet nine inches long, the forehead flat, muzzle yellowish, two fawn coloured spots above the eyes, and a larger one on the breast; the fur black, long, and smooth; the small teeth placed behind the canine teeth. the indians are more afraid of this animal than they are of the puma, and relate many extraordinary tales about its ferocity; however i never knew an individual who had ever seen it attack a human being, nor could i obtain any correct account of a person being attacked by it. the natives hunt the ucumari with the same dogs with which they chase the puma, and the stuffed skins of these animals often adorn the corridors of the farm houses; the indians eat the flesh of the puma--that of the bear i have tasted, and found it very delicate. the bear usually feeds on wild fruits and roots, and is destructive to the crops of potatoes and maize. it seldom leaves the mountainous parts of the country, and when chased will roll itself down the sides of the steepest mountains to elude its pursuers. the _viscacha_ inhabits the higher ranges of the mountains, and feeds principally on the moss which is nearest to perpetual snow: it is easily domesticated, and the heat of the valleys does not seem prejudicial to its health. this animal very much resembles a hare in its shape, but it has a bushy tail as long as that of a cat; the body is covered with very soft hair of a white and ash colour, which is as soft as silk; it was formerly spun by the indians, and made into cloth for the use of the incas: thus it was the royal ermine of peru. the flesh of the animal is very savoury, and is considered a great delicacy. the _comadreja_, weasel, is found in different parts of these provinces; it is about nine inches long, not including the tail, which is long and well covered with hair; the body is round and very slender, covered with short softish fur, of a pale yellow colour, except under the throat and on the breast, where it is white; its legs are short and thick, and its toes armed with sharp claws. this animal is remarkably active, runs very fast, and seems almost to fly when it jumps; it is very destructive to poultry, which it kills, and sucks the blood; it is also a constant customer for eggs. when the natives kill one, which but seldom happens, they preserve the skin whole, and use it for a purse. the _ardillas_, red squirrels, have a red stripe along the back; their sides are grey, inclining to white near the belly, which is itself beautifully white. this species is often found in the colder regions of these provinces: it feeds on the seeds, and sometimes on the buds of the molle and espino, called here _huarango_; it forms its habitation in a hole among the rocks, which it furnishes with leaves, moss, and wool. the grey squirrel is larger than the red; some of this species are almost black, which the natives fancy are young ones, calling the lighter coloured _canosos_, grey haired. these generally choose the valleys or warm climates, and make their nests in hollow trees; they are very destructive to _mani_, or ground nuts, plunder the plantations and gardens of them, and carry their booty to their nests. they sometimes go in bodies on marauding excursions, and if a river oppose their progress, they embark on pieces of wood or the bark of trees, and cross it. i have been assured at pichiusa, that if the current drifts them down the river, they will dip their tails in the water, so as to form a rudder, and thus steer their fragile flotillas to the opposite shore. the mountain cat, _gato montes_, is found in the province of huamalies, in the woods bordering on the marañon; it is about three and a half feet long, the skin is of a dirty yellow colour, with black spots and stripes; the male has a black stripe running from between the ears along the back. this small tiger is extremely beautiful, but it is very savage; however it never attacks a man, and seldom molests the horses or horned cattle; but it sometimes leaves the woods, and visits the farms on the mountains in search of sheep and goats. the opossum, called by the natives _muca muca_, and a species of armadillo, called _mulita_, from the length of its ears, are found in the valleys; also a field rat of a dark brown colour, having the tail rather club-shaped and somewhat flattened: the flesh is considered very delicate eating. the _alco_ is the constant companion of the indians: it is a dog of a middling stature, of a black colour, the body covered with woolly hair, except on the breast and tail, where it is stiff and straight. they bark on the approach of any noise, and will defend their charge, whether it be the horse or cattle, against men or beasts of prey. two kinds of these dogs are known here, the one just mentioned, and another smaller one, about the size of a lap dog, which the indians frequently carry. they seldom or never bark, which circumstance perhaps gave rise to the origin of the assertion, that "the dogs of south america do not bark." the large alco is called _thegua_ in chile, and the small one _kiltho_. among the indigenous quadrupeds of peru, the species of camel, by the spaniards called _carneros de la tierra_, demand the attention of a traveller. these animals in many respects resemble the camel of the old continent, but differ from them materially in others. they are less in size, but of a more elegant form; they have a small head without horns, but a large tuft of hair adorns the forehead; a very long, slender neck, well proportioned ears, large round full black eyes, a short muzzle, the upper lip more or less cleft; the body is handsomely turned, the legs long and rather slender, the feet bipartite; the covering of the body is a mixture of hair and wool, in different proportions, according to the kind of animals. the lower jaw of each is furnished with six incisors, two canine teeth and several grinders; the upper jaw with grinders only. under the skin the body is covered with fat, somewhat like the hog and the polar animals, intended by nature to preserve a necessary degree of warmth, because these animals inhabit the cold regions of the cordillera. they are all ruminating, and have four ventricles; the second, which is composed of two, contains a number of cavities calculated for a deposit of water. the animals are retromingents; the time of gestation is about twenty-two weeks, and the female seldom brings forth more than one, which she suckles, having two teats and an abundance of milk. they have a callous covering on the breast or sternum, on which they fall, when reclining, either to sleep or to receive a burden; this substance appears to be destined to defend the part against any injurious contusion among the rocks; when sleeping they have their legs completely folded under the belly, and they rest on the breast. their only means of defence is an ejection of viscous matter from the mouth, which some persons pretend acts as a caustic, producing small pimples, and a species of psora, but this is false. the varieties are the llama, paco, or alpaca, guanaco, and vicuña, or vicugna. the size of a full-grown llama is as follows:-- ft. in. height from the bottom of the foot to top of the shoulders from the first vertebre in the neck to the point of the os sacro from the point of the upper lip to that of the cranium from the first vertebre of the neck to the last height from the base of the foot to the spine of the os sacro length of the callosity on the sternum breadth of ditto thickness of ditto ½ length of the penis the llama is by far the handsomest and most majestic animal of the four; in its portly appearance it is somewhat like a stag, but the gracefulness of its swan-like neck, its small head, and mild countenance add much to its beauty. the colour of the llama is generally a pale bright brown, but some are nearly white, others black, and others mottled. the wool is coarse, but very abundant on the body, and precludes the necessity of using pack-saddles. nothing can exceed the beauty of a drove of these animals, as they march along with their cargoes on their backs, each being about a hundred pounds weight, following each other in the most orderly manner, equal to a file of soldiers, headed by one with a tastefully ornamented halter on his head, covered with small hawks' bells, and a small streamer on his head: thus they cross the snow-covered tops of the cordillera, or defile along the sides of the mountains. this sight is peculiarly interesting to a stranger, and has in it what may be justly considered as something characteristic of the country, where the mountainous tracts are ill calculated for the service of horses or even mules. indeed, the animal itself seems to partake of the docility of its driver; it needs no whip nor spur to urge it onward; but calmly paces on to its destination. its only means of defence, as before mentioned, is to spit in the face of its oppressor; if too heavily laden with what it kneeled to receive, it will refuse to rise until relieved of part of its load. the paco or alpaca of peru is the chilihueque of chile: it differs considerably from the llama--its head is rounder, its legs are shorter and thicker, and the body more plump; the skin is of a darker colour, and the hair much longer and softer: like the llama it is used as a beast of burden, kneels to receive it, and lies down if it be too heavy. the paco bears more resemblance to a sheep than to a stag, and from its great apparent strength seems better calculated to be used as a beast of burden than the llama; but it is not so docile and tractable, it will not follow the captain or leader, but generally requires to be led with a string, passed through a small aperture made in the ear;--nor is it more sure-footed on the ridges of the mountains. the pacos vary in colour more than the llamas. the names of these two kinds are derived from alppaco--beast of the country; and llamscani--that of burden, which the spaniards translated into carnero, sheep. it appears both from the names of these two varieties, as well as from garcilaso, acosta, sandoval, and other spanish writers, that they were domesticated before the arrival of the spaniards, yet the breeds have never been mixed, nor will they mingle, for a very visible aversion exists between them, which, with the striking difference in their construction and appearance, induces me to believe them to be different species. they are certainly more alike than the vicuña and the huanaco, or to either of those; so that buffon and linnæus were wide of the truth when they asserted, that the llama and the vicuña were of the same species, and equally so with respect to the paco and the huanaco. the shape of the huanaco is very different from that of the paco--the back of this is straight, while that of the former is hunched or arched--the one being proper for a beast of burden, the other quite improper. the height of the huanaco, from the fore foot to the tip of the shoulder, is seven inches less than from the bottom of the hind feet to the top of the rump or os sacro, on which account, when pursued it immediately descends the mountains, leaping like the buck or the deer; whereas, the other three species always endeavour to ascend the mountains to escape the pursuit. the huanacos are of a dark brown colour, inclining to white under the belly, where the hair is coarse and shaggy. the forehead is rounder than that of the paco, the nose more pointed and black, the ears straight like those of a horse, the tail is short, and turned back like that of the stag. this species seems more inclined to frequent warmer regions than the other three, and leaves the mountains for the valleys, particularly in the winter season. the huanaco is naturally gentle, and easily domesticated; but this is rarely attempted, for in such a state it is of very little use to its owner. the vicuña is the smallest species; it is about the size of a goat, the back less arched than the huanaco's, the neck slender, and about twenty inches long. the body is covered with a remarkably fine soft wool, of a pale brown colour, which is sometimes woven; it makes an exceedingly fine cloth, but it can only be used in its native colour, or when dyed darker: very fine hats are also manufactured of it in lima and other places. the vicuña seems to abound most in the cordilleras, in about eighteen degrees south latitude. the llama is now never found in a wild state, and the paco very seldom; the huanaco is rarely domesticated, and the vicuña scarcely ever, owing partly to its natural timidity, and to the effect which a warm climate has on it, often producing a kind of mange, of which the animal dies. as already mentioned, the huanaco leaves the cold regions during the winter, but the vicuña never, always preferring to live among the snow and the ice. all the four species like best to feed on the _ichu_ that grows at the elevation of fourteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, even in eighteen degrees of south latitude. the huanaco is caught with dogs and the laso, or with a sling; this is made of a strip of leather five or six feet long, to each end of which a stone weighing about two pounds is fastened; the huntsman takes one of these stones in his hand, and whirls the other round his head, then throws it at the legs of the huanaco he has singled out, which becoming entangled with the rope, the animal falls. the vicuñas being remarkably timid, fly to the mountains, and it becomes impossible to follow them; so that for the purpose of catching them several persons assemble, and take the side of a mountain above the place where the vicuñas are seen feeding, and then descending, drive them into a ravine, where they have previously stretched a line with some rags tied to it; on approaching this the affrighted animals collect into a cluster, and are generally all caught and killed for the sake of their wool; this is not shorn; but the skins are taken off, and sent to market. the meat of the llama and alpaca is often jerked and sold; but it is coarse and dry; that of the young huanaco, however, is very good, and that of the vicuña is equal to the finest venison. the wool of the llama and the huanaco is only applicable to very ordinary purposes; but that of the paco is manufactured into the most beautiful blankets, which are as soft as silk--that of the vicuña is used as already mentioned. the _mulita_ and _quiriquincho_ are caught in the temperate and hot valleys of huamalies; the former is the eight-banded armadillo; it is called mulita, or little mule, on account of its long ears, which resemble those of that animal; this species is about eight inches long. the quiriquincho is sometimes called _bolo_; it is the eighteen-banded armadillo, and is about thirteen inches long from the snout to the end of the tail. the bands are composed of a shell or shells lying transversely on the upper part of the body, forming a kind of cuirass, of a greyish or lead colour; the bottom part of the body is also covered with a shell, and united at the sides with the upper shell like those of the tortoise; they have four feet, short legs, a pointed snout, like that of the hog, and a tail covered with scales, like that of the lizard tribe. they form holes in the ground, in which they bring forth their young, three or four every month, and feed them on fruits and vegetables. when pursued, if on the mountains, they roll themselves up and fall down the precipices, thus eluding their pursuers; but on the plains they are easily caught, although they run very fast, and always in a straight line; because their armour does not allow them to turn round, except in a circular manner. when taken out of the shell their flesh is very white, with a layer of fat similar to that of a hog. the natives dress them in a curious manner; they separate the two shells, clean the meat and season it with capsicum, salt, onions, and herbs, place it in the upper shell, and cover it with the underneath one; they then stew it in an oven, and it is certainly most delicious eating. the children often twist the intestines into strings, and form small guitars of the shells. the birds in these provinces consist of several species of eagles, hawks, falcons, and kites; the gallinaso, several kinds of wild pigeons, finches, a kind of thrush, blackbirds, and on the borders of the marañon a great variety of parrots, but these never pass the mountains into the valleys or ravines. the _picaflor_, humming bird, is found in all the warm climates of these districts. i have counted five varieties, and have often caught them with my hat, when the fairy-like creatures have been employed in sipping the honey of the plantain flower. the majestic condor holds his court in the mountainous parts of south america, and makes excursions in search of food to the valleys and the coast. three varieties inhabit these provinces, the largest is called moro moro; the ruff which encircles the neck and back is of a dark grey colour; the latter is produced from some feathers in the wings of this colour, which when folded fall on the back, and form what the natives call the cloak; but the short feathers on the back as well as the rest of the body are of a deep black colour. the male of this species is distinguished from the female by a large crest on the head like a crown; the neck being covered with short hairs appears naked, of a dark blue colour; the skin forms folds or curls round the neck of the bird, at the bottom of which is a ruff of grey feathers, each about ten inches long and rather curled. this bird measures from thirteen to fifteen feet from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. the second variety has the ruff and cloak of a light brown or pale coffee colour; it measures from eleven to thirteen feet; the third has the ruff and cloak white, and measures from nine to eleven feet; this variety abounds most, and is the most elegant. dr. unanue says, that in a dissection of this bird he found no vessel of communication between the lungs and the spongy substance of the clavicles; and he affirms that there is no communication between the stomach and the trachea; that the superior cavity of the body is lined with a delicate transparent pleura, divided into several small cells; that the lungs descend to the lower cavity of the body, and the posterior part of them adhere to the spine and ribs, and that these are perforated at the union, which perforation communicates with the spongy body in the inside of them. the texture of the lungs is very porous, and when inflated by blowing through the trachea, a quantity of air escapes, and fills the large and small apertures that surround them, as well as those of the sternum and ribs. from this construction, it would appear, that the bird is endowed with the powers of forming a vacuum in a considerable portion of the body, to assist in rendering the whole lighter, and thus to enable it to soar to the enormous height of nineteen thousand feet, where the atmosphere is of much less density than at the earth's surface. the beak of the moro moro is four inches long, very thick, and curved; black at its base, and white towards the point. the thigh is ten inches and a half long, the leg only six inches; the foot is furnished with four strong toes; the middle toe, which is almost six inches, is terminated with a whitish curved talon, two inches long; the two lateral toes are not so long; and the three have each three joints; the hind toe is two inches long, the nail one, and this toe has only one joint. the tail is entire, but small in proportion to the size of the bird. the large quills in the wings are commonly two feet nine inches long, and the barrel more than three-quarters of an inch in diameter. the three varieties all build their nests on the most inaccessible cliffs, and lay two large white eggs. the condors feed either on carcases, or on animals which they themselves kill; lambs and kids always require the care of the shepherd or the dog; and calves, if at a distance from the cows, frequently become their prey. they generally make their first attack on the head, and tear out the eyes. i once saw some condors attack a cow which had sunk into a quagmire and could not extricate herself; the first attack of these animals was on the anus, whence they drew out the intestines, and thus killed the animal, without regarding the noise that we made, as if sensible that we should not venture to rescue her from the mire. they are so voracious, and will feed to such a degree, that they cannot rise from the ground, but run in search of an eminence whence they can throw themselves on the wing. they soar aloft and swim in the air without any motion of the wings being visible. the vegetable productions are wheat, barley, maize, pease, beans, lentils, quinua, potatoes, camotes, yucas, arracachas, ocas, radishes, turnips, cabbages, cauliflowers, lettuces, mangle wurzle, beet, apples, pears, guinds, peaches, almonds, apricots, grapes, melons, pine-apples, plantains, bananas, and several other equinoctial fruits; the woods are molle, cedar, huarango, alerce, and in the forests bordering on the marañon cascol, caoba, nasareno, with many other varieties, and excellent cinchona bark near to arancay. the mineral productions are gold, silver, mercury, tin, iron, coal, sulphur, ætites, and several kinds of marble; but as no quarries have been wrought, and only some few samples are found in the possession of different persons at huaras, corongos, and in that of various parochial curates, the extent of the veins remains unknown, as well as the peculiar qualities of the stone. many other mineral productions, unknown at present, will undoubtedly become objects of importance to the geologist, mineralogist, and chemist, now that the revolution has secured the independence of the country, and scientific individuals may visit it, which was not the case when the spanish colonial laws were in force. to the botanist and florist the same opportunity presents itself, and south america may almost as justly be termed a new world, as it was when discovered by the indefatigable, ill-rewarded columbus. the remains of antiquity in any country attract the notice of a traveller; different individuals view them through different mediums, but all observe them in some light or other; some for their beauty and symmetry, as monuments of extraordinary genius and labour; others as merely picturesque, romantic ornaments in the prospect, relieving the dreary, or enlivening the interesting scenery; others search for combinations of features, and endeavour to account for the origin in the imitations; and others merely wonder how and for what purpose such immense labour was undertaken. notwithstanding this diversity of tastes, all examine, and each in his particular province admires; but alas! though philosophical researches are of the highest importance to history, yet in south america the monuments which present themselves only serve to evince the intolerant spirit of the european nation which invaded this part of the new world: a people who demolished the temples, labouring under the influence of superstition; and destroyed the palaces and other public buildings under the influence of cupidity, in search of hidden treasure; and this with such wanton barbarity, that only vestiges remain to shew where the works of nations and of ages once stood--to exact the tear of the surviving native, the sigh of the sympathizing visitor, and to reproach the spaniard and the creole with the lawless havoc of their forefathers. the remains of the incas' road, or the military causeway, which humboldt says "may be compared to the finest roman roads i have seen in italy, france or spain," passes through huamalies alto, and in some places is perfectly straight for more than half a league; it is generally lined with freestone, and evinces the labour of an industrious obedient people, and is scarcely to be equalled except by the chinese wall; especially if we consider the extent of it, from cusco to quito, which is a distance of not less than seven hundred leagues. it was most probably built at different periods, by the orders of the different reigning incas, as they enlarged their conquests; and the continuation might possibly be the first tax or duty imposed on the conquered nations. some parts of this road are at the astonishing elevation of twelve thousand four hundred and seventy-five feet above the level of the sea; indeed it is almost every where so situated, that the marches of the army, or the inca on his passage, might not suffer from the hot climates in the valleys. near to the village of baños in huamalies is a spring of hot water, where some very capacious baths were built by the incas, similar to those at caxamarca, but more extensive. the ruins of a large building, called the palace of the inca, are found at a short distance from the baths; it was built of stone, and is like those of cañar and callo, in the province of quito. the situation is beautifully romantic; it is the summit of a mountain, and commands an extensive prospect of the river marañon, the woods and forests to the eastward, and the mountains and valleys to the westward. the building can only be traced by the foundations and fragments of walls, all of stone, so exactly cut, or perhaps ground by rubbing the sides together, that the interstices are scarcely perceptible. it contained several enclosures, which were probably a kind of barracks for the army. near to the palace are the ruins of a temple, of a circular form, and on the top of two mountains, one on each side of the river, are the remains of two fortresses, the sides of the mountains being divided into a sort of galleries one above another; in some parts these are formed by building breastworks, and in others they are cut out of the solid rock, the breastwork being left in the solid stone. the indians assert, that a subterraneous passage under the river opened a communication between the two fortresses; and however improbable the execution of such a work may appear to modern architects, yet the possibility and almost the proof exists in the very astonishing works of labour and art executed by the peruvians. the diseases most prevalent in these provinces are, pulmonic inflammations, inflammatory fevers, _bicho_, and _pasmo_. the indians have applied the name _dolor de costado_, pain in the side, to the pleurisy. when under the direction of a regular practitioner, the spanish method of curing is by bathing the affected part with oil, and taking expectorants; but the method observed by the indians accords much better with the practice in england. they scarify the part with a sharp knife, and if the flow of blood be not sufficiently abundant, a person applies his mouth to the incisions and extracts the blood, this answering all the purposes of cupping. some whip the side affected with nettles, and then bathe it with hot vinegar, applying afterwards a cataplasm of garlic, onions, and the flour of beans. the inflammatory fever called _tabardillo_ is common in the hot as well as cold climates. the curative method adopted by the indians may, in its prognostic, be considered an improvement on the cold affusion. some clay is procured, and mixed with water until it acquire the consistency of batter, the patient is smeared all over his body with it; after an hour or two an examination takes place, and if the clay has become parched, and is peeled off, death is considered to be the inevitable result; but if it be cracked, and the pieces adhere to the body, a favourable result is expected. this is most probably the fruit of observation, as i believe the science of medicine among such people generally is; but the effect of the application in the latter case is a copious perspiration, which is absorbed by the clay, by which an adhesion to the cutis takes place, and prevents it from falling off; thus the experiment, if not at first founded on scientific principles, has been undoubtedly supported by practical facts. the _bicho_ is an endemical disease, known only in the hot valleys; it is an ulcer of a gangrenous tendency in the colon, and if not attended to in time is generally mortal. the indians use very stiptic injections, and believe the origin to be caused by a grub, _bicho_. those who reside in cold climates, and when in the valleys eat abundance of fruit, are most subject to this disease. the _pasmo_ is generally brought on by wetting a wound, or ulcer, with cold water; it is particularly prevalent in the hot climates of the valleys; it is a general nervous convulsion; the first effects are a tetanus, after which the most excruciating pains afflict the patient, until relieved by death, for no remedy has as yet been found effectual. the bronchocele, or goitres, is common in some parts of these provinces, particularly in the neighbourhood of huacaibamba; it is a disagreeable affliction without any known antidote. the syphilis, as i have before observed, is extremely virulent in the cold climates of the interior; the usual remedies applied are sarsaparilla, guaiacum, and sassafras, but very seldom mercury, owing to the dread that the natives have of its administration. madness in dogs was unknown in america until the year , when it made its appearance along the coast between paita and lima; in many were affected with it in lima, to the southward as far as arica, and arequipa, and to the northward of lima in the valleys of the interior. dr. unanue says, "after having collected all the data, and having consulted those of the faculty, and other intelligent persons who had witnessed the effects, i have deduced, "firstly--that this spontaneous madness originated in the excessive increase of heat in and , which caused almost all kinds of animals to throw themselves into the pits and lakes to refresh themselves. "secondly--that this disease attacked indiscriminately all kinds of quadrupeds, some of which, in the most furious manner, tore the flesh from their bones with their teeth: several men were also affected with symptoms of hydrophobia without having been bitten by any animal. "thirdly--it was most common among dogs; but some, although apparently affected, caused no symptoms in their bite except the ordinary ones; but from the bite of others on their own species, other quadrupeds, and men, the most dreadful symptoms of hydrophobia were propagated. on one of the plantations an overseer distributed among the slaves the meat of several animals which had died mad, believing that the meat was not contagious; but several of the negroes who ate of it died in a state of madness. "fourthly--in the cities of ica and arequipa the greatest number of persons died from the bite of mad dogs. at ica one dog bit fourteen individuals in one night. notwithstanding the advice of the surgeon estrada, they all refused medical assistance except two--the remaining twelve died. the method of cure adopted was, a caustic applied to the part affected, suppuration was promoted, and mercurial unctions were applied until a copious salivation was established. professor estrada says, that forty-two persons died at ica, at different epochs from twelve to ninety days after they were bit. the symptoms were convulsions, oppression in the chest, languor, difficult respiration, horror at the sight of liquids or any shining substance, atrabilious vomit, and great fury against the nurses. after the first appearance of these symptoms, death ensued within about five days." chapter iv. travels to the north of lima....village of pativilca....of huarmey....of casma....cotton mill....santa....river santa.... nepeña....farm of motocachi....vineyard....port of santa...._tambo de chao_....viru....truxillo....itinerary between lima and truxillo ....description of truxillo....buildings....inhabitants....climate ....commerce....jurisdiction....arms....plain de chimu...._huaca de toledo_....tradition of....huanchaco port....valleys of chimu, chicama, and viru....productions....road to caxamarca....contumasa ....magdalena....gold mines....view of caxamarca....origin of name of....description of....buildings....inhabitants....arts and manufactures of....visit to san pablo....market of caxamarca ....trade of....hot baths....description of. as soon as the political affairs of south america rendered it safe for an englishman to travel unsuspected, i visited some of the northern provinces. i remained at pativilca a few days, and then prosecuted my journey to huarmey: this is a small indian village, famous only for chicha, which is remarkably strong, eighteen gallons only being made from three bushels of jora, malted maize. the next village is casma, where a considerable quantity of cotton is grown, and where a mill for separating the seeds is established by don benito canicova. the machinery is very simple--a large drum or hollow cylinder is put in motion by two mules or oxen; straps pass round this drum and round a small wheel attached to a fluted steel cylinder, about half an inch in diameter; in the same horizontal line there is another similar steel cylinder: when put in motion, the cotton is applied to the steel cylinders, which drag it between them, separating the seeds from it, and these fall down on the side next the workmen, while the cotton is thrown out on the opposite side. a very powerful screw-press is used for packing the cotton, which is generally exported to the european market. the soil here is sandy; the climate, owing to the position of the place, which is enclosed on three sides by high mountains, is hot, and the cotton is very fine; on this account casma will probably become more populous than it is at present, and a town of more note. the pine-apples which grow here are very fine, and many of them are carried to lima. our next stage brought us to santa, having passed the small hamlet of huambacho. santa is the residence of the subdelegado, and capital of the district of the same name; it is the poorest in peru, for when a corregimiento its distribution, repartimiento, amounted only to twenty-five thousand dollars, and its alcavala to two hundred. the town is composed of about thirty ill-built houses and ranchos; the old town stood near to the sea coast, and was much larger than the present one, but it was destroyed in by edward david, a dutch pirate; the inhabitants afterwards established themselves about half a league further from the coast. the king granted to this hamlet the title of city, on account of the gallant resistance which the inhabitants made against david, and particularly for their having preserved from the hands of the pirate a miraculous image of christ crucified, the gift of the emperor charles the fifth, and which is still venerated in the new church. about two leagues to the northward of the town is the river santa; it rises in the province of huailas, and enters the pacific in ° ´ ´´ south latitude. at the mouth it is about one thousand eight hundred yards wide, and its current, during the rainy season in the interior, often flows at the rate of seven miles an hour; at this time of the year it cannot be forded without great risk. in a rope bridge was thrown across it, about a league from the mouth, but this was destroyed in by an unprecedented rise of the water, which caught the bridge and dragged it away. the valley of santa contains some good farms, which are principally covered with lucern, and great numbers of horned cattle are fattened here for the lima market. some maize is also cultivated for the feeding of hogs, the lard of which is carried to lima; here also they have fine crops of rice; indeed such is the heat, the natural dampness of the earth, and the abundance as well as the quality of the water (which like that of the nile enriches the soil) used for the purpose of irrigation, that three successive crops are often procured from the same seed. about six leagues to the eastward of santa is a very neat town, called nepeña; the climate is far more agreeable than at santa, and the inhabitants are not incommoded with musquitos, which are very annoying at the former place, owing to the low swampy ground, where they breed in such prodigious quantities, that it is sometimes almost impossible to breathe without inhaling them. their bite is very troublesome, and many of the inhabitants, from continually scratching themselves, become almost covered with an eruptive disease similar to the _carati_ at huaura; along the coast it is common to hear the santeños called _sarnosos_, from _sarna_, the itch. in the neighbourhood of nepeña there are several sugar plantations and vineyards. the farm called motocachi is famous for producing excellent wine, which in flavour is not inferior to the best muscatel of spain, or the frontignac of france. the brandy made from the same grape is also peculiarly delicate, possessing all the flavour of the wine; it is in great demand, and is called _aguardiente de italia_. the port of santa has a safe anchorage, and is capable of containing a considerable number of vessels; during the time of peace between england and spain many south sea whalers touched here, for the purpose of procuring fresh provisions; and considerable business in the smuggling line has been carried on. this port and town will undoubtedly become more known and more frequented, because its situation offers an easy internation to the provinces which i have lastly described, and a saving of upwards of a hundred leagues of land carriage to some of them. callao is now the only _puerto abilitado_; but the newly-established governments will not be so ignorant of their financial interests as to suffer it to continue so. we left santa early in the morning, and arrived before noon at _tambo de chao_, a house built of rushes in a sandy desert, nine leagues from santa; having refreshed ourselves a little, and fed the mules, we proceeded to a small village called viru, where we halted for the night, and on the following day we arrived at the city of truxillo. the following short account of the road from lima to truxillo will convey some idea of the nature of travelling, and the kind of accommodations which travellers may expect who have to visit these countries. some persons have _literas_, litters, for this purpose: they are square boxes, with an opening on each side which serve for entrances; a small mattress made to fit is placed at the bottom; this vehicle is then fastened to two poles, one on each side, and these are secured on the backs of two mules, on the foremost of which a boy is generally placed, to guide the animal. this mode of travelling is very disagreeable, owing to the various motions communicated to the litera; the elasticity of the poles causes it to rise and fall, while the steps of the mules make it sometimes roll from side to side, and sometimes it is jerked backwards and forwards; so that a person unaccustomed to this mode of travelling is almost sure to experience all the effects of a sea-sickness, besides a universal soreness in his limbs, occasioned by the jolting of the litter. from lima to chancay leagues, of sand. chancay to huaura ditto of sand. huaura to pativilca ditto of sand. pativilca to huarmey ditto of sand. huarmey to casma ditto of sand. casma to santa ditto of sand. santa to tambo de chao ditto of sand. tambo de chao to viru ditto of sand. viru to truxillo ditto of sand. we have here one hundred and eight leagues of road, one-half of which leads through a sandy desert country, the greater part of which must for ever remain so: this is principally owing to the total absence of rain, the scarcity of river water, or the impracticability of irrigation; but wherever water can be procured, the scene is quite different; comfortable farm houses, neat villages, and the most luxurious vegetation enliven the views to the weary traveller; the eye soon becomes tired with a dreary sandy prospect, or with now and then beholding a few leagues of the sea coast; but it rests with pleasure and is refreshed with the prospect of fertile valleys, clothed in the luxurious garb of spring or autumn--where the evergreen sugar-cane, the lucern, the hedges, and the ripe crops of grain are blended; which is the case here during the greater part of the year. the city of truxillo stands on a sandy plain in lat. ° ´ ´´ s.; it was founded by francisco pizarro, marquis of charcas and atavillos, the conqueror of peru, who named it after his native place in estremadura; its figure approaches to that of an oval, it is surrounded with a wall of adobes or sun-burnt bricks, ten feet high, having fifteen bastions and as many curtains; it was erected by order of the viceroy of peru, duke de la palata. the streets of this city cross each other at right angles in a north-east and south-west direction, and are generally about forty feet wide. the houses, like those of lima, are generally but one story high; many of the fronts are white-washed, and some of them fancifully painted. the principal mansions have large patios in front, and an arched door-way or entrance; the insides are richly furnished, but not in the english style; long sofas, high tables, and few chairs, having an awkward appearance to a foreigner; the walls are hung with crimson damask, and the sofa and table covers are of the same material, as well as the curtains and the bed furniture. in many houses, large paintings of saints, in richly embossed silver frames, adorn the walls, and the wealth of many of the inhabitants is displayed in a profusion of wrought plate. some of the shops in _la calle del comercio_ are well stored with european manufactured goods; but, as in lima, no display of them can be made for want of windows, a convenient enticement to purchasers unknown in these parts of the new world. although the streets of this city are well laid out, of a commodious width, and lined with neat houses, they are not paved, and consequently are very dirty; some of them are nearly impassable on this account; indeed the shoes of a passenger must be filled either with sand or dirt. the plasa mayor, or great square, is very large, and has a low fountain built of stone in the centre. on the east side stands the cathedral, which is a handsome building with one steeple; the inside is richly ornamented, and a great profusion of plate and other costly articles is exhibited on solemn festivals; but, like all the cathedrals in spanish america, the site occupied by the choir destroys the effect which would otherwise be produced by the high altar standing in the central nave. this church was consecrated in the year , by the thirteenth bishop of the diocese, don fray juan de la calle y heredia. attached to the cathedral on the north side, is the sagrario or principal parish church, although always called a chapel; indeed it is the chapel of ease to the cathedral, where all the parochial duties are performed, without interfering with the choral and other religious ceremonies of the matrix. on the opposite side of the cathedral stands the palace of the bishop; it is a large old decayed building, the inside of which is fitted up in a style of antique magnificence, for every succeeding bishop has generally purchased the furniture which belonged to his predecessor. the palace has an upper story, which is occupied by the bishop and his domestics; in the lower is the ecclesiastical prison, the different offices, stables, &c. on the north-west side of the plasa are the palace of the governor, and the government offices, such as the royal treasury; the _callana_, where the plata piña is melted and stamped and the royal fifth is paid; also that of the secretary to the governor. the whole range of buildings has a low and mean appearance. the two remaining sides of the square are filled with the houses of private individuals, among which is that of the marquis of bellavista, the only title in truxillo. besides the cathedral there are three parish churches, santa ana, san sebastian, and san esteban; five conventual churches of san francisco, santo domingo, san augustin, la merced, and the ex-jesuits; and two nunneries, the barefooted carmelites, and santa clara. the convents are governed by their prelates, who are subject to their respective provinciales in lima: in the college of ex-jesuits a seminary is established, and the college of san carlos is subject to the bishop. the nuns of santa clara are under the direction of the franciscan prelate, as belonging to that order; and the carmelites are under that of the ordinary, the bishop; there is also a hospital managed by the bethlemite friars. the inhabitants of truxillo consist of a few spaniards, some white creoles, indians, negroes, and the castes arising from the mixture of these, amounting in the whole to about eight thousand souls. this city is celebrated as being the birth-place and residence of some very handsome _mulatas_ and other females of colour; indeed the features of many are very pleasing, and the castes remarkably free from those stains which not unfrequently render the complexion of coloured people so very disagreeable. truxillo is noted for its quixotic nobility; it is often said, that the body of this celebrated don was buried here; i have frequently seen in the house of a mulatto or a zambo a full-length portrait of the individual, who by a kind of faux pas caused them to emerge from the african race, and sable colour, and of whom they speak with as much respect as the _montañeses_ do of don pelayo, whose descendants they all pretend to be, or as any nobleman of england would do of ptolemy or alexander, if he fancied that he could trace his pedigree either to the egyptian astronomer or the macedonian hero. there is nothing peculiar in the dress of the inhabitants; the men wear their clothes nearly in the european style, with the addition of a cloak or a poncho; the females, unlike to those of lima, may be seen in the streets in their in-door dresses, but seldom with either hat, cap, or bonnet; their heads being usually covered with a shawl. the higher classes, and all who can afford it, have _calesas_, a close carriage on two wheels, drawn by a mule, on which the coachman rides. the general _paseo_ for the ladies is to _mansiche_, a small indian village to the northward of the city, about half a league from the walls, where they resort during the cool of the evening mounted on asses, having a kind of pack-saddle covered with very gay trappings of crimson broad-cloth or velvet, embroidered and fringed with gold or silk. the ladies ride sideways, and frequently two are mounted on the same ass, with their feet hanging on the opposite sides; one of the ladies generally wears a small spur. at mansiche they treat themselves with _picantes_, dishes highly seasoned with aji, cayenne pepper; they also drink chicha, and generally return to the city about sunset. the climate of truxillo is colder than that of lima during the winter season or the damp months, and much hotter during the summer. the market is plentifully supplied with fish, flesh meat, poultry, bread, vegetables and fruit; and is much celebrated for delicate sweetmeats, among which the preserved muscadine grapes are most esteemed. little commercial business is here transacted, and the city owes great part of its prosperity to its being the residence of the governor, the bishop, and the several persons employed in the civil and ecclesiastical departments. the jurisdiction of the gobernador intendente extends along the coast from the river saña to the river santa, and eastward to the marañon. as it includes many valleys and several mountainous districts, in it all the various climates may be found. the civic jurisdiction of the alcaldes is the same here as in other cities in the spanish colonies. the ecclesiastical jurisdiction contains thirty-one doctrinal curacies; it is in the hands of the bishop, who is assisted by his vicar-general, provisor, and the chapter, which is composed of the dean, the archdeacon, the chanter, four canons and two prebendaries. the arms of the city are a shield, azure, bearing a griffin; in the centre two columns, one blue, the other white, over water, in which there is a crown, or, crossed by two bars, argent, underneath which is the letter k. truxillo suffered very much from earthquakes on the th of february, --the th of january, --the th of october, --and the nd of september, . the last shock was very violent, and some of the valleys near the coast, which, before it happened, produced the most abundant crops of wheat, became quite sterile for more than twenty years afterwards. the plain on which the city of truxillo is built is called _del chimu_, this being the title of the sovereign chief who resided here, and signifying the powerful lord: this chief, after resisting the incas of peru from the time of lloqui yupanqui to that of pachacutec, the tenth inca, at length subjected himself, swearing allegiance to the inca at the fortalice of paramonga. in the plain are the ruins of the ancient residence of the chimu; they appear like the foundations of a large city or the walks of a garden, crossing each other at right angles, and denote the residence of the numerous tribe which formerly inhabited this site, and prove, also, that their chief had a respectable force at his command, with which he could oppose the incursions of the imperial army; this he continued to do until the incas, by gradually augmenting their army with soldiers collected from the numerous tribes, which for nearly a century they had been annexing to their empire, were able to subdue this chief of the coast. the custom of burying with the dead whatever belonged to them at their decease seems to have been prevalent among the chimu tribes, for their huacas contain utensils, arms, clothing, and treasure, exactly in the manner as those of the indians in other parts of peru. the same attention is also paid to economizing land fit for cultivation: the ruins just mentioned being situated on an elevated plain, where water could not be procured for the purpose of irrigation. in the year , a spaniard, named juan gutierres de toledo, opened a huaca, which was supposed to have been that of one of the chimus, in which he found so large a quantity of gold, that he paid into the royal treasury of truxillo nine thousand three hundred and sixty-two ounces of gold, as the royal fifth, the value of the whole being upwards of a hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling. the tradition respecting the discovery of this treasure is as follows:--toledo was a poor spaniard, who, on his arrival at huanchaco, the sea-port to truxillo, took up his residence at the house of an indian named tello: toledo was of a mild disposition, and endeavoured to conciliate the good-will of his host, which he easily accomplished; he afterwards removed to truxillo, and with the assistance of tello opened a small store; the friendship of the spaniard and the indian increased, so that toledo became godfather to one of the children of tello, which is considered to this day as the greatest favour that a white man can show to an indian. tello one day told his friend that it was in his power to repay all the kindness which he had received, and to make his friend rich by giving to him a huaca, which, after some preliminary arrangements, he did. toledo followed the directions of his friend, and found the value already mentioned in bars, and some household utensils of gold. having thanked his guide who had conducted him to the wealth he had acquired, tello told him that on a future day he would give him the great fish, the one which he had given him being only the little fish; but he died without discovering it, or giving him any clue to find it. toledo, in gratitude to the memory of his benefactor, redeemed the tribute of the indians of huauchaco by paying a certain sum of money into the treasury, the fruit of which just and generous action the indians still continue to enjoy; and a native of the village always carries with him, if he go to reside in any other part of the country, a certificate of his birth, which every where frees him from the payment of this tax. this action of tello clearly proves that a south american indian is not incapable of possessing those feelings which have been denied to their character by some of their visitors and historians. the great fish mentioned by tello is generally believed to be a mountain or large hill near to the huaca de toledo, and visible at truxillo. this hill has every appearance of having been formed by art; it stands on the sandy plain of chimu, quite isolated, and seems to be nothing but a huge portion of sand, which being poured down from an eminence would assume the shape which this mound bears. many persons have attempted excavations, but the falling down of the loose materials, of which the hill is formed, has prevented the continuation of the work. if an adit were cut through it there is little reason to doubt but that an immense treasure would be found. humboldt speaks of the same experiment being worthy of attention when describing the teocalli of cholula. the sea-port to truxillo is called huanchaco; it is a roadstead in which the anchorage is not good, and where the landing, owing to the surf, is attended with considerable inconvenience; this, however, might be partly removed by the erection of a pier, which will probably be effected when the commerce with this part of peru becomes interesting. the latitude of huanchaco is ° ´--the church, which stands on an eminence, is an excellent land-mark. the valleys of chimu, chicama, and viru, may be considered as one, being separated from each other only by the branches of the chicama river. united they are about twenty-eight leagues long and eleven broad; their soil, irrigated by the waters of the river, is very fertile, producing most abundant crops of wheat, maize and other pulse, as well as grapes, olives, sugar-cane, plantains, pine-apples, lucumas, guavas, mamey apples, custard apples, tumbos, chirimoyas, guanabanas, together with a variety of esculents, potatoes, camotes, yucas, radishes, &c. formerly the valley of chicama was called the granary of peru, and until the great earthquake in , the wheat produced its seed two hundred fold; this valley alone harvested annually two hundred thousand bushels of this grain. here are many sugar plantations, but for want of hands they are not so well cultivated, and consequently not so productive as those in the valleys in the neighbourhood of lima and pisco. little doubt can be entertained but that this beautiful and fruitful valley, at some future period, will become one of the most interesting settlements on the coast of peru, on account of its great extent, the quality of its soil, and the abundance of water. cotton and rice appear to claim particular attention, but their cultivation has hitherto been little promoted. i left truxillo with the _chasquero_, postman, which is a commodious and quick way of travelling, and especially if the person has no luggage, or can trust it to a muleteer to follow him; because the postman demands a horse or a mule at each stage, for which is paid a real, or one-eighth of a dollar per league. after travelling along the valley of chicama about eight leagues, we stopped at a small village, called simbal, changed horses for mules, and then began to ascend the _cuesta_; we continued to travel in this manner, with now and then a small descent or a little level road, till we arrived at contumasá, at ten o'clock at night, having ridden twenty-one leagues in eleven hours. although the latter part of the road appeared rugged from the frequent stumbling of the mules, i was obliged to allow mine to take its own choice, because for the last three hours the darkness prevented me from seeing how to direct it. the village of contumasá is situated on an eminence where the climate is much colder than that which i had just left; the houses are either thatched or tiled, and the whole of the country, habitations and people, appear different. the glow of a tropical sky at sunrise and sunset was changed to a pale blue, with light white clouds, or more dense ones charged with rain; the houses were so constructed as to exclude the rain and the cold; the clothing of the inhabitants was calculated to answer the same end, and all indicated a change like that from summer to winter; but the transition was so sudden, although expected, that in the morning, when i went into the corridor of the house where i had slept, i could not help looking on all around me with a certain degree of surprize. this village is composed of a long street, a plasa, and a church; some of the houses have a neat comfortable appearance, but the inhabitants are said to be somewhat akin to the conchucanos. after taking mate, with some bread and cheese, we left contumasá, and arrived in the evening at a hamlet called la magdalena, situate in the bottom of a deep valley; the climate is very hot, and is considered unhealthy; small patches of sugar-cane, yucas, camotes, and some of the fruits of the coast, are here cultivated. at a small distance from the hamlet there are some abandoned gold mines, called _de los portugueses_: it is said that they were formerly wrought by some natives of portugal, and belonged to the unfortunate juan bautista, a portuguese jew, who was burnt by the inquisition of lima in . we changed mules at la magdalena, and immediately began to ascend the cuesta by a winding road, some parts of which are very steep; having gained the summit, and travelled about three leagues across the top of the mountain, covered with long dry grass, _pajon_, we reached the cumbe, an eminence from which the valley and city of caxamarca form a most beautiful prospect. the valley of caxamarca is about five leagues long, and three broad in its widest part, forming an irregular oval. many white country houses present themselves, and numberless ranches of the indians; the whole plain is intersected with green hedges, which divide it into several hundreds of small plots of ground, all apparently in the highest state of cultivation, at least all bearing most luxurious crops: the river winds along the valley from one extremity to the other, bursting as it were from the embraces of the hills at one end; after gambolling along the valley, distributing health and vigour to the vegetable tribes, it again sinks into the arms of the mountains at the other. the city presents a most delightful prospect in the foreground at the foot of the cumbe; the spacious streets, intersecting each other at right angles, the large plasa mayor in the centre of the city, the spires and domes of the churches, and the neatly tiled houses, all contribute to enhance the beauty of the view; while at a short distance from the city, in the back part, vapours are continually rising from the hot baths. not only is the sight of caxamarca very interesting, but feelings of sympathy swell the bosom of the stranger who looks on it;--it brings to his recollection the unmerited sufferings and death of the inca atahualpa, who here fell a sacrifice to the unparalleled treachery and detestable cruelty of the spanish conqueror, pizarro. after a rather tedious descent, we arrived at the city, and as i determined to remain here for some time, for the purpose of visiting whatever might appear to me interesting, i took apartments in a private house, where i remained during my stay in this part of america, and where i soon became like one of the family--enjoying every kindness my good host could lavish on me, for all which he would only accept a trifling recompense. the name of this city is derived from _cassacmalca_, place of frost; however, the climate is very benign, the maximum of the thermometer during my stay being ° of fahrenheit, and the minimum °; but it more probably obtained its name from the blights occasioned by the frosty winds from the east, which are very injurious to vegetation. here is a parish church, called _la matris_, belonging to the white inhabitants, dedicated to santa catalina; it is a handsome edifice of stone, neatly wrought; the front is very much ornamented with carved work, in good sand stone; it has three doors opening into the three naves of the church. the interior is neat, but not rich; the whole expence of the building was defrayed by an order of charles ii. from the royal treasury, during the viceroyalty of the duque de la palata. the two parishes of indians are san jose and san pedro: to the former in was given the beautiful conventual church of san antonio, which formerly belonged to the franciscans. here are the conventual churches of san diego and la merced; the nunnery of la concepcion, and a hospital belonging to the bethlemites. the church of san antonio is a fine structure, approaching to the chaste gothic style; the two rows of pillars in the interior that support the roof, which is composed of some light groined arches, are slender, and the whole effect is very pleasing; it has much the appearance of a small cathedral, unencumbered with the central choir; the whole building is of white stone, dug from a quarry near to the city. the church and convent of san diego are remarkably neat stone buildings; the cloisters, cells, kitchens, and other offices are arched with stone; and the extensive gardens belonging to them are enclosed with walls of the same wrought material. it belongs to the grey friars of san francisco, but seldom more than two or three reside here. it once happened, that there were no other residents than the guardian, or prelate, and a lay brother, who was an andalusian; the former thought proper to threaten the latter with corporal punishment; when he immediately replied to his superior, that if he did not moderate his anger, he would deprive him of his superiority. but how? exclaimed the enraged prelate: by hanging my habit on a peg, and leaving your fathership without an inferior, replied the _donado_. the church belonging to the nunnery _de la concepcion_ is a handsome new structure; at the time of my present visit to caxamarca it was not finished, but when i returned in it had been consecrated, and divine service was then performed in it. the church belonging to the hospital is built of carved stone, and a profusion of workmanship ornaments the front of the building. here are two wards, or rather two hospitals; that for men is within the cloisters of the convent, and that for women is a separate stone building, divided from the convent by a street. the surgeon is paid from the indian tribute, and few but indians go to the hospital. the population of this city is composed of white people and indians, a small number of negroes, and the mixed breeds; the excess is in favour of the indians and mestisos, called here quinteros; the total amount is about seven thousand. here are some descendants of spanish nobility, particularly the family of bonifas, who are the lineal descendants of the family of ximenes, to which the cardinal ximenes, regent of spain to the emperor charles v. belonged, and who are in possession of many interesting papers, which were the property of that celebrated statesman. among the indians is the family of the cacique astopilco; they claim a lineal descent from the inca atahualpa, and inhabit part of the palace which was formerly occupied by the imperial family, the place where atahualpa was murdered. the generality of the inhabitants are industrious, and their workmanship in silver and iron is deserving of much praise. i have seen many very handsome sword blades and daggers made here, pocket steels, and bridle bits most curiously wrought, beside several well finished pistol and gun locks; on this account the caxamarquinos are often called the biscayans of south america. literature would prosper here were it properly cultivated; the natives are fond of instruction, and scholars are not rare; many of the richer inhabitants send their children to truxillo and lima to be educated. kindness, hospitality, and innocent amusements, characterize the citizens of caxamarca, and some of the most agreeable hours of my life have been spent in this town. i cannot avoid giving the description of a visit to a most eccentric character, a native of this place, who resided at a sugar plantation, of which he was proprietor, about nine leagues from caxamarca. i had often been pressed by my friend to visit san pablo; and having appointed the day, two mules arrived the preceding evening, one for myself and one for a nephew to my host, don mariano alvites. on the following morning, at five o'clock, we mounted, with two black men as an escort, carrying their long lances, as if any danger could be apprehended on the road. having arrived at the top of a mountain, which we were obliged to cross, it began to rain, and our descent on the opposite side was attended with considerable danger; however we arrived safely at the bottom; our mules had often to bring their hind feet close to their fore feet, and then resting on their haunches they would slide down a distance of from twenty to forty yards at a time. we halted a few minutes at the bottom, when one of the negroes pointing to a small house about two miles off, said, my _amo_, master or owner, waits your arrival at that house which stands on the border of his estate, where he intends to welcome you on your arrival, and where a breakfast is prepared. we walked our mules leisurely along, and shortly heard the report of a camareta; this is a small mortar, having a two or three inch bore, and about eight inches deep, at the bottom of which is a touch hole; it has a handle, and looks very much like a large tankard; it is loaded with powder, and then filled with dry clay, which is beat very hard with a mallet; it is then placed on its end with the mouth upwards, and a train is laid to it; when fired the report is equal to that of an eight pounder. such a report a little surprised me, and the sound, which re-echoed from the mountains on every side, had a very pleasing effect. alvites now said to me, my uncle is in a good humour, prepare yourself to be more teased with his peculiarities than what we now are with the rain. about a mile from the small house we could see our friend don manuel de verastegui, y oliva, advancing slowly and majestically, like a lord mayor's procession, to meet us: had cervantes witnessed this sight, there is no doubt but he would have taken him for the knight of his enchanting romance. at the distance of eight or ten yards our friend alighted from his dappled charger, and approached to salute us; we remained on our mules, enjoying his profound bow, hat in hand, and "a more unpleasant morning," said he, "never brought to san pablo, the humble residence of don manuel de verastegui, two more welcome visitors than those whom i have now the honour to address; allow me to say, you are indeed welcome;" when, without waiting a reply, he remounted his steed, and we trotted along to his rancho. this kind old gentleman was dressed in a coat, waistcoat and breeches of blue velveteen; the coat being lined with catalonian chintz, full of large red flowers on a white ground; the huge buttons on his coat and waistcoat were of silver; he had on a pair of high military boots, and had a small triangular cocked hat on his head; his hair was curled on the sides, and tied behind in a long cue, _a lo militar de carlos iii._; a silver-hilted trusty toledano was girt to his side by a broad black belt, which passed round his waist; he appeared to be about sixty, and in stature he might be six feet; he was also remarkably slender and very upright. his saddle trappings were of crimson cloth, ornamented with silver lace and fringe. two blacks accompanied him on horseback, the one held a huge crimson umbrella over his head, while the other rode before him with his lance, _hasta de rejon_: they were both in old liveries, and wore cocked hats with yellow worsted lace, but were bare-legged. on our arrival at the lodge, if so i may call it, we were saluted with another camareta, and shortly after we rode under the corridor and alighted. several negro boys immediately took our ponchos and hats to the kitchen to dry, and we entered and sat down to a very sumptuous breakfast; a roasted kid hot, boiled turkey cold, collared pig, ham and tongue, with butter, cheese and olives, besides which, wine and brandy, _pisco_, and several _liquers_ were on the table; tea, coffee, and chocolate, were afterwards brought in, and a cup of each was placed before every one of us. after breakfast we again mounted, and the rain having ceased, our ride to the farm-house was very agreeable. on our arrival, the lady of the house came into the corridor to receive us, with her two daughters. doña casimira and doña rosaria, each upwards of thirty years old: we alighted, and after the first ceremonious salutations were over, we retired to two rooms prepared for us, and changed part of our dress, having taken the precaution of bringing linen with us from caxamarca. when we returned to the drawing-room, our host had changed his dress also: he now wore a very old-fashioned green velvet full-dress, almost covered with embroidery and spangles. doña casimira sat down to a harpsichord, and played several pretty airs, and her sister afterwards sung some _tristes_ to her guitar. as the ground was wet. don manuel proposed a dance before dinner and a walk afterwards; this was assented to, and i danced a minuet with doña rosaria; alvites excused himself; but our host and hostess walked a minuet, to my no small diversion. we had a very sumptuous dinner, walked out during the afternoon, and in the evening were joined by a party of about twenty persons; after which we continued dancing, singing, and feasting till daylight, when my companion and i returned to caxamarca, don manuel accompanying us to the lodge, where he most ceremoniously thanked us for favouring him with our company, and then wished us a pleasant ride. the market of caxamarca is well supplied with flesh meat, poultry, bread, grain, vegetables, fruit, and every necessary, all of which are cheap: cheese and butter are plentiful; of the latter a fresh supply is brought from the country every day. some very fine fruits are also obtained from the valleys, such as paltas, the vegetable marrow, chirimoyas, and pine-apples, particularly from that part called _de las balsas_, where the road to chachapoyas crosses the marañon. this city carries on a considerable trade with lambayeque and other places on the coast, furnishing them with the different home manufactured articles; such as baizes, bayetones, _pañetes_, a kind of coarse cloth, blankets, flannels, tocuyos, &c., and receiving in return european manufactures, soap, sugar, cocoa, brandy, wine, indigo, _hierba de paraguay_, salted fish, iron, steel, &c. the inhabitants of the interior resort to caxamarca as a kind of mart, for the purpose of selling their own produce and manufactures, and for purchasing others which they may require; hence, a considerable trade is carried on, and some of the shops are well stored with european goods, similar to those which i mentioned when speaking of huaras. articles of a superior quality are in demand here, for the poorer classes wear their own manufactures; but the richer dress in european goods of the best quality. at the distance of a league from caxamarca are the baths of the inca: two comfortable dwelling houses are built of stone on the two sides of a large patio, each having an extensive bath: that on the right hand is five yards square, and two deep. the sides and bottom are formed of roughly hewn stone, having steps at two of the corners, leading down from two doors, which open to different parts of the house; and others in the centre of the opposite side, communicating by a door with a large room. on the left is another bath, smaller than this; it is called _de los pobres_, and it has convenient rooms also attached to it. at the entrance to the patio is a corridor to the right and left, which serves as a stable; and in the front there are two kitchens, and a passage that leads through the building. it was at these baths that the unfortunate atahualpa resided when pizarro arrived at caxamarca. the spring of hot water, called _el tragadero_, is at the back of the building, and is at the distance of two hundred and thirty yards from it; it is circular, of five yards in diameter; i sounded it with fifty yards of rope, but found no bottom; the land all round it to the distance of more than a mile is almost level, declining a very little towards the river, which runs at the distance of four hundred yards from the tragadero. the water appears to boil, but having only one thermometer with me, and being fearful of damaging it where its place could not easily be supplied with another, i did not measure its heat. the natives scald their pigs here when they kill them, and as i have observed that boiling water rather fastens the bristles on the skin, i concluded that the heat of the water is below the temperature at which it generally boils when heated in the ordinary way. i filled two tin coffee pots, the one with water from the tragadero, the other with water from a cold spring; i placed them together on the same fire, and observed that the cold and the hot water began to boil precisely at the same time. i placed an egg in the tragadero, secured in a small net, and allowed it to remain eight minutes; it was then quite hard and the yolk dry. i allowed another to remain three minutes, which when broken was soft; i placed another in the hot water, allowed it to remain three minutes, and put it immediately into boiling water on a fire with a cold raw egg; after boiling five minutes they were both equally hard, and when cut no difference could be observed except in the taste;--the one which had been placed in the tragadero had a slight clayey taste, somewhat similar to that of water which has passed over a bed of clay. the water of the tragadero empties itself into a channel three feet wide, and on an average six inches deep, which from several experiments i observed to run at the rate of three feet in a second. by this experiment it appears, that about thirty hogsheads of water are discharged in a minute. along the sides of the channel the grass and other vegetables, particularly the ichu, grow to the very margin of the stream; and the fields of lucern which are irrigated with this water, at the distance of five hundred yards from the tragadero, are the finest in the valley. the fruit trees also that grow in the gardens belonging to the baths, apples, pears and peaches, are never subject to the blight from the frosty air so common in the neighbourhood; being apparently protected by the steam which continually rises from the hot water. the principal stream contains many small fishes of a black colour, very much in shape like small shrimps; if these be put into cold water they immediately die. they appear to be continually swimming up the stream, as if to avoid being carried by it to the confluence of the cold stream from the santa rosa springs with that of the tragadero, where they would most certainly perish. the water which flows from the spring called de santa rosa, which is only seventy-two yards from the tragadero, is always at ° of fahrenheit at the mouth of the spring, where it bursts from a rock. the baths are supplied with water of any temperature, by mixing the hot from the tragadero with the cold from santa rosa; and as there is an outlet at the bottom as well as at the top of each bath, a constant supply of fresh water is maintained. chapter v. historical sketch of caxamarca, huaina capac, huascar inca, and atahualpa....arrival of pizarro at tumpis....at caxamarca.... spanish embassy....harangue of soto....answer of atahualpa....visit of atahualpa to pizarro....discourse of friar vicente valverde, to atahualpa....answer of atahualpa....imprisonment of....offered ransom of....cause of the jealousy of pizarro....arrivals of treasure....accusation, for the trial of atahualpa....sentence, baptism, execution, and burial of....interesting remains in caxamarca. caxamarca is a place interesting in the history of peru; it was here that the inca atahualpa resided when pizarro landed at tumpis, now tumbes, in the mouth of the guayaquil river. the residence of atahualpa at this place was accidental, as will appear from the following historical sketch, which i have endeavoured to make as correct as possible, with the assistance of the works of garcilaso, gomara, zarate, and others; collated with the oral traditions of the indians of this province, and particularly the cacique astopilco, as well as those of quito. huaina capac having conquered the kingdom of quito, married paccha-chire, daughter of the quitu, or king of that country; she bore him a son, who was named atahualpa, whom some writers have erroneously called atabalipa, atalipa, and atalpa. his eldest son, by his wife, the empress rava ocllo, born at cusco, was called inte guri hualpa; but on the day of the apu-ñaca, he was named huascar, under which name he is always known as inca of peru. huaina capac died at quito, and left to atahualpa all that territory which had formerly belonged to the quitu; and to huascar the remaining part of the empire, on condition that atahualpa should do homage to his brother huascar, as legitimate descendant of the sun. the disappointment of huascar at finding a brother whom he had considered a bastard thus elevated, made him determine on his destruction; but he first procured a delay which might allow him to assemble his troops, and at the same time to probe the intention of atahualpa. he therefore sent a messenger to inform him, that by the will of their father, he and his kingdom were tributary to the inca of cusco; and that, as he intended, so soon as the great feast held on the day on which the sun passed the zenith of cusco was over, to extend his conquests to the southward, he required a certain number of armed men from quito, as a tributary quota. atahualpa perceived the drift of the subterfuge, and determined to avail himself of this opportunity to forward his own views, and to acquire to himself the sole sovereignty, which he perceived was the aim of his brother. he sent a considerable force, with orders not to enter cusco, but to remain in the neighbourhood, and to conduct themselves as men sent to assist huascar in his future conquests; but on the day of the great festival, to enter the city, and when all were employed in the religious rites of the day, to possess themselves of the inca, and to bring him as his prisoner. atahualpa, with another army, proceeded to caxamarca, to await the result of the expedition sent to cusco; they succeeded in taking huascar; and the imperial insignia, a red tassel, which the inca always wore on solemn occasions, hanging on his forehead, was sent to atahualpa, who was now considered as inca of peru. at this time the spaniards had landed in peru, at tumbes, and after possessing themselves, not without great opposition on the part of the natives, of that place, pizarro began his march towards the south. atahualpa was at caxamarca, and his brother huascar prisoner at andamarca, about forty leagues from pachacamac. atahualpa immediately sent his brother titu atanchi as his ambassador to pizarro, with most magnificent presents, including two golden bracelets worn only by the incas, to welcome the arrival of the viracochas, to solicit their protection, and to invite them to visit him at caxamarca. huascar at the same time, although a prisoner, found means to send his ambassadors to pizarro, informing him of the situation in which he was placed by atahualpa, and craving his protection. pizarro now found himself the arbiter of the fate of two monarchs, both soliciting his friendship and protection, and each alleging his own right to the empire of peru; but pizarro determined that it should not belong to either of them, and the only thing that engrossed his attention was the safest and easiest means of possessing himself of the treasures of both. he therefore determined to go first to caxamarca, judging that the reigning inca would be in possession of the greater wealth, and hernando pizarro was afterwards sent to pachacamac. francisco pizarro pushed forward to caxamarca, where he arrived with a hundred and sixty soldiers. at this time atahualpa was at the baths, and pizarro sent to him as his ambassadors his brother hernando pizarro and hernando de soto, and as interpreter an indian named felipe, a native of the puná island, in the guayaquil river; these were accompanied by two hundred noble indians, appointed by the curaca of caxamarca to attend on them; atahualpa being informed of the approach of the two spaniards, ordered one of his generals to form his troops and do them the honors due to the children of the sun. on their arrival at the palace they were immediately presented to atahualpa, who embraced them, and said, "welcome, great viracochas, to these my regions!" and having two seats covered with gold brought in, he ordered them to sit down. atahualpa then, speaking to his courtiers, said, "behold the countenance, the figure, and the dress of our god, the same which appeared to my antecessor inca viracocha, and whose arrival was also predicted by my father, huaina capac." a species of wine was brought, and the inca taking one of the golden goblets, the other was given to herando pizarro, to whom the inca bowed, and drank a small quantity, giving the goblet to his brother titu atanchi, who drank the remainder; two more were then brought, and the inca taking one, sent the other to soto, to whom he bowed, and drank a little of the beverage, and gave the goblet to his other brother, choquehuaman. different kinds of fruit were then presented to the ambassadors, of which they partook with atahualpa. hernando de soto rose, bowed to atahualpa, resumed his seat, and delivered his embassy, stating, that "in this world there were two most potent princes, the one was the high pontiff of rome, vicar-general to, and representative of god on earth, who governed his church and taught his divine law. the other was charles v. emperor of the romans and king of spain. these two monarchs," said soto, "being informed of the blind idolatry of your highness and all your subjects, have sent our governor and captain-general don francisco pizarro, his companions, and some priests, the ministers of god, to teach your highness and your vassals the divine truths of our holy religion, and to establish with your highness everlasting relationship, concord and peace." to this harangue, interpreted by felipe, the inca answered to the following effect:--"divine men, i am most heartily glad that you and your companions have arrived at these regions during the days of my life, for your arrival has fulfilled the vaticination of my forefathers, but my soul is sorrowful, because others must also be now fulfilled; notwithstanding, viracochas, i welcome ye as the missioners of our god, and hope that the changes prophesied by my father, huaina capac, and now about to take place, will lead to the good of myself and my people; it was on this account that neither i nor my captains have opposed your progress, as the natives of puná and tumpis did, because we believe you to be the children of our great god viracocha, and messengers of the eternal all-creating pachacamac--in obedience to our laws, and to the orders and injunctions of my father, we have received ye, and will serve and worship ye; but have pity on me and on my people, whose affliction or death would be more distressing to me than my own." pizarro and soto begged leave to retire to their own camp at caxamarca, and atahualpa embraced them, and said, that he should soon follow them, to enjoy the company of the children of his god, viracocha, the messengers of the great pachacamac. when the two spaniards had mounted their horses, presents of gold were carried to them by several noble indians, who begged of their divinities to receive those humble marks of their respect and adoration. pizarro and soto then repaired to caxamarca with their rich presents, astonished at the enormous quantities of gold which they had seen at the palace of atahualpa. on the following day, pizarro placed his cavalry, composed of sixty men, on each side of the square of caxamarca, behind some high walls: in the centre of the square he had built a small breastwork, behind which he placed his two field-pieces, and behind these he stationed his infantry, a hundred men, and thus awaited the arrival of the inca. atahualpa made his appearance on a throne of gold, carried on the shoulders of his courtiers and favourites, with a guard of eight thousand of his soldiers in front, eight thousand on each side, and eight thousand more in the rear, besides an immense number of nobles and attendants. the troops were commanded by rumiñavi, who advanced in front, and acted as herald. friar vicente valverde stepped forward a short distance in front of the spanish infantry, holding a cross of palm leaves in his right hand, and waited the arrival of atahualpa, who was surprized to see a figure so different from the strangers whom he had seen the preceding day; and being informed by felipe, the interpreter, that valverde was the captain of words, and the guide to the supreme pachacamac, and his messenger, atahualpa approached, when valverde began his most extraordinary harangue, requesting felipe to translate it to the inca as he proceeded to deliver it. "know, most famous and most powerful inca, that it is necessary and requisite that thou and thine be taught the true catholic faith, and that ye now hear and believe what follows. "first, that god, trinity in unity, created the heavens and the earth, and all things in and on them; that he will reward the good with life everlasting, and the bad with interminable punishment. this god created man out of the dust of this earth, and gave him a soul, which is the likeness of god himself; so that every man has a body and a soul. "the first man was called adam, whose children we all are. this adam sinned against the commandment of his creator, and in him all men that have been born, and that shall be born, sinned also; excepting jesus christ, who is the son of god, and the virgin mary, who came to redeem us from the bondage of sin, and at last died on a cross that we might live. the cross was like unto this which i hold in my hand and show to thee, that thou with all christians may adore and reverence it. "jesus christ rose from the dead, and after living again on earth the space of forty days, he went up into heaven, and sat himself down on the right hand of his father; he left on earth his apostles, who left their successors to teach the true religion, and guide all men to heaven. "saint peter was appointed the prince of the apostles and the vicar of christ, and after him his successors the pontiffs of rome, whom the christians call popes, who have the authority of christ on earth, and who always have and do preach to, and teach all men the word of god. "whereas the pope who is now living on this earth, knowing that the people of these countries did not serve the true god, but worshipped idols and the likenesses of the devil, hath determined to bring them to the true knowledge of religion, and he hath given the conquest of these countries to charles v. emperor of the romans, the most powerful king of spain, and monarch of all the earth, to the end that he, having subjected to himself all these people, their kings and lords, and destroyed all rebels, may reign and govern all these nations alone, and bring them to the knowledge of god and to obey his church. our most powerful king, although employed in the government of his great kingdoms and provinces, accepted the gift of the pope, for the sake of the health of these people, and has sent his captains and soldiers to execute his will, as they have done in former times, in the conquest of the great islands and countries of mexico, having overcome them with his powerful arms, and brought them to the true religion of jesus christ, which he was ordered by god to oblige them to embrace. "wherefore the great emperor charles v. appointed as his lieutenant and ambassador don francisco pizarro, who is here present, that these the kingdoms of your highness may receive the like benefits; as also to form a perpetual confederation, alliance, and friendship, between his majesty and your highness, in such manner, that your highness and your kingdoms may become tributary to him, that is, by paying tribute ye may become his subjects; also that you may surrender to him every part of your territory, and renounce the administration and government of it, in the same manner as other kings and lords have done. this is the first condition: the second is, that peace and friendship being established, and you subjected either by will or by force, shall truly obey the pope, and receive and believe the faith of our god, jesus christ, and despise and totally abjure the abominable superstition of your idols; you will then soon observe how holy our religion is, and how false your own, which was invented by the devil. all this, oh king! if you believe, you must freely surrender yourself, because, to you and yours, it is of great importance; and if you object to it, know that you will be persecuted with a war of destruction: all your idols shall be thrown down upon the ground, and we will force you with the sword to abandon your false religion, whether ye will or not; and you _shall_ receive our catholic faith, and you _shall_ pay tribute to our king. should you obstinately resist this, believe me, that god will permit, as he formerly did when pharaoh and his host perished in the red sea, that you and all your indians perish by the edge of our swords." felipe, the interpreter of this discourse, was a native of the puná, where the quichua language generally spoken in peru was not understood; and what little he knew of it he had learnt of some peruvians, who at different times had visited his native island. the spanish that he spoke he had acquired during the time he had lived among the soldiers whom he served; thus it cannot be expected that he gave to atahualpa a faithful translation of this absurd harangue, equally filled with incomprehensible matter, furious bombast, and unjust threats; indeed many mistakes are recorded, such as one god, trinity in unity, which he translated one god, and three, four gods; that god made dust of man on the earth, which they could not possibly understand; and many other like passages were rendered equally ridiculous. the impossibility of translating the words trinity, unity, jesus christ, virgin mary, roman pontiff, emperor of the romans, &c. is quite obvious, for they could bear no translation at all, and a description of their meaning was as much above the powers of felipe, and perhaps of valverde himself to explain, as the comprehension of atahualpa to understand, who now for the first time heard that such things did exist. when atahualpa had heard the conclusion of this rodomontade fulminated by father valverde, he sighed, and said, "ah! atay"--ah! how hard; and after a short pause, he addressed himself thus to valverde: "i should feel happy, although every other request were denied me, if one were but granted: procure a better interpreter, that i may be enabled to understand what you have said; and that you may be better informed of what i wish to say. i make this request, because i am certain that this meeting ought to produce other things than what this fellow has repeated to me. from what i have heard, it appears that you have come to destroy the race of the incas, and put to the sword all the indians who do not understand you. if you are the ministers of vengeance of pachacamac, and come to destroy me and mine, fulfil his orders--none of us fear death, and the vaticination of my father brings us to meet you unarmed. "your interpreter has informed me of five great men, whom i wish to know, god, trinity in unity, four gods; adam, on whom all men threw their sins; jesus christ, the only man that did not assist in loading adam; pope, roman pontiff; and carlos quinto, king of all the world; but he tells me, that i am to give my country and my people, and pay tribute to carlos, and not to any of the other four. i am also told, that i must abjure my religion, and believe in jesus christ, who died. if this be true, i cannot forget the great pachacamac, who made our god, the sun, immortal, unless i learn who has told you what i have heard from your interpreter." this answer was translated by felipe in short sentences, as atahualpa spoke them; who perceiving the ignorance of felipe, endeavoured by this method to prevent a misconstruction of his words. on hearing the last question, valverde gave his breviary to atahualpa, and told him through felipe, that that book informed him of all that he wanted to know respecting the true god. the inca folded over the leaves, examined the book, placed it against his ear and listened, then said, "it is false, it cannot and does not speak," when he let it fall. at this, valverde cried out, "to arms, christians! these infidel dogs have insulted the minister of your redeemer, the word of god is thrown under foot--revenge! revenge!" the soldiers immediately rushed on their unsuspecting victims; pizarro flew to atahualpa, well aware that the preservation of his life was of the utmost importance; but upwards of twenty thousand indians fell, before the fury of the spanish soldiery could be restrained, or their more than barbarous thirst for blood was glutted. during this scene of horror, the afflicted atahualpa exhorted his people to resign themselves to the will of pachacamac, which he himself was willing to do, and not to lift up their hands against the viracochas; thus, he exclaimed, will the vaticination of my forefathers be fulfilled. what a contrast! a minister of the meek, the blessed jesus, the saviour of the gentiles, calling on an unfeeling soldiery to satiate their blood-thirsty cruelty in murdering those very people whom his divine master said that he came to redeem! while a king and a father beholds the carnage of his people, and his children, and bows his head to the believed decree of his god, and the prophecy of his forefathers! here the christian calls aloud, "crucify him! crucify him!" while the pious gentile seems to say, "forgive them, father, for they know not what they do." pizarro and a soldier, called miguel astete, arrived at the same moment close to the throne of atahualpa, when pizarro caught hold of the robes of the inca, and dragged him to the ground; astete plucked the red tassel from his forehead, and kept it till the year , when he delivered it to the inca sayritupac. after the slaughter, the spanish soldiers proceeded to plunder, and while pizarro was attentive to secure the inca, part of his troops proceeded to the baths, where atahualpa resided, and possessed themselves of all the gold and silver which they could find: the weight of gold taken at the baths, and accounted for, amounted to fifteen thousand ounces. atahualpa was directly removed to a room in his own palace at caxamarca, and loaded with irons. pizarro immediately sent his brother hernando to visit huascar in his prison, and to endeavour to secure the treasure that he might be possessed of; but whether the indians belonging to atahualpa, who had heard of the situation of their inca, suspected that pizarro intended to put atahualpa to death, and place huascar on the throne; or whether hernando pizarro endeavoured to deprive the guard of their prisoner, is uncertain; but some misunderstanding having taken place, an indian struck huascar with his axe, of which wound he immediately died. atahualpa having observed that the spaniards were more covetous of gold than of any thing which his kingdom produced, proposed to pizarro a ransom for himself; standing on his feet, he raised his hand, and placing it on the wall, he said, "to this mark will i fill this room with vessels of gold, if you will free me from these chains and from this prison." to this pizarro agreed, and messengers were sent to quito, cusco, and different parts of the country, for the purpose of collecting the gold and sending it to caxamarca. some of the spanish officers went with the messengers of atahualpa, and when they returned they described the number of indians which the country contained, and the universal obedience to the inca in such terms, that they fancied a general rising would take place, and instead of gold, they would bring their arms and put all the spaniards to death; that atahualpa had deceived them, and was a traitor, and as such ought to be punished. pizarro opposed this for some time, till an accident occurred which touched his pride, and made atahualpa personally odious to him. some of the spanish officers had written the word god on the hand of the inca, and when he shewed it to any one, the person would point upwards; at length he shewed it to pizarro, who could neither read nor write, and was therefore unable to make any sign of the meaning of the word. atahualpa was surprised, and pizarro was abashed; his feelings were wounded, and he began to hate the man who had discovered him to be more ignorant than his inferiors. atahualpa began to forebode his doom, and became dejected; his own servants were not permitted to wait on him; their places were supplied with indians who had attached themselves to the spanish camp; some of whom were unacquainted with the quichua language, had never been the vassals of atahualpa, and all of them were inclined to insult him. the indians began to arrive from different parts, bringing with them the gold which they had been assured would ransom their captive monarch; but that which by them was destined to save his life was changed by his cruel masters into the cause of his death. from the number of indians who arrived daily, the spaniards began to fear a revolution in favour of their prisoner: they had already received an enormous quantity of gold; huascar was dead, and pizarro presumed, that by securing to himself the possession of the country, he should consequently become master of the treasures which it contained. he therefore determined to bring atahualpa to trial; for which purpose, he constituted himself president of the court, and nominated the other members. the following is a copy of the charges exhibited against the unfortunate atahualpa, on the baseness of which all comment is unnecessary--the mere reading must draw from every sympathizing heart detestation of the inhuman proposer and promoter. that huaina capac having had several wives, and huascar inca, being the first-born of his empress rava ocllo, was the legitimate heir to the empire, and atahualpa not the son of huaina capac, but the bastard of some indian of quito. that atahualpa did not inherit the empire according to the will of his father, but was an usurper and a tyrant; and that huascar was the lawful inca, according to the will of his father and the right of inheritance. that huascar had been murdered by order of atahualpa, after the arrival of the spaniards. that atahualpa was an idolater, and obliged his vassals to sacrifice human beings to his idols. that atahualpa had waged unjust wars, and thereby murdered many indians. that atahualpa had kept many concubines. that atahualpa had recovered, spent, and lavished in excesses the tributes of the empire, after the spaniards had taken possession of it, giving to his relations and friends treasure belonging to the public funds. that atahualpa had, during his imprisonment, advised his captains and indians to rebel against the spaniards, and put them to death, for which purpose he had mustered a considerable force of armed indians. after this shameful libel had been read to the court by sancho de cuellar, pizarro stated, that all those who should now attempt to defend the life of atahualpa were traitors to the crown of castile and to the emperor, their master, and might be justly accused of opposing the increase of his kingdom and revenue. that the death of the tyrant atahualpa would secure to castile an empire, and to all present their lives and fortunes. that if any one opposed his death, it should be reported to his majesty, that he might reward his faithful servants, and punish those who endeavoured to deprive him of his right. after this diabolical harangue, it is almost unnecessary to say, that the unfortunate atahualpa was sentenced to death. atahualpa was immediately informed of his fate, and told, that if he were baptized, he would be put to an honourable death, such as was inflicted on noblemen in all civilized countries; but if he refused to receive this sacrament, he would be burnt to death: hearing this, he desired friar vicente valverde to baptize him: the friar complied with the request, and called him juan atahualpa. he was then led out to the place of execution, in front of his own palace, where he was tied to a pole, and strangled; and his body received christian burial on the spot where he was murdered, notwithstanding his last request--that he might be carried to quito, and buried in the tomb of his forefathers. pizarro attended the execution of his prisoner, afterwards wore mourning for him, and ordered his exequies to be performed with all possible pomp. it may perhaps be satisfactory to some of my readers to mention here, that pizarro was afterwards murdered by his own countrymen at lima; and father valverde, by the indians of quispicancha. according to zarate, the treasure which had been brought for the ransom of atahualpa, and which fell into the hands of pizarro, amounted to four hundred and ninety-eight thousand ounces of fine silver, and one million five hundred and ninety-one ounces of gold. the places in caxamarca worthy the notice of a visitor, as having been connected with the fate of atahualpa, are a large room, part of the old palace, and now the residence of the cacique astopilco, where this ill-fated monarch was kept a prisoner for the space of three months, or from the first day of his meeting pizarro to the day on which he was murdered by order of that general; in this room also is the mark which he made on the wall, promising to fill it to that height with silver and gold as a ransom. in the chapel belonging to the common gaol, which was formerly part of the palace, the altar stands on the stone on which atahualpa was placed by the spaniards and strangled, and under which he was buried. near the fountain in the plasa are still visible the foundation stones of the small battery erected by pizarro, in the front of which valverde delivered his famous harangue to the inca, and whence he commanded the spanish soldiers to massacre the indians. about a league from the city are the baths where atahualpa was living when pizarro arrived; the one on the right hand is called the bath of the inca. near to the baths there is also a farm house belonging ( ) to doña mercedes arce, where there are many ruins of what appears to have been a granary or store belonging to the inca; here are many excavations, in some of which there are marks on the stones of one thousand, two thousand, &c.--this has induced some people to search for treasure, but none has ever yet been found. at the distance of two leagues from caxamarca is a stone called _inga rirpo_, resting stone of the inca; it is similar to the one described by m. humboldt, which he saw at the _paramo de asuay_, which is called inga _chungana_, inca's resting place. the inga rirpo, near to caxamarca, is a large block of freestone, eleven feet long, two feet eight inches high above the ground, and thirteen inches thick; it has two grooves cut across it near to the centre, four inches deep, and five inches wide; here are also the remains of a circular enclosure surrounding it eight yards in diameter; it stands on the _camino del inca_, the military road on which the incas travelled from cusco to quito. the site of this resting stone commands a most beautiful prospect of the valley of caxamarca. the tradition of the indians is, that the inca used to be brought here to enjoy the prospect, and that the two grooves in the stone were made, that the cross ledges of his throne on which he was carried might rest secure in them. chapter vi. province of caxamarca....manufactures, mines....village de jesus ....hawking....farm of lagunilla....inga tambo....village of san marcos....feast....wedding....village of ichocan....mine of gualgayoc....return to the coast....village of chocope....of san pedro....of las lagemas....of monsefu....town of lambayeque.... inhabitants, buildings, new altar....manufactures, soap, cordovans, cotton goods, sweetmeats....fruits, grain, pulse....vegetables.... market...._algarroba_, carob tree....village of eten....of morrope ...._simarones_....desert of sechura....town of sechura....city of piura....inhabitants, buildings....mules....manufactures....climate ....effect on syphilis....commerce....port of paita....excellent situation for an astronomical observatory. the province of caxamarca is intersected by ramifications of the cordillera; and having several low valleys, it consequently contains the various climates or temperatures, from extreme heat to intense cold: thus all kinds of fruit and grain peculiar to different climates are cultivated in this province: it abounds, also, in all kinds of cattle and poultry; and many obrages, manufactories of cloth, baizes, blankets, and tocuyos have been established here. the most extensive manufactories for woollen cloths are polloc and sondor, belonging ( ) to don tomas bueno; and that for blankets, at yana-cancha, belonging, at the same date, to don miguel sarachaga. the blankets are very tastefully embroidered by the indians, with loose yarn, before they undergo the operation of fulling, so that the colours have the appearance of being stamped on them. many silver and gold mines exist in this province; but since the discovery of the rich ores of gualgayoc, in the neighbouring province of chota, the mines of caxamarca have been abandoned. on the shores of the river called de las crisnejas, which falls into the marañon, are several washing places, _lavaderos_, of gold. on the north side of the province, where it joins that of jaen, some bark trees are found, the produce of which is little inferior to the famous cinchona of loxa. during my stay at caxamarca i visited several of the towns and villages; that called de jesus, five leagues from the city, is an indian village, pleasantly situated in a small valley bounded by high mountains, at the foot of which on the north side runs the caxamarca river; on the side of this river several water mills have been erected for grinding wheat, an abundance of which is cultivated in the neighbourhood. while at this place i several times visited my friend don tomas arce, for the purpose of accompanying him to take partridges with falcons; with two of these birds and a springer we have often returned, after a few hours' sport, with five or six brace of partridges of the large red legged kind, but of a very delicate flavour. we frequently set out in the evening and slept at some farm house on the hills, and in the morning took each of us a falcon on our hard gloves and rode to the stubble fields; when the dog sprang the game, we threw up our falcons, and followed them to the place where they fell with their prey in their talons; this we could easily discover by the sound of the bells fastened to the legs of the falcon. we generally gave to our birds the brains of the partridges which they had killed, then took them on our arms, and mounted to search for more game. as the country abounds in _venados_, deer, don tomas had trained a falcon to pursue them; he stuffed the skin of one of these animals, in the eye pits of which he accustomed the bird to search for its food; he sometimes placed the stuffed skin on the shoulders of a boy, who ran away with it, when the falcon was allowed to follow him in quest of its food. in this easy manner the falcon was trained to catch deer, and it afforded us a great deal of amusement by flying after the animal and perching on its head; this gave us time to come up and secure the brute with a laso, or to kill it. i had been convinced, before i visited this province, that the character of the south american indians was far different from what it had been reported to be by all the spanish writers, excepting the virtuous las casas: otherwise, i should have been astonished at what i saw at this village, where the indians have had but little intercourse with the spaniards, compared with those of whom ulloa and condamine so contemptuously speak. many festivals are observed at this village by the indians; and although the spanish language is little used, and the quichua alone is spoken, two, three, or more spanish plays are performed by them at each festival, amounting to, at least, twenty in each year. this fondness for theatrical performances, which the indians evince--the difficulty they labour under to learn their parts, in a language not their own--beside the expences incidental to the representations, must certainly prove that the aspersions of historians are unmerited. near to this village is a farm, called la lagunilla, on which are the remains of an indian town, most curiously built; many of the houses are yet entire; they are all built of stone, and surround a small rock or mountain, which is situated in a valley: the bottom tier or range of rooms have walls of an amazing thickness, in which i have measured stones twelve feet long and seven feet high, forming the whole side of a room, with one or more large stones laid across, which serve as a roof. above these houses another tier was built in the same manner, on the back of which are the entrances or doorways, and a second row had their backs to the mountain. the roofs of the second tier in front had been covered with stone, and probably formed a promenade; a second tier of rooms thus rested on the roofs of the first tier, which were on a level with the second front tier. in this manner one double tier of dwelling rooms was built above another to the height of seven tiers. on the top are many ruins, apparently of a palace or fortress. when i first visited this place, i imagined that the rooms were excavations in the rock; but i was very soon convinced that the whole had been built, and i was astonished at contemplating such immense labour, the real purpose of which is now unknown. the rooms are seldom more than about twelve feet square and seven feet high, with a high door-way in front, narrower at the top than at the bottom; the stone has been wrought for the fronts into irregular sized squares, which are cemented together. some of the thick walls are formed of two casings of stone, and the interstice is filled up with small stones and pebbles, held together with well tempered reddish clay, which at present forms so solid a mass, that it is almost equal to stone. the cement used to hold the stones together, was, doubtless, tempered clay; but so little was used, that some have imagined that the stones were merely placed one upon another; in this surmise, however, they were evidently mistaken. the whole of this building would have contained at least five thousand families; but we are not certain that it was ever applied to that purpose. some traditions call it one of the palaces, or houses of reception, for the incas when they travelled; but this is by no means probable, for it does not stand within a league of the great road of the incas, and being only five leagues from caxamarca, it is not likely that such an edifice would have been built for such a purpose. others state, that it was the general granary for this part of the country in the time of the incas; but this is also subject to the same objections; for, as i have already mentioned, the remains of one exist on the farm belonging to doña mercedes arce, near to caxamarca; and the ruins of all those granaries which i have seen at different places are a kind of cisterns, walled round either with adobes or rough hewn stones. it appears to me as far more probable, that this was the residence of the chimu of chicama, when he resided in the interior of his territory, before it became subject to the inca pachacutec. the top of the mountain appears to have been covered with buildings of a superior kind to the rest; for some of the foundations may be traced, enclosing rooms and courts more extensive than are to be found in any other part of this mass of buildings. there are four principal roads leading from the bottom to the top, corresponding with the four cardinal points; and from each of these roads or streets the inhabitants could walk on the tops of their houses to the next, and probably round the whole by bridges laid across the intersecting roads; so that seven promenades were thus formed, besides the six circular streets. the proprietor of this estate, don tomas bueno, fancied that it was the remains of an ancient temple, and supposed that a great treasure was somewhere hidden; but i never could persuade him to cut an adit through it in search of the huaca. here are no remains of delicate sculpture, although a few arabesques may be seen on some of the stones; nor is there any appearance of elegant architecture, for which the ancient greeks and romans were so famous. however, the immense ingenuity of the builders in conveying and placing such huge masses of stone in such a situation, as well as the extracting them from the quarries without machinery, and shaping them without iron tools, must astound the contemplating beholder of these ruins, and make him blush at hearing the builders called barbarians. such epithets are equally applicable to the egyptians, on viewing their rude ancient monuments; but we feel conscious that these people were in possession of the arts and sciences when our forefathers in europe were in a state of barbarity; we consider, too, that from their plantations the first scions were brought to greece and italy, and that these exotics were afterwards transplanted into our own country. near to these ruins is a small lake, _laguna_, from which the estate derives its name; it is of an oval figure, the transverse axis being nine hundred yards, and the conjugate six hundred and fifty. one side of the lake rests on the foot of the mountains, which separate the farm from the valley of caxamarca, on the opposite side of which mountains the river runs. an excavation or tunnel is cut through one of these mountains, through which the water of the lake is discharged into the river, when it rises nearly to a level with the surrounding land, and thus a flooding of it is prevented. this lake was probably the quarry whence the stone was taken for the building just described, and the passage was probably opened at the same time by the indians, to prevent the water from deluging the low lands, which bespeaks that attention to economy so evident in the establishments of the ancient peruvians. the farm house here, with all the stables and other buildings, are of stone, brought from the _tambo del inca_, as the ruins are called: all the yards are paved with the same, and they have a very neat and clean appearance; however, i could not help wishing that the stones had remained undisturbed in their former interesting situation; but many have also been carried, for the same purposes, to different places. i visited the town of san marcos, eight leagues from caxamarca; it is most delightfully situated in a very fruitful valley, enjoying all the benefits of a tropical climate, and affording a rich variety of fruits: the apples, peaches, and other european fruits, are found in great perfection, as well as oranges, lemons, paltas, bananas, plantains, &c. my visit to this town happened at the time of the annual festival; on this account i was entertained with bull fights, indian dancers, and the representation of theatrical pieces; the town was full of visitors from the neighbouring country, and every countenance bore a smile of satisfaction, while mirth and pleasure appeared to reign in every breast. i was present in the parish church, which is a large neat brick and stone building, very much ornamented within, at the celebration of the wedding of a son and daughter of two caciques, the boy being eleven years old, and the girl thirteen. when they left the church, after the ceremony was over, they ran in different directions, the boy to play with his comrades, and the girl to join hers, as if they had merely been at church as spectators, and not the parties concerned. i afterwards asked the cura how it happened, that two such thoughtless children should be married? he answered me, "_por rason de estado_," giving me to understand, that as they were both of noble origin, their parents had married them at that age to prevent them marrying with their inferiors. the principal benefit derived from preserving the nobility of the families is, their children being admissible into the colleges, and to the three learned bodies, divinity, law, and physic. two leagues from san marcos stands the village of ichocan, on the top of an eminence, consequently its climate is very cold; the cura here was an indian, and from his corpulency might be known, according to an adage in peru, that he was a cacique; for when a person is very jolly, it is generally said, that he is as fat as a cacique, _tan gordo como un cacique_. this cura was for some time the vicar of the province, and was looked upon as an oracle in latinity and theology. he was a very cheerful companion, possessed an extensive library of latin, greek, english, and french books, which he had studied; and was more acquainted with general science than any other person i met with in this part of peru. the produce of the parish of ichocan is confined almost entirely to wheat, but it is considered the best, and fetches the highest price of any in the whole district; it sells on an average for from three to three and a half dollars the _fanega_, which is nearly three bushels. i afterwards visited several other villages; but a description of them would only be tedious and uninteresting. the natives of this province are noted for industry and hospitality; the population of indians at the time of the conquest was very extensive, forming upwards of five hundred settlements; but they are now reduced to forty-six. the capital of the province is so situated, that it is likely to become an important commercial town; it is now the great market for this province, as well as for those of chota, chachapoyas, and guallubamba. eighteen leagues from caxamarca is the celebrated silver mine called gualgayoc, which, from the slovenly manner in which it has been wrought, produces but little good ore at present ( ); although ten years ago it was considered superior to the celebrated mine at pasco: quantities of ore were extracted from the two shafts called _la mina del rey_, and _la del purgatorio_, which yielded a hundred and forty marks per caxon of fifty quintals. i left caxamarca and returned to truxillo, and thence proceeded along the coast to the northward. my first stage of eleven leagues was to chocope, a neat village containing about forty houses, chiefly inhabited by white families; it stands on a part of the valley of chicama. in the year this village was totally ruined by rain, which continued for thirty-four successive nights. the sky was clear during the day from sunrise to sunset, at which time it began to rain; and as such a phenomenon was totally unexpected, and the houses constructed of materials unable to resist it, the whole of the village was destroyed. in it rained in the same manner for eleven nights; but since that period there has been no repetition of so destructive an occurrence, nor is there any record of a similar one before that time on this or any other part of the peruvian coast, from ° to ° of latitude. it is also extraordinary, that this rain did not extend six leagues either to the north or to the south. my next stage of thirteen leagues brought me to san pedro, after passing a small village called payjan. san pedro is composed of about a hundred and fifty houses, of _baxareque_, canes cased with clay: it is a parish belonging to the order of augustin friars, who have a small convent here. the population is composed principally of indians, whose chief occupation is the cultivation of the lands in the valley of the same name, which is watered by the river pacasmayo, and produces most abundant crops of wheat; it was formerly considered to be the granary of lima; but after the earthquake in the crops entirely failed for almost twenty years; since which period the land has again resumed its usual fertility. this circumstance has been already mentioned when speaking of lima and la barranca. at this time the peruvians began to send their vessels to chile for wheat, which commerce has been constantly kept up ever since, and to which chile is indebted for many comforts among the lower classes, and for many rich capitals among the higher. the indians of san pedro are particularly cleanly in their persons and houses; but i had been told that their chicha was mascada, chewed; and although the natives assured me that they had of both kinds, i was fearful of being deceived--i did not wish to have a second-hand or rather a second-mouthed beverage, so i drank water. the indians appeared here to be perfectly comfortable and happy; and as their allotments of land produced them a reasonable competency, they seemed to be a people almost independent of their conquerors. the next stage brought me to las lagunas, a distance of nine leagues, having forded on the road the river xequetepeque, about half a league below the village of the same name. las lagunas, the lakes, is a low swampy country, formed by the overflowings of the river saña; the small lakes which are formed are filled with wild ducks, some of which are of a most beautiful plumage, and very delicate eating. here are only a few huts, partly for the accommodation of travellers, and partly the residence of fishermen, who catch large quantities of very fine lisas, and dry them for sale; these are so very delicate when grilled, that travellers look forward to their arrival at lagunas to eat them. five leagues from this place is the village of monsefu, which is a remarkably handsome place; the houses are very neatly built, with wide corridors in front, and whitewashed; several small streams of water cross the principal street; these are employed in irrigating the gardens and the orchards, which are attached to almost all the houses, and which produce most excellent grapes, quinces, pomegranates and other fruits, both european and tropical, particularly _cambures_, which are very small bananas, and are equal in flavour to the most delicate ripe pears. after dining here on _gualdrapas_, goat's flesh, taken from the upper part of the neck, slightly salted and dried, and which is very similar to venison, we proceeded to lambayeque, travelling through a wood of _algarrobas_, carob trees, for more than three leagues. lambayeque is the capital of the province, and the residence of the subdelegado; it has always attracted the attention of travellers, as being the most populous and the greatest trading town between lima and guayaquil. it is situated about two leagues from the sea, and four from its sea-port, called pacasmayo, where the river of this name enters the pacific, partly by which river and partly by the river lambayeque the town and the surrounding country are watered. the town of lambayeque contains upwards of eight thousand inhabitants, spanish, creoles, indians, negroes, and mixed breeds, or castes. some of the houses are large and commodious; the parish church is of stone; it is a handsome edifice, and contains many costly ornaments. attached to it are four chapels of ease, called _ramadas_; these are so many parishes of indians, each having a cura, independent of the cura of the _matris_, or parish church, of the white inhabitants. i was at this town in , when the first mass was celebrated at the new altar, built at the expence of dr. delgado, and dedicated to _nuestra señora del carmen_; at this time a most sumptuous feast was held during a whole week, attended with bull fights, mains of cocks, and horse racing during the day; with balls, _tertulias_, chit-chat parties, and gambling, at night; and the whole of the inhabitants seemed entirely devoted to mirth and pleasure. the principal manufactures here are soap, cordovans of goats' skins, cotton cloths, and sweetmeats. from the extensive flocks of goats which are fed in the algarroba wood which surrounds this town, the tallow is procured for the soap manufactories, and the alkali is obtained from the _lico_, salsola, which is found in abundance in this province, as well as in that of saña, and the valley of chicama. the soap is very hard, and is cut into cakes or small bars, four of which, and sometimes six, only weigh a pound; the average price is from twenty to twenty-five dollars the quintal. its quality is far inferior to that of english soap, owing particularly to its hardness, and the quantities of impurities which it contains; notwithstanding which, it is preferred to any other soap--such is the obstinacy implanted by the habit of using it. the skins of the goats are tanned with the bark of the huarango, and sometimes with that of the algarroba, and the cordovans are of an excellent quality. these articles have a very extensive sale, which extends to the whole coast of peru and many of the provinces in the interior, as well as to the province of guayaquil, and to different parts of the kingdom of quito. quantities of tocuyo, counterpanes, table cloths, napkins and other articles of cotton, some of which are very fine, are manufactured here, as well as cotton canvass, or sail cloth; notwithstanding the extent of these works, all the yarn is spun with the distaff and spindle, so that all the females of the lower classes find constant employment. the tocuyos made here are not considered so good, and consequently are not in such demand as those of conchucos, but an extensive trade is carried on in the other articles. here is an extensive mill for cleaning the cotton from the seeds, similar to that at casma, and some large remittances of cotton have been made from this place to europe. the manufacture of sweetmeats consists chiefly of marmalade and jelly, made from quinces, guavas, and limes. it is packed in chip boxes, each holding about two pounds, which sell at half a dollar each; they are sent to lima, guayaquil, and other places along the coast. hats of palm and _junco_, fine rushes, are made here, and carried to the same markets as the other manufactures. oranges, limes, lemons, grapes, guavas, pacays, melons, paltas, huanabanas, chirimoyas, anonas, plantains, bananas, pomegranates, granadialls, tumbos, quinces, pine-apples, and many other fruits grow here and in the neighbourhood in great abundance, and they are of an excellent quality; apples, pears, and other european fruits do not thrive. wheat, maize, beans, lentils, garbansos, and other pulse, also yucas, batatas or sweet potatoes, yams, and other esculents, as well as potatoes and all kinds of culinary vegetables, arrive at great perfection; hence the market is abundantly supplied with them, as well as with good beef, fish and poultry; mutton is scarce and not very good, but the young kid is superior to lamb. the _algarroba_, carob tree, grows in the vicinity of lambayeque in great abundance, and is of such utility, that a law exists to prevent the owners from cutting them down: they grow to the size of our largest oaks; the wood is very hard, the leaf small, and the branches bear an abundance of clusters of pods, about four inches long and three-quarters of an inch broad, containing five or six black seeds, like small beans. when ripe the pod is of a brown colour, and has a sweet taste; the cattle are very fond of it, and become very fat with eating it; the mules that feed on the carob pods, after a journey to lima, a hundred and forty leagues, return apparently fat; but the greatest profit derived from this valuable tree is from the number of goats which are annually fed on the pods. these animals reach the lower branches of the trees themselves, and they are afterwards assisted in procuring their food by the goatherds, who climb the trees, and beat down the leaves and pods with long canes. at certain times of the year, when the pods become scarce, the goats will follow their goatherds any where, without the need of a driver, as if conscious that their existence depended on the assistance of their keepers. some of the goats will become so plump, that it is not uncommon for one goat to yield a quintal, one hundred pounds weight, of tallow and fat; for the whole of the fat is separated from the flesh, this latter being considered of very little value, excepting that part which covers the bones of the neck, which is eaten as a delicacy, and is really equal to venison. a considerable share of superstition belongs to the goatherds, who are indians. they believe that some men have the power, by witchcraft, to convey the fat of one flock of goats to another, if care be not taken to prevent them from so doing; for the prevention of this mischief they have different amulets, which they tie round the necks or horns of the old goats, especially those which are called the captains of the flocks. these charms consist of shells, beans, and a kind of nutmeg brought from the province of jaen de bracamoros. i was several times entertained by the tales told by the indians; they would assert, that a flock of fat goats had been placed under the care of an unskilful goatherd, and that in one night a wizard, _hichisero_, had deprived them of all their fat, and conveyed it to another flock, to the astonishment, of particularly one party, who in the morning found his fat flock reduced to skin and bone, bleating their lamentations for the loss which they had sustained. from the pods of the algarroba the indians make chicha, by merely infusing them in water, straining it, and allowing it to ferment: at the expiration of three or four days it is very palatable, and if proper attention were paid to it, i believe that a very delicate wine would be procured. small cakes called _arepas_ are sometimes made by the indians from the pods reduced to powder; they are certainly not unpalatable, though very coarse. five leagues from lambeyeque is a village called chiclayo, which is the neatest and most social place along the whole coast; it contains several respectable inhabitants, its situation in the valley of lambayeque is delightful; the productions and the market are good. it has a small convent of franciscans, to which order the curacy belongs. the trade of lambayeque, owing to its productions and the industry of the inhabitants, is very extensive; the neighbouring provinces depend on its manufactories, and it will undoubtedly become the great mart for the inland provinces for european goods. some of the shops and stores are well stocked with european manufactures, of which the sale is very extensive; and as its commerce extends to countries of such different climates, all kinds of useful foreign articles are in considerable demand. the town of eten stands on a sandy plain, and is entirely inhabited by indians; these are the only people who speak the chimu dialect which is the original language of the coast of peru, and so different from the quichua, that i could not understand a single word, nor trace any analogy between them, and beyond the limits of their town their language is unintelligible. it may very reasonably be expected that these people possess the true character of the indians; if they do, it is a very worthy one; they are temperate, industrious and kind; they do not allow any person except indians to reside among them, and a traveller is only suffered to remain three days in the town; but the alcaldes always take care that he be provided with whatever he may require. cotton cloths to a large extent are manufactured here, and the natives wear nothing that is not made by their own hands; hence many of them are possessed of considerable wealth, for the sale of their own goods is very extensive. they differ in their dress from the generality of the indians; the men wear white jackets and breeches, these having a slip of red cloth at the knees, in which the button holes are wrought; the females wear a kind of long black or blue tunic, without sleeves, girt round the waist; both sexes wear straw hats, and very seldom put on shoes. when i left lambayeque i was obliged to prepare myself with a guide, and a spare mule, for water and provisions, as well for ourselves as for the animals, because we had now to traverse the desert of sechura, the largest on the peruvian coast. we left lambayeque, and halted the first night at a small village called morope, four leagues distant from that place. the road between these towns is often frequented by robbers, who are generally runaway slaves, _simarones_, who lurk among the low brushwood on the road sides, and attack the passengers; they seldom molest a person if they observe that he is armed, but they plunder the indians and mountaineers, _serranos_, of their money and goods, and murders are more frequently committed here than in any part of peru. a short time before i passed this way, the police officers and the militia had apprehended five of these simarones; to effect this they set the brushwood on fire in several places, and in a short time the whole was in flames, so that the robbers were actually burnt out of their hiding places. morope contains about ninety houses or huts, ranchos, built of cane covered with clay, and a thousand inhabitants, all indians. the parish church is a large neat building, extremely clean, and tastefully ornamented within. we here filled our calabashes with water, and my indian guide purchased some maize for the mules; as the chicha here is mascada, i preferred putting water into my two small calabashes, which i carried in my saddle bags, _alforjas_. we left morope at four o'clock in the afternoon, and arrived before it was dark at the _medanos_; these are hills of sand in the form of a crescent, the convex side being always opposed to the wind, for as it shifts, the sand is blown up the one side and falls down on the other; thus these hills are continually changing their size and situation, flitting from one place to another, to the imminent danger of a traveller, should his guide be ignorant of the road, for all traces disappear, by the sand continually drifting along with the wind. if a guide have any reason to suspect that he is out of the track, he will alight, take up a handful of the sand and smell to it, because the dung and urine of the mules that traverse the desert communicate an odour to the sand along the road, which in other parts it does not possess. about midnight we met a troop of laden mules, and halted to converse with the muleteers; we drank some of their chicha, and i invited them to partake of ours; i had brought some brandy, _aguardiente_, and had no chicha, but they did not appear to relish it less than they would have done their countrymen's liquor, for they emptied my bottle. i drank some of theirs, and ate some sweet cakes, which they called _alfajor_; they were very good. at parting i told them i was glad i had met them, because it was a proof that we were not bewildered: that could not happen, said my guide, for the cross is our director, pointing to the constellation behind us in the heavens; and it is not midnight yet, said he, for the cross leans to yesterday; the two stars at the top and the foot of this beautiful constellation were not erect in the south. after travelling about two leagues more, we met a traveller with his guide, who saluted us with _buen viage_, a good journey to you; morning is coming, the cross bends to the sea, and i must arrive early at morope. this was an excuse for not halting; and we continued our route. when the first rays of morning began to appear, the air became suddenly chill, and i put on my poncho; my guide did the same, and said to me, "the light drives the frosty air from the mountains, _serros_, before it; it is always cold in the morning in the desert, but this refreshes us before the sun comes to burn us in the rest of our journey." whether this chilly sensation felt at sunrise be merely the result of the absence of the sun, for it is then the longest period since it set; or whether it be partly apprehension at beholding the sun again without feeling the heat which it afterwards communicates, i cannot determine; but i have universally experienced the effect in tropical climates. during the whole of this day, we saw nothing save sand and sky; and although i was accustomed to travel on the coasts of this country, i now experienced an indescribable dulness and languor; at length, before night closed, the two steeples of the church at sechura became visible; but they had more the appearance of a vessel at sea than of church steeples. at nine o'clock on the following morning we arrived at the town of sechura; i went to the house of the alcalde, and immediately laid myself down and slept very soundly, being excessively fatigued by a journey of forty leagues over the most dreary country i had ever witnessed. the town of sechura contains about two hundred and fifty houses, and two thousand inhabitants, all of whom are indians, equally industrious and temperate as those of eten; the men are principally muleteers and fishermen, the women employ themselves in spinning and weaving cotton. the church in this town is a surprising edifice; it has two very high steeples, and a handsome cupola built of brick; it is roofed with cane, which is covered with clay, and the whole evinces enormous labour, both in procuring the materials of which it is built, as well as in the erection of the edifice; it is, indeed, one of those monuments of industry and labour which must ever attract the attention of travellers. this is the first town in the jurisdiction of piura, and all passengers must present to the alcalde their passports, without which they cannot obtain either mules or a guide. i left sechura immediately after i awoke, and had taken some refreshment, feeling anxious to arrive at piura, it being the first town founded by the spaniards in south america. after travelling over ten leagues, all of which is a sandy plain, i arrived at piura, and immediately went to the house of a gentleman for whom i had letters; and although it was near midnight i received a hearty welcome from all the family, who left their beds to see the stranger. although piura is always accounted the first spanish settlement in south america, it is not exactly the same place which pizarro founded in ; that town stood on the plain of targasola, at a short distance from the site of the present city, and from whence it was removed on account of the insalubrity of the climate. the present city, which is the capital of the province, was founded by don francisco pizarro, who also built here the first christian church in peru. it contains at present a parish church, a convent of san francisco and one of la merced, and a hospital under the management of the bethlemite friars. the houses are built either of canes covered with clay, or of sun-dried bricks; and very few have an upper story. the streets are not paved, and consequently, like those of truxillo, they are almost ankle deep in sand and dirt. the enormous quantity of bugs in the houses is quite a nuisance. the inhabitants of piura amount to about nine thousand; they are spaniards, white creoles, indians, negroes, and mixed breeds. piura is noted for the finest breed of mules in peru; many are taken to truxillo, lima and other places, both on the coast and in the interior, for sale; some of them fetch the amazing high price of two hundred and fifty dollars each. the breed of goats is also very extensive in this district; in the capital large quantities of soap and leather, _cordovanes_, are prepared and carried for sale to guayaquil, quito, cuenca, panama, and lima. some cotton goods are manufactured here, but not to the same extent as at lambayeque. the principal occupation of the men is to attend to their mules, for the services of which there is great demand, because all the goods landed at piura are carried by mules to lima, a distance of three hundred and eighty leagues, besides which their own productions are thus transported to that and other places. the manufacture of cordage from the _maguey_ employs many persons in the interior of the province, and considerable quantities of this cordage is consumed by the merchants in peru in cording bales of merchandize and other similar purposes; but it has never yet been applied to naval equipments, except in the canoes and balsas. as part of this province is mountainous, it contains a variety of climates; but that of the capital is hot and dry to such a degree, that if a sheet of paper be placed on the ground in the evening, it may be taken up at any hour of the night or morning, and written on without any inconvenience, for it will be found perfectly dry. many persons afflicted with syphilis resort to piura for the purpose of being cured, which is effected by merely residing here, without the aid of any medicine. it is believed that the water which is usually drunk contributes more to the re-establishment of their health than the climate; for, in its course, it runs over very extensive beds of sarsaparilla, and the fallen trees of _palo santo_, the guiaco trees; and as the bed of the river is completely dry during the summer months, the inhabitants are obliged to dig wells in the bed of the river, at which time the water being more strongly impregnated with the virtues of these two vegetables, it is considered more efficacious in removing that disease. some patients are buried to the neck in the sand for one or two hours, and drink copiously of the water, by which means a most profuse perspiration is produced, and their cure is very much facilitated. the poor people here make use of pieces of dry palo santo as a substitute for candles; they merely light the end of the stick, and a flame of a reddish colour is produced, which continues to burn till the whole stick is consumed, communicating an agreeable scent to the house. piura is not well situated for mercantile business; it commands none of the interior provinces, and its own population can never render it a place of importance. fourteen leagues from piura is the sea-port of paita, and to the goods landed here from panama, destined to be carried to different parts of peru, the inhabitants of piura owe their principal occupation. paita is a very commodious and well frequented port, in latitude ° ´ s.; the anchorage is good, and the landing is excellent. the town of paita was destroyed in by anson; in the church of the merced the friars shew an image of the virgin mary, which had its throat cut by one of the heretics who accompanied anson, the blood yet remaining on her neck, and the wound unhealed. the present town is composed of about two hundred houses; the inhabitants are principally indians, many of them are employed in a seafaring life, and they are considered to be good sailors. the country around paita is a complete barren sandy desert, not a drop of water nor a green leaf is any where to be seen, and the heat is remarkably oppressive. the water used here is brought from the river colan, four leagues to the northward of paita, in large calabashes, or earthen jars, on balsas or rafts, and it is consequently sold at a very high price to the ships in need of it, as well as to the inhabitants. here is a custom house, with the necessary revenue officers and a governor. on the south side of the bay is a small fort, with four long brass cannons of eighteen pound calibre. owing to the constant clearness of the sky at paita, perhaps no place in the world is better suited for an astronomical observatory; the stars are always visible at night, owing to the total absence of clouds; besides which the atmosphere is at all times of nearly the same density; no mists, dews or fogs, ever pervade it; it is surrounded by the pacific ocean on one side, and extensive sandy plains on the other; and, owing to the brilliancy with which the celestial bodies shine here, it is become proverbial to say, "as bright as the moon at paita." i embarked at paita in a small brig belonging to an indian, who was the captain, and after a tedious coasting voyage of fifty-one days arrived at callao. chapter vii. leave lima for guayaquil...._amortajado_....puná....arrival of the spaniards, and conquest of....village of....inhabitant....passage up the river guayaquil...._punta de arena_....guayaquil.... foundation and description of....buildings....inhabitants.... amusements....market....fruit....climate....insects and reptiles ....dock yard....project of sawing mills....balsa, description of ....navigation of....canoes....merchants of guayaquil. on my arrival at lima, his excellency the count ruis de castilla solicited me as an attendant to accompany him to quito, the king having appointed him the president, captain-general, &c. i immediately embraced the proposals, and in june, , we embarked at callao for guayaquil, where his excellency being detained by an indisposition, i enjoyed a month's leisure to visit different parts of the province. at the entrance of the river guayaquil is an extraordinary rock, called _el amortajado_, the shrouded corpse, from the resemblance which it bears to a body shrouded in the franciscan habit; the head, the body, the arms folded on the breast, and the rising of the feet, as the whole seems to lie on its back, are very correctly seen at the distance of from two to five miles. having arrived at the island of the puná, we anchored for the purpose of waiting for the next tide, having had a pilot, _practico_, to bring us hither. the island stretches s.w. and n.e. about eight leagues, and is about four leagues broad in its widest part. in don francisco pizarro landed here, at which time it was governed by a chief or cacique; pizarro was tempted to visit this island by the accounts he had received from the indians at tumpis, who were at war with those of the puná, that these latter were in possession of immense quantities of gold. on the arrival of pizarro, the natives opposed his landing; but having effected it, a sharp engagement ensued, in which a considerable number of indians were slain; three spanish soldiers also were killed, and several more were wounded, among whom was don hernando pizarro. at the time of the first landing of the spaniards on this island, in , it was inhabited by upwards of twenty thousand indians; but from the persecution which they suffered for having bravely opposed their invaders--when a census was taken in , only ninety-six remained; and since that period those few have all retired to machala. near to the anchorage is a small village, inhabited chiefly by mulattos; there is a spanish church, and a house, called _del rey_, which, when vessels unload, serves as a custom-house. on the arrival of a person who is unacquainted with the beauties of a tropical climate, or who has been accustomed to the dreary scenery of the coast of peru, he is almost enchanted with the luxuriant prospect presented to his view. the whole of the surrounding country is covered with woods, with here and there a few small houses, starting, as it were, from the green foliage on the margin of the river, which has here the appearance of an extensive lake. the houses are built of canes, and have an upper story, but are without a ground floor. they are constructed by placing four or more logs of timber in the ground, and at the height of ten feet a floor of large split canes is laid, supported by a frame-work of mangroves; a roof of palm or other leaves is then formed, which descends to within five feet of the ground-floor; a rude varanda of canes encloses the whole building, which, in the larger houses, is divided by canes into two or three apartments; but in the smaller houses they have only one room. the ascent is by a ladder, sometimes merely the trunk of a tree with steps cut in it. the houses in this village rise gradually behind each other, without any order or regularity, interspersed with some large and beautiful tamarind trees, equal in size to our largest oaks: beneath these the pompous banana waves its huge leaves, and droops with the weight of its golden fruit; while above towers the majestic cocoa palm, laden with its numerous branches of nuts, hanging beneath a cupola of feather-like foliage. the inhabitants of puná leave their houses during part of the year, and retire to other places, where they cultivate maize, pumpkins, tobacco, &c.; after which they return to sell such produce as they are possessed of, to the merchants who come to purchase it. they also employ themselves in cutting mangroves, which are sent to lima and other parts of peru, and in fishing. owing to a want of water in the island, for irrigation, there being no rivers, and from the scarcity of rain during the last ten years, the plantations of cocoa have failed; and, although formerly upwards of twelve hundred quintals were collected here annually, not one, at present, is harvested. owing to the same cause, all cultivation has ceased on the island, and the inhabitants are obliged to dig wells to supply themselves with good water in summer; for, although there is a small spring near to the village, for want of proper attention the water is undrinkable. it is only used for washing, which operation is performed on the margin; and by throwing near to it the soapy water, the spring is rendered useless, except for the purpose to which it is applied. after waiting at the puná for the following tide, we weighed, and stood up the river: we sometimes passed so near to the mangroves which grow on the different islands, and even in the water (the trees being supported by their almost innumerable roots, which cross each other in all directions), that it appeared as if the branches would become entangled with the ropes of the ship. on the roots, as well as on the branches of the mangroves, many beautiful white storks were perched, which contributed very much to heighten the novelty and beauty of the scene. navigation in its primitive state was here presented to us on our passage:--the unwieldy and creeping balsa lagged behind us, and the next abrupt turn in the channel hid it from our view, the high trees, of some small island usurping its place in the prospect; while the light canoe skimmed along on the surface of the water, as if in mockery of our ship, which might justly boast its superiority over the balsa. about seven leagues from the puná there is a small battery, or rather a breast-work, formed of the trunks of the _palo de balsa_ and the _ceibo_, mounting six guns. the projection of a small promontory, called sandy point, _punta de arena_, commands the channel for about two miles, and this point of defence might easily be made the protecting place of the city, even against large vessels; while boats and balsas might go up to the city by another channel of the river, formed by an island opposite to punta de arena, without any molestation from this battery. it was late in the evening when we came to an anchor off the city, and i never beheld a more brilliant view than the one before us. the long range of houses by the river side presented a double row of lights, one from the shops below, and another from the upper stories, where the inhabitants reside: in a few places three rows appeared, some of the houses having a low story between the shops and the dwelling rooms. at the extremity of this line of lights the houses in the old city, _cuidad vieja_, rose one above another, while the many balsas at anchor, or passing along the river, with fires on board, formed altogether a very dazzling but pleasing prospect. the first town, called guayaquil, was founded in in the bay of charapotó, by don francisco pizarro; and by the date of the title granted by charles v. it was the second town founded in peru; however the first was entirely destroyed by the indians. in , francisco de orrellana built another town on the west side of the river, which was afterwards removed to the site where cuidad vieja now stands; and, lastly, in , to its present situation. its name is taken from that of its original chief or cacique, guayas. the city is divided into two distinct wards, by a wooden bridge eight hundred yards long; this bridge crosses several estuaries, and some low ground that is flooded by the river. the new town, or that part called guayaquil, extends half a league along the side of the river, on a plain, having the dock yard at the southern extremity on the same level; and cuidad vieja, or the old city, at the northern extremity; one part of which is built on the acclivity of the hill, and the other on the top of it, where the convent of santo domingo now stands. the principal street, called the malecon, runs along the side of the river; about the centre of it stands the custom-house; at the back of this street another runs the whole length of the city, which, with the intersecting streets, forms the chief part of guayaquil. this city is the capital of the province, and the residence of the governor; it has a municipal authority invested in two alcaldes, and other officers; the custom-house, _aduana_, has an accomptant, treasurer, and inferior officers. the military department is subject to the viceroy of peru; the civil to the audience of quito, and the ecclesiastical to the bishop of cuenca. here are two parish churches, one in the new town, the other in the old; both dedicated to santiago, the patron of the city; also a convent of franciscans, one of augstinians, and one of dominicans; the hospital is under the care of the order of san juan de dios. the matris as well as the other churches are built principally of wood, and have tiled roofs. a custom prevails at the churches here on the days of particular festivals, which i never observed in any other part of the colonies. men go up the belfries or steeples, with drums and trumpets, and accompany the tune rung on the bells by striking them, as the chinese do their gongs, with hammers or stones, making a strange, but not altogether disagreeable kind of music; it is certainly ridiculous, however, to hear marches and dance tunes played in a church steeple, for the purpose of calling the people to prayers. the greater part of the houses in the principal streets have an upper story, where the inhabitants reside, the ground floor being occupied as shops and warehouses. the upper stories have long balconies about four or five feet wide, with canvass curtains, which are very useful, because they form an agreeable shade against the scorching rays of the sun; and when a little breeze springs up, one end of the roller is passed between the ballustrades of the varanda, and the other end projects outward, so that the breeze is thus caught, and a current of air is guided into the apartments of the house, which at any time is very desirable; there are no buildings in guayaquil that particularly attract the attention of a traveller, either by their size or beauty; but however the generality of the houses are large, commodious, and have a very good appearance, particularly those along the malecon, which face the river; as they are all built of wood, the risk of being burnt is very great. in the years , , and the city was nearly reduced to ashes; besides which conflagrations it has suffered eleven other partial ones, which destroyed many houses and much property. notwithstanding the danger to which the city is exposed, the dreadful examples which it has experienced, and the easy means by which water may be procured in any part of the town, for the prevention of general conflagrations, there is not one engine for the extinction of fire, nor any regular body of firemen. an indispensable part of the furniture of a house is the _hamaca_, hammock; and i have frequently seen five or six in one room; they are made of pita, agave thread, or a kind of straw, dyed of various colours; they are so woven or matted, that they extend to a great width, and hold two, three, or four persons. they are stretched across the rooms, and along the sides and ends, and the inhabitants prefer them to any other seat: indeed, they possess peculiar advantages, for, by being put in motion, the current of air which is thus produced is refreshing; and the motion prevents the possibility of the person being bitten by the mosquitos, as the least draft or motion in the air obliges these blood-suckers to seek for safety in some quiet corner. the population of guayaquil amounts to about twenty thousand souls; the inhabitants are composed of all the different classes which are found in the various towns of south america, but there is an excess of mulattos. a phenomenon presents itself here which greatly surprises all foreigners; the complexion of some of the white natives is extremely delicate, the lily and the rose are blended as enchantingly as on the cheek of any european beauty, accompanied also with blue eyes and light coloured hair; yet the climate is extremely hot, and the town is surrounded with low swampy grounds. the ladies are not only remarkably fair, but they have also very delicate regularly formed features; they are tall genteel figures, have an elegant gait, walk well, and dance gracefully; they are also very lively and witty in their conversation, and on the whole the female society of guayaquil exceeds that of any other town in south america that i visited;--their private characters being as free from levity as their public demeanour is from prudery. the men are more enterprising in their commercial concerns, and the lower classes are more industrious than the people generally are in the other colonies; indeed every thing here bears the marks of exertion and activity. the favourite amusements are bull fights, excursions on the water in _balsas_, and dancing; of the latter all ranks appear passionately fond, and in the evening the harp, the guitar, or the violin may be heard in almost every street, and, contrary to what might be expected in a country lying between the tropics, the reel, the waltz, and the country dance are preferred to any other. the market of guayaquil is but indifferently supplied with flesh meat, although the horned cattle is well fed on the _savanas_ and _gamalotales_. before the beef comes to market it is deprived of all its fat, and cut into shreds about an inch thick, called _tasajo_; the fat is melted and sold as lard for culinary purposes, but this however might be easily remedied if the inhabitants would come to a resolution not to buy the beef in such a mangled state. very fine ribs of beef, called chalonas, are salted and dried in the province of monte christe, and brought to this market; they are very fat, and of an excellent flavour. the quantity of salt used in curing them being small, the meat is not too salt to be roasted. mutton is a very scarce commodity, and seldom to be had. veal and lamb are unknown. pork is tolerably good, and in abundance. the tame poultry is good, but generally dear; and although the woods abound with game, and the rivers and creeks contain plenty of water fowl, none of these are scarcely ever brought to market. the supply of fish is tolerably abundant, but generally speaking it is not good; the exceptions are the _lisa_, a kind of mullet, the _vieja_, old wife, _ciego_, or blind fish, (about nine inches long, with only the spinal bone) and a species of anchovies or sardinas. oysters are very plentiful, and the rock oysters though large are good, while those found among the mangroves are very muddy. the bread made here is generally of an inferior quality, although the flour is good, both that procured from chile, and that from the provinces of quito and cuenca. rice, _garbansas_, a species of pea, brought from lambayeque, beans, quinua, lentils, and other pulse are cheap; european vegetables are scarce, the yuca, camote, pumpkins, and other gourds, are very plentiful, but the natives prefer the plantain to any vegetable, using it baked, boiled or fried; green, half ripe, or ripe, at every meal; and many foreigners after residing here a short time become equally partial to it. the guayaquileños are often ridiculed by strangers on account of their predilection for plantains; they are reported as having imitations of rolls made of wood on their tables, and their real plantains under the napkins. some of the butter of this province is well tasted, but the greater part used, as well as the cheese, is brought from the _sierra_, mountains. the fruit market at guayaquil is most abundant; here are enormous melons, and water melons, which may be cut and tasted before they are purchased; several varieties of the pine apple, and cashew nuts, which resemble a small kidney growing at the end of an apple; thus, unlike other fruit, the seed grows on the exterior of the apex; the very astringent taste of this nut is destroyed by roasting it. the _anona_, or _cabesa de negro_, is similar to the chirimoya, but it is neither so large nor so delicate as that fruit: _badeas_ are very large and highly flavoured: the _jobos_ are a fruit in size and shape like a large damson, of a yellow colour, very juicy, with an agreeable acidity; when green they make excellent tarts: the _mameis_ are an egg-shaped fruit, with a fibrous rind, covering a pulpy substance, of a delicately sweet taste; each contains one or two large rough kidney-shaped seeds: _marañones_, a fruit somewhat like a lemon; they have a smooth yellow skin, striped with red; the pulp is very acid but agreeable, and is sucked on account of its being very fibrous; in size and shape the seed is like the cashew nut, but it is united to the fruit where this joins the branch; the seed is more delicate than an almond, and it is used by the confectioner as well as the fruit: _nisperos_, an egg shaped fruit about four inches long; the rind is brown and rough; the pulp in some is white, in others reddish, very sweet, and somewhat resembling the taste of a delicious pear; each contains three long hard seeds--this fruit is in season during the whole year: _zapotes_, a round fruit about five or six inches in diameter, having a soft, downy, yellowish rind; the pulp in some is a very deep yellow, in others it is white, in others almost black, but the yellow kind is considered the best; they are very sweet, but fibrous; in the centre is a large kernel, to which all the fibres appear strongly attached. oranges, limes, lemons, paltas, lucumas, palillos, tamarinds, guavas, coconuts, and other intertropical fruits are also in very great abundance. what may be termed a separate fruit market is the astonishing quantities of plantains which are sold, because they constitute the principal support of the lower classes, and are always to be found at the tables of the higher. large canoes and balsas, carrying five or six hundred bunches of this fruit, arrive every day from different parts at the city, and if the supply happen to be scanty for two or three days, the arrival of canoes or balsas is hailed as a godsend. besides the quantity of plantains consumed by the inhabitants, the country ships give rations of them to their crews, instead of bread; and the natives feed their poultry and pigs on the ripe ones. what adds greatly to the curiosity of the market altogether, is the originality of the sight; it is principally held on board the numberless canoes and balsas which arrive from the country, and which remain close to the river side till they have delivered their cargoes. the winter season, which commences here in the month of december, and continues till the latter end of april, is very disagreeable, owing to the heat, the constant want of a refreshing wind, the unceasing rains, the frequent thunder storms, and the abundance of troublesome insects, all of which seem to combine to incommode the human species; the natives, however, appear to withstand the joint attack with wonderful composure. during the remaining eight months of the year, which is called the summer, the climate is not oppressive; a breeze from the south-west, called the _chandui_, because it comes over a mountain of this name, generally sets in about noon, and continues to blow till five or six o'clock the following morning. the natives may be seen about noon looking out for the breeze, and on the first appearance of it the rollers of the blinds are placed between the ballustrades of the varandas to catch it: along the malecon, when it is observed to ripple the water in the river, a general salutation often takes place, and "yonder comes the chandui," may be heard on every side. during the summer all kinds of provisions and fruit are abundant, and of a better quality, and the city is then very healthy; but during the winter intermittent fevers, dysenteries, and diseases of the eyes, are very common, and often prove fatal. strangers at guayaquil are much annoyed by the troublesome insects, as well as the most poisonous reptiles, which abound there. during the rainy months the mosquitos appear in such swarms, that it is impossible to avoid them; and, besides the bite, the continued humming noise which they make prevents a person, unaccustomed to such music, from sleeping, although his bed may be furnished with curtains to protect him against their bite. another small insect, called _jejen_, is extremely troublesome: it is so diminutive, that it can pass the bed-curtains, unless they be made of some close fine material; and its bite causes a greater degree of irritation than that of the mosquito. ants creep about the houses in such prodigious numbers, that it is almost impossible to prevent them from mixing with the victuals, particularly sweetmeats; and it is no uncommon thing, when you take off the crust of a tart, or open ajar of preserves, to find that the whole has been consumed by these insects, and the despoilers in complete possession of the cup or jar. i have frequently seen a cold fowl brought to the table, and on carving it the ants would sally forth in droves, and run all over the table; even the beds are invaded by them, and that person would smart for it who should unwarily lay himself down, without the necessary precaution of well examining the premises. another very small insect, called the _comejen_, although not troublesome in the same manner as the foregoing, is more so in other respects. its destructive qualities are so active, that in the space of one night it will penetrate the hardest wood, or any other similar substance. i have been assured, that in the same space of time, it has been known to perforate a bale of paper, passing quite through twenty-four reams. this insect builds its nest under the eaves of the houses, of a glutinous clay, similar to that used by the swallows in the fabrication of their nests; but the comejen continues his for several yards in length. the greatest care is necessary to prevent their entering a store or any such place, where their depredations would cause a considerable decrease in the value of the contents. the natives sometimes daub their nests with tar, which destroys the whole swarm; for if disturbed, they will divide into different societies, and each will separately search for a convenient place in which to form a new one. in the archives of quito, there is a curious royal decree of carlos iii. respecting this insect. a number of cases of gun-flints had been sent to panama from spain, for the purpose of being forwarded to lima; but their non-arrival at this place caused the viceroy to repeat his request to the court for the supply; this produced an investigation--the flints were traced to panama, and the governor was ordered to account for them. in his answer to the minister, he stated, that the comejen had destroyed the cases in the royal magazine. the minister being ignorant of what the comejen was, an order was issued under the royal seal, commanding the governor of panama to apprehend the comejen--to form a summary process on the crimes which he had committed, then to send the prisoner and documents, with the necessary guard, in custody to spain, that he might be dealt with according to the extent of his criminality! the _nigua_, called _piqui_ in lima and other parts of peru, is a diminutive insect, in appearance like a small flea. they generally introduce themselves under the cuticle of the feet, which causes a slight itching: when they have thus established their residence, they deposit a great number of eggs, the whole increasing to the size of a pea; if not carefully taken out they continue to breed, and, corroding the neighbouring parts, they produce malignant ulcers, which sometimes terminate in gangrene. the greatest care is necessary in taking out these diminutive but disagreeable insects; no part should be left behind, and the whole of the bag which contains the ovii should be extracted; when they have been suffered to remain several days they occasion great pain. negroes are most troubled with them, on account of their going barefoot, and of their inattention to cleanliness. the reptiles that frequent the houses in guayaquil are the _alacran_, which in shape resembles a lobster: the body is about an inch long, and the tail, which has nine joints, is of the same length; the end of the tail is armed with a small hooked instrument, with which the animal can inflict a sting so poisonous, that it causes violent pain in the part affected; considerable degree of fever, excessive thirst, hardness of the tongue, and sometimes delirium ensues; but all the effects generally cease within twenty-four hours. the remedy usually applied is cauterizing the part with a lighted segar. the _ciento pies_ are from three to six inches long; they have thirty articulations or joints, and sixty feet; they are covered with small scales of a brownish hue, and have organs suited for biting, both at the head and at the tail, either of which cause violent pain, and a considerable degree of fever. the remedy used by the natives is the same as for the bite of the alacran. many _salamanquecas_, small chameleons, run about the houses, at which the natives are very much alarmed, fancying that their scratch is mortal; and certainly it must be fancy, for there is no record of any person having been scratched by them. on account of the insects and reptiles, and during the rainy season, when a few snakes introduce themselves into the houses, all the inhabitants smoke segars, being persuaded that the smoke of tobacco drives them away; so that even the females and the children become habituated to the use of this herb, which in guayaquil is cheap, and of a good quality. the most important part of guayaquil is the dock yard; it produces employment for a great number of mechanics, promotes labour, and consequently independence in a considerable portion of the inhabitants. it also promotes the circulation of money in the neighbourhood, by encouraging the consumption of wood, which is brought from the surrounding country; and the effect caused by giving, through the medium of labour, the greatest possible value to the natural produce of the country is no where so visible as in this city, heightened undoubtedly by the contrast to be met with in the other colonial districts. here the working mechanic is sure of employment; he can calculate with certainty on his earnings, and by being indispensably necessary he acquires a personal independence, totally unknown where labour is scarce, or population excessive. some of the vessels built here have been very much admired by foreigners capable of appreciating their architectural merits; and particularly schooners of a hundred and fifty or two hundred tons burthen. the largest ship ever built in this dock yard was the san salvador, of seven hundred tons; but vessels of from three to five hundred tons are very common. the master ship builder is a mulatto, a native of guayaquil, as well as the masters caulker and rigger. excepting the wood, all the other materials are procured from europe; thus the most extensive market for iron, sheet copper, and all kinds of naval stores, is furnished at guayaquil. very great economical improvements might undoubtedly be made in this yard, and particularly, in the timber. a foreign carpenter would be much surprised to see a man take a solid log of wood, and chalk out a curved plank for the bow or stern of a boat, and cut it with an axe, forming but one plank out of each log, and this by no means so durable as a straight plank would be when curved by artificial means: this is observable in the durability of the wood in the different parts of their boats. the introduction of sawing mills here would be of the greatest importance, as well as at talcahuano, in chile, and would amply repay the speculator who should establish them. the rise and fall of the tide would furnish, at very little expence, the necessary power for the machinery. the sum paid for the sawing of a single plank, twelve inches broad and sixteen or eighteen feet long, is six reals, or three-quarters of a dollar: this will convey an idea of the importance of such an establishment as the one just mentioned. at present ( ) the objections that would formerly have been started during the domination of the spaniards necessarily disappear, not so much perhaps from an increase of knowledge as from an increase of work, and a diminution of workmen; this being the unavoidable result of the war in peru, and that the consequence of the flattering prospect which the emancipation of the colonies now presents. many other improvements which are generally adopted in the english arsenals would be found of vast importance in the ship yard at guayaquil; which, from its situation, must ever remain the principal station for ship building on the shores of the pacific. the balsa is one of the most early specimens of the art of ship-building, if simplicity of construction can warrant the assertion in general terms; it certainly, however, was the only large vehicle in possession of the natives when the spaniards arrived in this part of the new world. of the conveniency of this rude vessel, both asara and acosta speak, when orellana transferred the city of guayaquil from the bay of charapota, near to where the town of monte christi now stands, to the western shores of the river, because it served to transport his soldiers, auxiliaries, and stores, when the indians burnt that town in . the balsa is formed by laying together five, seven, or more large trunks of the _palo de balsa_ or _ceibo_, which is so porous and light, that a man can carry a log thirty feet long and inches in diameter; pieces of cedar, about six inches square, or large canes, are next laid crossway upon these, and the whole are tied together with the tough pliant stems of a creeping plant, called _bejuco_; split canes are afterwards laid along these rafters, to form what may be termed the deck of the balsa. instead of a mast, the sail is hoisted on two poles, or sheers, of mangrove wood, inclining a little forward, being supported by two backstays. the sail is a large square lugsail, with halyards and braces. for propelling the balsa along during a calm, the natives use a long paddle, broad at the lower extremity; they let this fall perpendicularly at the stern of the balsa, and then drag the end forwards, by which means the broad end of the paddle sweeps through the water as it rises, and impels the balsa forward, though very slowly. the rudder is formed of one of these paddles lashed astern, and is managed by one or two men; besides which they have several boards, each three or four yards long and two feet broad, called _guaras_; these they insert between the main or central logs, and allow them to dip more or less into the water: these boards serve for a keel, and prevent the balsa from upsetting or making much lee-way. by raising or lowering these boards in different parts of the balsa, the natives can perform on their raft all the manoeuvres of a regularly built and well rigged vessel, an invention which i believe is not generally known, and the utility of which might be very great in cases of shipwreck, where the seamen have to betake themselves to rafts, without being acquainted with so easy a method of steering them, and of preventing them from capsizing. all the balsas have a small shed built on them, which serves the purposes of a cabin; they are formed of canes, and the roof is covered with palm leaves, or those called _vijao_, which are similar in shape to those of the banana, but not so liable to break or split. some of the large balsas have a comfortable house built on them, composed of four, five, or more rooms; the sides and roof being lined with chintz, with mats on the floors; and are most comfortable conveyances for passengers or parties of pleasure. the balsas are used in the river for loading and unloading the vessels, for carrying the produce of the country from one part to another; also as stages for careening ships, and for heaving them down, besides many other similar purposes: with them also the natives perform voyages to paita, sechura, pacasmayo, and even huanchaco; beating up against the wind and current a distance of four degrees of latitude, having on board five or six hundred quintals of goods as a cargo, besides a crew of indians and their provisions. the canoes of guayaquil are, although unornamented, very handsomely constructed; they are generally made of cedar, _huachapeli_, or _ceibo_: some of them are upwards of twenty feet long, and three feet wide. a large canoe built upon with two or three rows of planks is called a _chata_, and is used for bringing down the cocoa and other productions from the plantations; where, owing to the narrowness of the creeks, and the many turns and windings, the balsas are useless: these also have a lugsail and a jib. many persons have been surprised at not finding the guayaquil merchants possessed of very large capitals: this may be attributed to various causes; the repeated fires have destroyed considerable stocks of merchandize, and as there are no insurance companies, the whole loss has fallen on the individual proprietors. the merchants are also generally supplied with european manufactures from the lima and panama markets, which increases the price of the commodity; and the decrease in the consumption is necessarily in the inverse ratio of the price. goods manufactured in the neighbouring provinces are commonly brought to market by the manufacturers themselves, from whom the inhabitants purchase them at high prices. the produce of the province is generally purchased by commission from peru and mexico, so that the merchants of guayaquil are in some degree, only brokers. small speculations and activity will insure to any one most excellent profits, and hence the considerable number of persons in this city who enjoy a comfortable independence; and probably this is another objection to the amassing of large fortunes by commerce. chapter viii. productions of the province of guayaquil, cocoa....cultivation.... harvest....tobacco....timber....salt....cattle....minor articles of trade...._turbines_ found at santa elena....large bones, &c.... animals, _perico_, _ligero_....monkeys...._iguanas_....toucanes.... _trompeteros_....snakes....curiquinqui, snake-eater...._huaco_, antidote for the bite of snakes...._lagartos_, alligators, description of....methods of killing....fishermen....mineral productions. the following account of the productions of the province of guayaquil is partly from my own observation, and partly from statements given to me by some very respectable natives, on whose veracity i could rely. the most important production of this rich part of south america, as an article of exportation, is the cocoa, the utility and delicacy of which, as an article of food, needs no other encomium than that linnæus calls it _theobroma_, the beverage of the gods. the _cacao_, so called by the indians, and which name it still retains in america, is cultivated here to a very great extent, and considerable profit; but, like many other articles, it requires greater care to render it abundantly productive than what it usually receives. it is sometimes sown in nurseries, on a good soil, where it can be irrigated and shaded from the sun till the plants are about two feet high; at which time they are fit for transplanting; but it is more frequently sown where the plants are to remain. for this purpose the ground is first prepared by clearing away the wood, which is allowed to dry and is then burnt, excepting some lofty trees, which are left to form a shade over the cacao trees; for this, unlike other fruit trees, must be protected against the rays of the sun during every period of its existence. the ground is then divided into compartments, by cutting trenches for the purpose of draining it during the rainy seasons. the cacao beans, fresh from the ripe pod, are laid on the ground in pairs, fourteen or fifteen feet asunder; these are very slightly covered with earth, and a folded leaf of plantain laid over them to preserve the moisture, or prevent the heavy rains from destroying the young plants. if the two beans germinate, the weaker plant is cut down, when both have grown to that height which allows the planter an opportunity of judging of their strength. at the time that the cacao is planted, bananas, or plantains, are also sown, ranges of the young plants being placed between those of the cacao, for the purpose of procuring a shade for the shrubs; and it is calculated that on an average the crop of plantains will defray the whole expence of the plantation. until the cacao tree has grown to the height of four feet it is pruned to the stem, and then allowed to throw out three or four branches, at equal distances, from which the leaves are stripped, to prevent them from drooping; all suckers are also removed, and the tree grows to the height of eighteen or twenty feet. when the cacao tree begins to bear, which is commonly the third year after planting, then as well as before that period, it is assaulted by several enemies of the caterpillar species; one of this tribe is four inches long, and one in circumference round the body; it is belted alternately with black and pale yellow stripes; these and all others are carefully sought for and killed. when the tree begins to bear fruit, the cavias, monkeys, squirrels, and the parrots, commit the greatest depredations, and nothing but fire-arms will drive them away; they skip and fly from tree to tree, and do more damage by breaking the branches, than if they were allowed to remain and feed quietly on the fruit; some of the monkey tribes are so impudent, that they will perch themselves on the branches, break off the ends or the fruit, and throw them at the person who attempts to disturb them. the flower of the cacao is white; it is attached by a short stem to the larger branches, or to the trunk of the tree; the pod which contains the beans is shaped like a melon, about three inches long; when ripe it is of a yellow colour; from twenty to thirty beans are closely imbedded in five rows in each pod, in a soft, moist, downy substance, beautifully white, and of a very agreeable subacid taste. the two principal harvests of the cacao are in june and december, but many of the planters prefer gathering the pods during the whole year, whenever they are in a state of maturity. when the pods are gathered from the trees, they are carried in large baskets to a place properly prepared by cleaning it, and laid on plantain leaves spread for this purpose; those who are appointed to separate the beans from the pods, take a small knife-shaped instrument, of bone or hard wood, and make two or more incisions through the rind, and then throw them to others, who shake out the beans. these are allowed to remain covered with plantain leaves, for three or four days, but not more, when they are spread out to dry; and when they are perfectly so, they are carried to some place prepared to receive them, where the greatest care is necessary to preserve them from becoming wet, or from fermenting, which is the case if they be not completely dry when housed. a small stove would often save a cacao grower many thousand dollars, particularly in the december harvest, when the rains prevail. the cacao plantations generally abound with snakes; for the cutting down of the brushwood, and the subsequent care requisite to prevent it from growing and injuring the plants, allow the rays of the sun to penetrate in many places, and these dangerous reptiles resort to them for the purpose of basking in the sun, of which they appear very fond. at night the enormous quantity of fire-flies, _lucernas_, which fly about in all directions, is truly beautiful, and their united light is sometimes so great, as to allow a person to see his way along a narrow path. on an average the quantity of cacao harvested in the province of guayaquil is six hundred thousand _fanegas_, of three bushels each; it sometimes sells at seven dollars the fanega. the cacao of guayaquil is of an inferior quality, the bean is large compared to that of carraccas, and three times the size of the best cacao, which is that of soconusco; it is much drier than either of these, and consequently much lighter, and has a more bitter taste; however, the demand for it was never below the quantity produced, and ships from callao to spain generally dropped down to guayaquil to take in cargoes of it; besides the annual supply to peru, chile, and mexico. the cacao produced in the lieutenancy of machala is considered the best; but i have not the least doubt, that if due attention were paid to the cultivation and harvesting, such as is bestowed in england on vegetables of minor importance, the cacao of guayaquil would both increase in quantity and improve in quality. no soil or climate can be better suited to its growth than those of this province, for it requires heat in this, and moisture in that. at present ( ) the political changes have opened a fair field to the investment of british capital, and the exertions of british industry in this rich and fertile province; in which i hope to see both employed and prospering, not only in commercial intercourse, but in mechanical and agricultural improvements. very large plantations of tobacco are cultivated in this province, particularly in the department of daule and puerto viejo; it is packed in the leaf, and supplies the interior provinces, peru and chile; its quality is mild and good, and although it is a royal monopoly, the king paying only one and a half real, three-sixteenths of a dollar, per pound, it employs many of the natives, and pays them moderately well. timber is another article of commerce, large quantities being carried to peru, besides the great consumption of it here in the dock yard: the kinds of timber used in ship-building are _roble_, a kind of oak, _guachapeli_, _balsamo_, cedar, _maria_, _huarango_, and _piñuela_; in addition to which varieties, there are, for other purposes, saffron, laurel, negro, _caoba_, a kind of mahogany, ebony, _cascol_, _guayacan_, _colorado_, _guayabo_, _mangle_, _canelo_, and others of minor importance. salt is another branch of commerce of considerable consequence; it is produced at the punta de santa elena, and carried to quito, cuenca, loxa, as well as to every part of the provinces subject to these capitals; and it is a source of great wealth to this province. the trade in horned cattle, mules, and horses, of which there is an excess in the savanas of guayaquil, is extensive; they are driven into the interior, where they find a good market, and amply repay the breeder. the province of guayaquil also produces many articles of less moment, but all contributing to enrich its inhabitants; some of these are bees wax, honey, small quantities of excellent coffee, rice, _ajonjoli_, cotton, bark for tanning, _vainilla_, coconuts, copal gum, sarsaparilla, sassafras, anime balsam, cassiafistula, caraña gum, and _cascol_, a kind of black sealing wax; large quantities of _pita_, thread, are spun also from the agave americana, and many thousands of hats are made annually by the indians in the department of xipixapa, of a fine white rush, some of which sell for upwards of twenty dollars each. the small shell-fish found on the rocks near to santa elena are worthy of notice, as i believe them to be the true turbines. they are about the size of a hazel nut, shaped like a snail, and by different operations the beautiful purple dye is obtained from them. some prick the fish with a needle or cactus thorn, and then press it down into the shell till a small quantity of milky juice appears, into which a portion of cotton is dipped; it is put into an earthen jar or cup, and the fish is placed again on the rock: others take the fish out of the shell, and lay it on their hands; they press it with a knife from the head towards the tail or the slender part, which becomes filled with the liquid, and is cut off, and cotton is applied to absorb the moisture, otherwise thread is passed through it. when the cotton is soaked in the liquor, and a sufficient quantity is obtained, it is mixed with as much dry cotton as it will conveniently make damp, the cotton being well carded or teased; it is afterwards dried and spun; when thread is used it is only drawn through the liquor and dried. the colour is at first a pale yellow, it subsequently changes to a greenish hue, and in the course of a few hours it acquires the beautiful purple tinge so much admired by the ancients, and which no future washing or exposure to the air can alter. the thread dyed by the liquid procured from this small fish is often sold in guayaquil, and is called _caracolillo_, from _caracol_, a snail. at the punta de santa elena, enormous remains of unknown animals have been discovered, which m. de humboldt says were cetaceous; and ulloa, agreeing with the popular opinion here, calls them the remains of giants, because the indians are in possession of a tradition, that men of a colossal stature once landed at this point. i saw a grinder in the possession of don jose merino, at guayaquil, which weighed five pounds three ounces, and the enamel was spotted like the female tortoise shell. the jaguar is an inhabitant, and may be justly stiled the lord of the forest; it is called by the natives _tigre_, tiger, and is in size and fierceness almost equal to the oriental tiger; the fur is short, thick, and glossy, the colour is a bright yellow, marked along the spine with a chain of occelated or eye-shaped spots, like black rings, having a black spot in the centre of each; along the sides are four chains of rings, but these are rather oval than round, each of them generally containing two spots; however along the sides the rings are not so regular as along the back, indeed the rings often appear to be formed of three or four oblong spots, including two in the centre; the belly is white, with transverse black stripes. the face and sides of the neck are very thickly studded with black spots. the fur of the tail is not glossy; on the upper part the pattern is a zig-zag, and not spotted like the body. the jaguar preys on the cattle in the savanas, lurking about and securing a bullock or young horse; after making a hearty meal he retires to a considerable distance, and never returns to the same place within a month, being suspicious perhaps of being detected and punished. pressed by hunger, he has been known to attack human beings, and even to loiter about at night, waiting for an opportunity to seize on any one who may leave the house; having once tasted human flesh, he becomes either more daring, or averse to other food; but when it is known that a tiger has destroyed any person, the cause is made a common one, and all the people in the neighbourhood join and pursue the enemy till they kill it. in the woods there is found a species of sloth, called by the natives _perico ligero_, nimble peter; it is also called ahi, probably from the pitiful noise which it makes. i have seen it several times, but the following description of it was given to me by dr. hurtado, of guayaquil:-- "the snout short, forehead high, eyes black, almost covered with long black eyelashes, no incisors in the under jaw, four legs, ill formed, thighs ill-shaped and clumsy, hind legs short and thick, the toes united, having three long curved claws on the hind and fore feet, twenty-eight ribs, three stomachs, very short intestines, only one aperture for the emission of excrements, like birds; very short tail, and the whole length of the body between four and five feet." this animal in appearance is the very picture of misery; it is covered with long shaggy hair resembling dried grass; its motion is very slow, and at each step it howls most hideously, and scarcely walks ten yards in as many hours. it feeds on leaves and the buds of trees, and when it has once gained the top of a tree it will remain there as long as a leaf is to be procured, and even for some time afterwards, crying and howling, till hunger obliges it to search for food; it then forms itself into a round lump and drops from the tree upon the ground, as if devoid of life. the indians sometimes kill and eat it, and if fat they relish the flesh, which they say is very savoury; but i never had an opportunity of tasting it. many deer, _venados_, similar to those of peru, some cavias, and four varieties of the monkey, are also found in the woods; of these, two species when erect stand four feet high; the one is completely black, with very long arms, hence called _brasilargo_, and is excellent eating; the other has a black back and brown belly, and is called _mongon_; the other two kinds are when erect about eighteen inches high; the one is of a yellow brown colour, and the other is black with a white face: all the four species have long tails. many _iguanas_ are met with in different parts of the province; the body is about a foot long, with a row of points along the back like the fins of a fish, the head has a crest like that of the dunghill cock; the mouth is similar to the beak of a parrot, the bite of which is very severe, as it divides almost every thing that comes between its jaws; the legs are short, and the toes are partly connected by a membrane, like the feet of some water-fowl; the tail is very slender and as long as the body, having very much the appearance of a snake; by whipping with it when vexed it can inflict a very severe wound; its colour is green and yellow, and the natives often say, that if it had wings it would be the devil himself. they are oviparous, and the female lays from twenty to thirty eggs at one time: these are white, and covered with a membrane instead of a shell, and are most delicate eating. the flesh of the animal too is whiter and more savoury than that of the barn door fowl. they are chiefly found on the branches of trees, and when pursued on the ground will betake themselves to their burrows or to the water. among the feathered tribe there are many beautiful parrots, parroquets, and papagayos; the toucan, called here _dios te dé_, is common in the woods, particularly in the neighbourhood of the banana plantations, on the ripe fruit of which it feeds; the back, wings, and tail, are black, the breast a beautiful bright yellow, and the beak, which is as long as the body of the bird, is yellow on the upper side, and the rest brown; the tongue is long, slender and serrated; on the whole the appearance of the bird is very awkward, owing to the immense size of the beak. here are many wild turkeys, some of which are delicate eating; _huacharacas_, a species of pheasant, and _poujis_, equally or more delicate; the latter are as large as our turkeys; the male is black, with a high crest of beautiful black and white feathers on its head; the hen is brown, spotted with black, having a crest or topping like the male, which it spreads in the form of a fan when vexed, and then allows it to fall backward on the neck. the _trompetero_ is a native of this province, and is often domesticated, as well as the toucan, poujis, and several different kinds of parrots; the trompetero is about the size of a barn door fowl, and entirely black, excepting a few long yellow feathers on the neck; it becomes very tame, and will follow the people to whom it belongs, making a noise somewhat like the sound of a trumpet, which, according to the general opinion, proceeds from the anus; the sound however is so varied and modulated, that it sometimes appears to proceed from one part and sometimes from another. on the arrival of a stranger it will immediately parade the room, and receive him with a musical welcome. here are also several varieties of pigeons and other small birds, particularly humming birds; these beautiful flutterers fly in all directions, sipping the honey from the flowers, especially those of the plantain and the banana, which are their favourites, and in which they are often completely hidden while feeding on their nectareous sweets. the small birds are more worthy of admiration for the brilliancy of their plumage than for the sweetness of their notes; indeed very few of them ever sing; and the continued chattering of the parrots is very disagreeable. the most useful bird here is the gallinaso, it may be called the public scavenger, and it is protected by the municipal law, which imposes a fine of five dollars on any person who kills one of them. numerous snakes infest the whole of the province of guayaquil, and individuals are often bitten by them; but the natives are possessed of remedies, and against the poison of some, of specific antidotes. they make the patient drink a considerable quantity of olive oil, scarify round the wound, and apply pieces of calcined stag's horn; but the safest remedy known among the natives is the leaves of a creeper called _huaco_, which growls in the woods. the leaves are bruised to the consistency of paste, which is made into small cakes, each about the size of half a crown, and then dried in the shade. when a person is bitten, he puts one of these small cakes in his mouth, and chews it till the bitter taste is gone, at the same time swallowing his saliva; he is then bathed, the chewed herb is taken from his mouth and bound over the wound, and he recovers. the visible effects are a copious perspiration. when at esmeraldas i was bitten in the hand by a coral snake, the bite of which is considered mortal if not immediately cured; the pain which i felt was a violent burning near the wound; it gradually spread over the part affected, accompanied with a peculiar sensation, which appeared as if a large weight were hanging to my hand, and which prevented me from raising it. a native who was with me having observed what had happened, immediately gave me a cake of the huaco herb, ordered me to chew it, and began to press my hand, squeezing the wound; in about five minutes the pain abated, and the bitter taste of the herb was gone. i bathed in the river, and laid myself down in a canoe, where i was covered with a poncho and taken to my home, which was about four miles from the spot where the accident happened. during the time that i remained in the canoe i perspired most profusely, and after retiring to my bed, more so; the pain in my hand was very much allayed, but i felt a general numbness and great debility, accompanied with nausea; i drank a large glass of almond milk, _orchata_, and slept about an hour; on waking i found myself feverish, my tongue parched and hard, and for four days i was very ill. a poultice of boiled pumpkin was continually kept on my hand, and the wound began to suppurate on the fourth day, when my health was gradually restored. all this time i was very apprehensive of danger, although the natives assured me that as twenty-four hours had elapsed since the bite, i was perfectly safe. for more than a fortnight i felt the effects of the poisonous fangs of the reptile, which the natives had killed almost immediately after it had wounded me, and brought it to my house. i never saw the huaco herb growing, but i have seen it when brought from the woods; the leaves are about two and a half inches long and half an inch broad; the upper surface is of a dark green, with purple veins running along it, of a glossy appearance and solid texture; the under side is of an obscure purple hue; the leaves grow singly, two being placed opposite to each other on the stem, which is slender, hard, and ribbed, and of a bluish colour. i never saw the flower, and the natives when i asked them concerning it, told me that it never did flower, at least that they had never observed any flowers on the plant. fortunately, a bird at guayaquil called _quiriquinqui_, at esmeraldas and on the coast of choco, _huaco_, and at quito, _beteado de oro_, is a great enemy to the snakes, and other venomous reptiles and insects, on which it feeds. it is a species of vulture, about the size of a hen, and is easily domesticated; its colour is a bright brown, variegated with stains of pale yellow. it flies about the woods, or runs along the savanas in quest of its food, and attacks the snakes, opposing its wing to them as a shield; when the animal is somewhat exhausted by striking at the bird, it seizes the reptile near the head, and biting it rises on its wings, and afterwards alights, and observes if it be dead; if not, it again bites it, and sometimes soaring aloft with it lets it fall, and immediately drops down after it; when dead the bird devours it. the natives affirm, that to this bird they owe the discovery of the herb which they call huaco; they observed that the bird, after fighting with a snake, would sometimes search for the herb and eat it; hence they supposed it to be an antidote for the poison, which experience has proved to be correct. the poisonous snakes found here are the _bejuco_, about two feet long, very slender, and of a brown colour, having the appearance of a small cane; the _cascabel_, one of the varieties of the rattle snake; it is sometimes five feet long, and spotted with white and yellow; the coral, of a very beautiful appearance, owing to its bright colours, which are a deep red, bright yellow, and black, in alternate belts; the head is very flat, and although the animal is small, seldom exceeding two feet in length, its bite is considered of the most poisonous kind, and if not directly cured generally proves mortal in a few hours; the effects are an immediate swelling, and afterwards an exudation of blood from every part of the body, accompanied with the most agonizing pain, till death relieves the wretch from the anguish he endures. don pedro figueroa, to whose attention i owed my cure, assured me, that he once saw the corpse of a negro who died of the bite of the coral snake, and that it had become completely white. the _exis_ is so called on account of the marks along the back, from the head to the extremity of the tail; its length is from three to four feet, head flat, colour dark brown, with white marks like xx along the back. this snake is most active and poisonous, and is much dreaded. the _sierpe volante_ is very dangerous; it is about eighteen inches long, very slender, of a dark brown colour, and can spring to a great distance to inflict its poisonous wound; hence the natives call it the flying serpent. here are several kinds of harmless snakes, which the natives never kill, as they are great enemies of the poisonous ones; i once saw one of these, called the _sobre cama_, devouring an exis larger than itself. the river of guayaquil and the creeks that empty themselves into it, abound with alligators, _lagartos_, or _caimanes_, so much so, that on the banks where they lie basking in the sun they appear like logs of wood thrown up by the tide, and are so unapprehensive of danger, that a canoe or boat may pass very near to them without their being disturbed; when basking in this manner they keep their enormous mouths open, and owing to the colour of the fleshy substance on the inside of the lower jaw, as well as to a musky scent which accompanies their breath, great numbers of flies are allured to enter the mouth, the upper jaw of which, when a sufficient number are collected, suddenly falls down, and the deluded insects are swallowed. the alligator is an oviparous animal; the female deposits her eggs in the sand, laying in the course of one or two days from eighty to a hundred; they are much larger than those of a goose, and much thicker; they are covered with a very tenacious white membrane, and are often eaten by the indians, who when they take them first open a small hole in the larger end, and place the egg in the sand with the hole downward; by this means a peculiarly disagreeable musky taste is destroyed; they afterwards cook them in the same manner as other eggs. i have tasted them, and found nothing disagreeable, except their being very tough. after depositing her eggs the female covers them with sand, and then rolls herself over them, and continues rolling to the water side, as if to prevent the spot being found where she has left her deposit; but the vigilant gallinasos are generally on the alert at this season, and when they have found the nest, destroy the whole of them. the people who live near the sides of the river train their dogs to search for the eggs, as well as to destroy them; and thus thousands are annually broken. when instinct informs the alligator that the time of ovation is completed, both the male and female go to the nest, and if undisturbed the female immediately uncovers the eggs, and carefully breaks them; the young brood begin to run about, and the watchful gallinasos prey upon them, while the male alligator, who appears to have come for no other purpose, devours all that he possibly can; those that can mount on the neck and back of the female are safe, unless they happen to fall off, or cannot swim, in which cases she devours them. thus nature has prepared a destruction for these dangerous animals, which would otherwise be as numerous as flies, and become the absolute proprietors of the surrounding country; even at present, notwithstanding the comparatively few that escape, their number is almost incredible. i have frequently seen the lagartos eighteen or twenty feet long. they feed principally on fish, which they catch in the rivers, and are known sometimes to go in a company of ten or twelve to the mouths of the small rivers and creeks, where two or three ascend while the tide is high, leaving the rest at the mouth; when the tide has fallen, one party besets the mouth of the creek, while the other swims down the stream, flapping their tails, and driving the fish into the very jaws of their devourers, which catch them, and lift their heads out of the water to swallow them. when these voracious creatures cannot procure a sufficient quantity of fish to satisfy their hunger, they betake themselves to the savanas, where they destroy the calves and foals, lurking about during the day, and seizing their prey when asleep at night, which they drag to the water side, and there devour it. the cattle and the dogs appear sensible of their danger when they go to the rivers to drink, and will howl and bark until they have attracted the attention of the lagartos at one place, and then drop back and run to another, where they drink in a hurry, and immediately leave the water side; otherwise, as has been the case, an alligator would seize on them by the nose, drag them under the water, and drown and eat them. when the lagarto has once tasted the flesh of animals it will almost abandon the fish, and reside principally ashore. i crossed the large plain of babaoyo, where i saw a living one, buried, except the head, in the clay, beside the remains of several dead ones. on inquiring how they came there, the _montubios_, a name given here to the peasantry, told me, that when the rains fall in the mountains the great part of this savana is inundated, at which time the lagartos prowl about in search of the cattle remaining on the small islands that are then formed; and when the waters retire they are left embedded in the clay, till the ensuing rains set them at liberty; they feed on flies in the way already described, and can exist in this manner for six or seven months. when found in this state the natives always kill them; sometimes by piercing them with lances between the fore leg and the body, the only visible part in which they are vulnerable; if they be not prepared with a lance, they collect wood, and kindle a fire as near to the mouth of the lagarto as they dare venture, and burn him to death. these animals will sometimes seize human beings when bathing, and even take children from the shores; after having succeeded once or twice they will venture to take men or women from the balsas, if they can surprize them when asleep; but they are remarkably timid, and any noise will drive them from their purpose. they have also been known to swim alongside a small canoe, and to suddenly place one of their paws on the edge and upset it, when they immediately seize the unwary victim. whenever it is known that a _cebado_, one that has devoured either a human being or cattle, is in the neighbourhood, all the people join in the common cause to destroy it; this they often effect by means of a noose of strong hide rope, baited with some animal food; when the lagarto seizes the bait its upper jaw becomes entangled with the rope, and the people immediately attack it with their lances, and generally kill it. the natives sometimes divert themselves in catching the lagartos alive; they employ two methods, equally terrific and dangerous to a spectator, at first sight; both of these were exhibited to count ruis, when we were at babaoyo, on our way to quito. a man takes in his right hand a truncheon, called a tolete; this is of hard wood, about two feet long, having a ball formed at each end, into which are fastened two iron harpoons, and to the middle of this truncheon a platted thong is fastened. the man takes this in his hand, plunges into the river, and holds it horizontally on the surface of the water, grasping a dead fowl with the same hand, and swimming with the other: he places himself in a right line with the lagarto, which is almost sure to dart at the fowl; when this happens the truncheon is placed in a vertical position, and at the moment that the jaw of the lagarto is thrown up the tolete is thrust into the mouth, so that when the jaw falls down again the two harpoons become fixed, and the animal is dragged to the shore by the cord fastened to the tolete. when on shore the appearance of the lagarto is really most horrible; his enormous jaw propped up by the tolete, shewing his large sharp teeth; his eyes projecting almost out of his head; the pale red colour of the fleshy substance on his under jaw, as well as that of the roof of the mouth; the impenetrable armour of scales which covers the body, with the huge paws and tail, all contribute to render the spectacle appalling; and although one is perfectly aware that in its present state it is harmless, yet it is almost impossible to look on it without feeling what fear is. the natives now surround the lagarto and bait it like a bull; holding before it any thing that is red, at which it runs, when the man jumps on one side and avoids being struck by it, while the animal continues to run forward in a straight line, till checked by the thong which is fastened to the tolete. when tired of teazing the poor brute, they kill it by thrusting a lance down its throat, or under the fore leg into its body; unless by accident it be thrown on its back, when it may be pierced in any part of the belly, which is soft and easily penetrated. the other method is, by taking a fowl in one hand, and a sharp strong knife in the other; the man swims till he is directly opposite to the alligator, and at the moment when it springs at the fowl the man dives under the water, leaving: the fowl on the surface; he then holds up the knife to the belly of the animal, and cuts it open, when the alligator immediately rolls over on its back, and is carried away by the stream. much has been said about the surprizing agility of some of the spanish bull fighters, and i have often beheld feats that have astonished me; but this diversion at babaoyo, for so the natives consider it, evinced more bravery and agility than i had ever before witnessed. the teeth of the alligator are often taken from the jaws, and _yesqueros_, small tinder boxes, which are generally carried in the pocket for the purpose of lighting segars, are made from them; they are beautifully white and equal to the finest ivory; some are four inches long, and i have seen them most delicately carved, and mounted with gold or silver. in fishing, the natives also evince extraordinary dexterity, both in the river and on the sea shores. in the river i have seen them stand up in small canoes, five or six feet long, and hold a net fastened to a triangular frame, having a long pole affixed to it; they will dip the net into the river, inclining the body backwards to preserve a perfect balance on the canoe, sweep the net along the stream, and draw it to the surface, raising the body gradually to an erect posture, so that the equipoise is never lost; this indeed is a wonderful effort, because any slight tremulous motion would upset the slender foundation on which they stand. from similar canoes they will also throw the casting net, _ataraya_, already described. at sea the natives, chiefly indians, mount astride on logs of balsa wood, and take their large nets with them, which they let drop; after which they fasten the cord of the two extremities to the logs and paddle to the shore, dragging the net after them, maintaining so exact a balance, that although the log is round they very seldom fall off. in the sea along the coast of the department la manta, very large cuttle fish abound, some of which are twelve feet long and seven feet broad; it was owing to the accidents which happened by their enveloping and killing the divers that the pearl fishery on this coast was abandoned, although some very valuable pearls have been found. this lucrative occupation, however, if attended with such precautions as science may suggest, will probably be reassumed; and the expectations of the natives may be realized, that providence has made a reserve and hidden treasures from the spaniards, that the country may not be unworthy of notice when they lose it. the only mineral production in the province of guayaquil of which any mention is made, is emeralds, in the district of la manta; but they have not been sought for since the conquest; tradition states, that before that period the indians possessed many of these gems, but it is probable they obtained them from the neighbouring province de las esmeraldas, where i have seen several. after the foregoing description of guayaquil and its productions, it is almost unnecessary to say any thing respecting its importance as a place of commerce. it is likewise the principal, and till very lately ( ) was the only port to the provinces of quito, cuenca, paste, and papayan, all of which are extensive, well peopled, and comparatively rich districts. the only thing wanting here is an increase of capital, activity, and inhabitants; for the climate and the soil are calculated to produce whatever is found between the tropics; and there is no doubt but that this will at a future date become one of the most flourishing countries in the new world. chapter ix. journey from guayaquil to quito....babaoyo....road to chimbo.... _cuesta de san antonio_....arrival at huaranda....triumphal arch and harangue....description of huaranda and province of chimbo.... chimboraso....accident at la ensillada....road to san juan.... _obrage_ of indians....arrival at riobamba....description of.... remains of old riobamba......visit to an old cacique......province of riobamba......road to ambato....description of....produce.... arrival at tacunga....description of....earthquakes at....ruins of callo....provincial produce....arrival at chisinchi, ensillada, and quito....remarks. the health of the count being re-established, we left guayaquil under a discharge of nineteen guns, some pieces of cannon having been placed in front of the custom-house for this purpose. we remained two days at the bodegas de babaoyo, a small village, where there is a custom-house for the collection of the duties which are paid on goods, on entering or leaving the province of guayaquil. the roads across the savana, notwithstanding the absence of rain for three months, were in some places very bad, although a number of indians had been sent by the corregidor of huaranda to repair them; they were mended by putting the trunks of trees in the deep, muddy places, and laying the branches and leaves of trees on the top. a considerable number of cattle were grazing on the open plains, some of which were very fat. at noon we halted at a farm-house, where a splendid dinner was provided for us by the cura of san miguel de chimbo, who had come here to meet us. after dinner we proceeded on our journey to a small farm-house, where every convenient accommodation had been prepared for us, and we remained here during the night. on the following day we arrived at the village of san miguel, situated in a deep ravine, commanding a beautiful prospect of the mountains, which gradually rose above each other, till their heads were lost in the clouds. on our arrival at this village we were met by about forty indian boys, _cholos_, fantastically dressed; and the little fellows danced along the sides of the street as we passed to the house prepared for our reception. on the following day, july d, a dreary prospect presented itself; this was the ascent of the cuesta de san antonio; we began to ascend at nine o'clock in the morning, and at every step new difficulties and greater dangers presented themselves; in some places the road ran along a narrow ridge, with a precipice on each side; in others we had to travel along _ladcras_, or narrow skirts of the mountain beaten down by travellers into a path, with a deep valley on one side, and a perpendicular rock on the other--a fall on one side threatening inevitable death, and on the other broken arms or legs against the rough sides of the rock. in other parts there was a narrow gully formed by the heavy rains and the transit of mules, the perpendicular sides rising ten or fifteen feet above our heads. to these may be added, that the whole of the road for six leagues is composed of abrupt acclivities or rapid descents, while the track in which the mules tread was composed of deep furrows, called _camellones_, filled with mud; some of them were more than two feet deep, so that the belly of the mule and the feet of the rider were dragged over the ridges that divide the furrows: these indeed serve as steps, and in some degree may be accounted a security; but if a mule should happen to fall, or even to stumble, the danger of being thrown headlong down a precipice is rather frightful. in some places there are two roads; the one by which the mules descend has no camellones, or furrows, down which the mules seem to prefer sliding to stepping down the others. when at the top, these sagacious animals halt for a short time, shake themselves, and snort, as if conscious of the hazard of the undertaking; they then draw their hind feet forward, place their fore legs in a slanting position, and approach very gradually to the beginning of the descent, when with uncommon velocity they slide on their haunches to the bottom. their dexterity in the crooked places is truly astonishing; for by a motion of the body they incline themselves first to one side then to the other, keeping the most perfect equilibrium, which is the only means of saving them and their riders from being hurled headlong forward, or dashed to pieces by a fall. during all this time the rider has only to sit still, to lay the reins on the mule's neck, and trust to its sagacity and the recommendation given by its master; for many mules are kept in this neighbourhood, and are highly esteemed for their dexterity in sliding down this part of the road; fortunately for us, being in company with the captain-general of the kingdom, all the best mules were collected for our use. at two o'clock in the afternoon we were cheered with _se ha acabado la cuesta_, we are at the end of the mountain road. this place is called _parcara_, a gate or entrance; it also signifies a fortified place; such this probably was before the conquest, and such it was made in by the quiteños, to prevent the entrance of the peruvian troops. we all alighted, and shook some of the dirt from our clothes, after which we were politely received by don gaspar morales, the corregidor of huaranda, the two alcaldes, several officers, and other gentlemen of the province; but what proved far more welcome, was a relay of horses. [illustration: indian water carrier, & female indian brush-wood carrier, _of quito_. _engraved for stevenson's narrative of south america._] after our saddles had been placed on our new steeds we mounted, and proceeded in regular procession, two indians, with silver trumpets, going before. at the distance of a league from the town we were met by the brawny vicar, mounted on the finest mule i ever beheld; indeed, such an animal was quite necessary, when it is considered what an unwieldy mass it had to carry: the circumstance made several of us smile, and we could scarcely refrain from laughter when the corregidor presented him to his excellency, saying, "the vicar of huaranda, don juan antonio maria de la magdalena jaramillo, pacheco, y tavera." heaven help us, said i, to an officer who stood near me, how i pity the parson's mule. we had not proceeded far when a troop of militia cavalry met us; these tatterdemalions would certainly have borne away the prize had they been put in competition with the infantry of sir john falstaff; and could i have chosen for myself, hang me if i would have entered huaranda in their company. the next that made their appearance were the indian dancers, singing their _cachuas_ in _quichua_, welcoming the arrival of the governor with the most discordant yellings, and such extravagant expressions as beggar all description. at the entrance of the town there was a triumphal arch! this was composed of canes, decorated with curtains of all colours and descriptions of stuffs; ribbons for streamers, and flags made of pocket handkerchiefs; silver plates, dishes, spoons, and forks were hung round it. when his excellency had arrived close to it, a curtain was withdrawn in the upper story, and an indian in the uniform of an officer, his coarse black hair stiffened with tallow and flour, still incapable of being turned into a curl, but standing upright in every direction, advanced to the front, made a most profound bow, and then stepped back; after this he looked up, and exclaimed, "_angil bello, daja el papel_," "beautiful angel, give me the paper," but in such a broken dialect, that nothing, save an acquaintance with the spanish language, can afford any idea. several white muslin handkerchiefs, which were tied in festoons above his head in imitation of clouds, opened, and down fell, or rather was lowered with a rope, an indian angel, his head as thickly cased in tallow and flour as that of his invocater; he delivered a folded paper, and was again dragged up into the muslin clouds, while the delighted multitude expressed their approbation with shouts of joy. the orator re-advanced, and read his harangue with all the rhetoric and graceful attitudes of a bombasto. his address was succeeded by the throwing up of innumerable rockets, amid the sound of trumpets and other music stationed on one side of the arch; this was followed by our arrival at the house of the corregidor, where a most sumptuous dinner was on the table. huaranda is the residence of the corregidor, or governor of the province of chimbo, and may be considered the capital of that province. the town is large but poor, the inhabitants being chiefly occupied as carriers. their wealth consists in their droves of mules, which during the summer, when the road is open, are employed in conveying merchandize between quito and guayaquil. the climate at this place is remarkably cold, owing to its elevation above the sea and the vicinity of chimboraso, which is seen from the town, and has the appearance of a huge white cloud piercing the blue vault of heaven. the province of chimbo has an extensive breed of mules in the valleys; barley, potatoes, and maize are cultivated by the indians in various parts, and some sugar cane in the bottoms of the ravines. at a place called tomabela is a spring of salt water, which is so completely saturated that it forms large crusts on the stones against which the water dashes, and along the sides of the small stream; the indians also put the water into troughs, and stir it with a wooden spatula; the salt then crystallizes on the sides of the trough, and is taken out; this salt is packed in small baskets and sent to different parts of the kingdom, as well as to peru; it is a specific for the _cotos_, bronchocele, by merely eating food seasoned with it. this valuable production is delicately white, easily pulverised, and very slightly deliquescent. having taken some refreshment at huaranda, we proceeded on the following morning to the pajonal, at the foot of the majestic chimboraso, the giant of the andes. the day was beautifully clear, and the view of this lofty mountain highly interesting; we had seen it at the mouth of the guayaquil river, as well as at that city, a distance of forty leagues, where we were almost suffocated with heat; but now we felt almost perished with cold: the kingdom of lofty palms and shady plantains was in four days exchanged for a region where vegetation is reduced to its lowest ebb--the dwarf pined mosses. a _tambo_, resting house, stands on the plain at the foot of chimboraso; this had been prepared for our reception; and to contribute in a degree to make it more warm, or rather to keep out some of the cold, the inside had been neatly covered with long dry grass, called _pajon_, which grows on this plain. owing to an accident, the grass caught fire in one of the rooms, at two o'clock in the morning; we immediately ran from our beds, or rather ran with our beds, for we dragged them with us, not a little pleased, in this dilemma, that we had all of us retired to rest without undressing; notwithstanding this we were dreadfully pinched by the frosty air blowing from chimboraso on one side, or carguairaso on the other. after the first blaze of the pajon had subsided, the indians entered the house, and dragged out a few things which had been placed inside, but fortunately the principal part of our luggage had been left on the outside. we waited till morning, sitting on our mattresses, and wrapped up in our ponchos and blankets, as near the fire as we dared to venture. in the morning we proceeded on our journey, winding round the foot of chimboraso, till the valley of san juan opened on our right; we descended along a very rugged steep path, and at twelve o'clock arrived at the _obrage_ of san juan, belonging to don martin chiriboga, where we remained till the following morning. i here beheld the south american indian reduced to the most abject state of servitude and bondage, compared to which the slave belonging to the plantations on the coast of peru, is free indeed. these unfortunate beings, robbed of their country, are merely allowed to exist in it; because the plunderers would only possess a barren waste without their labour: the fertility of the soil would be useless without beings to harvest the crops and manufacture the produce; the gold and the silver must sleep in the mountains if no human beings were employed to extract it. alas! these beings are the degraded original proprietors, on whom the curse of conquest has fallen with all its concomitant hardships and penury. a miserable pittance of fourteen dollars a year is the wages of a man who works in this cloth manufactory; and ten that of him who tends a flock of sheep; and for this miserable pay they are subject to the whip and to other corporal punishments: their home is a hut, composed of rude stones placed one upon another, and thatched with the long grass from the foot of chimboraso: here, hunger, misery, and wretchedness seem to have fixed their abode, at the sight of which pity would wring tears from the heart of oppression; but pity has no part in the composition of the oppressors of the children of the sun! some of the cloth made at this obrage was the finest i had ever seen manufactured in america, but this was by a transgression of the colonial laws, which had established the precise quality of colonial manufactures. happy at leaving behind that misery which i could only compassionate, we left san juan in the morning, and arrived at two o'clock in the afternoon at riobamba, where some very neatly painted triumphal arches had been erected. riobamba is the capital of the province of the same name; the old town was founded in , by the adelantado sebastian benalcasar; it contained twenty thousand inhabitants, two parish churches, four convents, two nunneries, and a hospital; but it was completely destroyed by an earthquake in , when with very few exceptions the whole population perished, besides a much larger number in different parts of the province, and perhaps no remains of these terrible convulsions of nature are more awful than those at riobamba. some of the ruins of the old town may be seen on the acclivities of the mountains on each side the valley, where the new town now stands, separated from each other at least a league and a half; and i was shewn some ruins on each side of the valley which the inhabitants assured me had formed part of one edifice, particularly the two steeples which had belonged to the franciscan church; these were on one side, and a portion of the body of the church on the other. the face of the country was entirely changed, so much so, that after the shock the surviving inhabitants, and those of the neighbouring provinces, could not tell where their houses formerly stood, or where their friends had formerly lived; mountains rose where cultivated valleys had existed; the rivers disappeared or changed their course, and plains usurped the situation of the mountains and ravines. the face of the country was so completely altered, that no one knows the site of the largest farm in the province, belonging to zamora. the new town is built on a sandy plain, much below the level of the surrounding elevated plains, which are called _paramos_; its climate is very agreeable, and calculated to produce all kinds of european fruits, but at present only a few trees are to be seen in the orchards or gardens. i spent the evening that we remained at riobamba with an old indian cacique, the only person whom i ever saw who could knot and interpret the meaning of the knots of the quipus. he boasted of being a descendant of the _huasta puncay_, the ancient lord of the surrounding country. he had an account of the peopling of that part of the territory of maynas, to the eastward of the cordilleras; first by a colony of puncay indians, who had become too numerous for the country which they inhabited; and secondly by part of the tribe, after they had been routed by benalcasar, on the plain of trocajas, where they opposed the entrance of the spaniards. he also had a tradition that, a short time before the arrival of the spaniards, a colony of monkeys crossed the mountains from the westward, and infested the country, till they were all destroyed by the indians; and that on the arrival of the first spaniards, the natives considered them as a migration of destructive animals, and determined to prevent their entrance; but on being defeated, many left the country and joined the colony in maynas. my kind host assured me, that the province of riobamba contained extremely rich mines of gold and silver, and that from undoubted tradition this province sent more silver and gold for the purpose of ransoming atahualpa than any other in the kingdom. the province produces annually about four thousand quintals of sheep's wool, which is manufactured into different kinds of cloth; its other productions are wheat, maize, barley, potatoes, arracachas, and european culinary vegetables. the capital is so situated, that it is not likely ever to become a place of commercial notoriety. our next stage brought us to the town of ambato, the road we travelled being very irregular and disagreeable, owing as well to the coldness of the climate as to the difficult ascents and descents; but the view of our resting place cheered us. as soon as we descended into the valley of ambato, we found a triumphal arch, covered with ripe strawberries; these had been plucked with their stalks, and then fastened to cords of maguey fibres; large bunches were hanging down from the top, and in different parts festoons and other ornaments were tastefully displayed, and the fragrance was peculiarly delightful. here the corregidor and other gentlemen received us, and accompanied us to the town; part of the road being confined with hedges of _tunas_, rosemary bushes, magueys, and rose trees, with other vegetables belonging to the old and the new world: the natives of such distant parts of the globe were here blended, and were thriving in the most luxuriant manner. before we arrived at the town we passed under two other arches covered with strawberries, and for more than a league the indian boys and girls danced along with us; stopping till we had passed the arches, which they immediately pulled down and stripped of their fruit, and then followed us running and singing, with long wreaths of strawberries hanging about them. the town of ambato is very pleasantly situated on one side of a river; the churches and houses are generally neat and all new, for the old town was completely demolished by the earthquake in . ambato is the capital of the province of the same name, which for the greater part enjoys a very mild climate and a most fertile soil. the crops of wheat, maize, barley, quinua, and other pulse are extremely abundant, and of an excellent quality. many exquisite fruits are grown here, such as apples, pears, peaches, apricots, and strawberries; these are produced in great abundance; indeed many of the plains are covered with the plants, and any person who wishes to purchase some, pays to the proprietor of the ground, medio real, one-sixteenth of a dollar, and either goes himself, or sends a person to gather them for him during a whole day. sugar cane thrives extremely well here, although it is four years before it is ripe: remarkably fine sugar is made from it, superior to any other that can be procured in this neighbourhood; but the quantity is small. cochineal, called here pilcay, is found in abundance in the leaves of the cactus, and is collected by the natives for the purpose of dyeing. the name given by the spaniards to this valuable insect is _cochinilla_, signifying a little pig; because it bears a resemblance to one, in the same manner as in some parts of england it is supposed that the woodlouse resembles a hog, and is hence called an "old sow." the cactus on which the cochinilla feeds is not so prickly as the tuna, which in the west indies is called the prickly pear; the leaves are very green, as well as the rind of the fruit, but the inside is of a most beautiful red colour, similar to that of the cochinilla; it is very palatable, and when eaten communicates its own colour to the urine. little attention is paid here to the cultivation of the cactus, or nopal, as it is called in mexico, or to the insect itself, consequently the quality of the dye is not of the first rate; but were both properly attended to, there is no doubt but the pilcay of ambato would equal the cochinilla of oaxaca. instead of killing the insect after taking it from the cactus, by placing it in an earthen jar, and exposing it to a heat sufficiently strong to destroy its vitality, and then preserving it in bags, as the mexican indians do, it is ground or bruised to the consistency of paste, and often adulterated with a composition made of the juice of the fruit, and flour; indeed the mexican indians do the same, and they can imitate the animal so perfectly, that it is difficult to discover the counterfeit. the best method to detect it is, as an extensive dealer informed me in mexico, to put a quantity of cochinilla into warm water, and let it remain twenty-four hours, then to stir it about, and strain the liquor through a hair sieve sufficiently fine to prevent the passage of the insect; allow the liquid to repose, and if any sediment be deposited, the cochinilla contains a portion of counterfeit matter, the quantity of which may be discovered by drying the sediment, and comparing the weight to that of the cochinilla placed in infusion. among the delicacies found at ambato is excellent bread, equal to any in the world, and several kinds of cakes, particularly one called _allullas_, of which many are made and sent to quito, guayaquil, and other places. all the necessary articles of food are reasonably cheap and very good, owing to which, and to its agreeable climate, many persons choose to make this their place of residence. in the year the town was destroyed by an eruption of cotopaxi, accompanied by one of carguairaso, which ejected torrents of a hot muddy matter in such quantities as to inundate several of the neighbouring valleys. on the south side of the present town there still remains a monument of this dreadful visitation; a large chasm is seen in the rock five feet wide, and more than a league in length. on leaving ambato, a short stage of five leagues brought us to llactacunga, or as it is commonly called tacunga. on our entrance we were shocked at the sight of heaps of ruins, caused by the earthquake in ; the churches and convents were quite demolished, and their remains exist in the condition in which that frightful convulsion left them. tacunga is the capital of the province of the same name, and the residence of the corregidor; the plain on which it stands is evidently of volcanic origin, or has been covered with volcanic productions thrown from the neighbouring mountains. the town contains about three thousand inhabitants; it has a parish church, and the remains of the convents of san francisco, santo domingo, san augustin, and la merced; of a college of jesuits, and a nunnery of barefooted carmelite nuns; these after the earthquake were removed to quito. the churches and houses are built of pumice stone, so light that it will float in water; it may be procured in almost any part of the neighbourhood. tacunga was completely ruined by earthquakes, probably by shocks caused by the subterraneous operations of the volcano of cotopaxi, which is very near to the town; these happened in , when only one church out of nine, and four houses out of seven hundred, were left standing; in the years and it was entirely demolished. in the earthquake of , a jesuit, father vallejo, was in the church when the roof fell in; he remained under the ruins till the third day, when he was taken out unhurt; but his mental faculties were so completely deranged, that he had forgotten his own name, nor did he recollect any of his most particular friends, and although a priest, when his breviary was presented to him he could not read it, but appeared quite childish; he afterwards resided in the college of quito, but his memory had so entirely abandoned him, that he never could recollect any thing that had occurred to him before the earthquake, not even his studies, and he was afterwards taught to read and to celebrate a votive mass. this extraordinary instance of the effects produced by fright is so well authenticated in quito, that the fact appears to be indubitable. on the same plain on which tacunga stands are the remains of an indian building, called the inca's palace of callo; but nothing except the foundation can be traced. it appears to have consisted of a large court and three extensive halls, forming three sides of an enclosure. it was built of hard black stones, unlike to any now found in the neighbourhood; owing to which, and to the similitude which the wrought stone (having one convex surface) bears to that used in peru, little doubt exists of its having been built after the conquest of this country by huaina capac. excepting in some few valleys the climate of this province is cold; its productions are wheat, barley, maize, and potatoes. here is but little fruit beside wild cherries, called _capulis_, which grow in great abundance, and when ripe constitute the principal food of the indians, to which we may add a few apples and some peaches. nitre is found in several parts of the province, and a considerable quantity is manufactured. some of the estates in this district are very large, and abound in horned cattle, from which good butter and cheese are procured. we left tacunga on the morning after our arrival, and remained at a farm called chisinchi, and the next day we arrived at a farm house, called la ensillada, belonging to the marquis of villa orellana, where all the authorities and persons of distinction of quito were assembled to compliment their president and captain-general on his arrival. i shall not give an account of the ceremonies observed on the following day, because they in a great measure resembled those practised in lima, on the arrival of a viceroy. it will be observed, that the towns we passed through on our route from guayaquil to quito are generally the capitals of the provinces or districts; there are other roads, but the different corregidors or governors wished to honour their president by receiving him at their respective houses; indeed, care has been taken to establish the capitals on the road, for the accommodation both of travellers and of the governors themselves. the principal population of these provinces is composed of tributary indians and mestisos, some few spaniards, and white creoles. the natives appear very industrious and hospitable; but i had not a good opportunity of judging; however, this is the character which i have heard of them from others. chapter x. quito, foundation and situation....plasa mayor....president's palace, bishop's palace and cathedral....parishes....convents and public buildings....jesuit's college....convent of san francisco ....san diego....santa prisca....santa clara....university.... college of san luis....of san fernando....houses....government.... nobility....population....white creoles....occupation of and education....character of....mestisos, persons, character, employment....indians....persons, character, employment....dress of creoles....of mestisos....of indians....diversions, bull-fight and masquerade....dancing....music....religious procession....market, meat, fruit and vegetables....spirituous liquors....ices, confectionary....cheese....trade and commerce. quito was founded in the year by sebastian benalcasar, with the dedicatory title of san francisco; and in was created a city by the emperor carlos v. it stands in a ravine; the mountain pichincha being on the west side, and a range of hills called chimbacalle on the east; to the south is the plain of turupampa or turubamba, between which and the city is the small mountain el panecillo, and to the north the plain of añaquito, generally named the egido. the streets, which run north and south, are on a pretty level plain, but those which cross them rise towards the skirts of pichincha, and descend on the east side of the city towards the small river of machangara, which flows between the town and the hills of chimbacalle. near the centre of the city is the plasa mayor, or principal square, besides which are those of san francisco, santo domingo, and the butchery, _carniceria_. on the west side of the plasa mayor is the palace of the president, a gloomy looking building, having an upper story; it stands on an elevation of nine feet above the plasa, having a terrace or area, with a stone wall in front, and two flights of steps to ascend it. the palace contains the halls belonging to the royal audience, the treasury, and the gaol, together with the apartments occupied by the president, the offices of the secretaries, and the archives. on the east side, opposite to the palace, is the corporation house in the centre, having a very neat stone front, with private houses on each side; it also has upper stories with balconies. on the north side of the square is the bishop's palace, with a stone arched entrance, and some private houses, under the balconies of which is a capacious piazza. on the opposite side appears the cathedral, a very plain building, with a steeple at one corner; indeed, this edifice is mean, compared to other temples in the city, and contains nothing worthy of particular attention except some paintings, executed by natives of the city, and an effigy of saint peter, the workmanship of caspicara, an indian of this place. in the centre of the square there is a handsome brass fountain. quito contains six parish churches: el sagrario, belonging to the cathedral, santa barbara, san blas, san sebastian, san roque, san marcos, and santa prisca. of these the sagrario is a handsome stone edifice, containing some good sculpture and paintings, executed by natives. here are also two convents of dominican friars, three of franciscan, two of agustinian, and two mercedarian; the college of the ex-jesuits, two nunneries of carmelites, one of la concepcion, one of santa clara, and one of santa catalina, besides a house of recluse females, called el beaterio. there is an hospital under the care of the bethlemite friars, and part of the jesuits' college has been given to those of the order of san camilo. each of these religious houses has a church, and some of them one or more chapels attached to them; besides which there are other public chapels, for most of the nobility have private ones, _oratorios_, in their houses, and there are others belonging to the colleges, the gaols, the penitentiary, the _hospicio_, and other public places. among the conventual buildings worthy of notice is the ex-jesuits' college. the front of the church is of stone, of most exquisite workmanship; the corinthian pillars on each side the central door are entwined with wreaths of roses and lilies, so delicately executed, that a person can introduce his hand between the wreath and the pillar; and in many places pass it along the semi-circumference of the pillar before the wreath comes in contact with it; these six pillars are thirteen feet high, and each one is cut out of a single block of white freestone, of which material the whole of the front is built. in two small niches are placed the busts of st. peter and st. paul; underneath that of peter are the emblems of what he was before he became an apostle; a small bark and a net, the meshes and folds of which are detached from the principal stone, on which several fishes are cut, one of which is quite detached both from the net and the stone, is loose, and may be moved by introducing a finger between the meshes of the net. above the bust in alto relievo there is a chair, mitre, crosier, and two keys. on the opposite side, under the bust of paul, in alto relievo, there is a wolf, which having torn the skin from a lamb, except from the head, stands with his fore feet on the mangled body, and holds one part of the skin in his mouth, his head being raised and his ears pricked up, as if in the attitude of listening; the whole of this emblematic representation is most delicately touched, and evinces the chisel of a master. above the bust is a vase, standing on several books. the front also contains in niches a statue of the virgin mary, and four of st. ignacio loyola, the founder of the order; st. francisco de borja, st. juan francisco regis, and st. francisco xavier, the apostle of the indies; also two busts, one of st. luis gonzaga, the other of st. stanislaus kotska, all of whom belonged to the order. the whole of this beautifully delicate piece of architecture was executed by indians, under the direction of father sanches, a native of quito; a work which will become more estimable as it becomes more known to the lovers of the fine arts. the interior of the church is from a model of that of jesus, at rome; it has a grave solemn appearance; the pillars are square, supporting an unornamented groined roof, having a small cupola in the centre. the interior of this temple was richly ornamented before the expulsion of the order, but it has been despoiled of its most costly contents; among these was a custodium, which is at present in the royal chapel of the escurial. one side of it was composed of diamonds set in highly polished silver, the other of emeralds set in gold; although the whole only measured two feet eight inches in height, it was valued at eight hundred and seventy thousand dollars; on the bottom was ms. london, . of this jewel there is a drawing and description in the sacristy of the church. one of the entrances to the college is through a beautiful stone doorway of most exquisite workmanship, of the doric order. the library contains upwards of twenty thousand volumes, among which are many very ancient works. the books are placed in different compartments, having emblematic designs over them, indicative of the science on which they treat; the whole appearance is that of an amphitheatre, the books being placed so as to form three ranges or stories. there is a gallery along the top of the first and second, with a balustrade in front of each, and on the tops of these there are desks to lay the books on, for the convenience of reading, and inkstands for the purpose of making any extracts. one great peculiarity respecting the room is, that although rats and mice abound in every other part of the building, they have not entered this; probably on account of some ingredient put into the mortar with which it is plastered. in the refectory there is a good painting of the marriage at canaan, but nearly all the most valuable pictures have been taken away; a list of them only being left in the library. all the walls of the building are of brick, of a very good quality; the door and window frames are of freestone, as well as all the pillars and arches in the cloisters. part of this building has been given, with the church, to the agonisante friars; part was converted into halls for the university, and the remainder into barracks for the soldiers. in these premises the first martyrs to south american emancipation were sacrificed, on the d of august, . the convent of san francisco is the largest i ever saw; the outer walls are of brick, but all the cloisters are of stone; it stands at the foot of the mountain pichincha, and partly on some arches which cross a chasm in the rock. one of the cloisters has a range of cells cut in the rock, the roofs of which are level with the ground. the front of the church stands on a terrace, twelve feet above the level of the plasa, from which an elegant flight of stone steps leads to the door of the church; the lower half of this flight having a projecting circular front, and the upper being the reverse, in the middle is formed a large circular area or landing place. the terrace is paved with flat stones of different shapes and figures, but they are placed with such exquisite art, that the interstices between them are scarcely perceptible. the façade of the church is of the tuscan order; it is massy yet neat, and is crowned with two handsome tower steeples. the interior of the church is very magnificent; the body is in the figure of a cross, and over the intersection is a handsome round tower or cupola. the high altar is richly ornamented, and the presbitery being elevated five feet above the floor of the church has a magnificent appearance; all religious duties are performed here with the greatest solemnity. the choir above the principal entrance is supported by an elliptical arch, which crosses the central aisle of the church, besides two groined arches, which cross the two laterel aisles. the roof is supported by a double row of slender circular pillars, and is of beautiful panel work. in the choir considerable labour has been bestowed in carving the stalls and the reading desk. here are two good organs, the one italian, the other built in quito, by a native. in the church and sacristy are many beautiful paintings and pieces of sculpture, by native artists, particularly an effigy of san francisco, painted by miguel de santiago; a saint john, and a magdalen, by the same, and a full-length _ecce homo_, by samaniego. adjoining the church are two chapels that open on the terrace, the one is dedicated to san buenaventura, the other was built at the expence of an indian called cantuña, dedicated to nuestra señora de los dolores; in this there is an image of the virgin mary, most exquisitely finished; the name of the sculptor is unknown, but it is believed to have been caspicara, an indian of quito. although the churches and convents of santo domingo, san augustin, and la merced, are elegantly built of stone and brickwork, and contain many things worthy of notice, i shall not enter into a minute description of them. the reclusion convent of san diego, belonging to the franciscans, is with regard to its situation (being in a ravine in the suburbs of the city) nearly hidden among the trees and rocks, and most romantically retired; the strictest attention was paid to its building, and it resembles in every point a sequestered hermitage, which renders it worthy the notice of a stranger. it is perhaps the most perfect house for religious retirement and contemplation in the new world. the surrounding scenery of mountains traversing above the clouds; the pleasing verdure of their skirts, while everlasting snows crown their hoary heads; a meandering stream seen first to burst from the breast of its rocky parent, and then to glide down the ravine in search of its level, now and then interrupted in its course by abrupt turnings, clusters of trees, or heaps of stones; it seems to say, man, thy course is like mine, obstacles may intervene, and may appear for a while to retard thy pilgrimage to the grave; but thy stay on earth is short, thy life like my current, on the acclivity of this mountain, is continually rushing towards the last goal. in this small convent the duties of a monastic life are strictly and most religiously observed; the pale friars clad in grey sackcloth, their sandals on their half bare feet, their habitual silence, all conspire to confirm an opinion of the sanctity of the place, where men seem but to live in preparation for another life. i have often paced these cloisters on an evening, listening to the distant notes of the organ in the church, and the solemn chaunt of the friars, with such reverential awe, as i never experienced in any other place, but which, to be known, must be practised--must be felt. in one of the principal streets there is a beautiful stone arch, opposite to the carmelite church, under which is an altar dedicated to the virgin mary, where mass is celebrated every saturday. this building, which has the appearance of a triumphal arch, is called de la reyna de los angeles. in the suburbs, on the north side of the city, is a small chapel, called de la vera crus, and here was interred the body of blasco nuñes vela, a knight of santiago, who was the first person to whom the title of viceroy was granted. his conduct in lima was so rigorous and overbearing, that the royal audience deposed him, and embarked him at callao for panama; but he persuaded the captain of the vessel to land him at tumbes, from whence he proceeded to quito, and being pursued by gonsalo pizarro to the plain of añaquito, adjoining the city, a battle was fought in , in which the viceroy was slain, and his body was conveyed to this chapel, where his remains were interred. quito is the residence of the provincial prelates of the four orders of san francisco, santo domingo, san augstin, and la merced, all the convents in the presidency being subject to them. the church belonging to the nunnery of santa clara is remarkable for its elliptical dome, the transverse axis being forty-one feet, the conjugate twenty-six, and the spring of the arch nine feet two inches; it is built of stone, and the inner surface is entirely plain. seen from the floor of the church, the dome or ceiling, which is thirty-six feet high, appears almost flat; this beautiful piece of architecture was entirely executed by indians in the year . quito has always been a place of celebrity for its great number of students; it was called the monster with two heads, because it had two universities. that of san gregorio magno, under the superintendence of the jesuits, was founded in , by felipe ii., and enriched in with all the privileges granted to the celebrated university of salamanca, in spain. the other, that of santo tomas de aquino, is under the superintendence of the order of dominicans; but after the expulsion of the jesuits the two were united by a royal charter of carlos iii., under the latter dedicatory title. the two colleges of san buenaventura, of the franciscan order, and san fulgencio, of the augstin order, had the privilege of conferring the degree of doctor, but owing to several irregularities, such as presenting the degree to favourites, or for money, they have been deprived of this privilege. the meetings of the university are held in the college of the ex-jesuits; and here, unlike to the university of san marcos, at lima, and many in europe, all the professors have both to lecture and to teach, their places not being titled sinecures. the professorships are two for theology, two for canons, two for jurisprudence, and one for arts. there is one also for medicine, but no professor. after a course of lectures the chair becomes vacant, and is obtained by opposition and public disputation. all those who hold the degree of doctor in the faculty of the vacant chair have an elective vote, as well as all the professors in the triennial election of the rector of the university; but these elections are referred to the president of the government, who, as vice patron, has the privilege to reject or confirm them. the degree of bachelor is granted to all those who undergo a public examination, after studying arts one year; and that of master to those who finish the course, and are approved in their examination. the degree of doctor in the different faculties is obtained by a private examination of the faculty, consisting of the rector of the university, and four examiners in the faculty. the different degrees and faculties are distinguished by the different colours of the badges, in the same manner as in the university of lima. the college of san luis was endowed with the title of _colegio mayor_, by felipe v., being the only one holding this title in south america; it is also a royal college, and an ecclesiastical seminary. the habit is a light brown _opa_, or gown, and a crimson _beca_, or shoulder band, similar to those of santo toribio, at lima; also a black cap, having four pointed mitre shaped corners; the royal arms, in silver, are worn on the breast on the left side, fastened to the beca. the college of san fernando has the title of a royal college; the habit is a black opa, and a white beca, bearing the royal arms in gold, and a square cardinal's cap. the former is under the immediate direction of a secular clergyman, as rector, with a vice-rector and assistants; the latter under that of the dominicans, but both are under the patronage of the president of the government. the college of san luis has produced several eminent literary characters, and several archbishops and bishops: mexia, who in the late cortes of spain was called the american cicero, was educated in this college. the houses belonging to the principal inhabitants have generally an upper story, but those belonging to the lower classes have only the ground floor; they are for the most part built of adobes or stone, and are tiled. the families of the higher classes reside in the upper story, the lower being destined to the servants, and serve also as coach houses, store-rooms, and other like purposes. the use of _estrados_, one part of the floor raised above the rest, is as common here as at conception, and the females appear to be uneasy when seated on a chair. the furniture, owing to a want of cabinet makers, is a mixture of antique and modern pieces, just as they can be procured; yet some of the houses, particularly that of the count de san jose, is most elegantly furnished. a fashion prevails here of having a magnificent bed at one end of the estrado; some are of crimson velvet, lined with satin, trimmed with broad gold lace, and a deep gold fringe, with a cover of gold and silver embroidery, on velvet; the sheets and pillow covers are trimmed with fine brussels lace, or equally fine lace made in quito. some of these beds have a handsome painting beyond them, or in some cases a transparency, which, when the curtains are withdrawn, has a very good effect. the government of quito and its province is vested in a president, a royal audience, composed of a regent, four judges, _oidores_, and a fiscal; this tribunal was first established in ; it was abolished in , and re-established in . the president enjoys all the privileges of a viceroy, except in the military department, in which he is subject to the viceroy of santa fé de bogota. the corporation, _cavildo_, is composed of two _alcaldes ordinarios_, eight regidores, and other officers, as at lima. the indians are subject to an _alcalde_, mayor, who is an indian, elected by the city corporation; they have also an advocate paid by the king, who is called the protector of the indians. the royal treasury has an accomptant, a treasurer, a fiscal, and minor officers. the _aduana_, custom-house, has an accomptant, treasurer, and minor officers. besides these are the tribunals of the crusade, of the effects of those who die intestate, of posts, and of temporalities. quito was made a bishop's see in , and has been the residence of twenty-two bishops ( ). the chapter, _cavildo ecclesiastico_, is composed of the dean, archdeacon, chanter, treasurer, doctoral, penitentiary, magistral, three canons, four prebends, and two demi-prebends. among the inhabitants of this city there are six marquises, three counts, and one viscount, besides several families of distinguished nobility. the family of the present conde de puñelrostre, a grandee of the first class, who is a native of quito, and the lineal descendants of san francisco de borja, duke of gandia, also reside here. quito is the birth-place of one archbishop, eight bishops, six venerables, and several persons of eminent literature, among whom, don pedro maldonado sotomayor is worthy of notice. he was a profound mathematician, became professor of the sciences at paris, and was elected a fellow of the royal society of london, in which city he died. among those of note at present ( ), dr. rodrigues and dr. arauco and la señora doña mariana mateus de ascasubi are esteemed literary characters. quito was likewise the birth-place of the unfortunate atahualpa, the last inca of peru. the population of this city amounts to about seventy-five thousand souls, and may be divided into three nearly equal parts: whites, mestisos, and indians. here are very few negroes or descendants of that race, the indians being generally engaged as the household servants, in which capacity they are called _huasi camas_. the principal employment of persons of rank is to visit their estates, on which they generally reside during part of the year, particularly in harvest time. the white inhabitants of moderately easy circumstances, are farmers, merchants, or follow a literary career in the church, at the bar, or are employed by the government. the young men belonging to these classes are usually brought up at college, either as collegians or day students, the education of these being gratis. much judgment, as well as vivacity, are displayed in the scholastic disputations, and nothing is wanting but greater liberality in the professors, or rather a removal of all ecclesiastical restrictions, with a better selection of books and instruments, to enable the university of quito to vie with some of those of the most polished countries in europe. if the young men, educated in the colleges do not become such adepts in science as might be expected, it is their misfortune, not their fault. the female children of this class are generally educated under the eye of their mothers, and except needle-work in its different branches, and the management of household affairs; reading and writing are all they are taught. for their skill in playing on the guitar and psaltery, of which they are remarkably fond, they are principally indebted to their own application, or to the direction of some female friend. the white inhabitants are generally of a moderate stature, of a lively countenance, and fair complexion. like the white natives of chile they are narrow across the chest, to which configuration the frequency of pulmonic affections may perhaps be attributed. in society they are loquacious, frank, and courteous, particularly the females; in their houses remarkably hospitable; and to strangers they are kind to an excess. the only trait in the character of a quiteño which militates in any degree against his virtues, is a sort of fickleness or inconstancy; they are indeed always ready for a change. the assertion of a friend i found to be very true: "if," said he, "we have a penitential procession in the morning, all attend in their most penitent attire, and put on their gravest looks; if in the afternoon we have a bull fight, none are absent; they will leave the circus in the evening to attend the sermon of a missionary, and spend the remainder of the night at a dance or card party." this instability was too visible, and often proved fatal during the period of the first revolution in this city. the mestisos are in general well formed, often taller than the ordinary size, robust, of a ruddy colour, and very agreeable countenance; they partake of many of the virtues of the whites, but exceed them in their vices; they are equally void of fixed determination, remarkably fond of diversions, but surprisingly docile, kind and obliging, considering any attention paid to them, by any person who ranks above them, as a mark of real honour. many of this class are employed as overseers, _mayordomos_, on the farms and estates belonging to the nobility; others apply themselves to painting and sculpture, in which some have excelled, and many of the paintings of miguel de santiago have been classed in italy among the first productions of the pencil; at present ( ) the artists in greatest repute are samaniego, cortes, and solis. the mestisos also apply themselves to mechanical trades, and excel as lapidaries, jewellers, and silversmiths; but a lack of inventive genius is certainly visible in all their performances, exact imitation being their principal study, and in this they most assuredly succeed. the indians, both men and women, are of a low stature, well proportioned, very muscular, and strong; they bear a general resemblance in their habits and customs to the indians in peru, but they are under more subjection to their masters. those that are employed in the city are household servants, in which capacity they are very useful, partly on account of the equanimity of their temper and their blind submission to their masters, and, if well treated, their attachment is great to the house in which they live: a moderate recompense insures their constant services. they are capable of supporting very heavy burthens; a man will carry on his back during the greater part of the day a large earthen jar holding from twelve to sixteen gallons of water; this jar rests on the lower part of the back, while a leather thong fastened on each side the jar is passed across the forehead of the carrier, who stoops in such a manner, that the mouth of the jar is in a horizontal position, and the whole weight rests on a line perpendicular to his right heel, on which side it entirely presses. the indian has a kind of limping gait; he trips on his left foot, and then throws himself on the right; owing to which the right ancle is much thicker than the left, and this foot is also much larger than the left. i examined an old indian servant belonging to the palace, whose constant employment for several years had been to carry water from the fountain in the plasa to the palace, and found that the whole of the right side of the body was a great deal more muscular than the left. the indian women who employ themselves in bringing from the surrounding villages any produce to the market at quito, carry their burthens in the same manner as the men. i have often seen them so covered with a cargo of brushwood, lucern, green barley, or other light bulky articles, that the load seemed to move along of itself, the carrier being completely enveloped. many indians in the city become butchers, weavers, shoemakers, bricklayers, &c.; but they are remarkably slothful and indolent, and apply themselves more commonly to drunkenness than to any kind of business. if you wish to employ one of them, he will demand part of the money beforehand, with the excuse that he wants to purchase materials, or some other indispensable requisite, but it is immediately spent in chicha or rum, and it often becomes necessary to apprehend the rascal (particularly among the shoemakers), and to send him to gaol, before you can oblige him to fulfil his agreement. some of the indians are barbers, and manage the razor with the greatest dexterity; they may easily be distinguished among the indian tradesmen, because the brass or silver basin is always peeping from under their cloak. many of the mestisos, or descendants of the spanish creoles and indians, are very fair; but the lowness of their foreheads, as well as their being very narrow, betrays their connexion with the indian. the quarterones, or descendants of a spaniard and a mestiso, approach much nearer to the white creole; but in these the size and shape of the forehead, also a small rising about the middle of the nose, from whence it forms a curve terminating in a point bending towards the upper lip, and some dark stains in different parts of the body, particularly one below the region of the kidneys, which is always the last that disappears, though often not before the fourth or fifth generation, bespeak a mixture of the indian race. the mothers of mestisos generally begin very early to plat the hair of their children, dragging it back from the forehead and temples in very small plats, for the purpose of enlarging that feature. the common dress of the male spaniards and creoles is similar to ours, with the addition of a long red, white, or blue cloak. their riding costume is very pretty: over a jacket, trowsers, and boots, they wear the white poncho, and over this a smaller one made of deer skin, having the hairy side outward. a pair of overalls, made of the hides of two old goats, are fastened round the waist, tied down the under side of the thighs, and buttoned round the legs, so that the necks of the hides fall over the feet; and as the hairy side is outwards, no rain can penetrate, however long the person may be exposed to it; a large hat is covered with leather, and to complete the costume, a large silk shawl is tied round the neck. the ladies dress almost in the english style, except a few ancient dames, who wear a large hoop:--when going to church all wear the hoop, with a black velvet petticoat over it, sewed in small folds, and a broad piece of english flannel over their heads, generally of a brown colour, which they can fold over their faces so as to cover them. jewellery is much worn by the ladies, of which many have a large stock, principally consisting of ear-rings, necklaces, rosaries, amulets, and bracelets of diamonds, emeralds, topazes, or other precious gems, in complete sets, for a mixture is considered a proof of poverty. on particular occasions, it is not uncommon for a lady to be adorned with these kind of ornaments to the amount of twenty or thirty thousand dollars. the dress of the mestisos is composed of a jacket and small-clothes, the bottom of the drawers appearing below the knees; no stockings, and only sometimes shoes; a long spanish cloak of blue cloth, manufactured in the country, and a black hat; these are called _llapangos_, a quichua word signifying barefooted. the females often wear a large hoop, and a gaudy petticoat made of english flannel, red, pink, yellow, or pale blue, ornamented with a profusion of ribbon, lace, fringe, and spangles, wrought into a kind of arabesque about half a yard deep, near the bottom of the coat, below which a broad white lace hangs, attached to an under garment. the bodice is generally of brocade or tissue, or of embroidered satin, laced very tight round the waist; the bosom and sleeves of this are ornamented with white lace, ribbons, and spangles; a narrow shawl of english flannel to correspond with the petticoat is thrown over the shoulders; the head is uncovered, but ornamented with a fillet, ribbons, and flowers, and the hair hangs in small tresses down the back. like the men the women seldom wear shoes or stockings, and it is considered a trait in their beauty to have small white feet, and red heels, to procure which cosmetics and rouge are often called in to lend their assistance: this practice is very common among a certain description of females. the lowest or poorest class of indian men and women wear a very scanty and coarse apparel; the men have a pair of cotton drawers, hanging below the knees; a garment somewhat like a wide sack, having an opening to pass the head through, and two holes for the arms; this kind of tunic is made of cotton or wool, it reaches almost to the knees, and is girt round the waist. sometimes a straw hat is worn, but they have more frequently nothing but a leather strap round their heads, and never put on either shoes or stockings. the women have only the species of tunic called _anaco_, but it is longer than that of the men: over their shoulders they wear a small kind of shawl, called _ichlla_, and this constitutes their whole wardrobe, and is generally the only bed which they possess. their children immediately after their birth are swaddled or bandaged in such a manner, from their shoulders to below their feet, that they are deprived of all motion; the mother also frequently inserts a wooden hook between the folds of the bandage, and hangs the child to the wall, to the branch of a tree, or when she is travelling, to the fore part of the saddle. those indians who are in better circumstances clothe themselves in an elegant manner; the men wear white drawers with lace or fringe at the knees, they have a shirt and a small black poncho, laid in folds crossways of the stuff, each about an inch broad, and made very stiff with gum; when put on the two ends are drawn downwards, a little below the waist, and the sides are fastened together at the corners: this vestment is called a capisayo. round the neck they wear a kind of ruffle, of lace, about eight or ten inches deep, and hanging over the shoulders like a tippet. the hat is generally of wool, having a low crown and very broad skirts. the caciques, alcaldes, some butchers and barbers, also wear the long spanish cloak, breeches over the drawers, shoes, and large square silver buckles, but never any stockings. the women of the same class wear a white under-petticoat, called the anaco, with broad lace at the bottom; over this they have a piece of cloth, folded in the same manner as the capisayo of the men, except that the folds are vertical; this is called the _chaupi anaco_, and is merely fastened round the waist with a broad girdle of various colours, being left open on the right side, and reaching only halfway down the legs, the white lace hanging down almost to the ankles. another piece of black cloth, named the _lliglla_, folded in the same manner is put over the shoulders; the two upper corners are brought together in front, and fastened with two large silver or gold pins, ornamented on the top, and called _tupus_; the folds being extended the lliglla covers the elbows; the hair is all collected behind, and made into a thick roll, by winding a fillet round it from near the head to the very ends of the hair; on the top of the head they have a large bunch of ribbons, usually red. the most popular diversion in quito is bull fighting; it is conducted in a very different manner from what i witnessed in any other part of america. no regular bull fighters are employed, but a universal inclination in the inhabitants to become dexterous fighters seems to prevail, not only among the men, but even among the women. i have seen several evince the greatest skill and agility both in the plasa and in the circus, but the generality of the persons who parade the circus are masked. this peculiarity of a general masquerade is highly entertaining, and the natives are as fond of the diversion as they are skilful and happy in their inventions. a brief description of an afternoon's sport will convey an idea of one trait in the character of the inhabitants of quito, including all the variety of classes. the moment that permission is obtained from the president, the sides of the plasa are divided into lots, for the different families of distinction, public officers, colleges, &c.; on these are built galleries, supported on poles, and roofed, and some of them are tastefully ornamented, each having a small private dressing-room. about two o'clock in the afternoon, at which time the fight generally begins, all the galleries are crowded, and from three to four thousand men begin to parade the circus, in expectation of the _entradas_, or entrance of the masks. different parties previously agree to assemble at some point, and enter the circus in procession; this is often done at the four corners of the plasa, at the same time, and upwards of two thousand persons frequently enter, accompanied with bands of music, streamers, and fireworks. they first parade the circus in procession, and then divide into groups, and wander about from one gallery to another, saluting their friends and acquaintance, who are often completely puzzled, not being able to distinguish who the individuals are who are addressing them. at this time many of the nobility and grave ecclesiastics disguise themselves, and leave their galleries to mix in the motley group, and quiz their acquaintances in the galleries. this part of the diversion generally lasts for more than an hour, and after the whole is concluded, groups of masks parade the street with music and flambeaux. the houses of the nobility and principal inhabitants are open, and refreshments are placed for those groups which choose to enter; this often produces much mirth, for the object of the masked is to laugh at the unmasked, and the attempting to discover any person who is thus covered by force, is considered extremely rude, and a breach of the privilege of the mask. if attempted in the circus, or the street, the assault would be immediately punished by the monkeys, who would flog the aggressor with their long tails, the friars would strike with their beads, and the muleteers with their whips. some of the natives are remarkably skilful in making masks, and a person may procure, at a few hours' notice, an exact representation of the face of any individual in the city; whence it very frequently happens, that people are seen double, one very gravely seated in a gallery, and a fac simile dancing about the circus, to the annoyance of the original, and the diversion of the spectators. when a bull enters the area, many of the _trages_, masks, retire to the galleries, but many who are fond of the sport remain and enjoy the amusement without being known to any one; for this purpose the dress generally chosen is a pair of wide trowsers, and a short shirt, hanging loose; these are generally of silk. the head and face are covered with a green silk hood fitting close to the face, having glass or talk eyes; a hat and gloves complete the dress of a _ranchero_. this is also the garb generally worn by those persons who leave their galleries for a while to parade the plasa and afterwards to return. during the time that a furious bull is scouring the circus, three or four thousand individuals are employed in it, teazing the poor brute by hissing, whistling, and shouting. the bull will often gallop along the sides of the plasa, when the spectators very deliberately stand close to each other in a line, forming what they call _una muralla de barrigas_, a wall of bellies; and i have often stood in such a line, when a bull has passed us at full speed, not unfrequently rubbing his side along the _wall_; if the line be complete, the animal never stops to attack any one, but if he find an opening, he pushes in, and causes a dreadful uproar. the _aficionados_, both on foot and on horseback, vex the bull by holding out to him a cloak, poncho, or umbrella, which, at the moment he attacks it, the holder throws up and allows the bull to pass; this is repeated so often that the animal will no longer advance, when some tame oxen are driven into the circus, with which the baited bull retires, and another enters the list. masquerading is also common during the carnival, and the feast of innocents; and i have been assured by very old people, that they never heard of any robbery, or of any other depredations being committed during these festivals, the whole mind of the people being entirely engrossed by the sports, and in the study of something new. many of the nobility and the principal inhabitants are in possession of antique dresses, two or three hundred years old; in these they make their appearance on such occasions; besides which they have a sufficient stock for the accommodation of their friends. dancing is a favourite amusement of the natives, and some of their dances are very pretty; they are in general imitations of the spanish _bolera_. minuets are quite fashionable among the higher classes, and country dances, reels, &c. also begin to be adopted. the mestisos are particularly fond of music, and the small mountain called the _panecillo_ is in the summer season frequently the evening resort of forty or fifty young men, with fifes, guitars, and psalteries, which they play till midnight. nothing can exceed the sweetness of some of their _tristes_, or melancholy airs, during the quiet of the evening, when numbers of the inhabitants sit in their balconies and listen to the fleeting sounds as they are wafted along by the evening breeze. after playing till midnight, the young men frequently parade the streets till day-break, serenading under the balconies of the principal inhabitants. one of the religious processions at quito was so novel to me, and altogether so strange, that i cannot forbear to describe it. at a small village, about a league from the city, there is an image of the virgin mary, which the pious inhabitants have been induced to believe protected them against the destructive fury of the earthquakes that ruined riobamba and tacunga; in consequence of which, they voted two annual feasts to the image, to be celebrated in the cathedral of the city. application was made to the court at madrid, that the procession might be solemnized with the assistance of the whole military force; the royal grant exceeded the humble request, for his catholic majesty conferred on the virgin of guapulo the commission of a captain-general of his armies, with a right to the enjoyment of all the pay and privileges during the ten days' stay in quito; consequently, on the day of her approach to the city, the whole military force line the streets, present their arms, and the drums beat a march. the virgin is brought to the city on a stand, enclosed with crimson velvet curtains, carried on the shoulders of some of the principal inhabitants, preceded by part of the chapter, and members of the corporation. the image, being on duty, becomes a captain-general, and appears in full uniform; on the arms two sleeves are drawn, bearing the embroidery of her rank; on her head is placed a gold laced cocked hat, with a red cockade and feather, and in her hand she holds the _baton_, or insignia of command. the image of the infant jesus participates in the honours; a gold laced hat, small gold sword, and red cloak, adorn the young hero, and in this stile they are carried to the cathedral, where they are arrayed in their customary robes, but the baton is left in the hand of the virgin till she leaves the city. although loath to ridicule any thing that may, however distant, be connected with religion, even the ceremonious part of it, i could never view this in any other light than an ecclesiastical puppet show, a disgraceful piece of mummery. quito is also famous for many other religious processions, and these times present a very favourable opportunity for seeing the best works both of the pencil and the chisel, particularly at the procession of corpus christi, when several altars are erected in the plasa mayor, on which are displayed all the curiosities that the natives can collect. the market of quito is well provided with good beef, mutton, pork, and poultry, the prices of which are low. the beef is supplied by the principal landholders, who are bound to kill a stipulated number of fat oxen daily throughout the year, and to sell the beef at an appointed price; for this purpose there is a public butchery, where an officer belonging to the corporation attends to see that the agreement is properly fulfilled. the vegetable and fruit markets are remarkably abundant; the climates are so various in the neighbourhood of the city, (indeed, it may be said, that they vary at every step we take) that the vegetables and fruits of europe grow among those of the tropics. from the valleys and _yungas_, sides of mountains, are brought camotes, yucas, aracachas, palemettos, bananas, pine-apples, oranges, lemons, limes, citrons, paltas, chirimoyas, guavas, granadillas; and from the cooler parts they bring potatoes, cabbages, beets, apples, pears, guinds, peaches, apricots, melons, strawberries, as well as various sallads and pot herbs: maize and other pulse are grown in the different climates, and many of the vegetables and esculents may be had in perfection during the whole year. several kinds of bread are brought to market at certain hours of the day, for the purpose of serving whilst quite fresh at the meals of the inhabitants: it is always made into small loaves, or rather cakes. after twelve o'clock the bread begins to fall in price; and at five o'clock six cakes may be bought for the same money that three of the same kind would have cost in the morning: this arises from the custom of never eating old bread. many varieties of sweet cakes are also sold in the market, some of which are particularly delicate. the spirits usually drunk in quito are rum and a small quantity of brandy: from the rum, which is distilled here, many liqueurs are made. it has probably been observed, that rum is not so noxious to the health of the quiteños as it is supposed to be to that of the peruvians; but, on the contrary, brandy is here considered by the careful government to be possessed of deleterious qualities. the truth is, that the distilling of rum is a royal monopoly in quito; whereas that of brandy is not so in peru: thus, for the purpose of increasing the consumption of rum, which augments the royal revenue, brandy is one of the _pisco_ or _aguardiente_, contraband articles. among the lower classes the use of chicha made of maize is very common, and its intoxicating qualities are but too visible among the indians, who are passionately fond of it: for the purpose of stimulating a species of thirst or forcing the appetite, they eat very large quantities of capsicum, aji: it is not uncommon, indeed, for an indian to make a meal of twenty or thirty pods of capsicum, a little salt, a piece of bread, and two or three quarts of chicha. quito is famous for the delicate ices and iced beverages which are made by the inhabitants; a service of ices, when a dinner or supper is given to a large party, is considered the greatest ornament of the table. these ices are generally prepared by the nuns, who, for the purpose, have pewter moulds, made to imitate several kinds of fruit; these are in two pieces, which are first united with wax and tied together: at a small aperture at one end the liquor is poured in, a fluid prepared from the juice of the fruit which the mould is made to imitate; when full, the hole is closed with wax, and the mould is put into a heap of broken ice mixed with salt, and allowed to remain till the liquor is congealed; the two parts of the mould are then separated, and the solid contents placed on a dish: thus a service of ices is made to consist of perfect imitations of pine-apples, oranges, melons, figs, and other fruits. when milk or cream is iced it is poured into a mould formed like a cheese. these imitations, placed on dishes, and ornamented with leaves, &c. are with difficulty distinguished from fruit, and when fruit is mixed with them, i have frequently seen strangers completely deceived. the natives of quito are very skilful in cooking some of the produce of the country; so much so, that i have often been assured by them, that forty-six different kinds of cakes and dishes are made of maize, or at least in which maize is the principal ingredient: of potatoes thirty-two are made in the same manner, without counting many others, in which maize or potatoes are mixed. some of the confectionary is very delicate, particularly dry or candied sweetmeats. these are often made of the pulp or jelly of different fruits, in imitation of those fruits, and not larger than hazel nuts: thus oranges, lemons, and limes are often taken from the trees when about the size of nuts, and delicately preserved and candied over. the same kinds of fruit are also taken when ripe, and the rinds preserved; they are filled with the flowers, after they have been preserved, and the whole candied over, and put into a dry place, where they may be kept for a long time. what is justly considered a master piece of confectionary in quito is to preserve the rind of a very large citron, then to fill it with small candied oranges, lemons, limes, figs, &c., and afterwards to candy the outside of the citron. the enormous quantity of cheese consumed in this city almost exceeds belief, the cost price not being less than from eighty to ninety thousand dollars a year. the estimate is made as to the price, because cheese, like many other commodities, is bought by the lump, not by the weight; and the price seldom varies. i have weighed several cheeses that cost a dollar each, and found them to weigh on an average seven or eight pounds when fresh (for in this state the cheese is always brought to market), so that the quantity consumed annually amounts to about six hundred and forty thousand pounds weight, or upwards of two hundred and eighty five tons. this may partly be accounted for from the number of dishes made with potatoes, pumpkins, gourds, maize, wheat, and many other kinds of vegetables and pulse mixed with cheese. as the custom of eating toasted cheese is prevalent, a whole one, weighing from three to four pounds, is generally placed on the tables of wealthy citizens both at breakfast and supper; and many of these being land proprietors and farmers derive the greater part of the profits of their farms from the cheese which is made on them. the trade or commerce of quito may be very properly divided into two classes--that of home manufactures, and that of foreign. indeed, it is thus divided by the tradesmen and merchants, the shops and stores generally containing only one kind of goods. the home made consist of cotton and woollen cloths, baizes, sugars, flannels, ponchos, stockings, laces, dyeing materials, thread, tapes, needles, and other minor articles. the stock of foreign articles is composed of all kinds of european manufactured goods, also iron, steel, and some other raw materials. the european manufactures most in demand are english broad cloths, kerseymeres, coloured broad flannels, calicoes, plain and printed dimities, muslins, stockings, velveteens; irish linens in imitation of german _platillas_; fine, in imitation of french lawn; all kinds of hardware and cutlery, and foreign silk velvets, satins, silks, &c. as well as english ribbons and silks. like the lima market, the articles should be of a good quality, and of the newest fashion--the more this point is attended to the better the market will be found. chapter xi. visit of the academicians to quito in ....inscription left by....climate of quito....view of mountains at....description of chimboraso....of cayambe urcu....of antisana....of cotopaxi....of pichincha....of el altar....description of the fertility of the valleys....mines....ruins of temples, palaces, and fortified places....account of the indians....of commerce. in the academy of sciences at paris sent m. luis godin, m. peter bouguer, m. charles de la condamine and others to quito, in order to make some astronomical and physical observations. they were accompanied, by order of the spanish court, by don jorge juan, and don antonio de ulloa. having finished their operations they left the following inscription in marble on the wall of the church belonging to the ex-jesuits:-- observationibus ludovici godin, petri bouguer, caroli mariæ de la condamine á regia parasiensi scientiarum academia, inventa sunt quiti latitudo hujusce templiaustralis grad. min. sec. . longitudo occidentalis ab observatorio regio grad. , min. . declinatio acus magneticæ à borea ad orientem, exeunte anno grad. , min. ; anno grad. , min. . inclinatio ejusdem infra orizontem parte boreali, conchoe anno grad. . quiti grad. . altitudines supra libellam maris geometrice collectæ in exapedis parisiensibus spectabiliorum nive perenni hujus provinciæ montium quorum plerique flammas evomuerunt--cota-cache , cayambur , antisana , cotopaxi , tunguragua , sangay etiam nunc ardentis , chimboraso , ilinisa , soli quitensis in foro majori , crucis in proximo pichincha montis vertice conspicuæ , acutioris ac lapidei cacuminis nive plerumque operti , ut et nivis infimæ permanentis in montibus nivosis: media elevatio mercurii in barometro suspensi in zona torrida, eaque parum variabilis in ora maritima pollicum . linearum . quiti poll. . lin. ¼ in pichinche ad crucem poll. . lin. . ad nivem poll. . lin. spiritus vini qui in thermometro reaumuriano à partibus incipiente gelu ad partes in aqua fervente intumescit: dilatio quiti à partibus ad partes juxta mare a ad in fastigio pichinche à ad . soni velocitatis unius minuti secundi intervalo hæxapedarum . penduli simplicis equinoctialis, unius minuti secundi temporis medii in altitudine soli quitensis archetypus. {-------------------------} {-------------------------} {-------------------------} (mensuruæ naturalis exemplar, utinam et universalis) aqualis / hexapedæ, seu pedibus pollicibus . lineis - / major in proximæ maris littore / lin. minor in apice pichinche / lin. refractio astronomica orizontalis sub Æquatore media, juxta mare min. ad nivem in chimboraso ´ ´´; ex qua et aliis observatis quiti ´ ´´. limborum inferiorum solis in tropicis, dec. , et junii , distantia instrumento dodecapedalia mensurata grad. , min. , sec. , ex qua positis diametris solis min. , sec. , et ´ ´´. refractione in , grad. altitudinis ´ ´´. parallaxi vero ´ ´´ eruiter obliquitas eclipticæ, circa equinoctium martii , grad. , min. , sec. . stellæ triem in baltheo orionis mediæ (bayero e.) declinatio australis julio grad. , min. , sec. . ex arcu graduum plusquam trium reipsa dimenso gradus meridiani, seu latitudinis primus, ad libellam maris reductus hexap. . quorum memoriam ad physices, astronomiæ geographiæ nautice incrementa hoc marmore parieti templi colegii maximii quitensis soc. jesu affixo, hujus et posteri Ævi utilitati v. d. c. spissimi observatories anno christi . m. de la condamine fixed his meridian on the terrace of the college; but this line being traced on brick became effaced, and in another was substituted on stone, and a latin inscription on marble was placed on the wall near to it. the climate of quito is remarkably agreeable, and almost invariable; the indication of winter is the fall of rain, and the absence of rain constitutes the summer season. during the months of december, january, february, and march it generally rains every afternoon; usually beginning at half-past one o'clock and continuing till five. a rainy or even a cloudy morning is seldom seen at quito, and even during the rainy season the evenings and mornings are most beautiful. the temperature is so benign, that vegetation never ceases; hence this city is called the evergreen quito, _siempre verde_ quito; it is also called the everlasting spring, _eterna primavera_; both which epithets it may be said to deserve, for the native trees are all evergreens, and the fields on the slopes of the mountains never lose their verdure. from the terrace of the government palace there is one of the most enchanting prospects that human eye ever witnessed, or nature ever exhibited. looking to the south, and glancing along towards the north, eleven mountains covered with perpetual snow present themselves, their bases apparently resting on the verdant hills that surround the city, and their heads piercing the blue arch of heaven, while the clouds hover midway down them, or seem to crouch at their feet. among these, the most lofty are cayambe urcu, imbaburu, ilinisa, antisana, chimboraso, and the beautifully magnificent cotopaxi, crowned with its volcano, which during the greater part of the three years that i was a resident in this part of america was continually ejecting either smoke or flames, not observable during the day, but particularly visible in the morning and evening. having mentioned these mountains, i shall give a brief description of the most remarkable in the province of quito, being the most elevated in the new world, and till the discovery of the himmalah mountains, considered the highest on the globe. chimboraso is the "giant of the andes," the hoary head of which may be seen from the mouth of the guayaquil river, a distance of not less than one hundred and eighty miles; and here the view is certainly more imposing than when we observe it from the plains extended at its foot: seen from that spot it looks like an enormous semi-transparent dome, defined by the deep azure of the sky; at the same time it cannot be mistaken for a cloud, on account of its solid appearance and well defined edges, so different from the aspect of those collections of vapours. the height of this enormous mass, from the level of the sea, was ascertained by m. de humboldt to be twenty-two thousand four hundred and forty feet. its height from the road leading to quito, which passes along the plain at the foot of the mountain called _el paramo_, or _el pajonal_, is twelve thousand one hundred and eighty feet, and five thousand four hundred and sixteen feet above the limit of perpetual snow, under the scorching sun of the equator, and sixteen thousand eight hundred and ninety-two above what is computed to be the limit in england. m. de humboldt has remarked, that "mountains which would astonish us by their height, if they were placed near the sea shore, seem to be but hills when they rise from the ridge of the cordilleras." without scarcely daring to contradict this most scientific traveller, i cannot avoid expressing my own feelings when i viewed chimboraso, even at its foot. perhaps my ideas of grandeur are not correct, so that i must appeal to persons of more extensive conceptions, to know whether a mass rising twelve thousand one hundred and eighty feet above the head of an observer can be considered a "hill!" in the comprehensive mind of a philosopher, the base, not only of this mountain, but the whole range of the andes, may be a matter not worthy of attention, and consequently detached parts of it must form minor objects. i viewed chimboraso with sensations of inexpressible delight, mixed with a kind of veneration perhaps more strongly impressed, from the consideration, that it was considered the highest mountain on the globe, for at that time ( ) i had not heard it questioned, and much less denied. a kind of reverential awe crept over me as i stood and gazed on this majestic mass, such as may be more easily imagined than described. the figure of chimboraso resembles a truncated cone, with a spherical summit. from the foot of the snow its sides are covered with a calcined matter, resembling white sand; and although no tradition exists of its active volcanic state, yet the issuing of some streams of hot water from the north side of it seems to warrant that it is a volcano, or that it possesses volcanic properties; and the circular summit of the mountain has the appearance "of those paps without craters, which the elastic force of the vapours swells up in regions where the hollow crust of the globe is mined by subterraneous fires." from the melting of the ice, and perhaps with the assistance of some undiscovered springs on the sides of this mountain, the rivers of huaranda, huando, and machala, have their origin. cayambe urcu, cayambe mountain, is the loftiest of the cordilleras, excepting chimboraso; its elevation above the level of the sea is nineteen thousand three hundred and sixty feet, and above that of the plasa mayor of quito nine thousand one hundred and eighteen. it bears some resemblance to chimboraso in its dome-shaped summit, and, seen from quito, it is the most majestic. the beauty of the appearance of cayambe urcu is rendered more interesting at sunset, on a clear evening; huahua pichincha, little pichincha, being due west of it, the shadow of this may be observed gradually covering the foreground of that, and a few seconds before the sun dips in the horizon, the shadow ascends the mountain with great rapidity, and finally, in a moment, the whole is dissolved in darkness. an impression is made on the mind of the observer, that this is caused by an overshadowing, and he remains gazing in expectation that the mountains will _again emerge_; but the very short duration of twilight soon convinces him that he looks in vain; and when he turns his eyes from cayambe to search for the other mountains, they are gone also. this colossal mountain is crossed on its summit by the equator, and were it not overtopped by its neighbour chimboraso, it would appear as if destined by the hand of nature to be a monumental division of the two hemispheres. cayambe is a volcano; but its crater has never been examined, nor are there any traditions of its being in a state of injurious activity. at the foot there are several vestiges of mines, said to have been very rich when worked by the indians before the conquest of the country, but at present they are entirely abandoned. the rivers which have their origin in the north and west sides of cayambe empty themselves by the esmeraldas and mira into the pacific; the others into the atlantic, by the marañon. antisana is a porphyritic mountain; its summit is nineteen thousand one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the sea, on which there is the crater of a volcano: near to the foot of this mountain is the small village of antisana, situated at the amazing height of thirteen thousand five hundred feet above the sea; it is considered to be the highest inhabited spot on the surface of the globe. seen from quito, cotopaxi is the most beautiful mountain in the whole range, on account of its shape, being that of a truncated cone, having a flat summit; it is eighteen thousand eight hundred and ninety feet above the level of the sea, and, as already observed, its volcano, the crater opening on the top of the mountain, is in constant activity, appearing sometimes in the morning and evening like a colossal beacon: the flame rises in such a manner, that its light is reflected from the icy coating of the mountain. a faint idea of the majestic cotopaxi may be conveyed, if we consider that it is nearly as high above the level of the sea as mount vesuvius would be were it placed on the top of mont blanc, the highest point of the alps--or if the highest volcano in the old world, etna, were placed on the top of bennevis, the highest mountain in scotland, and both on the top of snowdon, the loftiest mountain in great britain; the crater of etna would not then be on a level with that of cotopaxi. cotopaxi is the most dreadful volcano in the province of quito, and its ravages are spoken of by the inhabitants with horror. in the flame which rose from the crater ascended to the height of three thousand feet above the summit of the mountain: in its roarings were heard at the distance of two hundred leagues, at hurda; at guayaquil, a distance of fifty-two leagues, they were mistaken for loud peals of thunder. this was the first eruption after the arrival of the spaniards in this part of america; but a short time before their appearance, when pedro alvarado was on his march from punto viejo, the first eruption took place, at which time a huge mass of stone was ejected, which the natives call the head of the inca, _cabesa del inca_. the traditional record of the indians is, that this explosion and ejectment happened on the very day on which atahualpa was strangled at caxamarca, for which reason it received the name which it now bears. before the second eruption, in , a rumbling subterraneous noise was heard, which continued to increase for five or six days, when an eruption took place on the summit, and three other apertures or craters made their appearance about the middle of the acclivity, the whole mountain being covered with snow till the moment that the eruption took place, when the entire frozen mass was instantaneously melted by the streams of melted lava, excepting some huge heaps that were thrown into the air, where they melted amid the flames of the ignited matter that was ejected. the melted snow overflowed the country lying between cotopaxi and tacunga, a distance of five leagues, destroying the houses, inhabitants, and cattle. the river of tacunga was too limited to carry off the enormous quantity of matter which flowed into it, and part of the town and property on the adjacent country was destroyed. this dreadful scene of devastation continued for three days, and the country at the foot of the mountain, and extending more than three leagues on each side, was covered with cinders and scoria. during this time of terror and dismay to the people of quito, tacunga, ambato, riobamba, and the surrounding villages, the roaring of the volcano seemed to increase; but on the fifth day all was quiet; the fire and the smoke disappeared, and the terrified inhabitants hoped that all the combustible matter was consumed, and that they should, consequently, thenceforward live securely from the fury of this devastating enemy. in the month of may, , the flames forced their passage through the sides of the mountain, and continued to burn till november, when an eruption, equal to that of the preceding year took place, and the inhabitants of the surrounding towns were afraid that utter ruin awaited both them and the whole country. at this eruption enormous quantities of ashes were thrown out, which mixing with the water and mud darkened the current of the marañon to the distance of more than a hundred leagues; so that the jesuit missionaries, seeing not only that the colour of the water was changed, but that many dead bodies, drowned animals, pieces of furniture, and wrecks of houses floated down the stream, and hearing also the loud roaring of the volcano, sent expresses to inquire the fate of their countrymen, imagining that something more dreadful had occurred than what had really taken place. on the th of april, , another explosion took place; but nothing except ashes were thrown or carried to any considerable distance; the latter were ejected in such quantities, that the sun was completely hidden, and from half past two o'clock till the following morning the inhabitants of the neighbouring towns and villages were obliged to light candles and to use lanterns in the streets. in january, , an explosion took place, after all external appearances of the existence of a volcano, or that either fire, smoke or vapour had ceased to be visible for more than twenty years. in one night the activity of the subterraneous fires became so powerful, that the surface of the mountain was heated to such a degree as to melt the whole of the immense quantity of ice and snow which covered it to an unfathomable depth, and to a height, from the limit of perpetual snow, of not less than four thousand two hundred feet. at sunrise on the following morning the whole cone was entirely deprived of its customary covering, and of its dark brown appearance. at this time the damage sustained was not so considerable as at the former explosions; nothing was injured except some houses and cattle that were washed away by the sudden increase of the waters. m. de humboldt says, that he heard the tremendous noise of the volcano, like continued discharges of a battery, at guayaquil, fifty-two leagues in a straight line from the crater; it was heard also even on the pacific ocean to the south west of the island of puna. from the east side of cotopaxi the river napo takes it rise; and from the south the cotuche and alagues, which afterwards unite and enter the marañon; to the north rises the river del pedregal, which after receiving some minor streams joins the esmeraldas, which empties itself into the pacific ocean. carguairaso is a volcano, the summit of which is fourteen thousand seven hundred feet above the level of the sea; it is situated in the province of riobamba. in the year it ejected such enormous quantities of water, mud and stones as to destroy the crops in the neighbouring fields, and the lives of many thousands of the inhabitants. this dreadful calamity was also accompanied by one of the most alarming earthquakes that had been felt in this part of south america. to the westward of quito is the volcano of pichincha, on the eastern skirt of which the city is built. the mountain is elevated fifteen thousand nine hundred and forty feet above the level of the sea. the greatest explosions of this volcano have been in the years , , , and ; in the last of which very fine ashes continued to fall in quito for twelve days; the air was darkened by them, and the streets were covered more than two feet thick. the crater of this volcano opens to the westward, so that quito must suffer from it so long as this continues to be the only crater, for the ashes are blown over the top of the mountain by a westerly wind; but the ravages committed by it are generally limited to the province of esmeraldas. in i observed the leaves of the plantains covered with very fine ashes, which had been ejected from pichincha, and carried to the distance of thirty-one leagues. the summit of this mountain is called rucu pichincha, old pichincha; it is composed of several spire-shaped rocks, rising above the snow, at the back of the crater; these are seen from mindo, a small village situated near the road which i re-explored, between quito and esmeraldas. detached from this there is the top of another mountain, connected with the same base, and called huahna pichincha, young pichincha; its head is rocky, and it is the highest point that the spanish and french academicians arrived at during their operations. el altar, formerly called by the indians caparurar, and which name it still retains among the natives, when speaking of it in quichua, signifying the snow mountain, was anciently higher than chimboraso is at present; but the volcano having consumed the walls of the crater till they were incapable of supporting their own weight, the top fell in. this was the case with that of carguairaso in ; and the ruins of the two volcanos bear a strong similarity in their pointed ridges, their spire-like rocks, and leaning directions; they appear as if falling into decayed heaps. i have only mentioned the most remarkable of the mountains visible at the city of quito; but besides these are the following in different parts of the kingdom: mountains. aritahua asuay caxanuma cotacache guacaya sinchulagua quelendana rumi nahui supay urcu tolonta tunguragua uritusinga yana urcu imbaburu. volcanic mountains. cumbal sangay sara-urcu. many of the ravines, quebradas, and valleys in this province have a very warm atmosphere, which in some is so very hot and unwholesome that they are uninhabitable. other valleys which are more elevated are remarkably healthy, uncommonly productive, and extremely delightful as places of residence. one of these, called pomasqui, is about five leagues from quito, where sugar-cane arrives at a state of maturity in three years, and where many of the intertropical fruits come to their greatest perfection. this luxury is enhanced by the proximity of other situations possessing all the variety of climates known in the world: in the course of three hours a person may experience the rigidity of the poles, the oppressive heat of the equator, and all the intermediate temperatures. a peon will ascend a mountain in the morning, and return with ice so early in the day as to afford time to allow him to bring before sunset the luscious pine-apple, the banana, and the chirimoya, to where the apple, peach, and pear grow and ripen. there the botanist at one glance would compass the whole of the vegetable creation, and in one day's excursion would range from the palm to the region where vegetation becomes extinct. these valleys are principally under cultivation, and bless the husbandman with a continued succession of crops; for the uninterrupted sameness of the climate in any spot is such as to preclude the plant as well as the fruit from being damaged by sudden changes in the temperature of the atmosphere, changes which are in other countries so detrimental to the health of the vegetable world. the fertility of some of these valleys exceeds all credibility, and the veracity of the description would be doubted, did not the knowledge of their localities and the universal descriptions of the equability and benignity of these climates ensure the probability. an european is astonished on his first arrival here to see the plough and the sickle, the sower and the thrashing-floor, at the same time in equal requisition:--to see at one step a herb fading through age, and at the next one of the same kind springing up--one flower decayed and drooping, and its sister unfolding her beauties to the sun--some fruits inviting the hand to pluck them, and others in succession beginning to shew their ripeness--others can scarcely be distinguished from the colour of the leaves which shade them, while the opening blossoms ensure a continuation. nothing can be more beautiful than to stand on an eminence and observe the different gradations of the vegetable world, from the half-unfolded blade just springing from the earth, to the ripe harvest yellowing in the sun and gently waving with the breeze. an enumeration of the different vegetable productions of this province would be useless; it will be sufficient to observe, that grain, pulse, fruits, esculents, and horticultural vegetables are produced in the greatest abundance and of an excellent quality, as well as all kinds of flesh meat and poultry. the province of quito abounds in veins of gold and silver ore; but at present ( ) none are wrought. grains of gold are often found among the sand washed down from pichincha; but no search has ever been made to discover the matrix, nor does any tradition exist, nor any vestige remain of the working of mines in this mountain. the mountains in the neighbourhood of palactawga, in the district of riobamba, are full of veins of gold and silver ore; but, excepting what is gathered when the rainy season ceases among the decombres washed down, they are entirely neglected; however, don martin chiriboga, in , had selected a very rich vein, which he assured me he had chosen out of thirteen shewn to him, and had taken out a register for the working of it; but during my stay in the province nothing effectual was done. near a village called puncho a vein of cinnabar was discovered and seized by the government, because mines producing quicksilver were a royal monopoly; but a german mineralogist having been sent for from lima, to form an assay of the ore, declared in his report to the royal audience, that it was a mine of sheet tin, _haja de lata_, not knowing the proper name for tin; however this mistake caused the tribunal to declare, that the mine should not be wrought nor again mentioned in court. at popayan and cuenca there are many veins of iron, according to the generally received reports, particularly at the latter place, which is said to stand on a bed of iron ore. as i did not visit cuenca, i mention this on the authority of several individuals, of whose veracity i have no reason to doubt. i have already, when at huacho, spoken of the character of the peruvian indians; and as those of quito were under the government of three of the incas, received their laws, rites, and customs, and adopted their language, it is only reasonable to consider them a part of that nation, or rather, that the character of that nation was stamped on their habits and customs: at least, persevering industry, whether the result of their becoming the subjects of the inca, or otherwise, is strongly marked in many of the remains of buildings in the territory belonging to quito. the ruins near to cayambe may certainly be called superb. they are supposed to be the remains of a temple dedicated to the great creating spirit, pachacamac. these ruins are on an elevated part of the plain: their form is a circle forty-eight feet in diameter; the walls are fifteen feet high and five thick, and the whole is built of adobes, sun-dried bricks, cemented with clay. the materials of which the walls are constructed are in a state of perfect preservation, which fact appeared to me more surprising than the building itself; because the climate is very different from that on the coast of peru, where i had seen buildings of this class. here the rains are both violent and of long continuance, nevertheless the walls are in many parts entire, though formed of clay, and seem by their hardness destined to defy the ravages of time for centuries to come. at the northern extremity of the plains on which the town of tacunga is built are the remains of callo, belonging at present to a farm in the possession of the augstin friars. this edifice, supposed to have been a palace of the inca, was built of porphyry; the stones were cut into long square prisms of different dimensions, having the exterior surface slightly convex, except at the doors, where the fronts are plain; this gives to the walls the fluted appearance of rustic work. the stones are joined with such extreme nicety and exactness that the point of a pen-knife cannot be introduced between them. a kind of asphaltum seems to have been used as a cement, although in other peruvian buildings a marly soil was employed for this purpose. about one hundred yards from these ruins, fronting the principal entrance, there is a mount, standing in the middle of a plain: it is about a hundred and fifty feet high, having the shape of a cone, and appears to owe its existence ta human labour. it is called _el panecillo de callo_, and, like that which stands at the southern extremity of the city of quito, is supposed to have served the purpose of a watch-tower, because it commands an extensive view of the surrounding country, and might be one of the means employed to provide for the safety of the conqueror against any sudden surprize of his new subjects. if we believe the tradition of the indians, it is a huaca or mausoleum of some of the royal race of the incas; but this is not correct, because, according to garcilaso, these were all interred at cusco, to which place they were conveyed if they died in any other part of the country, cusco being considered their holy city. near the town of atun cañar there is another ruin, similar to that at callo, but of much greater extent; it was visited by m. de humboldt, who gives a description of it in his researches. at the distance of six leagues is another at pomallacta, and there are more in many parts of the country. several remains of fortified places, called pucuras, still exist; they are hills or mounts surrounded by ranges of moats or ditches, dug behind each other, and protected or strengthened with parapets of stone, whence the holders could safely annoy the enemy. these places were so common, that almost every eligible situation was thus fortified: the outward moat of circumvallation at pambamarca is upwards of a league and a half in extent. the oral traditions of the indians touching the state of their country before the arrival of the prince huaina capac, afterwards inca of peru, are very trifling, and clothed in almost impenetrable obscurity; indeed, the language spoken by them is entirely unknown, having been completely superseded by the quichua, the court language of the incas. huaina capac having conquered the capital, called at that time lican, he espoused pacchachiri, the daughter of the quitu or supreme chief; she was afterwards the mother of the unfortunate atahualpa, to whom the inca at his death bequeathed the territory, which had formerly belonged to the quitu: the result of which bequest has already been shewn at caxamarca. of the present race of indians, i shall only add to what i have said when speaking generally of this class of the inhabitants of south america, that the law of repartimiento, and the continuation of corregidores in the provinces have weighed most heavily on the unfortunate indians of the kingdom of quito; consequently with their debasement all the vices of indolence, apathy, and sloth are more visible here than in those parts of the colonies, where the curse of conquest has been less felt. owing to the numerous population of quito, its various climates, and consequent diversity of productions, it must at some future period become highly interesting to the naturalist, the merchant, and the traveller. at present, one of the principal branches which will attract commercial attention is that of wool, the quantity being great, and the quality above mediocrity; but it will gradually improve as a more perfect knowledge of the treatment of sheep becomes known to the natives. chapter xii. villa of ibarra, description.....villa of otavalo, description.... lakes san pablo and cuicocha....visit to the river mapo....gold mines on the banks of....indians pay their tribute in gold....bæza, the capital of the district....description of the inhabitants, &c. ....commissioned by the government to explore a road from the capital to the nearest point of the coast....maldonado's road.... leave quito....cross the skirts of pichincha, arrive at the river piti....description of the country....description of piti.... proceed to esmeraldas....description of the river of jaguar.... houses, plantations, cattle....method of distilling rum....food of the inhabitants...._saino_ tatabra, and _aguti_, or huatus.... monkey and charapa....method of killing game with the _sorbetana_ and poisoned _pua_. eighteen leagues to the northward of quito is the town, _villa_, of ibarra: it contains about twelve thousand inhabitants, many of whom are employed in the manufactories of cotton and woollen cloths, stockings, coverlets, and ponchos; the last of which are superior to those of any other part of the kingdom. here are a parish church and four convents, san francisco, santo domingo, san augstin, and la merced, and a nunnery of la conceptión. the houses are generally good, the streets wide and convenient, and the market-place capacious. some of the shops are tolerably stored with european goods, and the trade carried on is very considerable. the climate is warmer than that of quito, and the market is supplied with meat, pulse, fruit, and vegetables. ibarra, being the capital of the district of the same name, is the residence of the corregidor. in the district of ibarra are many very fruitful valleys, in which there are extensive plantations of sugar cane, from which the best sugar in the kingdom is manufactured. the wheat grown in this district is also of the finest quality. to the south west of ibarra is the town, villa, of otavalo, the capital of the province or district of the same name. it contains from eighteen to twenty thousand inhabitants, many of whom are mestisos, of a fair complexion, and handsome in appearance; some of the men are remarkably robust and muscular, indeed i never saw a race of finer looking people than an assembly of otavaleños on a sunday, when they meet at church, or at a feast. the climate of this town is much colder than at ibarra, or quito, owing to its greater elevation, as well as to its proximity to cayambe urcu. cotton and wool are manufactured here in the same manner as at ibarra, the natives appearing more inclined to this kind of labour than to the cultivation of the earth. large quantities of cattle are bred in the district of otavalo, and some of the large estates have from four to five hundred indians attached to them, who are employed either in the cultivation of the land, or in the manufactories, obrages. one large estate belongs to the count of casa xijon, who brought several mechanics and artisans from europe for the purpose of establishing a manufactory of fine cloths, woollens, and cottons; also for printing calicoes, and other goods; but being prevented by the interference of the royal audience, and a subsequent order from spain, he was prevailed on to destroy all his machinery, and to re-embark the artisans for europe. in this district there are two lakes; the larger one, called de san pablo, is about a league long and half a league wide, and is most abundantly stored with wild geese, ducks, widgeons, herons, storks, and other aquatic birds, but no fish. the smaller one is called cuicocha; in the centre of this there is a small island, where there are abundance of guinea pigs in a wild state, named by the natives _cuis_, and hence the name _cuicocha_, cocha signifying a lake. some small fish called prenadillas, are caught here; they are somewhat similar to prawns, but when boiled retain their colour, which is almost black. after i had visited ibarra and otavalo, i was ordered by the president, in december, , to visit the river napo, for the purpose of reporting on the state of the gold mines on the shores of that river. this commission was extremely flattering to my wandering inclinations, not only on account of my being thus able to visit some parts of the country little known to europeans, but because i should have an opportunity of witnessing the very river where the undaunted orellana embarked, and among undiscovered and unheard of nations traversed the greatest extent of country that had ever been crossed at that time by any human being. i was accompanied by six indians from quito, and four yumbo indians. the latter inhabit a valley between quito and bæza, and frequently bring to the former place pine-apples, bananas, yucas, camotes, besides other fruits and esculents. the yumbos were our guides, while the quito indians carried my provisions, clothes, bedding, and other necessaries. our first day's journey was to pomasqui, where we passed the night at the house of a friend, who kindly added some machica and dried tongues to my stock of eatables. on the following day we began to ascend the eastern chain of the cordillera, and slept at night in a small hut made of a few slight poles, covered with pajon; the following night we slept to the eastward of antisana. on the fourth day we began to descend by a very rugged path, and in some places so nearly perpendicular that we were obliged to prevent ourselves from falling by taking hold of the roots of trees, or the crags of rocks; however, about three o'clock in the afternoon we reached the first small plantation and first hut of the yumbos, where we remained that night, and on the following day i found myself travelling along the north side of the napo. i was met here by the son of don diego melo, governador of archidona, who pointed out to me the soil which contained gold. it was of a reddish hue, and generally lay about three or four feet deep, having underneath it a stratum of indurated clay; some of these _capas_, as they are called, extend from one to two hundred yards or more from the margin of the river, and are of different breadths, from twenty to sixty yards. no trees or vegetables grow in this kind of soil, and the gold, its only produce, is obtained by washings: hence they are called _lavaderos_, washing places, which i shall describe when on the coast of choco. the indians of the district of archidona pay their tribute in gold dust, which they collect from the sand along the sides of the different rivulets; but owing to their ignorance of the comforts which this metal would procure them, or perhaps to a dread of their being enslaved by the _mita_, to work the mines, should they ever present themselves to pay the tribute with an excess of it, they generally take care to pay it at five or six different times, always complaining of the scarcity of gold, and the trouble it costs to procure a small quantity. it is nevertheless known, that if any remain after the payment is made, they throw it into the river; but don diego melo assured me, that one indian always paid his tribute in a kind of gold, which he showed to me, and which was evidently not in natural grains, but in small particles apparently cut with a knife, or some other instrument, from a solid lump of that metal. don. n. valencia sent some negroes to work a lavadero on the napo; but his death occasioned them to be recalled shortly afterwards, and the project was abandoned, the negroes being ordered to return to choco. there can be no doubt as to the immensity of treasure which is buried in the capas, nor of that which is annually washed down by the rains through the small ravines and rivulets into the river napo, and thence into the marañon, where it is lost. i think the necessity of negroes for working these mines might be superseded by a kind treatment of the native indians; by indulging them in their foibles at first, and afterwards gradually convincing them of the benefit that would result to themselves from their free labour in the mines. it would certainly be superior to that of cultivating a few patches of land, and carrying the produce to quito or any of the other spanish towns, to barter for iron, fish-hooks, brads, and indigo. it is very evident, that such a project would require a considerable degree of patience and self-command, and i may add of honesty too, because the principal object would be to secure the confidence of the indians, which, owing to the conduct generally observed to them by the spaniards, would not be easily accomplished. from the accounts which i was able to collect, it appears that all the rivers and streams in the neighbourhood of the napo contain gold; and in different parts of the province of archidona, or, as it is more generally termed, quixos y macas, there are capas, or strata of earth whence gold may be extracted by washings. bæza is the ancient capital, and formerly contained upwards of ten thousand inhabitants; but since the expulsion of the jesuits it has become entirely depopulated, as well as archidona and avila, two other cities, and twenty-two missions, the greater part of the indians having taken to their original way of living in a wild state. those that remain are generally called yumbos; they employ themselves in the cultivation of cotton, sugar-cane, mam, and some tropical fruits, which they carry to quito to barter for those commodities which they find necessary either for fishing or for the chase. they also manufacture the small quantity of cloth which they require for themselves; this is of cotton, and is generally no more than a _toldo_, mosquito curtain, in the shape of a small tent, under which they sleep, besides one or two sheets of the same material. the clothing of the men is merely a pair of short drawers, reaching from the waist to about the middle of the thighs, and is generally white; that of the women consists of a piece of blue cotton cloth wrapped round the waist, reaching down to the knees; but a profusion of glass beads adorn their necks, arms, wrists, and ankles. both men and women daub themselves with annota, achiote. in this half dress they traverse the cordillera, and with a basket made of _piquigua_, a very tough creeper, carry their surplus to quito. on my return to the capital of the kingdom, i was commissioned by his excellency the president to re-explore the roads leading from quito to the coast, namely, that explored in by don pedro maldonado sotomayor, and that opened in by the president, baron de carondelet. it had always been considered an object of the greatest importance to open a communication between the capital and the nearest sea-port, for the purpose of facilitating the commerce between this place, panama, and terra-firma, and to avoid the inconveniences which are met with in the circuitous road to guayaquil, and which were highly injurious to business in general. in don pablo durango delgadillo was nominated governador of esmeraldas; he contracted with the royal audience of quito to open a road at his own cost from the town of ibarra to the coast, and to establish _tambos_, lodging houses, on the road; but he failed in the fulfilment of his contract, and in was deprived of his government, which was conferred, on the same conditions, on don francisco peres munacho, who failed, like his predecessor, and was removed. don juan vicencio justinian and don hernando de soto calderon were afterwards appointed. they proposed a route to the coast different from their predecessors, but they also failed in the execution of their plan. it was adopted, however, by the baron de carondelet, who ordered the road leading from ibarra along the bank of the river mira to that of la tola to be opened; but it was soon discovered, that the river tola, owing to a sand bank, or bar, which crosses the mouth of it, could never answer the purposes of a port; and, from the manner in which the road had been formed, in three years it became impassable, and passengers generally preferred the paths along the woods to the highway. the continuance of this road as a communication between the capital and the coast was not the only objection--a distance of eighteen or twenty leagues was added to that proposed in by don pedro maldonado sotomayor. this intelligent quiteño employed himself for more than two years in examining the country lying between the capital and the coast, and being invested with the same powers that were given to other projectors, in he opened a road leading directly from quito to the river piti, which has its origin in pichincha, and forms part of the esmeraldas river. maldonado immediately went to spain, and solicited a confirmation of the contract, and from the favourable report of the council, the king erected esmeraldas into a government and a lieutenant-captain generalship in , conferring on don pedro maldonado the appointment of governor. on the return of maldonado to quito the royal audience opposed the appointment, and immediately informed the council of indies, that the projected port and road would only open to the enemies of spain an entrance to one of her richest american cities, without at any time rendering an increase to the royal revenue. this report produced a counter order, when maldonado abandoned his native country in disgust, and retired to france. the importance of the projected communication was so glaring, that the merchants and natives never abandoned any opportunity of proposing it. the president baron de carondelet had been induced to open the road called de malbucho; but this failing to answer the expectations of the people, the president count ruis de castilla was solicited to order an examination of maldonado's projected road; and the commission for this purpose was conferred on me in may, . i immediately prepared for my expedition, by ordering a surveying chain, and by putting my sextant and some other instruments in order; re-engaging also the indians who had accompanied me to napo, as well as six others. one of these was to be my carrier, and he waited on me for the purpose of measuring me for a chair. my stock of provisions and other necessaries having been procured, i left quito with my suite; it was composed of ten indians, with my luggage, one indian with my chair, a servant, and four soldiers; forming a procession which would have attracted the attention and drawn a smile from the inhabitants of any city in england. the indians had their usual dresses, composed of white drawers, brown capisayas, and sandals made of bullock's hide. each carried on his back a basket, like those of the yumbo indians, having a girth passing under the bottom of it, which crossed the forehead; another was fastened round the basket, one end of which the indian held in his hand to steady his cargo. my carrier had a chair made of canes, and just large enough for me to squeeze myself into; it had a board to rest my feet upon, and two or three canes formed an arch over my head; these were for the purpose of placing leaves on when it might happen to rain. the two hind feet of the chair rested on two straps, which passed round the arms of the indian close to his body, and one attached to the top went round his forehead; so that when seated my back was towards the back of my supporter. leaving quito, we travelled along the plain of añaquito about two leagues, and then began to ascend the skirts of pichincha, at a small village called cotocollo: the ascent was very gentle, and after a journey of five leagues, we rested on the western side of the summit, at a small hamlet called yana cancha. we had here a most beautiful prospect of the crater of pichincha, which was only about half a mile distant, and during the whole of the night i could hear a rumbling noise, and i sometimes imagined that i felt a tremulous motion. these appalling circumstances kept me awake for a considerable time, though they had no such effect on my indians and the guard, nor on the inhabitants of the house, who all slept soundly, and many of them snored most lustily. at sunrise the view from yana cancha was most enchanting; from the slope of the mountain, apparently from the crater, the river mindo rolled down to the fertile valley which it irrigates, dispensing its necessary support to the many small plantations of sugar-cane, camotes, yucas, bananas and plantains, which are cultivated at the bottom of the ravine: to the westward immense forests extended themselves, forming the boundary of the horizon to the naked eye; but with the assistance of a good eye-glass i could perceive the pacific ocean beyond the limit of the woods. having crossed two eminences called yarumos, and another called inga chaca, the remainder of the road to the place of embarkation on the river piti was quite level, being intersected about every three leagues with small rivulets. the whole distance from quito to piti being only eighteen leagues, without any obstacles whatever to prevent it from being converted into a most excellent road, makes a difference between this and that leading to guayaquil of about fifty leagues of land travelling. when on our journey we had to halt for the night, the indians unloaded themselves, and cut down six or eight slender poles, ten feet long, which they stuck into the ground; they then cut others, which they tied crossways to the former, with strips of bark; they next pulled the upper part forward till this half roof formed an angle with the ground of about forty-five degrees, and sticking a pole into the ground in front, they tied the cross pole to the top of it to keep the building in a proper position. the next business was to cover it, and for this purpose each of them had procured when at yana cancha a roll of about twenty _vijao_ leaves, which were laid in rows along it from the bottom to the top, each leaf hanging over the next inferior one, so that the rain was entirely carried off, and to secure the dryness of this rude, yet comfortable cabin, a small gutter was always dug at the back to carry off the water. during this operation part of the indians were engaged in procuring water, either from some neighbouring rivulet, or, after we had descended the hill called el castillo, from the _huadhuas_. these are large canes, the largest species i believe of the gramina tribes; they grow to the height of forty feet, perfectly straight, and at the bottom are about six inches in diameter. the whole of the cane is divided by knots, from ten to fifteen inches asunder; when green, they are filled with excellent water, so that from each division about two quarts may be obtained by cutting a notch in the cane; when they are approaching to a state of ripeness, the water becomes like a jelly, and when quite ripe it is converted into a white calcareous substance, some of the knots holding upwards of two ounces of this matter, which a few months before was held in solution in a perfectly transparent fluid: on this account the indians object to drink the water, on the supposition that it may produce calculi. the leaves are in shape somewhat similar to those of the banana, about a yard long, and half a yard broad; the upper side is of a beautiful pale green, the under white; it is covered with a substance which melts when held near the fire, and collected has the appearance and possesses all the qualities of bees' wax. a small portion of it being added to tallow hardens it considerably, and the candles made from this composition are rendered much more durable in hot climates. these leaves are preferable to those of the plantain, or banana, for they are quite pliable, and are therefore often used for packing instead of paper, whereas the banana leaf is easily torn into shreds; this, however, may be prevented by holding them over the fire till they become pliable. it is customary for the indians to pay a real at yana cancha for the loan of each bundle, which they engage to deliver on their return, or they give two bundles for one instead of a real; thus travellers carry under their arms during the day the roof which is to shelter them at night. the soil of the country between quito and piti is very rich, and abounds in many kinds of most excellent timber, suitable for buildings as well as for the cabinet maker; among these there are cedars, huachapeli, ebony, cascol, guayacan, lumas, and many others. one kind, called _sangre de drago_, dragon's blood, grows in many places near to piti. it attains the height of forty or fifty feet; the leaf is somewhat similar to that of the laurel, and the gum which it produces, and which gives it the name it bears, oozes immediately whenever an incision is made in the bark; it is then received on a leaf, or in a small hollow cane, or else it is left to harden in the sun, by which means each drop becomes in size and shape like an almond; the indians collect it and carry it to quito, where it is sold as a dye. the appearance of the yarumos scattered in clusters in different parts of the woods is most beautiful from an eminence. they are a species of bombax; the wood is porous and light, the leaves extremely large, and of a very pale green colour, so that amid the dark green foliage of these extensive woods they look like enormous flowers. the richness of the soil, the plenteousness of water, even for irrigation should it be necessary, the serenity of the climate, and the facility of procuring indians as labourers, with every advantage that can be desirable, render it very probable, that this part of quito will soon become populous, and that panama, and the mines of chocó, will in a few years be supplied with the produce of land now in an uncultivated state. there can be no doubt but that herds of cattle and fields of grain will crown the labours of those who may form establishments in this charming territory, where maize, wheat, rice, and plantains, the daily bread of the four quarters of the globe, will be produced in abundance to reward the labour of the husbandman. at piti i found an old man, his wife, and two sons living in a comfortable house, built like those of the puna in the guayaquil river, shaded with half a dozen lofty coro palms, and fanned with the magnificent leaves of the plantain, while the banana, several orange, lemon, palta, guava, arnona, and other intertropical fruit trees were laden with fruit, at the same time that small patches of sugar-cane, yucas, and camotes, seemed to vie with each other in luxuriance: numbers of turkeys, fowls and ducks ran about on a small plot of ground lying between the house and the river, which is here about a hundred yards wide. two canoes were tied to two trees, in one of which there was a small casting net, several harpoons and fishing lines--every thing seemed to bespeak comfort, nay, even profusion. the old man informed me, that he was a native of guayaquil; but that he had resided on this spot for more than fifty years, on which account the natives of the country had surnamed him _taita_ piti, father piti. he shewed me forty-eight tiger or jaguar skins, and assured me, that the animals had all been slain by his own lance; but he was sorry, he said, that the sport was at an end, not because he was old, but because there were no tigers left in the neighbourhood for him to kill, upwards of seven years having elapsed since he took the last skin. he assured me, that whenever he found the track of a tiger he always followed it alone, and never rested till he had slain his victim. the skins were hung on the inside of the roof and round the sides of the house, forming a very pretty, but rather uncommon kind of tapestry. i here discharged my indians, and paid them only three dollars each, although i had detained them eleven days on the road; my carrier told me, that he had never had a lighter cargo, having had nothing but the chair to carry; indeed i never entered it but twice, once out of curiosity, and another time through persuasion: they all laid out their money in fruit, roots, and dried fish, which they took to quito, and which would pay them at least cent. per cent. i rested one day at piti, and then proceeded down the river in a small canoe with the two sons of old piti, leaving orders for my servant, luggage, and the soldiers to follow me in a larger one. we glided down the stream about two miles, the river in some parts being so narrow, that the branches of the trees which grew on each side were entwined with each other over our heads, and formed a leafy canopy almost impenetrable to the rays of the sun, and we could observe the fishes frisking about in the water beneath; sometimes where the river became wider, the margins were covered with the luxuriant gamalote, the leaves of which are generally a yard long and two inches broad, being somewhat like those of the maize; the stem is sometimes two yards high, as green as the leaves, so long as the soil in which it grows continues to be moist; but as soon as the earth becomes dry the plant immediately decays. here we saw some beautiful fat oxen grazing on this plant; they belonged to the inhabitants of three houses, each of which was as charmingly situated as that at piti. we soon arrived at the place called the _embarcadero de maldonado_, where we left our canoe tied to a pole, and took a breakfast composed of smoked fish broiled, fried eggs, and plantains; and for drink we had some _masato_ and rum made by the natives. the masato is made by boiling a quantity of ripe plantains till they are quite soft; these are reduced to a pulp by beating them in a trough; this pulp is then put into a basket lined with vijao leaves, and allowed to ferment two, three, or more days; when it is wanted a spoonful or more is taken out and put into a tutuma bored full of holes like a cullender, a quantity of water is added to it, and the whole is rubbed through the holes of one tutuma into another without holes, which serves as a bowl to drink out of; or small tutumas are filled from it, and handed round. i was highly pleased with the masato, and scarcely took any thing else for my breakfast; the taste is a sub-acid, but remarkably agreeable. i purchased a small basket for the remainder of our passage down the river, at which my two _palanqueros_ were not a little pleased. at the distance of three leagues from the embarcadero de maldonado a most enchanting prospect suddenly burst on our sight. we had almost insensibly glided along the unrippled surface of the river piti, a distance of about four leagues, during which the view was limited on each side by the lofty and almost impenetrable woods, and before us by the windings of the river--where not a sound was heard save the occasional chattering of the parrots and monkeys on the trees, or the shout of my palanqueros to the inmates of some solitary houses scattered along the banks. our sphere of existence seemed solitary, and as silent as a dungeon, and i lolled in the canoe as if oppressed with uninterrupted solemnity, such as might be congenial to the pious musings of a holy anchorite; but i was suddenly roused from my reverie by the loud roaring of the river blanco, and in a moment the scene was changed; at once our narrow river formed part of another, three hundred yards wide; on our left the whole range of the country as far as the coast was extended in the prospect. the blanco, which rises in the neighbourhood of tacunga, after collecting part of the waters of el corason and pichincha, and receiving those of several tributary streams, becomes navigable at its junction with the piti. the country on the western side of the river is to a considerable extent very level, the soil good, but the trees neither so numerous nor so lofty as in other parts, owing perhaps to a scanty depth of soil, which seems extremely well calculated for a rice country; indeed the natives assured me, that the small patches sometimes cultivated here multiplied the seed six hundred fold. after passing the mouths of several minor rivers we arrived at that of guallabamba, equal in size to the river blanco. the union of the two is called esmeraldas. we continued our course, and reached the city of esmeraldas in the evening. the distance from piti to this place is about eighteen leagues, which notwithstanding our delays we completed in nine hours. during our passage down the river i was very much delighted with the sight of a full grown tiger, which lay basking in the sun on a sand-bank that projected from the side of the river almost across it. the noble brute was stretched close to the edge of the bank, frequently dipping his tail into the water, and sprinkling it over him, while his muzzle and feet touched the stream. after watching the animal for a quarter of an hour, my palanqueros became impatient, and at last taking their lances they jumped ashore from the canoe, but at the same moment the tiger sprang on his feet, yawned, stretched himself, and trotted into the woods, leaving the two young fellows to lament the effects of their less nimble feet. between piti and esmeraldas i counted forty-two houses, built on the sides of the river, each having plantations of sugar-cane, yucas, camotes, aji (capsicum), plantains, and bananas. near many of the houses horned cattle were feeding on the luxuriant gamalote, and at every house pigs and poultry were running about. each farmer has a hand-mill for grinding sugar-cane; its construction is very simple, being composed of two wooden rollers placed horizontally in grooves cut in two upright pieces. the ends of the rollers project, one on each side, having cross levers for the purpose of turning them; with this simple wooden machine, for not one of all those that i saw had a nail, nor any other iron work about it, the natives express the juice from the cane, for the purpose of making _guarapo_, molasses, and rum; two men are generally employed at the rollers, and a woman attends to place the cane between them, while the boys and girls bring it from the plantation. it was here that i observed the peculiar mode of cultivating the sugar-cane, which i have already spoken of; that is, of cutting the ripe canes every three months, uncovering the roots of the remainder, incorporating the soil with new earth, or digging it as well as that of the space between the two rows, and then hoeing the earth up to the roots again. by these means the cane here is perennial; while in the province of guayaquil, where the same mode of cultivation is not observed, the plant yields only two, or at most three crops. although the cane at esmeraldas is of the creole kind, i have seen it when ripe more than ten feet high, six inches in diameter, and seven or eight inches between the knots or geniculi. the means employed by the natives in the manufacture of their rum are remarkably simple: the juice of the cane is allowed to obtain the proper degree of fermentation, and is then distilled. the apparatus used for this purpose is a deep earthen pot, having a hole on one side near the top; through this they pass a large wooden spoon, having a groove in the handle; on the top of the pot there is a pan luted to it with clay, and this being repeatedly filled with cold water, and emptied, serves as a condenser; the spirit drops into the spoon, and running along the groove is received in a bottle. i considered this alembic as an invention of the natives of this part of america, because i never saw it used in any other place; the general custom of the indians is to content themselves with fermented liquors from the manufactories of the white inhabitants, especially where spirits cannot be purchased. spirits are also distilled from an infusion of very ripe bananas in water; this is allowed to ferment, and is strained before it is put into the alembic. another fermented beverage, as well as spirit, is prepared from the yuca; the root is boiled, reduced to a pulpy substance, and placed in baskets to ferment, in the same manner as the plantains are for the masato; when mixed with water and strained, it is called _kiebla_, and the spirit distilled from it _puichin_. the water contained in the coco-nut is also allowed to ferment, but this is seldom drunk, it being considered very unwholesome. although these people have so many intoxicating liquors, they are not prone to drunkenness. the food of the inhabitants consists of beef and pork, which is cut into thick slices, salted and smoked. the beef which is fed on gamaloti is good, but that fed on the savanas near to the sea is much better: the hogs are fed on ripe plantains, and become very fat, but the meat is not solid. fowls are bred in great abundance; they feed well on ripe plantains, and are delicate eating. besides these, the woods produce game in great abundance. among the quadrupeds are sainos, tatabras, deer, monkeys, agutis, iguanas, charapas: among the birds, poujis, huacharacas, turkeys, parrots, and wild ducks of several varieties. the saino, tatabra, and aguti are three varieties of the caira tribe; the first is about two feet high and three feet long, and is slightly covered with coarse black hair; the snout is shorter than that of a pig; it has on its back a soft protuberance, which when opened emits a very offensive musky odour, so much so, that the animal itself rolls about, and places its nose close to the ground, as if to avoid the stench, and its companions immediately desert it. the flesh of this animal, however, is extremely delicate, and by the natives or any other person who has tasted it, it is held in the greatest estimation: to preserve it the natives smoke it in preference to using salt. the tatabra is smaller than the saino; is very similar to it, but it has no protuberance on its back. the aguti is not so large as a rabbit; it is of a very dark grey colour, and the hind legs are much longer than the fore ones; it generally sits on its haunches like a squirrel, and might be mistaken for one; as well as the other two varieties, however, it has no tail, at least not visible. these two species are easily domesticated, they become very fat, and are good eating. the monkey which is eaten by the natives is the black long-armed monkey. i objected for a long time to taste it, but seeing the people around me eat it, and hearing them all praise it, i laid aside prejudice, tasted it, and afterwards became so fond of it, that i considered it superior to any kind of meat i had ever eaten. the flesh is similar in colour to mutton, the fat resembles that of pork. the charapa is a small tortoise, the shell not being above four inches in diameter: the natives generally season all the eatable parts, and put them into the shell, which serves as a stew-pan: the eggs are remarkably delicate, and when stewed with the meat the whole is very savoury. the natives make use of the lance in killing the saino and tatabra. they usually form parties for the purpose, and never go singly; for although these animals will not attack a man who does not molest them, yet the sainos when provoked are very desperate antagonists, and will attack those who offend them. they make a hollow moaning noise, which leads the natives to their feeding places, when they attack them with their long lances; two or more men stand back to back, surrounded by these poisonous brutes, and kill as many as they judge convenient; they then pierce one on the back, when the rest immediately disperse to avoid the smell. the tatabra is not so furious, and is an easier prey to the huntsman. during my stay at esmeraldas i was requested to go into the woods, about a league and a half from the town, to see a great curiosity; not being able to learn what it was, i went, and found the two hind quarters of a full grown jaguar suspended from the trunk of a tree, into which the claws were completely buried; all the fore parts appeared to have been torn away, and fragments of it were scattered on the ground: the sight astonished me, and i was not less surprized at the account which i received from the natives. the jaguar, for the purpose of killing the saino, on which it feeds, rushes on one of a herd, strikes it, and then betakes itself to a tree, which it ascends, and fastening its hind claws into the tree, hangs down sufficiently low to be able to strike the saino with its paws, which having effected in a moment it draws itself up again, to escape being hurt by the enemy. however, it appeared that in this case the jaguar had been incautious, and the saino had caught it by the paw, when the whole herd immediately attacked it, and tore as much of it to pieces as they could reach. for taking birds the natives use a hollow tube of wood, from five to eight feet long, called a _sorbetana_, or _bodojera_, the diameter of the perforation being not more than half an inch; the dart used is called _pua_, it is about seven or eight inches long, and very slender; at one end a sharp point is cut, and it is notched round so as easily to break off. this point is dipped in some poison, a small quantity of raw cotton is wrapped round the pua, near the point, so as to fill the tube into which it is put; the sportsman then applies his mouth to the tube, gives a smart puff, and the pua is thrown to the distance of a hundred, or a hundred and fifty yards, with an almost unerring certainty against the object marked out, which in a moment falls to the ground and expires. the poison used is brought from maynas, on the banks of the marañon, where it is procured from a vegetable. it probably owes its poisonous quality to the quantity of prussic acid which it contains, although it does not possess either the taste or odour of that acid. the activity of this poison is so astonishingly great, that i have seen a monkey while jumping from one tree or branch to another, if wounded with the poisoned point of a pua not larger than a fine needle, fall to the ground before it could reach the adjacent bough; and birds as large as turkeys will fall from their perch without being able to throw themselves on the wing. a small black spot is left in the flesh by the poison, but the whole of the meat is uninjured for food. the natives use this poison as a purgative, and i was assured by several who have taken it, that it operates very mildly; they always take it in the form of a pill, carefully enveloped in a portion of the pulp of the plantain, to prevent the possibility of its touching the gums, or any lacerated part of the body, as death would almost inevitably be the consequence. the only partial antidote known, when by accident a person is wounded, is to eat a considerable quantity of sugar, and to this the sportsmen have recourse after they have been employed for any considerable length of time with the sorbetana, as sometimes a swelling of the lips is produced, which they suppose to be occasioned by inhaling the contaminated air in the tube. as a defensive weapon the sorbetana and poisoned pua are excellent; in the hands of these people they would commit the greatest havoc, because they might be used in an ambuscade or defile, without any noise or report; and the pua being almost invisible in the air, an army ignorant of such missiles might be destroyed in the same manner as a troop of monkeys, when one of which drops the rest immediately flock to the spot, as if to examine the cause, and one after another become the prey of the hunters. the dexterity with which the sorbetana is used is very great; but the men are trained to it from their earliest infancy. boys of three or four years old have their tubes of a proportionate size, and use the puas without poison, with which they shoot small birds: they also frequently entertain themselves in the evening with shooting the wasps, which build their nests under the eaves or floors of the houses. i have often been astonished at the extraordinary precision with which the little naked rogues direct the pua. although the natives are such expert marksmen, either with their almost unerring throw of the lance, or aim with the sorbetana, they are passionately fond of fire-arms, and will give almost the whole of what they possess for a fowling-piece or musket, and this notwithstanding their want of skill in its use. chapter xiii. continuation of esmeraldas, fish caught in the river...._chautisa_, method of taking....preserving of....method of catching fish in the river....of cooking it....yucas, camotes, yams....palmettos.... tobacco....cocoa....new variety of....occupation of the esmeraldeños....origin of....language....dress....manners and character of....religion....re-ascend the esmeraldas river, to the embarcadero de maldonado....mouth of the river....city of esmeraldas....road to atacames....port of....town of.... _manzanillo_....rio verdo....la tola....country produce, timber, and wood....coutchouc....fruit....palms....animals....mines.... conclusion. in the esmeraldas river and in many of the tributary streams there is a variety of delicate fish, as well as in the sea on the neighbouring coast. the most delicate in the rivers are the lisa, _dama_, _sabalo_, and _sabalete_; in the sea the lisa, corbina, chita, mero, and tollo; besides these there is a small fish resembling a shrimp, not half an inch long, which makes its annual appearance in february, or in the beginning of march; it is called _chautisa_, and is really a great delicacy when prepared by the natives. the numbers which ascend the rivers are so great, that on each side they appear to form a white path in the water, about two feet broad, and several miles in length. the women employ themselves in taking them, for which purpose they have a canoe; two of them hold a piece of flannel three yards long by the corners, and place it under the surface of the water, one end being a little elevated to prevent the chautisa from passing, and when a considerable quantity are collected the flannel is taken up and emptied into the canoe, after which the operation is repeated. in the course of two hours i have frequently seen from six to eight bushels taken in this manner by three women. they are preserved by using as much salt as is necessary to season them; they are then put into baskets lined with leaves, and a large stone is placed on the top to press them into a solid mass, like a cheese. after standing a day or two, the baskets are placed on a frame made of canes, which is elevated about a yard from the ground; they are then covered with plantain leaves, and a small fire of green cedar, sandal, or other aromatic wood is kindled underneath, for the purpose of smoking them. after remaining ten or twelve hours, the cakes are taken out of the baskets, and again exposed to the smoke till it has penetrated through them, when they are laid up for use. a small portion of the smoked chautisa is generally added to fish while cooking, to which it communicates a very delicate flavour: several dishes are also prepared with the chautisa mixed with yucas, yams, and other esculents. for fishing at sea the natives generally use hooks, but they have both drag and cast nets made of pita, which are always dyed with annotta, achiote. in the rivers they use the common means practised for taking fish, besides which they sometimes make an enclosure of canes on the side of the river, having a trap door so suspended that it can be loosened by a person who hides himself at a short distance from the trap. the decoy consists of a bunch of ripe plantains, suspended so as just to catch the surface of the water: the fish, particularly the two most delicate kinds, the sabalo and sabalete, enter to eat the plantains, and when the watchman observes, either by the motion of the rope to which the fruit is fastened, or from the splashing heard in the water, that a quantity have entered the _corral_, he lets the trap door fall, and takes the fish with a small net. i have been present when two hundred fine fish have been caught in this way at one time. the most curious method used for catching fish is that which is practised after night fall: a man takes his small canoe and places in the bow of it a large piece of lighted coutchouc, in order to attract the fish; he then places himself behind the light and strikes them with a small harpoon; and he is so very dexterous that he very rarely errs. the sight of two or three canoes on the water at night, having their large lights burning, and now and then reflected on the fisherman, or silvering the rippled stream, is very pleasing. many times have i wandered along the margins of the river at esmeraldas to witness this scene, when the silence of the night was uninterrupted, except by the lave of the waters gently splashing on the sandy shore. when a large quantity of fish is taken which is intended for sale the natives preserve it with salt, but if it be destined for home consumption they usually smoke it, particularly the sabalo and lisa, which are very fat. one of the methods of cooking fish, and which is practised here, is exceedingly good, preferable, i think, to any other. after the fish is cleaned it is seasoned with a little salt, and the pods of green capsicum; it is then rolled up in a piece of plantain, or vijao leaf, and laid among the hot embers, or buried among the hot ashes; when sufficiently done it is eaten off the leaf, and is remarkably delicate, all the gravy and flavour of the fish having been preserved by the leaf; cooked in this manner it is called _pandao_. the yucas, camotes, and yams cultivated at esmeraldas and in the neighbourhood are the finest i ever saw. it is not uncommon for one of these roots to weigh upwards of twenty pounds. at one place i saw a few plants of the yuca that had stood upwards of twenty years, the owner having frequently bared the bottom of the plants and taken the ripe roots, after which, throwing up the earth again and allowing a sufficient time for new roots to grow, a continual succession of this excellent nutritious food was procured. the palmito supplies the place of many of our european vegetables, and is certainly far superior to the finest cabbage i ever ate. it is particularly white, tender, and delicate, and greatly resembles the sea kale. to procure them the top of a palm is cut down and opened, and the white core or leaves are taken out, which constitute what is often termed by travellers the cabbage, and the tree is known by the name of the cabbage tree. as there is an abundance of coco-nut palms in the neighbourhood, i one day had a tree cut down, and the palmetto taken out; it measured four feet nine inches long, and eighteen inches in circumference; when boiled it exceeded any vegetable i ever tasted; it was perfectly white, tender, and delicately flavoured. tobacco is cultivated here, and it is of an excellent quality: it is not preserved in the leaf, but twisted into a small roll, and made into parcels of about twenty ounces each, which sell from a quarter to half a dollar the bundle: it finds a very ready market at quito. owing to the expences of the administration of the royal rent or monopoly of tobacco at quito, the president and officers of the revenue declared it a free trade. this news was welcomed by the natives with joy, and should the newly constituted authorities allow it to remain free from restrictions, its produce will be the source of great riches to the inhabitants of this part of the country. [illustration: male & female indians of the malaba tribe.] the small quantity of cocoa that is grown in the province of esmeraldas is of the finest quality, and considered by many amantes del cacao to be equally as good as the royal bean of socomusco. a letter from the governor of the mint at mexico to don juan de larrea was shewn to me at quito, stating, that a sample of the esmeraldas cocoa having been sent to him, the quality was so highly approved, that he and his friends should be willing to purchase any quantity at twenty-five dollars the arobo. at the same time the guayaquil cocoa was selling at three and a half dollars, and the best caracas at five. the bean of the esmeraldas cocoa is very small compared with that of guayaquil, not being above one-third of the size: it is of a bright orange colour, and very heavy from the large quantity of sebaceous matter which it contains. the chocolate made from it preserves the same golden appearance, and is extremely delicious. another kind of cocoa is found here, called _moracumba_; it is never cultivated by the natives, growing wild in the woods: the tree is considerably larger than that of the theobroma cacao, and has a very different appearance; but the pods grow to the stem and large branches in the same manner, and have the same appearance as the other; the beans under the brown husk are composed of a white solid matter, almost like a lump of hard tallow. the natives take a quantity of these and pass a piece of slender cane through them, and roast them, when they have the delicate flavour of the cocoa. i have also seen them bruise the bean after it had been well dried, and use the substance instead of tallow in their lamps. this kind of cocoa, which i consider a new variety, will undoubtedly when more known be mixed with the dry cocoa of guayaquil and other places, to which it will be a very great improvement. the occupation of the male part of the inhabitants consists in hunting, fishing, and attending to their small plantations. their maize is not of the best quality, the grain is hard, and scarcely repays the care of the planter, for cultivator i cannot call him. all the labour requisite is merely to search for a piece of land unshaded by trees, or to cut down a portion of these, plant the grain, observe when the young cobs begin to appear, protect the plantation against the depredation of the monkeys, agutis, and parrots, till the grain be ripe, and then to harvest it: this is generally done about eleven weeks after the seed is put into the ground. four crops may be produced in one year, without either ploughing or harrowing or scarcely any other labour. it is thus that the bountiful hand of providence dispenses gifts in a country whose climate does not suit hard labour, a blessing which the inhabitants of colder regions do not enjoy. but they who choose may call the effects produced by these gifts "the habitual indolence of the people," without contrasting the sterility of the soil and climate of one country with the fertility of that of another. the females at esmeraldas are generally occupied in their household concerns; however they assist in the labour of the plantations, and usually accompany their husbands when fishing or hunting calls them far from their home: in the canoes the women usually take the paddles when proceeding down a stream; but they seldom or never use the pole, _palanca_, when ascending. although they assist the men in what may be called their department, the reverse never happens, and a man would consider himself degraded should he add a piece of wood to the fire, assist in unlading a canoe of plantains, in distilling rum, or perform any office connected with household concerns. i have seen a man and his wife arrive at their dwelling with a cargo of plantains, camotes, &c.; the man would step ashore, carrying his lance, throw himself into a hammock, leave his wife to unload the canoe, and wonder at the same time that his dinner was not ready, yet he would not stir either hand or foot to hasten it. the natives of esmeraldas, rio verde, and atacames, are all zambos, apparently a mixture of negroes and indians; indeed the oral tradition of their origin is, that a ship, having negroes on board, arrived on the coast, and that having landed, they murdered a great number of the male indians, kept their widows and daughters, and laid the foundation of the present race. if this were the case, and it is not very improbable, the whole of the surrounding country being peopled with indians, it produces a striking instance of the facility with which an apparently different tribe of human beings is produced, for the present esmeraldenos are very different in their features, hair, colour, and shape, to the chino, or offspring of a negro and an indian; these are commonly short and lusty, of a very deep copper colour, thick hair, neither lank nor curled, small eyes, sharpish nose, and well-shaped mouth; whereas the esmeraldenos are tall, and rather slender, of lightish black colour, different from that called copper colour, have soft curly hair, large eyes, nose rather flat, and thick lips, possessing more of the negro than of the indian, which may be partly accounted for by the male parents having been originally negroes; and the children, as i have already observed, preserve more of the colour of the father than of the mother. the language of the esmeraldenos is also entirely different from the quichua, which is the general language of the indians; it is rather nasal and appears very scanty of words; for instance, a woman is called teona, a mare qual teona, a bitch shang teona, the word teona being added to the name of the male. it is, however, not unharmonious, and some of their native songs are not devoid of melody. the dress of the men is generally a pair of pantaloons of blue cotton, dyed tocuyo, a white or blue shirt hanging loose on the outside of the pantaloons, and a large straw hat. the women wear a piece of blue cotton or woollen cloth wrapped round the waist, and reaching down to their knees, also a shirt, or more commonly a handkerchief, having two of the corners tied together at the back of the neck, while the handkerchief hangs down before; when at work, or in their houses, both men and women generally throw off the shirt. the children go about naked to the age of eight or ten years. the manner of nursing their infants appeared very strange; the child is placed on a piece of wood, in the shape of a coffin lid, hollowed a little like a tray, and covered with a piece of cotton cloth, on which the child is laid; it is then slightly covered with another cloth, and lashed down with a tape or a piece of cord; in this manner they carry them from place to place under their arms, on their heads, or in the bottom of their canoes, often placing a banana leaf over them as a precaution against the scorching heat of the sun; in their houses they have two loops of cord hanging from a cane nearly at the top of the roof; the child is within these loops, and the whole swings backward and forward and lulls it to sleep. the natives are shy with strangers, and particularly the females; they are however very ingenuous, which to some people appears indecent; and well it may, since cunning and craftiness are too often the handmaids of a high degree of civilization. they appear particularly attached to truth and honesty; their _yes_ and _no_ bear the exact value of the words, and if at any time they are called upon to ratify them, or are induced to think that they are not believed, they leave in a very abrupt manner the person or the company. their honesty is evinced by the exposure of what they possess, and by leaving it thus exposed when they go on their hunting and fishing parties. the houses, like those of the puná, are not only without doors and windows, but without walls, and the only sign by which an inhabited house can be distinguished from an uninhabited one is, that the steps of the ladder in the latter are turned downwards, and no arguments whatever are sufficient to persuade an esmeraldeno to enter a house when the ladder is thus placed. it may with truth be asserted, that industry is certainly not a prominent feature in their habits; but where a sufficiency is easily procured, where luxury in food or clothing is unknown, where superiority is never contended for, and where nature appears not only to invite, but even to tempt her creatures to repose, why should they reject her offer. the excessive exercise taken in hunting and fishing is certainly a proof, that when exertion becomes necessary for the support of nature, it is resorted to with as much alacrity as in other countries, where labour is imposed either to support the pomp of superiority, or the whims of fashion. in their persons and food the esmeraldenos are particularly cleanly; they are abstemious at their meals, and not inclined to habitual intoxication. it is rare indeed to see them in this state, excepting during the time of their festivals. they have a curious practice when assembled at dinner: the men alone are seated, and the women hand to them in small _tutumas_ the _masato_; they all immediately rise, each holding his cup; they then fill their mouths with the beverage, and turning round their heads over the right shoulder, they squirt the drink through their teeth, after which they resume their seats. this i was told was an offering to their departed friends. the cups being again filled, the same ceremony once more takes place, and is a propitiatory offering to the spirits of the air, a sort of supplication to protect their plantations and cattle against the ravages of the wild beasts and birds. all the natives call themselves christians, but they seldom conform to the ceremonies of the church, forming a very strong contrast to some others of the same denomination, who are really only christians in the ceremonious part, and who are, i fear, more remote from loving god above all things, than those indians are from loving their neighbours as themselves. they are particularly superstitious. if a man be wounded by accident with his own lance, he will break the staff, and send the head to be again tempered by the blacksmith; if a hat fall into the water, its owner immediately exclaims, "my hat instead of myself," and never attempts to recover it; if the master of a house die, the remainder of the family abandons it for ever, nor will any other individual occupy it till the expiration of a year: but all these are harmless foibles, as innocent in their practice as in their effects. their number of diversions or entertainments is very small; after the occupations of the day they generally retire to rest; the sunday is to the generality of them like any other day; but when they assemble at the annual feasts in the town singing and dancing are very common. the music which i heard among them, and the instruments which i saw in their houses were novel to me, and are perhaps unique, except the drum; this they make by fastening a piece of hog's skin over one end of a hollow piece of wood, the other end is left open; the _chambo_ is a hollow tube about thirty inches long, and four in circumference, made of a soft kind of wood, and pierced with small pegs of _chonta_, projecting in the inside about half an inch; a quantity of small hard beans are put into it, and the two ends are closed. the instrument is played upon by holding it with both hands, one at each end, and shaking it, so that the music produced is sometimes like that which is intended to imitate rain on an english stage. the _marimba_ is made by fastening two broad pieces of cane together at the extremities, each from six to ten feet long; a number of pieces of hollow cane are then suspended between these, from two feet long and five inches in diameter, to four inches long and two in diameter, resembling a gigantic pandean pipe; across the upper part of these canes very thin pieces of chonta are laid, which rest on the frame without touching the pipes, and these are slightly fastened with a cotton thread; the instrument is suspended from the roof of the house, and is generally played by two men, who stand on the opposite sides, each having two small sticks, with knobs made of coutchouc, with which they strike on the cross pieces of chonta, and different tunes are produced, according to the size of the pendant tube of cane over which the chonta is laid. some marimbas are well made, and the diapason not very irregular; rude as the instrument is, i have often been pleased with the sound of it, especially when floating down a river, and my palanqueros have sung their native airs to the tune. this instrument, which is sometimes accompanied with a guitar, cheers the natives in their revels, and is not unfrequently employed to wake their souls to divine contemplation at high mass. after having remained a short time at the town, or city, for this title has been conferred on it although it only contains ( ) ninety-three houses, i ascended the river again to the embarcadero de maldonado, for the purpose of observing the labour and the time it would require. our canoe was fifteen feet long, and was manned with two palanqueros, who with light poles about ten feet long impelled the canoe forward, always keeping near the margin of the river; besides these i had with me my servant and two soldiers, my bed and some provisions. i observed that on an average the men worked nine hours in the twenty-four, and on the sixth day we arrived at the embarcadero, having been only fifty hours on the passage; but the natives informed me that it generally took more time, the current not being so rapid at this period of the year as at others. the distance from the embarcadero to quito being eighteen spanish leagues might with the greatest ease be travelled even on foot in two days. thus in cases of emergency an express might be sent from the city to the coast in three days, or perhaps less, and one from the coast to the capital in five, even when the river is swollen; whereas from quito to guayaquil, or vice versa, it requires at least seven days in summer, and in winter it is often absolutely impossible to fix the time. from esmeraldas to quito goods might be conveyed in six or seven days, during the greater part of the year, while it requires eleven or twelve days from guayaquil during the dry season, and during the rainy season it is impossible to carry them. i have been rather diffuse on this point, but i consider it one of great importance at present ( ), owing to the changes that have already taken place in this important part of the ex-colonies, not only so far as regards the communication between the coast and the capital, but because the locality and produce of the province of esmeraldas constitute it one of those that most deserve the immediate attention of my speculative countrymen. on my return i examined the mouth of the river esmeraldas, and found it quite unfit for an anchorage, owing partly to its great depth in the channel, which is a hundred and forty fathoms, and to a bar that extends from the north shore, as well as to the rapidity of the current, which runs at the rate of four miles an hour, even when the waters are low. the mouth of the river is nine hundred and seventy yards wide; it is situated in ´ n. lat. and ° ´ w. long. and may be discovered at the distance of six or seven leagues from the shore, by the colour of the muddy water which runs from it, and marks the surface water of the sea. two leagues from the mouth of the river stands the city of esmeraldas; it is on a rising ground, and most delightfully situated, enjoying a much cooler temperature than what could possibly be expected in the vicinity of the equator. this is probably caused by the coldness of the waters of the river, which, as they flow, communicate a part of their coolness to the atmosphere, and keep up a perpetual current of fresh air. the town is entirely free from that great annoyance in most hot climates, the mosquitos; owing perhaps to the total absence of marshy land or swamps in its vicinity, and to the breezes, which, continually blowing, are so destructive to those insects. a road through the woods leads from esmeraldas to atacames, a distance of five leagues. atacames is a little town near the sea, having a small river of fresh water, which empties itself into the ocean on the south side. a projecting headland forms a convenient roadstead, which has good anchorage, and owing to the universal serenity of the weather the port may be considered a safe one. two leagues to the northward of this place there is a high bluff headland, called morro grande, which with the morro de atacames forms the bay, the best anchorage in which is under the headland of atacames. the landing on the beach close to the town is generally good, but when the contrary happens there is another and a better to the westward of atacames. the town is composed of about thirty houses, built like those of the puná, having only an upper story. the inhabitants employ themselves in the cultivation of their chacras, scattered along the side of the small rivulet of atacames, which is generally navigable for canoes about five leagues from the town. more attention has been paid here to the cultivation of cocoa than at esmeraldas, and considerable profit has been derived from it. in , an officer in the spanish navy employed several of the natives to fell timber for the lima market, one small cargo of which was exported, but through the interest of the guayaquil merchants the law of _puertos no abilitados_, close ports, was enforced, and an end was put to the trade. the inhabitants of atacames are of the same race with those of esmeraldas; but they do not speak the same language--they make use of the spanish, and consider themselves spanish population. near the beach there are several very lofty coco-nut palms, and a great abundance of lime trees, whence any quantity of their fruit or acid might be obtained; but as the trees are intermixed with the manzanillo, the utmost precaution is necessary in order to prevent strangers from poisoning themselves with the fruit. the tree is very similar to a low bushy apple tree, and the fruit has the appearance of a small apple; but it is so extremely poisonous, that if a person inadvertently taste it, a universal swelling of the body and death are the inevitable consequences. the poisonous qualities of this tree are so great, that if any one incautiously avail himself of its shade, sickness ensues, and death would follow should he sleep under it in the evening. when the natives cannot obtain the poison from maynas for their puas, they use the sap of the manzanillo, procured by making incisions in the bark of the tree; but the use of it is attended with considerable risk, and the poison is not so certain to kill the game; besides, the natives are averse to use game as food when killed by it. from atacames to the mouth of the esmeraldas river, a distance of four leagues, goods might be conveyed and put on board canoes for their passage up to the town, or to the embarcadero, where, if the importance of mercantile pursuits be duly considered by the government, facilities may be given at a small expence to the navigation of this river. the greater part of the south side is favourable to the formation of a road as far as the confluence of the river blanco with that called piti. to the northward of the river esmeraldas there are several small rivers which empty themselves into the sea; and at the embouchures of each there are a few houses. at the distance of seven leagues stands rio verde, consisting of about twenty houses and a small chapel. the river is navigable for canoes about eight leagues, is full of fish, and on its banks are many houses and plantations. seven leagues from rio verde is the river tola, and about two leagues from the mouth is the town of the same name, containing about a hundred houses and a parish church. between the town and the sea there is a very extensive savana, on which are kept upwards of five hundred head of horned cattle. when the road called de malbucho was opened by the president of quito in , as a communication between the capital and the coast, this was intended to have been the port; but on examination it was found, that the mouth of the river was almost choked by a sand-bank, and a schooner sent down by the viceroy of peru to examine the port foundered on the bar. to the northward of la tola there is a convenient harbour, called limones, and another, at a short distance to the northward of this, is called pianguapi, or san pedro; all these communicate by an estuary, which receives its fresh water from the river tola. the country adjoining the line of coast reaching from atacames to la tola is entirely covered with wood of an excellent quality both for the cabinet-maker and the architect; for the former the principal varieties are the caobano, a species of mahogany, very large, and in great abundance; ebony, cascol, a hard wood, completely black, and very large; pusilde, of the colour and almost of the consistency of ivory; of this wood they make billiard balls: there is also red sandal wood, of a beautiful lively red colour, and very fragrant; the bark contains such an abundance of aromatic resin, that when heated by the sun it exudes and scents the air to the distance of five hundred yards from the tree. the natives use the resin dissolved in rum to cure wounds. here too is the guayacan, of a green hue, with dark brown veins: this wood is remarkably hard, the tree is very lofty and straight, and on this account the natives generally choose it for the upright posts which support their houses: when kept continually wet for eight or ten months it petrifies, and it is a common thing for the natives to dig at the foot of an old post, and break off pieces of the petrified wood for flints. for architectural purposes timber grows in great luxuriance, and to an extraordinary size. there is no doubt that ere long the dock-yard of guayaquil and the peruvian markets must be supplied with guachapeli, cedar, robles, a kind of oak, marias, balsams, laurels, and other trees from the woods of esmeraldas, which as yet may be said to be untouched. besides the varieties just mentioned, there is an abundance of ceibos, balsas, and _matapalos_, which are of an enormous size, and supply timber for canoes and rafts. the matapalo, kill tree, is so called because it entwines itself with any other trees that are near it, and by depriving them of their sap, or preventing the circulation, destroys them. i have seen several of these trees, which three feet above the ground measured upwards of twenty-five feet in circumference. the wood is soft and light, and of no other use than that to which it is applied by the natives. a kind of gum exudes from the bark, or is drawn from it by making incisions, and in many parts of peru and colombia is used as an antidote for ruptures. the coutchouc tree is quite common in almost all parts of the forests; it is large but not very lofty, and the wood is entirely useless; however, the tree produces what is of much greater value to the natives: the bark of the trunk is taken off and subjected to repeated washings; they beat it with small stones until the fibres are regularly extended, so that the whole is about one-eighth of an inch in thickness; it is then dried, and used as a bed, sometimes as a curtain, a shelter in the woods against the sun or rain, or as a sail for their canoes. bark when thus prepared is called a _damajagua_. some of them measure two and a half yards long and from one to two broad; the larger ones are sold for three or four dollars each. the coutchouc, _jebe_, as it is called by the natives, is procured from the tree by making incisions in the bark; the substance which exudes is at first perfectly white and of the consistency of cream; it is received in large calabashes, and allowed to remain a day,or two, in which time it becomes thicker; it is then poured on the leaves of the plantain or vijao, and again allowed to remain a day or two; it is afterwards made up into rolls about a yard long and three inches in diameter. these rolls constitute a considerable branch of commerce, and generally sell at esmeraldas for two dollars the dozen; but in the mines on the coast of chocó they sell for three times that sum. the coutchouc is used as a substitute for candles: a roll of it is generally cut length-ways into four parts, but before it is lighted the piece is rolled up in a green vijao leaf, to prevent it from melting or taking fire down the sides. oranges, limes, lemons, pine-apples, mameis, sapotes, nisperos, with all the fruits mentioned at guayaquil grow here in abundance, and some of them to a state of great perfection. the madroño is a fruit peculiar to this country; it is similar in shape and colour to a small lemon; the pulp is white and of an agreeable sub-acid taste, enveloping three large seeds. many varieties of palms grow in the woods; the coco palm, the _palmito_ or cabbage palm, the coroso palm, which grows to the height of eighteen or twenty feet. this tree has a trunk about three feet in circumference, and is covered with an immense number of long slender prickles: the stem to which the leaves are attached and the nuts are covered in the same manner. an agreeable beverage is made from this palm, by boiling the leaves and the stem to which the bunch of nuts is attached; it is at first sweet, but by fermentation it acquires a vinous taste. the nuts are eaten while green and tender, and have a taste resembling that of the green french olives; when ripe they have the appearance of ivory, and are used at quito by the sculptors for small busts, statues, or images. the chonta palm is remarkably useful, the wood is extremely hard and elastic, and of it the natives make bows, sorvetanas, puas, and lances. the animals which are found in the woods are the jaguar, three varieties of the cavia, four of monkeys, like those at guayaquil, deer, tortoises, iguanas, snakes as at guayaquil, with the addition of the _dormilona_, for whose bite the natives possess no antidote. here is also the boa constrictor, called by the natives _sobre cama_; however this tribe is not numerous, and accidents seldom occur; the inhabitants generally take care to have poultry and hogs about their houses, because these animals are great enemies to the snakes. there are several varieties of ants and bees; of the latter are two, one called the _moquingana_, which form their nests by attaching them to the branches of the large trees; the honey is very palatable, and the natives employ themselves in purifying the wax, for which they find a good market at quito; the other is the _amonanas_, which make their nests under ground. to find these nests, the natives, whenever they observe a number of the bees, besprinkle some of the plants with molasses, and follow them when laden with it on their return home; this generally leads to a discovery. great quantities of wax are procured from the nests; it is of a deep orange colour, but with a little labour it is rendered very white. the province of esmeraldas derives its name from a mine of emeralds which is found at no great distance from the town; it may be approached by ascending the river bichile, which enters the esmeraldas river on the south side. i never visited it, owing to the superstitious dread of the natives, who assured me, that it was enchanted and guarded by an enormous dragon, which poured forth thunder and lightning on those who dared to ascend the river. the existence of an emerald mine was proved to me by the alcalde, who gave me three raw emeralds, which had been found by his sons on the sand at the mouth of the river bichile. gold mines exist in this province, there being scarcely a river in which gold is not found among the sand on its shores: however none of them are worked at present ( ). the importance of this part of south america has induced me to be more particular in its description than might appear necessary for a tract of country almost uninhabited. its capability of becoming of extensive utility to the mercantile world, of forming the principal entrance to the kingdom of quito, and of vieing ere long with guayaquil; its soil and climate; the ease with which indians, from the well populated provinces of quito, might be procured for the formation of colonies; the extensive markets both along the coast and in the interior for its various productions, besides many branches well calculated for exportation, must forcibly attract the attention of all those who are inclined to speculate on the rising interests of the western parts of the new world. chapter xiv. visit to cayapas....village....inhabitants....houses and furniture ....visit to the malabas, wild indians....arrival at the vijia.... interview with the cacique, family of....tribe of the malabas.... tradition of the origin of....dress of....manners....laws....return to cayapas....visit tumaco....description of....barbacoas.... description of....gold mines....manner of working them....leave the coast, malbucho road....river mira...._puentes de maroma_, and _taravitas_...._piquigua_....arrive at ibarra, and return to rio verde and esmeraldas....ascend the river quinindi....boa constrictors....santo domingo de los colorados....indians....dress ....houses....food....cocaniguas....quito. during my stay on the coast i visited the new village of cayapas: it is composed of indians, living entirely free from the controul of any spanish governor or any authority. so ignorant were they of the forms of the spanish administration, that they only considered the royal audience to be superior to their own alcalde. they did not even know what the royal audience was, and they repeatedly called me the royal audience, having mistaken the expression of the lieutenant-governor of la tola, who told them the royal audience expected they would attend on me, and procure for me whatever i might want. after a tedious journey up the river tola, in a canoe, managed by four indians, i arrived at new cayapas, and was received by the alcalde, who insisted on my taking possession of his baston, insignia of authority, and retaining it as long as i remained with them: he ordered the indians to obey me, and they advanced one after another to kiss the head of the baston, and accompanied me to the house of the alcalde, which was situated about thirty yards from the river side. cayapas scarcely deserves the name of a hamlet, there being only a small church, the house for the parish priest, and two others; but the situation is most beautiful: the small river, navigable for canoes, the rich foliage of the large trees which overhang it, the branches in some parts meeting each other, the enormous banana leaves, the stately coco palm, and the verdant gamalote, every where enrich the scene. houses are scattered along the sides of the river, each having its small plantation of sugar-cane, yucas, and camotes, its hogs and its poultry. the indians are low in stature, very muscular, and of a lighter colour than those of the interior. the dress of the men is a pair of drawers, reaching from the waist to the middle of the thighs, and sometimes a poncho. the women have a piece of blue cloth wrapped round the waist, which reaches down to their knees, and a profusion of glass beads hangs round their necks; but the children to the age of eight or nine years are all naked. both men and women paint their bodies with achiote, to which they sometimes add a few dots or stripes of indigo, manufactured by themselves from the plant which grows wild in every part of the country where the shade of the trees does not destroy it. the furniture of their houses is composed of a long bench made of canes, which serves as a table, a sofa, or a bed; damajaguas, which serve as in esmeraldas, and the never-to-be-dispensed-with toldo, with curtains to avert the attacks of the mosquitos at night. their cooking utensils are manufactured by themselves; their plates and dishes are the shells of calabashes, their cups those of the tutuma, and their spoons of the muscle: nature having thus provided them with the necessary equipage for their food, in the same manner as she has with the ground for a table, and the plantain leaves for cloths and napkins, which without any expence may be renewed at every meal. the principal employment of the natives is hunting, fishing, and cultivating their small patches of sugar-cane, yucas, camotes, and gourds. from the leaves of the aloe they make very fine thread, pita, in considerable quantities. this article is either sent to quito or to the coast, where it finds a ready market, and procures for the indians the few clothes which they require, as well as salt, which is brought from the punta de santa elena, in large canoes, and piraguas, (canoes with planked sides and a sail), by the inhabitants of la tola, atacames, and other places. from the information which i had of the existence of a tribe of wild indians, called malabas, who reside on the river de san miguel, which joins that of cayapas, i determined on visiting them, contrary to the advice of my friends at la tola. i accordingly requested a small canoe, and two indians at cayapas, and my request was reluctantly complied with; however, on promising the alcalde a reward in the name of the royal audience, i was equipped with what i wanted. having with me a considerable quantity of beads and hawks' bills, i was not afraid of meeting with a kind reception: my servant declined accompanying me, and remained at cayapas. i left my friendly alcalde, in possession of his baston, at about five o'clock in the morning, and began to ascend the river with my two palanqueros, who sometimes were obliged to use a considerable degree of exertion to stem the current with a canoe that only measured eleven feet in length, and was barely sufficient to carry us; and it is certain that had they not been very expert, and i very quiet, we should have been frequently upset. at four o'clock in the afternoon we arrived at the house of the _vijia_, or look-out, where we remained till the following morning. an indian was immediately despatched to inform the cacique that a viracocha, white man, or child of the sun, had arrived with two cayapos, and wanted to see him. about ten o'clock the cacique came in his canoe, with the messenger that had been sent to him, and as the language of the malaba bears a strong resemblance to the _quichua_, i soon entered into conversation with him. i assured him, that mere curiosity had led me to pay him a friendly visit, and in a short time the old man was satisfied; we embarked together in his canoe, the two indians being ordered to wait my return at the vijia house. before noon we arrived at the house of the alcalde, and found his family highly delighted at his return, for the poor fellow who was sent from the vijia had informed them, that i was a strange looking man, in a strange dress, and that i had told him i was neither a spaniard nor a creole. although this excited the curiosity of the alcalde, it did not alarm him, because, said he, i have been at the spanish town of cotacache, and know that all white men do not come from the same place: _this_ is perhaps as much as many travellers have to report when they return from a grand tour. question now followed question, without waiting for answers; nor was the alcalde less teased than myself, it being naturally inferred, that having been with me for two hours, he must certainly know every thing about me. after allowing the noise to continue for about half an hour, he ordered the females to retire, which they did immediately. to my great surprise they went down the ladder which we had ascended, after which they went up another at the back part of the house; when i turned round, i observed that they were separated from us by a division made of cane, three feet high above the floor, where, with true female curiosity, they stood and listened, but never spoke, except to one another in low whispers. the cacique and myself now seated ourselves on a damajagua, and four young indians stood with their backs against the partition; i again assured the old man that curiosity alone had induced me to visit him and his people: he replied, that probably my _curiosity_ had tempted me to come in search of lavaderos, gold mines, or to request of him to receive missionaries, or to force him to become tributary. having protested that nothing of the kind was meant, as my inquiries and conduct while among them would evince, he begged of me to make myself happy, for i was perfectly at liberty to remain or to leave them whenever i chose, and that if i thought proper to send my two cayapos home, two of his sons should accompany me to cayapas at any time. to this i very readily acceded, although i did not intend to remain more than a day or two; but i wished to tease my friends, who were anxious with regard to my safety, and then to convince them of the goodness of man in a natural state. the tribe, at the head of which was cushicagua, consisted of about two hundred _ishcay huarango_ families, living within the distance of two leagues of his house; besides these he assured me that a great number of tribes were scattered about the woods lying between the spanish settlements in the interior and those on the coast. this information sufficiently accounted for the reports which i had several times heard at quito, of smoke having been repeatedly seen ascending from different parts of the woods to the westward of otavalo. according to the tradition of the malabas, they and the other tribes that inhabit the woods are descendants of the puncays of quito; and although the conchocando of lican, the supreme chief of the territory now called quito, became the vassal of tupac yupangui, they were not conquered by that prince, for he never passed the mountains towards the coast; and since the conquest of the country by the spaniards, although the cayapos solicited a christian priest, and became tributary to the whites, the malabas have as yet lived quite independent. the dress of the men consists of a pair of wide drawers reaching from the waist to about the middle of the thighs, of a purple hue, which tint or dye they procure from the bark of a tree growing in the neighbouring woods, known at quito under the name of _grana ponciana_, and which when known in europe will undoubtedly become an article of commerce. the women are dressed in a very strange manner; a large piece of cotton cloth is girded round the waist, two corners of the upper half cross the breast, pass under the arms, are again brought over the shoulders, and hang down in front almost to the waist; the two lower corners pass between the legs, and are fastened to the back part; the whole body is covered, and the appearance altogether is not ungraceful; the colour of this garment is generally brown: the women have their ears perforated, but instead of rings they use small bunches of the most beautiful feathers they can procure, wearing another tuft of the same on their heads. in the same manner the men often place three or four feathers from the wing of the parrot in the _wincha_, an ornamented piece of leather which they wear tied round their heads; both men and women ornament their bodies with achiote, and some of the latter very tastefully. nothing could exceed the joy which these people evinced when after my first meal with them i borrowed a pair of drawers of one of the young men, and putting off my own clothes i substituted the drawers, and requested the females to paint me: to this the cacique consented, and they immediately descended their own ladder, and ascended the other; after a great deal of laughter, and some disputes as to the beauty of the figures drawn on my body with this red unctious matter, i was complimented with a kiss from each of my _damas del tocador_, and told, that if i were not so white i should be very handsome. i returned the kindness which i had received by distributing among the females beads, bells, and combs; i also gave to cushicagua my spoon, knife, and fork, and to the young men two glass bottles. my watch was the cause of universal astonishment, the motion of the seconds' hand when lying on the floor astounded them, conceiving that while i held the watch in my hand i communicated the motion to it: when i applied the watch to their ears their amazement was expressed in the most boisterous manner--they shouted and jumped, and then listened again! and at last it was concluded that i had a bird shut up in the little case, and that it was endeavouring to release itself by pecking a hole. i then opened it, and every one as he peeped laughed, and exclaimed, _manan, manan, chy trapichote_--no, no, it is a sugar-cane mill, this being the only piece of machinery they had ever seen, and the only resemblance consisted in its rotatory motion. these indians have two meals a day, one in the morning the other in the evening, composed chiefly of plantains, bananas, yucas, camotes, a little flesh meat procured in the woods, and fish, of which there is a great abundance in the river, to catch which they use the same means as the esmeraldeños. i asked the old cacique what crimes he had to punish among his subjects; he told me, very few: theft he punished, he said, by taking from the thief double what he had stolen, which he gave to the person injured; if the thief could not satisfy the fine, he was delivered to the plaintiff as a slave until his services might satisfy the claim. adultery he punished by obliging the man to maintain the woman as long as the husband might think proper, or else by keeping him in the stocks, which were under the house, till the husband begged his release. murder, said he, never happens among us; and all small crimes i punish by flogging the criminals myself. after remaining two days i left the cacique of the malabas, and returned to cayapas, his two sons being my palanqueros or canoe men. on leaving him, he begged of me to send him some salt, which is very scarce among them, and that when i was tired of living among the whites to come and live at malaba, assuring me, that i should have one of his daughters for a wife, and be the cacique. when i stood on the river side all the females came to me and kissed me, and as the canoe floated down the stream they all joined in a farewell ditty, which was answered by my two young indians. nature claimed her tribute, and i paid it: i turned my face to wipe away my tears, and blushed that i was ashamed at shedding them. on my arrival at cayapas, i found that the cura of the tola, on hearing of my trip to malabas, had come up to cayapas with my four soldiers, with the intention of demanding me of the cacique; however, to his great joy, my arrival made this unnecessary: his surprize, and that of my soldiers and servant at seeing me step ashore in the garb of a malaba cannot be expressed: to complete the costume i had borrowed the lance, made of chonta, of one of the indians. i sent to the kind cacique cushicagua as much salt as the canoe could carry, and gave some trifles to his two sons, who took leave of me in a very tender manner: they came to me separately, and each laying his hands on my shoulders, kissed my breast and retired. how easily such men might be reduced to what is called civilized society! but would they be benefited by it? would they be more virtuous? would they be more happy? from cayapas i returned to la tola, and thence proceeded by the estuary of limones to pianguapi, and crossing a small gulf i arrived in the evening at tumaco. this is an island in the bay, called gorgona, which takes its name from that of the cacique gorgona, who governed the island on the first arrival of the spaniards. the bay has a very good anchorage for small vessels, but large ones generally anchor at the outer roadstead, called el morro. the island of tumaco is about two miles long and one broad, remarkably fruitful, and well cultivated, abounding in tropical fruit trees. the town is formed of about a hundred houses; they stand on the western side of the island, facing the anchorage, and present a very beautiful view. the inhabitants are generally mulattos, but call themselves spaniards. it is the residence of a lieutenant-governor, and is of itself a parish. besides the island of tumaco there are in the same bay the islands called el viudo, la viuda, el morro, and placer de pollas. the river mira enters the sea here at three embouchures, called boca grande, rio claro, and mira. tumaco is the sea-port to the city and province of barbacoas, which is approached by an estuary; at the head of this the canoes are dragged across a piece of low ground, called el arrastradero, and then launched in the river which leads to barbacoas, called el telembi. barbacoas was founded in the year by the jesuit lucas de la cueva, who was a missionary sent from quito for the conversion of the tribe of indians called barbacoas. after some time it was discovered that the sand along the side of the river contained grains of gold: this induced several persons to settle in the neighbourhood, and to employ themselves in collecting the precious metal. their success brought down others from quito and different parts of the interior, and a town was formed, which was afterwards honoured with the title of city. the climate of barbacoas is extremely warm, and the rains continue during the greater part of the year, so as to preclude the cultivation of the land; hence all kinds of provisions are extremely dear, the supplies being chiefly brought from the province de los pastos on the shoulders of men, because it is impossible in the present state of the road for any beast of burthen to travel; and so accustomed are the carriers to their laborious way of living, that when, in , it was proposed to open a road, those men used all their influence to oppose the execution of the plan; and as it was not of any pecuniary importance to the government, it was abandoned. among the inhabitants of barbacoas are some very respectable families, and many rich ones, all of which are employed in the lavaderos; but the principal labour is done by negro slaves, who are here treated with greater cruelty by their masters than in any other part of the colonies that i visited; nakedness is of little importance to them in such a climate, but hunger in all countries requires the antidote, food, and this is really distributed to them very sparingly. the city is the capital of the province of the same name, and the residence of the lieutenant-governor. here is also a _casa de fundicion_, where the gold which is collected at the lavaderos is melted, and where it pays the royal fifth. it is also the residence of the vicar of the province, who exercises the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the whole coast belonging to the bishopric of quito; the cabildo has six regidores, and two alcaldes annually elected. i returned from barbacoas to tumaco, and thence to la tola, but before i took my departure for quito, by the road of malbucho, i went to the playa de oro, a gold mine belonging to the valencias. at that time ( ) this was one of the most popular mines, and i visited it for the purpose of observing the manner of working them on a large scale, which i had not then seen. i have already mentioned, that the gold is found in a stratum of yellow or orange-coloured earth, of different dimensions, but seldom more than five or six feet deep, the inferior limit being a stratum of indurated clay, called by the miners _laxa_. the first object after the site is selected is, to form an embanked reservoir at the highest part of the _capa_ or stratum, for the purpose of collecting the rain water; the next is to throw aside all kinds of rubbish to the lateral limits of the stratum; the slaves then begin to dig the ground or pick it over, throwing aside all the large stones, after which the water which is collected is allowed to run over the ground, while the slaves are employed in forming with it and the earth a kind of puddle; after this the stones and rubbish are again collected and separated, the water is turned on, and in its course washes away the earth: these operations are performed till the laxa begins to appear. the water is then conducted along the sides by small channels cut for this purpose, and it is kept running along the sides while the slaves are continually stirring it, so that the earth is carried off by the water. when the whole is nearly washed away the laxa is carefully swept, and every small crevice closely examined, and a small channel is formed along the middle of the lavadero, where the water is allowed to run down it; but particular care is necessary not to make any perforations in the laxa or indurated clay, as it might be the cause of a great loss of gold. the last washing is generally performed in the presence of the master, as the larger grains, _pepitas_, begin to be visible. after all the earth has been separated by the repeated washings, the gold mixed with sand, iron sand, and platina, is swept into the small channel, and collected by placing a piece of board across it at a short distance from the reservoir, and allowing a small portion of water to run for the purpose of cleaning out all the crevices; the first quantity is then put into a trough or canoe, and carried to the house of the miner; and another operation similar to the last takes place with another portion of the earth, and so on till the whole of the gold is collected. after the miner has allowed what was carried to his house to dry, he then spreads it on a table, and with a loadstone or magnet he separates from it all the iron sand, which is always very abundant, and placing the gold, platina, and sand in a shallow trough, he allows a small stream of water to pass over it, keeping the trough in motion till the water has washed away the sand. the last operation is to separate the gold from the grains of platina, which is done with a small stick, a pen, or a piece of wire, with which the platina is picked from the gold. owing to the enormous duty imposed by the spanish government on the platina, which rendered it almost invaluable, the miners usually throw it away. after visiting playa de oro i left the coast, and proceeded on my journey towards quito. the first part of the road is by the river tola to carondolet, or naris de peña, which was formerly the name of the landing place. the river is not so rapid as that of esmeraldas; but it has the disadvantage of being so shallow near a place called the porquera, that loaded canoes are forced to stop there, or unload, pass the sand banks, and load again. carondolet is a small village, bearing the name of its founder; from this place a road forty feet wide was opened to malbucho, a small village at the foot of the cordilleras, thirteen leagues from carondolet; _tambos_, or lodging-houses, are built on the road, four leagues from each other, and at licta, four leagues from malbucho, two negroes and their families, belonging to the government, are stationed in charge of the repairs of the tambos. owing, as i have before mentioned, to the inadvertency of cutting down the large trees for the formation of this road, the brush-wood sprang up with increased vigour, and the roots of the large trees produced numberless young suckers, so that in a very short period what was intended as a road became quite impassable, and was entirely abandoned by travellers. at licta the river mira presents itself on the north side of the road, dashing along with astonishing rapidity, while a dense mist rises from the foam; in some places the river is six hundred feet wide, and in others, where the rocks have opposed its ravages, it is not more than one hundred. the mira derives its first waters from the lake san peblo, and afterwards receives those of pisco, angel, taguanda, escudillas, caguasqui, and chiles, which flow from the mountains of pelliso; it afterwards receives those of camunixi, gualpi, nulpi, and puelpi, and enters the pacific ocean by nine mouths, between the point de manglares and tumaco. the mira divides the province of esmeraldas from that of barbacoas. on the sides of the river mira there are many farms and plantations of sugar cane, scattered along from the villa de ibarra to san pedro, and on the north side there are many small houses and plantations, even lower down the river, and as the road is on the south side, the natives have to avail themselves of _puentes de maroma_, and _taravitas_. the puentes de maroma, or swing bridges, i have described at cochas, on a general principle, but those used to cross the mira are merely for foot passengers; they are formed of the stems of the creeper called piquigua, which are generally about half an inch in diameter, and sometimes from fifty to a hundred yards long; they generally spring up under large trees, or creep up the trunk and along the branches, and hang down again to the ground, but do not take root; they then ascend another, or perhaps the same tree again, or, carried by the wind, stretch along from a branch of one tree to that of another; so that where they are common, the trees in a forest have the appearance of the masts of ships with their rigging. the stem is remarkably fibrous and tough, and for the purpose of constructing bridges, it is first beat, and then twisted, by which means it forms a kind of cord, and five, six or more of these combined make a rope, the duration of which is almost indefinite, for the age of some of the bridges across the mira is unknown. some of these puentes de maroma are from one to two hundred feet long, and only three feet wide; the bottom is generally covered with pieces of bamboo, _huadhua_, laid crosswise; hand ropes made of piquigua are also fastened to the side of the bridge to prevent passengers from falling into the river; this would otherwise be inevitable from the motion of the bridges when any one crosses them, for some of them not only spring under the feet, but by hanging loose they swing; the ends are generally fastened to trees standing near the river side, or else to large posts placed for this purpose. i have seen some of these puentes formed just like a ladder; and they are crossed by stepping from one bar to another, with the assistance of one hand rope, while a foaming stream is roaring at the depth of eighty or a hundred feet below. the _taravitas_ are formed by securing the two ends of a rope, generally made of raw hide, but sometimes of piquigua, to rocks, trees, or posts, on the opposite sides of the river, the rope passing either over a pulley, or through a ring; to this they attach another rope, which first passes through a pulley or ring fastened on each side the river; to the pulley or ring, on the large rope, a basket made of raw hide is suspended, and is called a _capacho_; in this a person stands, and by pulling the small rope he drags himself along, or else he is drawn across by persons stationed on the other side of the stream; all kinds of goods are passed over in this manner, and for horses or cattle slings are used, being suspended by a hook to the ring or pulley. having arrived at ibarra, circumstances obliged me to return to the coast; i sent my escort to quito, being perfectly satisfied that a military guard was quite unnecessary, and taking two guides, i crossed by an almost unfrequented route some extensive forests to the mine of cachiyacu, belonging to don pedro muños. this is a gold mine similar to playa de oro, situated on the sides of a small river, whence the mine derives its name. i here added another guide to my party, and by a solitary path arrived at the rio verde, about two leagues from the mouth, where it empties itself into the pacific ocean. i proceeded on to esmeraldas, and ascended the river to the mouth of the quinindi, for the purpose of exploring the road from santo domingo de los colorados to quito. the river quinindi is navigable for small canoes; it is generally about fifteen feet wide, the current neither rapid nor deep, and it abounds with excellent fish. to my great surprize and delight, on entering the mouth of this river, i saw two boa constrictors basking on a sand-bank, very near to the edge of the water, and we passed them at the distance of about twenty feet. one appeared to be at least twenty-five feet long, the other about half that length. they were both of them in the most beautiful posture that can be imagined, their heads raised, and their bodies forming festoons, or arches; those formed by the greater one were six, the largest in the centre being about two feet high; the smaller formed only five arches, and these much lower than the other. their colours were a most brilliant yellow, a deep green, and stripes along the back of a dark brown hue. the tremulous motion of these animals, occasioned probably by the posture in which they had placed themselves, gave to their colours a most imposing effect; the brilliancy was heightened too by the rays of the sun darting full upon them; i felt as if under a charm, and i sat gazing on them in a transport of delight for more than half an hour. two african negroes and my servant, a native of quito, were almost frantic with fear; but the two esmeraldeños, my palanqueros, expressed no other emotion than that of sorrow, at not being prepared to kill them, and to smoke their flesh, which, certainly, if as good eating as that of other snakes which i had several times tasted, was a great loss to them. as we passed along the river almost innumerable monkeys of the small brown kind crowded the tops of the trees, dinning our ears with their unceasing chattering, and throwing down leaves upon us till the surface of the river was nearly covered; however the two esmeraldeños with their sorbetanas killed upwards of fifty, out of which we chose the fattest, and made an excellent dinner, selecting it in preference to any of the dried provisions which i had with me. on the second day after our entrance on the quinindi we landed, and in three hours arrived at the house of the cura of santo domingo de los colorados. the settlement or reduction of the colorados is merely the house of the cura, and a small church; the indians live dispersed in different parts of the surrounding woods, generally on the banks of the small rivers, and only appear on the sundays and holidays at mass. these indians, like the malabas and cayapos, trace their origin to the times of the conchocandos of lican: they also state, that they were never subject to the incas, and only to the spaniards within the last thirty years ( ). they are not tributary, but each indian from the age of eighteen pays one dollar annually to the parish priest, who has no other stipend. including the two annexed _semi paroquias_ of san miguel and cocaniguas, the curacy contains about three thousand indians, but the curate seldom receives more than eight hundred dollars a year, or rather the amount of eight hundred. the indians always pay their quota in raw wax, at half a dollar a pound, which is sent to quito for sale; but a considerable profit is derived from it, because it is worth a dollar a pound when purified. the indians of santo domingo are called red _colorados_ from the quantity of achiote with which their bodies are besmeared; in their persons they resemble the malabas; the dress of the men is composed of a pair of very short white drawers, and a white poncho about three-quarters of a yard square; their hair is cut round and hangs like a mop, but it is confined to the head with a fillet of silver lace, or a thin slip of sheet silver; round their necks, the small part of their arms, and below their knees, they wear other slips of silver, about an inch broad, and to the lower edge a great number of small silver drops hang loose, forming altogether a very pleasing appearance. the women wear a piece of flannel or cotton cloth, wrapped round the waist, and reaching below the knees, with a profusion of beads round their necks, wrists, and ankles; white and pale blue glass beads are held in great estimation among them; they plat their hair in long tresses, and allow them to hang loose. the houses of the indians at santo domingo are very similar to the sheds which my carriers used to make in the woods for a night's shelter; being nothing better than a few slender poles placed in a slanting position, supported by others, like the roof of a house, having only one side covered to exclude the rain. these indians cultivate capsicum, aji, to a very large extent, and find a ready market for it at quito, where they also carry fruit, fresh fish caught in the rivers, and wax taken from the nests of the moquingana bees. their food is principally composed of plantains, ground nuts, maize, yucas, fish, and game. from santo domingo i pursued my route to quito, passing through cocaniguas, and crossing the southern skirts of pichincha by the alto de san juan, having, in three months, traversed the forests lying between the capital and the coast, in search of a new road of more easy communication between these two places than that from guayaquil. the road recommended by don pedro maldonado is undoubtedly the best in every respect, and i have since had the satisfaction to know, that my report has hastened the opening of it, which will add greatly to the advantage of the inhabitants, to the ease and convenience of travellers, and will facilitate the carriage of merchandize; so that i may hope that i have added my mite towards increasing the prosperity of one of the richest capitals of the new world, by assisting to produce the means by which its intercourse may be rendered more easy and expeditious with the old. end of volume ii.