UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES * (From a rhotogr.ifh taken in 1859 ) FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ. THE HISTORY OF PARAGUAY, Notes of Personal Observations, AND REMINISCENCES OF DIPLOMACY UNDER DIFFICULTIES. CHARLES A. WASHBURN, COMMISSIONER AND MINISTER RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AT ASUNCION FROM l86l TO 1868. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK: LEE, SHEPARD, AND DILLINGHAM. G>~ * r 4 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, BY CHARLES A. WASHBURN, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washingto UNIVERSITY PRESS : WELCH, BIGELOW, & Co., CAMBRIDGE. 53 . CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Personal. I receive Leave of -Absence. Interview with the President. The Passengers and Crew of the Marques de Olinda. Lopez's War Pol- icy. Expedition to Matto Grosso. Capture of Fort Coimbra. Cap- ture and Sack of Corumba. Massacre of the Prisoners. Interview with the President. I take my Departure from Paraguay . . . i CHAPTER II. Buenos Aires declines an Alliance with Brazil. Seizure of two Argentine War Steamers. Don Ramon Capdevila. Siege of Paisandu. Death of Leandro Gomez. Spanish American Ideas of National Honor and National Neutrality. Capitulation of Montevideo. The Oriental Lega- tion in Paraguay. Correspondence between Lopez and Urquiza. Colo- nel Coriolano Marquez. Capture of Corrientes by General Robles. Provisional Government established. Excitement in Buenos Aires. Speech of President Mitre. The Triple Alliance. The Campaign in Corrientes. Duplicity of Urquiza. Colonel George Thompson . . 12 CHAPTER III. Popular Demonstrations in Support of the Government. The Press of Paraguay. The Paraguay Independiente. The Eco del Paraguay. The Semanario. Inordinate Vanity of Lopez. Sources of Information. The Postmaster-General of Paraguay. Antipathy of the Paraguayans to the Brazilians. The Paraguayan verms the Brazilian Soldiers. Matto Grosso. Mitre refuses to permit the Paraguayans to pass through the Misiones. Brazil vainly seeks* an Alliance with Buenos Aires against Lopez. Buenos Aires determines to remain Neutral. General Ur- quiza's Intrigues with Lopez and Mitre. Congress convoked. Charges against the Argentine Government. Lopez made Marshal. The Order of Merit , .28 CHAPTER IV. Birth and early Education of F. S. Lopez. He enters the Army. Briga- dier-General. Personal Appearance and Habits. His Cowardice. IV CONTENTS. His House of Shelter. His Fright at a Distant Shell. No Respect for old Friends or former Mistresses. The Fate of Pancha Garmendia. Carlos Antonio Lopez's Improvement on Francia's System of Espionage. Ignorance and Superstition. Juan Gregorio Urbieta, Bishop of Paraguay. His Successor, Manuel Antonio Palacios. Character of Palacios. The Catechism of San Alberto. The Divine Right of Kings and Magis- trates. Letter from Palacios to Lopez. The Padre, Fidel Maiz. His Talents and Popularity. Arrest, Imprisonment, and Torture. His Reconciliation with Lopez. His Profane Confession. His final Es- cape 46 CHAPTER V. Departure of the Paraguayan Fleet from Asuncion. Arrival at Humaita. The English Engineer, John Watts. Admiral Mesa. The Battle of Riachuelo. Confusion. The Pilot of the Amazonas. Defeat of the Paraguayans. Rewards of Merit 64 CHAPTER VI. Inaction of the Brazilians. Results of the Battle of Riachuelo. The Cam- paign in Corrientes. General Robles suspected of Treason. Espion- age. Colonel Alen. Arrest, Imprisonment, and Execution of General Robles and Others. The Campaign in Rio Grande. Capture of San Borja by Estigarribia. Battle of Arroyo Mbutuy. Movements of the Allied Forces. Critical Situation of Duarte. Destruction of his Army. ' Estigarribia summoned to surrender. Negotiations. Capitulation of Estigarribia. His Character. Treatment of the Prisoners. Character of Robles. Interview with the Marques de Caxias. Reception of the News at Asuncion. Disappointment and Rage of Lopez. Public Meet- ings. Evacuation of Corrientes. Removing the Spoils. The Brazilian Fleet Review of the Campaign . . -74 CHAPTER VII. A new Palace commenced. Colonel Francisco Fernandez. Lopez disap- pointed in his Efforts to form a Royal Alliance. Madam Lynch. Colo- nel Wisner. Character of Lopez Public Amusements. Balls. Peinetas de oro. Jewelry. Sortija. Blill-Fights. Their Influence upon the People. Celebrating the Anniversary of the President's Birthday. A Step towards Imperialism. Changes in Matters of Etiquette and De- portment. The Clothes Question. General Illumination. Triumphal Arches. Mottoes. Fulsome Praises of Lopez. Demonstration by the Ladies. Magnificent Displays. Reception of the President. Patriotic Speeches. The President's Reply. Government Officials Present. Their Subsequent Fate 93 CONTENTS. V CHAPTER VIII. Discussion with Lopez. Return from the United States. Rear- Admiral S. W. Godon. First Visit to General Mitre. A Repulse from Admiral Tamandare. Mitre's Subterfuges. A Perplexing Dilemma. The Al- lies invade Paraguay. The Brazilian Special Envoy. His Attempts at Bribery. Protest against further Delay. Instructions from Wash- ington 113 CHAPTER IX. Threatened Rupture with the United States. Further Delays. Strange Conduct of Admiral Godon. Later Instructions. The Shamokin finally ordered to Paraguay. Firmness and Gallantry of Captain Pierce Crosby. Tamandare blusters and yields. Arrival at Curupaiti. Joy of the Paraguayans. The French Consul, M. Cochelet. Don Luis Jara. The American Legation Premises in Asuncion . . . .126 CHAPTER X. Reception at Asuncion. General Anxiety. Englishmen in Prison. J. J. Acuna. G F. Masterman : his Arrest, Trial, and Imprisonment His Dungeon. Treatment of Prisoners. Ramon Capdevila. Inter- cession for Masterman. His Release. Life in Asuncion. Captain Simon Fidanza. The Casals . . .141 CHAPTER XI. A Visit to Lopez's Head-Quarters. Description of Humaita. The En- campment at Paso Pucu. Dr. Stewart, the Surgeon-General. Other English Officers. Their Warnings and Forebodings. Interviews with Lopez. His Opinion of Brazilian Soldiers. Release of Americans from Prison. Obsequiousness of Lopez's Officers. Admiral Tamandare. Brazilian Artillery Practice. An American Claim allowed by Lopez. Arrest of Don Luis Jara. Picking a Money-Box. Alleged Paraguayan Victories. Prospect of American Mediation 156 CHAPTER XII. Impressment of all Paraguayans into Military Service. Battle of Estero Bellaco. Brazilian Chivalry. Denunciations against Deserters. Story of Dona Carmelita Cordal. She publicly renounces her Husband. Her Confidential Explanations. Universal Hypocrisy of Para- guayans. Enforced Contributions. Dr. Tristan Roca. Levies upon Foreigners. Testimonials to Lopez. The Album, the Flag, and the Sword. The Women offer all their Jewels. Their Patriotic Speeches. VI* CONTENTS. Lopez accepts only a Part. The Women volunteer as Soldiers. A Tragical Farce 167 CHAPTER XIII. An Offer of Mediation. Voyage to Head-Quarters. Conversation with Benigno Lopez. Interviews with the Marshal. Exchange of Messages with Caxias. Lopez's Hopes and Fears. The Passage through the Lines. Rudeness of Pancho Lynch. Reception by Caxias. His Re- ply to the Offer of Mediation. Discussion of the Chances of the War. The Polish Officer's Map. Return to Paso Pucu. A Breakfast with Lopez. Anger of the Marshal. Extract from my Diary. Final In- terview with Lopez. He announces a Memorable Resolution. He will never surrender. His Place in History secure . . . -179 CHAPTER XIV. Another Visit to Paso Pucu. Arrival of Despatches. Letter from Gen- eral Asboth. He is insulted by Admiral Godon. Note to Caxias. Patriotic Offerings by the Paraguayans. Grand National Testimonial to Marshal Lopez. Public Meetings and Addresses. Specimen of the Adulation of the Masses. Discourse of Adelina Lopez. English Offer of Mediation. Mr. Gould's Propositions. Bad Faith of Lopez. His Reasons for breaking off Negotiations. French and English Gunboats pass the Blockade. Folly of the Naval Officers. They become Tools of Lopez. Departure of Consul Cochelet. Lopez's Hatred of him. He is detained at Humaita, and exposed to the Fire of the Allies . . 196 CHAPTER XV. The Mother and Sisters of Lopez. Their Fears. Conversations with Prominent Paraguayans. Their Reserve. Venancio Lopez. The Semanario. Benigno Lopez. His Character and Opinions. The Quinta de Trinidad Passage of Humaita. James Manlove. His Capture by the Paraguayans. His Treatment by Lopez. His Charac- ter and Antecedents. What the Birds told Berges The Beginning of the End. Our Hopes of Deliverance. Asuncion evacuated. Prop- erty deposited in the American Legation. A Meeting of the Consuls. They resolve to leave CHAPTER XVI. The City of Asuncion. Its Appearance and Characteristics. Scenes in the Market-Place. The Government at the Time of the Evacuation. Vice-President Sanchez. Anecdotes of his Career. Minister Berges. His Visit to the United States. His Shrewdness. Venancio Lopez. CONTENTS. Vll Colonel Francisco Fernandez. Major Gomez. Benigno Lopez. Extracts from Diary. A Council held at Asuncion. Deliberations on the Situation. It is resolved to resist the Ironclads. Consequences of this Council. Its Members incur Suspicion and Persecution. Their Fate 226 CHAPTER XVII. New Members of the American Legation. Dr. Carreras and Senor Rod- riguez. They become my Guests. Madam Lynch sends her Valua- bles. Dispersion of the Paraguayan Residents. The English Engi- neers. Bombardment of the Fort. Flight of the Ironclads. Our Servant Basilio. Watts and Manlove. They get into Difficulty. Scene at the Police-Office. Strategy of Lopez. Attack on the Iron- clads. Its Failure 236 CHAPTER XVIII. Routine of Life at the Legation. Captain Fidanza. Fears entertained by Lopez's Mother. Her Isolation. She asks for Protection. Don Sa- turnino Bedoya. His Imprisonment. Lopez's Flight from Paso Pucu. Passage of the Army through the Chaco. Colonel Martinez. Mas- sacre of Prisoners. Extracts from my Diary. The Vice- President and Berges called below. Inertness of the Allies. Colonel Paulino Alen. The Allies occupy Paso Pucu. They closely invest Humaita. Colo- nel Alen escapes to Lopez. His Fate. Martinez evacuates Humaita. He capitulates in the Chaco 253 CHAPTER XIX. Colonel Martinez accused of Treason. His Wife arrested and tortured. Her Sufferings and Execution. Extract from a Despatch sent to Wash- ington. Difficulty of Transmitting Correspondence. French De- spatches by Flag of Truce. Signs of an Impending Crisis . . .268 CHAPTER XX. Petty Annoyances become Frequent. Our Fears of Impending Troubles. Political Views of Dr. Carreras. Brilliant Qualities and Attainments of Rodriguez. Hope entertained by Natives and Foreigners of Protection under the American Flag. The Mother and Sisters of Lopez share this Hope. Letters received by an American Gunboat addressed to Car- reras and Vasconcellos. Their Contents. News of the Assassination of Flores. Another Visit to Lopez's Head-Quarters. Dr. Carreras becomes Heir to a Fortune in Bolivia. Lopez refuses him Permission to leave the Country. Altered Aspect of Affairs at Head-Quarters. Vlll CONTENTS. Frigidity of Lopez. Conversations with Drs. Stewart and Fox. Be- doya and Benigno Lopez are Prisoners. A Card-Party given by Madam Lynch. Her Duplicity. Return to Asuncion 276 CHAPTER XXI. Correspondence with Commander Kirkland. Numerous Arrests. Vic- tories reported in the Semanario. Difficulty of obtaining Provisions. A Period of Anxiety. Our English Guests. Arrest of Captain Fidanza and of many Foreigners. The Portuguese Consul, Leite Pereira. His Exequatur is withdrawn. He takes Refuge in the American Legation. Consultations on his Case. His Surrender is demanded and refused. Note to Benitez 289 CHAPTER XXII. Benitez's Note of July n, 1868. The Beginning of the End. The Eng- lish leave the Legation. Leite Pereira surrenders himself. Pickets are placed around the Legation. Carreras and Rodriguez are demanded. Mysterious Charges against them. Anxious Consultations. Ad- mirable Conduct of Rodriguez. They finally give themselves up. Note to Benitez in their Behalf. Rights of Legation insisted on. The Saddest Moment in this History. Lopez demands the Surrender of Bliss and Masterman. They are accused of High Crimes and Misde- meanors. The Demand refused and Passports called for. Rapid Suc- cession of Notes. Fresh Charges against Bliss and Masterman. Offer to send them out of the Country. Treatment of the English. Sweep- ing Arrests at Luque. A Brazilian Spy about the Legation. Thomas Carter. The Prisoners taken to the Army 301 CHAPTER XXIII. Visit from the Italian Consul Particulars of the Arrests at Luque. Masterman writes his Vindication. Papers of Mr. Bliss. Their Prepa- rations for Arrest. Artifices to conceal our Manuscripts. Colton's Atlas. We learn of many Executions. Visit from Madam Lynch. She announces the Discovery of a great Conspiracy. She vouches for Lopez's Kindness of Heart. Her Threats. That Ominous Knock. Benitez gives Particulars of an Intended Outbreak to take Place July 24. He charges Mr. Bliss with a Design to assassinate Lopez. Extract from his Note. The Dangers thickening 320 CHAPTER XXIV. A more Ominous Letter. The Purposes of Lopez become more Evident. Visit to Berges. Bliss and Masterman declared not entitled to Legation CONTENTS. IX Privileges. Threats to take them by Force. Uncertainties and Doubts. Was there a Conspiracy ? Speculations. Colonel Marquez and other Refugees. Official Receptions. Correspondence with Beni- tez. Benitez visits the Legation. An Excited Discussion. He threatens Strong Measures. Arrest of Bliss and Masterman hourly ex- pected. Life in the Legation 333 CHAPTER XXV. Correspondence.with Benitez. Berges's Imaginary Papers again demand- ed. Threats. The Object of Benitez's Visit. Accusations of Berges. Commander Kirkland accused of forwarding Letters from Caxias. Notice that Bliss and Masterman will be taken. Passports. Theory of Berges's Declaration. Its Evident Falsehoods. Carreras's Decla- ration. Its Inexplicable Mixture of Truth and Falsehoods. John F. Gowland. The Semanario. Its Sanguinary Contents. Its Denun- ciations of Traitors. The President's Birthday celebrated at the New Capital. The Women denounce their Husbands, Brothers, and Sons. Great Enthusiasm. The Peace not disturbed in the General Joy . . 350 CHAPTER XXVI. Lopez's Opinion of American Admirals. Benitez's Letters inexplicable. Publication of the Correspondence. Berges in the Double Character of Traitor and Patriot. Letter from Berges and Reply thereto. The Status of Bliss and Masterman. Rights of Legation. Solitude of Asuncion. Houses sealed up. Fate of their Owners. Fernandez and Sanabria. A Long Silence. Arrest of Benitez. His Character. Madam Lynch withdraws her Treasures from the Legation. Effects of Protracted Anxiety. Death the Least of the Terrors. Lopez and Lynch have their Plans matured. The American Minister and Wife to be subjected to the same Treatment as the Brothers and Sisters of Lo- pez. Details of the Plan. Causes of Lopez's Antipathy. His Inde- cent Exhibitions of himself. Testimony of Dr. William Stewart . . 367 CHAPTER XXVII. The Transactions at Head-Quarters unknown in Asuncion. Arrest of General Barrios. His Character. Indications that Lopez believed in a Conspiracy. Other Indications that it was all previously planned by himself. Forging Fetters. Lopez's Conduct inexplicable. General Bruguez's Fall, Arrest, and Execution. What was it for? Barrios attempts Suicide. His Wife, Lopez's Sister, horribly flogged Insan- jty and Execution of Barrios. Affected Piety of Lopez. Why did no one rebel or resist ? His Constant Fear of Assassination. Anecdote from Thompson's Book. Madam Lynch increases his Natural Cow- : CONTENTS. ardice. Her Selfishness. She causes many to be arrested and tortured. The other Intimates of Lopez. Their Fate. Madam Lynch in Danger. Brazilian Chivalry. The "Conspiracy." No other Proof than that of Tortured Witnesses 389 CHAPTER XXVIII. Silence and Anxiety. Reflections of Persons in Time of Danger. Indi- cations that Lopez's Plans are deranged. Luis Caminos. Lopez re- tires unmolested from San Fernando. The French Chancellor accused. Robbery of the National Treasury. Lopez's Object. Letter from Captain Kirkland. The Delay explained. Long Letter of Accusations from Caminos. Passports promised to all but Bliss, Masterman, and Baltazar 404 CHAPTER XXIX. The Situation of the Wasp. The Wild Beast in his Cage. Anxious Conferences. Unanimity in the Plan of Escape. Money, etc., left in the Legation. Some of the English withdraw theirs. Dispute with Caminos in regard to Property left in the Legation. Not allowed to take any Property but my own aboard the Paraguayan Steamer. Further Delays. Indications that Lopez still intends to keep us Prisoners. Danger in taking away Masterman's Property. My Baggage opened and examined. A Fruitless Search. Another Letter from Kirkland. Mrs. Leite Pereira. Antonio Jara. The Legation Premises left in Charge of the Italian Consul. Basilio. Parting Interview. Depar- ture from the Legation. Arrest of Bliss, Masterman, and Baltazar. Fears of the Consuls for their own Safety. Mr. Hunter and the Money of the English. The Paraguayan Steamer. The Wasp . . .419 CHAPTER XXX. The Officers of the Wasp. Interview between Kirkland and Lopez. Lopez threatens to detain the American Minister. Kirkland warns him of the Consequences. Lopez frightened. The Correspondence detained by Caxias. Discourtesy and Dishonesty of Caxias. Parting Visit of Kirkland to Lopez. Messages to Lopez. Letters from Mr. Bliss and Mr. Masterman. A Parthian Arrow. Masterman ; Account of his Ar- rest, Torture, and Imprisonment. Lopez's Protestations to Commander Kirkland. Condition of Carreras, Fidanza, and other Prisoners . . 435 CHAPTER XXXI. Final Departure. Corrientes. Duties of Neutrals. Excitement at Buenos Aires. The Semanario. Published Correspondence. Letter CONTENTS. xi to the English Minister. Hostility of the Allies. The Wasp sent to the Seat of War. Refused a Passage through the Blockade. Return to Montevideo. General J. Watson Webb. His Energetic Action. He demands his Passports. The Objections withdrawn. The Wasp returns to Paraguay. Her Arrival a Surprise to Lopez. His PJans deranged. Indignation of the Allies. Gaucho Ideas of the Duties of a Neutral Minister. The American Navy : the System and the Prac- tices under it. Despotic Powers of the Admiral. Rear-Admiral Charles H. Davis. His Fleet-Captain, Francis M. Ramsey. Differ- ence of Opinion between the Admiral and General Webb. Insulting Letter from the Admiral. He shows his Independence by delaying the Departure of the Squadron 458 CHAPTER XXXII. The Commercial Interests of Paraguay. Policy of the United States in Regard to the Republics of South America. M. T. McMahon appointed United States Minister to Paraguay. Conflict of Testimony. Admiral Davis's Excuses for Delay. Extract from General Webb's Testimony. Davis and McMahon. Indorsement of Commander Kirkland. His Letter to Admiral Davis 475 CHAPTER XXXIII. Investigation of Paraguayan Affairs by Congress. Its Object. The Course taken by the Naval Department. Extracts from the Report of the Congressional Committee. Admiral Godon censured. Extracts from the Testimony of Captain Clark H. Wells. Interview with Admiral Davis and General McMahon. The Admiral's Forgetfulness. He determines to demand the Release of Bliss and Masterman. Extract from a Letter to McMahon. His Subsequent Course. Antecedents of McMahon. Return to the United States. Naval Courtesy. Captain Ramsey CHAPTER XXXIV. Delay of Admiral Davis in going to the Rescue of Bliss and Masterman. The Paraguayan Tribunal. Examination of Mr. Bliss. Specimen of his Testimony, as taken down by the Tribunal. Torture. Political Prisoners. The Narrative of Mr. Masterman. His Fellow-Prisoners, Dr. Carreras, Don Benigno Lopez, and others. The Cefo Uriigitayana. Its Origin. Mr. Taylor's Experience in it Other Victims Suffer- ings and Privations of the Prisoners. The President's Sisters. His Mother 497 xii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXV. The Depositions of Bliss and Masterman. Contradictions. A Conspir- acy to overthrow Republicanism in South America. Lopez's Mode of eliciting the Truth. Measures adopted by Bliss and Masterman to gain Time. Bliss becomes my Biographer. Youthful Infirmities. Klep- tomania. College Life. Favorite Books. Experience as a Lawyer, Doctor, and in other Capacities. Removal to California, Novelist, Editor, Poet. Appointed Minister to Paraguay. Magnanimity of Lopez. My Ingratitude. The Paid Agent of the Brazilians. Pretended Ex- tracts from my Forthcoming Book. Parallel between Lopez and Reho- boam. My Opinion of Lopez and the Principal Characters among the Allies. Character of the Book. Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver out- done. Circumstances under which it was written. Remarkable Mem- ory of the Author. His Style. He endeavors to excite the Supersti- tious Fears of Lopez. The Letter "B." Previous Relations with Mr. Bliss. Want of Taste and Delicacy shown in the Book. Extenuating Circumstances. The Writer accomplishes his Object. Indignation of the Naval Officers 514 CHAPTER XXXVI. Arrival of the Wasp. Admiral Davis's Letter to Lopez. The New American Minister. The Release of Bliss and Masterman demanded. Lopez boasts that he has the Naval Officers on his Side. Interviews between Davis and Lopez. Bliss and Masterman regarded as Criminals. Lopez's Opinion of Davis. Davis sends two of his Officers to verify the Declarations of Bliss and Masterman before the Tribunal. Extracts from the Testimony taken during the Paraguayan Investigation. Joy of Bliss and Masterman on learning that their Deliverance was at Hand. Lopez's sudden Turn of Affection for Bliss. The Incomprehensible Character of Lopez 536 CHAPTER XXXVII. Arrival of Bliss and Masterman on Board the Wasp. Their Recep- tion. They exchange one Prison for another. Cor.xparing Notes. McMahon refuses Bliss an Interview. The American Naval System. The first Version of the Affair sent to the United States. Dr. Marius Duvall. Arrival of Bliss and Masterman in the United States. They memorialize Congress 549 CHAPTER XXXVIII. McMahon presents his Credentials. His Reception by Lopez. Mutual Sympathy. He becomes the Confidant of Madam Lynch. Lopez CONTENTS. xiii makes his Will. McMahon constituted Custodian and Trustee. The Blockade broken. The British Secretary of Legation in Buenos Aires visits Paraguay. Lopez abandons the Tebicuari and falls back to Angostura. Battle of Pikysyry. Defeat of the Paraguayans. Mas- sacre of Prisoners. Departure of McMahon for Pirebebui. Sufferings and Misery of the Paraguayan Women and Children. Lopez's Cabinet Ministers. Furious Bombardment by the Allies. Bravery of the Para- guayan Troops. Cowardly Flight of Lopez. Lopez's System of Vica- rious Punishments. Dr. Stewart. Treatment of his Family by Lopez. Inaction of the Brazilians. Lopez allowed to fortify himself at the Pass of Ascurra. Capitulation of Colonel Thompson .... 556 CHAPTER XXXIX. The Count d'Eu takes Command of the Brazilian Army. Lopez at the Pass of Ascurra. The Paraguayan Women and Children driven before the Army. Their Condition one of Appalling Wretchedness. Gen- eral McMahon at Pirebebui. He is recalled. His Departure from Paraguay. Reception in Buenos Aires. Burlesque Procession. He endeavors to interest the United States in Behalf of Lopez. Closing Events of the War. Statement of General Resquin. Capture of Pire- bebui by the Brazilians. Retreat of the Paraguayan Army. More Conspiracies. Execution of the Alleged Conspirators. The Mother, Sisters, and Brother of Lopez accused of conspiring against him. Execution of Venancio Lopez. Statement of Dona Inocencia . . 573 CHAPTER- XL. Lopez's System of Warfare no longer practicable. His Army melts away. His Encampment on the Banks of the Aquidaban. A Sur- prise. Flight of Lopez. Capture and Death of his Ministers and Principal Officers. The Pursuit of Lopez. His Death. Flight and Capture of Madam Lynch. Death of Pancho Lynch. The Rescue of Lopez's Mother and Sisters. Return to Asuncion. Ruined Condi- tion of the City. The Havocs of the War. Nine Tenths of the Population destroyed. Desire of the Paraguayan Women to wreak their Vengeance on Madam Lynch. She is protected from their Fury by the Brazilians. Her Property sequestrated. The Fugitives in Asuncion. Their Wretched Condition. The Provisional Govern- ment. Efforts to relieve the General Distress 588 CHAPTER XLI. The Surviving Companions of Lopez unable to explain his Conduct. He left no Evidence against his Victims. His most trusted Officers alarmed for their own Safety. Bewildered by a Phantom. His XIV CONTENTS. Charge against Don Benigno. Lopez, dying, left no Friend to mourn him. His Name universally accursed. The Character of Lopez not to be judged by any Human Standard. A Mental and Moral De- formity. Likeness and Unlikeness to Francia. His Treatment of his Family. The Curse of Solomon. The Future of Paraguay. The Immigration needed. Advantages which the Country offers. The Present Government. Conclusion. ... . 600 APPENDIX. Correspondence between Rear-Admiral Davis and President Lopez. . . 609 INDEX 615 HISTORY OF PARAGUAY. VOL. II. PARAGUAY, CHAPTER I. Personal. I receive Leave of Absence. Interview with the President. The Passengers and Crew of the Marques de Olinda. Lopez's War Policy. Expedition to Matto Grosso. Capture of Fort Coimbra. Capture and Sack of Corumba. Massacre of the Prisoners. Interview with the Presi- dent. I take my Departure from Paraguay. T N commencing this work a strange story was promised to JL the reader. However imperfectly it has been told, I be- lieve the promise has thus far been fulfilled. But the strangest and darkest part is yet to come, and, to give anything like a full and connected narrative of the closing acts of the long tragedy, the work must be made up to a large extent of per- sonal reminiscences. Therefore no apology is made for the free use of the first person, or for the introduction of those matters personal to myself which are necessary to a full nar- rative of the events as they occurred. For any value that this work may have, I must depend from this time to the conclu- sion on my testimony as a witness, rather than on any arrange- ment or collocation of evidence gathered from other sources, and which is open to others. I prefer to incur the risk of be- ing charged with egotism, and with giving my own affairs an undue prominence, rather than to weaken the narrative by any circumlocution or affected modesty. I was so situated and compelled to take so prominent a part in the events which I have to relate, that without vanity I may quote as applicable to myself the familiar words of ^Eneas : " Quaeque ipse miserrima vidi, Et quorum pars magna fui." VOL. II. i 2 PARAGUAY. Having resided for several years in Paraguay previous to the war, I became familiar with the habits and character of the people. I had seen, that, from causes which I have already traced, a race had been developed in which the last spark of personal liberty had been extinguished, and which knew no exceptions to the rule of implicit, unquestioning obedience to constituted authority. A whole nation thus helpless and in- capable of self-assertion I had seen led by a despotic ruler into an unnecessary war, which was only to end when the Paraguayans as a people should no longer exist. More than this, I had seen that when the author of these calamities was about to be overtaken by the consequences of his own folly and ambition, he had endeavored to be revenged on mankind by destroying every human being that was in his power, and, under Providence, I had been the means of thwarting his plans to such an extent that some persons escaped, who were capable of bearing witness to his enor- mities. I had been destined by him for the fate that he in- tended for all, and his conduct towards me had shown such a combination of every bad quality in the same individual, such depravity and low cunning, such delight in cruelty, such effrontery in falsehood, that without a plain and succinct narrative of events as they occurred no one would believe nature capable of producing a character so depraved. I had seen many of my best friends seized and carried off to be starved, tortured, and executed for no crime whatever, and an attempt made to blast their names, after they were dead, by false accusations. It is my duty, therefore, to vindicate them, and in doing so to expose, not only the character of their destroyer, but the infamy of his apologists and abettors. Lopez, the cause of all this sacrifice and misery, has gone to his final account, his soul stained with the blood of seven hundred thousand of his own people, the victims of his ambition and cruelty. His defenders, who, knowing his character, encouraged him to prolong the hopeless contest, and who shared, and still hold, the spoils of his murdered victims, should have their names pilloried in history, that in PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE. 3 after times, when the world shall wonder how such a wretch was ever permitted to live, they shall be condemned to share his execrable immortality. Such a calamity as the destruction of a nation and the ex- termination of an entire race should not be allowed to pass unnoticed into oblivion. There survive but few witnesses who can or will make public what they know of the long tragedy ; and perhaps none but myself will ever attempt to publish the story of what they have seen, heard, and suf- fered. Of these few who escaped, nearly all were either in prison for a long time, or kept under such surveillance around the army head-quarters that they knew little of what was transpiring in the country except what passed under their own eyes. My means of observation were also very imper- fect, owing to the constant efforts of Lopez to prevent com- munication between his camp and the capital, and to the in- extricable mystery in which I found myself involved. I can, however, give my own experience, and in time, perhaps, some one else may be able to produce a connected narrative from the various fragmentary statements of the different witnesses. Soon after the seizure of the Marques de Olinda, and while the question whether or not the Brazilian Minister, Cesar Sauvan Vianna de Lima, would be permitted to leave the country was still in doubt, I received from the Department of State the leave of absence which I had asked for some months before. I said nothing of this, however, until after my unfor- tunate colleague was safely out of the country, and the steamer which was sent to carry him away had returned to Paraguay. I knew that if I asked for passports to leave immediately after I had secured the safety of the Brazilian Minister, and before the steamer that carried him away had returned, that Lopez would suspect there was collusion between us, that we had played him a trick, and that his steamer would be seized as a prize of war by the first Brazilian gunboat it might encounter ; and also that other vessels in the river des- tined for Paraguay with valuable cargoes, composed largely 4 PARAGUAY. of munitions of war, would likewise be captured. I therefore remained quiet until I found that all the pledges given by Vianna de Lima had been faithfully respected by his govern- ment. About a week, however, after the return of the Parana, and while waiting to learn if all the other vessels had arrived unmolested, I took occasion to visit the President. Alas, how had I fallen from grace ! Instead of the bland and courteous manner which he had always before assumed in private interviews, he had a dark and forbidding scowl, and his eyes had a sort of liquid, inflamed, fiendish look such as I had never before seen in the head of a human being, I have seen something like it in wild beasts that have been goaded to madness by their tormentors, and his whole ap- pearance at that time gave me an impression of his char- acter which has since been fearfully confirmed by his acts. My ostensible business with him at that time was to bring to his attention the project of the Collins Telegraph Company to extend their lines to all the principal towns and cities of South America. He heard my statement of the project, an- swered scarcely a word, and as soon as I had concluded broke forth in a furious tirade in regard to the officious part I had taken in behalf of the Brazilian Minister. I reminded him, that, if he had any complaints to make against me for the part I had taken, the proper way for them to be made would be officially through the Minister for Foreign Affairs. No, he abruptly said, he did not wish the correspondence reopened, but he wanted to express his opinions to me verbally. He said that I had already gone out of my way, exceeded my duties as the minister of a neutral nation, and shown myself to be no friend to Paraguay. I had taken advantage of the inter- view he had condescended to grant me, and brought into my official notes that which he had not spoken as official or bind- ing, but as mere suggestions to be followed out or not, as might afterwards suit his purposes. But, not satisfied with this, I had in the correspondence made use of several sharp and objectionable phrases. I replied I had only followed the strict but plain line of duty ; and that no stranger, no neutral LOPEZ IN A RAGE. 5 or impartial person who was familiar with the English language, could find anything to object to either in the course I had pursued or the language I had employed. To this he replied, striking his breast in a theatrical manner : " It matters not what other people and other nations may say or think of the matter ; it is what I say. I am to decide these questions." I then turned upon him and said, that, in my opinion, I had most reason to complain. Though I had come in as the friend of both parties to arrange a troublesome question, and had en- deavored to so manage it that no Paraguayan interest could in any way be prejudiced, yet I had been treated all through with distrust and suspicion ; the most commonplace expres- sions and sentences had been carped at and complained of ; and throughout I had been regarded as an enemy trying to overreach the Paraguayan government. After several more passages not distinguished for amiability, I took my leave, un- able to conceive how I had given such terrible offence. Could it be because the Brazilian Minister had escaped from his hands ? But the cause of his perturbation was soon apparent. Thinking that he had displayed wonderful astuteness and statesmanship in the correspondence between his minister and myself, he published it in the Semanario. In the same number he had a fulsome editorial in praise of himself, of course written at his own dictation, for his great magna- nimity, courtesy, and strict observance of the laws of nations. When the Semanario, however, containing this correspond- ence reached Buenos Aires, the newspapers there did not at all concur with him in their estimate of his conduct or his sagacity as displayed in the letters of his minister. On the contrary, they uniformly condemned his mode of beginning the war and the detention of the Minister as being the acts of a semi-savage. They accused him of an intention to keep Vianna de Lima as a prisoner in Paraguay, and said he had only been bullied out of it by fear of the United States. But whatever was the cause of his anger with me, I resolved that, as soon as circumstances would permit, I would avail 6 PARAGUAY. myself of my leave of absence, and ask my passports, and that I would see him no more before my departure. I was soon forced, however, to abandon the idea that I would not again see the man on whose will depended the life and death of every man in the country. The Brazilian con- sul, Senor Amarro Jose dos Santos Barboza, came to me a few days after in great affliction and excitement, telling me that all the passengers and crew of the Marques de Olinda, who since her capture had been kept as close prisoners in the government barracks, were to be sent away into the interior of the country, where he feared they would be exposed to severe hardships. He begged me to go and see the President, and request that they might be allowed to live in his house as prisoners, giving their parole not to leave it or go outside ex- cept with permission. I told the consul that the President had, in my last interview with him, shown himself to be so angry with me for the part I had already taken in behalf of his countrymen, it was very doubtful whether any further interference on my part would not do more harm than good. He begged me, however, to go ; and I was obliged to dissem- ble the resentment I felt at the President's rudeness on the last occasion, and make the intercession. To my surprise his Excellency was now all smiles and con- descension. I told him I had come at the instance of the Brazilian consul, Amarro Barboza, to request that the passen- gers and crew of the Marques de Olinda might be permitted to live in his house, giving their parole not to leave it, and not be sent into the interior. But I added, as my own sugges- tion, that it would be far better for him and for Paraguay that he should allow them to leave the country altogether ; that if they were kept as prisoners, Brazil would be obliged to make war to the bitter end. She could not, and would not, treat for peace if they were detained. The taking of the steamer was an affair that might be peaceably adjudicated, but not so the detention of her passengers and crew. But he did not see it in the same light. He said they would not be allowed to depart until the final settlement of all the questions at issue. LOPEZ'S PROMISES OF GOOD BEHAVIOR. 7 But he added, that, as they did not enter the country as ene- mies, they would not be treated as such. They would be sent into the interior to the district of San Joaquin, some thirty leagues from the capital, where, if they kept quiet, they would be allowed to live without molestation ; they might hunt, or ride, or divert themselves in any way that they saw fit He said, moreover, that in carrying on war he should conduct it in a way that would put to shame all his neighbors ; that he knew the warfare of South America had always been bar- barous, savage, and sanguinary. But he was resolved to put to shame the practice of killing and maltreating pris- oners, and should strictly observe and be bound by the rules of war as held and practised by the most civilized nations. He was to be the pink of South American chiv- alry, the Chevalier Bayard of modern times. Prisoners should not only be protected in their lives, but should have good treatment. The gaucho system of robbing, sacking, and cut- ting throats would be entirely prohibited in his army ; and whatever might be the result, the world should say that Fran- cisco Solano Lopez conducted his military operations on prin- ciples humane and honorable. I expressed my gratification at this, and told him that, following this course, he would have a great name in history, and that adherence to the practice would of itself entitle him to the respect of all foreign nations ; that most of the military leaders of South America, it was well known, had so tarnished their names with cruelties practised on prisoners that the character of the Spanish American people was generally regarded as sanguinary and semi-savage, and that by pursuing a course marked by hu- manity and justice towards his enemies he might acquire an illustrious name. He smiled approvingly, and said that he was resolved upon it. True, I had some doubts whether he would do all that he had promised, as I had never seen him practise either magnanimity or justice towards any one who had offended him ; nevertheless, if encouraged to that course, he might treat his prisoners better than he otherwise would. I now told him that I had received leave of absence from 8 PARAGUAY. my post several weeks previously, and had only deferred my departure till all questions were settled growing out of the departure of Vianna de Lima. He expressed regret that I should go away just then, as there would be important nego- tiations to arrange within a short time. The war would be ^ over in three or four months at the furthest, and, as foreign ministers might be called in to arrange the terms of peace, it would be well that there might be one of them, at least, who had lived in Paraguay and was familiar with the character and condition of the people, and not unduly prejudiced in favor of their enemies. He seemed to think that all the representa- tives of foreign governments in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and Rio Janeiro were entirely enlisted in favor of Brazil, and that Mr. Thornton, the English Minister, had a feeling of strong enmity to him. I told him that probably I should re- turn long before the first step would be taken by any party looking towards peace. I should very likely be back in six months, and in that time Brazil would not be ready to begin the war. A government having so vast a territory as Brazil, with a sparsely settled population, could not in less than ten or twelve months collect, arm, and discipline a force that it would venture near the large and well-drilled army of Para- guay. Beside, it must create a navy, and this would take a year at least. In my opinion, Brazil would begin the war with the determination of conquering Paraguay, if not destroy- ing it as an independent nation. This reasoning of mine the President thought preposter- ous. Brazil would be glad enough to treat whenever it suited him to listen to her proposals, and he was not dis- posed to prolong the war needlessly, or for any selfish or am- bitious purpose. But the interests of Paraguay required that she should show to the world that she had sufficient strength and material resources to command respect. I told him we would see who was right and who was wrong ; to which, with some asperity, he responded : "Yes, we shall see ; si, veremos." The war had indeed commenced before this interview with aqtive operations against the province of Matto Grosso. The EXPEDITION TO MATTO GROSSO. 9 people in that remote district had no knowledge of what had been transpiring elsewhere for the last two months. Their sole dependence for information from abroad was the packet steamer Marques de Olinda. They knew she had not arrived when due, yet her delay might be accounted for in so many ways that it occasioned no alarm. But while they had been awaiting the packet's arrival, Lopez was preparing a surprise for them. He had taken five of his best steamers with two gunboats in tow, each with a sixty-eight-pounder on board. On each of the steamers he had placed several cannon of lighter calibre, but adapted to the size of the vessels. Some five thousand of the best troops were then taken on board, and the expedition, under command of General Vicente Barrios, brother-in-law of the . President, on the I4th of December started on her voyage of conquest. On the 26th the expedition came in sight of Fort Coimbra, situate on the right bank of the river, nearly two hundred leagues from Asuncion, and twenty from the frontiers claimed by Paraguay. This fort was considered to be very strong, and so it would have been in the hands of any other people than the Brazilians. Bar- rios sent a summons to the commander to surrender. The reply sent back was of a character to indicate that the fort would never be surrendered while there was a man left to defend it. Barrios then began to bombard with his sixty- eight-pounders, which, being of much heavier calibre and longer range than any guns of the fort, could have easily silenced them without the loss of a man. He, however, made an assault that was repulsed with much loss, and the next day sent a detachment to occupy an eminence that commanded the fort. The next night the fort was evacuated, and the force, consisting of less than two hundred men, left on the little steamer Anhambay, that was lying just above and out of range of the guns of the Paraguayans. When the latter en- tered the fort, they found an immense quantity of ammunition, including powder enough to last the whole Paraguayan army for at least a year of active war. The cannon, thirty-seven in number, were all taken, and a Brazilian flag and two of 10 PARAGUAY. the steamers were despatched below to give an account of the great victory achieved by five thousand men over two hun- dred. On their arrival at Asuncion some three hundred peo- ple paraded through the streets, bearing the captured flag, and shouting vivas to the great Lopez and his army of heroes. Among the shouts, however, were mingled other cries, like " Death to the Brazilians ! " " Death to the Portenos ! " The expedition, after the capture of Coimbra, moved on to Alberquerque, a small settlement a few leagues above. This place was taken without resistance, and the party went on to Corumba, the principal town in that part of Brazil, though containing only about two thousand inhabitants. The news of the taking of Coimbra had already reached there when the expedition arrived to find the town abandoned. The in- habitants had fled, with the exception of a few foreigners. The town was sacked, the foreigners were carried prisoners to Asuncion, and several Brazilians who fell into the hands of the Paraguayans were pierced to death with lances on the allegation that they were spies. The ears of many of the slain were cut off and carried as trophies to Asuncion ; and of the prisoners taken, not one ever left Paraguay alive. In fact, the whole conduct of the Paraguayans, in regard to the lives and property of the unhappy people who had been surprised by them, was entirely contrary to what President Lopez had told me with great complacency it would be a day or two before. A few days after the departure of the expedition from Asuncion, a little English steamer, the Ranger, reached Para- guay, bound for Matto Grosso. As the government had an- nounced, in commencing the war, that the navigation of the river would be left free to all nations except Brazil, it was allowed, after several days' detention, and a search and scrutiny that left no piece of merchandise untouched, to proceed to its destination. It returned to Asuncion soon after, and on the i6th of January, 1865, I availed myself of the kindness of its commander, Captain Harrison, to take my departure from Paraguay. I was doubting in my own mind whether I should ever UNCERTAINTY OF RETURNING. 1 1 return ; but were I to come back at all, I supposed I should not be absent for more than six or seven months. Unforeseen events, however, determined me to go again to South Amer- ica ; but instead of reaching my post in the course of six or eight weeks after leaving the United States, it was, owing to circumstances that will be fully related hereafter, four- teen months after leaving New York before I again set foot in Paraguay. CHAPTER II. Buenos Aires declines an Alliance with Brazil. Seizure of Two Argentine War Steamers. Don Ramon Capdevila. Siege of Paisandu. Death of Leandro Gomez. Spanish American Ideas of National Honor and National Neu- trality. Capitulation of Montevideo. The Oriental Legation in Paraguay. Correspondence between Lopez and Urquiza. Colonel Coriolano Marquez. Capture of Corrientes by General Robles. Provisional Government estab- lished. Excitement in Buenos Aires. Speech of President Mitre. The Triple Alliance. The Campaign in Corrientes. Duplicity of Urquiza. Colonel George Thompson. FROM the time of the seizure of the Marques de Olinda, in October, 1864, until the meeting of the Congress in the following March, scarcely any communication had been allowed between Paraguay and the country below, and after the Congress met it was strictly and jealously prohibited. The project of a sudden invasion of Corrientes had been discussed in the Congress ; and as the member who proposed it, Don Andres Gill, was known to have intimate relations with Lopez, it was understood that this would be one of the first acts of hostility after war had been declared. It was not anticipated, however, by any one in Buenos Aires, nor in Corrientes, that Lopez, having commenced war with Brazil in a manner that would call forth all the resources of the Em- pire to attack him, would also provoke the hostility of the Argentines. If there was to be war between the two coun- tries, the true policy of the Argentine Republic was to remain at peace ; and as the troops and munitions of war must nearly all be conveyed by way of the river, it was supposed that a rich harvest would be reaped by the merchants of Montevideo, Buenos Aires, and the ports upon the river, at the expense of the belligerents. The Brazilian government was very de- sirous to engage the Argentine Republic to make common MITRE REFUSES AN ALLIANCE. 13 cause with it against Lopez. Councillor Paranhos was sent specially from Rio'de Janeiro to Buenos Aires to effect, if possible, an alliance between the two powers. He foreseeing that in a war carried on between his country and Paraguay it would be very difficult to send all the troops and supplies by way of the river to attack Paraguay, and that it was of the first importance to have a base on Argentine territory, en- deavored to draw President Mitre into an alliance with the Emperor. He desired the moral support of the Argentine Republic in the war, and was ready to stipulate that all the expense, both in men and money, should be borne by Brazil. Mitre, however, refused to listen to any such proposition ; he said the policy of his country was peace, and peace he would maintain if possible. The attitude taken by Presi- dent Mitre at this time was almost universally approved by the Argentine people. Though they generally regarded Lo- pez as a common enemy of civilization and progress, the hereditary prejudice and antipathy against the Brazilians was such that they did not wish to make an alliance with them even against a semi-savage. The mission of Paranhos, there- fore, was a complete failure, and he returned to Rio de Janeiro, where, soon after, the unexpected but grateful news came to the ears of the distinguished envoy, that on the I3th of April, 1865, Lopez had, without any previous warning to the Argen- tine government, sent a fleet of his steamers down the river to Corrientes, and there seized two Argentine war steamers, killed many of their crews, 'captured the rest, and, taking the vessels in tow, returned to Paraguay. The capture of these vessels was attended by circumstances of greater audacity and barbarity than had been the seizure of the Marques de Olinda. It was about seven o'clock in the morning; all was peace and quiet on the river and in the town of Corrientes, and no one was expecting danger from any quarter, when steamers bearing the Paraguayan flag were seen approaching from up the river. As they came down past the town the flags of the Argentine vessels were dipped in courtesy to them, after which they came round and inside 14 PARAGUAY. of the Argentine vessels, whose officers so little suspected any hostile intent on their part, that the crews were not diverted from their occupations, but at the moment were taking their morning coffee in the cabin. As the Paraguayan vessels arrived alongside of the Argentines, a large number of sol- diers sprang on deck, and began firing upon all who were in sight. Surprised and confounded at the suddenness of this at- tack, several of the crew jumped overboard and attempted to swim ashore. Few of them, however, were successful, as the Paraguayans shot at them while in the water, and scarcely any succeeded in reaching the bank and escaping. The steamers as soon as possible were taken in tow, and all who remained on board were made prisoners and carried to Para- guay, where they were placed in a common prison and made to work in fetters upon the streets. They were most miser- ably fed, and soon contracted diseases from which several died, and more would have done so but for the kindness and care with which they were attended to by Don Ramon Capdevila, an Argentine gentleman who had long lived in Paraguay, and who for a time ministered to their wants, trusting that when the war should be over his own government would rec- ompense him for any outlay he might be at on their account. His interest in these unfortunate people and his kindness to- wards them were, however, construed by Lopez as evincing disapproval of his acts and sympathy with his own country and people. For this he was arrested, thrown into prison, and loaded with fetters, and his fellow-countrymen were left to the bare prison fare and treatment, under which some died and others lingered on until Lopez thought it more convenient to execute them than to keep them any longer.- It is perhaps needless to say that Capdevila, after prolonged torture of years, and for no other offence, so far as is known, except that of feeding the hungry and clothing the naked, was finally exe- cuted ; and his wife, an accomplished Argentine lady, and four young children were driven into the Cordilleras, and ex- posed to hardships that can scarcely be imagined, much less described. THE SIEGE OF PAISANDU. 15 While Lopez, during the year 1864 and the beginning of 1865, had been engaged in recruiting his army, and forcing all who were not in the ranks to pledge to him their lives and fortunes, to make it appear to the world that he was sus- tained by the whole Paraguayan people, events were trans- piring in the Banda Oriental such as he had not anticipated, and which effectually deranged his plans. The Brazilians, in accordance with a threat that had been made by Saraiva to occupy Oriental territory in case the exorbitant demands of his government were not immediately complied with, had sent a large force into Uruguay, that united with Flores and cap- tured the important town of Salto, on the Uruguay, on the 28th of November, and early in December commenced the siege of Paisandu, a town of some five thousand inhabitants. The land forces were supported by the Brazilian squadron, that at the same time commenced the bombardment from the river. The military operations, both by land and water, were doubtless directed by the Brazilian envoy, Paranhos, who had" arrived but a short time before at Buenos Aires, clothed with almost viceregal amplitude of authority to conduct the war against Uruguay and to negotiate with the Argentine govern- ment. As yet, however, he could make no impression on President Mitre, who still refused to be drawn into a war against Paraguay, notwithstanding that, without having de- clared war against the Oriental Republic, he had rendered every assistance in his power to the Brazilians towards over- throwing the legal and established government of that country. Paisandu was defended nearly the whole month of December by a small garrison of about six hundred men, under the command of General Leandro Gomez and General Lucas Piriz. It was defended with a bravery and endurance that have never been excelled, and seldom equalled, in modern warfare. The gallantry with which this little band sustained for so long a time the attack of forces so many times out- numbering their own must render this siege one of the most memorable in South American history. The long resistance was stimulated by the vain hope of succor from Paraguay, as, 1 6 PARAGUAY. misled by the vague promises of Lopez to come to the rescue of the imperilled Banda Oriental, the press of Montevideo had been constantly announcing for several weeks that a strong Paraguayan force was advancing through the Misiones to the Oriental frontier. But no amount of gallantry can long pre- vail against overwhelming odds, and on the 2d of January, 1865, the town of Paisandu was stormed and taken, after a great part of the defenders, including General Piriz, had per- ished. General Leandro Gomez, when he saw that the Bra- zilians, with Flores and his gauchos, had got inside the town, realized that further resistance would be useless. He had just gone to his room to write a note, offering to capitulate, when it was entered by the Brazilian troops, and he sur- rendered himself and his staff as prisoners of war. Im- mediately after a small body of Flores's men, under the com- mand of one Goyo Suarez, entered the apartment, and insisted that the distinguished prisoner should be delivered into their care, inasmuch as being an Oriental he ought properly to be regarded as the prisoner of the Oriental troops. Gomez, when he heard this demand, requested that it might be granted, stating that he could have no objection to delivering himself to his own countrymen. Suarez had no sooner got possession of the dreaded and gallant general whose bravery and skill had already rendered the siege famous throughout the country, than he ordered him to be conducted into an ad- joining yard and summarily executed. His remains were then most shamefully mutilated, the body dragged out by a rope and cast ignominiously into a pit along with hundreds of his fellow-victims. This shameful murder of a man whose valor had been so distinguished as to cause the Oriental name to be honored by both Brazilians and Argentines caused a general outburst of disgust and indignation from all persons not blind to every sense of honor and good faith. To the credit of the Brazilians it should be said that they disclaimed all responsibility for the act, and denounced it as one that must naturally reflect on the cause which they had espoused. On the other hand, it should be said that there were some, SPANISH AMERICAN NEUTRALITY. 17 and not a few nor the most ignorant, who justified and de- fended the act on the ground that by killing Gomez they had done an irreparable injury to his party, as one general like him was worth ten thousand ordinary troops to his cause. It could have better spared ten thousand of its best troops than one general so valiant and tireless. / One other incident connected with this siege should be ^ noted, as it shows how little of good faith and common honesty was observed by the Emperor of Brazil and President Mitre in their warfare upon the Oriental Republic. The Argentine government at the time of this siege still professed neutrality in the Oriental difficulties, and yet the bombs which were used by the Brazilian squadron in the bombardment of Paisandu had been furnished by President Mitre from the armories of Buenos Aires. Such are Spanish American ideas 4 of national honor and national neutrality. Paisandu having fallen, the combined forces of Brazil and Flores laid close siege to Montevideo, after conceding seven days for the neutral portion of the population to retire. On the 1 5th of February, the term of office of President Aguierre expired, and the President of the Senate, Don Tomas Villalba, took the vacant post. Some of the more ardent members of the government, like Carreras and others, were disposed to resist until Montevideo should be levelled like Paisandu, but Villalba was not prepared to go to such extremities, and imme- diately opened negotiations with the besiegers, which resulted in the capitulation of the city on the 22d of February. On learning of the fall of Paisandu, and that Montevideo was in so desperate a situation that it must either capitulate or share the same fate, the Oriental Minister in Paraguay, Sagastume, retired, leaving his secretary, Francisco Rodriguez Larreta, in charge of the legation. Among the acts of the five days' presidency of Villalba was the recall of that legation ; but as no official notice of it reached Paraguay for a long time after- wards, Rodriguez kept his flag flying and claimed to be the representative of the Oriental government for some months after, and until the Paraguayan government declined to longer 1 8 PARAGUAY. recognize his official capacity. Before his diplomatic relations had been formally closed, however, he had asked for his pass- ports to leave the country. They were not given to him ; and though afterwards he repeatedly asked for them, and notified the government of his desire to go away, he was not permit- ted to do so. Though coming to Paraguay in a diplomatic capacity, and according to all the rules of international law entitled to protection of his person while in the country and to full liberty to leave it without molestation or hindrance, he was detained in Paraguay, and finally, as we shall see hereafter, made a close prisoner, tortured, and executed. The members of the Oriental government who had made themselves particularly obnoxious to their conquerors fled, on the surrender of the city, on board of the English and other men-of-war lying in the harbor, and thence were generally conveyed to Concepcion del Uruguay, the capital of Entre Rios, where they were well received, and remained for some months under the avowed protection of General Urquiza. Urquiza's attitude in this war had, up to this time, been evasive and suspicious. Lopez had long been endeavoring to engage him in some sort of a secret alliance, by which he would sup- port him in the war which he contemplated against Mitre, as it was supposed that the Ex-President was not satisfied with the unimportant part he was playing at that time, but was anxious to be again at the head of the government of the Argen- tine Confederation. Urquiza, it was well known, had been engaged in a protracted correspondence with Lopez, having in view all the time his own interests, and ready to take up arms simultaneously with Lopez, provided such an act would not too much endanger his influence and authority in Entre Rios, which province he ruled almost as absolutely as Lopez did Paraguay, notwithstanding that it was counted as one of the states of the Argentine Confederation, and was duly represented in the general Congress. What the substance of the corre- spondence was will probably never be divulged, though, know- ing what were then the designs of Lopez, and knowing that many secret agents were passing to and fro between them, FUGITIVES TO PARAGUAY. 19 and from another fact to be hereafter related, the general tenor of it may be divined. The last of the bearers of these letters from Urquiza to Lopez was Don Jose Ramirez, who visited Asuncion in January, 1865, and Major Carranza, who arrived the following March. Towards the latter part of the war they both fell under the suspicion of Lopez, for what cause is unknown, and both were subjected to long imprisonment and torture, and were finally shot. About the same time Colo- nel Francisco Laguna also arrived in Paraguay. He had come as commissioner on the part of the Oriental exiles then living in Concepcion del Uruguay. Another person of note, who appeared soon after, was Colonel Coriolano Marquez, who, having been one of the followers and upholders of Rosas during the days of his terrible power, naturally fled to Lopez as a person whose government he would approve and whom he would like to serve. Having, for some recent act of atrocity, been condemned to death and cast into prison, Mar- quez had managed to escape from his jailers, and served for a month or two in the Oriental army ; but being suspected of conspiring against the government of President Aguierre, whose policy and measures were not sufficiently sanguinary to suit his gaucho nature, he abandoned him and fled to Para- guay. He was not looked upon, however, as a valuable acquisition by Lopez, though he was allowed for some three years to live unmolested in or near the capital, where his means of support was writing patriotic and fulsome eulogies of the great, the brave, the magnanimous Lopez for the illite- rate but patriotic women of the country, who were ordered to appear at public festivals and pronounce discourses in praise of their brave protector, the Marshal President of Paraguay. The capture of the Argentine steamers in the port of Corrientes on the I3th of April was followed up on the I4th the day of the assassination of President Lincoln by the despatch of a Paraguayan force under command of Gen- eral Wenceslao Robles (the same officer who was the hero in the attack upon the Water Witch at Fort Itapiru, and subse- 20 PARAGUAY. quently the chief of the military tribunal which investigated the charges of conspiracy against Padre Maiz and others immediately after the election of President Lopez, in 1862), to occupy the town of Corrientes. The descent upon this unfor- tunate town was so sudden that no resistance was made. The telegraph having before this been completed from Asuncion to Humaita, the news was received the same day at the former place ; and that night the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Berges, embarked for Corrientes with a number of other Para- guayans to serve as assistants in administering the affairs of that province. He was accompanied also by two Correntinos then residing in Asuncion. One of these, Victor Silvero, who had been known as an intriguing politician in Corrientes, became subsequently the principal writer for the Scmanario ; and the other, Sinforiano Caceres, was a cattle-dealer, who, previous to the commencement of hostilities, had brought over large numbers of cattle for the Paraguayan army. In this business Caceres had a partnership with Mrs. Lynch, and through her influence with Lopez he was able to secure very profitable contracts. The day after the arrival of the party at Corrientes, the people of the town were summoned to elect a provisional gov- ernment in place of the one of which all the members had fled the night before the entry of the Paraguayans. The latter, with a few of the citizens who were influenced by Silvero and Caceres, held an election, the result of which was that Silvero and Caceres, with an old man by the name of Gauna, were declared to be elected as a government Junta. This Junta had no real powers, for the election was but a farce, and intended only to make it appear that whatever outrages might be committed were to be charged to a government elected by the people themselves, while all real authority was in the hands of Lopez's minister. The people of Corrientes sub- mitted sullenly and silently to a state of affairs to which they were in no condition to make any resistance ; but on the whole their rights and property were more respected than in any of the other towns that were taken by the troops of EXCITEMENT IN BUENOS AIRES. 2 I Lopez, as the city was not sacked, and the soldiers were kept under a fair degree of restraint. Some of the prominent men, including the Spanish consul, were arrested and sent to Hu- maita, where, after a long imprisonment, they shared the fate of all others on whom the heavy hand of Lopez chanced to fall. Several Correntino ladies, whose husbands were known to be in the army, were likewise arrested, and, with their young children, carried as prisoners to Paraguay, where they were subjected to the most inhuman treatment till all, women and children alike, perished of want, exposure, or worse. The news of the invasion of Corrientes, following as it did the seizure of the steamers, created among the people of Buenos Aires a most intense excitement. The people with one voice cried out for vengeance against the selfish despot of Paraguay, who, like a barbarian and savage, had commenced war without giving notice, and in a manner unknown to civi- lized nations. They hitherto had approved the action of President Mitre in refusing to be drawn into a war with Para- guay, but this outrage was such an insult to the national dignity that the whole nation cried out for war, and the same evening that the news of it reached Buenos Aires a great multitude of people assembled in front of President Mitre's house, all clamorous for action against Lopez. Mitre ad- dressed the crowd in his usual eloquent, though somewhat inflated style, and told them that the government would not be wanting in energy to avenge the insult of the despot of Paraguay. " Go home," said he, " to your beds, and to-mor- row meet me at the barracks. Within one week we will be on the march to Corrientes, and within three months we will be in .Asuncion." Lopez by his folly had done for Brazil what Paranhos, with all his promises, had not been able to effect. He had forced the Argentines to take up arms against him, and, if they were to make war successfully, to form an alliance against him as against a common foe. In despair of enlisting President Mitre as an ally, Paranhos had returned to Rio, when the news of the invasion of Cor- 22 PARAGUAY. rientes reached Buenos Aires, and had been succeeded by Councillor Octaviano d'Almeida Rosa, who was sent as a special envoy to the Plata, to have a general superintendence of Brazilian interests in the river. But it was now easy for Octaviano to do what his more able and experienced prede- cessor had been unable to accomplish. The government at Montevideo, which had been established by Flores with the assistance of Brazil, was summoned to despatch a plenipoten- tiary to Buenos Aires to participate in the formation of an alliance of the three powers against Paraguay, and the famous secret treaty known as the " Triple Alliance " was soon after formed. The provisions of this treaty are so curious as to merit more attention than the nature of this work will permit. The first five articles of the treaty provide that the three powers shall respectively contribute all the means at their disposal to the common cause ; that the chief command and direction of the allied armies by land shall be confided to General Bar- tholomd Mitre, President of the Argentine Republic ; that the maritime forces shall be under the command of Vice-Admiral Viscount Tamandare; that General Flores shall have a sepa- rate, though subordinate, command of the forces, composed of a division of Argentine troops and another of Brazilian, be- sides the quota furnished by Uruguay ; and that the Brazilian land forces shall be under the immediate orders of General Osorio, but subordinate to the commander-in-chief of the whole army, General Mitre. Each government was to furnish the arms, clothing, equipments, and all other supplies, required by its own troops. These preliminaries arranged, the treaty then stipulates that the allies will not lay down their arms until they have abolished the existing government of Paraguay, neither treat separately with Lopez nor sign any treaty of peace, truce, or armistice, or suspend the war unless by the common consent of all. The treaty then asserts that the war is not against the people of Paraguay, but against the existing government, and that the allies will permit a Paraguayan legion to be formed of the citizens of that nation who may THE "TRIPLE ALLIANCE." 23 wish to assist in deposing Lopez from power. In this treaty the allies also bound themselves to respect the independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Paraguay ; that the Para- guayan people should be at liberty to elect their own govern- ment and give it any institutions they might desire ; and that no one of the allies would either annex it to their own terri- tory or establish any protectorate as a consequence of the war. The treaty, moreover, stipulated that, when the exist- ing government of Paraguay had disappeared, the allies would make such arrangements with that which might succeed it as to insure the free navigation of the rivers Parana and Para- guay, so that in future the laws of that Republic should not obstruct or prevent the direct navigation of war or merchant vessels of the allied states on their voyages to their respective territories and dominions. Another provision of this treaty, which shows how little the allies understood the nature of the contest into which they ^. were about to enter, or of the resources of the country whose government they had undertaken to overthrow, provided that the expenses of the war should be borne by Paraguay, and that all the damages caused to public or private property or to the persons of their citizens previous to the declaration of war, and all damages subsequently done in violation of the laws of war, should be paid for from the Paraguayan ex- chequer. Besides these provisions, it had others providing what should be the future boundaries of Paraguay ; the Bra- zilians taking to themselves all that they had ever claimed during the long controversy which had been pending from the time of the early settlement of the country. To the treaty containing such stipulations, and many others almost equally absurd, was appended a protocol, in which it-was declared that the fortifications at Humaita should be demol- ished, and the construction of any others like them should never be permitted ; and that the government which might be established in Paraguay after the overthrow of Lopez should not be left in possession -of any arms or munitions of war, but that whatever might be found in the country should be equally 24 PARAGUAY. distributed among the allies, and all trophies or booty which might be taken from the enemy should be divided between the allies and the one making the capture. The parties to this singular treaty wiseiy resolved that the provisions of it should be kept secret, but, like most state secrets, it became prematurely public. The Oriental plenipotentiary having given it in confidence to Mr. Lettsom, the English Chargt d' Affaires in Montevideo, he, in turn, sent it as a secret com- munication to his own government. It was then published in utter disregard of the faith and confidence under which it had been confided to Mr. Lettsom. Immediately after the signing of the treaty by the ministers of the three powers, the Brazilian fleet, which had been lying at Montevideo, moved up the Parana to hold in check the advancing Paraguayan forces, and to prevent all communica- tion between Paraguay and the lower countries. As soon as a force could be collected by General Mitre, General Paunero was sent with a small army to take up his station in the southern part of the province of Corrientes and watch the Paraguayans who were now marching in force from Corrientes along the bank of the river, and had reached Bella Vista, a town of some four thousand inhabitants. General Robles, on moving south from Corrientes, had with him an army of twenty-five thousand men, having left a garrison of only fif- teen hundred troops and two small guns for the defence of that city. After he had left, and was engaged in ravaging the country to the southward and sacking the towns, the war-worn and scarred Argentine veteran, General Paunero, succeeded in persuading the Brazilian commander of the squadron to take on board a body of four thousand men, and convey them above the main force of Robles for the purpose of recapturing Corrientes. The squadron, consist- ing of eight Brazilian and two Argentine steamers, moved up the river and took position in front of the city so as to rake the streets. About two thousand of these troops were landed with two six-pounder guns, and while the fleet was bombarding the Paraguayans, they were also attacked by the DUPLICITY OF URQUIZA. 25 Argentine troops that had been landed, and a fierce hand-to- hand fight took place, in which it is said great courage was displayed on both sides. The Paraguayans, however, were obliged to leave the city, and made a stand on a stone bridge, half a mile to the north, where they were all the while exposed to the fire of the fleet as well as to that of the infantry. As Colonel Thompson says in his history of the war, " the Brazilians here first showed a peculiarity in their tactics, which consists in firing whenever they have any guns to fire with, whether or not they see what they are firing at, no matter whether they kill friend or foe, or both together, which last is generally the case." The Paraguayans were finally forced to retreat ; and as Paunero had not sufficient force to hold the city in case the Paraguayans should be reinforced by Robles, he re-embarked and went down the river to join his main army. The triumvirate government of Lopez, that had re- treated from the city before the battle commenced, returned as soon as Paunero and his troops had re-embarked, and re- established their government. The attitude of General Urquiza by this time had become a very important consideration to both parties in the war. He had undoubtedly coquetted with Lopez, and encouraged him in his warlike preparations with assurances that at the proper time he would make common cause with him against Mitre. But in this Urquiza had not foreseen that Lopez would commence the war with such an outrage on Brazil as would compel the Emperor to put forth all the energies of the government for his destruction. A war against the Argentine Republic alone, or against Flores in support of the legitimate government of Montevideo, was what Urquiza had been con- templating during all the time that he was holding such friendly correspondence with Lopez ; but now since the legal government of Montevideo had fallen, and Montevideo, and indeed the whole country of the Uruguay, was subject to his authority, supported as it was by the entire Brazilian army and navy, with the Argentine government in alliance with the two, Urquiza shrunk from compromising himself any further with 26 PARAGUAY. Lopez. On the contrary, he hastened to make peace with Mitre by giving extraordinary pledges of loyalty and devotion to the national cause ; and in proof that he was acting in good faith, he delivered unopened into his hands a package of de- spatches from Lopez that had just reached him. Mitre ordered the publication of the letters, and put the bearer of them in prison. Urquiza, doubtful of what might be the general re- sult, and feeling that it was necessary for him to do some- thing to make good his professions by acts, returned to his own province of Entre Rios, and began to collect the troops that he had promised to furnish to the national army. His whole course during the war, however, was evasive. Though he collected his army, for which he received arms and cloth- ing from the federal government, yet he contrived to infuse into them his own spirit, so that when they were sent to join Mitre they all scattered on the route and returned to their homes. Urquiza pretended that they had done this in spite of him and against his will, and promised to have a still larger force ready for the field within a month. But his troops were of little or no service in the war. He was a bad man and a bad subject, and was ready at any time to join Lopez, could he have foreseen that such a step would have been to his advantage. He was one of those successful gauchos, who had begun his career by cutting throats and appropriating to himself the property of his victims until he had got an entire province almost wholly under his sway, and was ready to make war if by so doing he could establish himself again at the head of the federal government, and yet incur no risk of endangering his immense but ill-gotten possessions.* It is not the purpose of this work to give anything like a history of the war. The writer had few advantages beyond people who were not near the scene of it that would enable * Of the most conspicuous figures in the late war it is remarkable how many of them perished by violence. Netto, the feudal lord, who dragooned the Brazilian government into espousing the cause of Flores, perished, ere reaching Paraguay, at Corrientes ; Flores was assassinated in Montevideo in 1868 ; and Urquiza shared a like fate in his palace, in Entre Rios, just as the war, which he had en- couraged in its first stages, had closed with the death of Lopez. . COLONEL GEORGE THOMPSON. 2 J him to describe the events as they appeared to those who were in the respective camps of the belligerents. Besides, the his- tory of the war, as it appeared from the Paraguayan side, has been written by the person most competent of all in the Para- guayan camp to give a succinct narrative of the long-pro- tracted struggle. From this work' numerous extracts will be made, but mainly in reference to the peculiar discipline of the Paraguayan camp, rather than to the military operations or the progress of the war.* * " The War in Paraguay, with a Historical Sketch of the Country and its People, and Notes upon the Military Engineering of the War. By George Thompson, C. E., Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers in the Paraguayan Army, Aide-de-Camp to President Lopez, Knight of the Order of Merit of Paraguay, etc." The author of this work was the principal engineer of Lopez, and under his strategetical eye were the points selected for the erection of the batteries, which, under his superintendence were so formidable in repelling the attacks of the Allies, and for the defence of which Lopez had nothing to do but to send his troops and guns in accordance with the suggestions of his engineer. Though Colonel Thompson takes no particular credit to himself for the part which he took, yet his simple and plain narrative of events as they transpired, and of the labors in which he was engaged, shows very clearly that the credit for military skill which has been claimed for Lopez is nearly all due to the unpretending Englishman whose services Lopez finally requited by denouncing him as a traitor and deserter. * CHAPTER III. Popular Demonstrations in Support of the Government. The Press of Para- guay. The Paraguay Independiente. The Eco del Paraguay. The Sema- nario. Inordinate Vanity of Lopez. Sources of Information. The Post- master-General of Paraguay. Antipathy of the Paraguayans to the Brazilians. The Paraguayan versus the Brazilian Soldiers. Matto Grosso. Mitre re- fuses to permit the Paraguayans to pass through the Misiones. Brazil vainly seeks an Alliance with Buenos Aires against Lopez. Buenos Aires deter- mines to remain Neutral. General Urquiza's Intrigues with Lopez and Mitre. Congress convoked. Charges against the Argentine Government. Lopez made Marshal. The Order of Merit. WHILE the government had been occupied in its war- like preparations preceding the first act of overt hos- tility, it had not been unmindful of its interior affairs. The public that never for fifty years had dared dissent from, cen- sure, or criticise a single act of the sovereign, whether official or private, had let every act of tyranny or oppression pass without protest and with seeming approval. But now that war was resolved upon, the people were required to make public demonstrations of loyalty and enthusiasm. The am- biguous protest of the 3Oth of August might mean war or peace. No one outside of Paraguay, unless it were the Ori- ental ambassadors, supposed that it meant the former, and the Paraguayan people had no idea whom they were to war against. They had judged from the Semanario that the offending power was the Argentine Republic, for up to that time there had been no recent complaint of Brazil. From this " Protest," however, it appeared that Brazil was the greater offender, and that the Paraguayan arms would be turned against the Empire. Hence it was pretended that it was in the holy cause of republicanism against the encroach- ments of monarchy and slavery that the war was to be POPULAR DEMONSTRATIONS. 29 waged. The demonstrations in support of the government were made to take the form of public meetings in different parts of the country. At these meetings the people were invited to attend, but the invitation was of that kind that all knew it would be disregarded at the price of life or liberty. At such meetings, all who were competent to do it were ex- pected to make patriotic speeches, pledging themselves to support the government to the last. Then, to fix them more irrevocably, they were invited to sign declarations in the form of addresses to the President, in which, after reciting their approval of his valiant and spirited conduct, they pledge to him " their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor." At all these ratification meetings the President was sure to have not only the gefes and juezes of the district, who had been appointed by himself to be his agents and instruments of despotism, but his secret spies to report the least expression or indication of dissent from the course he was pursuing. The people, who knew this, and knew that anything short of implicit acquiescence and assumed enthusiasm would consign them to prison, gave their names without exception. For weeks after the publication of the protest the Scmanario was filled with the names of all the principal men of the country, all those who had any property that was worth taking, or sufficient influence or standing to pretend to respectability. The people of the capital were first subjected to this sacri- ficial process. In the Semanario of the i/th of September, 1864, are given the names of every man who was the head of a family within the limits of the capital, and of all others above the rank of peon or slave. I append the names of seventy- eight persons who, being leading citizens of Asuncion, had the honor of heading the list.* None of them were living at * Andres Gill, Chief-Justice ; died September, 1865. Jose Maria Montiel, Criminal Judge ; died in prison. Jose Falcon, Keeper of Archives ; sent to the army in disgrace, with two pairs of fetters ; afterwards a judge in the inquisition. Domingo Rojas Aranda, Justice of the Peace, cousin of Lopez; imprisoned, with two pairs of fetters ; was released, and soon died. Saturnino Bedoya, Treasurer ; married Lopez's sister ; degraded to the ranks as a private soldier, accused of conspiracy, and expired in the torture. Miguel Antonio Baez, Justice of the Peace ; 30 PARAGUAY. the end of the war, except three or four who deserted or were taken prisoners. Of the rest, nearly all were either executed by order of Lopez, or died while in prison from starvation and torture. In his official papers, those who expired under the torture are simply mentioned as having died. The Semanario was the only paper published in Paraguay for seven years preceding the war, and of course was the government organ. The first periodical ever published in the country was called the Paragnayo Indepcndiente, and the first number was issued in April, 1845. It was estab- lished as an organ for the elder Lopez, and was conducted by him at the state's expense, and the leading articles were all from his pen. It continued with more or less regularity died 1865. Silvestre Aveiro, Escrlbano ; became major, Campaign Secretary, and chief torturer. Carlos Riveros, Chief Clerk of Interior ; imprisoned, with two pairs of fetters ; afterward accused of conspiracy, and shot, August 26, 1868. Miguel Haedo, became captain in the army; shot as a traitor, August 26, 1868. Miguel Berges, Justice of the Peace ; received Order of Merit ; died in prison in the army, July 20, 1868. Luis Caminos, became Chief Campaign Secretary and Minister of State and of War; killed with Lopez, March I, 1870. Jose Maria Ibanez. Santiago Aramburu, merchant ; died April, 1866. Gumesindo Benitez, editor of Semanario, became Secretary of State, and conducted Lopez's corre- spondence concerning Carreras, Bliss, and Masterman ; was himself accused of conspiracy in August, loaded with the heaviest fetters, and shot with Carreras and forty-five others, on Sunday, September 27, 1868. Natalicio Talavera, army correspondent; died September, 1867. Jose Maria Larqas, private soldier; killed May 24, 1866. Julian Aquino, Director of Government Printing Press ; shot August 9, 1868. Bernardo Ortellado, Secretary of Legation in United States in 1860 ; Chief- Justice, 1867 ; shot as a traitor, September 27, 1868. Adolfo Saguier, cousin of Lopez, artillery officer ; made judge in conspiracy trials ; thrown into prison, and captured by Brazilians, December, 1868. Francisco Fernandez, chief overseer of Lopez's private estate, colonel, and acting Minister of War ; shot August 26, 1868. Ramon Villa, died 1867. Feliz Larrosa, Justice of the Peace; made private soldier, died in the army. Manuel M. Rivarola, Justice of the Peace, private soldier, died 1867; his daughter Dolores bayoneted, December, 1868. Pablo A. Gonzalez, Collector of Customs ; shot August 26, 1868. Vicente Dentella, Inspector of Tobacco ; private soldier, shot September 27, 1868. Policarpo G. Garro, Prosecuting Attorney of Criminal Court, "died in prison," July 15, 1868. Jose Vicente Urdapilleta, Chief-Justice ; shot August 22, 1868, with one hundred and seven others. Escolastico Garcete, Justice of the Peace, " died in prison," July 25, 1868. Isidore Recalde, died 1867. Apolinar Chirife, made common soldier ; died 1867, daughters imprisoned. Fermin Bazaraz, Criminal Judge ; shot August 9, 1868. Eustaquio Recalde, died in prison. Santiago Ozcariz, Justice of the Peace, THE PRESS OF PARAGUAY. 31 till September, 1852, when it was suspended ; and the gov- ernment had no organ till May, 1853, at which time the first number of the Semanario appeared, at first under the editorial direction of Dr. Juan Andres Gelly, who was after- wards the secretary of the younger Lopez on his diplomatic mission to Europe. He was the father of General Gelly y Obes, who subsequently figured in the war of the " Triple Alliance" against Paraguay as the Argentine Minister of War. This was published, as it name imports, weekly, and had the field to itself until 1856, when a Spanish adventurer by the name of Bermejo started another, though not a rival paper, that he called the Eco del Paraguay. This was started as a hebdomadal, with pretensions to a literary character ; but shot July 29, 1868. Pastor Gonzalez, died in the army. Abdon Molinas, officer of Treasury ; " died in prison," August 4, 1868. Pascual Bedoya, officer of Treasury ; died 1868. Sebastian Ibarra, officer of Treasury ; shot August 22, 1868. Zenon Rodriguez, Fiscal of Criminal Court ; died 1868. Francisco Acosta. Miguel A. Haedo, in Buenos Aires during the war. Ramon Marecos, chief of Villa Rica, poet and nephew of Francia, imprisoned and died. Indalecio Benitez, died in the army. German Serrano ; became colonel, was wounded, and captured by allies, November, 1868. Cesareo Montiel, clerk in War Office ; imprisoned and died. Jose Maria Caminos, Justice of the Peace in Recoleta ; imprisoned, further fate unknown. Higinio Uriarte. Jose D. Candia, government clerk ; died 1867. Elias Ortellado, lieutenant ; shot with his brother, the last Chief-Justice, September 27, 1868. Ildefonso Machain, merchant, lost three sons in the army, was persecuted and ruined, and died 1868. Antonio Sayas. Hilario Recalde, merchant, died in prison. Pedro P. Haedo, died 1868. Guillermo Sosa, made private soldier, imprisoned, and died. Juan C. Centurion, educated in England, confidant of Lopez, fate unknown. Nicolas A. Isasi, ecclesiastical notary; wounded May 24, 1866. Juan B. Castillo. Sinforiano Pereira, captain ; wounded repeatedly, died 1868. Andres A. Urdapilleta, shot with his brother the Chief- Justice, August 22, 1868. Jaime Garcia, deserted from Curuzu, September, 1866 ; mother and sisters exiled, property confiscated. Manuel Solalinde, army surgeon. Bernardo Decoud, killed in battle. Miguel A. Elorduy, major-domo of the cathedral ; shot as a traitor, July 16, 1868. Juan F. Escauriza, died 1867. Juan A. Ibarra. Benigno Gonzalez, died 1867. Juan M. Villalba. Francisco de P. Bedoya, died. Manuel Perina, died 1867, in the army. Jose Maria Sandoval, died 1866, in the army. Juan B. Gill, taken as medical assistant, fate unknown. Bernardino Cabral, government clerk ; shot August 22, 1868. Leonardo Sion, clerk in Treasury, son of Lopez's brother-in-law ; shot August 23, 1868. Laure- ano Gomez, fate unknown. Facundo Talavera, killed in battle. Jose Isidoro Troche, " died in prison," July 19, 1868. Matias Sanabria, Chief of Police, and major; shot September 27, 1868. 32 PARAGUAY. afterwards it was issued for a few weeks as a semi-weekly, and in the end became so like the official organ, that, after an ex- istence of about a year and a half, it ceased, and its founder was made editor of the Scmanario. He was a man of some liter- ary acquirements ; and during the time that he occupied the tripod the articles were better written, and smacked less of fulsome adulation of the ruling power, than ever before or since. But even then it was so entirely a government organ that an editorial notice had almost as much force as an offi- cial decree. A remark in it tending to show that any indi- vidual had committed any breach of etiquette or duty was suffi- cient to cause other people to avoid him, and thus his business might be ruined. If there were any question of difference with another government, its columns were filled with the grossest abuse of that government and its people, so that such as happened to be resident in the country were the marks for the insolence of officials and the insults of the populace. On the accession of the younger Lopez to the Presidency, however, the Semanario as it had been was not enough for his grosser appetite. The young man, though he had not, like Achilles, been reared on bears' marrow and lions' hearts, had fed so much on adulation and sycophancy that nothing else agreed with his stomach. His name and fame must figure exclusively in every page and every column. He was not like Themistocles, who complained that the hon- ors of Miltiades would not let him sleep ; but, rather, like Dionysius, he could not endure that his subjects should talk or think of anybody but himself. Bermejo, who was a Spaniard and had seen other parts of the world, could not seriously make his praises sufficiently eulogistic and fulsome to suit the inordinate vanity of his master, and therefore he was dismissed from his thankless position, that had given him but a meagre living during his years of servitude, soon after which he left the country. He was succeeded in this office by a native named Gumesindo Benitez, a man who after- wards united to the duties of editor those of Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs and chief spy, until his master, having re- GUMESINDO BENITEZ. 33 solved on the general massacre of the foreigners in his power, as well as of all the more intelligent Paraguayans, caused him to be arrested and subjected to a refinement of torture un- known to the Spanish Inquisition, and afterwards shot. His part in the terrible oppressions of the people, to which he seemed to lend a willing hand, will appear from time to time as the narrative proceeds ; and the extracts I shall make from the Semanario will give a good illustration of the perfect union of servility and tyranny in the same character. With the change of editors, the character and tone of the paper changed. Though the editorials were more loosely written, they were more abounding in praise of " the great Lopez." As the paper had few extracts and scarcely any business notices, but was made up almost entirely of original matter, the labor of writing the editorials was considerable, although the paper was issued only once a week, and on a small folio sheet of twenty-one by fourteen inches to the page. Others besides Benitez were employed to write on such subjects as were given them, but all was submitted to the revision of the President, who might thus be literally styled the chief ed- itor of the paper. Thus all the fulsome and disgusting flat- tery and adulation that filled its columns was written and published by his orders ; and if they were always in the same strain, extolling him as the wisest and greatest man of all time, who so well as himself knew how great he was ? Bermejo left early in 1863, and soon after it was found necessary to enlarge the paper and increase the capacity of the printing-office. New presses and type were accordingly ordered from England ; a new building was erected ; and in April, 1864, the new office was opened with as much formality as would be observed in our country in dedicating a cathe- dral. The President was to honor the occasion, and after the usual manner people were invited to attend. Having had the honor to be present, I was struck, notwithstanding I had by this time become used to such things, by the placards on the walls, all in the same strain of idolatry to the President. The different presses had their forms already set to work off VOL. II. 3 34 PARAGUAY. and distribute hand-bills, mottoes, and apostrophes among the crowd. From one of these we quote sufficient to show the style of the whole : " Let the press be the means of publicly conveying the sincere expression of gratitude to our illustri- ous President ; let it do justice to its indefatigable protector, the laborious citizen who devotes his life and genius to the sacred cause of the country ; let it be ready to defend with dignity the inalienable rights of Paraguay, to diffuse knowl- edge and morality among her children, and to crown the Republic with glory, power, and civilization. Long live the President ! Long live the enlightened protector of the Para- guayan press ! " Another slip was filled with the following morsels suited to the delicate taste of the President. "No. I. Glory to the illus- trious CITIZEN CARLOS ANTONIO LOPEZ, Founder of the National Press ! No. 2. Vive the most Excellent Sefior President of the Republic, Citizen Francisco Solano Lopez! No. 3. Vive the illustrious Protector of the National Press ! No. 4. Gratitude to the Supreme Magistrate of the Republic that has deigned to honor the establishment of the National Press ! -- No. 5. Gratitude to the intelligent assembly that does us the honor of visiting the establishment of the National Press ! No. 6. Vive this day, igth of April, memorable to the establishment of the Press of the Republic for the visit of the most excellent Senor President of the Republic, the bless- ing of the establishment, and the numerous company that honors it ! " This is the kind of stuff that the morbid vanity of the President craved ; and as he strutted through the office, the people near him silent and subdued, looking awestruck and afraid, he evidently felt himself a god. After the war commenced the Scmanario was looked for with more interest than ever before ; for though it contained little news, it informed people on what subjects they might converse. It might be known that something disastrous had occurred, but until the fact was promulgated in the Semauario it was unsafe to speak of it ; and many instances occurred of THE SEMANARIO. 35 persons being arrested and thrown into prison for spreading false reports, which, however, the Scmanario a few days later would be obliged to confirm. Nothing unfavorable was ever published in its columns unless it was of such magnitude that it could not be kept a secret ; and then, if it were a repulse or defeat in battle, it was always represented as a great vic- tory, and the explosion of a powder magazine or the loss of a steamer was only alluded to as a trifling incident, so insignifi- cant as to call for an apology for making mention of it. Yet, as it was the only newspaper in the capital, people, in their doubt and anxiety, looked for its appearance with an impa- tience such as perhaps few papers in the history of the world ever excited. This interest was much increased by the great irregularity in its days of publication. Though professing at the head of its columns to be issued every Saturday, yet, during the first four years of the war, though it appeared on every other day of the week, it never was issued on a Satur- day. Rarely it would be out on Sunday, often on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, and not unfrequently it would not appear before Friday. The delay would naturally lead to the expectation of important news ; but so often was the paper, which was so eagerly looked for, filled with little else than rhapsodies on the great Lopez, that after a time people lost interest in it. They learned that it was not published to give information of the actual circumstances, but to create such a belief in the situation as the President desired should prevail. Before the war the Paraguayan people had scarcely any other source of information than this government organ for obtaining news respecting what was going on in other parts of the world. The newspapers from Buenos Aires and Mon- tevideo were virtually prohibited to them, and I question if there was a native of the country who was a subscriber to one of them. Foreigners resident in Asuncion subscribed for such papers, but there was never a package of them en- tered the country, except such as were addressed to a foreign minister or consul, without being broken open at the post- 36 PARAGUAY. office and read, to see if it might contain something against Paraguay or its benign government. The person to whom was assigned this ungrateful task was an old man by the name of Acuna. He was the Postmaster-General of Paraguay, and, though a native of the Argentine province of Tucuman, had come in his youth to Paraguay, where he had married into the unfortunate Machain family. Notwithstanding his being so far in the confidence of the government as to be intrusted with this office, he was a most excellent man, and was my inti- mate friend. His wife was one of those rare persons who spend their whole lives in acts of charity. Their unhappy fate will be related in its place. The hereditary feeling of hatred and antipathy against the Brazilians, which had in a measure subsided during the long isolation of Paraguay, was now fanned into flame by the Semanario. The space in its columns not occupied by praises of Lopez as the greatest, bravest hero of all time was devoted to abuse of the Brazilians, who were always spoken of as creatures almost beneath contempt ; as macacos (monkeys) that would fly from the face of the great warrior of Paraguay and his valiant legions like withered leaves before the tem- pest. The Paraguayans, even then, seemed to be impressed with the conviction that " one Paraguayan could whip ten Brazilians," and it must be confessed that as the war went on they had little reason to change their opinion. The Para- guayans throughout the war fought with a courage never surpassed ; while the Brazilian officers, with very few excep- tions, showed such cowardice, such lack of generalship, such weakness and imbecility, as could hardly be believed of any people who were not born slaves. This charge, however, cannot be justly made against the soldiers in the ranks. They were generally strong, healthy men, and with good offi- cers would have made excellent soldiers. Nor did they lack for courage, as wherever they were ordered to go there they went ; and in those engagements in which they were thrown into confusion and so terribly cut to pieces, it was because the officers had failed to do their duty and keep their troops MISIONES: THE DISPUTED TERRITORY. 37 in order. Many a time during the war would Lopez and his whole army have been destroyed or captured, had the Brazil- ian commanders followed up their first successes. But the necessary command was not given, and so time after time the golden opportunity was lost. The expedition to Matto Grosso had been a success, so far that the lower part of the province, including the city of Co- rumba, was in the hands of the Paraguayans ; but to take the whole province would have required a larger force than Lopez cared to risk so far away from his own territory. The city of Cuyaba, having a population of some twenty-five thousand in- habitants, is situated so high upon the head-waters of the river Paraguay, being some two hundred leagues above the frontiers of the country, that it is only reached by steamers of light draught, and it was therefore impracticable to take the whole province at that time. To attempt it would have required most of the disposable forces, and before it could be accomplished very likely the Brazilians would attack from below. It was therefore left to a subsequent season, in order to strike a blow at a more accessible point of the Empire. Unfortunately, there is a narrow strip of country lying be- tween the Parana and the Uruguay, which separates Paraguay from Brazil, and which belongs to the Argentine Republic. This is called the Misiones, and it was here that the Jesuits / attained their greatest power and wealth. The title to it has v always been in dispute between Paraguay and the Argentine government, though the Paraguayans have always exercised jurisdiction over the northern part of it, while the Argentines have held exclusive sway over the southern part. To attack Brazil in this direction, Lopez must pass his troops over territory not his own ; and accordingly in February, 1865, he sent a note to the Argentine government, asking permis- sion to send an army across this district of Misiones. Of course it could not be granted officially and formally without involving the country in the war ; and of all things President Mitre desired to avoid any complication that would array his country again in arms. The last civil war had resulted in 38 PARAGUAY. uniting all the provinces under one government, with him- self at the head of it ; and if peace could only be maintained, the whole country had a fairer prospect for advancement and prosperity than it had ever enjoyed. The Brazilian govern- ment, however, was exceedingly anxious to form an alliance with the Argentine ; and its two ablest ministers, Saraiva and Paranhos, had exhausted all their diplomacy to induce Mitre and his government to give at least their moral sup- port to the Brazilians. They offered all they could promise to this end, proposing to furnish all the men, money, ships, and munitions of war, if they might formally and publicly claim them as allies. They evidently saw that, to carry on a war against Paraguay, in which they must send their troops and supplies by the river through a thousand miles of Ar- gentine territory, or else pass them by land over the same Misiones that had been refused to Lopez for a like purpose, would in all probability bring on a collision, and, sooner or later, war with Buenos Aires. Therefore an alliance was sought by every means possible. President Mitre, however, was in- flexible. Appealed to by both parties, he declared his purpose to remain neutral and impartial. To Lopez's absurd request he replied in terms so curt as to savor of disdain, and it seemed strange that so preposterous a proposition should ever have been made. At this moment it was discovered that General Urquiza, the governor of the province of Entre Rios, who fills so conspicu- ous a place in the Argentine history, had not been idle dur- ing the impending difficulties. He had been intriguing with Mitre and Lopez, and supposed he knew their secrets. He had both fear and dislike of the Brazilians, as, like many others, he apprehended that it was the ulterior object of Brazil to make the rivers Paraguay and Parana the western boundary of the Empire. This project, if carried into effect, would of course destroy his power as absolute despot of the province of Entre Rios, and would deprive him of his enormous and ill- gotten fortune. It was by his advice that Lopez had made his application ; and assurances were given, that, if it was refused, PERMISSION TO CROSS THE MISIONES REFUSED. 39 Urquiza would pronounce against Mitre. But though the request of Lopez was so laconically denied, Urquiza failed to make good his promises. In fact, it was too late for him to move without bringing on himself, not only his own gov- ernment, but that of Brazil and the forces under Flores, who was already in alliance with Brazil and in possession of nearly all the defensible points of the Oriental Republic. Of course, Urquiza would not make an alliance with Paraguay with such odds against him ; and Lopez found that, after all his craft and intrigue, he was finally to be left to carry on the war alone. There is no doubt, however, that if, instead of asking per- mission of Mitre to send his troops across the Misiones, he had actually done so, there would have been no other result than a long diplomatic correspondence, complaints of viola- tion of territory, explanations, and new protests of friendship. The people of Buenos Aires were very strongly opposed to any act that might lead to war, and the same sentiments pre- vailed throughout all the provinces. The passage of an army of ten or twenty thousand men through a tract of country al- most uninhabited would not have been regarded either by Mitre, or his government, or the people of Buenos Aires, as suffi- cient cause for declaring war against Paraguay ; and had Lopez sent over at that time one fourth part of his disposable force, he would have made such havoc on the western frontier of the province of Rio Grande, which was then all unprotected and exposed, as would have done infinite injury to Brazil, and per- haps have forced it to overlook the indignity and insult of the capture of the Marques de Olinda, and propose terms of peace. This course, however, Lopez did not follow. On the con- trary, he took a step that compelled Mitre and the Argentine nation to do the very thing that Saraiva and Paranhos had failed to accomplish. Not only had he begun war on Brazil in such an insulting manner that it would never, treat with him, but he now resolved to do the same thing towards Buenos Aires. He determined, without previous notice, and when it was wholly unexpected, to commit an act of such gross violence and illegality as would unite the whole Argentine peo- 40 PARAGUAY. pie against him, and force the government into a war that could never end but with his own destruction. As we have before said, he regarded Mitre as the Mordecai in the gate, the man whose military and civil successes were shutting out from the world the light of his own greatness, and his earlier prepara- tions for war had been made with the idea of measuring swords with the hero of Pavon. Now he seemed to think his shield was broad enough to take the points of both Mitre and the Emperor, and that his arm was strong enough to overpower them both. He had begun the war on Brazil of his own volition, and without the formality of consulting a national Congress. But he found by this time that the seizure of the Marques de Olin- da was universally condemned by all who were not in awe of his power. He accordingly resolved to proceed in this instance with more circumspection, and to conform to the usages of civilized nations so far as he could do this and still be absolute in everything. His plan was worthy of a Jesuit father. He called a Congress. On Sunday morning, Febru- ary 26, the Semanario appeared before its usual time, though it was dated the 25th, containing a decree of the President dated ten days previously, summoning a Congress to assemble on the following Sunday, or March 5th. No one in the capi- tal save the President knew anything of this decree previous to its publication, though it professed on its face to have been issued eleven days before, nor did any one suspect the object for which the Congress was to assemble. The citi- zens of the capital were informally notified by the police that they were to choose their deputies the same day ; and they dutifully obeyed, and elected those men that were known to be Lopez's most abject creatures, and that he had previ- ously indicated as entitled to his confidence for their patriot- ism, intelligence, and loyalty. Measures had already been taken for the elections in other parts to be all held the same day. Orders had been sent to the different partidos, com- manding the juezes and gefes, after going through a certain form, to send such and such men to the capital to attend the CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 41 Congress that was to convene on the 5th of March. The men thus honored hurried off to Asuncion, not having the least idea of the business on which they had been called. From the more distant partidos the deputies had hardly time to reach the capital before the meeting of the Congress. The report of the proceedings of this singular and anoma- lous legislative body, as published in the Semanario, is a most curious document, and shows most completely that no one in Paraguay, not even President Lopez, had any idea of the man- ner of conducting a deliberative assembly. The body was presided over by Jose Falcon, with the title of Vice-President, though the official report does not inform us how he attained that position, nor was he afterwards designated by that title. Every suggestion made by the different members was referred to a so-called double committee, consisting of sixteen mem- bers, though it does not appear from the report that the Con- gress had anything to do with the appointment of this com- mittee. There was no voting by yeas and nays ; but as all the propositions submitted were understood to have already re- ceived the approval of Lopez, they were declared carried by acclamation, and in no case does there appear to have been a dissenting voice. The speeches made by the members had little if any reference to any business before the Congress, but were the mere rambling eulogies of the wisdom and patri- otism of the President, which they had been accustomed with slight variations to pronounce for many years on all public occasions, though on this occasion they all terminated with the desire to leave the whole management of the national interests in the hands of Lopez, untrammelled by any con- ditions. Two propositions, however, were strenuously in- sisted upon by Congress, apparently against the desire of the government. These were, first, that the President should not absent himself from the limits of the Republic during the impending war ; second, that the President's salary should be raised to sixty thousand dollars per annum. Lopez appeared several times before the Congress, and protested against being denied the privilege of sharing the toils and dangers of the 42 PARAGUAY. camp with his patriotic legions, and refused to receive this increased salary, saying that, as they had all pledged their lives and fortunes to sustain the great cause, and as the state would require all its means to maintain its rights and chastise the insolent foe that was threatening the very existence of the Republic, he would accept no additional compensation. The members, however, knew him too well to take him at his word. The propositions in both instances had come from those who were most in his confidence, and therefore his pre- tending to disapprove of them they knew was but a farce, and they clamorously and loudly insisted that he should yield to their demands ; that he should not expose his valuable life to the dangers of the camp and the battle-field ; and that they should be allowed to contribute from the national fund, as a slight return for the sacrifices he made, and as an expression of gratitude for his services. To these appeals Lopez, with well-feigned reluctance, and after many expressions of thanks to the Congress for their patriotism and confidence, finally yielded. The war was to go on, and if he did not take the field thenceforward he was not to be accused of cowardice or indifference, for the Congress had forbidden his absenting him- self from the country or exposing his life in the territory of the enemy. The members had learned, previous to their being called together, of the warlike acts that had already taken place against Brazil, and had supposed that the proceedings of the Congress would have reference only to a war with that country. But in the messages of the President and of the ministers they were advised that the Argentine government had com- mitted such outrages against the rights and dignity of Para- guay as demanded the serious attention of the government. These outrages were, first, that President Mitre had refused per- mission for the Paraguayan troops to pass through the Argen- tine territory to make war on Brazil ; second, he had been in connivance with Brazil and Flores against the independence of Uruguay ; and third, he had permitted the publication of libels and satires by Paraguayan exiles in Buenos Aires on the LOPEZ TAKES THE TITLE OF MARSHAL. 43 character and conduct of President Lopez, and was responsible for the hostile spirit of the Argentine people to Paraguay as expressed through the columns of the newspapers. For these grave wrongs and insults war was recommended against the Argentine Republic, and was formally declared on the i8th of March, 1865. Lopez was ambitious of a higher military title than that of General or President, and for some time hesitated what one to take. Mrs. Lynch and a few others who shared his confidence advised him then and there to have himself declared Emperor, and assured him that such a step would secure to him the sympathy, if not the support, of the monarchical governments of Europe. But Lopez, fore- seeing that it would array against him all the republics of South America, wisely decided to defer it till he had proved to the world his ability to sustain himself against all his neigh- bors, and instead of Emperor took the title of Marshal, which was conferred upon him by an act of the Congress. " The most excellent General of Division, Citizen Francisco Solano Lopez, is hereby appointed Marshal of the armies of the Republic, with all the exemptions, pre-eminences, honors, privileges, and salaries which are inherent in this supreme military grade." As nothing like the office or title of Mar- shal had ever been known before in Paraguay, the members of the Congress that passed this act had probably no idea what honors, privileges, or- salaries were inherent to it ; and it mattered little to them what they were, as they knew that no law which they could pass could make Lopez more absolute, either as civil magistrate or military ruler, than he already was. The Congress also passed a law providing for the ap- pointment of three generals of division and six brigadiers ; but only one general of division was ever appointed, and those who were promoted to be brigadiers during the five years of the war, with two exceptions, were subsequently executed by Lopez as traitors or conspirators. The other most important acts of the Congress were one approving of the declaration of war against Brazil, and one authorizing Lopez to conduct the war at his own discretion, and to 44 PARAGUAY. make peace whenever and under whatever conditions he might judge proper. Another act, the precursor of many like it, though less official in form, was passed, ordering the presentation of a magnificent set of jewelry and a sword of honor to the Marshal at the national expense. And, finally, an act authorizing a loan of twenty-five millions of dollars for the expenses of the war, which loan, it may be here said, was never made, as the money was not needed for use within the limits of Paraguay, since Lopez could take everything there at his own price in the paper money of the country which he could increase at pleasure, and no serious attempts were ever made to float the loan in Europe. A proposition made in the Congress during the last days of the session, on which no formal action was taken, will serve to show how completely the whole body was con- trolled by Lopez. The Minister of the Interior, Don Mariano Gonzales, announced that the President was desirous of establishing some mode of rewarding such persons as might render important services to the country, and that he pro- posed, therefore, the creation of an " institution of premiums." The proposition was, of course, unanimously approved, and the minister was requested to submit the project for such an institution to the Congress. No further action, however, seems to have been taken on it by that body, but after its adjournment it was officially announced that the Marshal President of the Republic was authorized to create and estab- lish an order of merit for the object of rewarding eminent military and civil services, and that the whole matter was referred to the President himself, in the following terms : " The organization, composition, designation of grades, and other ordinances, will be established by the President of the Republic ; also the President will confer the titles and decora- tions." On the 2Qth of April, 1865, the foundation of the order was officially announced. In its details it was in imita- tion of the French Legion of Honor, and provided that it should consist of five grades, Knight, Official, Commander, Grand Official, and Grand Cross ; that they should all be for THE NATIONAL ORDER OF MERIT. 45 life, and could only be forfeited after sentence of a competent tribunal, and that the President only could confer them. It provided that the decorations should be of different kinds, according to the grade conferred, and also declared who were eligible to the higher grades. For the highest, or Grand Cross, that citizen should be eligible who, by a vote of the national Congress, had been elevated to the Presidential chair, and the President should be ex officio chief of the order. Be- sides the President, no one in Paraguay was eligible to this highest grade, except the head of the church. It could not be conferred on any foreigner, except an hereditary or life sovereign. The other grades could all be conferred at the will of the President on such natives and foreigners as he might think worthy of the high honor. The creation of this order was regarded by the foreigners in Paraguay, and was doubtless intended by Lopez, as a step towards the establishment of a monarchical government. It could not be conferred on the President of another republic, nor on any other foreigner except a sovereign for life, so that however exalted might be the name or fame of any person not an hereditary sovereign, he could never receive the Grand Cross of the Paraguayan National Order of Merit ; and the object which Lopez had in limiting it to crowned heads could have been none other than that, when the war should be over, and he should have established himself as the Emperor of Paraguay, he could interchange with the different sovereigns of the world their respective orders. Had the people of the other republics of South America and of the United States at the time fully understood the ulterior object in establishing this order, it would very likely have disabused them of the idea that Lopez was carrying on war in the interest of repub- licanism and against monarchy, and all those aspirants for presidential honors in both South and North America would have learned that, however successful they might be in their own countries, and whatever dignities or titles they might there acquire, yet, not being sovereigns for life, they could never be eligible to the Grand Cross of Paraguay. CHAPTER IV. Birth and early Education ot F. S. Lopez. He enters the Army. Brigadier- General. Personal Appearance and Habits. His Cowardice. His House of Shelter. His Fright at a Distant Shell. No Respect for old Friends or former Mistresses. The Fate of Pancha Garmendia. Carlos Antonio Lopez's Improvement on Fraiicia's System of Espionage. Ignorance and Superstition. Juan Gregorio Urbieta, Bishop of Paraguay. His Successor, Manuel Antonio Palacios. Character of Palacios. The Catechism of San Alberto. The Divine Right of Kings and Magistrates. Letter from Pala- cios to Lopez. The Padre, Fidel Maiz. His Talents and Popularity. Arrest, Imprisonment, and Torture. His Reconciliation with Lopez. His Profane Confession. His final Escape. FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ was born July 24, 1826. His early years were passed at the family homestead of his mother, near the Trinidad, a league and a half from the capital. Francia being at that time in abso- lute authority, there were no puolic schools, and only those parents whose means would permit them to send their chil- dren to private teachers received any education. The Lopez children, however, all learned to read and write in their child- hood ; and after Carlos Antonio was elected Consul, Francisco Solano attended the school of Juan Pedro Escalada, in the capital, for about a year. After this he received an appoint- ment in the army, and soon after was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, the highest grade then known in the Para- guayan military service. At the time of the campaign of Cor- rientes, in 1845, when he led his army across the border, he was but nineteen years of age ; and after his return he was so devoted to pleasure and the gratification of his passions that he made no attempt to supply the defects of early education. He may be said never to have read anything. His knowl- PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF LOPEZ. 47 edge of history was less than that of most New England school-boys at the age of fifteen. He was, however, apt to learn, of quick perceptions, and must have had naturally an excellent memory. He was early taken into the counsels of the President, and the only ideas of government of both were those that had been learned from Francia. The old man had seen that the Dictator had gov- erned absolutely through his system of espionage, and the young man, while yet a boy, learned that art to perfection. Hence his mental training was all in that direction, and hav- ing a retentive memory, he learned with great facility all the details respecting the family of every man in the country whose position or influence made him worthy of attention. By the continued exercise of these faculties from boyhood he became wonderfully expert as a spy, and managed, through his numerous agents and informers, to learn all about the private affairs of the principal people in the country. In person he was short and stout. His height was about five feet four, and, though always inclining to corpulency, his figure in his younger days was very good. He dressed with great care and precision, and endeavored to give himself a smart and natty appearance. His hands and feet were very small, indicating his Indian origin. His complexion was dark, and gave evidence of a strong taint of Guarani blood. He was proud of his Indian descent, and used frequently to boast of it. As he could not pretend to be of pure Spanish blood, he would rather ascribe his swarthy color to a mixture with the Indian than the negro race. Hence he was as prone to talk of his Indian ancestry as ever were the de- scendants of Pocahontas. He also had many of the tastes * peculiar to the savage. Before going to Europe he dressed grotesquely, but his costume was always expensive and elab- orately finished. He wore enormous silver spurs, such as would have been the envy of a gaucho, and the trappings of his horse were so completely covered with silver as to almost form a coat of mail. After his return from abroad he adopted a more civilized costume, but always indulged in a gorgeous 48 PARAGUAY. display of gold lace and bright buttons. He conversed with fluency and had a good command of language, and when in good-humor his manners were courteous and agreeable. His eyes, when he was pleased, had a mild and amiable expres- sion ; but when he was enraged the pupil seemed to dilate till it included the whole iris, and the eye did not appear to be that of a human being, but rather of a wild beast goaded to madness. He had, however, a gross animal look that was repulsive when his face was in repose. His forehead was narrow and his head small, with the rear organs largely developed. He was an inveterate smoker of the strongest kind of Paraguayan cigars. His teeth were very much de- cayed, and so many of the front ones were gone as to render his articulation somewhat difficult and indistinct. He appar- ently took no pains to keep them clean, and those which remained were unwholesome in appearance, and nearly as dark as the cigar that he had almost constantly between them. His face was rather fiat, and his nose and hair indi- cated more of the negro than the Indian. His cheeks had a fulness that extended to the jowl, giving him a sort of bull- dog expression. In his later years he grew enormously fat ; so much so that few would believe that a true photograph of his figure was not a caricature. He was very irregular in his hours of eating ; but when he did eat, the quantity he con- sumed was enormous. He was a gormand, but not an epicure. His taste was for rank and greasy food, and the dishes he preferred would have repelled a delicate taste. His drinking was in keeping with his eating. He always kept a large stock of foreign wines, liquors, and ale, but he had little discrimination in the use of them. He, however, drank enormous quantities of them all, and was altogether so gross and sensual in his habits as to be a very uncomfortable patient for his physician. His excesses were constantly bring- ing on ill-turns, and at last brought on a chronic infirmity that must have soon ended his days, had he not perished by a lance. Though he habitually drank largely, yet he often exceeded his own free limits, and on such occasions he was COWARDICE OF TYRANTS. 49 liable to break out in the most furious abuse of all who were about him. He would then indulge in the most revolting obscenity, and would sometimes give orders for the most barbarous acts. When recovered from such debauches he would stay the execution of his orders, if they had not been already enforced. But it was so dangerous for his subor- dinates to hesitate in their obedience, that, when he came out of his drunken fits, it would generally be too late, the victims would be already executed. Of the three most noted tyrants of South America, Francia, Rosas, and the second Lopez, all have been distinguished for one quality, that is, personal cowardice. Francia, as we have seen, was in such perpetual fear of his life that he kept himself constantly surrounded by a guard, and imagined that an as- sassin lurked behind every bush or wall or building he passed. Rosas was a notorious coward. Many instances in which he showed the most craven fear are well known to the older residents of the Plata. But the cowardly nature of Lopez was so apparent, he scarcely took pains to conceal it. He never exposed himself to the least danger, when he could pos- sibly avoid it. He usually had his head-quarters so far in the rear that a shot from the enemy could never reach him. At Paso Pucu, however, the allies got in his rear, and so invested his entire camp that at rare intervals a stray shot or shell would fall in the vicinity. But it was very seldom anything of the kind occurred, and nobody was ever hit within many yards of his house. Nevertheless, such a thing was possible, and he therefore had another house built close adjoining the one in which he lived, surrounded on all sides with walls of earth at least twenty feet thick, and with a roof of the same material so thick that no shot or shell that might light upon it could ever penetrate deep enough to do any damage. While all was still along the enemy's lines, Lopez would bravely remain in the adjoining house ; but so surely as any firing was heard in the direction of the enemy's nearest batteries, he would in- stantly saunter out in feigned carelessness, trying hard to dis- guise his fear, and slink into his hole, and not show his face VOL. ii 4 PARAGUAY. again outside until the firing had ceased. For several months before the abandonment of Paso Pucu, however, the firing from different points of the allied lines was so frequent that Lopez seldom ventured out of his cave. He ate and slept, protected by the thick walls of earth, and from within his dark abode issued his orders to his army ; and at the very time that he was thus hid away from danger, he had his correspondents for the Semanario around him, writing the most extravagant LOPEZ LEADING HIS LEGIONS TO BATTLE. articles in praise of his valor, his sacrifices, and his generalship. The people of Paraguay could never pay the debt they owed him, who, while they were living in security and abundance, was daily leading his legions to battle and exposing his life to constant danger. His utter lack of courage was known to the whole army. In his youth he had been accustomed to ride on horseback a great deal, and had learned to ride well ; but after he became LOPEZ IN A FRIGHT. 5 ! older and stouter he rode but little, and always on a very tame horse and at a very moderate pace. His timidity was such that he did not dare to walk the gangway plank of a steamer unless he had a trusted officer on each side to save him from falling into the water; and his short steps and frightened look, as I have heard them described by certain Englishmen who had seen him on such occasions, were enough to put to shame a nervous old woman of fourscore. In the latter part of the year 1866, before the bomb-proof house at Paso Pucu had been erected, Lopez with his staff was out one morning inspecting his camp. The allies had been firing irregularly all the morning, but as Lopez was out of the range of their line of fire, and beyond the reach of their guns, no one had suspected any danger. As the party was quietly riding along, a shell that had overshot its mark fell at a distance of about three quarters of a mile from the party, and as it struck exploded. Instantly Lopez turned and galloped away at a speed he had not been accustomed to for years, and his staff, as a matter of course, followed him. They knew it would have been construed as worse than treason for them to show less fear than their chief. Unfortunately, the broad hat of the bishop was caught by the breeze created by its owner's flight, and went sailing through the air, and was left to be picked up afterwards by a soldier. This sorry exhibition of fear in the face of so many of his officers afterwards caused him great mortification ; and as so many had witnessed it that the facts could not be suppressed, he had an article published in the Semanario, abusing the allies roundly for their barba- rous way of making war. Among civilized and gallant nations it was a point of honor never to fire in the direction of the king ; and this act of the allies in firing towards his Excel- lency the Marshal President was therefore unchivalric, treach- erous, and cowardly. In the gratification of his passions and in the accomplish- ment of his ambitious plans, he was no respecter of persons. Of those most in his confidence when the war began, and who were supposed to be his personal friends, nearly all 52 PARAGUAY. were subsequently tortured and put to death by his orders. Among these were Fernandez, Bishop Palacios, and Gen- erals Barrios and Bruguez, his two most successful generals. His brother-in-law, Bedoya, was treated even worse, as he expired under the torture. Burgos. Lynch. Pesoa. MISTRESSES OF LOPEZ. From Photographs. His treatment of his best and at one time most trusted officers was in keeping with that of his former mistresses. The favorite before his visit to Europe, by whom he had one or two children, was a young woman by the name of Pesoa, from the Villa del Filar. She was a sister of the wife of Polycarpo Garro, a leading merchant of Asuncion. She was, however, driven into the Cordilleras, and was exposed to the most terrible hardships, and, it is supposed, perished of want and exposure. Garro, her brother-in-law, was arrested, starved, and tortured as a traitor till he expired, July 15, ESPIONAGE ESSENTIAL TO DESPOTISM. 53 1868, as appears by Resquin's diary. After the advent of Madam Lynch, though she was understood to be the favorite, yet Lopez still kept up his relations with some of his old mistresses, and was frequently adding to the number of his con- quests. The latest addition to the long list, at the time of my arrival in Paraguay, in 1861, was a tall and rather fine-looking young woman, daughter of Pedro Burgos, judge of the partido of Luque. As this was during the Presidency of the elder Lopez, some of the foreigners thought it strange that a man in her father's position would permit such an arrangement. He did not object, however, and the young woman continued occasionally to visit the house of Lopez until he left for Humaita in 1865 ; and her father was rewarded for his acquiescence by being arrested and taken to head-quarters, where he experienced the same treatment as Garro, and died on the i/th of August, 1 868. The fate of the woman is unknown to me. She may have expired like a hundred thousand others in the wilderness, or may have been one of those unhappy wretches whose suffer- ings had been such that, on being rescued from the power of Lopez, the very instincts of modesty had been almost destroyed. Poor Pancha Garmendia, the daughter of one of Francia's victims, and who for her resistance to the infamous proposals of Lopez long before he became President was doomed to see her brothers sacrificed to his wrath and to bear a life of per- secution and seclusion, had perhaps a worse fate than the thousands of others who starved to death. She was dragged or driven along as a prisoner in the train of Lopez, and kept alive apparently with no other motive than that she might bear the floggings that were almost daily visited on her once fair and round, but now emaciated and shrunken shoulders. To a perfect despotism a system of close espionage is indis- pensable. Such a system was established by Francia that he was able to repress every symptom or sign of discontent or disaffection. But he did not carry it so far that he could tell the innermost thoughts of his subjects, thoughts that they dared not express to their most intimate friends, or even breathe them aloud to the winds. Carlos Antonio Lopez 54 PARAGUAY. improved on this by adding the power of the confessional to his other enginery of power. The priests were all required / to confess to him, or rather to reveal to him all the secrets ^that they could draw from the penitents who confessed to them. They were particularly charged to question those who confessed in regard to matters of a political nature, and learn what were their sentiments towards the government. And of the secrets thus obtained the priests dared not make a false report to Lopez ; for if by other means he learned that one of them had been deceiving him, the father confessor was treated with no more consideration than a common thief. Paraguay, from its first settlement, never departed from the " age of faith." Neither doubt nor free thinking in regard to spiritual affairs ever perplexed the people, but in all religious matters they accepted the words of the fathers as the unques- tionable truth. Unfortunately, the priests were, with scarcely an exception, lazy and profligate. It was little shame to a priest to be credited with a numerous progeny among his pa- rishioners. Yet the people \vere so superstitious and credu- lous they feared to disobey them or reserve anything which they might be required to confess. Nevertheless, from the system of vicarious punishment that was adopted, people would sometimes, to save their friends, postpone confessions that would affect their families till they believed their final hour had come ; and then they feared to reserve anything. Such occasions were taken to extort frcm them their real sentiments towards Lopez, his family and his government, and also to learn the feelings of all those most loved whom they were to leave behind them. On information thus obtained the President would persecute in various ways such as had ever ventured to repine under his despotic rule ; and so well aware were the better class of people of this power over them that they tried to repress, and refused to acknowledge to themselves, all feel- ings of resentment or discontent. Though they did not attribute to Lopez the supernatural gifts they had ascribed to Francia, they knew that he had a means more effective than the Dictator ever possessed for finding out, sooner or later, BISHOP URBIETA. 55 their innermost thoughts.^ When Francisco Solano Lopez became the head of the government, he had this terrible machinery of power over the minds and thoughts of his sub- jects ready fitted to his hands. As subordinate to and in the confidence of Carlos Antonio, he had learned how to effectu- ally use it. The Bishop of Paraguay at the time of Francisco's election as President, Juan Gregorio Urbieta, was very old and infirm. He was a simple-minded, inoffensive man, who had spent a great part of his life in reading the works of the early Fathers, and never pretended to question the right of the government to render his spiritual functions entirely subordinate to the temporal authority. In his later years he had little to do except to officiate at high mass on public occasions, leaving all parochial measures to the suffragan bishop, Manuel Antonio Palacios. The latter for some time previous to the death of Carlos Antonio was the most confidential friend and adviser of the young Francisco, and continued so for several years afterwards. He was consecrated in the latter part of the year 1862 as suffragan bishop, with the right of succession as bishop when a vacancy should occur. He had been recom- mended to the Pope for this office by the elder Lopez at the solicitation of the younger, for no other reason, so far as was known, than that, of all the priests in Paraguay, he was the most abject and servile flatterer of the heir expectant. His education was very limited and his appearance sinister and forbidding. He was never accused of a good act, and had the credit of always advising the most sanguinary measures and the most cruel treatment of prisoners, both natives and foreigners. Yet he had considerable volubility, and on formal occasions, when his Excellency was in attendance, had the honor of preaching before him. His sermons were the bald- est blasphemy, and entirely devoted to the praise of Lopez, and to instructing the people in their duties towards him. Lopez having been set over them by God as their ruler, it was their duty to devote their lives, their labors, and their fortunes to him, to count nothing a sacrifice that he might 56 PARAGUAY. require, as for all they did to exalt and strengthen him they would be rewarded, both in this world and in the life to come. A few months before the death of Bishop Urbieta, a pam- phlet was published as coming from him, that was intended to impress on the people similar ideas of their relations to Lopez to those which Palacios preached in his sermons. It was a modified copy of a work called the Catechism of San Alberto, Bishop of Tucuman, first published in 1784, and was intended to instruct people on the "principal obligations that the vas- sal owes to his king and lord." The doctrines of this cate- chism are such as were held by crowned heads three hundred years ago, but which no monarch of the present age would venture to avow. The king is declared to rule by Divine Right, and under no circumstances is the subject to know any other rule of action but unquestioned implicit obedience to royal authority. A bad king and a good one are to be obeyed with equal respect and deference, and the innocent man con- demned to death should not only submit to his fate without a murmur, but mount the gallows and adjust the rope around his own neck with cheerfulness and alacrity.* * " The state by its organization cannot tolerate nor leave unpunished offences, especially those which tend to annihilate religion, which has, since its happy union with the state, become its first fundamental law The prison, then, exile, forced service, the scourge, confiscation, fire, the scaffold, the knife, and death in whatever form, are penalties justly put in force against the disobedient vassal " Q. Is the vassal obliged to accept and suffer the penalties ? " A. Yes ; for they are just and ordained by law. " Q. Is he bound to execute them himself? "A. Yes ; except the gravest or those of a capital kind. " Q. And must he aid indirectly to execute even these ? "A. Yes ; to show that he accepts and suffers them patiently. " Q. What is meant by aiding indirectly ? "A. To mount the scaffold to be hung, or bare the throat to the axe if be- headed for crime." [In the Introduction to the Paraguayan edition, it is noted that " teachers will take pains to explain to the children that in the word king every supreme magis- trate is comprehended." The old Bishop Urbieta adds a charge to all priests, teachers, parents, and other citizens, in which he declares that God has inspired the supreme government with the idea of reprinting this treatise.] " Q. May the king impose laws upon his vassals ? BISHOP PALACIOS. 57 The inculcation of such. doctrines was a part of the prep- arations for war and for the new empire, and was carried on pari passu with the importation of arms and the increase of the army. The people in their innocence and ignorance were taught to believe that anything like defection was an unpar- donable sin, and that if they perished in executing the orders of Lopez they would pass at once to a state of unending bliss. Among the papers taken by the allies after the defeat of Lopez at Lomas Valentinas, in December, 1868, was found a letter written to him by the bishop, and dated at Paso de la Patria, November 24, 1865. That no one may think I have exaggerated in portraying the character of Lopez and his bishop, or in representing the base uses that were made of the confessional, I give an extract from this remarkable letter : " I feel, excellent sir, great satisfaction at seeing that all my com- munications have been agreeable to your Excellency. ' The love of Christianity and true patriotism which has been developed in this "A. Yes ; for God has given him legislative power over them. " Q. Can he impose laws which shall be binding upon their consciences ? "A. Yes ; according to the saying of the Apostle : 'Be ye subject, not only for fear of wrath, but also through conscientious obligation.' " Q. That laws may be binding, is it necessary that they be generally known ? " A. No ; for in that case they would rarely be binding, as it is not easy for them to reach the knowledge of all. " Q. Must the promulgation of the laws be made in all the cities of the realm ? " A. It is not necessary, and it is enough if it be d9ne at the court or another customary place. " Q. For laws to become binding, is it necessary that the people accept them ? " A. No ; for that would be to govern according to their own will rather than by that of the sovereign. " Q. When the law seems burdensome, what must the vassal do ? "A. Obey, and humbly prefer his petition. " Q. Is it a sin to murmur against or speak evil of kings and magistrates ? " A. Yes ; for God says : ' Thou shalt not murmur against thy Gods, nor curse the Prince of thy people.' " Q. What kind of a sin is it ? "A. A mortal one, if upon a serious subject; or venial, if upon a light matter. " Q. Does he who speaks evil of his minisrlrs speak evil of the king ? " A. Yes ; for they are his envoys and represent his person. " Q. Whom does he despise, who expresses contempt for the king or his minis- ters ? " A. He despises God, who says : ' He who despises you despises me.' " 58 PARAGUAY. division will, when the time comes, make all the soldiers fight with such self-abnegation and heroism as will enable us to save the coun- try and triumph over our enemies. With the desire to excite this spirit, and with much success, we are continuing our pastoral labors with all possible care and force, omitting no measure or diligence, using the power and influence of the Holy Religion, whose repre- sentation and ministry have been confided to us by God among this chosen portion of the flock of Jesus Christ of our dear country, with the end of directing it in the path of justice, good order, and patriotism. It has been with no small difficulty, excellent sir, that we have labored with a people so unwarlike as ours ; but happily this difficulty we have now overcome and made to almost disappear by the words of evangelical truth, and by means of the confessional, in which daily we are engaged confessing hundreds of soldiers, dis- posing and fortifying them for the struggle, and making them to understand with the greatest clearness, that those who give their lives in the combat for their country will be recompensed and eter- nally rewarded by the Eternal Creator, according to those words of St. Paul, ' Reposta est mihi corona justicice quam redet mihi domi- nus.' All this inspires us with the strong belief, that, although the enemy may appear with a greater and more powerful array, still it will only be necessary to animate our troops, who, by their secure confidence in God, will certainly prove superior in force and valor, as says and affirms the soldier King, who was fashioned after the will of God, ' Non timebo milla populi circumdantis me.' " The priest who enjoyed more of the respect and confidence of Carlos Antonio and of his wife than any other at the time of the old man's decease was the Padre Fidel Maiz. He was then at the head of the college at which the candidates for orders were educated, and it was supposed he was to be the bishop to succeed Urbieta. He was the trusted friend and confessor of the Lady President, and was considered a man of spotless character. He was the only one of all the priests in Paraguay, so far as I had any knowledge of them, who was respected for his morality. He was about the age of Francisco Solano, and was early distinguished for his application and scholarship. The old President re- spected him for his talents, learning, and correct deport- THE PRIEST FIDEL MAIZ. CQ ment, and the old lady for his piety. His superiority to the other youths of Paraguay provoked very early the jealousy and envy of young Lopez. His mental accomplishments, however, were not so offensive to the heir apparent as his phys- ical advantages over him. He was tall and graceful, with a fair, open countenance, whereas Lopez was short and stout, with features that were neither handsome nor agreeable. Padre Maiz was the favorite confessor of the venerable madres and the young senoritas, and Lopez was jealous of his popu- larity with them. On the death of the old President, Padre Maiz was imme- diately arrested, thrown into prison with heavy fetters on his ankles, and subjected to other most cruel indignities. He was kept in solitary confinement with a sentinel at his door, who threw him his coarse food as to a wild beast. The charge alleged against him, as published in the Scmanario, was that he had taught heretical doctrines to his pupils. Many other priests were arrested about the same time, be- sides several of the leading citizens of Asuncion, and all thrown into prison ; and soon after it was given out by those who were understood to speak by authority, that Padre Maiz had been detected in a conspiracy to have himself elected President instead of Francisco Solano Lopez. He was sub- jected to a very long military trial. The tribunal before which he was arraigned was presided over by General Wen- ceslao Robles, and the principal prosecutor was Bishop Pala- cios. The proceedings were all secret, but no one doubted that Maiz was horribly tortured, as his confessions, or the re- ports of them that were put in circulation with the govern- ment approval, were such that nobody believed them. It was said that this priest, who had been considered so immaculate, so pure in his walk and conversation, was the greatest hypo- crite and libertine in Paraguay, and that when brought before the tribunal he confessed that for many years he had been given up to debauchery, and had been the first to lead astray scores of innocent young women. The verdict of the tribunal was never made public ; but as the govern- 60 PARAGUAY. ment was at such pains to establish his infamy, no one supposed he would ever leave his prison alive. Yet he was permitted to live till long after the war commenced, and was afterwards taken to the army head-quarters at Paso Pucu, where he was treated with more humanity, and after a time was permitted to make confession to the President, and ask his forgiveness. What his real offence was, no one knew. The conspiracy laid to his charge was believed to be, like the conspiracies of Francia and the elder Lopez, invented as a pretext for putting obnoxious people out of the way, and the people were never informed of the heretical doctrines which he taught his pupils. Lopez had now begun to tire of the sycophancy and subserviency of Bishop Palacios. The war was not progressing favorably, and the bishop, Madam Lynch, Colonel Wisner, and others who had been most ardent in advising him to begin it, were very much out of favor. About this time Padre Maiz was permitted to make a long written confession to the President, which was published in the Scmanano of December i, 1866. In this he does not confess to any specific charge, or tell what particular crime he had committed. Probably at the time of his arrest he was unconscious of having committed any ; but torture such as Lopez knew how to inflict, as we shall have frequent oc- casion hereafter to show, could extort confession of crimes before unthought of. After the publication of this document Maiz seemed, greatly to the disgust of Palacios, to regain the favor of the President very fast. He had supplanted the bishop by his idolatrous confession, by his blasphemies that were enough to make an atheist shudder. I make no apology for the long extracts that I give from this remarkable confession. "EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE. " ' Be ye thankful.' Colossians iii. 15. " Would that I might consign to an eternal oblivion the sad antecedents of my grave and numerous political and moral faults, CONFESSION OF MAIZ. 6 r which brought upon myself the avenging action of the law and the just indignation of the offended people, so as not to renew along with their recollection the fatal ideas of so great aberrations and such shameful enormities " But it is not possible ; they are, and will be, publicly known until the latest generation. Let it be so ! It is just ! .... " Prematurely possessed by the pernicious and perverse ideas of a false and gilded liberty, which is really only license or insubordi- nation and the unchaining of all the passions, .... victim of those most odious principles of dissolution and detestable systems of a fictitious liberalism which amount to nothing but the ignoring or practical negation of all respect and obedience to the constituted authorities, .... the natural effects of these things were in me very visible and alarming. " Disordered affections, vanity, envy, evil inclinations, ambition, pride, error, and vice governed me even without my knowing it, and inclined me forcibly to irreligion, to libertinism and moral relaxa- tion ; so that my heart and my understanding remained profoundly vitiated, and, so to speak, radically perverted in the very morning of my existence. " Unhappy wretch that I was ! how could I have avoided it ? It was impossible ; the first guides of my spirit, I mean those charged with my education and training, those authorized to instil into my soul the sound principles of social science, which defines for man his rights and duties, and the pure morality of the eternal Gospel, which conducts man, through the faithful fulfilment of his obligations toward God its ultimate end, to make me happy, not only in time, but in eternity, it was precisely they who caused me to drink at the fountain the fatal principle or fundamental root of all my aberrations, misfortunes, and miseries, the lack of respect to the Supreme Authority, disaffection towards my country and its govern- ment, and hatred of the laws which form the basis of the political administration of the Republic, regarding them, even without know- ing them, as retrograde, anti-liberal, and tyrannical. " Who could bring me forth from such a deplorable state ? How could a stop be put to those indefinable aspirations of my heart, and cut short my wild chase after the madness of the age ? None but the very God of Heaven, none but FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ, who occupies His place upon earth Only He was able to call to 62 PARAGUAY. me with his sovereign voice, as to another Lazarus : Come forth ! .... only He (Lopez) has known how not to break the bruised reed, and not to quench the smoking flax ; .... only He has been able, finally, to convert me from the error of my -way, to save my soul from death, and cover the multitude of my transgressions. "Who but a FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ, full of mildness and suavity, and employing with the most surprising skill all the re- sources of the most intimate knowledge of the human heart, of the most consummate knowledge in all branches of science, whether religious and moral, historic and social, philosophical and juridical, canonical and civil, sacred and profane, could cause that where sin abounded grace should much more abound, that as sin reigned to death, so also may grace reign through justice to eternal life ? . . . . " O the grace ! the ineffable grace of my pardon and liberation ! How can I esteem it or even admire it sufficiently ? . . . . There are no examples in history, there are no images in nature, there are no colors in art, there are no figures nor flowers in rhetoric, ade- quate to describe and appreciate this most singular grace as it really is, and its reality can only be believed by considering the amazing magnanimity of soul, and the actions, all of them so rarely and wonderfully glorious and noble, of him who has granted that pardon. " Let us pray continually that his precious and never- to-be-re- placed existence may be spared for ages and cycles of ages. Let his immortal Name resound unceasingly from our lips ; let his glorious image abide forever at the bottom of our hearts ; let his august Person be the entire object of our contemplations ; let us think in Him, think with Him, think by Him, let us not sleep, let us not wake, but under the sweet and vivifying influence and under the beneficient and refreshing shade of FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ, who is so justly the glory, the honor, and the joy of his country, its only and entire hope. " Full of gratitude, of respect and love, let us venerate, applaud, and exalt this prodigiously Divine Being, this Guardian Angel, this Anointed of our people whom the Lord has given us in pledge of his divine paternal protection, and of that adorable Supreme Provi- dence which watches ever for the preservation of innocent and in- offensive nations like Paraguay, to insure their happiness. PADRE MAIZ REINSTATED. 63 " Saint Bernard used to say he had no pleasure in reading or in conversation unless the name of Jesus were perpetually used ; that Jesus is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, and joy in the heart. I do not hesitate to say as much, for my own part, concerning him who holds His place among our people " Ah ! FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ is for me more than for any other Paraguayan a true Father and Saviour ; and for the same reason he is also for me very especially the only object of the new affections of my converted heart. May He deign to look ever pro- pitiously upon his prodigal son prostrate at his feet " FIDEL MAIZ. " ENCAMPMENT OF PASO Pucu, November 17, 1866." After making this confession, Padre Maiz succeeded in gradually supplanting the bishop in the esteem of the Presi- dent, until at last he had the satisfaction, some two years later, of seeing the consecrated representative of the Pope led out to execution and shot like a malefactor.* * Padre Maiz survived Lopez, having been taken prisoner in the last battle of the war in which Lopez was slain. He probably can give more information than all other persons living in regard to many things that appear mysterious and utterly inexplicable to everybody else. He may perhaps explain why Lopez killed so many of those who were, as all supposed, his most faithful and able offi- cers. He may tell, too, why he killed his brothers, and flogged and otherwise tor- tured his mother and his sisters. He may also possibly be able to tell whether or not Lopez ever believed in the existence of the conspiracy which he pretended to discover, and for alleged complicity with which so many hundreds were tortured and executed. CHAPTER V. Departure of the Paraguayan Fleet from Asuncion. Arrival at Humaita. The English Engineer, John Watts. Admiral Mesa. The Battle of Ria- chuelo. Confusion. The Pilot of the Amazonas. Defeat of the Para- guayans. Rewards of Merit. ON the 8th of June the Paraguayan fleet was ready for departure from Asuncion. The President himself was to go with it as far as Humaita, where he was to disem- bark, as he had caused his Congress to pass a resolution that he should not leave the country. The day was one of great excitement in the capital, and the whole population were on the bank of the river to witness the embarkation. It was known that the President was going away, and everybody knew that it would be construed into an unpardonable affront not to be present and show an interest in so great an event. The whole population was accordingly, from an instinct of danger, gathered near the river to witness the 'scene. It had been given out that the fleet would sail at three o'clock in the afternoon ; but the morning had been taken up with a long mass in the church, and afterwards by a reception in the Palace, where all the military and civil functionaries paid their respects in turn, and so many addresses were made and an- swered that the hours passed by unheeded till it was nearly night. In the mean while, however, the troops that were to accompany the expedition, four thousand in number, were being embarked. This, with the facilities at hand, was a slow operation ; and as most of them had friends and relations among the crowd, there was much leave-taking that still fur- ther delayed the embarkation. But as the twilight had begun to gather the President's carriage made its appearance, followed by several others in which rode the Vice-President, the gov- ernment ministers, the members of the Marshal's staff, and THE ENGLISHMAN'S PLAN OF BATTLE. 65 other noted characters. At a little distance from the mole they descended from the carnages ; and the crowd falling back and opening the way, they marched in awful dignity and silence to the river, and were conveyed on board in funereal grandeur. Some slight attempts at a cheer or viva were made, but I never yet heard a Paraguayan attempt a cheer that he did not " back recoil, he knew not why, e'en at the sound himself had made." Like Macbeth's amen, the viva always seemed to stick in their throats. It was not till eleven o'clock that the fleet started ; and before this hour the people had generally stolen off to their homes, tired and disappointed. The scenic effect that had been counted on was nearly all lost from over-punctilio : a bad omen, as it showed poor management and worse calculation on the part of the Marshal President, that augured but ill for the success of the expedition. The fleet reached Humaita at four o'clock in the afternoon of the second day. On the way down the President called the chief engineer of the steamer on which he and his staff had taken passage, the flag-ship Tacuari, and so far con- descended as to ask his opinion regarding the best way to at- tack the Brazilian squadron. The engineer, an Englishman by the name of John Watts, and an intelligent man, had formerly been employed in a similar capacity in the Brazilian service, and, knowing the character of the Brazilians, replied that, in his opinion, it would be an easy matter to take their entire squadron. His plan was for the Paraguayan vessels to run down near the enemy in the night, and just at break of day, as soon as they could be fairly seen, each Paraguayan vessel should select its antagonist, and run full head upon it and board it instantly. For this each Paraguayan vessel should have three or four times as many men aboard as the steamer it was to attack, and as the enemy would be caught with banked or extinguished fires, and probably most of the men asleep, their fleet would be destroyed and themselves prisoners before they could make any resistance. The President then asked if the Brazilians were as brave as the Paraguayans. The 66 PARAGUAY. engineer replied that they were not ; that naturally they were great cowards ; and that the Brazilian Admiral Barroso was one of the most arrant poltroons he had ever seen. Watts had been in the Brazilian expedition against Paraguay in 1855, and had seen how that whole squadron of nineteen ves- sels had been stopped at Cerrito by twenty-eight men, when there were no fortifications there, and that through sheer cowardice the design of the whole expedition was defeated. Only one steamer passed up to Asuncion, and then the elder Lopez managed to outwit the Brazilian Envoy, Leal, and ob- tain such delay in the settlement of the pending questions, that, when Brazil thought to renew her forcible attempts at adjustment, Humaita was strongly fortified. The plan of the engineer was simple and feasible, and if followed would doubtless have been a complete success. But it was a defect in the character of the great Lopez that he knew too much, so much that he could never receive a hint or suggestion from anybody. His own plan and what came of it we shall soon see. The troops were disembarked at Humaita on the gth, and on the loth those who were to take part in the coming action were re-embarked. They consisted of some eight hundred men besides the crews ; and nine steamers, being nearly all that Paraguay possessed, were ordered to take part in the battle. Their names were as follows : Tacuari (flag-ship), Paraguari, Igurey, Marques de Olinda, Salto Oriental, Ipora, Peribebui, Jejui, and Ibera. The admiral of this squadron was Pedro I. Mesa, a man whose only merit was the one that would have commended him to Julius Caesar, he was fat. He had long been the flag-officer of the Paraguayan squadron, but he was as ignorant of naval warfare as a Guaicuru Indian. He was not only fat, but he was old and sick. He knew he was unfit for his position, and had desired to be relieved from it. But he was not allowed to retire, and was sent in command of this expedition. What his instructions were from the President is unknown, further than that they certainly were such as he attempted to follow, as he knew full well that anything short A FATAL DELAY. 67 of exact and implicit obedience could only be atoned for with his life. The plan of the battle should therefore be ascribed to President Lopez, though he never claimed it, notwithstand- ing his newspaper claimed a great victory. At two o'clock on the morning of the nth of June the fleet steamed away from Humaita, the Marques de Olinda taking the lead. With moderate haste it should have been at the Tres Bocas an hour later, but with an alacrity of slowness shown throughout the battle it did not reach there till 5 A. M. Here were in waiting six gunboats, or rather launches, each having on board a sixty-eight pounder, to be taken in tow by the steamers. It was half past six before the first boat got started again. But it had not been under way more than five minutes when the screw of one of the steamers, the Ibera, got out of gear, and all were signalled to anchor again. The engineer of the flag-ship was ordered to go on board and see what was the trouble with the disabled vessel. When half- way there, it occurred to the admiral that he wanted his own chief engineer to remain by his side, in case anything unex- pected might occur. So he hailed him to return, and after- wards sent the engineer of the Igurey to report the damage. The "latter accordingly went aboard the Ibera, and soon returned and reported that the screw propeller was detached from the shaft. The order was then given for the rest of the fleet to move on, leaving the Ibera behind. But so much time had been consumed by the pottering operations of the admiral, that it was half past seven in the morning before the fleet started again, so that all idea of a surprise of the enemy was abandoned. Had the Brazilians been anything else but Brazilians, they would have had pickets or spies on the lookout to give early notice of any such attack ; but being such as nature and their lack of discipline had made them, they were lying idle and unprepared, till at nine o'clock in the morning the Paraguayan fleet was seen bearing down full upon them. The steam was not up on a single vessel, and for immediate ac- tion they were helpless as so many sailing vessels. The Para- guayans, thanks to their enemy's supineness, had surprised 68 PARAGUAY. them ; and each of the attacking steamers, having on a full head of steam, could have run directly at a Brazilian and cut her in two amidships. But the six launches in tow, with their sixty- eight-pounders, which the military genius of Paraguay had or- dered to be attached as a drag to his steamers, so that no such sensible thing should be done, must be cast adrift if an attack of this kind were to be attempted. But the admiral did not dare to cast them off without orders, for he could not realize that success and a great victory would atone for disobedience. The Brazilians were anchored near the right or Chaco side of the river, in line of battle ; that is, one below the other, with the main anchor at the prow and a kedge astern, drawing the after part against the current and towards the middle of the stream, so that each steamer could give a broadside at long range to any vessel approaching from above. The fleet consisted of nine armed steamers, besides one small transport. They were generally of much heavier tonnage and had guns of much larger calibre than the Paraguayans, and for the latter to attack them except at close quarters would be either stupidity or madness. The commander of the Brazilian squadron was the same Barroso who, in 1855, had allowed his entire fleet of vessels to be stopped in the river below Humaita, at a time when that place had scarcely any fortifica- tions and but twenty-eight men to hold them. Had he been advised that the Paraguayans were coming in time to get up steam, he would probably, as is to be inferred from his con- duct in the battle, have run away with all his fleet ; but being surprised he could not do that, and as the enemy bore clown towards him his vessels let drive their broadsides. Fortu- nately for him, the Paraguayans, instead of trying to run down his vessels, kept to the channel of the river, and la- bored to get below him, as if their object was to pass his squad- ron, and not to attack it. In doing this the Igurey received a shot in one of her boilers that in its explosion caused the death of some twenty persons. The little Jejui also received a shot in her only boiler, and was left helpless to float down the stream. But with these slight injuries the whole fleet RIACHUELO." 69 passed by, and was just where it ought not to have been, that is, below the Brazilian squadron, and whence not one of them could ever return except through the fault of their adversaries. As they passed, the Paraguayans returned the fire of the Brazilians, but with little effect, as their guns were small, and, being in motion, their aim was wild. They had passed the Brazilian squadron, and though two vessels had been disabled, one partially and the other wholly, none had been lost. They were below their enemies, and apparently entirely cut off from their own country. On the left bank of the river, just opposite to where the Brazilian fleet was anchored, the Paraguayans had previously placed a battery of flying artillery. This battery was under command of General Bruges, an officer of a different stamp from Ad- miral Mesa. He had seen the squadron pass with amazement, as if bent on its own destruction. He had placed his bat- tery where it was, for the reason that he knew the Brazilian squadron, though lying "in deep water near the Chaco, and at so long a distance that his guns could do them little injury, could not get into the channel below without going higher up to make a turn, and thence pass him within short range. But when he saw the whole Paraguayan fleet had gone below the Brazilians, he naturally thought that it was lost unless he could cover it or protect it with his artillery. He accordingly moved below with all possible celerity, and took a position that commanded the Riachuelo. Riacho in Spanish means a little river, and riachuelo is the further diminutive, that means simply brook, or less than little river. About three leagues below Corrientes, one of these riachuelos enters the main river. Just below where it joins the main current is a bend in the river, and between the Ria- chuelo and the projecting angle of the bend there is formed a deep, broad basin, in which steamers of any size that can ascend so far have ample room to turn or otherwise manoeu- vre. Just above this, dividing the channel, is, at low water, an island, and at high water a sand-bar. This point of the river, within the bend that forms the deep broad basin, is 70 PARAGUAY. called Riachuclo, and it was in or near this that nearly all the fighting took place. After having passed the Brazilians, Admiral Mesa seemed to have no idea what he was next to do. He signalled all his steamers to stop where they were, and called on board the com- manders of the Igurey and the Marques de Olinda to consult with them. He then went below with them, and might have stayed there an hour if he had not been hailed to his duty by his chief engineer, who told him that the Brazilians were getting up steam and would be down upon them shortly. The old man then said they must try and get back at night. The engineer, however, told him that would be fatal, as they could not turn where they were, and their only chance was to run for the Riachuelo, where they could turn and manoeuvre so as to be in a position to damage the Brazilians, should they bear down upon them. The advice was taken, and the whole fleet moved to that point The disabled Jejui drifted of itself to the same place, and was afterwards taken in tow by another steamer. The two fleets had thus apparently changed places. The Paraguayans, now below their enemies, were ranged so as to give battle to the Brazilians should they attempt to pass them. Barroso saw himself and his squadron between the upper and nether millstone. Why had those terrible Paraguayans gone past him, except to cut him off, capture his fleet, and take him a prisoner to share the dungeon with Carneiro de Campos ? Evidently he was a lost man, and with a resignation com- mendable in some cases, if not in the present, he retired to his cabin to reflect on the mutability of human affairs. The fleet, however, having got the steam up, moved forward and turned downwards into the main channel and passed below, the bat- tery of Bruges being already on its way to the Riachuelo to protect the Paraguayan squadron. The Brazilians, as they steamed down, delivered their broadsides at the Paraguayans, but with little or no effect. With one exception they all kept the outer channel, leaving the sand-bar above the Riachuelo on the left, and scudding by as if running a blockade, and not fighting a battle. Two steamers, however, attempted to pass CONFUSION IN THE BATTLE. 71 through the inner channel. Unfortunately, one of them, the Jequitinhonha, struck on the sand-bar, and was left helpless under the guns of Bruges, that were directly opposite. She was soon riddled and sunk. The other, the Paranahyba, passed the bar, but just below touched the shore ; and, her stern being caught by the current, she drifted round, and, dropping down, came against the Tacuari, so that the two lay side by side. The Paraguayans, with instinctive courage, in- stantly boarded, while most of the crew of the Paranahyba, being under no discipline, jumped overboard. At the same time the Marques de Olinda came up on the other side of the Paranahyba, while the disabled Jejui lay just below, so that with a single shot she might have disabled the rudder. But by this time the Paranahyba was covered with Paraguay- ans, and the commander of the Jejui would not fire for fear of injuring his own people. There was, however, in the forward part of the Paranahyba a considerable number who had not jumped overboard, and who made so good a defence that the Paraguayan admiral got alarmed and attempted to go below. Descending from the bridge, he was just passing to his cabin when a ball struck him in the chest, and he fell mortally wounded. Just after this was heard the order of an officer of the Paranahyba to go astern. The next moment he was cut down by a Paraguayan sabre. The order, however, was obeyed, and the vessel slipped from between her adversaries. The admiral of the Tacuari being mortally wounded, and the next in command being dead drunk on the bridge, a lieuten- ant ordered her to move ahead. It was fortunate for her that she did so, for directly after the Brazilian flag-ship, the Arna- zonas, that had passed below, was seen returning at full speed, and, converting herself into a ram, was running down one steamer after another as if they were targets. The Brazilian admiral, Barroso, after running the gantlet of the enemy and placing his vessel below so as to be at a disad- vantage, as the Paraguayan admiral had just done, was again, like him, at a loss what to do. But two of the steamers were left behind, and it would not do to run away and abandon 72 PARAGUAY. them. The admiral, was too frightened to give an order. He sat in his cabin, literally paralyzed with fear and unable to speak. When appealed to by a subordinate to give orders to the fleet, he sat transfixed and speechless. The fleet, how- ever, having got below again, turned about and came into position and steamed back among the Paraguayans. It was then that one brave man changed the fate of the day, and converted what would otherwise have been a shameful defeat into a signal victory. This was an Italian, the pilot of the Amazonas. Seeing everything going in favor of the Para- guayans and no one to give orders, he took the responsibility of acting without them. First he drove at the Paraguayri, one of .the largest and best of the Paraguayan vessels. She went down like a cockle-shell before the huge Amazonas ; then he drove at the Marques de Olinda ; then at the Salto, and lastly at the Jejui, and each went down like ships of pasteboard. The launches, with the sixty-eight pounders, got adrift early in the action. Two of these were likewise run down by the Amazonas, and the other four fell into the hands of the Brazilians. Two of the Brazilian steamers gave chase for the Tacuari and the Igurey, the latter keeping in the rear to protect the other, that, being disabled by the loss of one boiler, could make but little headway. The pursuers could with difficulty keep in the rear of the pursued ; so with true Brazilian pluck they closed their port-holes and prepared to defend themselves in case the Paraguayans should try to board them, keeping always behind, and firing their bow-chas- ers under such a sense of danger as did not permit them to aim near the mark. With a commendable prudence, therefore, they soon gave up the pursuit, though the commandante of the Igurey, Cabral, now flag-officer of the squadron, when arrived opposite Corrientes, came to and dropped anchor, as if to invite them to attack him. But with that better part of valor called discretion they declined to do so, and soon turned tail and returned to the vicinity of the flagship to celebrate, with Admiral Barroso, their great courage and great victory. REWARDS OF MERIT. 73 A great victory it was, but the whole credit is due to a subordinate of low grade, and that subordinate not a Brazil- ian, but a countryman of Garibaldi. Of the eight Paraguayan vessels that took part in the fight, four returned, all more or less disabled. That these were saved was due to an English engineer. This Englishman for his services received the lowest order of the Decoration of the Legion of Honor. But he was, not long after, for some slight offence, subjected to three months' imprisonment, and three years after was ar- rested, tortured, and shot as a traitor. The Italian pilot was rewarded by the Emperor with a present of five hundred gold ounces and the commission of lieutenant-colonel. As an offset to this act of magnanimity and justice of the Emperor, it should be stated that his admiral, who had slunk in fear from the battle, was promoted to a higher rank in the navy, and was ennobled, being created Baron das Amazonas. It will be found hereafter, that, with scarcely an exception, whenever a.ny officer high in position and authority in the Brazilian service disgraced his flag, his country, and himself by acts of cowardice or imbecility which in most countries would have caused him to be cashiered, if not shot, he was promoted and covered with benefits, and taken to his Majesty's bosom. The Paraguayan admiral survived his wounds but a short time. Though he had conducted the battle very unskilfully, and shown personal fear, he had displayed less cowardice than Barroso. But had he lived his rewards would have been very different from those which his antagonist received. He would have been ignominiously shot, as Lopez himself declared, and as thousands of others were during the war, not often for cowardice, but for not doing what they had been ordered to perform. A miscarriage or failure in any enterprise could never be ascribed te the erroneous judgment or bad combina- tion of the commander-in-chief, but the blame was always laid on the troops sent to perform it, and those who were so fortunate as to escape alive were afterwards remorsely deci- mated and shot in the presence of their companions. CHAPTER VI. Inaction of the Brazilians. Results of the Battle of Riachuelo. The Cam- paign in Corrientes. General Robles suspected of Treason. Espionage. Colonel Alen. Arrest, Imprisonment, and Execution of General Robles and Others. The Campaign in Rio Grande. Capture of San Borja by Estigar- ribia. Battle of Arroyo Mbutuy. Movements of the Allied Forces. Criti- cal Situation of Duarte. Destruction of his Army. Estigarribia summoned to surrender. Negotiations. Capitulation of Estigarribia. His Character. Treatment of the Prisoners. Character of Robles. Interview with the Marques de Caxias. Reception of the News at Asuncion. Disappointment and Rage of Lopez. Public Meetings. Evacuation of Corrientes. Re- moving the Spoils. The Brazilian Fleet. Review of the Campaign. the result of this battle was a defeat to the JL Paraguayans and a loss of half their fleet, yet the Bra- zilians failed to follow up their success, which had they done, not one of the Paraguayan vessels would ever have returned to tell the tale of the great disaster. The Brazilians in this action, as in many others that occurred during the war, neg- lected to improve their victory, but seemed to think that, having repulsed the enemy, they had done all that could be expected of them, and that nothing further was demanded than to rest on their laurels and wait further orders and pro- motions from home. A slight attempt was made, however, two days after the battle, to recover the lost steamer, which was one of the best of the squadron, the Jequitinhonha ; but the battery of horse artillery that hovered along the bank of the river, near where the battle took place, succeeded m driv- ing back the fleet, and the Jequitinhonha, the Paraguari, the Marques de Olinda, and the Salto were left where they had been sunk during the action. So supine and demoralized did the Brazilians appear to have been rendered by the battle, that they moved down the river as if afraid of another attack. TREACHERY OF GENERAL ROBLES. 75 The Paraguayans, did not thus abandon what they had lost, as the Brazilians were hardly out of sight when parties were sent down from Corrientes that took out the guns and what- ever else was valuable which had been left on the Jequitin- honha and their own abandoned steamers, and they also suc- ceeded in raising the hull of the burnt Paraguari and taking it to Asuncion. This defeat at Riachuelo was an irreparable loss to Lopez ; it completely deranged all his plans. Had it been a success, and could he have captured the entire squadron, as under the circumstances it would have been easy to do had he con- ducted the battle with ordinary sagacity, he would then have had the entire command of the river from Asuncion to Monte- video. The allies had at that time nothing in the river which could have withstood the fleet that he would then have had at his command, and in the panic which would have followed the disaster to the allies he could have dictated almost any terms to the defenceless Buenos-Aireans. Such were his hopes, but this battle had destroyed them all, and it would be impos- sible for him ever to send another squadron against the Bra^ zilian naval forces then in the river, that were being almost daily augmented. But the attack on the squadron was only a part of his gen- eral plan. General Robles having occupied Corrientes for a time, as we have seen, was ordered to move down the left bank of the river as far as Goya. Here he remained until the day of the battle of Riachuelo, when he commenced a retreat up the river as far as Em- pedrado, twelve miles below Corrientes, where he encamped and waited until the 23d of July. While here the Bra- zilians managed to open a secret correspondence with him, and he had made the preliminary arrangements to betray his whole force into the hands of the allies. Lopez, however, who mistrusted everybody, had spies to watch all his prin- cipal officers. The first letters he received in which corrupt propositions were made to him he immediately forwarded to Lopez, mistrusting that it was a device to entrap him, of 76 PARAGUAY. which Lopez, if he was not already informed, probably soon would be. But though these letters were sent forward to Lopez, he contrived to send answers to them, in which he intimated that he was none too good to leave the service of his chief, provided he were to receive due consideration for his treason. Lopez, up to this time, had had every confidence in Robles, as for a long time he had been next in command to himself in the army, and had been his favorite officer, had pre- sided over his tribunals, had adjudged death to hundreds or thousands of obnoxious people, and owed his position entirely to the favor of his chief. But Lopez thought it well to watch more sharply his future conduct. He therefore promoted another of his favorites, Colonel Resquin, to be brigadier- general, and sent him to Corrientes, to be next in command to Robles. The person intrusted specially with the duty of watching the two generals was Colonel Alen, whose devotion to Lopez had taken that form which was most sure to secure him favor and confidence. He was his most favored and trusted informer, and was as zealous and eager to make ac- cusations against others as if he believed that, by exciting the suspicions of his master against all his best men so that he would destroy them, he was doing him a great service. His zeal, however, as will be seen hereafter, did not suffice to save him from a fate worse, if possible, than that which he had brought upon many innocent persons by his accusations. Of the many victims of Lopez's suspicion and cruelty, perhaps none died a more miserable, agonizing death than did this same Colonel Alen. Having been sent with special orders to keep watch over Robles, he was not able to discover anything; but Madam Lynch, who had long regarded Robles with dis- like, for the reason that he had too much influence with Lopez, thereby exciting her jealousy, had some spies of her own in a menial capacity around Robles's camp, and from them she was able to learn that something mysterious was passing between the general in command and the allies. She instantly made known her suspicions to Lopez, and besought him at once to have Robles superseded, and some one else, in whom both ARREST OF OFFICERS. 77 had more confidence, placed in command of his army. Lopez was greatly alarmed at the earnest representations made by his mistress, who was then in Asuncion, and despatched a steamer with his brother-in-law, Barrios, to relieve the sus- pected general. The latter was encamped at Empedrado, about a mile from the river ; and when Barrios approached with his staff to the tent of the commanding general, the latter came out to salute him. Barrios declined to return his civility, and delivered to him a letter from Lopez, which he told him to read. It was an order from him to turn over the command of his army to Barrios, with which Robles immediately complied, and de- livered his sword to Barrios, who sent him as a prisoner on board a steamer ; his papers were then seized, and the dis- graced general was sent under guard to Humaita. The evi- dence against him was intangible, and not satisfactory to Lopez, for he was not able to make out from it whether Robles was a traitor or not. He was kept in solitary con- finement for a long time at Humaita, as were all the mem- bers of his staff, saving and excepting only Colonel Alen, whose fidelity to Lopez had not then ever been questioned. A large number of the commanding officers in the camp besides the staff were also arrested and put in irons ; and in this condition they were held for some six months, Lo- pez being unable to assure himself whether there was any just ground for complaint against any of them. On the 8th of January, 1866, however, he decided to have Robles exe- cuted, on the charge of not having done his duty in Cor- rientes. He was not condemned as a traitor, as it was not de- sirable that the troops should know that the two most trusted commanders of the great unerring Lopez had betrayed him. Several of the staff of Robles were executed with him ; and among these was his secretary, Captain Valiente, the half-brother of Gumesindo Benitez, who afterwards figured as the acting Minister for Foreign Affairs in the corre- spondence with the writer of this work, in which he en- deavored to prove that the American legation was the focus 78 PARAGUAY. and head of a conspiracy against Lopez, and for which he received the reward which Lopez almost invariably granted to his most servile adherents, torture and execution. Robles, dressed in full uniform, was paraded with his staff before the whole army, which was drawn up to witness the ceremony, and, the sentence being read, the fallen general, his secretary, and several others, were shot. Lopez witnessed this tragic scene from a window of his house. Most of the officers, however, who had long been in prison and in irons, were pardoned, and were restored to the positions they had held in the army. No one seemed to have any pity or sympathy for Robles, as he was a hard and cruel man, and had ever shown great alacrity in executing the commands of his unscrupulous master. He had always maintained the severest discipline in the army by inflicting the most terrible punishments for slight offences, either on officers or men. It was no uncommon thing for him to order officers of as high a grade as captain, and from the best families of Paraguay, to be unmercifully flogged in the presence of the soldiers. Nor was it an unusual thing for him to order any one who from thoughtlessness or ignorance had omitted the performance of any insignificant duty to be made a spread-eagle of, fastened to the ground, and left there, exposed to the scorching sun by day and to the winds, storms, and dews of night, for weeks and months at a time, or till they expired from their sufferings. His ambition seemed to be to please Lopez by imitating him in all things ; and wherever he was in command it was his habit to send to the houses of people in the vicinity and require the presence, at his camp, of any young woman that pleased his fancy. If the order were disobeyed, he would find means to enforce it ; and as he was known to be a great favorite of Lopez, no one would dare to complain of the outrage. After he was dead, people who, while he was in favor, would never have dared to breathe a word against him, spoke of him with the bitterness of hate which such cruelty was calculated to engender. Whether or not he had been guilty of treason to Lopez, they neither knew nor cared ; but they were glad he had met the fate that his other crimes so richly merited. FEARS OF ASSASSINATION. 79 Lopez was beginning to realize, by this time, that the peo- ple by whom he was surrounded, and who had been accus- tomed to natter him on all occasions, and to profess their will- ingness to sacrifice everything they had in the world to save him, did not, in making these professions, express their real sentiments, and that those who were most free with their praises and protests only lacked the opportunity to betray him. The state of mind he was in about this time may be inferred from the following extract from Colonel Thompson's book : " Lopez was continually in great fear of being assassinated, and at night had a double cordon of sentinels round his house. This was afterwards increased to a treble one. During the daytime these were removed, and the guard was kept under a roof, next door to Lopez. People who wished to see him had to wait under this same roof. One evening I was waiting there to see Lopez, as were also several other officers, and a sergeant of the guard entered into con- versation with me. After a short time there was a great stir, officers going in and out of Lopez's room, the guard relieved, and the other officers who were waiting all arrested. One of Lopez's aides-de-camp came and said to me, ' His Excellency sends word to you to write down all the conversation you have had with the sergeant of the guard and bring it to-morrow morning.' I went away, not expecting to be able to remember a twentieth part of the silly talk of the ser- geant ; but as things looked serious, I tried, and probably remembered it all. It filled a whole sheet of paper, and was all of it somewhat in this style : ' The sergeant asked me if Queen Victoria always wore her crown when she went out to walk. The sergeant asked me if I should wear the Paraguayan uniform when I went to England.' It was sealed up and taken next morning to Lopez, about 7 A. M. He was not yet up, but the sergeant was already shot, and all the soldiers of the guard had received one hundred lashes each. A few months afterwards I heard that the sergeant had been convicted of conspiring with two men who had just returned from Uruguayana to murder the President, and that the two men had been found that night in the yard of Lopez's house. The sergeant's manner that evening was certainly not that of a conspirator. Lopez never said a word about it to me, nor acknowledged receipt of the written con- versation, probably feeling ashamed to do so." 80 PARAGUAY. At the same time that General Robles was sent with his column of men along the bank of the river to capture the different towns on the route, Colonel Antonio Estigarribia, with a column of twelve thousand men and six guns, crossing the Parana at Encarnacion, a hundred miles above Paso de la Patria, marched across the Misiones to the Uruguay with the object of invading the Brazilian province of Rio Grande. On reaching the banks of that river he divided his army into two columns, crossing over with about eight thousand of his men, and leaving twenty-five hundred on the right bank of the river, under the command of Major Duarte. The two armies then proceeded down the river on opposite sides, and, on the loth of June, Estigarribia took possession of San Borja after a slight skirmish. On the 26th of June a part of his force, while on their march, fell in with a considerable force of the Brazilians at Arroyo Mbutuy, and a battle ensued which both parties claimed as a victory. On the 5th of August, Estigarribia with his army occupied the important Brazilian town of Uruguayana. Though the Brazilians along the frontiers of the invaded province had two or three times the number of troops under Estigarribia, they made little or no effort to impede his march, as they saw that the farther he got away from his own country the more complete and disas- trous must be his ultimate overthrow. Meanwhile Duarte, with his army of twenty-five hundred men, occupied the town of Yatai, on the Argentine or opposite side of the Uruguay. The combined forces of the two armies amounted to about ten thousand men, about two thousand having been lost on the route since they had crossed the Parana. By this time the allies began to gather around them in great force, and indeed in such overwhelming numbers that it was evident that without generalship peculiarly Brazilian the whole Paraguayan army would be destroyed or taken pris- oners. Six hundred men under General Flores were ap- proaching the camp of Duarte, who sent to Estigarribia for reinforcements. He received for a reply the insulting answer that, if he was afraid, some one else should be sent to command BATTLE AT YATAI. 8 1 in his stead. Hoping that General Robles, who had been de- spatched in the same general direction, might be near, he also wrote to him, advising him of the desperate strait he was in. In this letter, which was captured by General Paunero, Duarte says that his orders from Lopez were to kill all the prisoners he took. This letter, it should be noted, was written early in the war, and before Lopez had been rendered desperate by the reverses that subsequently overtook him, and proves how little value is to be attached to the professions made by him before the commencement of hostilities, that he should carry on the war with the strictest regard to the laws of nations, and with such respect for the dictates of humanity, that his con- duct in this war should offer a striking contrast to that which had generally been the practice of the sanguinary caudillos, whose exploits had disgraced almost every page of South American history. Flores's forces had increased so rapidly that on the iyth of August they numbered more than thirteen thousand men. He at once sent a summons to Duarte to surrender, which the latter refused to do, saying, as was almost invariably said at that time by every Paraguayan, when summoned to sur- render, that he had no orders to do so from "El Supremo." An attack was then ordered, and in the battle which followed the Paraguayans fought with a valor never surpassed, not even at Thermopylae. But the superiority of numbers was so over- whelmingly against them that their valor was of no avail. They all refused to surrender, but fought until they were killed, and of the whole twenty-five hundred only between two and three hundred of those who were not engaged in the immediate contest were taken prisoners. In this battle, as in many others, it would not unfrequently occur that one Para- guayan would be surrounded by a dozen of the enemy, all calling on him to surrender, to which he would make no response, but fight on until he was killed ; or if by chance he was disarmed during the unequal contest and forcibly made a prisoner, he would take the first opportunity when his hands were free to seize a musket or bludgeon of any VOL. II. 6 82 PARAGUAY. kind, and kill as many as possible, until he was himself knocked senseless. In this action the allies lost a number fully equal to the whole force of the Paraguayans, so that on the average every Paraguayan had killed his man. The allies now turned their attention to Estigarribia and his larger army, who were on the other side of the river, engaged in fortifying their position. As he saw that the troops of the enemy which were gathering around him were far in excess of his own, he commenced a retreat, which had he continued he might probably have saved himself and a part of his army. But he knew the character of his master too well to venture to retreat without orders, and therefore returned to Uruguayana to await in- structions or reinforcements. Meanwhile four gunboats had been sent up the river by Admiral Tamandare, which took a position so that their guns commanded the town. The ques- tion with the allies now was, whether Estigarribia would fight, as Duarte had done, until all his men were killed. Were he to do so, they might count on a loss equal to all, or nearly all, the Paraguayan army, and the moral effect of such another Thermopylae could not but be disastrous to the allied cause. They therefore sent a note to the Paraguayan commander, proposing that he should surrender, and promising that he and his men should be permitted to retire with all the honors of war. Estigarribia replied to this note in a long letter, declining to entertain any such proposition. The allies soon after sent him a second letter, in which they represented that their troops greatly outnumbered his, and they had such su- periority of artillery that he was completely invested by land, while he was exposed to the heavy guns of the squadron which was lying near by in the river. For him to make resistance under such circumstances, when victory was impossible and defeat inevitable, would be to sacrifice his entire army to cer- tain destruction. It has been said, that, at the time this letter was sent, another communication of a different character was also forwarded, in which Estigarribia was promised ample re- wards if he would not subject the allies to the losses and CHARACTER OF ESTIGARRIBIA. g^ inconvenience of a battle, and that an arrangement was then made, according to which he was to answer scornfully the proposal that he should capitulate, and keep up the appear- ance of defiance, till the Emperor, who was then on his way, should have time to come up and be present at the surrender. To the summons to surrender, Estigarribia replied, on the 5th of September, in a letter the terms of which are so grandiloquent and inflated as to create the impression that at the time it was sent he was already resolved on capitu- lation.* This letter was not written by Estigarribia, but by a priest who accompanied him to write his letters and act as chaplain. Estigarribia was a man of little ability and no education, and would never have been selected for this im- portant command had Lopez been either a good judge of men or of the qualities essential in the commander of so desperate an enterprise. He had been known in Asuncion as belonging * " VIVE THE REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY ! "CAMP AT URUGUAYANA, Septembers, 1865. " The Commander-in-Chief of the Division in Operation on the River Uruguay, to the Representatives of the Vanguard of the Allied Army. " The undersigned, Commander-in-Chief of the Paraguayan division in opera- tion on the river Uruguay, has the honor to reply to the note which your Excel- lencies addressed to him on the 2d instant, proposing the basis of an arrangement. "Before entering upon the principal part of your Excellencies' note, I may be allowed to refute, with the decency and dignity of a soldier of honor, all those statements in said note which are injurious to the supreme government of the undersigned. With the permission of your Excellencies, such statements place that note on the same level as the newspapers of Buenos Aires, which for some years have done nothing else and have had no other object than grossly and severely to blacken the government of Paraguay, throwing out at the same time rude calumnies against the people, who have replied to them by honestly labor- ing for their domestic happiness, their greatest delight being in maintaining internal peace, which is the fundamental base of the preponderance of a nation. " As your Excellencies show so much zeal in giving the Paraguayan nation its liberty, according to your own expressions, why have you not begun by freeing the unhappy negroes of Brazil, who form the greater part of its population, and who groan under the hardest and most terrible slavery to enrich and keep in idleness a few hundreds of the grandees of the Empire ? Since when has a nation, which by its own spontaneous and free will elects the government which presides over its destinies, been called a nation of slaves ? Doubtless, since Brazil has under- taken the affairs of the river Plata, with the decided desire of subjugating and 84 PARAGUAY. to the staff of Lopez, and as being one of the most ready and willing to commit any barbarity or enforce without mercy any tyrannical order that his master might command. His fam- ily was of the lowest class in Asuncion, and he had no other stake in the country, and was altogether such a man as, hav- ing nothing to lose, would be open to propositions from any source. These brave words were not followed up by corresponding actions ; for no sooner were they written than he began to stipulate for terms to himself, in case that he would sur- render his whole army. But the allies, not knowing, or at least pretending not to know, what his ulterior purposes were, began to make active preparations for assaulting the place. They had four times the number of troops that he had, besides their gunboats ; they had also forty-two rifled cannon of longer range than those possessed by Estigarribia, so that they could enslaving the sister Republics of Paraguay, and perhaps even Paraguay itself, had it not counted on a patriotic and foreseeing government. " Your Excellencies will allow me these digressions, since you have provoked them by insulting the government of my fatherland in your note. " I am not of the same opinion with your Excellencies, that a military man of honor and a true patriot should limit himself to fight only when he has a proba- bility of conquering. " If your Excellencies open any History, you will learn, from the records of that great book of humanity, that the great captains whom the world still remembers with pride counted neither the number of their enemies nor the elements they disposed of, but conquered or died in the name of their country. Recollect that Leonidas, when he was keeping the Pass of Thermopylae with three hundred Spartans, would not listen to the propositions of the King of Persia; and when a soldier told him that his enemies were so numerous that their arrows darkened the sun, he answered, " So much the better, we will fight in the shade." Like the Spartan captain, I cannot listen to the propositions made by the enemy ; for I have been sent, with my companions, to fight in defence of the rights of Para- guay ; and as its soldier I must answer your Excellencies when you enumerate to me the number of your forces and the amount of artillery at your disposal, 4 So much the better ; the smoke of the cannon shall be our shade.' " If fortune should decree us a tomb in this city of Uruguayana, our fellow-citi- zens will preserve the remembrance of those Paraguayans who died fighting for the cause of their country, and who, while they lived, did not surrender to the enemy the sacred ensign of the liberty of their nation. 44 God preserve your Excellencies many years ! " ANTONIO ESTIGARRIBIA." TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. 85 knock down the town and destroy every Paraguayan in it with- out exposing themselves to any danger. It was a situation well calculated to display Brazilian courage in all its perfection, as no braver troops were ever known than they are when be- yond the reach of danger. But while the allies were getting ready to make this attack, the provisions in the camp of Esti- garribia were getting very low. The army had eaten up all the horned cattle, and had commenced upon the horses, and Esti- garribia saw that, unless he could escape from the trap into which he had fallen, he must either surrender, or else his troops must all perish either in battle or from hunger. He therefore sent another note to General Mitre, proposing to treat for terms. Mitre, however, seeing that he had him completely in his power, did not reply to his letter, reserving that task until he should be ready for a general assault, when his answer would be a summons to an unconditional surrender. This was done on the i8th of September, the whole allied army being in position for an attack. Mitre now sent a summons to Estigar- ribia to surrender within four hours. The latter replied, offer- ing to surrender on condition that the rank and file should be treated as prisoners of war ; that the officers should be allowed to keep their swords and go wherever they liked, even to Para- guay ; and that the Orientals in his army should be prisoners to Brazil. These terms were accepted, with the exception" that the officers were to give up their swords, and might reside wherever they pleased, except that they should not return to Paraguay. The formal surrender was then made, and the whole army, consisting of nearly six thousand men (some two thousand having died from disease or want, or been killed in the occasional skirmishes that had taken place), were marched out as prisoners of war. The treatment of these prisoners by the allies was not only a violation of all the laws of war, but was in every respect treacherous, dishonest, and disgraceful. They were drafted into the allied armies and compelled to fight against their own countrymen, brothers in arms. This act was not only a crime, but it was a great mistake. The Paraguayans, when 86 PARAGUAY. they left their country on this invading expedition, believed that they were going to fight an enemy who had come to make war upon their country and carry them away, to dis- tribute their women among the soldiers and carry off the men as slaves to Brazil ; and they had been trained to such implicit obedience, and were so thoroughly subject to the orders of their superiors, that with this fear before them they could be made to fight in a manner more desperate and fear- less than was ever known before. It was long after they had been taken prisoners before they became disabused of the idea that they were finally to be taken to Brazil as slaves, and that they were never to see their homes, their wives and children again, unless by deserting they could make their way back to their own country. Many of them did so desert, and found their way back to the camp of Lopez, where, for a while, they were received as true men, who had been betrayed into the hands of the enemy by their commander. As they had not been long enough in the Brazilian army to lose their hatred of the Brazilians, or to become disabused of the idea that they were going to be made slaves of, they were nearly L_all again drafted into the army. It is asserted that Estigarribia had, previous to his surren- der, made terms with the Brazilians, by which he was to receive a very large sum of money in case he would lay down his arms without forcing the allies to the extremity of a battle. It is certain that he was treated by the Brazilians with great consideration ; that he went to Rio de Janeiro, where he was treated with great distinction ; and that he had the means to support himself in a style such as he had never known before. His annual salary under Lopez had not been as much as were his daily expenses in Rio de Janeiro after his surrender. No one but Lopez could blame him for having surrendered as he did, for had he held out as did Duarte his army must have shared the fate of his subordi- nate. Yet Lopez had been well pleased with the battle of Yatai ; for he thought that, though the whole army had been destroyed, it would show the allies that the people ANGER OF LOPEZ. 87 whom they were to encounter were resolved to perish to the last man sooner than be conquered. Should Estigarribia imitate Duarte and his army, and make as good a report of himself as they did, then the allies would hesitate long before venturing to encounter another Paraguayan army. But when the news of Estigarribia's surrender reached him, he saw that he had not only lost his army, but that he had shown a great want of generalship by sending so large a force away from his base and leaving it to be cut off and captured, and he had lost all the moral advantages that had been gained by the army of Duarte. The news of this surrender, coming so soon after the defeat at Riachuelo, rendered Lopez for a time as savage and furious as he afterwards became in his general character. He had lost a great part of his fleet that was to have swept the river and brought the cities of Monte- video, Buenos Aires, Rosario, and Parana as supplicants to his feet ; and he had lost the whole army that he had intended should carry fire and sword through the Brazilian camp, and even bring the Emperor to sue for terms. His rage on this occasion has been described as having been very undignified for the chief magistrate of a nation. Gathering all his prin- cipal officers, he broke forth in curses and maledictions of Estigarribia as a traitor, a purchased knave, whose name and memory were deserving of universal execration. He then turned upon those present, and in terms of the most bitter invective told them that they were all traitors to a great ex- tent ; that none of them had his cause and his person so much at heart as they ought to have it ; that he should watch them more sharply than he had ever done before ; and that they might count that at the least defection, the least sign of diso- bedience or disinclination to carry out his orders to the fullest extent, they should feel his heavy hand upon them in such a way that they could never fear it a second time. The wrath of Lopez against Estagarribia was greatly aggra- vated by the fact that he had escaped from his power, and was then rioting on the rewards of his disobedience. He had not even the poor consolation of inflicting vicarious punish- 88 PARAGUAY. r ment on his family, for he had no family but a wife that he cared nothing about, and who was low and abandoned. Not- withstanding this, however, she both renounced and denounced him, and petitioned the government for leave to change her name, and not be longer known or called by one that her husband had made infamous. Having done this, she was allowed to remain at large, while the families of others who had deserted or proved recreant, if they had the misfortune to be respectable and possessed of property, were stripped of all they possessed and sent into exile in remote and desti- tute places of the interior. In regard to the treason of Robles, Lopez was for a long time in doubt. The whole Corrientes expedition had proved a miserable disastrous failure, and, as Estigarribia had escaped, Robles must suffer for the shortcomings of both. His fidelity was suspected, and yet nothing could be proved against him. This fact Lopez confessed more than a year after, under the following circumstances. The writer of this work had just returned from the camp of the allies, where he had several interviews with their commander-in-chief, the Marques de Caxias. On these occasions the Marques was very free in boast- ing of his great resources and of his ability to ride over and destroy the army of Lopez whenever be should choose to do so. He evidently wished all he said to be repeated to Lopez, with the object of convincing him that he was irretrievably lost. He boasted that he knew the position of every gun in Lopez's camp and the number of troops at each point, and directed his principal engineer, a Pole, who had been in the American war on the staff of General Grant, to give me a plan of Lopez's camp, with its defences and connections, so that on showing it to Lopez he would see that Caxias was not speaking at random. He also boasted that he found no diffi- culty in obtaining information from within the Paraguayan lines, and said that he had numerous spies and informers there. He stated that the disastrous attack on the island near Paso de la Patria had been all arranged previously by Mitre and the Paraguayan commander, Romero, by which the lat- PUBLIC INDIGNATION. 89 ter was to be taken prisoner and all his command also taken or killed. He declared that if Robles had not been arrested for two or three days longer, he and his whole army would have been taken at as cheap a rate as had previously that of Estigarribia. It struck me at the time as very singular that the commander-in -chief of an army should speak thus openly and boastingly of the means he employed to corrupt his enemies and induce them to turn traitors. There was, however, probably, an object in it. He did not affect to tell me anything in confidence, but, on the contrary, said that I might tell Lopez everything; his object as I sup- posed being to impress upon him that his cause was lost, and he had better give up the contest without further bloodshed. When I related to Lopez what Caxias had said of the treachery of Robles, I had no suspicion that he had exe- cuted him while in doubt of his guilt. But in his reply he admitted that such was the fact. He said he was greatly re- lieved and gratified by what I had told him, as it was the first information of a positive character he had ever received that Robles was a traitor. Caxias had, however, denied that Esli- garribia was a traitor. He said that he had only surrendered under such circumstances as would have justified any military man in surrendering, and that it would have been folly, mad- ness, and crime for him to have resisted against odds so over- whelming ; that his army must have been entirely destroyed in case it had not capitulated. Lopez still refused to admit that Estigarribia was not a traitor equally guilty and base with Robles. It was his idea that it was the duty of every soldier of his army to fight with all his men until every one was killed rather than to surrender, for by doing this they could inflict injury on the allies, and thereby help his cause; and so that his cause was aided, Lopez did not consider that a general or soldier had any right whatever to consider his own life or that of his fellow-soldiers as worthy of a thought. The news of the surrender of Estigarribia, when it reached Asuncion, caused great dismay, and public meetings were held to denounce his treachery and cowardice. But while go PARAGUAY. the escaped traitor was denounced and stigmatized by every possible epithet that could be found either in Spanish or Gua- rani, those who reviled him felt it incumbent upon them, or at least prudent, to praise the great strategy of Lopez, who had sent him on the expedition with a large army that must inevitably be lost if his orders were obeyed. In the Seina- iiario he was likened to as many of the heroes of ancient times as the editors had ever heard of; and when the Ameri- can, Mr. Bliss, suggested that the name of Cincinnatus should be added to the others, it was done, though probably not one of the readers, Paraguayans, had ever heard of Cincinnatus, and, if they had, would certainly have found it difficult to trace the similarity between him and Lopez. After these two great disasters, Lopez saw that he could no longer maintain an aggressive war on foreign territory. If he would not have his whole forces destroyed, he must re- call them within the limits of Paraguay and then fight on the defensive. He accordingly ordered the evacuation of Corri- entes, and withdrew his troops. They had during the time of occupation descended along the banks of the river as far as the important town of Goya, which, with Bella Vista, Empedrado, and other places of less note, they had sacked, and had taken away everything that they could carry which would be of use to them in their own country. The chief wealth of the province of Corrientes, however, was the cattle ; and General Barrios, who was in command after the arrest of Robles, deployed his army into a long line from the river, and, marching to the north, swept before him all the cattle and horses that could be found until they came to the Parana, where they were fer- ried over in steamers and lighters to the Paraguayan shore. While this was going on the Brazilian squadron was lying idle in the river, and doing nothing to prevent the Paraguayans from recrossing and taking all their plunder with them. The Paraguayan steamers that had not been destroyed in the battle of Riachuelo were actively employed in running up and down the river, and carrying away their artillery and the spoils which they had taken from the Correntino towns. As soon THE FEAR OF MASKED BATTERIES. 91 as they had completed this work, and had evacuated first one town and then another, the Brazilian fleet followed on after them. They were careful not to pursue the game while the tracks were too fresh. On the day that the Paraguayan army began to cross the river from Paso de la Patria to Itapiru, five Brazilian steam- ers came in sight of the place, and saw what was going on. The Paraguayans had two steamers to transport the entire army, and, had the Brazilians moved higher up the river, they could easily have destroyed them, and completely cut off the retreat of the Paraguayans ; but when they saw what the Paraguayans were doing, instead of attacking them they turned about and ran away. The allied army was coming up by land in number vastly exceeding that of the Paraguayans on the left bank of the river, and the Brazilians had it in their power to cut off their retreat, so that they must all have fallen into the hands of their enemies ; but the Brazilians, who, throughout the war, seemed to think that all the science and strategy in war was expressed in the proverb of a golden bridge for a flying enemy, did not think it expedient to destroy the only means of escape for the Paraguayans. Afterwards, when this fatal blunder was known and criticised, it was alleged that there was not sufficient depth of water for their vessels. That, however, was not the true reason. The river was at that time high enough for vessels drawing much more water than did any of this squadron. Another reason alleged, and the true one, was they did not know but that the Paraguay- ans had masked batteries which might injure their vessels. It was the imaginary masked battery of the Paraguayans that almost invariably prevented the Brazilians from follow- ing up a victory which they had gained. They chose rather to bear the ills of a longer war and other campaigns than the others that they knew not of in the form of possible masked batteries. It was not till about the ist of November, 1865, that the Paraguayans had all returned from the invasion of Corrientes. The campaign had been a disastrous one to the cause of 92 PARAGUAY. Lopez. Since it commenced he had lost the better part of his squadron and nearly twenty thousand men, and all he had got in return was the spoils taken from the towns he had sacked, and the cattle, more than a hundred thousand in number, which he had collected and taken across the river. These cattle were of little use to him, as, rinding a poison- ous plant in Paraguay to which they were unused, and which they ate, the greater part of them died in and about the Paraguayan camp, creating a state of the atmosphere so tainted as to seriously injure the health of the troops. In fact, it may be doubted whether it would not have been bet- ter for Lopez had every one of the cattle which had been col- lected in Corrientes been drowned in attempting to cross the river. CHAPTER VII. A new Palace commenced. Colonel Francisco Fernandez. Lopez disap- pointed in his Efforts to form a Royal Alliance. Madam Lynch. Colonel Wisner. Character of Lopez. Public Amusements. Balls. Peinetas de oro. Jewelry. Sortija. Bull-Fights Their Influence upon the People. Celebrating the Anniversary of the President's Birthday. : A Step towards Imperialism. Changes in Matters of Etiquette and Deportment. The Clothes Question. General Illumination. Triumphal Arches. Mottoes. Fulsome Praises of Lopez. Demonstration by the Ladies. Magnificent Dis- plays. Reception of the President. Patriotic Speeches. The President's Reply. Government Officials present. Their Subsequent Fate. WHILE Lopez was indulging in the pleasing dream that he would have an imperial bride to share his throne, he began to build a palace, intending it to be fit for a princess. He selected as a site for this noble structure a point of land between the old Palace, or Government House, and the arsenal, overlooking the river and commanding a view to the west, north, and east. Part of the ground was unoccupied, and the rest was covered with the shanties and hovels of poor people, who knew better than to complain at being driven off. Its foundation was of limestone, and the work was massive and substantial. The basement fronting the river was intended to serve as a stable, and was as full of dark rooms, winding passages, and stairways, as any old feudal castle. It had a frontage of, if I recollect aright, two hundred feet, with a deep L running back at each end, leaving an open space for a court between them. Above the basement it was built of brick and covered with stucco, so that it had the appearance of stone at a little distance. The architect and builder were both Englishmen, and the work was done in a most substantial manner, and the general appearance of the building as seen at a distance was grand and palatial. The adjoining build- 94 PARAGUAY. ings being all small and inferior, they served to set off this massive pile in striking relief. The labor on this palace was nearly all done by boys from nine to twelve years of age. The stone had been quarried at a place called Empedrado, some ten leagues above Asuncion, and near the bank of the river. It was a sort of stone easily worked, and the young lads did all the labor of drilling, pick- ing, and trimming it. To lift the large blocks, or to fix them in position, of course required the assistance of strong men ; but the able-bodied men were nearly all conscripted for the army, and the master-builder, Mr. Alonzo Taylor, was obliged to de- pend on boys to do everything that they had the strength to perform. It was a sad sight to see the little fellows made pre- maturely old by the labor to which they were condemned. They were constantly watched that they should never idle away a moment ; and in passing through the grounds where they wrought they appeared like worn-out slaves, in whom all hope was so utterly extinguished that they never looked up or ceased a moment from their labor. They had a starved and hungry look, for besides being so severely worked they were scantily fed. The poor little wretches were allowed only six or eight cents a day with which to buy their food. A bit of mandioca, or maiz chipa, not half so much as nature required, was all they could procure with this scanty pittance. The lads had been picked up with as little regard to the feel- ings, either of themselves or their parents, as has the slave- trader on the coast of Africa for the mother whose children he steals. They were taken from their homes and set to work as slaves, and continued at it till they were sent to the army to be there sacrificed. The superintendence of this building was given to Colonel Francisco Fernandez, who was the general agent and confiden- tial business man of Lopez in all his private affairs. He was, of all Lopez's officers and subordinates, the best liked by the foreigners. He was believed to have more of the confidence of his master than any other man in the country, and would take on himself the responsibility of granting favors or giving MADAM LYNCH AND COLONEL WISNER. 95 orders on unimportant matters that would have cost others imprisonment and fetters, if not their lives. His was the task of keeping these boys at work, and such was his fidel- ity to his chief that he did not spare them. And he had his reward. He was tortured and shot. His wife and children were driven destitute into the wilderness, and where are they ? The work on the palace had not progressed far before the President's illusion of a royal alliance vanished into air. When this hope was gone, he seemed to surrender to the counsels of his Irish mistress, Madam Lynch. Her hopes and plans, that had long been held subordinate to the ambition of her para- mour, now had a prospect of being realized. She purchased the houses and lots on a square adjoining the new palace, and openly talked of her purpose of building another, of almost equal magnificence, for herself. Her most trusted adviser was | an old Hungarian refugee by the name of Wisner. Many years before, this man, for certain reasons, had left his own country and emigrated to Brazil. From there he passed over into Paraguay and took service under the elder Lopez as a sort of civil engineer and architect. He was said to be of noble family, and he certainly was a man of most courtly man- ners and of considerable attainments. At this time he was nearly sixty-five years of age, and played the courtier to Madam Lynch by agreeing with her in all her ambitious schemes, and seconding her efforts to influence the mind of Lopez. They both clearly saw and realized equally with Lopez, that for him to declare Paraguay an empire before something had been done to make the world know there was such a country would be absurd and ludicrous. Wisner then began to argue, not only with Lopez, but with every one, that war was a necessity to bring out Paraguay ; that she would never be respected abroad, or have any standing as a nation, till she had demon- strated her capacity to defend her rights and chastise her enemies. Unfortunately for Lopez, though he had many flatterers, he had no advisers. At a very early period of his life he had 96 PARAGUAY. been placed in authority over all who were about him, and these had soon learned that the way to favor and preferment was through adulation and flattery. Hence all flattered till he came to regard any one who might venture to express an opinion different from his own as an enemy ; and when the question of war was discussed, those around him who had most of his confidence could never express a doubt as to what the issue might be without incurring his severest displeasure. Their own safety required that they should tell him he was invincible, and had only to lead his legions to battle and he would scatter his enemies like chaff before the wind ; that they and the whole Paraguayan people so loved, honored, and revered him, they would all spring to arms at the first call, and deem it an honor too great for so unworthy sub- jects as themselves to sacrifice their lives and fortunes in following his banners. This was what he heard in private conversation ; and the same ideas, with numberless changes, were the sum and substance of all the speeches pronounced in the public meetings. Every man of any influence or re- spectability was expected to join in and swell the chorus of praises ; and if any one from inadvertence failed to do so, he was sure to get a reminder that his want of patriotism had greatly surprised his Excellency. A hint of this kind was never repeated. Anything like lukewarmness after that was sure to be punished by arrest, imprisonment, and fetters. Previous to the war such warnings were confined to Para- guayans ; but subsequently nearly all the foreigners, before they were accused of the conspiracy for which they were exe- cuted, received notice that they did not, on public occasions, evince sufficient devotion to the cause of the government that protected them. All history shows that it is not in human nature for a person to be constantly told that he is the greatest, wisest, and bra- vest of all mankind without in time coming to believe it. Such was the youthful experience of Lopez. While yet a boy he was placed in authority over people who had grown up under such a reign of cruel terror that they never questioned the PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. 97 wisdom or the justice of any act emanating from the govern- ment. He was addressed by all, young as he was, in terms of obsequious obedience ; and it is, perhaps, not strange that in time he should regard their constant praises as his due, and himself as meriting all the attentions he received. To be constantly flattered became a necessity to him, and he came to look upon any one who failed to minister to his unnatural appetite for flattery, not only as an enemy to himself, but an enemy to the country that had all its hopes and glories cen- tred in his person. Considerations of this kind may indeed to some extent account for the strange perversity of his character in after life. Had he been so circumstanced in his youth as to have been brought in contact with others of his own age on terms of equality, he must have learned that, while he was superior in natural gifts to some and inferior to others, he was liable to err, and needed, like all men, to be assisted by the experience and counsels of others. Left, however, to the indulgence of a disposition naturally cruel, with no one to check or censure him, but encouraged by those around him to believe that all he did must be right, he developed into an unnatural character, in which all the evil passions known to the human race had full sway, entirely unrestrained by any sentiment of pity for human misery or respect for human life ; and even became insensible to the ties of consanguinity. As a matter of policy it was always the custom of the first Lopez to render the people oblivious of their slavery and degradation by encouraging them to indulge in public amuse- ments. Under Francia's reign, popular assemblages of all kinds were forbidden ; and when this restriction was removed by his successor, they thought it a great privilege, even under the closest surveillance of the police, to be permitted to meet, to dance, to race their horses, to tilt at the sortija, and to have public feasts and bull-fights. Several balls were accordingly given every year by authority of the government, to which only the better class of people were invited. Others of a more democratic character were given, generally in the open VOL. ir. 7 98 PARAGUAY. air, in which all could participate. The occasions for these festivities were usually the anniversaries of the birthday of the President, the day of the patron saint of the capital, Asuncion, of the independence of the state, or of some other important event in the nation's history. At all times of the year music was kept up at or near the barracks for several hours in the day. This custom existed in the time of the first Lopez. At three o'clock in the morn- ing during the summer months, and four in the winter, the band would commence to play, and would keep it up for four or five hours without intermission. Towards evening the musicians were compelled to practise as many hours more. The band at the capital was very large, and the music was uniformly excellent, but the duties required of the performers on wind instruments were so severe that a great many young men were completely ruined in health by it. There was al- ways music for any kind of a jubilee, whether it were a ball at the Club, a promenade through the streets, a serenade to Lopez or Madam Lynch, or a dance in the open air by the pdnetas de oro. The class of women called /fzV/f/to de oro, or golden combs, were of the poorer class, whose wealth consisted to a great ex- tent in their jewelry. These women were not of the poorest class, but usually had some means of subsistence independent of menial labor, the most of them holding illicit relations with men who were engaged in business in the employ of the gov- ernment. They constituted a very large part of the female community of Asuncion, and were less depraved and aban- doned than women holding such relations usually are in other countries. Among their other jewels they have large old- fashioned shell combs richly mounted with fine gold elabo- rately worked into borders and flowers. Sometimes as much as three or four ounces of pure gold are worked up in the setting of one of these peinetas de oro. They were not, however, worn by the ladies of the higher class, and were never seen in the balls or other assemblages where the forms and customs of other countries were observed. This class frequently had BALLS IN THE OPEN AIR. 99 dances or, as they were called, tertulias at their own houses ; but in the times of rejoicing, as on national holidays, their performances were in the open air. In the later days of the Republic, balls for all classes were frequently given in the plaza in front of the Government House. On these occasions three distinct apartments would be fitted up for as many grades of people. The first would have seats around it and carpets covering the ground. In this apartment might be found the Vice-President, the Cabinet ministers, the Mayor of the Plaza and Chief of Police, and, of course, the better class of citizens with their wives and daughters. Besides these were the dif- ferent mistresses of Lopez and his brothers. Next adjoin- ing this apartment was another very like it, except that there were no carpets. This was for the peinetas de oro, such soldiers as had risen above the rank of a private, and artisans and others not of the class of peons. In this division, though DE ORO. From a Photograph. TOO PARAGUAY. there were few of the female dancers that had not jewelry worth from three or four ounces to as many hundreds of dol- lars, yet the feet of every one were, and always had been, innocent of shoes. Men and women alike were barefoot. The next division was allotted to the poorest class, to women who earned their subsistence by carrying water, by keeping little stands in the market, by domestic service, or in any way with little regard to decency or morality. The men that shared the dance with them were common soldiers, peons, or slaves. The three orders, however, all danced to the same music. The invitations to all were given by the police, and from them an invitation was an order. On one occasion our friends from Limpio, Anita and Conchita Casal, being in town, From a Photograph. went to view as spectators one of these out-door balls of the capital. They stood for some minutes at a distance, watch- BULL-FIGHTS. IOI ing the scene, and hoping to escape observation. But the quick eye of a policeman observed them, and he asked them to enter the arena and join the dancers. They replied that they had not come to dance, but only to look on. " Go in and dance," said the patrol sternly, " or you go to the calaboose." This invitation was too strong to be resisted, and they went in, and with fear and trembling danced away till, seeing an opportunity to withdraw unobserved, they hied away like frightened deer. Riding at the ring, or sortija, is an old Spanish amusement, and is practised in all parts of South America. Two upright posts are fixed in the ground about ten feet apart, with a cross- bar at the top some twelve feet from the ground. From this cross-bar a small ring of trifling value is loosely suspended, to become the property of him who, riding his horse at full gal- lop beneath it, shall carry it off on the point of his sword. There was always a band of music in attendance, that struck up a triumphant air when the feat was accomplished. The festivities of all kinds were given on a more extensive and more expensive scale after the accession of the younger Lopez to power than they had ever been before. On the anniversary of his birthday next succeeding his election as President, the balls, bull-fights and races were kept up for a month. Just in the rear of the old palace, or cabildo, where had once been the channel of the river, but was now a broad level space, a circus, some sixty yards across, was built, with galleries some six feet from the ground running all around it, and commanding a view of the arena, which were divided into compartments, some of which were covered with cotton cloth to keep out the sun. A few of them were fitted up with cur- tains of bright and striking colors for the use of Lopez, his mistresses, his Cabinet ministers, officers and their families. The people seemed to enjoy these exhibitions and pastimes ex- ceedingly, and turned out in vast numbers to witness them. As bull-fights, however, they were but burlesques on that barbarous amusement. The bulls, generally, were not bulls at all, but oxen, and so tame that they could hardly be provoked to rush 102 PARAGUAY. at the picador, or resent with any spirit his pricks and jibes. The multitude, however, enjoyed the sport of seeing the poor animals stabbed or goaded till some one of the matadorcs, more bold than the rest, would manage to plant his dagger in the neck just back of the horns, when the poor brute would fall quivering to the earth. At this feat a shout would go up from the crowd, the entrance-way would be opened, and a man with a lasso would ride in and drag out the helpless beast, to be skinned and dressed, and his flesh given as food for the sol- diers. Had it been the object of Lopez to brutalize his peo- ple, and to render them the willing instruments of the cruel acts that marked his subsequent career, he could have devised nothing to accomplish his object more effective than this. Neither courage nor agility were required in the arena when such tame cattle were to be tortured, and it would seem that there could be no object in such displays but-to accustom peo- ple, young and old, male and female, to take delight in wit- nessing the infliction of pain. The first of the balls given this year (1863), on the anni- versary of the President's birthday, was held in the old Gov- ernment House. This, as was customary, was given in the name of the officers of the army and navy. Though given in their name, it was at the government expense, as, with two or three exceptions, not one of the officers of high grade in the country could have raised fifty dollars without pawning his clothes. They had scarcely any salary, and being almost all of them taken from the lowest class, they had no fortune of their own. Their uniforms were furnished by the state, and were rich and elegant. For them to have given the ball and banquet on this occasion would have taken all their salaries for at least a year. But the great ball of the season was to be in the Club. A step towards imperialism was to be publicly made on that occasion. The dancing-hall was refitted and refurnished, and at the upper end, where the President and his ministers were accustomed to sit, a raised semicircular plat- form was erected. This platform was about twenty feet across, and had an elevation of about a foot from the floor. Upon ABJECT OBSERVANCES. IC> 3 this was placed another of about two yards across, and raised above the main platform some ten or twelve inches, and on this was a large arm-chair gorgeously trimmed with damask and gold as a seat for the President in esse and the Emperor in posse. At each hand, on the lower platform, stood two other arm-chairs, less richly decorated, for the Vice-Presideht and the Cabinet ministers. Above, and directly over the head of the President of the Republic, was a semicircular frame, corresponding in size with the smaller platform below, faced with purple velvet about fifteen inches wide and with deep rich fringe pendent from it. Heavy damask curtains were draped so as to fall in the rear of the ministerial chairs, while wrought in gold in the broad velvet facing of the canopy overhead were the letters F. S. L. About this time the word had been passed to certain officials that no one was ever to sit in the presence of his Excellency when he was himself standing. A hint to that effect from an officer in uniform was sufficient to insure obedience among Paraguayans ; but no official order was given to that effect, and the foreigners were not advised that for the future any such marks of homage would be required. They were left to be instructed when they should commit a breach of the new rule. Some Englishmen who had long been in the country were the first to offend. Never having been accustomed to observe, on previous occasions, whether the President was standing or sitting, they seated themselves in the lower part of the hall, not observing that the President was standing on the first step of the platform in front of the throne. They were quietly informed that it was not permitted to sit while his Excel- lency was standing, and before the next ball was given it was known among all the foreigners that respect for the President demanded they should never sit in his presence unless he was also sitting. Other signs of an intention to demand more abject obsequiousness than had before prevailed were also to be observed. Whenever the President was in sight, everybody was expected to be uncovered. The guard in attendance upon him was increased, and more formality in approaching 104 PARAGUAY. him was observed. Even then I saw that these changes in matters of etiquette and deportment were but preliminary to a change in the form of government, and I took pains to show my disapprobation of them by openly disregarding them. It may not have been diplomatic, and certainly was not courtier- like, but I took a sort of malicious pleasure, when everybody else in the room was standing, to sit in a conspicuous place, indifferent whether the President were standing or not. These offences were laid up against me, to be brought up years after- wards. Another change in the etiquette of the court was intro- duced about the same time with the prohibition to sit while his Excellency was standing. At the balls, which the Presi- dent honored by his presence, I observed that the dancers, in making up their sets for quadrilles, " lancers," or other square dances, formed them diagonally across the hall instead of in figures corresponding to the form of the room, as had always previously been the custom. When I asked, in my innocence and ignorance of imperial etiquette, what was the meaning of this innovation, I was told, in a whisper, that it was not proper for any one to turn his back on the President. Hence the figures were so formed that, when his Excellency was seated on the throne or standing in front of it, no one would be forced to the indecorum of standing with his back towards him. These changes, that were understood by all to be but initial steps towards the empire, were made before the war com- menced and while yet Lopez was at the capital. Two years later, on my return from the United States, I found that, under the direction of his mistress, the people were subjected to still more degrading observances. As Lopez could not be present at the public balls, a large picture of him was always placed in front of the throne, to which the same respect must be shown as to the great Lopez in person. The quad- rilles must still be formed diagonally, as it was disrespectful for any one to turn his back on the picture of his Excellency. Whenever I saw this picture thus displayed as an object of reverence, if not of worship, I could not but think of Gesler THE GREAT CLOTHES QUESTION. 105 and William Tell. But the spirit of the Paraguayan people was so completely broken, that there remained no hope to them that a deliverance from their degradation could ever come from themselves. The great ball of the 24th of July, the President's birthday, when the new throne was to be inaugurated, was announced as to be given by the citizens of Asuncion. It was intended to be the grandest affair of the kind ever known in Paraguay. It was destined, however, to be a dismal failure, and I fear that I was, unwittingly, the cause of it. To the court or official balls in Paraguay nothing in the way of a uniform or court dress had ever been required for admission. It had, however, always been the custom of the agents of foreign governments, diplomatic and consular, to attend in uniform. The invita- tions generally expressed on their face the object or occasion of the assemblage, and if it were to be a formal, official affair, to be attended by the President and his Cabinet, then people who had uniforms were expected to wear them. On this occa- sion, however, the ball was given by the citizens to testify their joy at the return of his Excellency's birthday. I therefore told my colleague (I had but one), the Oriental Minister, and the different consuls, that as I had received no notice that the ball was to be of an official character, and attended by the Presi- dent or his Cabinet, I should assume the contrary, and go in citizen's dress. They all followed my example, though reluc- tantly, as from common report they all knew, and I knew, that it was intended to be not only official, but gorgeous and magnificent, and that his Excellency was to occupy the new throne for the first time. We accordingly all went in a body in plain evening dress. We arrived a little late, and not till after the President, having been seated on the throne for a while, had risen and was standing in front of it. Making our way through the densely packed company, we approached to make our bows, express our felicitations, and fall back to join in the dance or converse with the scnoritas. As we ap- proached, we could see that a scowl was on his face and that he was in a towering passion. To our salute he re- 106 PARAGUAY. turned but a grudging nod. The ball, which to that moment had been as lively and cheerful as usual when he was present, instantly became as sombre and chilling as a funeral. The dancers moved about in a manner as measured and solemn as though they expected the company was to be decimated for execution before morning. Our coming as we did had cast a shadow on the whole affair. The lack of a few brass buttons had ruined the ball. There was no mirth or hilarity after our arrival. The President left early, for his wrath was not modi- fied, though some of the offenders sought to draw him into conversation ; but he would not be comforted. He had been touched in a tender point in his first open step towards mon- archy, and he had no remedy. The parties who had offended him were not amenable to his power. After his Excellency had withdrawn, and the guests had partaken of the elegant banquet that had been prepared, they withdrew to their homes, anxiously expecting the developments of the next day. But the next day brought nothing new. On reflection, the Presi- dent doubtless saw that he had made a silly and foolish ex- hibition of ill-temper, and thought the less said about the whole affair the more it would be to his credit. A few nights afterwards another ball was given under sim- ilar circumstances. But, having been so rudely treated at the last one, we now determined to stand for our rights, and go in the same costume as when we had offended so grievously. On this occasion the President was as bland and courteous as I had ever seen him, and I took occasion to ask his Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jose Berges, why we of the consular and diplomatic bodies were not advised beforehand whether or not the various festivals to which we were invited were to be of an official character and attended by the President and his Cabinet. Such an important question as that he could not answer without orders, and therefore he deferred his reply till the next day, when he sent me a formal and verbose note in which, after a great deal of circumlocution, he said that in reply to my question of the previous evening he was happy to inform me that for the future he would advise me, on appli- THE GREAT CLOTHES QUESTION. 107 cation, whether or not any festival which I might be inclined to attend were to be of a formal and official character, and honored by the presence of his Excellency the President, and thus relieve me of any doubt whether I should go in uniform or not. To this I replied in substance, that it was not my business to go to him to inquire what clothes I should wear, but that it was his business, in sending out invitations, to advise their recipients of the character of the entertainment, and if that were done, I was disposed, in lesser things as well as in those of more importance, to conform to the usages and customs of the country whenever I could do so with propriety and self-respect. The reply to this was, that in future the Department of Foreign Affairs would advise the deans of the diplomatic and consular bodies whenever any festival, to which they might be invited, was to be of an official character and attended by the President and his ministers. The clothes question, which has given rise to so much discus- sion between American ministers and the courts to which they have been accredited, was thus disposed of for the time in Paraguay. Lopez, however, was greatly ashamed of the whole affair. In this case he admitted himself in the wrong ; the only time, probably, he ever did so in his life. He even went so far as to give another ball some time after, and to send notice to me and to the dean of the consuls that it was not to be an official affair, but that he should himself attend, though not in full uniform, and his ministers who were not military men would go in citizen's dress. He was greatly afraid that his boorishness at the first ball would be complained of by other governments. It was always his particular ambition to be thought a very pattern of deportment, and as far as possi- ble removed from the rude manners of the gaucho or of his own Indian ancestors ; and when, some months after, he learned that the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, M. Drouyn de Lhuys, had absolutely refused to grant an interview to his Charge" d* Affaires in Paris, Don Candido Bareiro, he was for a time greatly concerned lest the reason of it should be alleged to be his own rude treatment of the French consul 108 PARAGUAY. and other representatives of foreign governments. The French consul, however, when questioned on the matter by Minister Berges, replied that he had thought so little of the affair at the time of its occurrence that he had never alluded to it in his despatches to his government. On the occasion of the next birthday of the President, the festivities were continued so long that a stranger would have supposed that balls and bull-fights, races, and tilting at the sortija, were the employments to which the people devoted themselves. The joyful demonstrations commenced with a grand ball given at the new railroad station, in which a large dancing-hall had been magnificently fitted up, and they were continued in one form or another from the 24th of July till the loth of September. As many balls were given at the Club as there were different occupations of people. The citi- zens of Asuncion gave one, the members of the Cabinet an- other, the officers of the army another, and the officers of the navy still another. The merchants of the capital gave one,-/ the foreign employees of the government gave one, and the judges another. It was expected that the same people would attend each of these, as whoever was eligible to one was eligi- ble to them all. As a banquet was given at each of these balls, several days must intervene between them, and the in- tervening nights were given up to the peinetas de oro and the water-carriers. Night after night a great multitude was col- lected in the Plaza del Gobierno ; and whether tired, or hun- gry, or sick, they must join in the dance and keep it up at least till the small hours of the morning. They must rejoice, they must dance and sing and shout, for they were celebrating the birthday of the great Lopez. One peculiar feature of these festivities in honor of the President's birthday was the general illumination of the prin- cipal squares of the city. For several days before they com- menced, a large force was set at work to decorate the city. Triumphal arches were erected in different places. These were of light framework, and covered with white cotton cloth; on which were displayed in large letters a great number of A MONOPOLY OF HONORS. IO g sentiments, all eulogistic of the great Lopez. The Club also was adorned with similar texts and mottoes, and paper lan- terns by the hundred were placed along the street, each one of which had on it a sentence laudatory of the great hero. The ingenuity of the people in framing so many expressions on the same barren subject was wonderful. All the great and n good qualities they had ever heard applied to any and every- body else were blazoned on arch or wall or transparency. Lopez, the great man, the unequalled warrior, the father of his people, the defender of his country, the great pacificator, the promoter of national progress, the champion of independence, the guardian of liberty, the dauntless hero, and every other form of flattery and adulation, were paraded in the streets through which his Excellency was to pass. But no word of J honor or approval was ever permitted to any other living per- son. Occasionally there would be an allusion to the services of Don Carlos Antonio Lopez, but never was the name of any of his officers, no matter how great their services and sacri- fices, allowed to appear in his newspaper or in any public place. So long as they lived he was jealous of them, but when killed in battle he had nothing more to fear from them, and he would order them great funerals, at which all who were able to do so were required to pronounce funeral orations, in which the dead were to be praised and honored for having fallen in sus- taining the banners of the great, the daring, the matchless Lopez. After every grade and class of people in Asuncion had shown their loyalty and devotion to Lopez by balls, games, and festivals of various kinds, it was announced that the ladies of the capital were anxious to manifest their patriotism and celebrate the birthday of the President. This was but the precursor of many other testimonials given by the ladies of the country to Lopez. They were all managed in the same way. Madam Lynch would first suggest to the wives of two or three foreigners who were trembling for their lives that such a demonstration would probably be acceptable to his Excellency, and the poor women would at once take the hint 1 10 PARAGUAY. that they must take the initiative in the matter or evil would befall them. They would accordingly go around and notify others that they were expected to take part and contribute to the expense. None would dare refuse, and hence such a demonstration was no sooner proposed than its success was certain. On this occasion the hall of the Club was decorated with unusual magnificence, and the street from the President's house to the Club was a perfect blaze of light. A magnificent arch covered with mottoes expressive of the genius and merits of Lopez was erected between them, and the way on each side was lined with transparencies all testifying to his great- ness. The hall was closely packed with the younger people of the best families in the country, and the young ladies were more severely taxed than they had ever been before, that their toilets might correspond with the general magnificence of the occasion. At this time there chanced to be an unusual num- ber of strangers in Asuncion, including as many as four min- isters and five or six consuls, more of both than at any time before or since. The approach of his Excellency was her- alded by the firing of rockets, and a brilliant display of fire- works in the Plaza; and as he entered the hall, accompanied by his ministers, a passage-way was made for him, good care being taken that it should be lined on both sides with the most beautiful young ladies in the room. Bowing his way to the upper end of the hall, he stopped when he reached the foot of the throne, and facing the crowd, a chorus of female singers commenced singing an ode in his praise. When this was concluded, one of the young ladies stepped forward bearing a crown of laurel in her hand, and pronounced a discourse eulo- gizing Lopez as the greatest, the bravest, and best of man- kind. She was succeeded by about a dozen others, each of whom delivered the little speech that had been prepared for her, and which had beforehand been approved by Lopez. Among the young ladies thus privileged were two or three of his cast-off mistresses. When all had concluded their discourses, Lopez replied to them, expressing his surprise and gratification at TESTIMONIAL FROM THE LADIES. j i i such demonstrations of patriotism and loyalty. But he did not take it as at all personal to himself. No ; he accepted it as proof that the ladies of Paraguay would sustain him in main- taining the independence, the honor, and the dignity of the country, and that thus encouraged he would go on in the task imposed upon him by the office that the people had con- ferred upon him. Among the crowd in attendance on this occasion were several whose nearest and dearest relatives were at that very moment in prison ; and I well recollect the sad face of a lady who was one of the chorus, as, with a breaking heart, she repressed her tears and forced her tongue to swell the strains in praise of Lopez. Poor woman ! Her husband for some cause known only to Lopez had been thrown into prison a few weeks before and loaded with fetters, from which he had been freed by death but two days before ; but she must never- theless attend, and join in the chant glorifying the murderer of her husband. The speeches and singing were followed by dancing, and on this occasion, for the first and only time, Lopez took part in a quadrille. For the first dance the ladies were to choose their partners, each one being before advised whom she was to select. Of course no one could be found sufficiently ele- vated in character, position, and family to select the President, except his own sister. He was therefore selected for a part- ner by Dona Inocencia, the wife of General Barrios, while such other ladies as were supposed to approach more nearly to her lofty station were detailed to dance with the members of the Cabinet and the ministers of other countries. Madam Lynch was not permitted to enter the royal set. Until some time after this she was obliged to keep in the background on public occasions ; and though present at this ball, Lopez did not venture to insult the foreign guests by bringing her face to face with them in so public a manner. Besides the foreigners, the first set was composed of Lopez and his Vice- President, Sanchez ; his Minister for Foreign Affairs, Berges ; his Minister of Government, Gonzales ; and his brother Ve- ! i 2 PARAGUAY. nancio, then Minister of War and Marine. Berges and Gon-. zales were old men at that time. But they were to die, as well as was Don Venancio, an ignominious and horrible death at the hands of Lopez ; and of all the females who participated in the festivities of that night, there is not probably now, six years later, one in twenty yet alive. Many were flogged and executed, others expired under torture or from drudgery and starvation in the camp, and many died of exposure, hard- ship, and privation in the mountains to which they had been driven by the same remorseless despot who had forced them to chant his praises and crown him with laurel while yet they had homes and a hope of deliverance from his terrible power. CHAPTER VIII. Discussion with Lopez. Return from the United States. Rear-Admiral S. W. Godon. First Visit to General Mitre. A Repulse from Admiral Ta- mandare Mitre's Subterfuges. A Perplexing Dilemma. The Allies in- vade Paraguay. The Brazilian Special Envoy. His Attempts at Bribery. Protest against further Delay. Instructions from Washington. IN my last interview with President Lopez previous to my( return to the United States, I argued with him to the best of my ability that it was his true policy to allow the officers and crew of the Marques de Olinda, and the new President of Matto Grosso, Carneiro de Campos, to leave the country. I endeavored* to convince him that by so doing the questions at issue between him and Brazil would be much more easy of adjustment. The seizure of the vessel would not provoke either the government or the people of Brazil to put forth the same energies in a war as would the detention of his Majes- ty's subjects. If the two nations were already at war, as Lopez said they were, it was not good policy for him to do any acts that should tend to unite the whole Brazilian people against him. He did not seem inclined to listen to these sug- gestions, and said the war was to be but a brief campaign, and would be all over before I should be back from the United States. I was anxious, not only that these unfortunate peo- ple should be allowed to depart, but that some mode of ad- justment might be left open so that the war should not as- sume that character which I even then foresaw it must unless Lopez would show some respect to the laws of nations. Hav- ing seized them in a manner so barbarous and in such utter defiance of the laws of nations, it was plain that Brazil could not, without incurring the contempt of the whole civilized 114 PARAGUAY. 9 world, treat with him as the head of a civilized nation, and that, cruel despot as he was, he would sacrifice the life of . every Paraguayan sooner than relinquish his own power. But we did not agree, as he felt confident that Brazil would be glad to offer terms to him as soon as he should be willing to listen to them. Accordingly I took my departure for the / United States on the i6th of January, 1865 ; and it was my expectation, if I should return at all, to be back there in the course of seven or eight months. I did not, however, leave New York till the 6th of September of the same year, and in the ordinary way of travel I should have reached Asuncion about the middle of November. But a series of delays and annoyances occurred that were persisted in by the allies so long that it was not till a year later I again set foot in Para- guay. The history of that year will be given very briefly; and I would gladly omit it entirely, as in relating it I shall be compelled to expose the conduct of an official of high rank in the American Navy. Still, as this delay had an important bearing on the conduct of the war, and seriously affected my relations with President Lopez, it is necessary to give it as a key, or explanation, of many things that transpired subse- quently. On my way to the Plata I reached Rio de Janeiro on the 3d of October, where I learned that my predictions to Presi- dent Lopez in regard to the slow progress of the war had been fulfilled. I also learned that all communication between v the mouth of the river and Paraguay had ceased ; and that, as no merchant vessels were permitted by the allies to ascend the river and pass within the lines of Lopez, it would be im- possible for me to go to my post without the aid of an Amer- ican gunboat. Fortunately, as I then thought, we had a large squadron on that station, with nothing to do but be ready on occasion to give protection to our citizens and to vindicate the national character. The squadron was under the com- mand of Acting Rear-Admiral S. W. Godon. I conferred with him in regard to the situation in which I should probably find myself on my arrival at the river, and advised him that "A BEGGAR ON HORSEBACK." 115 without the aid of a vessel from his squadron I should not "be able to reach my post. Under such circumstances his duty was clear, and so he understood it, for he advised me that he should soon proceed to the river with his squadron, and, if he found the situation as I suspected, should himself, on his arrival, detach a vessel to take me to Paraguay. This being arranged, I proceeded to Buenos Aires, where I awaited for some six weeks the arrival of the Admiral. When he did at last arrive, I found, greatly to my chagrin and to the mortifi- cation of all the Americans in the Plata, he was not disposed to help me forward to my destination. I was therefore compelled to make the effort to reach Paraguay without the aid of a national vessel. I had already lost more than two months waiting for him to redeem his promise, but he seemed insensible to the scandal and contempt that his conduct was bringing on the naval service, and I could not wait till the government could be advised of his strange perversity and send out instructions to him. I must therefore make the at- tempt to reach my post as best I could. The singular conduct of the Admiral throughout this whole affair having been made the subject of a Congressional inves- tigation, and condemned in terms of great severity in the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, I shall pass over the frivolous excuses that he alleged for not comply- ing with my request, and shall only relate so much of his connection with my detention as was made use of by the allies in justification of their conduct in resisting my pas- sage through their lines until they saw themselves on the verge of war with the United States. The history of the whole affair will serve to show the truth of the old adage of the beggar on horseback, and how, when the command of a naval squadron in distant waters is intrusted to an in- competent commander, the greatest interests of the country may be jeopardized, and the nation may be so compromised as to be compelled to declare war in vindication of rights that have been invaded with the approval and connivance of officials holding high rank in its own service. Il6 PARAGUAY. It might not be a very dignified proceeding for a duly accredited minister of a government hitherto considered re- spectable to go to the head-quarters of one of the belligerents and beg permission, like a tourist or a pedler, to pass the military lines, when it was publicly known that we had on the station a large squadron, consisting of one First-Rate, serving as a pleasure-yacht for the admiral, and several light-draught gunboats, any one of which could at little expense and no inconvenience take him to his post in a manner consistent with the national dignity. But there was no alternative ; I must obey orders. Leaving my family, therefore, in Buenos Aires, I set forth on a river packet for Corrientes, which town is situate about thirty miles from where the allied armies were encamped. Thence I made my way immediately to the head-quarters of General Mitre, Commander-in-Chief of the allied forces and President of the Argentine Republic. I made known to him that my object in coming to his camp was to advise him I was on my way back to my post of official duty, to which I could return only by passing through his military lines. His reply was that, in his opinion, I had a right to pass through them, but it was not a matter for him alone to decide. Though Commander-in-Chief of the army, the passage of a foreign min- ister through the lines was a question to be treated by all the parties to the alliance. As soon, therefore, as he could commu- nicate with his government at Buenos Aires he had no doubt that it would immediately secure the concurrence of the Brazil- ian special minister and of the government of Montevideo in his views, and that, so soon as he could learn of their joint approval, he would be enabled to tender me all the facilities for reaching Paraguay that national courtesy and comity could demand. A very brief delay only was asked for certain forms to be complied with, and, if I would consent to that, then all embarrassment would be avoided. I had no alternative but to submit, which I did the more willingly as in the time required for him to get the assent of his allies I could return for my family, and take them with me to Paraguay. RETURN TO THE ALLIED CAMP. u^ Returning to Buenos Aires I went directly to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senor Elizalde, and stated the result of my interview with President Mitre. The Minister assented to all that his chief had said, and added that the Brazilian special envoy concurred in their views, and on my return to Corrientes every facility for reaching Paraguay would be extended to me. In conformity with these expressions he offered me a letter to President Mitre, requesting him, in the name of the allies, to grant all the means of reaching my post that he had promised. Thus armed, I started again for Corrientes, this time with my family. The first night, the steamer in which we had taken passage run so hard and fast aground that it was found impossible to get her off again without discharging her cargo. Another steamer, coming along the next day, took us off and carried us as far as Rosario, though we were obliged to leave our baggage behind us. From Rosa- rio we proceeded immediately to Corrientes, where, after wait- ing for some three weeks, our trunks and provisions at last arrived. I hurried at once to head-quarters, which had been moved to Paso de la Patria since my former visit to the camp. I took passage on an English transport for this place, where, on landing, I met the Argentine Minister of War, Gen- eral Gelly y Obes. By him I was informed that Mitre had not yet moved his own quarters, but, being indisposed, had remained behind the army when it moved in near the river. He would, however, advise him of my return, and arrange it so that I could have an interview with him on the succeeding day. The next day Gelly y Obes came on board the trans- port to inform me that Mitre was still indisposed at his camp, and that any business I had with him could be arranged equally well with the admiral of the allied squadron, Baron Tamandare", and he offered me his boat to take me to the flag-ship. I accordingly went to confer with the Admiral. I was received by him with civility, but told that I positively should not pass through his squadron. He said his orders Il8 PARAGUAY. were to permit no person whatever to pass his blockade, and he should obey instructions. He said, too, that his govern- ment had the right to issue and enforce such an order, and that while he was in Buenos Aires Admiral Godon had ad- mitted such right. I denied that Admiral Godon had any authority in the matter, or that the opinion of a naval com- mander had anything to do with my detention. The Admiral then said he should take the responsibility of stopping me, and then to quote my own words, as given in my official account of this interview to the Secretary of State " the Admiral ex- pressed his regret that his orders and duty imposed on him the necessity of doing what might seem to me an act of dis- courtesy, and said that anything that I might require I could have ; he would place a steamer at my disposal to return with me to Buenos Aires, and bring me back at my pleasure. He also said that if I wanted any money during my detention I could have it. I told him I did not want his money, nor did I want a steamer to go to Buenos Aires, but I did want to go to Paraguay, for it was there my government had ordered me. With this result unsatisfactory, I believe, on both sides I left the Admiral and returned to the transport steamer on which I was staying." He added that it could make but little differ- ence to me whether I went through his military lines or not, as he should pass Humaita with his squadron within fifteen days, after which the war would be virtually over, and the river open to Asuncion. As I left the ship the fleet band was paraded on deck, and though I doubt not it discoursed fine music, meant as a courtesy to me, I could not appreciate it. I had been insulted, and was powerless to resent the in- dignity, and doubt if ever the " Rogues' March " fell more heavily on the ears of a deserter than did the national air of Brazil on mine as I turned my back on Tamandare and his fellow-officers. But months after I was destined to hear the music of that band again and under other circumstances. I returned again to the transport vessel, and, learning that President Mitre was encamped near the river, I found my way as soon as possible to his head-quarters. I presented to the THE ALLIES IN A QUANDARY. 119 Commander-in-Chief the letter of his Minister of Foreign Re- lations, which letter, after stating that it was the duty of the allied powers to provide me with the facilities necessary to pass through the allied lines and into those of the Para- guayans, concluded by saying the Minister expects of the President "that he will be pleased to give the necessary orders, in order that the promise made by the government shall be duly fulfilled." This letter, which on its face showed that his government was committed to withdraw all hindrance to my passage, seemed greatly to disturb and embarrass President Mitre. He said he would go at once and see Admiral Tamandare, General Osorio, and others of the higher grade of officers, and have the order of Tamandare so modified that I could pass through. So, ordering some horses, he gave me his large milk-white war-horse to ride, and mounting an inferior animal himself we rode to the landing, where we dismounted, he to go on board the flag-ship, and I to return to the trans- port. Before parting, however, he said he would advise me of the result of the interview in the course of an hour or two, so that I could return to Corrientes the same day. He did not, however, succeed in converting Tamandare to his views, and sent me a note advising me that he could not give me an answer on that afternoon, but would, on the following day, address me a letter at Corrientes. I therefore went back to the latter place to await his answer. It came, as promised ; but, as before, it was no answer to my question. He could not yet tell me whether or not I could pass through his mil- itary lines. The circumstances had changed since my first visit to his camp, and he must again refer the question to his government, to be decided in conjunction with its allies. He would at once refer the matter to them, and as soon as he could get an answer he would advise me of the result. What then was to be done ? I suspected that the allies did not intend to allow me to pass their lines under any cir- cumstances, if they could stop me in any way short of bring- ing on a conflict with the United States. I knew that our I2 Q PARAGUAY. admiral was a convenient instrument in their hands, justifying them in their duplicity and encouraging them in the indigni- ties they were putting upon a diplomatic agent of his own country. I could not turn back and return to the United States, for that would have been a concession that the allies and Admiral Godon were in the right and I in the wrong. I was eight thousand miles from home, and I had no colleague on the South Atlantic coast with whom to consult. Our min- isters, both at Buenos Aires and Rio Janeiro, had returned home on leave of absence, and the only United States official of high grade in the vicinity had repudiated my pretensions and taken counsel with the allies to detain me. The people in Corrientes could not understand why the minister of a great and powerful nation should be thus hanging on in the rear of the allied army like a camp follower, and I heard of numerous discussions whether or not I was an accredited minister or an impostor. They had never heard before, nor, probably, had anybody else, of a minister so situated, unable to get to his post, while his government had a large squadron lying idle in the vicinity. But disagreeable and galling as was the situation, not only to myself but to the pride of every America.n in that part of the world, I could do nothing, and must wait till my own gov- ernment should come to my relief, either by adopting the views of the admiral and the allies and recalling me, or by sending me the means of forcing the blockade. In the mean while the allies were prosecuting the war after the Brazilian fashion. Fort Itapiru, with its two guns, situate just above Paso de la Patria, still held out defiantly, while the huge squadron of the allies lay a league or two below, bom- / barding at long range. At this time Lopez's entire army was just in the rear of the fort, one half of his troops at least being sick with the measles. The disease was so general and the means of taking care of the sick so scanty, that twenty thousand men, or more than a third of the Paraguayan forces, as I was afterwards informed, died there and then. The fort stood on a point of a rock jutting into the river, with deep CROSSING THE PARANA. 12 1 water on two sides of it; so that had the whole squadron advanced, firing at the fort as it moved, it would have silenced almost instantly its two pieces, and, turning the point, had the whole Paraguayan army directly exposed to its guns ; and if then the transports had followed with troops, the entire army, with the exception of Lopez, his staff, and mistresses, that al- ways kept out of danger, might have been easily captured. But instead of attacking in this way, Tamandare kept his squadron , at a safe distance, bombarding furiously for twenty-eight days. During this time the measles had run its course, and Lopez withdrew his army towards Humaita. As soon as it was seen that the Paraguayans had retired, Tamandare', with characteristic valor, advised Mitre that he was ready to assist him to pass the troops to the Paraguayan side of the river. Mitre, who had long been chafing at the Admiral's mode of attack, at once embarked his whole force, and they all crossed the river without catching sight of a single Paraguayan. Itapiru was taken when no one was left to defend it, and it was at once published to the world that the allies had crossed the Parana in the face of the whole Paraguayan army, that with desperate valor opposed their landing and disputed the ground inch by inch till, overcome by the heroic onslaught of the Brazilians, a mere remnant escaped, with Lopez at their head, to the intrenchments at Humaita. On my first arrival in Buenos Aires, when it was taken for granted that I should go up the river in an American gunboat, to which they did not pretend that they had any right to object, I had an interview with the Brazilian special envoy, Senor Oc- ^ taviano. On this occasion he told me that it was not neces- sary for me to wait for an American gunboat, as, if I would accept it, a Brazilian steamer should be specially detailed to take me to Paraguay. I declined his offer for several reasons, among others alleging that if I were to go on a Brazilian ves- sel Lopez would suspect me of being in the interest of the allies, and would always regard me with such suspicion that any influence I might otherwise have with him would be lost. Some weeks afterwards, when I found that an American gun- 122 PARAGUAY. boat would not go up, I addressed a note to the Minister, intimating to him that I should accept his offer of several weeks before, which he had repeated to me once or twice afterwards. In the mean while' he had seen Admiral Godon, and was so thoroughly converted to the opinion that an Amer- ican Minister had no rights in foreign countries, and might be treated with indignity without danger of offending the govern- ment, that he not only did not fulfil his promise previously made, but had not the courtesy to answer my letter. Some months after this, in June, 1866, while I was waiting with dreary impatience in Corrientes General Mitre's an- swer to my repeated request, Octaviano came up to that place and established his head-quarters in the town. The war had dragged on so much longer than had been anticipated when Tamandare offered to give me a steamer and all the money I wanted, that Octaviano seemed to think that if I could not be prevailed upon to keep quiet, serious difficulties with the United States might arise. He therefore thought to make use of the argument so often used by Brazilians, but which had been so unsuccessfully employed by Taman- dare. He came one day, it was the 4th of July, 1866, and, after a brief conversation on general topics, told me he was aware I was very unpleasantly situated where I was, and that, as the difficulties in my way had all been caused by the allies, it was but right that they should recompense me liberally for all the inconvenience to which through their action I was exposed. He said that his proposition was to be strictly confidential, and I might have no hesitation in accepting it, as, if our circumstances were reversed, and he was in the United States, he should not hesitate in accepting such an offer from our government. I told him I could not entertain any such proposition, but that I should respect his confidence. He had been more cautious and diplomatic than Tama-ndare, who made his offer openly and without indicating in any manner that he thought there could be any insult in offering a bribe. Our conversation being interrupted by the arrival of a OCTAVIANO AND GODON. 123 third party, Octaviano took his leave. He was then in an ex- ceedingly infirm state of health ; and as he stood in front of my door, and looked up and down the street as if debating which way to go, he seemed to me, though the envoy of a great empire, whose check would be honored for millions, to be an object of pity and unspeakable contempt. Soon after this Octaviano returned to Buenos Aires, and when he next met Admiral Godon the two friends compared notes, and the incidents of the confidential interview were revealed. When I learned of this casually through some of the subordinate officers in the navy, I was exonerated from regarding it longer on my part as confidential. I, however, never made use of Octaviano's name in connection with the affair till the whole story was reluctantly admitted by Godon, before the Investigating Committee of Congress.* In the mean time weeks passed away, and I received no * " Q. Did he (Octaviano) ever allude to the offer of money made by Ad- miral Tamandare ? " A. No, not by Admiral Tamandare, but he did allude to an affair of money. " Q. Made by whom ? " A. Not by Admiral Tamandare. " By Mr. Washburn : " Q. To me ? " A. Yes, sir. Would you like me to state anything more ? " Mr. Washburn. I am willing to have you state it " Admiral Godon. I will state all he did say. " Mr. Washburn. I would like to hear it. "Admiral Godon. I said to Mr. Octaviano that I did not see anything in that letter that he might not have answered ; he said, ' What was I to offer to him ? What was I to give him ? He did not ask for a vessel, but simply said he left it to me to determine what to do.' I said, ' Well, why did you not offer him to go up there ? ' He said, ' I could not offer that, because that had been refused by General Mitre. But it left the impression upon my mind that I must do some- thing. I could not answer the letter ; I had seen Mr. Washburn before ; he was in Corrientes. He complained of the expense, of the annoyance, trouble, and that the very fact of his having assisted the Minister made this thing of immense expense to him. What could I think of in regard to that ? I said I will lend you any amount of money ; it is a matter which you can do ; I have control of it ; it is there, and I can do it. Well, Mr. Washburn said no, it was not that.' He said afterwards that he felt that perhaps that was not the way he ought to do this thing. He sent a person of rank and position to offer him the money. " Q. Did he say the money was accepted ? " A. No, sir ; it was not I said to Mr. Octaviano, ' Why, you surprise me ; 1 24 PARAGUAY. notice from Mitre of the action of his government and its allies in regard to my going through to Paraguay. I ^wrote a letter intimating that sufficient time had passed for him to learn of their decision, and saying I impatiently awaited his answer. He replied without delay, that, for reasons unknown to him, he had received nothing on the subject from his gov- ernment ; but he would write again and demand immediate attention to the matter. Again weeks elapsed, and I got nothing more from Mitre ; and again I went to visit him at his head-quarters, that were then on Paraguayan soil, near what was called the Estero Bellaco. Polite and courteous as ever, General Mitre protested his friendly intentions and his pro- found regret that his government had not replied to his repeated demand that it should, concurrently with its allies, relieve him from the responsibility of my longer detention. But a reply was now daily, even hourly, expected, and as soon as it should be received he would immediately give me notice. At any rate, I might depend on hearing from him in a very few days. With words like these, the value of which I had learned too well how to appreciate, I returned to Corrientes. There I waited again for some two weeks longer, when I received a visit from the private secretary of Mitre, who had been sent by his chief to see me and explain why it was that he had not sent me sooner the promised answer to my long- delayed demand. But the secretary brought no other mes- sage than that Mitre would give me a final answer so soon as the Brazilian special envoy, Seflor Octaviano, who was already on his way back up the river, should reach his camp. If I would only hold my peace for a few days longer, all would be satisfactorily arranged. As I could not help myself, I was obliged to yield to this request, and possess myself in such patience as I could command. did Mr. Washburn say anything ? ' Mr. Octaviano said no ; that he would not accept it. " Mr. Washlwrn. In my testimony the other day I said that another high offi- cial had offered me money, but I did not say who it was. I can now say that it was Minister Octaviano, because it has come up in this way." Testimony before Congressional Investigating Committee, p. 105. INSTRUCTIONS FROM WASHINGTON. I2 $ The Brazilian Minister soon arrived, as expected, and pro- ceeded directly to the army head-quarters. But no answer came from Mitre ; and after waiting for some ten days, I wrote him a long letter, reciting his acts of duplicity and words of prevarication, and concluded with a protest in the following words : " It is with extreme regret that I find myself com- pelled to speak, after so long a delay, of my detention in this place, and to enter, as I now most earnestly do, my pro- test against it. I protest against the detention as a violation of the laws of nations and of all diplomatic usages and cour- tesies. I protest against the detention as unnecessary and unlawful in itself, and I protest against the manner in which it has been effected. If it were your purpose to thwart the wishes of my government, and prevent me from doing what it had ordered me to do, I certainly had a right to know it long before this. I protest against the repeated intimations and assurances I have from time to time received, that within a few days a final answer should be given me, when now nearly six months have passed, and such answer has not yet been received " This protest was despatched on the 22d July, 1866, and on the 25th my long and eagerly desired instructions from the Secretary of State arrived. In terms curt and explicit, Mr. Seward expressed his surprise and indignation at the conduct of the allies. He entered into no argument to prove they were in the wrong, nor did he consent to be governed by the superior authority of Admiral Godon. On the contrary, he ordered that, after duly advising President Mitre of my official character and purposes, if a safe-conduct for myself, family, and domestics were not promptly forthcoming, I should call on Admiral Godon for a vessel and convoy from the squadron to take me through the military lines. CHAPTER IX. Threatened Rupture with the United States. Further Delays. Strange Con- duct of Admiral Godon. Later Instructions. The Shamokin finally or- dered to Paraguay. Firmness and Gallantry of Captain Pierce Crosby. Tamandare blusters and yields. Arrival at Curupaiti. Joy of the Para- guayans. The French Consul, M. Cochelet. Don Luis Jara. The Ameri- can Legation Premises in Asuncion. IT is not often, in these modern times, that nations go to war except of deliberate purpose, and when important interests are at stake ; and it may be safely assumed that at no time was there any real danger of hostilities between the United States and the allies, since both parties were ear- nestly desirous of peace. Yet a question had arisen concern- ing which one or the other must humbly recede from its position ; and as it was certain not to be the United States, it was only necessary that the allies should be convinced that our government was determined to enforce its demand for them to concede it. They had, however, by listening to the opinions of Admiral Godon, put themselves entirely in the wrong ; and the orders of the President were to the effect that, if they did not promptly yield the disputed point, the employment of force should instantly follow a renewed refusal. Under these circumstances I had but to reply instantly to the last letter of President Mitre, renew my demand for permis- sion to pass through his military lines, and, if again refused, to call for a gunboat and convoy, in the sending of which no discretion was left to the Admiral, and which Mitre must either have stopped by force or have subjected himself to ex- treme humiliation and the contempt of his whole army. I was then in a position such as no representative of the United States ever was in before. I could certainly make a figure THREATENED RUPTURE. I2 7 in the newspapers, and should appear legally and morally en- tirely in the right, and the government would be obliged to sustain me. But I knew that the allies had been led into their untenable position through listening to the counsels of an ignorant garrulous American admiral, and that they would concede all that I had ever asked sooner than provoke hostili- ties with the United States. They must first be made aware, however, that the government had not delegated its power to a naval commander, but had repudiated the doctrine advanced by Admiral Godon, that the allies had a right to prevent the minister of a neutral nation from passing through their mili- tary lines to return to his post of official duties. The ques- tion then with me was, should I obey my instructions literally, and, while Mitre still believed I should not be sustained, make a demand which I knew would be rejected, or should I wait till he should see that a persistent refusal would be followed by war with the United States. The temptation to the for- mer course was great, and I could not doubt that I should be fully sustained in it. But I knew it was not the interest nor the desire of either the government or the people of the United States to become involved in the Paraguayan war. It would cost millions of money, and there were no material interests . at stake. Besides, I had seen enough of Lopez and his system of government to realize that it would be little creditable to the United States to become in any sense his aid or ally. If from the folly of the allies the United States were to be drawn into the contest, it was evident that Lopez would come out of the war triumphant, and the people of Paraguay would be condemned to endure perhaps for another generation the terrible despotism under which they had so long suffered. That the allies might be convinced of the determination of our government before they had so far committed themselves that they could not recede, they must see something more formidable than despatches and protests. I had therefore to return to Buenos Aires and advise the Admiral that I had been repulsed by the allies in all my efforts to reach my post, and request him to furnish the vessel and necessary convoy 128 PARAGUAY. from the squadron, as he had been ordered to do by the Secre- tary of the Navy. On reaching Buenos Aires I learned that our government had taken the preliminary steps to actual war, having in- structed our ministers at Rio and Buenos Aires, as well as myself, to return to the United States unless all hindrance to my passage through the military lines were promptly with- drawn. But I found the Admiral was still disinclined to yield the position which he had taken, that the allies were in the right and our government in the wrong. I learned that he had been strangely intimate, during his stay there, with Admiral Tamandare and Special Minister Octaviano, both of whom had been greatly impressed with his knowledge of diplomacy and international law. He had told them that they had a perfect right to detain me, and having got him in tow they hoped to finish the war before any counter-orders could come from Washington. What Godon expected, it is hard to conjecture. He could hardly be a rear-admiral and yet so ignorant of the laws of nations and so insensible to the national honor as to suppose our government would submit to such indignities. Yet having assured his Brazilian friends that they were in the exercise of their perfect right in holding me as a camp follower in their rear, he returned in a high , state of self-complacency to Rio, leaving every American in the Plata mortified and disgusted with his conduct, while all the officers of his squadron, with the exception of two or three necessary confidants, felt humiliated and disgraced at the sorry exhibition the squadron had made. The Admiral, however, had not been long at Rio when he learned that our government was not of his opinion in re- gard to the conduct of the allies. On the contrary, he was advised that it was indignant at their course, and was ordered, on being applied to again, to furnish, not only a gunboat to take me through the blockade, but a convoy, should it be necessary. Though thus rebuked by his own government, the Admiral did not yet despair of showing to his Brazilian friends that he A DIPLOMATIC INSTRUCTOR. 129 should do as he pleased, and they might still detain me at their pleasure. He had been ordered to send a gunboat to Paraguay whenever I should call for it, but he could easily so manage that no communication from me should reach him for a long time. So after waiting till it was nearly time to expect a letter from me to reach Rio, he set sail in his flag-ship for the port of Bahia, some five hundred miles to the north, leav- ing orders for his mail to be detained till his return. After an absence of several weeks, the Admiral returned to the station at Rio, where my dreaded letter had been awaiting him for about a month. But the Brazilians were as much as ever disinclined to have me pass their lines, and our Admiral, having stood by them so long, could not acknowledge his own humiliation and abandon them now. To break up his har- monious and profitable relations would be not only unpleasant, but personally damaging. He therefore, with a courage in- dicating the high confidence that he enjoyed with the late Secretary of Navy, refused to obey his orders, and in reply to my request for a gunboat and convoy he said that he would not send them, as I Jtad not yet complied with my instructions. My position now was more embarrassing than ever. It was known by everybody at the mouth of the river that our gov- ernment had ordered the blockade to be forced, if necessary, to carry me to Paraguay ; and it was known I was still in Buenos Aires, that several light-draught war-steamers were at hand, and yet I did not leave. Godon had written me that I must again ask permission of the allies to pass their lines with- out a gunboat before he would send one. But the Brazilian special envoy would not even answer my letters ; and General Mitre, the Commander-in-Chief, had informed me he would hold no more correspondence with me. So between the three they had me hard and fast Under these circumstances there was nothing for me to do but to wait and see what further action would be taken by our own government. I had written to the Secretary of State that I had been turned back a second time by Mitre, and once after I had brought a letter from his government requesting him VOL. II. 9 130 PARAGUAY. to provide me with the facilities for going through. I was then awaiting an answer. It came. Our government sent instructions to General Webb at Rio, and General Asboth, who was then on his way to Bue- nos Aires, that unless all hindrance to my passage were prompt- ly withdrawn they should demand their passports, close their legations, and return to the United States. The Brazilians now saw that, kind and accommodating as was Admiral Godon, and great master as he was of international law, they must allow me to pass their lines or provoke a war with the United States. General Webb, our minister at Rio, who had been absent during all the harmonious concord between the Admiral and the Brazilians, had now returned and was inexorable. The Brazilians were not prepared for war with the Untied States, and knew there was to be no trifling with General Webb. They therefore told him that all obstructions to my going up through their squadron should be withdrawn. But they still hoped to make use of their obliging friend awhile longer, and they succeeded. They requested Godon to wait awhile before sending his orders for a gunboat to go up the river, so that they might have time to advise their admiral to with- draw all obstructions to its passage through the blockade. He even obligingly consented to this ; and so I still re- mained in Buenos Aires, uncertain whether or not I should see Paraguay again till several months later, or till the ad- miral might be exchanged for one who would obey orders. At last, however, when no more pretexts or excuses for my further detention could be raised, the Admiral sent orders to the commander of the United States steamer Shamokin, Captain Pierce Crosby, to receive me and my family on board and take us to Paraguay. On the 24th of October, one year lacking ten days after my arrival, I embarked, and we proceeded on our voyage. The Shamokin was a large and very long double-ender of light draft, and very difficult to steer. Uncharitable people even suspected that it was the latter quality that h'ad influenced the Admiral in detailing her for the service. At any rate, it A FAITHFUL OFFICER. 131 was generally believed that she was so unwieldy she would never reach Paraguay. There were good reasons for believ- ing that the Admiral would have been better pleased had these predictions been fulfilled. But if such was his desire, he made a great mistake in intrusting the command of the vessel to such a man as Pierce Crosby. He had his written official instructions, and he obeyed them with alacrity and to the letter. The channel of the river being variable and tortu- ous, with currents and cross-currents chopping it in places into eddies and dead water, it was clear that with her ordi- nary steering gear it would be impossible to prevent her from running now hard and fast into a bank or on a bar, and now from turning clear round and heading down stream. Captain Crosby, however, in spite of the known wishes of his superior that he should not reach Paraguay, set his wits to work to contrive some extra steering apparatus by which, with his large crew and excellent discipline, he could with close watchfulness keep the ship under control. To the sur- prise of everybody the vessel never touched the ground during the voyage. On reaching the Tres Bocas, on the evening of Novem- ber 2, we came near the lower vessel of the blockading squad- ron, and were boarded by her commander, who inquired of Captain Crosby what he was there for. Crosby replied that he was there by order of his government, on his way to Para- guay, to convey the United States Minister, accredited to that country, to his post, and that he desired immediately to communicate with Admiral Tamandare and advise him of his intentions. The Brazilian said that neither the Shamokin nor the Minister could pass the military lines. The orders from his government were imperative to stop everybody, and they had never been remitted towards any individual or the war vessels of any nation. Captain Crosby said his orders were as imperative to go to Paraguay, and that he had letters from General Webb and Admiral Godon which stated that the Brazilian government had engaged to withdraw all obstruc- tions to the passing through the blockade. These facts he 132 PARAGUAY. wished to communicate as soon as possible to the Brazilian admiral, after which he should proceed to carry out his instructions. The Brazilian commander said he would refer the matter to his admiral, and a small tender was immediately despatched, with Ensign Pendleton of the Shamokin, to deliver Captain Crosby's letter to Tamandare, who was on board his flag-ship, some twenty miles higher up the river. Mr. Pendleton re- turned, after having delivered the letter, reaching the Sha- mokin about three o'clock in the morning. He reported that Tamandare had said the same in substance as the officer who had first boarded us, that the Shamokin could not pass the squadron ; that his orders were to allow no one to pass, and no counter-orders had ever been received by him. It thus appeared that the delay made by Admiral Godon, at the request of the Brazilians, had either been gained through a subterfuge of the latter, or had been a made-up thing between the two. They had begged him to defer sending his orders for the gunboat to go up the river until they could first send forward their orders to Admiral Tamandare". He had com- plied, and yet no such orders had been sent to him. On the contrary, his only instructions were to sink any vessel that , attempted to pass his blockade. Besides the verbal message, brought back by Ensign Pendleton, was another, that the Admiral would visit the Shamokin that morning at ten o'clock. It was now clear that, if both parties obeyed orders, there must be a fight. One or the other must back down, or some- body must be hurt. I was confident that Captain Crosby would not turn back % When the morning broke I went on deck, and found I had not been mistaken. He was getting ready for action. The guns were all loaded with shot and shell, and all was made ready so that the Shamokin might give a good account of herself should the Admiral adhere to his expressed determination. All being ready and everything removed from the decks that could give any indication of the recent preparations for INTERVIEW WITH TAMANDARE. 133 action, we awaited the arrival of Admiral Tamandare. He came near the appointed hour, and repeated verbally what he had said the night before to Mr. Pendleton. The Shamokin could not go through. He could not permit her to do so, without a direct violation of the orders of his Majesty's gov- ernment. He said, however, he had thought of a way by which all difficulties could be avoided, and I might reach my destination. He would furnish me with a Brazilian gunboat to take me, my family, and effects through the Brazilian lines, and land me at any point above that I might select. To this I replied that his proposition came too late. Eight months before I had applied to him and to General Mitre for the means of passing through to my post, and they had been re- fused. At that time I did not ask even what he now offered me. If he would then have allowed me a flag of truce, I would have gone on horseback or in a whale-boat ; but he had told me that he would not permit me under any circumstances to pass through his lines, and I had been compelled to apply to my own government for the means to send me through, by force if necessary. In the mean while my detention had become a matter of public notoriety, and the question had assumed a national importance. My government had decided that the action of the allies in detaining me had been dis- courteous and illegal, and that not only had it a right to send its ministers to those governments with which it is at peace, but to send them on men-of-war if it so chose to do. It had therefore sent orders for the Shamokin to go to Paraguay, and go it would, unless it was stopped by force. Captain Crosby also told him that his instructions were imperative to take the American Minister to Paraguay, and he should obey his orders, unless forcibly prevented. The Admiral then said that Brazil could not at that time afford to engage in a war with the United States ; that if we were fully determined to go through with the Shamokin, he should be obliged to let her pass, but that he should protest against it. We told him that he might protest as much as he liked, but nevertheless we should go through. Having thus ungraciously yielded the 134 PARAGUAY. point, the admiral then offered us every facility for continuing the voyage. It was known that Lopez had been putting down torpedoes in some parts of the river, and it was necessary to have a Paraguayan pilot who knew where they were ; he offered to send a flag of truce with an officer from the Sha- mokin, bearing a letter from me to Lopez, informing him of our arrival and of our need of a Paraguayan pilot, so soon as we should pass above the blockading squadron. Mr. Pendle- ton was accordingly despatched with such a letter, and went through to the Paraguayan head-quarters. Lopez received the young officer courteously, although he was greatly disappointed when he found the Shamokin was coming through unmolested. He had hoped that the Brazil- ians would insist on their right to stop her, and would resort to force sooner than permit her to pass through the blockade. This would of course bring the United States into the contest, and make them to all intents and purposes an ally of Para- guay, and then the result of the war would be no longer doubt- ful. He told Mr. Pendleton that the Shamokin could not go above Curupaiti without incurring great danger from the tor- pedoes, some of which it would be so difficult to find that they could not all be removed without causing great delay ; but that if Captain Crosby chose to take the risk of them, he was at full liberty to go to Asuncion. He would, however, upon the approach of the Shamokin above the blockade, have a pilot who had seen all the torpedoes laid down to take the Shamokin as far as Curupaiti ; then, if I chose to disembark at that point, he would find a carriage for myself and family to Humaita, and carts for my luggage and provisions. From there I could go to Asuncion on a Paraguayan steamer whenever I pleased. The next day Mr. Pendleton returned ; and having advised the Admiral that we were then ready to start, on the fifth day of November, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, again got under way. As we passed up the river from Tres Bocas through the blockading squadron, it seemed incredible to us that such an immense squadron of war vessels, including monitors, iron-clads, and wooden steamers, all having heavy LANDING AT CURUPAITI. 1 ^ armaments, besides an immense number of transports, store- ships, and merchant vessels, should be required to force a passage of the river above Humaita. It was doubtless very humiliating to the Brazilians to see the Shamokin defiantly pass up through this vast squadron, after having boasted so often and so loudly that they had a right to stop her or any other neutral vessel from passing through, and would exercise it at all hazards. We passed close alongside the flag-ship of the Admiral, who had the same band of music on the deck to do us honor, as we steamed by, that he had brought out, as it seemed to me then, to insult me, when, eight months before, he had parted with me on board the same vessel, telling me that I never should pass through his blockade. Having gone above the squadron, a Paraguayan boat, with an officer and pilot, soon pushed off from the shore above and came aboard, and the pilot, taking the direction of the vessel, took us by a tortuous course under the guns of Curupaiti, where we landed the same evening. As soon as our baggage and provisions could be put on shore, the Shamokin, having fired the custom- ary salute, which was returned by the Paraguayans, immedi- ately withdrew and went below the blockade. The Admiral before we passed up had sent word that her remaining any considerable time in the line between the Paraguayan fortifica- tions and the squadron might interfere with the bombardment which he might have occasion to renew soon after. That I might, after having been so long delayed in reaching my post, which had almost threatened to involve the United States in a war, advise the government of my safe arrival in Paraguay, and of the general condition of affairs there, I had requested Captain Crosby to permit Mr. Pendleton to land with me, and return by land with a flag of truce through the allied lines, taking my despatches with him. To this request he of course acceded. The Shamokin, having succeeded in passing the blockade and landing the Minister, returned to Buenos Aires, where her gallant commander, Captain Crosby, was subjected to repeated annoyances and persecutions by the Admiral, appar- 136 PARAGUAY. ently for the reason that he had not taken the hint to oblige the Brazilians by running his vessel aground in the river, rather than force the blockade. Another commanding officer, Captain Clark H. Wells, of the Kansas, was subjected to still greater annoyance, and sent off to hunt imaginary rocks in the ocean, to punish him for his contumacy in presuming to hold relations of friendship and intimacy with persons with whom the Admiral had quarrelled. These differences in the squadron became so notorious outside of it, that the allies, who were flattering the Admiral and assuring him he was a great diplomat, must have seen that while he was playing into their hands so readily he was bringing the naval service of his own country into contempt. On landing at Curupaiti, a great multitude of people gathered around us, all expressing the greatest joy and the warmest welcome. Among them were several of my old acquaintances. They seemed to think that the United States was coming to their rescue, as Lopez had held out the idea to them for a long time that such would be the case ; and when they saw the Shamokin come up the river through the block- ading squadron, they regarded her as a harbinger of peace. The poor wretches had hoped that the war was soon to end, and they seemed to regard me, not only as the bearer of good tidings, but as one who could deliver them from their troubles. Soon after landing, a coach arrived at Curupaiti, and carried us to Humaita, a distance of some two and a half leagues above. The next day I busied myself in writing despatches to send back by Mr. Pendleton, and was somewhat surprised that during the day I did not receive an invitation to visit his Excellency at his head-quarters in Paso Pucu. Toward even- ing, however, Dr. Stewart came in to tell me that the Presi- dent was very unwell, and that it might be some days before he would be able give me an interview. The steamer Igurey was lying then at the bank of the river, ready to take me to Asun- cion whenever I wished to go, whence I could return almost any day so soon as the President should sufficiently recover DISAPPOINTMENT OF LOPEZ. 137 to be able to converse with me. The same evening, therefore, we embarked for the capital. During the time of our brief stay there, several of the English physicians, and a few other foreigners in the service, called to see me, and all alike ex- pressed their great relief at my return. They intimated that matters were going very badly, and that Lopez was getting desperate, and had developed into such a blood-thirsty char- acter that there was no safety or security for any person whatever in the country. They believed that the presence of the minister of a strong government would have a restrain- ing influence upon him, or at least that such a person would have it in his power to advise the world of the condition of affairs in Paraguay, which no one else in the country was per- mitted to do. Though I had been thus welcomed, yet the sickness of Lopez was caused, as I believe, mainly from disappointment that I had not been stopped by the Brazilians. He had learned ere this that he had made a great mistake in com- mencing, the war as he had done, and that the allies were de- termined to pursue it until he was killed or driven out of the country. The alliance, much to his disappointment, had en- dured for nearly two years, and there were no signs of a rup- ture, nor was either party to it disposed to withdraw ; and if they continued united and persistent, their great superiority of resources must eventually result in his overthrow. He had, therefore, nourished the idea that the Brazilians would make good their boasting words that they would never permit an American Minister or vessel to pass their blockade ; and as he was pretty well convinced that the American government would never tolerate such insolence, he cherished the hope that war would result, and that thus he would be able to es- cape from the dilemma in which his own rashness and ambi- tion had involved him. But when the Brazilians receded from this position, and permitted the Shamokin to pass, his illusion was dispelled, and on the day following my arrival he gave way to such hopeless despair that he fell into a state of syncope, and was at the point of death for nearly 138 PARAGUAY. a week. Had he died then, the world would have given him the undeserved credit of having been a patriot and a hero ; and half a million Paraguayans, that were afterwards sacrificed to his selfishness, cruelty, and ambition, would be now alive to mount his loss. From this condition he gradu- ally rallied, and in the course of three or four weeks regained his former health. On reaching Asuncion we were received very cordially by all classes of people. In coming we had opened the door for a ray of light to penetrate from the outer world, concerning which the inhabitants there had been for more than a year entirely ignorant. Since I had been away all communication had been so completely cut off, that my good friend, the French Consul, M. Laurent Cochelet, had been eleven months without receiving a letter, paper, or any message whatever from beyond the limits of Paraguay. Mr. Cochelet had unfortunately, soon after his arrival in the country, incurred the dislike of Lopez. There were a considerable number of Frenchmen in the country, and they had from time to time complaints to make against their treatment by the local authorities. Their consul was a gentleman of refinement and education, zealous in his office ; and whenever a country- man appealed to him to obtain redress for any grievance, he was prompt to inquire into his case, and, if necessary, to de- mand justice. The government of Paraguay, however, had been long accustomed, even before the time of Lopez, to treat all persons, foreigners and natives alike, according to its own will, and to permit no inquiry to be made into the justice of its proceedings. M. Cochelet, therefore, was thought to be officious and meddlesome, and, before he had been long in the country, Lopez intimated to the French government that it would be agreeable to him if Cochelet could be withdrawn, and somebody else sent in his place. The French govern- ment replied that it had every confidence in M. Cochelet. Then Lopez denied that a consul had any right to treat with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and said that that privilege was conceded only to ministers, or to persons of diplomatic M. LAURENT COCHELET. 139 character. To this the French government replied, that if Paraguay did not choose to treat with a consul on questions other than those purely commercial, it would withdraw M. Cochelet, and not send anybody else in his place. It was a matter of choice, either to treat with M. Cochelet or no- body. Lopez, being extremely anxious to have the leading governments of the world represented at his court, by min- isters if possible, and, if not by consuls, would not break off all relations with France. England had no consul there, neither had Spain nor Italy, nor had any great power except France ; and therefore, obnoxious as M. Cochelet was to Lopez, he tolerated his presence, notwithstanding he would look after the interests of his countrymen when Lopez wished to arrest, imprison, or rob them without giving any reasons therefor. On reaching Asuncion my first care was to obtain a house. Fortunately, the best house in the place, not belonging to the Lopez family, was vacant. It belonged to Don Luis Jara, who was in the army, and whose partner in Buenos Aires, v Don Carlos Saguier, had given me a letter to him, requesting him to tender the use of his house to me. Jara was very glad to do this, as the premises being occupied by me would be protected in case the town should be taken by the allies, and would not be liable at any time to be taken for hospital pur- poses by Lopez. The house was very large, and occupied nearly an entire square. It was built in the Moorish fashion, with a large yard, or patio, in the centre, with a corridor ex- tending the whole length in front, and other corridors within extending along three sides of the patio. It was finely fur- nished, and two slaves of Jara had been left there by him to take care of it. All that he required of me was, that when- ever he should come to the capital he should have one room set apart for his occupancy. He, however, never came to claim even this small privilege in his own house, for he died about a year after. He had never been married, but, like most Paraguayans of wealth, he had several illegitimate families ; as he left no will, none of these children were heirs 140 PARAGUAY. to the estate, which, I suppose, according to the laws of Para- guay, escheated to the government. The description of the premises which I occupied, and the manner in which I came into their possession, are given here for reasons that will appear hereafter. CHAPTER X. Reception at Asuncion. General Anxiety. Englishmen in Prison. J. J. Acuna. G. F. Masterman : his Arrest, Trial, and Imprisonment. His Dungeon. Treatment of Prisoners. Ramon Capdevila. Intercession for Masterman. His Release. Life in Asuncion. Captain Simon Fi- danza. The Casals. WE reached Asuncion on the morning of November 8, * 1866, fourteen months and two days having elapsed since we left New York. Our welcome, alike by former friends and by those with whom I had never been acquainted, was such as I hope never to experience again. It was sincere and earnest, but it was based on a hope that, the blockade having been once broken, the war must soon end. I had brought with me a ray of light from beyond their prison, but beyond that I knew they were deceived, and that I should have no power to aid or protect them. Yet the people, both natives and foreigners, nourished the hope that Lopez would at least respect the minister of a strong neutral nation, and that such a person among them would afford some protection from the dangers that seemed to be gathering thick and ominous all around them. It had evidently been intimated by the police to the native Paraguayans, that civility and attention would not be displeasing to the government ; and the next number of the Semanario was abounding with its admiration of the great Republic of the North, and of its minister, who, against all the discourtesies and efforts of the allies to detain him, had finally forced their blockade. It stigmatized in bit- ter, though just, terms the whole conduct of the allies to- wards me. It ridiculed the assumption that they had a right to stop me, and taunted them with acting the bully and the coward by first insisting that they had a right to stop me, a right which they would never yield, but which they notwith- 142 PARAGUAY. standing did yield when they found that the government of the United States would not submit to their insulting preten- sions. It also contained numerous paragraphs highly eulogis- tic of myself, and commending me in the strongest terms for persisting in enforcing my way, until in mortification and dis- grace the allies had been forced to humble themselves, and permit the American gunboat to pass through their blockade, flaunting the American flag in derision and contempt in their faces. The people of Asuncion took the hint from these semi-offi- cial notices that there was no danger in showing us attentions, and as soon as we were fairly domiciled, the principal people of the place called upon us, to bid us welcome, and were al- most oppressive in their kindness and offers of assistance and service. Flowers, fruit, and dulces were sent to us every day by different families, and in a manner that showed the kindest feelings on the part of the donors. The hospitality of the Paraguayans, whenever the exercise of it did not expose them to danger from the government, has been remarked by nearly all travellers who have ever visited that country. But such general manifestations of it as we received were probably un- precedented in the country. After our long and anxious voy- age, the many annoyances, and, I may say, humiliations, which we had experienced from the allies, it was with a great sense of relief that we found ourselves at last settled in our own house in Asuncion. Having brought a supply of provi- sions which were intended to be sufficient for at least a year, beyond which time I did not suppose it possible that the war could last, we lacked for nothing necessary to health or com- fort ; and were it not for the fact that the people around us ap- peared to be so anxious about the future, and that there were so many people, some of them my former intimate friends, in prison, and such a general state of anxiety, our position would have been very agreeable. Among the prisoners in whom I took the most interest were Drs. John Fox and James Rhind, English physicians, and Mr. George F. Masterman, an English apothecary. I learned THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL. ^3 that they had been arrested some two weeks before my arrival. The offence for which the two former were imprisoned was this. The mother of the President, Dona Juana Carillo de Lopez, having been sick for several days, a telegram was sent to her son, at head-quarters, advising him that her symp- toms were worse, and requesting permission to call in these two physicians. An order was sent about seven o'clock in the evening to Dr. Rhind, to take Dr. Fox with him and go and visit the old lady. The latter, unfortunately, was not at his house, and could not be found immediately ; and Dr. Rhind, knowing the danger that would result from his disobeying orders and going alone, thought he must wait until Dr. Fox should appear. In the mean while the old lady got impatient, and another telegram was sent to the President, informing him that the physicians had not come. Another order was immediately sent, commanding the immediate arrest and im- prisonment of the two doctors. They were accordingly sent to prison, and confined separately in dark, damp cells, with sentinels placed over them. This was their situation at the time of my return to Paraguay. The old Postmaster-General of Asuncion, Don Juan J. Acuna, and his wife, were also prisoners at the time of my return, and had been for several months. Senor Acuna was an old man, nearly seventy years of age. He was a native of the Argentine province of Tucuman, and had come to Para- guay in his youth, where he had married a young lady, a member of the ill-fated and long-persecuted Machain family. During my first residence in Paraguay, I was more intimate with the old gentleman than with any other Paraguayan. I visited very often at his house, and we were in the habit of playing chess together almost every day. His position as Postmaster-General was a very disagreeable one, as it devolved upon him the task of examining all the newspapers that came into the country, and seeing that no paper containing anything disrespectful to the government of Paraguay was allowed to go out of the post-office. A person in this position would naturally be disliked by foreigners and by others whose papers 144 PARAGUAY. he was required to detain, and it was not strange that they should regard him as a tool or spy of the government. Yet he was so obliging, and always so sociable and good-natured, that he was almost universally liked. His wife, Dona Pancha, came as near to my idea of a Christian woman as any per- son I have ever met. Her family had been persecuted by Francia and by the elder Lopez until it was nearly de- stroyed. Most of the surviving members of it were beyond the limits of Paraguay. But affliction or persecution had not chilled her heart, but rather made it more sensitive to the sufferings of others. The office of Postmaster-General of Para- guay only afforded the incumbent the small pittance of thirty dollars a month, and as the family had no fortune beyond the house they lived in, the old lady, with her servants, eked out the supplies, not only for the support of her own family, but for a large number of the infirm and destitute, by the making of chipa and dulces. She appeared to be always at work ; and I was assured by my fair countrywoman, the wife of the "French Consul, Izarie", who assisted the old lady very much in these contributions, that the number of poor dependants on this family was almost incredible. To my surprise, on my return to Paraguay, I found the two were prisoners. What offence they had committed no one seemed to know. They were in solitary confinement in separate cells, and no one, not even their children, was per- mitted to visit them, or even to see them. Some two months after my return, in passing one morning through the street not far from their house, I thought I saw, on the opposite side and a little in front of me, my old friend. I stepped quickly after him, and, hailing him, he greeted me very cordially, and we walked along together for a short distance. He told me that he and his wife had both been let out of prison the day before ; that the old lady was very sick indeed, and would be very glad if I would call and see her. I promised to do so, and the next day I went to the house, and was invited into the room where the poor invalid was lying upon the bed. She was a mere skeleton ; her voice was gone, and she could THE ACU5JAS. I45 hardly speak in a whisper. She seemed very glad to see me, and undertook to tell me something of her sufferings. I could only make out, as she held up her bony fingers and motioned towards the prison where she had been confined, "Eight months, eight months." Those two words told the whole story. The poor old lady had been in solitary con- finement, with no human face that she could look upon except a brutal soldier, for eight months, and had only been let out of prison in time to die. A day or two after that I was greatly surprised to receive a note from the old man. What temerity, thought I, for a person in his situation to send me a note. Of course the government would know all about it. However, when I read the note I thought it could not be so very dangerous, as it was simply a request that I would call down and play a game of chess with him. I went, and took with me a letter for him which had come to my care from his long-time near neighbor and our common friend, Mr. George Paddison, formerly chief engineer of the railroad. He said he would not open the letter nor read it ; that his wife had been arrested for no other reason, that he knew of, than that a nephew of hers, in Buenos Aires, had written her a letter which had been intercepted by the gov- ernment, and of the contents of which they knew nothing ; and therefore, lest this letter might do him harm, and lest the very fact that he had received a letter unbeknown to the gov- ernment might some time become known and be construed to his prejudice, he tore it up into fragments before my eyes without reading it. He said, moreover, that he had not the most remote idea, at that moment, of the reason why he had been imprisoned. He could understand why the old lady had been, as her relations were known to be among the most influ- ential of the Paraguayans in Buenos Aires, and were using all their influence against Lopez ; but for himself he could not conceive what had been the motive of his arrest. He said that his object in sending me the invitation to come and play chess with him was that he might request me not to visit his house any more. He was a marked man, and though VOL. II. I0 146 PARAGUAY. he would have been delighted if we could resume our former relations, yet it was too dangerous. I told him I fully appre- ciated his situation, and bade him adieu. Within a few days I was relieved by learning that the old lady was dead, and within a fifcw weeks after that the old man had joined her in the unseen world. Even at that period, the best news I could receive from many of my friends was that they were dead. The English doctors, Fox and Rhind, remained in prison about two months. They were both of them in feeble health at the time of their arrest, and, being confined in dark, damp cells, it was a wonder that they survived. They were both very sick during the term of their imprisonment, but were not permitted to hold communication with any one, not even to converse with the sentinel who was over them. They could not send to their houses for changes of clothing, or for the medicine which they felt they must have or soon die. They did not die, however, but at the end of two months' confine- ment were pardoned out of prison, after which Dr. Fox was called down to the army, and Dr. Rhind remained in charge of the hospitals at Asuncion. The latter never left Paraguay, but he was fortunate enough to die a natural death, instead of sharing the fate of most of the foreigners in the country at the time of his imprisonment. Masterman, how- ever, still remained in prison. His arrest had not taken place until a few days after that of his fellow-countrymen. The of- f fence alleged against him was, that he had endeavored to de- liver some letters from England for Dr. Rhind, which had been given him for that purpose by the French consul. There being no law against it, neither Masterman nor any- body else supposed there was anything criminal in an act that was in accordance with universal custom. The description of the prison, and the trial to which he was subjected, I give in Masterman's own words.* * Seven Eventful Years in Paraguay : A Narrative of Personal Experience amongst the Paraguayans. By George Frederick Masterman, late Assistant Surgeon, Professor of Materia Medica, Chief Military Apothecary General Hos- pital, Asuncion, Paraguay. Formerly of Medical Staff of her Majesty's Sad Regiment. MASTERMAN IN PRISON. j^y " I then, as far as the dim light of the candle allowed me, ex- amined my dungeon. It was about twelve feet by eight, the walls of rough adobes. From a heavy column in the centre of the wall sprung two arches, and above them the roof at a considerable height, palm trunks and tiles laid in earth. The floor was of mud, full of hollows, cold and wet ; the only furniture a cartrt, that is, a hide stretched on a wooden frame, and a broken chair. I soon found my prison was so situated that, except in bright weather, I should live almost in darkness. The large door was wide open, but as it looked only into a long, arched passage connecting the two courtyards of the Colegio (for I was within the old Jesuit College), all the light I could get would be that reflected from the wall. " About ten in the morning a sergeant came in, and ordered me to follow him. I did so, and was taken to a small room in front of the building. I found there Captain Silva, an alferez, a sergeant, and Senor Ortellado, a notary. By the latter I was sworn on a sword, and then examined very tediously for several hours. Written questions were read to me ; my answers were taken down on loose sheets, and then copied on stamped paper. I was first asked a number of formal questions about my name, age, birthplace, relig- ion, and so on, and then if I knew why I had been arrested. No. Did I not know that it was the first duty of a soldier to obey his su- periors ? Yes, certainly; but I was not a soldier, my rank being honorary. Was I in the service of the Republic ? Yes, but without a contract, and in a non-military capacity. Did I not know that it was forbidden by law to deliver letters which had not passed through the post-office ? No ; I had never seen or heard of such a law, nor had I even infringed it since I had never delivered the letters. Would send them there, if permitted, and would, of course, pay the postage. He then asked me if I had the letters, and ordered me to give them up. I demurred, questioning their right to deprive me of them, as they had not shown me by what authority they were acting. Captain Silva told the sergeant to put a set of griUos (fetters) on the table. Taking the hint, for of course resistance was out of the question, I gave up the letters. I was then examined at great length about my private correspondence, the people I wrote to, where they lived, and so on " On returning to my cell, I found it had been improved by the arrival of some bedding from my quarters, with a wash-hand basin, 148 PARAGUAY. a water-jar, and a chair ; but it was still a most wretched place, and miserably cold. " Near the threshold, but in the passage, stood, day and night, a sentry armed with musket and bayonet, and relieved every two hours, a more effectual guard than bolts or bars. He stood facing me, and about eight feet from my bed ; and from nine o'clock at night until the reveille sounded the next morning, every quarter of an hour he shouted ' Sentinela alerta ! ' at the top of his voice, to show that he was not sleeping. This startling cry was taken up in succession by the others, in the chain of sentries, within and without the prison, and by the time the last had finished the first began again. It was terrible ! To be thus awakened by a sudden yell, all hope of sound and peaceful sleep destroyed, and the painful consciousness that one was a prisoner perpetually forced upon the attention, was a cruel torture. Never shall I be able to efface it from my memory. " Often have I passed the whole night pacing wearily up and down the short length of my prison, or lying with my fingers firmly pressed up my ears, lest I should fall asleep but to be awakened by that dreaded cry. For months I only slept the third night. " To return to my examination. The next day I was called to hear the evidence read over to me from beginning to end. When it was being taken, I noticed that Captain Silva and the notary fre- quently left the room with the papers, and I now found why they had done so. My replies, nominally copied from the loose sheets, had been grossly distorted ; all that tended to exculpate me was omitted ; and they had inserted a fictitious confession of guilt, that I had asked pardon for my offences, and that I had stated I was willing to bear any punishment awarded me ! .... "Up to that time I had received no ill-treatment from him (Lopez), and thought that as an Englishman, and one who had faithfully served him many years, I should soon be set at liberty. Without a reply, Ortellado told me to sign the depositions. I de- clined to do so, saying that they knew they were falsified and un- just to me. He called my attention to the irons again, and at the same time assured me that if I would give him no further trouble I should be set at liberty in a few days. Seeing it was useless to resist, and dreading the severities to which I should have been ex- posed had I been put in irons, deprived of bed and chair, and TORTURE OF PRISONERS. I 49 with only a hide upon the ground to sit or lie upon, I reluctantly signed the papers I gradually became accustomed to the dim light reflected from the wall of the passage, and in clear weather could see to read for several hours a day. But when the sky was overcast, and until the sun was high, I was in a gloom so deep that to any one entering from without it would have seemed total dark- ness. My greatest fear was that the damp would affect my health ; for the mud floor was beneath the level of the courtyard, and the walls, the beams, and even my mattress on its under side, were cov- ered with fungoid growths, green and slimy with mouldiness. The cell was miserably cold, but they would not let me have a blanket from my quarters, and I had only a tattered piece of red baize, which had long done duty as a table-cover, in place of it Next to my prison was an open corridor, where a great many presos were confined in chains, which all day long clanked dismally, and often in the night I heard them clash suddenly when the prisoners were startled in their sleep by the cry of the sentries. Now and then I caught sight of them through a chink in the thick boards which covered the window, and sometimes they passed to the great quadrangle through the passage in front of my door. They were of all ages, some very old men, others but boys, but all reduced to the last stage of emaciation, mere brown skin and bone. All had one pair of heavy fetters riveted on their ankles, rough with callosities and cicatrices of old wounds, several two ; and one man bore on his skeleton-like legs three heavy bars, which swung back- wards and forwards as he slowly shuffled along. Yet these sufferers were not half so wretched as one would have thought ; they used to laugh and sing, and have clattering, staggering races in their narrow den Every week or so, one and another of them would be taken out to the patio to be flogged. These were sad days for me. I dreaded their coming, and did not recover my equanimity for many hours afterwards. " I think the fact of hearing, without being able to see the inflic- tion of the punishments, made them more terrible. To hear the dull, heavy thud of the stick wielded by those stalwart, pitiless cor- porals, and to know that it was descending on living flesh, quivering in agony, made me faint and sick with horror. As a surgeon, I was, they told me, one of the coolest of operators, and yet these sounds used to unnerve me completely the whole day through. I 150 PARAGUAY. then little thought that I should one day have to suffer a worse pun- ishment In the inner courtyard were several political prisoners, all well known to me. One, an Argentine named Capdevila, I saw ^ pass my door several times; he had been a merchant of some wealth in Asuncion His wife bribed Mrs. Lynch to intercede for him, and he, with one or two others, was set at liberty. Pitying his countrymen who were still in captivity, he sent them food and clothes several times ; but this act of charity was construed into an offence against Lopez, and he was sent to the Colegio and put in irons. About a month afterwards I saw the poor old man marched off (to the Policia, I suppose), and return with two pairs of grilles on his legs ; they took away also his, hide cartre, and left him to lie on the bare ground. Three weeks afterwards he passed slowly and feebly, and returned some hours later with three bars. He caught sight of me as he went by, and in raising his hat stumbled and fell. He was brutally kicked until he scrambled up again. His cup of misery was not yet full ; after a shorter interval he was once more marched out, and, as several hours passed away, I made sure that he had been set at liberty, but to my grief and horror he returned late at night in a far worse plight than before. He still wore three bars, and so thick and long that he staggered under their weight, and was more than half an hour crossing the patio, inch by inch, and at length he crawled by my door on his hands and knees. Yet he did not die for several months afterwards ! * *' Sometimes I heard blows, but frequently the cries of the victim alone told how they were torturing him. One afternoon a poor fel- low was estacado, horizontally crucified, just beneath my window. Never shall I forget what I endured that day in listening to his moans and occasional frantic yells and prayers for mercy, and in picturing to myself what he was suffering. After hours of such tor- ments I would see them sometimes led, sometimes carried, back again, pale and bleeding, a piteous spectacle." In this wretched place, and subject to such treatment, J * In Resquin's diary the name of Ramon Capedevila appears in a list of forty- one who were executed as traitors on the gth of August, 1868. His brother, AureHano, according to the same authority, was executed on the 23d of the same month, with twenty-two others, including John Watts, the hero of Riachuelo, but for whose valor and judgment not a vessel of the Paraguayan squadron would have returned from that disastrous conflict. EFFORTS IN BEHALF OF MASTERMAN. 151 Masterman was held a prisoner for eleven months. As I had been so well received by Lopez on my return, I often thought whether or>' not I might venture to request the lib- eration of these three Englishmen. Greatly to my relief, Fox and Rhind were set at liberty at the end of two months, and I was daily hoping to hear the same of Masterman. But month passed after month, and his prison doors were not opened, and many a night did I lay awake, perplexing my brain to devise some way to extricate him from his miserable prison. But what could I do ? To intercede for him on the ground that he was not guilty, or that his punishment was excessive, would greatly enrage Lopez, and would probably subject Masterman to worse treatment. I knew him to be a weakling, both bodily and mentally, that his real offence could have been nothing more than some unfortunate expressions which his ungovernable and foolish tongue had let fall, but which in any other country would never have been noticed. At length, however, the occasion seemed opportune to intercede in his favor. If I could not ask his release on his own account, I could on account of my family. Mrs. VVashburn was in a precarious state of health, and as the only doctor in the capital (Rhind) was unreliable, being frequently unable, from sickness, to leave his house for days together, I suggested to Minister Berges that it would be a great favor to me and Mrs. Washburn if Masterman might be set at liberty, in order to attend my family. It was a very delicate affair to manage, and I was compelled to so far put aside all questions of dignity as to solicit the influence of Madam Lynch. In any country but Paraguay, it would have been manifestly improper to ask for such intercession. But " is it lawful to do good, or to do evil ? to save life or to destroy it ? " Again, was it right to deceive his Excellency, and to prefer my request on the ground of a personal favor, when, in fact, my real motive was to extri- cate Masterman ? I leave the answer to casuists. My diplomacy was successful ; he was set at liberty ; and that he might be more secure, I took him into my house, and 1 52 PARAGUAY. kept him there until he was seized from my side by the sol- diers of Lopez, as he started from the legation to accompany me when I was finally leaving the country. After I had secured his liberation, I soon found I had a diminutive white elephant on my hands, one that I could not send away, for that would be equivalent to sending him to torture and execution. I was obliged to tolerate him, though he had many eccentricities that were not agreeable. Yet he was skilful in his profession of pill-mixer, and had learned to be a very fair physician. My efforts to obtain his rescue a second time, in which I was also successful, will be related in the proper place. Excepting for the miseries and troubles of other people that came to my knowledge, the time for the first few months after my return to Asuncion would have been, if not altogether agreeable, still tolerable. I had scarcely anything to do of an official character, and busied myself to a great extent in get- ting together the materials for the first part of this work, in which I was very much assisted by Mr. Bliss, who had already commenced, at the instance of the government, to write a his- tory of Paraguay in Spanish, and as he had collected and ar- ranged in their chronological order a great mass of facts, the work was comparatively easy. Perhaps my return to Paraguay was not so welcome to any other person in the country as to the French Consul, M. Cochelet. As before said, he was greatly out of favor with the President, so much so, that the Paraguayan people, as well as the foreigners, dared not visit him or hold any communi- cation with him. Before leaving Paraguay to return to the United States, we had lived in adjoining houses and had been extremely intimate, and my return was particularly desired by him, as then there would be one family in the country that he and his could visit whenever they chose. I had a billiard- table in my house, and scarcely a day passed until he left the country but that we played several games of billiards and of chess. We often went partridge shooting together, and our rides through those little-frequented roads which, running in all directions around Asuncion, pass over the gentle hills, and CAMPO GRANDE.' 153 between cultivated fields, the citron-trees on both sides emit- ting the most fragrant odor imaginable, and with a great variety of other trees of variegated hues, all extremely beau- tiful, formed the most grateful diversion during this dark and anxious period. For riding on horseback the roads were alto- gether the finest, the most diversified and charming, that I have ever seen in any country. Back from Asuncion, about a league and a half from the town, is a large open plain, about two leagues wide and five or six in length, called Campo Grande. This camp was bounded on each side by gentle wooded acclivities, and at a distance RANCHO OF THE POORER CLASS. varying from quarter to half a mile apart were the ranches in which the inhabitants lived. Some of these were little bet- ter than huts, but generally, though they made but an unpre- tending appearance, they were very comfortable habitations. 1 54 PARAGUAY. One of the best houses standing on the border of this camp was rented, soon after my arrival in the country, by an Italian named Fidanza, who had been a man of consid- erable means in Buenos Aires, having interests in several steamers, one of which he usually commanded. About the time that the war with Brazil commenced he had come up to Paraguay with a steamer called the Villa del Salto. His object had been to make a sale of the vessel and cargo to Lopez, and he had nearly completed his bargain, and sup- posed that he should be able to leave, having made a profit- able operation, when Lopez concluded to declare war against the Argentine Confederation, to take his steamer without paying for it, and declare it a prize of war. With a considera- tion to Fidanza, however, very different from what he had shown to the officers of the Marques de Olinda, he allowed him to take of his own stores a considerable supply, enough, as Fidanza supposed, to last him for two or three years. Finding that he was not likely to get away from the country for a long time, he took this rancho in Campo Grande, and removed his stores to that place, where he lived with profuse hospitality, welcoming all who went to visit him with the best that his house could afford. In our partridge-shooting expe- ditions in Campo Grande we usually dined at his house, and though we enjoyed exceedingly his generous fare, yet he seemed to enjoy in playing the host even greater pleasure than we did in partaking of his bounty. His house being about half-way on the road to Limpio, where I continued after my return from the United States to visit, as formerly, my old friend Don Mauricio, I was his frequent guest. He was exceedingly anxious to get out of the country and return to his family in Buenos Aires; and while the situation there was yet tolerable, and he was supposed to be in favor with Lopez, he said he would gladly surrender half his fortune, which was considerable, could he again set foot beyond the limits of Paraguay. Don Mauricio had heard of my return with great satisfac- tion, as, but a short time before, his elder son had been sent A SUCCESSFUL APPEAL. 155 up, a helpless invalid, from the army to the hospital in the capital. The old man being too aged and infirm ever to leave home, and his sons, slaves, and peons having all been taken for soldiers, he sent his daughters to the capital to bid us wel- come and to invite us to visit him at Limpio. They were also to look after their brother, who lay helpless and paralyzed in his lower extremities in the hospital. While in town they learned, greatly to their consternation, that he was to be sent to the encampment at Cerro Leon, where, with the fare com- monly given to the sick, and the rough treatment of the Paraguayan surgeons, they feared he would not long survive. They accordingly came to me and asked if I could not inter- cede and get permission for him to go to his home at Limpio, where it was possible he might recover, and would certainly relieve the state of the expense of taking care of him. It was not within the rules of the diplomatic regulations for me to make any such request of the government, neither had it been within the same rules, when the other brother was con- scripted as a soldier, to make it a personal request that he should be discharged, and allowed to return to his home ; nevertheless, I did so, and in both instances my request was granted. I had no sooner left the country, however, than he was re-enlisted, and when I returned was a soldier at Humaita, while the other was an invalid in the hospital. CHAPTER XI. A Visit to Lopez's Head-Quarters. Description of Huraaita. The Encamp- ment at Paso Pucu. Dr. Stewart, the Surgeon-General. Other English Officers. Their Warnings and Forebodings. Interviews with Lopez. His Opinion of Brazilian Soldiers. Release of Americans from Prison. Obse- quiousness of Lopez's Officers. Admiral Tamandare. Brazilian Artillery Practice. An American Claim allowed by Lopez. Arrest of Don Luis Jara. Picking a Money-Box. Alleged Paraguayan Victories. Prospect of American Mediation. ON the 2Oth of December, about seven weeks after my return to Asuncion, I was advised by the Minister for Foreign Relations, Don Jose Berges, that the President, having recovered his health, would be pleased to see me at his head- quarters, and that a steamer would be at my disposal to take me to Humaita whenever it would suit my pleasure to visit his Excellency. I accordingly left the same evening, and on the morning of the second day reached Humaita, where I was furnished with a horse and guide to take me to Paso Pucu. Of the great natural advantages of Humaita, a very correct idea may be formed by the following description by Colonel Thompson : " Humaita, is situated on a level cliff, about thirty feet above the river, on a sharp horse-shoe bend of the stream, to which it presents a concave surface, thus giving the power of concentrating the fire of all the batteries on any point in the bend. The cliff is 2,500 yards long, being bounded by a carrisal * at each end, and the village is surrounded by a trench resting at both ends on the river ; at the commence- * Carrisal is a broad sheet of water sometimes surrounded, like a lake, and sometimes on the margin of a river, full of coarse strong grass that gives it at a little distance the appearance of a plain, and which is so thick that a canoe can with difficulty be forced through it. v * 1 'm S ft P^ ' ". ^A HUMAITA. '57 ment of the two carrisals this trench is 14,800 yards long, including the redans, which are placed about every 250 yards, and encloses a space of flat pasture-land 4,000 yards long and 2,000 yards wide. Going up the river from Humaita, there is no possible communication with the land before reaching Filar, on account of the carrisals, with the exception of a cliff called Tayi, fifteen miles above Humaita, where there is a road leading to the inland high roads. The carrisal between Humaita and Tayi is more or less in the shape of a diamond, with perpendiculars respectively seven and four miles long, and is called the Potrero Obella. It is totally impassable in most parts, but there are one or two tracks by which it can be traversed. On the land side it is completely shut off by an impenetrable jungle, having only one opening, by which cat- tle were introduced in large quantities, and were taken out as required at the Humaita end. When the river is low, there is a path along the edge of it from Tayi to Humaita, but the Arroyo Hondo has to be crossed in canoes. Outside the trench of Humaita, the ground for some leagues is full of morasses, with thin pieces of dry land between them, more especially near San Solano and Tuyucue, but most of the ground near the trench is passable." Below Humaita, about a league and a half, is Curupaiti, which was fortified, until after it had been passed by the Brazilian squadron, even more strongly than Humaita. At about an equal distance from the two points, situate on a fine open plain having a gentle incline, with several orange- groves that diversified the scene and gave shelter from the sun, stood the head-quarters of Lopez at Paso Pucu. On the edge of the grove was the house occupied by the President. It was made of bamboo and thatch, its roof being of the latter. There was a deep awning in front, and alongside was a long building occupied as quarters for his staff. In the rear, completely hidden by the orange-trees, was the house of Madam Lynch, and beyond that was another occupied by General Barrios and his wife. Other officers enjoying the confidence of Lopez, like Generals Resquin and Bruguez, Colo- 158 PARAGUAY. nel Thompson, and others, had houses near by, and all pro- tected by the orange-grove from the sun and rain. I was assigned a house of similar structure at a little distance from the grove, very near one occupied by Dr. Stewart, the Surgeon- General of the army. This suited me very well, for our rela- tions had long been of the most intimate and confidential kind, and I could learn more from him of the true state of affairs there than from all the other Englishmen in the country. Dr. Stewart had come to Paraguay as early as 1856, and soon after entered into military service as surgeon in the army, and had been promoted to the highest medical rank on account of his efficient services. He was a Scotchman by birth, had seen service in the Crimea, was a man of easy, winning man- ners, thoroughly informed both in the theory and the practice of medicine and surgery, and was a great acquisition to the military service of Paraguay. He had organized a system of hospitals, and had induced the government to bring out sev- eral other English physicians as assistants, so that during the war the medical branch of the service was far more efficient and better conducted than in the camp of either the Brazilians or the Argentines. Having been physician to Lopez for several years, he knew more of his character than any other foreigner in the country ; and before I made my visit home in 1865, I had learned through him that the vanity and ambition of the young President were unbounded, and that no consideration for his people would ever interfere with his selfish plans. On reaching the encampment, I was astonished to observe the great change that had come over, not only Dr. Stewart, but the other Englishmen at head-quarters, Colonel Thomp- son, and the civil engineer, Mr. Valpy. Before I had left Para- guay, though they all knew Lopez was a tyrant capable of any atrocity, they had never supposed that they were themselves in any personal danger. But it was all changed now. They had seen that Lopez was resolved that, if he could not con- tinue to rule over Paraguay, no one else should, and was bent on the destruction of the entire people. They early warned me to be very careful in my intercourse with him ; that, if I LOPEZ STILL HOPEFUL. 1 59 could keep in favor with him, my presence in the country might somewhat restrain his barbarities ; but that, were he to quarrel with me, it would have been infinitely better for them all had I never returned. They all of them expressed the opinion that they would never leave the country alive, and gave me the cheering information that my chance of escape was little better than theirs. Yet, strange as it may appear, when nearly everybody about the camp had either been killed in battle, died of disease, or been murdered by Lopez, these three Englishmen were all taken prisoners by the Bra- zilians, and are now alive to testify to the barbarities of this common enemy of mankind. With one other exception, Colonel VVisner, the Hungarian, all the rest, so far as I knew or can recollect them, perished before the cause of all their misery fell, pierced by a lance in the mud of the Aquidaban. During my stay at head-quarters I had several protracted interviews with Lopez, during which we discussed the situa- tion at considerable length. He said his situation was not so desperate as it had been previously, nothing like so des- perate as it had been when his whole army was prostrate with the measles at Itapiru, while Tamandare" was bombard- ing for twenty-eight days, at long range, doing no harm, and only wasting his ammunition. He said it was a mistake which many made to suppose that the Brazilian soldiers would not fight. The men were brave enough, but the officers were ignorant and incompetent. He had seen feats of valor performed by Brazilian soldiers equal to anything in his own army ; but there was such a lack of energy, such an indisposition to follow up any temporary ad- vantage which they gained, that it was easy for him to keep them at bay for a long time. His principal hope was that the allies would quarrel among themselves and the alliance be , broken up. He believed that the Brazilian exchequer could v not long endure such a strain upon it as the war was caus- \ ing ; that the Empire would become exhausted in its material \ resources before Paraguay could be overrun and conquered. ^J I had learned, since my return, that at the time of the cap- 160 PARAGUAY. ture of the Argentine steamers at Corrientes there were three Americans on board of them, and that they were prisoners then in Paraguay. I told Lopez that when these men had taken service on board of these steamers war did not exist between Paraguay and the Argentine Republic, and they had no suspicion that such would be the case ; therefore, being American citizens, I thought he ought to release them, and that unless he would do so I should be obliged to call the attention of the United States government to their situation. He insisted that they were lawful prisoners ; that the capture of the steamers had been in accordance with the rules of war ; and that these men, being on board, were as liable to capture and detention as any others, and that by releasing them it would be an acknowledgment of the irregularity of his proceedings in seizing the steamers. I then told him that, as there were very few Americans in the country, I was anx- ious to do all I could to make their condition as tolerable as pos- sible ; and that, as one of these men was a cook, and another a man who might otherwise be useful to me, and it was no advantage to the government to keep them as prisoners, I should regard it as a favor that they might be so far released that I could employ them as servants, waiving for the time the question of the legality of their capture. After a great deal of hesitation and discussion, in which he said it must be clearly understood that they were not to acquire any rights as members of the legation, but were to be availa- ble as prisoners in case of an exchange, my request was granted. Unfortunately, one of the three, on being captured, had denied his nationality, and said he was an Englishman ; therefore I was obliged to surrender all claims to him. An- other, who had been sent to labor in the iron-mines at Ibicui, was sent to the capital to be allowed to come into my service. The third, who was a cook, was a colored man by the name of George Bowen, from the city of Washington, a very power- ful, active fellow. He was released, and -came to live at my house. But I soon found that, instead of getting a diminutive white elephant on my hands, as in the case of Masterman, I UNIVERSAL OBSEQUIOUSNESS. 161 had got a big black one, a fellow who would get drunk every chance he could get, and would steal anything he could lay his hands on to give away to his numerous female friends, of whom he seemed to have almost as many as Lopez himself. When drunk, he was so quarrelsome that the other servants were afraid to remain in the house with him ; and, after repeated warnings and threats, all of which were entirely unavailing, I was obliged to send him away. What became of him afterwards I never knew. While at the camp on this occasion, I observed a degree of obsequiousness, and an appearance of terror when in the pres- ence of his Excellency, on the part of all, foreigners and natives alike, that I had never witnessed before. When Lopez was in sight, everybody, from his chu'ef of staff to the scullions about the camp, stood or moved uncovered. On one occasion, he asked me to take a short stroll with him, and look at some round shot and some unexploded shells of the enemy that had been picked up in his camp, and also some field-pieces which had been captured a short time before. His staff and a number of other principal officers followed close by. But whether it was as a guard to protect him if I should turn upon him and attempt to strangle him, or as an invariable habit, I am not aware. Though it was about two o'clock, p. M., and therefore the very hottest part of the day, the sun out in full force, yet every man except Lopez and myself stood cap in hand, look- ing with the sun beating down in full force upon their heads, several of which were quite bald. Upon another occasion, it was Christmas day, after dinner, I walked up to visit Colonel Thompson at his house in the orange-grove, close adjoining that of Madam Lynch. Not finding him in, I strolled around where I found the Madam, Colonel Thomp- son, General Resquin, General Bruguez, and several others engaged in conversation, and was invited to take a seat among them. I did so, and while sitting there conversing I suddenly saw every one around me jump up hastily and stand with a reverent air, all facing in the same direction. Casting my eyes that way, I saw the President at a distance of several VOL. II. ii 1 62 PARAGUAY. rods, strolling leisurely through the grove. For my part, I let him stroll, and kept my seat, which act of discourtesy would probably have cost the life of any other person in the group. During all the time I was at the camp the squadron was employed after the manner that it had formerly been accus- tomed at Paso de la Patria, in bombarding at long range. After the retirement of the Brazilians from Itapiru and the passage of the army into Paraguayan territory, when all could see how easy it would have been for Lopez's whole army to have been captured had the Brazilian admiral possessed the capacity of an ordinary wood-sawyer, he was recalled by the Emperor, and Admiral Ignacio was appointed in his place. The treatment of Tamandare" by .the Emperor after his recall was one of the most singular of the many strange episodes of the war. Though his incapacity and his inertness had cost the Empire many millions of dollars and many thousands of lives, and he had left Lopez stronger than he found him, yet on his return to Rio de Janeiro he was welcomed by the Emperor in the most complimentary terms, publicly thanked for his great and valiant services, and decorated with orders, and assured that his whole course was approved by his im- perial master. The only difference between Tamandare" and his successor was that the latter was more wasteful of his ammunition. His iron-clads were brought up to within long range of Curupaiti, and there they continued, day after day and month after month, firing shot and shell into the Para- p" guayan lines, but scarcely ever doing the least harm. I was assured by the English doctors, that though some days the number of shot that fell within the lines was to be counted by thousands, yet the average loss to the Paraguay- ans, notwithstanding all this waste of war material, did not amount to two persons a day, killed or wounded. One after- noon the bombarding was very heavy, and just about an hour after it ceased in the evening I was sitting with Lopez at the door of his house, when General Diaz, who was in command at Curupaiti, came in to report the day's doings ; and when Lopez A CLAIM FOR DAMAGES. jg* asked him the result of that terrible bombardment we had been hearing through the afternoon, he said that all the harm it had done was to wound one old cow. If the allies, in pursuance of their mutual engagement not to lay down their arms until they had driven Lopez from Paraguay, were to prosecute the war in that fashion until they accomplished their object, what misery and protracted suffer- ing must not the Paraguayan people endure ! During this visit, I also called the President's attention to y the fact, that, at the time of the sack of Bella Vista, in the province of Corrientes, the stock of a merchant there who claimed to be an American citizen, and had the American flag / over his premises, had been taken, and receipts had been given by the officer in command. This merchant had requested me v ' to present his claim, and ask that it might be allowed and paid. Lopez asked me the amount of the receipts. I replied that it was between seven and eight thousand dollars in coin. With / a magnificent air he replied : " It matters not whether it is seven thousand or seventy thousand, if you have the receipts you have only to present them and the money will be paid ; present the case to the Minister of Foreign Affairs." Having thus secured the release of my countrymen from imprison- ment and obtained an assurance of the adjustment of this-'' claim, and having no other business there, I soon afterwards informed his Excellency that I would return to Asuncion whenever a steamer might be going up the river. To this he replied, in a manner equally magnificent, that it did not matter whether a steamer was going or not ; if I desired to return, that was sufficient ; a steamer would be despatched at any hour that I desired for my accommodation. I prepared to return, therefore, very well satisfied with my trip, and believed that the fears which my English friends had expressed as to the desperate measures to which Lopez might resort were not well founded. But an hour or so before I left the camp to go to Humaita, at about nine o'clock in the evening, I was some- what staggered when Dr. Stewart came into my house in great excitement, and said his chief commissary, who was no 1 64 PARAGUAY. other than my landlord, the owner of the house I lived in, Don Luis Jara, had been arrested, taken to prison, and put in the stocks. What his crime was no one knew except Lopez, but as he had been somewhat intimate with me during my stay there, and had expressed his great satisfaction that I was occupying his fine house, and had told me that I should be welcome to it so long as I remained in the country, and to everything it contained, that he should ask no rent, but should consider himself fully compensated for the protection that, in certain contingencies, I might give it, I was afraid that, not- withstanding Lopez's great politeness and civility towards me, Don Luis had somehow got into trouble on my account. I left the same evening for Humaita, and an incident oc- curred that night that I may here relate, as it served to put me on my guard for the future, as well as to show how com- pletely the secrets of everybody were in the possession of Lopez. While the Shamokin was lying in front of Corrien- tes, on her way up the river to pass through the blockading squadron, a gentleman whose wife and infant child had been carried off as prisoners to Paraguay at the time that the city was evacuated by the Paraguayan troops came on board the steamer. He brought with him some thirty or forty gold ounces, which he requested me to take, and, if I had the op- portunity, to send them to his wife ; and if I could not send the money, to make use of it in purchasing whatever I thought she might most need and which I might be permitted to send her. I took it, and promised to do the best I could with it. While at Asuncion I had learned from Berges that this lady was detained at a small capilla not far above Humaita, and that she was not a close prisoner. Thinking that the money would be more available if changed into silver dollars than in ounces, I took about half the amount in silver in a small tin box, intending to speak to Lopez in regard to the matter, and request that it might be forwarded to the lady. I accord- ingly, when in conversation with him at Paso Pucu, took up the subject, and said that I had the money with me, and if he had no objection, I would leave it to be sent to her. NEWS FROM ABROAD. 165 He said that if I would leave it with a certain officer at Humaita, it should be forwarded. On returning to Humaita, I found, on taking the box from my trunk, that I had left the key in Asuncion. I proposed to force the lock, or to cut a hole in the side of the box, so that the money could be taken out. The officer, however, said that was unnecessary, and sent immediately and brought an expert, who picked the lock with- out difficulty. I then thought that, if prepared to pick locks so readily, what security was there in an official seal ? Returning to the capital, the same dreary monotony con- tinued. The Seinanario would frequently contain accounts of great victories. These victories were generally represented to be the sallies of small bodies of Paraguayan troops, who would attack the enemy in position, and after slaying hundreds or thousands, causing complete havoc and consternation, they would return in good order, and perhaps report the loss of two or three killed and as many wounded. But unfortunately, in spite of all precautions taken by the government to prevent the people of Asuncion from learning the facts, they would frequently hear that what the Semanario reported as a great victory was in fact a disastrous repulse, so that from the ac- counts in the Semanario we could judge absolutely nothing of the progress of the war. In one of these forays some newspapers had been captured, and from them it was ascertained that the United States had offered their mediation in the war, and had sent instructions to the different ministers in Rio, Buenos Aires, and Paraguay, to make the tender of their good offices to the governments to which they were respectively accredited. I had received V no official notice of this ; in fact, I had received nothing from beyond the military lines since my arrival in Paraguay. No despatches had come through, and as the allies had made so much resistance to my passage through their lines, it was possible that my correspondence was delayed in the allied camp. I therefore proposed to go through to the head-quar- ters of the Commander-in-Chief of the allies, the Marques de Caxias, and learn what progress had been made in the pro- !66 PARAGUAY. posed mediation, and obtain my despatches or other mail matter, if there were anything of the kind to be found on that side of the line. On making a suggestion of this kind to Berges, he imme- diately telegraphed to Lopez, and on the same day I was ad- vised that his Excellency would give me every facility for passing through to the allied camp. CHAPTER XII. Impressment of all Paraguayans into Military Service. Battle of Estero Bellaco. Brazilian Chivalry. Denunciations against Deserters. Story of Dona Carmelita Cordal. She publicly renounces her Husband. Her Confidential Explanations. Universal Hypocrisy of Paraguayans. Enforced Contribu- tions. Dr. Tristan Roca. Levies upon Foreigners. Testimonials to Lopez. The Album, the Flag, and the Sword. The Women offer all their Jewels. Their Patriotic Speeches. Lopez accepts only a Part. The Wo- men volunteer as Soldiers. A Tragical Farce. THE men in Asuncion, and indeed throughout Paraguay, had been enlisted into the army previous to my return. There was not a single able-bodied man in the whole country between the ages of eighteen and sixty who was not, in some capacity or other, in the government service. The recruiting after that was from the very old and the very young, untiK all from eight to eighty, who were not in prison, were forced into the army. Of the better class of citizens in Asuncion with whom I had been previously acquainted, those engaged in business as merchants, and those having an income from their property sufficient for their support, had all been con- scripted in the early part of the year 1866, and sent to the head-quarters as common soldiers. To serve in the ranks, they were required to cast off their shoes and the clothes of a citizen, and don the uniform of a Paraguayan soldier, white pantaloons, a red shirt, and a soldier's cap. The battalion into which they were drafted was No. 40, and they had but just got fairly organized in the camp at the time of the battle of the 24th of May, in which Lopez received a most terrible defeat. The 25th of May being the anniversary of Argentine independence, General Mitre had resolved on that day to make a general attack along the lines of Lopez, and 1 68 PARAGUAY. the day preceding he was engaged in getting everything ready for a great battle. There was to have been a general review at one o'clock in the day, and the men had but just laid aside their arms to cook their asado, when the alarm wa given that the Paraguayans were approaching. It was quickly seen that at several different points large bodies of men were marching from the woods, while another force was bearing down directly in front. Instantly the allied ranks were formed for action, and the greatest battle of the war then took place. The Para- guayans fought with the courage of desperation, and their shock was received with equal valor, until the advancing legions were hurled back at all points. Lopez, at a safe distance, was watching the course of the battle, and seeing that all his plans had miscarried, and that his troops were being cut to pieces, he sounded a retreat. The retreat was more disastrous than the attack, as the Argentine artillery was in such a position as to rake the only open space of ground through which they must retire. President Mitre was in command at this time, and why he did not follow up his advantage has always been a mystery. Had any of the Brazilian generals been in command, there would have been no mystery about it, for they always practised a kind of chivalry unknown in other wars, .and whenever they had gained a victory, routed the enemy and driven them back in consternation, they were so extremely chivalrous that they would not pursue their advan- tage, until the retreating foe could have time to reorganize and prepare for another advance. In this action, Lopez had given the post of honor to the Fortieth Battalion, that is, he had placed it where there was the greatest danger, and where it was supposed he had intended that they should be killed off. Whether that was his intention or not, such was the fact, as very few ever returned alive. Two or three, how- ever, were taken prisoners ; and as soon as this fact was known they were denounced as deserters in the Scmanario, and con- fiscation of their property was threatened. One of these un- fortunate prisoners I had met while I was in Corrientes wait- ing for a gunboat. His name was Fernando Cordal. He had FERNANDO CORDAL. 169. been desperately wounded in the action, having received three balls in different parts of his body. On reaching Asuncion I learned, greatly to my disgust and horror, that he had been denounced as a traitor, and that his wife, who was the daughter of Don Andres Gill, for many years the principal secretary and adviser of Carlos Antonio Lopez, had been threatened with exile and confiscation of all her property, and that to avert such a fate she had published a card denouncing her husband and anathematizing him as a traitor and deserter. I found, indeed, that all those whose near kindred had been taken prisoners or in any way had escaped from the power of the allies were obliged to de- nounce them and repudiate them, or else be driven, proscribed and destitute, far into the interior. Notwithstanding this renunciation of her husband, to whom she was fondly at- tached, Dona Carmelita was constantly in dread of being stripped of her whole fortune, which had been considerable, and sent, like many others, into the wilderness. When I reached Asuncion, I narrated what I had known of him ; I told everybody that I had seen her husband in Corrientes desperately wounded ; that he had received his wounds when gallantly fighting the enemy, and was finally over- powered and taken to the hospital, where he died a few days after. These facts being made known to Lopez, Dona Carmelita was allowed to remain at the capital. She was one of our nearest neighbors, and a woman of superior intel- ligence, very sprightly and vivacious, and from her I was able to learn a great many things in regard to the condition of affairs around us, and the real sentiments of the people towards Lopez. She used to frighten me with the stories she told me of his atrocities, which she said were known to all her acquaintances ; she said that the hypocrisy among the people in their professions of devotion and loyalty was beyond belief, it was universal ; and they were in such constant fear and anx- iety that they would be willing to surrender everything in the world but life and health, so that the Lopez family might be driven from Paraguay. She said : " They have taken our 1 7 Basilic went to get a passport to the Recoleta, but after waiting two hours, without being able to obtain it, returned. From the looks of the people, it seems as if matters were going very badly below. "Tuesday, March $d. At 7 A. M. went to the Minis- tcrio to complain of the treatment of Basilic by the Geff. Major Fernandez was very civil, and protested there had been no intention to molest me, and promised that a similar occur- rence should not happen again. He says there is nothing new from below. Silence only. The ironclads are a little 262 PARAGUAY. above Humaita, doing nothing to prevent the Paraguayans from crossing the river. What fools are the Brazilians ! "Wednesday, MarcJi ^th. The weather continues oppres- sive, with nothing to break the monotony. The days seem very long, but, thank God ! we are now all in good health." Up to this time we had seen little to change our opinion that the allies would follow up their advantages and soon end the war. Why they had not done it before we could not explain. They had Lopez and his whole force at their mercy, if their commanders had possessed, not military genius, but common sense. They had an army five times as numerous as that of Lopez, and for months had him invested on every side except by the river. Thousands of men had been lying idle, absolutely dying for want of exercise, waiting for the squadron to force a passage above Humaita, and when that was effected it seemed that the last hope of Lopez would be gone. It had been a mystery to us why these idle troops had not been put to work long before to cut a road through the Chaco to some point above Humaita. This matter had been dis- cussed in the newspapers in Buenos Aires, but it had been declared to be impracticable, as the Chaco was but a dense forest full of marshes and swamps, intersected with deep and wide streams. It seemed to us, however, who, not being military men, were perhaps not competent to judge, that if the men who had died in the low grounds about the Tres Bocas within the past year had been set to work to make a corduroy road from Cerrito to Fort Olimpo, they could easily have done it, and one half of them been still alive. Events of a suspicious character were going on around us. The silence that prevailed was ominous. The only two per- sons connected with the government with whom I ever con- versed, Fernandez and Venancio Lopez, could never tell me anything. We heard of certain foreigners being arrested and sent below, but as they were not our acquaintances we had no suspicion of what offences they were accused. The twelve public-spirited patriots, with the President's brother-in-law, Saturnine Bedoya, at their head, who had gone to head-quar- THE ORIGIN OF THE CONSPIRACY. 263 ters to bear the voluntary gifts of the diamond-hilted sword with gold scabbard, the patriotic addresses bound in volumes with golden covers, and other gifts into which the jewels of the poor women had been wrought, had not returned. The Seinanario, in its account of their reception, said the Presi- dent had received the sword and been deeply affected by this evidence of their devotion to their country's cause, and with that sword would lead them to victory or perish at their head. Few of the committee, however, were ever to return again to Asuncion. Bedoya was arrested for no cause that I could ever learn, except that the French Consul, Cuberville, had told Benigno, that, in case the President should abdicate, he would be the proper man for the succes- sion. There may have been other reasons, but any one know- ing Lopez would regard that as sufficient, and would not care to look further. A whispered possibility that there might be a change was high treason in Lopez's eyes ; and though it was the consul who made it, yet it was enough to awaken the suspicion that the brother and brother-in-law were already providing for the succession. With this, as I believe, commenced the first idea of a conspiracy in Lopez's mind. A man, half knave, half fool, who had been but a short time in the country, made a suggestion innocent in itself, but coming to the ears of Lopez it was enough to inflame him to resolve on the destruction of every one who might profit by his fall. At this time the government at Asuncion was to all appear- ance in the hands of Fernandez. Venancio was still there, but was too sick to do anything, and too frightened to venture on any act without orders. Sanabria, at Luque, was the only executive man there ; and had there been any treachery medi- tated, it must have been at them or through them. Sanabria, however, was too universally detested to be suspected of being in the confidence of any one but his master, and all accused parties being seized by his orders, it seemed that those two were " among the faithless, faithful only found." The Vice-President, Berges, and Benitez, were all called to head-quarters as soon as Lopez learned that they had taken 264 PARAGUAY. counsel together in regard to the defence of Asuncion after the passage of the ironclads, and Fernandez and Sanabria had been left only because their services were required to keep the people in subjection and order. Both the Vice-President and Berges were held close prison- ers at Paso Pucu as soon as they arrived there. Benitez was treated with more indulgence, as Lopez must show favor to some, in order to retain their services for a while longer, but they had undoubtedly all committed the same offence. The non-return of the ironclads to effect the capture of Asuncion after their first inglorious exploit caused great un- easiness to all who had taken refuge in my house. They feared that in coming there they had incurred the displeasure of Lopez ; and had they supposed the end was so distant, they never would have taken so hazardous a step. Their disgust, therefore, grew daily more intense, as day after day passed and there was no indication that any effort was to be made to cut Lopez off from his supplies. This feeling was greatly in- creased when we learned that the Paraguayans were passing large numbers of cattle across to the Chaco, and thence driv- ing them down the right bank of the river, and then passing them back into Humaita, For two years the impenetrable Chaco had kept the allies powerless on that side of the river, and yet no sooner did Lopez require a road there than he found it. The great inert mass of the allied army still sat idle, and the officers spent their time in celebrating the late great victory, by which they had got Lopez surrounded and so completely at their mercy that his capitulation was only a matter of a few days more or less. Marshal Caxias and Admiral Ignacio were too busy sending off the reports of victories and magni- fying those services that were to bring them honors and pro- motion, to look after the prostrate enemy. The ironclads, having captured Asuncion, according to the reports of their gallant commanders, could attempt nothing more till they had orders from home. If they could keep their vessels from cap- ture by the Paraguayans, they thought they were performing prodigies of valor. It would have been supposed they would PASO PUCU ABANDONED. 265 have moved up and down the river at those points where the cattle were carried over, and have prevented this at least, and also the escape of any considerable portion of the army of Lopez ; but they all rested, apparently in sluggish indifference to what Lopez might do. As before mentioned, Humaita was left in command of Colonels Martinez and Alen. Of the former I have already spoken. Colonel Paulino Alen was a man in all respects superior to Martinez, was a man of tried courage, and had won the confidence of his chief by his fidelity as a spy. By the few foreigners about the camp he was regarded with the greatest aversion, as he was known to be ever trying to in- spire Lopez with suspicion of them, and indeed of everybody else. He resembled Lopez in many particulars, being short and stout, with much Indian blood in him, and more of the Indian suspicion and ferocity of character. He had a better education than most Paraguayans, having been a mem- ber of Lopez's suite in Europe, and his secretary at the time of his mediation in Buenos Aires. These two being left in command, Lopez withdrew and crossed over to the Chaco, and thence made his way to San Fernando. When assured of his safety, they destroyed his bomb-proof house, that this evidence of his cowardice should not fall into the hands of the allies. The large guns, such as could be dragged through the swamps of the Chaco, were withdrawn from their positions around Paso Pucu, and sent to San Fernando, and wooden dummies, or Quaker guns, left to keep the Brazilians in check, and all the forces left were con- centrated within the inner lines of Humaita. The Brazilians as usual, however, kept up their bombardment for a long time after the place was abandoned except by a few whose business it was to light camp-fires in the deserted places. At length, as no response was made for days, the assailants ventured nearer and nearer, till at last it was evident that they had been wasting their ammunition on empty forts and Quaker guns. Then, with characteristic valor, they entered just in time to see the few pickets escape to the inner 266 PARAGUAY. trenches. Another great victory was then to be celebrated. Steamers were once more to be despatched to the mouth of the river and to Rio, with the news that the brave Caxias had taken Paso Pucu, and Lopez had at last been so thoroughly routed he could never make a stand again. Humaita, how- ever, still held out, and Lopez with the larger part of his army was fifty miles up the river, fortifying at San Fernando. He had also a considerable force strongly posted at a point called Timbo, a little above Humaita, on the right bank of the river. The allies had, however, after as many months as they should have been days, made a road through the Chaco, and cut off all communication between the two places, so that Mar- tinez and Alen were completely surrounded. They managed to send through a courier to Lopez, advising him of their situation, and that their provisions were exhausted. He re- turned orders that they were to remain at their posts till six days after the supplies were all gone, and then, if no relief came, to cross over the river and cut their way through to his head-quarters. In this desperate situation Alen ventured an act of disobedience. Under the anxiety and hardships to which he had been exposed, his mind gave way, and he started for San Fernando, which, unfortunately for himself, he reached alive. He was received with such displeasure, that he instantly divined that the torture and death he had so often inflicted with alacrity on others would probably be his own doom. To escape such a fate he attempted suicide by blowing his brains out. But in this he was still more unfortu- nate, for he only succeeded in inflicting a ghastly, though not fatal, wound that destroyed one eye. Martinez, supported by Captains Gill and Cabral, literally obeyed their instructions to remain in Humaita till the pro- visions should have been six days exhausted. Then they crossed over the river with the remnant of their forces. It is well to give here the account of this retreat as given by Lo- pez in his own Semanario of August I, 1868 : " Six days had passed since the commandants of Humaita had ad- vised his Excellency that their provisions were entirely finished, but HEROIC DEFENCE OF HUMAITA. 267 as so unexpected an accident brought with it very serious difficul- ties in the matter of evacuating the post, the work that is, the for- tifications at San Fernando went on. His Excellency, the wise and just appreciator of the singular qualities of the Paraguayan soldier, of his love of country, of his discipline, and his valor and constancy, ordered the troops and their commanders that they should eat nothing for six days, and that after that vigil they should effect the passage of the river on a given day. The commanders and the troops at Humaita did not eat, then, for six days, and after that they realized their happy passage with the most complete and admirable result. " It is just that this heroic episode of the Paraguayan army should be noted, which, having no other example in the history of wars, comes to demonstrate the inestimable virtues of the Para- guayan soldier, and the influence that the more than magic voice, the divine voice, of Marshal Lopez exercises over them, at the same time it reveals to us and proclaims to the enemy and to the world of how much that soldier, guided by his Marshal, is capable. " Admiration suspends its flight to detain itself over it as the point most signal to which it can ascend. And can the conquest and enslavement of a nation with such sons and such gifts be pre- sumed ? Only the barbarian can nourish it, but he may know and the world may know that it will never be possible " Admiration and praise eternal to Marshal Lopez, that with his word only attains consummate and splendid victories over the bar- barous enemy, and counts colossal pyramids of heroism. ' Do not eat,' he has said to the troops at Humaita, and they did not eat. ' Pass,' he said to them, and they passed, leaving the enemy com- pletely nonplussed in their protracted plans of reducing it by hunger. O, this is superior to all praise, there are no words with which to make its due appreciation ! " Such were the praises of himself and of the valiant defend- ers of Humaita that he caused to be published in his Sema- nario. His voice, more than magical, his divine voice, had in- spired all ; and in proof that he was guided by a higher power, it was announced that the waters had abated at a difficult pass, as the waters of the Red Sea once retired for the Israel- ites to pass through, so that his devoted troops went out un- harmed and in safety from their dangerous position. CHAPTER XIX. Colonel Martinez accused of Treason. His Wife arrested and tortured. Her Sufferings and Execution. Extract from a Despatch sent to Washington. Difficulty of Transmitting Correspondence. Fresh Despatches by Flag of Truce. Signs of an Impending Crisis. IN a little time the praises bestowed so lavishly on the de- fenders of Humaita ceased. They had been ordered, not only to retire, but to fight their way back to the new lines of Lopez, and whoever did not do that knew full well he would be denounced as a traitor, and his family subjected to inde- scribable indignities and suffering. When, therefore, they found themselves in the Chaco, they made most desperate efforts to cut their way through to Lopez's head-quarters, and thus prove that they were not traitors. But their sufferings had told upon them till they had scarcely strength enough to walk, and on all sides they were confronted by three times their number. The only roads or trails were held in force by the allies, and they had only their side-arms and muskets to oppose to them. Had they been in their full health and strength, doubtless many of them would have crawled by night through the swamps and thickets, and so escaped. But in the state in which they were, they had not the strength, if they fell into a marsh, to drag themselves out. There was no possibility, apparently, that one of them could ever reach the lines of Lopez alive. They must either surrender or die. If they surrendered they would be denounced as traitors, for it was a part of the policy of Lopez that no one under any cir- cumstances should accept quarter, and while his men had health and strength very few cared to bring the misery on their friends that such an act was sure to entail. But these THE DEFENDERS OF HUMAITA. 269 men were past hope and past resistance. Martinez was too weak to speak aloud, and his men were mere walking skele- tons, falling one after another from exhaustion, never to rise again. Who will excuse Martinez ? Who will excuse Gill for surrendering ? It is not for me to do it. Knowing as they did the character of Lopez, they should have died in their tracks. What came of their surrender ? At the time I was in Asuncion, I had heard of the heroic de- fence of Humaita, and I had heard of its successful evacuation. The bells had been rung and people about the new capital had been commanded to rejoice over the great victory achieved by Martinez and his gallant men. But now came another report It was in the winter-time, and a cold storm had been prevailing for a day or two. Some one told me with bated breath, that, the night before, two soldiers had gone to Madam Lynch's house at Patino-cue" and seized the wife of Martinez and bid her march to the capital. The distance was eight leagues, and the soldiers with frequent blows of their sabres drove her over the rough ground to Asuncion. Of course she could have no idea what offence she had committed, but she knew well the character of Lopez and that of the treacherous she-dragon with whom she had lived for months past. She had seen many others, apparently high in the favor of this abandoned harridan, sent with her approval to prison and chains ; and that the same fortune had fallen to her- self could not have been so surprising as if she had dwelt among people having the feelings of ordinary humanity. The poor woman was driven through the mud and over the rough roads without rest or relief till she came to the town. Her light shoes soon gave out, and her feet were cut, bruised, bleeding, and torn long ere her walk was over. Arrived at the landing- place of the capital, she was taken into a room of the arsenal and loaded with heavy iron fetters, and left for a few hours to meditate on the mutability of human affairs. She was then driven on board of a steamer and taken to head-quarters, where she was subjected to every torture that Lopez and her bosom friend, Madam Lynch, could devise. With that mock- 270 PARAGUAY. ery of the forms of justice that Lopez pretended so scrupu- lously to observe, she was brought before his tribunal of priests and torturers, and questioned in regard to the treachery of her husband. As she had not seen him for months, she could have known nothing of his recent acts, and probably was not even aware at that time of his having surrendered. Lopez believed, or pretended to believe, that a conspiracy had been in progress for a long time, and the fact that Mar- tinez had surrendered rather than die of starvation was proof that he was one of the conspirators, and his wife was ordered to confess that it was so, and give all the particulars of the plan and the names of the parties to it. But the poor woman knew nothing, and could not confess. She had only known her hus- band as one who had served his master too faithfully and car- ried out his orders with horrible fidelity. She was then flogged with sticks, and the flesh literally cut from her shoulders and back, and in this way encouraged to confess. What could she tell ? She knew nothing. Then the cepo Uruguay ana was ap- plied, which was never known to fail in bringing out any con- fession that was asked. Bliss, Taylor, Saguier, Masterman, all admit that the agony of this torture was such that they would promise to tell anything required. Their greatest difficulty was to know what to confess. They knew nothing, and yet must admit they knew much, and their stories must be such as agreed with the confessions of others. Their time of confes- sion came long after that of poor Mrs. Martinez, and when the conspiracy story had taken such form and consistency that the inquisitors knew what they were expected to extort, and had learned how to put their questions so as to imply what answers were required. But she had nothing to guide her, and could only protest that she knew nothing. The mother of Martinez was also brought to head-quarters and subjected to similar treatment, and afterwards executed at the same time with her son's wife. Lopez knew well enough that neither had anything to tell, but he wished to make an example of them, that his other most trusted offi- cers might see what was in store for their wives, mothers, PROLONGED TORTURES. 271 and sisters in case they should ever fall into the hands of the enemy. Other indignities not to be described, and the nature of which cannot even be hinted at, were also inflicted on this favorite and friend of Madam Lynch, as if to warn them of the fate in s.tore for their own wives and sisters should they ever come short of obedience to the orders of Lopez. They might learn from the fate of Martinez's wife and mother that they must fight until they died or were killed, or all they loved would suffer the same cruel fate. It was a part of the policy of Lopez to husband his mate- rials for torture. If they died under the infliction it greatly enraged him, and his inquisitors kept him well informed of the condition of the tortured. The pain and agony of others had become his principal delight ; when a victim escaped him through the gate of death, he felt it as a wrong to himself, and that he had been robbed of a source of pleasure. The inquisitors and torturers therefore knew that they were to graduate the sufferings of the wife and mother of Martinez, so they should not die. On one day the flogging would be applied until its continuance would endanger life, and as soon as the wounds were slightly healed, the cepo tiruguayana was repeated, until death should threaten to snatch them away, when they were left to recover sufficiently to bear a repetition of these horrid practices. The effect of the cepo uruguayana was such that persons subjected to it remained in a state of semi-consciousness for several days afterwards. Yet the wife of Martinez was kept alive long enough to un- dergo it at six different times, between whiles being flogged till her whole body was a livid mass ! Yet Lopez would not let her die. She was still kept alive ; and when, more than six months after her arrest, he saw that the dangers were thickening around him so fast that those whom he had so long held near his head-quarters to be tor- tured for his special delectation might escape through the chances of war, he took measures to prevent such a catastro- phe by ordering her and many others to be shot. Of the tragical events transpiring at head-quarters we at 272 PARAGUAY. Asuncion knew very little. We would learn from time to time of the disappearance of different people, but of their fate we could judge nothing, except from what we knew of the disposition of Lopez, and this led us to fear the worst that malignity, human or diabolical, could invent. Our forebodings, alas ! as we afterwards learned, all proved true. The long delay of the ironclads in returning to take pos- session of Asuncion after it had been evacuated, had caused us all the greatest uneasiness. There was no reason, so far as we could see, why it should not have been taken at any time, as we knew there were no forces there to prevent it. The strong measures taken by Lopez in driving people into the interior indicated that he would make good his threat of a year and a half before, that, if he should be forced at last to succumb, it should not be until the last Paraguayan was destroyed. Many acts of great cruelty and hardship had come to my knowledge, and I was fully convinced that Lopez was greatly displeased that I had given shelter to so many people in my Legation. The incident of Manlove's arrest and detention showed that I would be molested in any way that he might think it prudent to venture upon, and it was clear that if he were to be driven back to the interior before Asuncion was taken, he would not allow those persons in my house not be- longing to the Legation to be left behind, and it was very doubtful whether he would allow me to remain. In fact, I did not believe he would, and was anticipating a dispute with him on that point, of which it was easy to foresee the issue when the might was in hands that paid no regard to the right. In my despatch of January 13, the last I had sent to Wash- ington, and which I had intrusted to Lopez to send through the lines, I had advised Mr. Seward of the dangers that seemed to be gathering about us, and requested my recall. But as I was well aware that all the foreigners there regarded the presence of the minister of some strong power as a pro- tection to themselves, not only against Lopez, but against the allies, should they ever take the town, I expressed the opinion that a successor should be sent to take my place. Having APPLICATION TO BE RECALLED. 2 73 twice before asked for my recall, and my request not having been granted, on the ground that I had made my resignation conditional, and not absolute, I now wrote to the Secretary of State as follows : " You remark that the President desires that I should remain here, but say that if my resignation should be made absolute it would be accepted. From the preceding statement of the circumstances in which I am situ- ated, I think I shall appear justified in making my resignation thus absolute ; but though it be absolute and unconditional, I trust that with my recall may come a successor. I know that my presence as United States Minister, and the only minister of a neutral power here, gives a great sense of security to many people, and especially to all foreigners. My departure before the arrival of a successor would also, I am persuaded, be regarded with great regret by this government. At the same time, I think that at this crisis, when important political changes seem impending in this part of the world, this Lega- tion should be continued ; but I do not want this to be taken as a condition of my resignation. On the contrary, I now ask my recall unconditionally, and with this make my resig- nation absolute." This despatch I delivered to Berges on the I7th of Janu- ary, and supposed that in the ordinary course of events I should receive my recall in May or June. But I began to have doubts lest Lopez should have detained it. I had learned that I had previously given him mortal offence in my note to Berges, expressing regret at the reported death of President Mitre, and these despatches had been sent but a few days after that indiscretion. The engineer Valpy, who had re- turned from head-quarters, had informed me that Lopez was greatly enraged that I had spoken well of Mitre, and said that it was several days after my despatches were received before any flag of truce was sent to the front. I was therefore per- suaded that if they had been sent they had first been opened and read ; for I had already learned that Lopez knew and practised the art of opening and closing sealed packages in a manner so artistic as to defy detection. VOL. II. 1 8 274 PARAGUAY. Unfortunately, I had little more faith in the honor of the allies than I had in that of Lopez. I had experienced so much incivility and bad faith from them, that I considered it highly problematical whether or not my despatches would be forwarded, even if Lopez sent them to be delivered into their hands. But our condition was getting so disagreeable and desperate at Asuncion, that I resolved on another effort to make it known. I knew that if I evinced any discontent or uneasiness, Lopez would suspect that I wanted to get away, and would open my despatches, and, if they contained anything displeasing to him, would detain them. That would render my situation worse than before, for he considered it an unpardonable offence for any one to entertain the thought that he would not come triumphant out of the war ; and if I were to express a desire to .get away, he would regard it as proof that I considered his cause lost, or at least doubtful. This despatch was dated the /th of April, or seven weeks after the evacuation of the capital, and with it I enclosed copies of the correspondence in the Manlove difficulty, thinking that he could not complain of that, even though it should reveal a strange situation for a minister to be in ; and in my synopsis of its contents I remarked that, in my opinion, the govern- ment of Paraguay had shown great disregard of the courtesies due to my Legation, if not a direct violation of its rights. I also complained of the neglect of our government in not keeping the way open so that I could communicate with it, though taking care to lay the blame mainly on the allies for detaining my correspondence. In fact, my official cor- respondence was carefully worded, so that if it were opened and read it would not give offence, and would be resealed and sent forward. In a private letter, however, to a friend, who was supposed at that time to have considerable influ- ence, I stated more freely my apprehensions ; and though I did not enter into an account of our situation, I complained of being so neglected by the government, and said that if it did not manifest more interest in us, a very grave responsi- bility would, before long, rest upon somebody. Whether or DESPATCHES DETAINED .BY LOPEZ. 2 75 not my friend should understand that unless a gunboat should come to our rescue soon we should never get away alive, I was sure he would hasten to Washington and represent our situation to the head of the State Department, and induce him to rouse up the Rip Van Winkle of the navy, and per- suade him to order a gunboat to our relief. Besides my own correspondence, I enclosed a few letters for other parties, being, as I thought, very careful not to send any- thing of a political character or to which either of the belliger- ents would object. Among these was an open letter from Don Domingo Parodi, relating only to a small matter of business. I also sent a letter from Dr. Carreras to his brother. He assured me it contained nothing except a notice to his fam- ily that he was in good health ; and as he participated with me in the apprehension that everything would be scruti- nized by Lopez, he was sure to write nothing that was not favorable to him and hostile to the allies. His only fear re- garding anything he might write was that it should be sus- pected by the Brazilians, if it were addressed to any of his own family. He therefore sent it under cover to a friend of his and mine, Mr. John F. Gowland of Buenos Aires Strictly speaking, I had, perhaps, no right to send any letters but my own ; but as I knew they contained nothing of a political character, I enclosed them in my package of de- spatches, which I sent to head-quarters with a request that they might be forwarded through the military lines. A few days after I was notified that they had been sent through as requested, and thought no more about them till long after- wards. I then learned that they never went beyond the camp of Lopez. CHAPTER XX. Petty Annoyances become Frequent. Our Fears of Impending Troubles. Political Views of Dr. Carreras. Brilliant Qualities and Attainments of Rodriguez. Hope entertained by Natives and Foreigners of Protection under the American Flag. The Mother and Sisters of Lopez share this Hope. Letters received by an American Gunboat addressed to Carreras and Vasconcellos. Their Contents. News of the Assassination of Flores. Another Visit to Lopez's Head-Quarters. Dr. Carreras becomes Heir to a Fortune in Bolivia. Lopez refuses him Permission to leave the Country. Altered Aspect of Affairs at Head-Quarters. Frigidity of Lopez. Conversations with Drs. Stewart and Fox. Bedoya and Benigno Lopez are Prisoners. A Card-Party given by Madam Lynch. Her Duplicity. Return to Asuncion. THE continuance of the war for so long a time after the town had been evacuated caused great anxiety to the people who had taken up their residence in my house in the hope that they would need its protection but for a few days. Though they had fled to it for protection against the Brazil- ians, they began to fear lest they had made a mistake. The strange inaction of the allies was the principal topic of our daily discourse. If they delayed too long, all realized that these annoyances would increase till they would be unbearable, and the English and Orientales feared lest they should be- come so offensive that I should be driven to demand my pass- ports and leave the country. They would then all fall into Lopez's power, when he would doubtless take a terrible re- venge on them for daring to suspect that he could not and would not defend and protect them. It was now clear that I could be of no service except to those who were in my house, and but for them I should have resented several annoyances, especially the arrest of Manlove, and, if they were not discon- tinued and satisfaction given, should have demanded my pass- ports peremptorily and closed all official relations. FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ LARRETA. 277 I was extremely averse to taking any step that would expose Rodriguez and Carreras. They were, both of them, most agreeable and intelligent gentlemen, though Carreras was a violent partisan, and had some of the most obnoxious characteristics of the Spanish American politician. I had a great many sharp discussions with him on political af- fairs and the character of South American notabilities. In common with Lopez he had a great dislike of President Mitre, and, personally, I had little reason for differing with them. But the animosities of South American politicians are so intense that it is considered impossible for an op- ponent to have any merit ; and as I often defended Mitre for his courage, his eloquence, his literary accomplishments, and his courteous deportment, I found, long afterwards, that every word I had said in his favor had been treasured up to be quoted to my prejudice. Rodriguez, however, though strongly partisan, was, without exception, the most earnest, intelligent, sincere, and agreeable man that I ever met in all my experience in South America. He had the brightest intellect, the highest tone of integrity and honor, and in my whole life I have never encountered in any country a person to whom, in the same length of time, I became so strongly attached. He was a man of whom I often thought, that, if he should ever escape alive from Paraguay, he would be a promi- nent figure in the history of the regions of the Plata. True, in many respects we differed politically. He was possessed of the idea which is so common in South American countries, that liberty and independence are one and the same thing, and in all his acts he seemed to feel that the independence of the Banda Oriental was the first object to be considered by the public men of that Republic. Questions affecting the policy or measures necessary to the development and progress of the country were all to be subordinated to the idea of indepen- dence, which he carried to such an extreme that he had an almost idolatrous reverence and regard for the memory of that great cut-throat and assassin, Artigas. He it was of whom I have before spoken as having obtained a brick from the 2 7 8 PARAGUAY. house in which Artigas lived in Paraguay to carry to Monte- video as a relic, to be preserved as of especial interest to his countrymen. Yet he had the ability and the sincerity of character to have made him an eminent man, and his ex- perience in Paraguay was such as to modify his views very much as to the advantages of independence without liberty. Paraguay had been independent for more than fifty years, and he was compelled to admit that so little liberty was never possessed by any people on the face of the earth. I felt, therefore, that it would be cowardly and wicked for me to take any steps that would prejudice the situation both of Rodriguez and Carreras ; that I ought to remain at any sacrifice personal to myself, short of exposing and subject- ing others who had stronger obligations upon me to danger of their lives. In addition to these two, there were several others who felt that their safety depended very much upon my remaining in Paraguay. This was the case with Bliss and Masterman, and all the foreigners in the country felt that the presence of the minister of a strong foreign power would be a security for them. It was the same with many Paraguayans, in fact, with all of the better class with whom I had any acquaintance. The mother of the President re- peatedly spoke to me of that fact. She and her younger daughter, who lived near the capital at that time, and whom I often visited, seemed to think that I might be disposed to go away from the country, and they often expressed to me their hopes that I should remain until the end of the war. They said that if the enemy were to come, I and my house would be the only place secure from sack, and they intimated to me that there were other dangers which they dreaded more than they did the allies. I told them all that I should remain as long as I could be of any service ; that in the trying circum- stances in which they were, I would not abandon them ; that I would do all that I could to give them shelter and protec- tion, if worse times should befall us than we then experienced. It was under this general aspect of affairs, that, on the morning of the 6th of May, I was gratified to receive a visit ARRIVAL OF THE WASP. 279 from young Caspar Lopez, a clerk in the Office of Foreign Affairs, who brought me a despatch from Captain Kirkland, commander of the Wasp, and also a small package of letters addressed to Don Antonio Vasconcellos, the Portuguese Vice- Consul. The letter of Captain Kirkland I immediately opened and read. In it he stated that he had come by order of our government to take me and my family away, provided I wished to go ; that he was below the blockading squadron of the Brazilians, and was not permitted to go any higher, and that he should wait there to hear from me. Young Caspar was very anxious to hear the news which I had re- ceived, that he might, as I supposed, communicate it to his government. I told him that the letter from Captain Kirk- land was only a brief note, informing me of his arrival and that he had come to take me away ; but as for news, political or otherwise, beyond the limits of Paraguay, there was not a word, and I had no letters from other sources. Caspar returned to the new capital of Luque immediately, and in the afternoon, as I had received no news from below, with the letter from Captain Kirkland I went to the house of Vas- concellos, a distance of about a league and a half from the capital, to carry his letter, and ascertain what news it might contain. On reaching his house I took a seat in the corridor, and delivered the package. This package had on the margin the name of G. Z. Gould, the English Secretary of Legation in Buenos Aires. Vasconcellos took it into his house, and directly returned with several letters, which he had hastily glanced over, and read their contents to me and to the Consul of Portugal, Leite Pereira. These letters were written by par- ties bitterly opposed to the war against Paraguay, and gave exulting accounts of the difficulties existing in Montevideo. They gave several particulars of the assassination of Presi- dent Flores, and were extravagant in praise of Lopez and his cause, and the valor of the Paraguayans, and gave words of encouragement to hold out a little longer, for that the alliance could not long continue, and if Lopez could still hold his own for a few weeks or months he would come out triumphant. 280 PARAGUAY. Vasconcellos told me also that his package contained two or three other letters, one of which was for Don Antonio Tome, and the other was for my guest, Carreras. That letter ne gave to me to take in and deliver. It was a very small letter, contained in a thin, light, and very small envelope. Return- ing to my house, I delivered it to Carreras, and on opening it he found that the envelope contained two letters. One of them he read to me, and its contents were in all respects sim- ilar to the letters which Vasconcellos had received, giving the political condition of affairs at the mouth of the river. The other was a brief letter from his brother Edward, in which he wrote that an uncle of theirs had recently died in the town of Corocoro, in Bolivia, that he had left a large fortune and no lineal heirs, and that their family would inherit the estate, and advising him to get permission from Lopez to go through to Bolivia and look after the estate and inter- ests of the family, stating that no time was to be lost, as according to the laws of Bolivia the heirs of deceased for- eigners must present their claims within one year after their decease. The next day I saw Colonel Fernandez, and advised him of the arrival of the Wasp, and that she had come to take me and my family away ; that I did not wish to leave, but would send away my family, provided the steamer would come up the river far enough, so that they could conven- iently embark ; and that I thought it would be well for me to go to San Fernando to make the necessary arrangements for sending through my despatches, and for making any other arrangements which might be required in case the Wasp should come above the blockade. I received no answer from him nor from anybody during that day, nor the next, which was a bad indication as to the temper and disposition of the President towards me. On the third day I called at the house of the Lady President, or Lopez's mother. I told her and her daughter Rafaela that it was very likely I should soon go to the head-quarters, as a United States steamer had come to take me away. They THE PRESIDENT'S MOTHER. 2 Sl expressed the greatest concern lest I should go, as the old lady said very decidedly that I was the only person in Para- guay having any security whatever. She begged me, if I went below, to ascertain as much as possible in regard to her son Benigno and her son-in-law Saturnino Bedoya. She said she had heard they were both prisoners, but could not learn any of the particulars. Her son Venancio, who was still living near the capital, was not allowed to visit her ; no- body was allowed to visit her. The peons and the poor people around her all kept away, and she could not learn as much of what was going on as the most abject and miserable person in the neighborhood. But her great distress and anxi- ety seemed to be in regard to her son Benigno. She showed great emotion, and implored me to bring her some tidings from him. I told her I would do the best that I could. She was profuse in her thanks, and offered to send to me certain articles very necessary to the comfort of my family, such as sugar, tea, coffee, chickens, and milch cows. The next day I received an answer to my letter to Benitez, in which he said that the President would be pleased to receive a visit from me at his head-quarters, and that he would give me a steamer to go down to that place. It was not until the 1 2th, however, that I was informed the steamer was about to start. Carreras requested me to inform Lopez of his situation, of the fact that his uncle had died in Corocoro, leaving him a large fortune, and that he was very anxious to get permis- sion to go through to Bolivia ; that he was still, as he ever had been, a decided enemy of the Brazilians, and if he could go to Bolivia, Peru, and Chili, he should make it his business to en- list the governments and people of those countries in behalf of Paraguay and against the allies ; that, if it were not con- venient that he should go through by land to Bolivia, he would be glad to take passage on the Wasp, on her return to Montevideo, and would make any stipulation, if desired, not to make a landing at any place in the river ; and that he would embark on some steamer that might touch at Monte- video on her way to Chili, and would do nothing that could 2 g2 PARAGUAY. possibly compromise or injure the cause of Lopez, but every- thing that might lay in his power to assist it. I left Asuncion on the I2th of May for San Fernando, and reached the landing-place on the succeeding day at about three o'clock. I was there provided with a horse and escort to take me to the head-quarters, some four miles from the bank of the river, and to get there I was obliged to pass over a road in some places extremely difficult. I reached the head-quarters a little before sunset. I was taken to a straw house, which was one of several of a similar character, and which I was told had been until the day before occupied by General Bruguez, but I saw no acquaintances, and nobody came near me. A servant, the same whom I had had on other occasions to wait upon me, was assigned to me ; and he told me that the President and his staff, and Madam Lynch, and others whom I supposed to be still in favor, had gone on an excursion in a steamer. He, however, brought me some supper, and as the night was very cold, and I had nobody to converse with, I went to bed about nine o'clock. Soon after, I judged from the sound that the President had re- turned, and about ten o'clock I received notice that if I de- sired to see him that evening he would see me. I sent word that I would postpone my visit till the next day. In the morning I got up, and, looking about, was surprised that all of my old English friends, who were accustomed to visit me with great familiarity and frequency, kept away. Nobody came near that I could talk to. The old Vice-President had a room next to mine. I got sight of him, but he looked forlorn and woe-begone, and turned away, as if afraid to be seen recognizing me. I requested my servant to go and tell Colonel Thompson that I wished to see him. He came, and in reply to my questions regarding recent events he was very reticent, and gave me to understand that the less he said the better it might be for him, for if it were ascer- tained that I had derived any contraband information, Lopez would trace it to its source. There was a sort of tacit understanding among all the foreigners, and I fully appre- CONVERSATION WITH LOPEZ. 2 g^ elated the delicate position of Colonel Thompson, and was well aware that his representations of the impregnable situ- ation in which Lopez then was had been made with the apprehension that inadvertently I might express an opinion that he was not so strong as he wished to have it supposed. But his call was very brief, and an hour or two later I was informed that the President would see me at his house. I went immediately, and was received with a formality such as, with one exception, I had never observed in any previous in- terview. I commenced conversation with him upon the busi- ness that had brought me to his head-quarters, and stated my wishes that, as the government had sent a boat to take me away, I wished to avail myself of its presence to send off my family, but that for myself I preferred to remain to the end of the war ; that I wished to communicate with Captain Kirk- land, and urge upon him that he should come above the block- ade. The conversation gradually became more free, and he expressed his opinion that the boat ought to come above the blockade, that the allies had no right to stop her, and said he would give me every facility for communicating with the commander of the vessel. I said then that I would write to Captain Kirkland that I wished to embark my family at Asuncion, or as near there as possible, and he could send the letter through with a flag of truce. The preliminaries of these arrangements were all made satisfactorily to me, and then I proceeded to speak about the request of Carreras. I told him that he had received a letter from his family advising him of the death of his uncle in Bolivia, and was very anxious to leave the country. I stated to him, moreover, what Carreras said in regard to his feelings towards the Brazilians, and of his disposition to aid the cause of Paraguay in Bolivia, Peru, or Chili, could he pass over to those countries. I observed, as I began to talk in this way, that the countenance of Lopez changed, and that there was a great deal of suppressed anger working behind those eyes, that were assuming a fiendish character. I saw at once that I could hope for nothing in behalf of Carreras, and I dis- 284 PARAGUAY. continued the conversation for him to reply, but he said very little. He asked, however, why Carreras had gone to my house. I told him that being aware that he was extremely obnoxious to the Brazilians, and not knowing but when the ironclads went to Asuncion they would capture the town, and fearing that if they did they would do to him as they formerly did to Leandro Gomez, he sought shelter from them. He asked why he continued in my house after the ironclads had gone away, and there was no further danger. I replied that he and Rodriguez came there as guests ; that we had be- come well acquainted, and I had found them agreeable, intelli- gent gentlemen, and as we had no society since the evacua- tion of the town, we desired to have them remain for com- pany and companionship ; that I personally wished them to remain. He said that was a very good reason so far as I was concerned, but he evidently felt a great animosity to- wards Carreras. I took my leave of him, and prepared my letter to Captain Kirkland. After this I had another interview, when Lopez made some suggestions regarding the signals that Captain Kirkland would do well to use coming up the river. I therefore wrote a second letter to Kirkland. He sent me, late in the evening of the following day, the orders which he had written for the commandants at Humaita and Timbo, and I stayed another night at his camp, as I could not deliver my letters for Kirkland until the next morning. I then went to see him again. During that interview I talked with him about the case of Manlove, and stated my views in regard to his arrest. He then spoke about my right of keep- ing so many people in my house who did not belong to the Legation, and intimated that he might officially call it in question, and that if I persisted in it a diplomatic correspond- ence would follow. I told him that the English had come there by permission of the government ; that to the presence of Carreras and Rodriguez no objection had been made for months, though the government was aware of it ; and that, as circumstances then were, I was not disposed to send any of them away. But as to Manlove he gave no encourage- THE REIGN OF TERROR. 285 ment that he would be set at liberty. I then told him that as it would be several days before any answer could be received from Captain Kirkland, I wished to return to Asuncion as soon as possible. He said that the steamer would leave that afternoon as soon as I desired, in form, if not in manner, fully complying with all that etiquette or diplomatic courtesy could expect or require. Finding that the English who were in the camp were afraid to come near me, I went to see them. I went several times to the house of Dr. Stewart, and there I met not only him, but Dr. Fox. They both expressed their desire to call upon me, but they knew that it would be at the peril of their lives to do it, whereas, as I had called upon them, they could excuse themselves by saying that they had not invited me, but they did not wish to be rude to me and send me away. In fact, they were very anxious to see and converge with me. On one of these visits Dr. Stewart told me that the English govern- ment was moving in behalf of the English subjects in Para- guay ; that he did not know much about it, but he was per- suaded her Majesty's government had made a peremptory de- mand for all the English in the country, and that it would not be put off by any assurances from them that they were con- tented, and did not wish to leave, nor would it be satisfied by letters written by them while in the power of Lopez. They must be delivered ; then, if they wished to return, it would be a matter of their own choice. I also saw Madam Lynch on several occasions. She, as usual, was all suavity, and abound- ing in expressions of interest in and kindness towards every- body, even those whom she had instigated Lopez to arrest and torture. I had inquired of Dr. Stewart as to the condition and situation of Don Benigno and Bedoya. He told me that they were both prisoners ; that Bedoya was a close prisoner, and was being badly treated ; that Benigno was a prisoner in a shanty near by, but further than that he knew nothing. The information from Dr. Stewart I could not convey to the Presi- dent's mother, as she would probably intercede in behalf of Benigno and Bedoya if she knew their situation ; and il in- 2 86 PARAGUAY. quired of from whom she obtained her information, she would doubtless give my name. Then, as I had been able to com- municate only with Stewart, Fox, and Thompson, the informa- tion would be traced to them, and the offending party must suffer. I therefore asked Madam Lynch in regard to them. I was obliged, however, to observe great circumspection, and I remarked, as if casually, that I did not see several of my old friends, two or three of whom I was expecting to see, for in- stance, Jos6 Berges, Don Benigno, and Bedoya, and I asked her how they all were. She said that Berges was quite feeble, that Benigno and Bedoya were very well. This information derived from her I could communicate to the old lady, and compromise nobody. The more particular information de- rived from Dr. Stewart I could not impart to her without its being traced back to him, the result of which would very likely have been his' imprisonment, and perhaps his execution. Dr. Stewart also informed me that the Vice-President had been a prisoner, but was then at large ; that both he and Don Jose Berges had suffered extremely in coming from Humaita to San Fernando ; that Berges had come so near dying on the road, he at one time was left alone to expire under a tree, but afterwards he was got through to San Fernando, and there detained as a prisoner. The Vice-President at that time was so far liberated that he was allowed to go out of his house and visit the President. I saw the poor man sev- eral times, and a more pitiable object it is hard to imagine. A man more than eighty years old, with little more flesh on his bones than a skeleton, with only a thin old cloak about him, though the weather, for that country, was extremely cold ; he looked as though he had not blood enough in his veins to keep life within his body. I observed him standing about, with a most obsequious, forlorn look, apparently anxious to catch the President's eye, and by his extreme deference and attention to merit his forgiveness for some act of which he probably knew not the criminality. The last evening I was there I was invited by Madam Lynch to her house, or to the President's house, as apparently A WHIST-PARTY. 287 they lived in the same mud building, to play whist. I com- plied with the invitation, and the whist-party was made up of Madam Lynch, the Hungarian Colonel Wisner, Colonel Thompson, and myself. Colonel Thompson, however, soon gave up his place to General Bruguez, who came in after the game had commenced. Strange as it may seem, all of that party escaped alive from the hands of Lopez except General Bruguez, who was shot subsequently as a traitor. This Bru- guez, I may here say, was probably the best fighting officer that Lopez ever had, with one or two exceptions. He was a man noted for his cruelty and for his fidelity to his master, and had exposed himself with a recklessness and a valor which were extremely rare even among Paraguayans, who usually think nothing of danger. His services to his master had been of such a character that it was supposed his only hope of escape from destruction was in the final triumph of Lopez, as he had been the instrument of so many cruelties, that, if taken prisoner, he could never expect anything less than immediate death. And yet Lopez observed towards him that impartial- ity which was so remarkable in his character. He was sub- jected to the same horrid tortures and experienced the same terrible death as though he had been of great injury, instead of service, to his chief. Leaving the court of Lopez on the i6th of May, I returned to the bank of the river and embarked for Asuncion. I ob- served a large quantity of rubbish, consisting mainly of dried hides for holding corn, on the deck between the after cabin and the fore part of the steamer, as if thrown there carelessly for the sole purpose of carrying it to Asuncion. I learned, however, from one of the engineers of the boat, an English- man, that there was a large number of wounded in the fore part of the vessel, and that these hides had been thrown in the way to prevent me from going forward and learning of their presence, as every effort was made on all occasions to prevent people from knowing that any disaster had occurred in battle, or any persons been wounded. I went immediately, on my return, to call upon the Presi- 288 PARAGUAY. dent's mother and sister at the Trinidad. They were ex- tremely desirous of seeing me, as they supposed that I could give them some information, the one in regard to the situation of her son and son-in-law, and the other of her brother and husband. I could only communicate to them what Madam Lynch had told me, that they were very well in health. I knew they were prisoners, for Dr. Stewart had told me so ; but had I told the old lady that fact, the authority for it would have been traced to Dr. Stewart. Therefore I could say nothing more than that I believed they were still in health. As to their being prisoners in irons and badly treated I could give them no information. Perhaps I was not frank ; perhaps I denied having knowledge which I really possessed ; but if I erred lest I should subject others to suspicion, torture, and death by telling all I knew, I can only hope that my pre- varication may have been blotted out after the manner of Uncle Toby's oath. CHAPTER XXI. Correspondence with Commander Kirkland. Numerous Arrests. Victories reported in the Semanario. Difficulty of obtaining Provisions. A Period of Anxiety. Our English Guests. Arrest of Captain Fidanza and of many Foreigners. The Portuguese Consul, Leite Pereira. His Exequatur is withdrawn. He takes Refuge in the American Legation. Consultations on his Case. His Surrender is demanded and refused. Note to Benitez. IT was not until the 3 or the lash, was to accuse el Minis tro Americano of all manner of iniquities and indecencies, and his wife as worse than he. When Lopez was partially in- toxicated, and felt in a humor for hearing himself praised and his enemies denounced, he would gather around him his staff VOL. ii. 25 386 PARAGUAY. his torturers, and his secretaries, clnd encourage them to speak. For a long time the great object of their objurgations, the bete noir to be cursed, was President Mitre. But after Mitre had left the army their mark of abuse was sometimes Caxias and sometimes the Emperor. At a later period I had the honor of supplanting these high dignitaries, and the flexibility of the Spanish language, that had been so often strained to find terms adequate to express the praises of Lopez, was now sub- jected to a severer test to frame expressions of obloquy and abuse of the American Minister. Lopez himself would set an example of grossness and obscenity which his flatterers dared not rival, and Madam Lynch would cover her face and pretend to blush at the immoralities of the American Lega- tion. From these proceedings all who were about the head-quar- ters of Lopez understood that the American Minister was a doomed victim. The torturers were expecting to have him to break in to confession. The few foreigners about the camp were expecting every day to learn of his arrest, and with that they knew their own chances of ever escaping alive would be gone. They had not supposed, neither had I, that Lopez would ever execute me publicly.* He yet cher- * " Interrogatory 17. Did you consider your life in danger previous to the de- parture of Mr. Washburn ? "Answer. Yes. "Interrogatory 18. Had Mr. Washburn been made prisoner, would it have affected your condition and that of other foreigners in Paraguay who have since escaped ? " Answer. Indisputably. Our lives would have been endangered, most likely taken ; and had Mr. Washburn been thrown into prison, as was at one time suggested by Mrs. Lynch and by the late Bishop of Paraguay, I am convinced that he would have been tortured and made way with like the other victims of Lopez. In this case his death would no doubt have been attributed to natural causes or to suicide. Lopez would have set at defiance the whole power of the United States, and in all probability would not have left one of us to tell the story of his crimes. " Interrogatory 19. Did you consider the arrival of the Wasp and the de- parture of Mr. Washburn as improving your chance of escape ? " Answer. Certainly ; the belief of us who remained in the power of Lopez was that our chances of liberation were favored by his having escaped. He would be sure to acquaint the States and the whole civilized world with the true . THE CLIMAX OF THE PLOT. 387 ished the delusion that he would come out triumphant from the war, and he believed that with his means of manufacturing testimony he could satisfy the United States that the accident to their Minister was not to be imputed to him, that he would run little, if any, risk of provoking them to make war against him. He was so absolute, he had many ways to accom- plish his object and yet appear innocent. His plans of tor- ture would have been executed by persons who would have been put to death immediately afterwards. Madam Lynch was in favor of assassination, and for the credit of the sex it is to be hoped she recoiled from the hideous torture that Lopez proposed both for Mrs. Washburn and myself. In either case Lopez, to have proved that the deep damnation of our taking off was not to be imputed to him, would have executed several Paraguayans as having been our assassins. Then what could our government say? What could it do? Would he not protest that he deeply deplored the bloody deed, that he had punished the perpetrators ? and would he not show his grief by posthumous honors ? and would he not tes- tify his sorrow by sending our child, under a flag of truce, with an escort, through the lines, and with many messages of regret, and with reams of manufactured evidence of the natural death of its mother, and of the suicide or assassination of its father, and request that it might be forwarded to its relatives in the United States ? It may be supposed that some part of the above is conjec- ture ; and so it is in some of its details. But it is according to the general plan marked out by Lopez and Madam Lynch, character of the tyrant, was our thought ; would unveil the mystery which had so long shrouded the acts of the President, and kept out of sight the sufferings of Paraguay. Once public opinion was directed to the subject by the evidence of an unimpeachable witness, we felt assured that public sympathy would follow, and no effort be spared to rescue us from our perilous position While the Wasp, with Mr. Washburn on board, was waiting for the correspondence of Lopez, he asked me what I thought of his permitting Mr. Washburn to leave the country. Of course I could only answer that it was a proof of his Excellency's generosity, for I myself was in daily dread of being tortured and executed." Testimony of Dr. William Stewart, Paraguayan Investigation, by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, pp. 311, 312. 388 PARAGUAY. to be varied according to circumstances ; and, had not the Wasp arrived for a few weeks later, would have been carried into effect. Should any of the others who were nearest Lopez during these times, and who yet survive, ever give to the world the true story of what they saw and knew, it will be confirmed. One only of the survivors will not confirm it ; that is the person who urged Lopez to commit the atrocities which the others will record, Madam Lynch. CHAPTER XXVII. The Transactions at Head-Quarters unknown in Asuncion. Arrest of General Barrios. His Character. Indications that Lopez believed in a Conspiracy. Other Indications that it was all previously planned by himself. Forging Fetters. Lopez's Conduct inexplicable. General Bruguez's Fall, Arrest, and Execution. What was it for? Barrios attempts Suicide. His Wife, Lopez's Sister, horribly flogged. Insanity and Execution of Barrios. Affected Piety of Lopez. Why did no one rebel or resist ? His Constant Fear of As- sassination. Anecdote from Thompson's Book- Madam Lynch increases his Natural Cowardice. Her Selfishness. She causes many to be arrested and tortured. The other Intimates of Lopez. Their Fate. Madam Lynch in Danger. Brazilian Chivalry. The " Conspiracy." No other Proof than that of Tortured Witnesses. THE "declarations" that were sent to me in Benitez's letters as being the admissions of the leading conspira- tors was conclusive evidence of the treatment they had re- ceived. But regarding the condition of, and accusations against, many others in whom we felt a deep interest, we knew scarcely anything. Our ignorance of the real state of affairs was a blessing we did not then appreciate. From the official letters we had surmised enough to be aware of our dangerous situa- tion ; but had we known of the daily tortures and executions that were taking place at San Fernando our anxieties for our- selves must have been greatly increased. As early as the I5th of August we had seen that General Barrios, the brother-in- law of Lopez, had been degraded from his position of Minister of War and Marine. What the reason was for his disgrace we were unable to conjecture. He was eminently fitted to do the work of Lopez or Madam Lynch, being a man of dashing valor and as cruel as he was brave. For his military successes Lopez had been more indebted to him than to any man in his army, excepting only the English engineer, Colonel George 390 PARAGUAY. Thompson. Like Lopez, he was regardless of the number of men sacrificed, and would kill his own soldiers for the slightest delinquency, in a manner highly approved by his master. Be- fore the war he had commended himself to the favor of Madam Lynch in a way calculated to win her highest regard. This imported teacher of morality, having suspected a man employed about her premises of too great an intimacy with one of her maid-servants, affected to be so greatly scandalized and shocked that any improprieties should be committed in her abode of virtue and purity that she sent the offender with a note to Colonel Barrios, then holding the office of Mayor of the Plaza. What the contents of the note were may be inferred from the fact that the man was flogged to death. There would seem to be little doubt that at one time Lopez really believed that some of his principal officers were false to him and were engaged in a plot for his overthrow. Yet his conduct was so inconsistent with any theory of this kind, that, of all who afterwards escaped, not one can explain it It is all a mystery. It can hardly be explained on the theory that he was insane, for in all matters in which he was uninfluenced by his vanity and his innate love of cruelty, his mind was as clear and logical as ever. One fact that came to my knowledge long before there was any pretext of a conspiracy, and before the evacuation of the capital or the arrest of all the men in the country not in the army, leads to the conclusion that the whole long tragedy of horrors was deliberately planned while Lopez was yet at Paso Pucu. Early in the year 1868 I had been told by Mr. Treuen- feld, the constructer of telegraphs, that in one of the workshops in Asuncion several native blacksmiths were employed in making grilles, or fetters. The men so employed were kept under strict surveillance, and worked in a shbp by themselves, so that the public should not know what they were doing. Treuenfeld, however, learned that, the whole force in this shop was engaged in making fetters. These fetters consisted of a ring for each ankle, so made that an iron bar about fourteen inches long was riveted to them. Their weight varied from WAS THERE A CONSPIRACY? 391 five to twenty-five pounds. Sometimes as many as three pairs of the latter were placed on the limbs of one person, and were kept upon him continuously for months. There had al- ways been, from the time of Francia, an enormous number of these fetters in the country : and the fact that Lopez had a number of men employed in making hundreds or thousands more, at a time when there was nothing to indicate for whom they were intended, was certainly ominous of danger to some- body. If there were in reality a conspiracy, as Lopez pretended when he arrested so many, its discovery just after fetters had been made for them all was certainly a remarkable coinci- dence. But if the whole thing was but an invention of his own by which he could gratify his love of inflicting pain and misery, and at the same time have a pretext for robbing his victims of their property, the coincidence may be explained without as- cribing it to a special providence, as Lopez was accustomed to ascribe any event favorable to his cause. But if Lopez never believed in the conspiracy, his course is equally inexplicable. Why, then, did he kill off nearly all of his best officers ? Why kill Barrios ? Why kill Bruguez ? They were his two best generals, reckless, cruel, and brave. They were always at his head-quarters, and he could not well spare them. No one about the camp had ever noticed but that they were both in favor with their chief, as they were often in his company and usually dined at his table. Colonel Thompson gives the following account of the reward that Bruguez received for his fidelity and valor : " My room at Lopez's head-quarters was next to that of General Bruguez, and he and I were very good friends. One evening, arriving from Fortin, I went into his room to see him, and found that all his things were gone, and other things in their place. There was a boy in the room, and I asked him for General Bruguez ; he did not know. I then asked him if he had moved ? ' Yes.' ' Where ? ' 'I don't know.' I then imagined that something must be wrong with him, and asked no further questions ; I had asked too many already. Next 392 PARAGUAY. day I dined with Lopez ; Barrios, Bruguez, and the Bishop used always to dine with him, but Bruguez was not there. Lopez's little boy asked where he was, and they told him, with smiles, ' He is gone.' He was, I have since learned, bayoneted to death." A cheerful prospect for the other guests ! Two of those, Barrios and the Bishop, who told the boy with smiles that Bruguez was gone, were shortly after to follow him, and share his fate. The cause of the sudden fall of Bruguez, I afterwards learned, was this : When Lopez first began torturing people to make them confess to having taken part in the conspiracy, his plan was to subject them to such misery that when they could endure it no longer they would in their agony admit any- thing. Having confessed their own guilt, the torture was afterwards reapplied to force them to expose their accom- plices. As they had never known anything about the con- spiracy, of course they could have no confederates ; and as the torture was continued till they either denounced others or died, they would accuse at random. One of these misera- ble wretches, it seems, while in the cepo nruguayana, men- tioned Bruguez as one of the conspirators, and said that he was the leader of them, and that if the revolution were successful he was to marry the daughter of Sinforiano Caceres, Madam Lynch's former partner in the butchering business, and have himself elected President. The bare hint that anybody else might, in a possible contingency, be eligi- ble to the Presidency aroused Lopez to fury. Bruguez was immediately removed in the manner described by Colonel Thompson, and Caceres and his son, according to Resquin's Diary, were executed. His wife and daughter, it is conjectured from the fact that their names do not appear in the lists of those who were exe- cuted, were tortured to death. The only inference to be drawn from the fact that Bruguez was so summarily despatched is that, at the time, Lopez be- lieved in the conspiracy. BRUGUEZ AND BARRIOS. 393 It was but a few days after the arrest of Bruguez that Barrios was put under arrest. What his offence had been will probably never be known. He had seen the most of those who but a little before were highest in the confidence of their common master arrested and horribly tortured. He had known Lopez from a boy, and had been his willing tool in outraging other people. He had been his accomplice and assistant long years before, and acted as pander at the time that he attempted an infamous outrage on the beautiful GENERAL JOSg VICENTE BARRIOS. (Executed by his brother-in-law, Dec. 21, 1868.) Pancha Garmendia. He had seen so many subjected to the torture, and in many cases had ordered its application, that, brave man as he was on the battle-field, his courage failed him when he was arrested, and he attempted to commit suicide. This was construed by Lopez as evidence of guilt, 394 PARAGUAY. and he directed that he should be well treated till he could sufficiently recover to endure the cepo and make confession. His wife, Dona Inocencia, the elder sister of Lopez, was thereupon immediately arrested and questioned as to what she knew of the conspiracy. She could only reply, as did everybody else when first questioned, that she knew nothing. She was then flogged like any felon. Like all the Lopez family she was very fleshy, and for a Paraguayan of very fair complexion. For the work of flogging the strongest men were always selected, and they were given withs or sticks of a very hard and heavy kind of wood, about four feet long, and an inch in diameter at the butt, and tapering to half the size at the other end. Their orders were to lay on with all their might, and, if one of them hesitated or faltered, he was immediately seized and subjected to the same treatment. The flogging of Dofla Inocencia, as described by some of the witnesses, was such as to strike them, though familiar with such scenes, as peculiarly savage and brutal. Her endurance and resignation astonished them. Though the flesh was all cut away from her shoulders by the repeated blows, she never uttered a cry or a groan ; and when they ceased for a moment, and she was importuned to confess, and thus win the clemency of the kind- hearted President, her reply was, " I know nothing ; ask my husband." Dona Inocencia was not flogged to death, nor was she executed. The manner of her deliverance will be described at the proper place. Her husband, after recovering from his self inflicted wounds, was so harshly treated that he became insane, in which condition he was executed by shooting on the 2 ist of December, more than three months after I left Paraguay. During the time that Lopez was perpetrating his most atrocious acts he affected to be very religious. He had a church built at San Fernando so that he might perform his devotions in public ; and while his inquisitors and torturers were engaged in extorting false confessions by means of the TYRANTS AND COWARDS NOT ASSASSINATED. 395 cepo, the rack, and flogging, he would be in the church, fre- quently for four hours at a time, kneeling and mumbling and crossing himself, while between the genuflections the Bishop or Dean Bogado would tell the people of their duties to- wards him, as he was the anointed of the Lord, set to rule over them, and making devotion to him their first and only duty. I have been asked a great many times, why, if Lopez was the monster that I and all others who are not sharers of the property he stole from the multitudes whom he afterwards murdered have denounced him to be, some one of those who were near him did not assassinate him? If he was arresting and executing daily his most devoted friends, could not those still at large and permitted to approach him foresee their own fate ? And was there no one of them all to stop his wholesale executions by a Brutus-like act ? That has been a hard ques- tion to answer. But Francia died in his bed, after near thirty years of tyranny such as had never been known before. Rosas ruled for years in Buenos Aires with an iron hand, keeping up all the while an organized band of assassins, killing and robbing whom he pleased with impunity ; and such was the spell under which the people were that no one ever attempted to kill him, and he is yet alive. The Paraguayans of Lopez's time had never known anything but a reign of terror ; and from my knowledge of their character I do not believe there was a single person in the whole country who, at the suggestion that he should lift his arm against Lopez, would not have felt him- self detected, and certain to be put to death unless he instantly denounced it. But, notwithstanding this, Lopez was undoubt- edly in constant fear of assassination, and allowed no one to approach him unless it were those who showed alacrity in executing his most cruel orders, and who, in case of his fall, would share his fate. " He was," says Thompson, " in great fear of being assassinated, and at night had a double cordon of sentinels around his house. This was afterwards increased to a treble one. During the daytime these were removed, and the guard was kept under an open roof, next door to 396 PARAGUAY. Lopez. People who wished to see him had to wait under this same roof. One evening I was waiting there to see Lopez, as were also several other officers, and a sergeant of the guard entered into conversation with me. After a short time there was a great stir, officers going in and out of Lopez's room, the guard relieved, and the other officers who were waiting all arrested. One of Lopez's aides-de-camp came and said to me, ' His Excellency sends word to you to write down all the conversation you have had with the sergeant of the guard, and to bring it to-morrow morning.' I went away, not expect- ing to be able to remember a twentieth part of the silly talk of the sergeant ; but, as things looked serious, I tried, and probably remembered it all. It filled a whole sheet of paper, and was all of it somewhat in this style : ' The sergeant asked me if Queen Victoria always wore her crown when she went out to walk.' ' The sergeant asked me if I should wear the Paraguayan uniform when I went to England.' It was sealed up and taken next morning to Lopez about 7 A. M. He was not yet up, but the sergeant was already shot, and all the soldiers of the guard had received a hundred lashes each. A few months afterward I heard that the sergeant had been conspiring with two men who had just returned from Uruguayana to murder the President, and that the two men had been found that night in the yard of Lopez's house. The sergeant's manner was certainly not that of a conspirator. Lopez never said a word about it to me, nor acknowledged the receipt of the written conversation, probably feeling ashamed to do so." Similar conspiracies were frequently detected. Prisoners taken near the lines, or deserters from the other side, were generally assumed to be assassins sent by General Mitre to murder Lopez, and were tortured till they admitted it or ex- pired. Lopez was* constantly publishing in his Scmanario that men had been sent to assassinate him, and even wrote to Mitre, accusing him of having done so. Yet no one besides himself ever believed either that Mitre had done anything of the kind or that anybody else ever harbored such an idea in INFLUENCE OF MADAM LYNCH ON LOPEZ. 397 his mind. No suspicious person could ever possibly get near him, and he was so constantly and immediately surrounded by his staff that any one who should make a movement towards him would have been instantly struck down. Men like Francia, Rosas, and Lopez are not assassinated. Being con- scious that there are thousands who would be glad to see them killed in any way possible, they suspect everybody that comes near them, and surround themselves with guards and sentinels. It is men like Abraham Lincoln, who, " with charity for all and malice towards none," cannot realize that any one should desire to kill them, and therefore expose them- selves to the dagger or bullet of the fanatic or madman. Madam Lynch, for some purpose of her own, was always try- ing to increase the natural cowardice of Lopez. She had an abundance of that courage of which he was so greatly in want, and in time of battle would expose herself where the danger was greatest ; and it is probable that her object in playing on his fears was to increase her influence over him. When he, at the first sound of a gun from the allied lines, would hasten to gain the shelter of his cave at Paso Pucu, she would move about unconscious of danger, as danger she knew there was none ; yet at the same time she would counsel him not to expose to a chance shot his valuable life, a life on which the hopes, the fortunes, and the liberty of all Paraguayans depended. She was also constantly advising him to greater precautions, tell- ing him that his enemies were thick around him. She saw that such counsels pleased him and increased her own in- fluence, and she would tell him that he was too good, too credulous, too kind-hearted, and too indifferent to danger for his own safety. With her at his side ever whispering in his ear that he was in great danger, that his enemies were plot- ting his destruction, it is not strange that he was constantly haunted with fear of treachery and assassination. No one else of those around him could venture to tell him that such fears were groundless, without a certainty of being sus- pected as a traitor and an accomplice of conspirators. To this bad, selfish, pitiless woman may be ascribed many of the 398 PARAGUAY. numberless acts of cruelty of her paramour. That she was the direct cause of the arrest, torture, and execution of thousands of the best people in Paraguay there is no doubt, and it is equally certain that it was for her benefit and that of her children that so many hundreds were arrested and robbed of their property, and afterwards tortured as conspirators or traitors, and then executed, that they should never, by any contingency of war, survive to reclaim their own. It may be said that all those in whom Lopez, towards the last of his career, had most confidence gave him similar ad- vice to that of Madam Lynch. Resquin, Aveiro, and his Bishop before he arrested him, all took advantage of his weakness to play upon his fears. This they did, in most cases, from pure selfishness, as in most cases they could have nothing personal against the people they accused and denounced. But so sus- picious had Lopez become, that he distrusted all who did not accuse others. Every one about him, not excepting Madam Lynch, was in personal fear ; and as they all saw that those who were most forward in accusing others, and showed most alac- rity in torturing them, stood highest in favor and most secure from arrest themselves, there was a rivalry among them in this infamous work. At one time Madam Lynch was for several days in constant dread lest she should share the fate of those whom she had caused to be sent to their final ac- count. She had seen Barrios and Bruguez, and several others of those who but a few days before were the most devoted and apparently the most trusted officers taken off " to their destiny," and Lopez's elder sister had, to her own knowledge, been most cruelly tortured. At this time she could not con- ceal her fear lest she too might be a victim to the jealous, suspicious spirit she had done so much to arouse. Dr. Stew- art having been called into her house one day, just after the arrest of Barrios, found her and the Bishop, and one or two others yet highest in favor, apparently in counsel. Fear and consternation was on every face, and the silence was broken by Madam Lynch's saying, " Who knows whose turn will come next ? " Stewart, suspecting a trap, replied, " I don't know whose MADAM LYNCH FEARS FOR HER OWN SAFETY- 399 it will be. I know that my conscience is clear, and nothing can touch me." They all sat silent for a few moments, each appearing afraid to speak, and Stewart withdrew, happy in the belief that he had said nothing which could be tortured to his prejudice. On another occasion, about this time, she remarked to one of her countrymen that she would give up everything she had in the world if she could only get safely out of Para- guay. She had good reason to be in fear for her own life. She knew people, men and women alike, were daily tortured to force them to accuse others. She knew, too, that she was bitterly hated by all the better class of Paraguayan women and most of the men, and why should not some of them in their agony make false accusations against her as well as against others ? Might they not accuse her of being in the conspiracy ? Possibly they did so ; but if it were so the fact would only indicate that Lopez did not himself believe that there had ever been any, and that he tortured people, not for the purpose of getting evidence, but for amusement. While events of this kind, of which we knew little or noth- ing, were transpiring at head-quarters, the work of implicat- ing all of us still left in the Legation was going on. It was an essential part of the plan of Lopez that we "should share the fate of the others whom he accused, for after he had taken such pains to prove a conspiracy it would never do to allow any one who could deny and disprove it to escape from his power. This was evident to us from the character of Benitez's letters ; and as we saw that it was only a question of time whether one of us should ever get away from Paraguay, it was but natural that we should freely discuss the character of the allies, and the moral guilt of their generals in conducting a war in a manner that would lead to the inevitable extermina- tion of the whole Paraguayan people. With that peculiar chivalry characteristic of the Brazilians, they did not try to molest the Paraguayans, while they were endeavoring to make a "change of base." When Lopez abandoned Paso Pucu, Caxias did not learn of the evacuation for several days afterwards, but kept up a vigorous bombard- 400 PARAGUAY. ment till an enterprising pedler in pursuit of customers got in- side of the abandoned fortifications, and, finding nobody there, went back and reported the fact, after which a gallant charge was made, the forts were carried at the point of the bayonet, and then the whole army joined in celebrating their great victory, and the commanding general despatched a steamer to bear the glad tidings to Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, and bring back the thanks of the Emperor and orders for promotion. At San Fernando the same miserable inaction and inattention to the movements of their enemy marked the course of the Brazilians. It seemed as if they dreaded to come in contact with the Paraguayans, no matter what the odds in their favor. After spending six months or more in investing the whole Para- guayan army, and with such a preponderance of men and guns that with a fair degree of energy and valor every man must either be killed or capitulate, they would allow them all to retire and carry their guns and ammunition with them. Then the Brazilians would prepare to follow them, and perhaps for another year repeat the long tedious work of again getting ready to attack in overwhelming force, at the end of which time they would find Lopez had again moved away, and that for months before he had been fortifying at another point, to which, before the Brazilians were ready for a general attack, he would fall back with his whole army. Thus it was at Itapiru, at Paso Pucu, at Humaita, and at San Fernando. At the latter place, though the allies had entire command of the river, and had a squadron lying below strong enough to have utter- ly destroyed the Spanish Armada of Philip the Second, and the whole army was gathering to overwhelm Lopez, yet he was permitted quietly to disarm the place and send all his guns and ammunition a hundred miles higher up the river, to be there again placed in position for another stand. The only thing he left was the telegraph, and an operator to work it, at the extreme southern point, where he could report the movements of the squadron below, and retire as soon as he saw that he and his Quaker guns would no longer keep it in check. . FEARS OF LOPEZ ; CONTEMPT FOR THE ALLIES. 40! This dilatory conduct of the allies could cause nothing less than contempt in the mind of an impartial observer. The foreigners in Paraguay, however, were not impartial. They saw that they had no hope of deliverance from a horrible death except in the advance of the allies ; and when year after year went by, their number each year becoming less, though they wished the Brazilians success they could never speak of them without the greatest contempt and bitterness. It seemed to them all that Lopez could not have held out so long against such odds unless it had been the policy of the allies, not so much to destroy him, as to give him time to exterminate all his people. That was the feeling of all in my house, and I gave expression to it in one of my letters to Benitez of the nth of August: "The allies, however, with their large squadron, always kept at a safe distance, and, in my indigna- tion at their mode of warfare, I remember to have said to Ber- ges it was cowardly, it was barbarous ; that if they conquered Paraguay by fair fighting it would be legitimate warfare, but if they attempted to exhaust and starve out the people by means of superior numbers and resources, it was infamous, and deserved the execration of all civilized nations." This was certainly an opinion such as no minister of a neutral na- tion ever before expressed without being rebuked by his gov- ernment ; but as Lopez was torturing people to force them to declare that I was in correspondence with Caxias, receiving, vast sums of money from his government, and was intending to destroy me so that I could never deny or disprove it, I thought it excusable for me, while I might, to express my per- sonal opinion of Brazilian policy and Brazilian generalship. The whole charge of a conspiracy was based on the assump- tion that the conspirators were in treaty with Caxias ; that for a long time letters had been passing to and fro between him and them, generally through the American Legation and under the official seal of the Minister. What object was to be gained by prolonging it so was never explained by the witnesses before the "solemn tribunal." From the "declarations" sent to me, and from the numerous arrests, embracing all the men, foreign- VOL. n. 26 402 PARAGUAY. ers and natives alike, not in the army, besides many officers who were, it would appear that it was going on for at least a year and a half in a manner so open that it must have been ex- posed within a month after its inception in any country, and in Paraguay within twenty-four hours. The very absurdity of the whole scheme, and the inconsistencies and contradictions contained in the "declarations" of the victims, were enough to convince any man of ordinary intelligence that the conspiracy was only a phantom. But Lopez in many things was a fool, and could not or would not see that by his elaborate efforts to make it appear there was a conspiracy he was proving that there never had been anything of the kind. When in Benitez's letter of July 23 the charge was made that Mr. Bliss and others had signed a paper engaging themselves to each other to assassinate the President, I replied that I did not believe it ; that Bliss positively denied having ever seen or heard of any such paper, and said if it could be produced he would in- stantly leave the Legation and deliver himself up to the Para- guayan authorities. I added that, if such a document were produced, it would clearly prove that while he was in my house, and living on my hospitality, he had betrayed my con- fidence, so that, while I should still insist on my rights of Legation, I should take good care that he fulfilled his promise to me. But no such paper was ever produced, and no allusion was made to it in the subsequent letters. During the whole time that I was engaged in the cor- respondence with Benitez, in which he was trying to make it appear, on the evidence of tortured witnesses, that there had been a conspiracy, he never professed to be in possession of any document or paper prepared or signed by any of the accused. Nothing of the kind was ever published. Had Caxias, as was alleged, been holding correspondence for a year and a half with Benigno and Venancio Lopez, with JBerges and Carreras, and the letters been passing back and forth during all that time, it would seem strange that not one of the conspirators who confessed to everything should have been able to tell where to find one of the original let- NO WRITTEN EVIDENCE OF A CONSPIRACY. 403 ters. Berges alone said he had given his into my care. What became of those to Benigno, Venancio, and Carre- ras ? Why was no one of them ever produced or pub- lished ? As the houses of all the conspirators were searched, it is strange that no document or letter or writing of any kind was ever found that might have been published, and thus afford plenary evidence that a plot against the govern- ment had been discovered. But as there never was anything like a plot or conspiracy entered into by any persons in Para- guay, no such document could be found, and Lopez was left to the necessity of giving, in his own justification, the testi- mony extorted in such a way that it would prove nothing except his own inhuman practices. CHAPTER XXVIII. Silence and Anxiety. Reflections of Persons in Time of Danger. Indications that Lopez's Plans are deranged. Luis Caminos. Lopez retires unmo- lested from San Fernando. The French Chancellor accused. Robbery of the National Treasury. Lopez's Object. Letter from Captain Kirk- land. The Delay explained. Long Letter of Accusations from Caminos. Passports promised to all but Bliss, Masterman, and Baltazar. MORE than two weeks had elapsed since the date of my last letter to Benitez, in which for the third time I had asked for my passports and for the means of leaving the coun- try. I cannot say that I was hoping to have my passports sent to me. My official relations would only be closed with their receipt ; and as we were quite sure that Lopez would provide us no means of going away, and as it was impossible to reach the military lines of the allies by any other convey- ance than such as he might furnish, our condition would be worse than ever, and the receipt of the passports would pre- cede but a few hours the seizure of Bliss and Masterman, and but a few days that of all the rest of us. What I had so often asked for was just what, under the circumstances, I did not wish to get. The delay in answering my last note, however, was ominous of a long letter, and we had seen that the longer the letter the more outrageous the threatened act which it was intended to justify. It was not likely that Lopez would be longer baffled or put off by my elaborate disquisitions on international law. The issue was distinctly made up. I had said Bliss and Masterman were members of my Legation, and I would not give them up. He had declared that they were not, and he would take them. There was no occasion for further argument. Lopez must either carry out his threats or recede from his position. This delay in replying to my REFLECTIONS IN TIME OF DANGER. 405 note of the nth of August had become so intolerable that Bliss and Masterman both said that, if Lopez were resolved to take them and kill them, they hoped he would do so at once, and put an end to the killing anxiety which they, as well as all the rest of us, were in. His most refined tortures, they imagined, must soon end, whereas the almost certainty that they were to be taken and subjected to them was wear- ing on their minds and weakening their bodies, and they longed to know the worst, dreadful as that worst was likely to be. Hope with them had died out, and if it had not en- tirely with me, it was because I had a premonition I can- not call it a belief, nor a reason for a belief that before Lopez should be ready to seize me a gunboat would come to my rescue. It may be supposed that, situated as we were, with so slight a prospect of escape, and the conviction that we were all to be subjected to a horrible and infamous death, we should reflect whether we had in any way, through pride or folly or from any fault, brought ourselves into our present condition. The thoughts that pass through the minds of persons under circumstances analogous to ours have been often related, as it has been no very rare thing for people to be saved from dangers after reason forbade them hope. The first reflection of persons so situated is one of self-examination. They ask themselves if they have brought the impending evils on them- selves through any fault or folly of their own. We often thought of the different sensations that our friends must have experienced when undergoing the torture and when brought to face their executioners, and of how different it would all seem to a man of the noble character, the clear conscience, of Rodriguez, from what it would to others who by their own pride or ambition or partisan violence had courted their dreadful fate. For my own part, I could not see how any fault of mine had brought me into my critical situation. I could not accuse my- self of being in the wrong in refusing to become the flatterer of Lopez, or in declining to defend and justify his atrocities. I had forced my way into his territory, where he held me 406 PARAGUAY. within his power, when to have turned back would have justly subjected me to the censure of my own government; and I had remained there while the dangers were thick- ening around me, at a time when I supposed I might have got away, solely that I might be of service to others. To save life I had risked my own, and not only my own, but the lives of those who were nearer and dearer to me than all the others for whose benefit I had remained. I had had a " divided duty," and had I not possibly erred in exposing those having the stronger claims upon me to the fate that now seemed almost inevitable ? And yet I could not think it my duty, when so many others believed and felt that their safety, perhaps their lives, depended on my remaining, to turn my back upon them and leave them from motives purely personal and selfish. I therefore had nothing, so far as my official acts and my con- duct towards the unhappy wretches around me who had been seized were concerned, to reproach myself for. Yet I had seen so much of the Jesuitical cunning and audacious mendacity of Lopez that I feared he would contrive a plausible story of conspiracy and revolution that should impose on the world the belief that I had confessed to acts dishonorable and infamous. People who have never been put to the test find it hard to understand why persons who have been condemned to death are so anxious and earnest to have their names vindicated from unjust aspersions. It matters not whether the victim is a dethroned king like Charles I., or a fallen minister like Wol- sey, a patriotic statesman like Algernon Sidney, a convicted highwayman, or a condemned murderer, he will to the last cry out against untrue and unjust accusations. Though admitting himself guilty of crimes which he ought to expiate by death, yet if accused of others of which he is innocent his last breath will be spent in protesting the fact. In my younger days I had wasted a good deal of time in writing a novel. It must have been a very poor novel, for few bought it and fewer read it. The hero of it is represented as having risked his life to defeat the capture of a shipload of fugitive slaves. He succeeds in this, though the fugitives, seeing him among the pursuers, be- CAMINOS, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. 407 lieve that it is he who has betrayed them and given notice of their flight He hears at a distance their curses and male- dictions upon him at the moment he disables the pursuing vessel, knowing all the while his life will be the forfeit, and that both those whom he saved and those whom he balked will unite in rendering his name and memory infamous. I had never thought it would be my lot to perform an act in any degree like that, and yet it seemed that, without foreseeing it, I had put myself in a position to become the hero of my own novel. I alluded to this circumstance on one or two occa- sions to my companions, while we were yet together in the Legation, and, as will be seen hereafter, one of them while in prison repeated it in his confessions. The delay in answering my last letters, that for a time we regarded as a bad omen, we afterwards regarded as a favor- able indication. The very long hesitation of Lopez in carry- ing his threats into effect could only have been caused by something which had deranged his plans and made him pause. Instead of the very long letter which I had been expect- ing, I was disappointed by receiving a very brief note signed by Luis Caminos, and informing me that he had been called to take the place of Benitez as Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs. This Caminos had been Military Secretary of Lopez from the beginning of the war, and was one of those who seemed to participate the spirit of his master and to feel a positive delight in executing his cruel orders. Of those who had been in authority in and about Asuncion and Luque at the time the "conspirators" were arrested, the Chief of Police, Sanabria, only was now left. He was to follow them and share their fate soon after the arrival of Caminos. In Res- quin's Diary his name appears in a list with forty-six other accused traitors who were executed on the 2/th of September, only fifteen days after my departure from Paraguay. In this list is also to be found the names of Benitez and Carreras. Caminos in this first letter requested me to send him a list 408 PARAGUAY. of the persons for whom I demanded passports. I replied on the same day, giving the list, including in it, of course, the names of Bliss and Masterman. The next day I learned that Lopez was abandoning San Fernando with his army, and that he was fortifying himself at Angostura and Villeta. It ap- peared from this that the Brazilians, with their usual torpidity and imbecility, had allowed him to repeat the part he had played at Itapiru and Paso Pucu ; and that, while they were en- gaged in making great preparations to attack him, he had with- drawn his army, his guns, and in fact all his force, to some point higher up the river, where he had already thrown up the necessary earthworks. It seemed probable, that, as he was being driven nearer Asuncion, he found my remaining there more inconvenient to the execution of his plans, and perhaps he had desired this list as preliminary to some extraordinary action. Yet it might be that a gunboat had arrived ; and this hope, which was indeed very faint, led us to regard the request of Caminos for a list as a favorable sign. On the 3 1st the French and Italian Consuls came in from Luque and called at my house. They told me that the Chan- cellor of the French Consulate, M. Libertat, was accused of being a fellow-conspirator with Bliss and others, and of hav- ing signed the same document in which they had all agreed to assassinate Lopez, if necessary, to effect their plans. It was from them I learned that there was no official in what was then called the capital, Luque, above the grade of Chief of Police, whose rank was that of captain in the army, no civil officer whatever. The old Vice-President, Sanchez, had gone below ; so had Benitez, and Ortellado, and the priest Bogado, all of whom had so eloquently denounced the conspiracy at the grand celebration in Luque, soon after the arrest at that place of nearly all the civil officers of the government. For the first time I now heard that the national treasury had been robbed ; that on moving the treasure supposed to be in it from the old to the new capital a great deficit had been dis- covered, and that all who had had anything to do with that department were in disgrace and were prisoners. How under ROBBERY OF THE TREASURY; ITS OBJECT. 409 such a government as that of Lopez the treasury could have been robbed, it was impossible for me to conceive ; nor did I then see the object of publishing to the world such a statement. But I was soon to learn that the opening and searching of the houses of all the people in the capital who it was supposed had money or jewels to any considerable amount was but a part of a device of a pretended robbery of the treasury, and that the owners of these houses had all been accused of being engaged in that great robbery, and the money which they had upon their premises was declared to be a part of the plunder which they had stolen. Of course, being accused of a crime like that, it was necessary for Lopez to put them all to death, lest if any of them should escape they would deny that they ever had anything in their possession which was not legally and rightfully theirs ; and the foreigners, should they survive, would appeal to their governments to compel Lopez to make restitution. It was a necessity of the first crime, if he would succeed in it, that he should practise on the principle of the footpad and the midnight assassin, that "dead men tell no tales." On the 2d of September, while we were yet debating in regard to the object of Lopez in asking for the list of the personnel of the Legation, the same soldier who had brought us so many letters of portentous import appeared with one of a different character. It was from Commander Kirkland. The Wasp had returned ; and the mystery of the long delay in answering my last letters was explained. She had reached the lower fortifications of Lopez, at the mouth of the Tebicuari, and was then waiting for permission to proceed higher up the river. Kirkland wrote that he had come to take me and my family away, if we wished to leave. He com- plained that he had been treated with great discourtesy by Lopez, who had not replied to his letters, and that he knew not where I was or where Lopez was, or where it would be convenient for me to embark. I immediately answered this letter, telling him that I would be ready to embark at any moment ; and as it would suit my convenience to do 410 PARAGUAY. so at Asuncion, he would oblige me by coming up to that point. This letter I sent to Caminos to be forwarded, at the same time sending him a note advising him of the arrival of the Wasp and of its object in coming there. I also gave him the purport of my letter to Captain Kirkland. For two days I heard nothing either from Kirkland or Caminos, but late in the evening of the 4th I received another letter from the former, stating that he was lying two leagues below Villeta, but that he could not learn where I was, or where the President was, as he had not answered his letters, though he had written him three times officially, and that his conduct in treating him thus was very disrespectful and discourteous, and requesting me to so represent to his Excellency. It was clear from this that Captain Kirkland knew nothing of our situation, or of what had transpired dur- ing the few preceding months in Paraguay ; and we all felt that our troubles were not yet over, and that Lopez was hesitating whether to detain us or to let us go. On the morning of the 5th, however, I received a very long letter from Caminos, much longer than any that I had ever received from the unfortu- nate Benitez. It consisted of forty pages of closely written offi- cial paper. This letter had evidently been prepared before the arrival of the Wasp, and while it was the intention of Lopez to treat us as he had Carreras, Rodriguez, and Pereira. It was written in the same style and in similar phraseology to those signed by Benitez. Who had written all these letters was a matter of frequent discussion with us. They showed a Jesu- itical cunning worthy of Lopez, but they displayed a talent for writing and an intellectual capacity so far above his mental powers that we ascribed their composition to either the old Vice-President Sanchez or Padre Maiz. Benitez was already in disgrace, and could not have written this last one ; and it was therefore clear that, though he had signed the preceding, an abler pen than his had written them. Caminos had no pretensions to be anything but a head spy of Lopez, and from his alacrity in carrying into effect his LONG LETTER FROM CAMINOS. 411 cruel orders still appeared to retain the confidence of his master. Next to Lopez himself and Madam Lynch, he had probably been more successful in obtaining the hatred of all, foreigners and natives alike, than anybody else in Paraguay. His character was so atrocious and detestable that it must have been apparent to Lopez, that, whatever might be his own fate, Caminos would share it ; that he would never dare to betray him or desert to the allies, for no service of that kind could save him from the thousand daggers which had been whetted alike for him and for Lopez. This letter concluded with another recapitulation of my offences in still retaining Bliss and Masterman, and asserting and reasserting that they were not, and never had been, members of my Legation ; that they were criminals and conspirators, and the govern- ment had a perfect right to take them and treat them as it did other criminals. To my proposition, that, if Bliss and Masterman could be useful to the government in ascertaining the truth in regard to the conspiracy, they were perfectly willing to give their testimony if a notary would come to my house to receive it, the reply was that it would be beneath the dignity of the government to do so, and that it would not hesitate in making them appear before the tribunal, for the reason that they were merely refugees in my house. To my statement that I was bound to regard Bliss and Masterman innocent until I had some proof of their guilt, and that as I knew the statements of the declarations in regard to me were all false I had a right to presume that those made against Bliss and Masterman were equally so, the reply was substan- tially that no further evidence of their guilt would be given me ; that I was bound to take the word of the government, and the depositions of witnesses which they had furnished me, in regard to their guilt, as sufficient proof, and therefore no attention would be paid to the maxim of the common law to which I had referred, that every person was to be con- sidered innocent until proved guilty. In this letter Caminos inadvertently showed that the letter had not been written by himself, but had been prepared by the same hand that had 412 PARAGUAY. dictated the others, as he alludes to the fact that I did not credit his words. As this was the first letter I received from him, I never could have expressed or shown any doubts in regard to his official statements ; and this charge against me proved conclusively that it had been written before the Wasp had arrived, and when the writer supposed Benitez was to sign it. This was also evident from the following words, which elsewhere appeared in the letter : " I cannot, however, conceive how your own convenience is incompatible with the expulsion of these individuals, whereas their stay there must give rise to very unsatisfactory apprehensions, from the fact of their being implicated in a vast conspiracy, the depositions in regard to which affect even your Excellency." Of course nothing of this kind would have been written had Lopez sus- pected the question was to be solved by my going away on a vessel that had already arrived. The letter proceeded to adduce the further proofs of my own complicity with Bliss, Masterman, and the other conspir- ators. The first witness whose testimony was given was Benigno Lopez, the President's younger brother. This testi- mony was principally made up of general conversations which Benigno averred he had held with me from time to time for two or three years before ; in fact, that he had been in the most intimate relations with me, and had held confidential conversations with me, at a time when I had not even a speak- ing acquaintance with him. That this declaration might carry conviction to persons beyond the limits of Paraguay, the same particularity, the same fulness of detail, which appeared in the declaration of Berges in regard to his trea- sonable papers and his various conversations with me, were observed. Of course this device was resorted to to convince others, as the setting forth of transactions and conversations of a purely imaginary character could have no other effect upon me than to show the audacious mendacity of Lopez and his despicable character, and it is evident that it had been prepared with the view that I should not survive to expose it ; and though the Wasp was in the river when the despatch was PROFITABLE DIPLOMACY. 413 sent to me, I am fully persuaded that even to that time Lopez was determined that I should not escape from his power. Benigno then continues, repeating many conversations in which he said the plan of the conspiracy was talked over, and I had informed him of my intimate relations with Caxias, that I was having everything arranged so that, when the blow should be struck, the revolution might be successful. He states that, in order to induce me to engage in the conspiracy and to persist in rendering all the assistance in my power, he himself had advanced me a large sum of money from his own fortune, and I was also receiving money to a large extent from the Marques de Caxias ; so that, on the whole, it would seem that I was in a good way to become a millionnaire. Be- sides this I had assured him that if the revolution should suc- ceed, and the new government be installed, I would instantly recognize it as the government of Paraguay, as I had already advised the State Department at Washington that such would be the case, and I was sure it would support me in that pro- ceeding, and accept of the revolutionary government as the legal authority of the country. In putting this statement in the declaration of his unhappy brother, Lopez did not exhibit his usual cunning ; for though at the time it was written he did not intend that I should ever live to disprove it, yet, if it were published, its falsity would be proved by the fact that no such despatches had ever been received at Washington. Besides the testimony of Benigno, that of Venancio Lopez, the other brother, was brought forward. He also is made to report a great many conversations that he had with me about the revolution. These conversations were related very mi- nutely, and showed the same Jesuitical cunning as in the other cases. Venancio was also made to say that he had been in correspondence with Caxias, and that I had forwarded his letters and received the answers thereto ; that, in fact, I had been the principal promoter of the revolution, and that it had been through my proposition that he had been seduced into the wicked plot. Otherwise than this, his deposition contained little except reports of conversations, which were 414 PARAGUAY. given in detail, clearly that they might on the face bear the evidence of reality. The deposition of another witness whose name had not before appeared in the correspondence was now produced. This was Jose Vicente Urdapilleta, who had been from an early period of the war the nominal chief-justice of Paraguay. His testimony contained nothing of importance except what had been stated by the others, and evidently was intended to appear beyond the limits of Paraguay as cumula- tive proof that a conspiracy had really existed. Besides these Paraguayans, poor Rodriguez and Carreras were brought for- ward again, and the testimony as given by Rodriguez, if he ever gave it, must have been given with a grim smile, even though it were forced from him while he was in the cepo tint' guayana, and every word extorted with a blow ; for in this he is made to say that the women-servants of Benigno had brought to my house in big baskets, on their heads, Paraguayan currency to the amount of one hundred and forty thousand dollars, and that of this sum I had offered him and Carreras forty thousand dollars, but that they had declined to accept it, having no way of investing it to advantage. Had the two servants, as he testifies, brought one hundred and forty thou- sand dollars of Paraguayan money, in such notes as were circu- lated there, in baskets on their heads, they must have had loads as large as a mpderate sized hay-stack ; and as no Paraguayan at that time could carry a bundle two squares without being overhauled by the police and the contents of the bundle in- vestigated, the ridiculous absurdity of the story must have amused Rodriguez, no matter how miserable might have been his situation. The story appears more ridiculous from the fact that neither Rodriguez nor myself, nor anybody else, con- sidered that the Paraguayan paper money, if the war should end, as we then supposed it would, with the destruction of Lopez, would be worth anything more than its value for waste paper. I certainly considered it would be of as little value as was the Confederate money at that time in Virginia or Ala- bama. In fact, I do not suppose that Rodriguez ever made any such DERANGEMENT IN THE CORRESPONDENCE. 415 statement, for he had certainly been executed some weeks be- fore that time. The testimony in this letter concludes with another statement from Carreras, in which he says that not only was I the chief of the conspirators, but that I " approved the plan of the revolution, and took part in it to overturn the Marshal by hunger or by the dagger." With a cunning stroke, which was evidently intended to enlist again in the cause of Lopez the eminent counsel who had been employed in Washington at the time of the convention in 1859, an- other declaration is given from Berges to the effect that I had said that I ought to receive, in compensation for my services in the revolution, as much as had the secretary of Commissioner Bowlin, or the counsel for Paraguay, Mr. Car- lisle. This much of the letter bears internal evidence of having been written before the news of the arrival of the Wasp had been received, and with the intention of giving it a different ending from that which was really given. At the time it was in preparation those Englishmen and others who were nearest Lopez and knew most of his thoughts and in- tentions, and who have since escaped from his power, were daily expecting, as they have since informed me, to hear that the Legation had been violated and all of us made prisoners, and they were at that very time expecting every hour to hear that I had been brought a prisoner to head-quarters. The plan of Lopez, so far as those around him could infer, and as is shown by the character of his last letter, was to have concluded it with the declaration, that, as I had refused to deliver up Bliss and Masterman, they would be taken by force; that communications were still passing between me and the enemy ; and, as the safety of the Republic would not permit it any longer, that Bliss and Masterman must appear before the tribunal and give in their evidence. Of course they would have been made to declare whatever Lopez wished to extort from them ; if they would not do it without torture they must do it with ; and if they should die under the proceso before giving it the declarations would have been produced all the same as having been made by them, and 416 PARAGUAY. would have been to the effect, that to the last moment of their stay in my house I was still holding frequent correspondence with the enemy. Another letter from Caminos would have followed soon after, containing their declarations, and would have concluded by saying that a person so hostile to the Re- public and so dangerous to its safety would no longer be per- mitted to remain at liberty. My arrest would have followed immediately, and, having committed that outrage on the Amer- ican government, Lopez knew that the only way to ward off its natural consequences was to take such measures as would prevent any version of his acts except his own from ever seeing the light. To have carried out this plan would re- quire the destruction of a great many other people ; it would certainly involve that of all the foreigners who were im- mediately around Lopez ; and Drs. Stewart and Skinner, Colonel Thompson, Burrell, Valpy, and the other English, considered that, if Lopez once laid his hands upon me, he would immediately put them out of the world, lest through chance of war some of them might escape to tell the tragic story. Of the presence of Parodi, who was in an extremely feeble state of health, he might soon have been relieved by a natural death ; while of myself it was his plan to have an infamous declaration made, admitting everything that had been asserted by the others, and force me to sign it ; and if I refused, my fingers would have been jammed to pieces, as had been those of poor Carreras, and then I might have been ex- posed, as was the French Consul, M. Cochelet, to be taken off by a shot from the enemy, or some other accident must have been improvised. But the probability is that my confession would have contained a statement, that, having been detected in an infamous plan to overthrow the government and to assassinate the great and good Lopez, who had treated me with the high- est indulgence and consideration from my first entrance into Paraguay till that moment, my mortification and remorse were such that I could not longer endure life, and therefore I had resolved to commit suicide. Of course the parties assisting me in the self-murder would immediately after have been ex- DISCONCERTED PLANS. 417 ecuted on some other charge, and Lopez and Madam Lynch would have shed crocodile tears over the unfortunate accident, or over my still more unfortunate resolution which had driven me to suicide at a time when, notwithstanding my crime, Lopez was abounding in charity and kindness towards me, and, great as had been my offence, would have done nothing against a representative of the United States. But the arrival of the Wasp just at this time, when the let- ter was already written announcing his determination to take the last but one fatal step, deranged his plans. The whole army knew that he was meditating extreme measures against me ; they knew too that nothing had yet been done ; that I was still at liberty when Lopez received the unwelcome news that the stars and stripes were to be seen above the blockading squadron ; and in the chances of battles which would occur it was impossible but that many should escape who would report these facts, so that if he committed any vio- lence against me it would be known by the government of the United States. It was then too late for the planned acci- dent to happen to me, or a confession to be published, for it would be evident to every one that all had been done after the arrival of the Wasp in Paraguayan waters ; and Lopez knew that the protest that the safety of the Republic re- quired my arrest would never be admitted by the United States government when it had a steamer there ready to take me away. The letter, therefore, which had been prepared while Caminos was yet at head-quarters, and brought by him when he came to Asuncion to superintend the seizure of the inmates of my house, was returned to Lopez to be altered so as to meet the changed circumstances. Instead of closing with the announcement that Bliss and Masterman were to be taken by force, it concluded, after a recital of my offences as before written, in these words : " Notwithstanding all this, and notwithstanding the circumstances which your Excellency is aware would have justified my government in breaking off some time ago all intercourse with a Minister who, in the crit- ical circumstances through which the people of Paraguay are VOL. n. 27 41 8 PARAGUAY. passing, figures in the testimony of the infamous traitors to the country as being one of themselves, my government, anxious to give the most unequivocal proofs of its high con- sideration and regard towards the government of the great American Republic, has done no such thing, and only con- fines itself to sending your Excellency the passports which you have repeatedly solicited in order to leave the country ; and I am happy to inform you that the Wasp, which has come to take your Excellency away, is waiting for you in Villeta, and that a steamer will be in readiness in the port of Asuncion for you and your suite." To this was added, that among the in- dividuals whose names were in the passports that would be sent me those of Bliss and Masterman would not be included ; that "they must remain to answer the charges hanging over them before the local courts of justice." Neither could Baltazar, the servant of Carreras, be permitted to leave the country, and therefore his name was not included in the passports. CHAPTER XXIX. The Situation of the Wasp. The Wild Beast in his Cage. Anxious Confer- ences. Unanimity in the Plan of Escape. Money, etc., left in the Legation. Some of the English withdraw theirs. Dispute with Caminos in regard to Property left in the Legation. Not allowed to take any Property but my own aboard the Paraguayan Steamer. Further Delays. Indications that Lopez still intends to keep us Prisoners. Danger in taking away Masterman's Prop- erty. My Baggage opened and examined. A Fruitless Search. Another Letter from Kirkland. Mrs. Leite Pereira. Antonio Jara. The Legation Premises left in Charge of the Italian Consul. Basilio. Parting Interview. Departure from the Legation. Arrest of Bliss, Masterman, and Baltazar. Fears of the Consuls for their own Safety. Mr. Hunter and the Money of the English. The Paraguayan Steamer. The Wasp. THE letter of Caminos we all regarded as little better than the death-warrant of Bliss and Masterman. The Wasp would not be allowed to come near enough for me to communicate with her commander before embarking, nor could I send him a letter containing an account of the recent proceedings and of our dangerous situation without its passing through the hands of Lopez, and being probably read by him. The little fort that had frightened away the two invulnerable iron-clads of the Brazilians was between us and the Wasp, and she could not get above it without the permission of Lopez. Had she come to Asuncion, and could I have got on board with my wife and child, he would hardly have dared to offer violence to Bliss and Masterman, or to attempt to detain them. Had he done so, he probably foresaw that I should have demanded their instant release, and if refused should have advised Commander Kirkland to knock down his new palace. Whether the latter would have taken my advice I have since had reason to doubt. The Wasp could have done it, however, without exposing herself to any danger. Lopez had 420 PARAGUAY. no steamers left except three or four very small and rickety affairs, either of which the Wasp could have easily destroyed by a single shot. But the Wasp could not have returned to Buenos Aires so long as the batteries of Lopez commanded the river between Asuncion and the Tebicuari. There was no obstacle in the way above Asuncion, and she could have gone to Matto Grosso without difficulty, as the wood necessary for fuel could have been readily obtained on the banks of the river, and the steamer would have been welcomed as a deliverer by the peo- ple of Matto Grosso, who would have cheerfully supplied all the provisions needed before the river might be cleared and she could return to Buenos Aires. Lopez had doubtless fore- seen that we should have him at a disadvantage if the Wasp were to come to Asuncion, and that the outrage on the Lega- tion which he was still resolved upon would be resented then and there. Besides this, if the Wasp were to proceed to Matto Grosso she would carry the news that there were no men in Paraguay between Asuncion and the northern frontier, and Lopez had no troops that he could send to defend that re- gion, as a small force could easily take and hold the entire country and cut off all supplies for the army. His refusal, therefore, to permit the gunboat to come to Asuncion did not surprise us, but it was a death-blow to the recently revived hopes of Bliss and Masterman that they would be rescued. We now all consulted most anxiously together, and con- sidered what it was best to do. All concurred in the opinion that, situated as we were, it would be worse than folly to delay to argue the question of their status in the Legation, or pro- test against their detention. They knew that without some display of power which I could not command they would never be permitted to leave the country, and it was yet far from certain that I would get away. It was clear that the plans of Lopez had been disconcerted ; but we all knew how reluctant he was to allow anybody whom he had devoted to destruction to escape from his power, and that even with a gunboat near the greatest circumspection must be observed lest he should, notwithstanding that, carry into effect his previous resolution THE WILD BEAST IN HIS DEN. 421 towards me. My own situation may be properly compared to that of a man with two companions within the den of a lion, confronting the angry beast, which is standing with flashing eye, gnashing his teeth and lashing his body with his tail, his eye fixed upon the central person, but held in check, and not venturing to spring so long as the eye of the man is fixed steadily upon him. To advance upon the beast is to invite inevitable destruction to all ; the only possible way of escape is to withdraw gradually and cautiously, keeping the eye always fixed, and watchful of every motion of the enraged animal. And if by this means the entrance to the cage may be passed and the bar replaced, perhaps relief may come to the others before they are all torn in pieces. This was my situation ; I saw that I must watch with the greatest circum- spection every movement that was made from that hour. I believed that on the least pretence Lopez would detain me, and as I knew that his civil processes, as he called them, were very long, and it was his custom to prolong the lives of those whom he had resolved to murder, I thought it possible that if I should give the alarm in regard to Bliss and Masterman, an American squadron might come to their relief before he had consummated his plans in respect to them. They fully concurred in this opinion. They felt that their only pos- sible chance of escape consisted in my getting away ; for if I were detained, of course there would be no hope for them. They were even more anxious than I lest, inadver- tently, I should take some step that might further enrage Lopez, or give him some advantage or pretext for detain- ing me. I immediately answered Caminos's letter, stating that I was prepared to leave immediately, and should accept of his offer to depart on the following morning on the Paraguayan steamer to Villeta. I stated that I had a considerable amount of money which had been left in my charge by various parties, mostly Englishmen in the employ of the government, who had requested me, in case I should leave Paraguay, to take it with me and deposit it to their credit in Buenos Aires. This 422 PARAGUAY. money was nearly all in silver dollars, and consequently both heavy and cumbersome. I could not take it away without the knowledge and assistance of Lopez, and there was a law of the country that no specie should be exported without the payment of ten per cent export tax. If I attempted to take that money away in the boxes I knew that it would be stopped, and probably confiscated, and that I should be ac- cused of attempting to take away the money of other people illegally. And it would be as easy to charge that these boxes were all full of doubloons, which I received from the conspira- tors, as it had been to make a thousand other accusations which had their origin in the mind of Lopez. Nevertheless, as the owners of this money were mostly the employees of the government, whose services were of great importance to Lopez, and who up to that time were supposed to be in his favor, perhaps to oblige them he would allow me to take the money away. I therefore advised Caminos of the fact that it was in my house, and that the owners had expressed a wish that I should take it out of the country, which I would gladly do, provided no objection were made by the govern- ment. In answer to this Caminos requested a list of the names of persons who had money in my possession, and of the amount. As it had been brought at various times, and I had given no receipt for it, and had kept no list or memorandum of it, I could answer his questions only so far as to give the names upon the different bags and boxes, and in those cases where the amount was not marked to give the weight. With two exceptions all were English. But I received no such permis- sion to take away their money as I had expected, but got letters from most of them requesting me to deliver whatever they had in my possession to the bearers of their letters. The money was accordingly delivered in most cases, though not in all I had instanced. From Dr. Skinner I received a letter requesting me to take away his money for him. From Dr. Stewart I heard nothing, though I advised the government that I had a large box belonging to him, containing, as I sup- THE ENCUMBRANCE OF MONEY. 423 posed, a considerable quantity of silver. The money which I particularly requested to take away with me belonged to foreigners, and it had been given into my charge with the request that I would send it out of the country at the first op- portunity. There were besides this in my house a great many trunks and boxes, and several iron safes, the contents of which were unknown to me. These I had not even been requested to take away, and were I to do it, and Lopez should find that it had slipped through his fingers, he would say that it had been done through the connivance of the owners and at their request, and it would be fatal to them. I did not then know that many of them had been already killed. There was one trunk in particular which I was greatly tempted to carry with me ; it belonged to Dona Carmelita Cordal, of whom I have before spoken. She had a considerable amount of silver money and a large quantity of jewelry, which, before the time of the evacuation, she had sent to my house. After the evacuation she had sent me the key to the box containing these treasures, requesting me to send her certain things which it contained. I therefore was well informed of the contents of this chest, and I was sorely tempted to try to smuggle away the box of jewelry. I am afraid I should have violated the laws of Paraguay by doing so, had I not feared that she would be tortured and executed for my offence in saving her money from the grasp of Lopez and Madam Lynch. I anticipated that as soon as I left the house it would be immediately searched by the myrmidons of Lopez ; and should it be discov- ered that her valuables were not there, she would be taken before the tribunal and questioned in regard to the large amount of diamonds and valuable jewels which she was known to possess. She could then only plead that I had taken them away without her authority. That, however, though perfectly true, I knew would never suffice with a person so greedy as Madam Lynch. She would be accused of having sent them away by me, and I did not doubt that she would be tortured until she could stand it no longer and then executed. I fully believed she would gladly have given 424 PARAGUAY. seventy per cent of her treasures to secure the balance, yet I feared that by saving the whole I should be doing an act that would be fatal to her. I saw that the possession of property belonging to other people was liable to cause me great difficulty. Caminos had many questions to ask about it, and the notes passed between us at the rate of two a day, and I found I could do nothing or propose nothing that was acceptable. But I disclaimed all responsibility for the property in my possession, and said I had taken it at the risk of the owners, and told them that I should not be responsible for it in any way, and that, as I had received my passports, I wanted the means of leaving the country. Then, as every pretext for further delay in regard to the property of foreigners in my possession had been ex- hausted, I received another note, in which I was requested to delay my departure until the Paraguayans who had deposited their valuables in my house could have time to come and take them away. To this I replied that I would not wait a single hour for that purpose ; the government had known for several days that I was intending to leave, and the Wasp was then waiting for me, and it could have advised these Para- guayans long before of that fact, and that they should come and remove their property. Many of the foreigners having property with me had come and taken it away, but not a single Paraguayan had done so, and if I acceded to a request of that kind it might be weeks, or months even, before I should get , away. I therefore should listen to no such proposition. I had been told a week before that a steamer would be at my disposal to take me as soon as I was ready, and I had been ready ever since. The deposits I had belonging to Paraguay- ans, and which I should be obliged to leave there, could still be delivered to the owners whenever they wished, as I should leave the keys of my house with a responsible party, and whenever the owners chose to come for their property they could obtain it as well as if I were there. I had already sent aboard the most of my luggage, supposing that we were to follow it immediately, and we were left there in the house MASTERMAN'S PROPERTY. 425 without many things absolutely necessary for health and con- venience. With my own baggage I had sent that of Mr. Bliss and Mr. Masterman, and that of the latter gave me more alarm than anything else. All the property which he had in the world was contained in the trunks and boxes which I had sent aboard the Paraguayan steamer. I was very much averse to taking this property away, for I could see that Lopez was still hesitating whether he would let me go or not, and was watch- ing for any pretext to detain me, and I feared that at the last moment I should be met with the accusation of attempting to carry away the property of criminals and conspirators, and it would be alleged that the trunks of Masterman contained the proofs of the conspiracy and of the part which he and I and others had taken in it. On some pretext of this kind I feared that they would be seized, and that I also should be de- tained until further investigation could be had. Such deten- tion I knew would be perpetual, and it was with the greatest reluctance that I consented to incur the risk of carrying this property away. But the appeal of Masterman was so pite- ous, and his desire that what he had might be saved, if not to himself, to his family, was so great that I finally promised to take it all away. But that I might have an answer ready, if it should be seized, he wrote me a letter making a free gift of it to me as a compensation for the kindness and hospitality I had shown him from the time I had rescued him from prison until that date. With this document, if the property were seized, I could show that I had nothing which belonged to Mr. Masterman ; that everything which I had that was once his had been made over to me formally as my property. In one of these chests of Masterman was a bag containing one hun- dred silver dollars, as he told me, which he wished, whether he survived or not, to be forwarded to that friend of his, a Paraguayan, who had supplied him with food during his long imprisonment. My trunks and boxes were on board the Paraguayan steamer for some four or five days before I was allowed to follow them, 426 PARAGUAY. and in that time they were opened and searched, though evi- dently great pains were taken to prevent it from being discov- ered. Notwithstanding all precautions, a single circumstance disclosed the fact that they had been opened. It could hardly be that Lopez, if he ever had believed in a conspiracy, was not convinced before this time that nothing of the kind had ever existed. But if he still believed in it, and thought to find some of the fabulous wealth that his witnesses before the solemn tri- bunal had testified that I had received from Caxias, Benigno, and others, he must have been greatly disappointed in finding none of the many thousand doubloons in my baggage. Masterman had marked this bag with the name of the person for whom it was intended. He told me that, if I should ever get out of the country and he should not, he wished that money to be sent to this person, provided I should ever have the opportunity. But from the fact that when the chest reached Buenos Aires, he, upon opening it after his escape, found that money miss- ing, I am led to infer that everything which I had sent on board the steamer had been, during the four or five days' delay that intervened between the time of its being sent aboard and my departure, opened to ascertain whether I was taking away anything of a contraband nature. I had taken it for granted that this would be done, but as I had nothing in my posses- sion but my own manuscripts which I was not perfectly will- ing that Lopez himself should see, I did not care how closely this part of my baggage was examined. My manuscripts, about which I had been so anxious, I kept back, and had them in my other trunks, which did not leave the house till I was about to go on board the steamer. But these trunks were so very light that a Paraguayan woman could easily have carried either one of them on her head from the Lega- tion to the bank of the river, and from this circumstance, which was doubtless instantly reported to Lopez by telegraph, it must have been evident to him that, however full they might be of treason, they did not contain any considerable amount of silver or gold. Most of the English took away their money ; but as several did not do so I advised Caminos of the fact, THE LEGATION INVESTED. 427 and stated that as they had not removed it, but had previ- ously requested me to take it in case I should go myself, I proposed to do so. To this I never got any written answer ; but the Italian Consul, who came in the day before I left, told me that Caminos had informed him that the government would not permit me to take away any money from my house. I could not get it out of the country without having, not only the permission of Lopez, but his assistance in getting it aboard the steamer, and therefore I must either abandon it or remain there to keep guard over it. Though I repeatedly reminded Caminos that we were ready to depart ; that, our baggage having gone aboard, we were very uncomfortable in the house, and that I had no fur- ther business to detain me, yet I received no notice that the Paraguayan steamer was prepared to take me on board. I now observed that the guards about my house were very much strengthened, and as the darkness shut down on the evening of the 8th I saw that soldiers were posted around the house at a distance of about two rods from each other. The object of this I could not understand at the time, but re- garded it as an indication that something of a very disagree- able nature would soon occur. But a letter which I received from Commander Kirkland the next day, September 8, ex- plained why this extra precaution had been taken. The let- ter was dated near Lambare", a point less than two leagues from the capital, and it appeared as though Lopez was afraid that an attempt would be made to rescue us all by force. However, the Wasp did not come any higher up, and re- mained only a few hours at that place, when she returned and anchored opposite Villeta. She had only moved higher up in order to be out of the way of the shots from the Brazilian vessels that were bombarding the Paraguayan fortifications at Villeta. Supposing that the Wasp was still at Lambare", my poor wife, who by this time was getting more alarmed than ever, urged that we should start on horseback and leave everything be- hind us. But she little knew the difficulties which we should have to encounter. I knew that if Lopez was determined to 428 PARAGUAY. detain us we should not escape in any such way, and that if he did allow us to leave he would furnish us with such facili- ties that he could parade his magnanimity as a signal proof of his respect for the laws of nations, and his consideration especially for the United States. The presence of the wife of Leite Pereira in our house now caused us a great deal of embarrassment. She could not leave Paraguay, and she feared to attempt to return to her house in the country lest she might be immediately arrested and sent to prison. I therefore was compelled to intercede for her and obtain her a passport for the interior, which, after much vexation and delay, I succeeded in doing, where I sent her on horseback, accompanied by my ever-faithful Basilio. Her hopelessness and misery at leaving us were very af- fecting. The anxious days and nights which she had passed with us since the arrest of her husband completely prostrated her, and she could see nothing but greater suffering and mis- ery before her. Her departure was a relief to us, for her con- stant lamentations and her distraught appearance only added to the afflictions and misery of others, and were fast reducing them to a state of despair as dark as her own. On the 8th I received a letter from another person, which led me to infer that Lopez, having failed to find any pretext for detaining me from the correspondence which we had had in regard to the property left in my charge by other people, was trying to make some other accusation or excuse for keep- ing me in the country. It was a letter from the Chief of Police, enclosing another from the same Captain Antonio Jara who had before claimed to be the owner of the premises we occupied, and of Basilio, who had been a slave of the former owner of the house, Don Luis Jara. In this letter he inquired whether I was going to pay him for the rent of the house, and also if I proposed to take away his slave Basilio. I made no reply to this, though I sent a note to the Chief of Police, telling him that I had received a note from a per- son, who said his name was Captain Antonio Jara ; that the former owner of the house, Don Luis, had told me to take THE LEGATION ARCHIVES. 429 possession of it, to occupy it as long as I desired, and to make use of whatever I found in it, and that he should ask neither rent nor compensation of any kind ; that since that he had died and had left no legal or legitimate heirs, as he had never been married ; therefore I did not know why he should molest me by sending me letters from such a person, whose rights to the property I had no knowledge of and could not recognize. Late in the same clay I received another letter from Cami- nos of a more amiable tone, and, comparing dates, I found that Lopez had had, since the preceding letter, an interview with Commander Kirkland, and after that interview had concluded to let me go. Having made up his mind to this, it would ap- pear that he had concluded to put no further obstacles in my way, or do anything more to aggravate me or give ground of complaint against him to my government. He had tried very hard to embarrass me in regard to the archives of the Lega- tion. I did not propose to take them all away, as many of the Patent Office Reports, the Agricultural Reports, and other rubbish which our Congress for inexplicable reasons has been in the habit of publishing and sending abroad, I did not consider worth the freight ; and besides, if I attempted to carry them away, from their great weight Lopez would suspect that the box containing them held money, and would cause me further delay until he could contrive to have the box opened, the contents examined, and then closed again, so as not to show that they had been tampered with. The records of the Legation, the official correspondence, and everything of any considerable value I took ; but in regard to the other things I simply said I should leave them in my house, and also the property of those Paraguayans and others who had left any- thing with me, and which I could not carry away, and that the government could take its own course in regard to them after I was gone. I could do nothing further. This plan being objected to by Caminos, I then requested the Italian Consul, Lorenzo Chapperon, to accept the charge of them and to receive the keys of my house when I should leave it. He engaged to do so, and on the Qth he and the French Consul 430 PARAGUAY. came up and remained until my departure on the following day. I had hoped to leave on that day, as the indications were that our detention would not long be continued. We had nothing in the house to eat, and I complained to Caminos of our condition there ; that, as our baggage was aboard the Paraguayan steamer, and we had been notified that she was soon to depart, we had obtained no provisions from beyond the city limits, and were exposed to great inconvenience and should soon be in absolute want. Another excuse for a longer detention which was sent on the Qth was, that it had not been convenient to put my remaining trunks on board the boat because it was raining. Early the next morning I there- fore sent a very urgent note, telling Caminos that we were all ready, and I should expect and hope to be on board the steamer at an early hour and on my way down the river. I soon received an answer, telling me that the little steamer Rio Apa would be ready to leave as soon as we could embark. A cart was also sent to take away such effects as we had not already sent off. At eleven o'clock we started from the house ; and as we left our poor Paraguayan servants seemed aban- doned to despair. I would gladly have taken them all, and so I told Basilio ; but he said it would be worse than useless for me to try to take him away, as he would not be allowed to go, and I had better not claim him as belonging to my Legation. He begged me, if I ever returned to Paraguay, to inquire for him and of his fate. He feared that he would be sent to this Antonio Jara, and subjected to the most cruel treatment. I told him he would doubtless be taken as a soldier, but I hoped nothing worse than that would come upon him. He said that was nothing, he was willing to go as a soldier, but that it was the flogging and the torture that he dreaded. What became of him I have never learned. That day, very early in the morning, the house had been surrounded by a large force of police and soldiers. Directly in front were standing all the time as many as twenty persons, two or three mounted ; and at each corner there were eight or ten more. I again told Bliss and Masterman that they had FINAL DEPARTURE. 431 my free permission to say anything about me that could save them from torture or prolong their lives. I said to them substan- tially these words : We have all seen how Carreras, Rodriguez, Berges, Benigno, and the others who have been taken, have made declarations against us all that are entirely false, that have no foundation whatever. We know that the declarations which have been given in the letters of Benitez as coming from them were never made by them, or that, if they were made, they must have been previously subjected to the most terrible tortures. That there is not a particle of truth in them we all know. You will be taken, very likely, and tor- tured until you will corroborate what they have said. Now you have my permission to say anything against me ; you will not hesitate to save yourselves by admitting everything true or false which you may find Lopez is determined you shall admit. You may accuse me, if you can save your lives by it, of any crime you can imagine ; you may charge me with sorcery, or stealing sheep, or anything else. Nobody will believe it in Paraguay, and certainly nobody will believe it outside of Paraguay. It can do me no harm ; and if your declarations should ever be published, they will only prove to the world what an infamous wretch Lopez is, for everybody will know that any declarations of that kind must have been extorted by torture or the fear of torture. Bliss and Master- man were convinced that they would be arrested as soon as they stepped beyond the precincts of the Legation. We conversed as to the order in which we should leave. At one time it was suggested that they should remain in the house, and claim that they were still in the Legation if Lopez's sol- diers should enter to take them. This, however, was thought to be not the most prudent course to take, but that they should accompany me as far as they were permitted to, and never leave me unless taken by force. The French and Italian Consuls had come to accompany me from the house to the steamer, and Bliss and Masterman bade us all good by. They had, indeed, little hope that they would ever meet any of us again. Possibly, if I got away, something 432 PARAGUAY. would come to their relief ere they had been put out of the world. That Mrs, Washburn might not be a witness of the scene that v/ould probably take place at their arrest, she left the house with the child, in company with my private secretary and a woman-servant. As soon as they had turned the corner of the street we all started to follow. As we approached the door the crowd of soldiers moved up towards the house, and we stopped a moment and had a few words together, and walked along under the corridor of the house about half the way to the corner, when Masterman, with a foolishness and stupidity almost incredible, came very near committing a fatal blunder. He proposed to surrender himself to the police then and there, saying that if they were determined to take them they might as well do it there as to go out to the corner of the house. I instantly checked him and prevented him from taking so fatal a step, and told him and Bliss to follow me into the street, not to give themselves up, but to compel the police to take them by force. They accordingly followed on, keeping close in my rear. As I stepped off the piazza into the street the police hustled them away in another direc- tion, and they all crowded around, separating me from them. I then, with the Consuls, stepped a little farther on, when I stopped and saw Masterman waving me an adieu and saying, "Don't forget us." I had just time to reply, "I will do the best I can for you," when he was pushed rudely along. Bliss was not even given time to make a parting salute, but was pushed along so roughly that he could not get a sight of me through the crowd of soldiers that was between him and me. They were gone, taken from me by force, and within three feet of my own house. Could I yet save them ? There was but one way. A quixotic attempt to rescue them by my single arm might involve me in their destruction, but could not help them. They had begged me to do nothing to still further enrage Lopez until I was beyond his power. I there- fore moved on towards the river in company with the Consuls, and with my family, that were anxiously waiting for me on the DEPARTURE FROM ASUNCION. 433 bank, went on board the steamer. The Consuls then left us and returned to town. At this time they were in great anxi- ety in regard to themselves. The Frenchman was particu- larly anxious, as he told me before we left the house that his Chancellor had been already accused, and would be very likely arrested, and that as for himself it was very probable he would have fetters upon his ankles before night. We were now aboard the steamer, and I impatiently awaited the moment when she should cast off; but every moment seemed an hour. I still had great apprehensions that I should be detained, and I believed that Masterman's baggage would be the pretext for so doing. In the mean while a number of peons came from the arsenal to the boat, bringing on board some heavy boxes containing the money of the Englishmen which had been withdrawn some days before from my Lega- tion. With them came Mr. Hunter, an Englishman, and the head man of the arsenal. I had not seen him to speak with him since some weeks before, when I had met him in the street and he had told me that he was afraid to speak to me. On this occasion he came on board, and the only sentence he said to me in English was to request me to talk to him in Spanish. I had hoped to learn from him something of the fate of his countrymen who had been at my house and had left it some two months before, but I saw the danger he was in, and that it would not do for him to say anything to me which the spies of Lopez could not understand and report. Therefore I only talked with him in Spanish, and of the most commonplace matters, but could learn nothing of the condi- tion of others for whose welfare I felt the keenest anxiety. But when this money had come on board it was clear that we should finally get off; and yet never was order so welcome to my ears as that which was given to the engineer of the boat, about an hour after, to get under way. It was about two o'clock when we started, and I was expecting to find the Wasp lying near Lambare, and I watched, as the boat rounded the point, with straining eyes, to catch a glimpse of the star- spangled banner. But we passed Lambare", and went on and VOL. II. 28 434 PARAGUAY. on, and no sight of the Wasp, and then again I began to sus- pect that there was treachery, and that we were all to be taken to head-quarters to be subjected to I knew not what. In about two hours or a little more after leaving Asuncion we came in sight of Villeta, and there lay the Wasp in front, with her flag flaunting in the breeze. I now realized that our dan- gers were passed ; and yet it was not till we had come to anchor, and I saw my wife and child in the gig of the Wasp, and took my seat beside them, that I could believe that Lopez had consented to forego the pleasure of seeing me brought before his " solemn tribunal." CHAPTER XXX. The Officers of the Wasp. Interview between Kirkland and Lopez. Lopez threatens to detain the American Minister. Kirkland warns him of the Con- sequences. Lopez frightened. The Correspondence detained by Caxias. Discourtesy and Dishonesty of Caxias. Parting Visit of Kirkland to Lopez. Messages to Lopez. Letters from Mr. Bliss and Mr. Masterman. A Parthian Arrow. Masterman ; Account of his Arrest, Torture, and Imprison- ment. Lopez's Protestations to Commander Kirkland. Condition of Car- reras, Fidanza, and other Prisoners. ON reaching the Wasp I immediately informed her com- mander of the arrest of Bliss and Masterman, and gave him a hurried account of recent events in Paraguay, telling him that he had arrived barely in time to rescue me and my family from the grasp of a monster who had resolved on our destruction, and that his last act towards me in seizing two members of my Legation had been a gross violation of my rights as a Minister of the United States, and an insult to the American flag. Commander Kirkland was not wholly unpre- pared for such a report, as, having been stationed for several years on the South Atlantic station, he had been frequently in Paraguay, and knew something of the government and of the despotic character of Lopez. Besides, there were many startling rumors in circulation at the mouth of the river at the time he left there, which led him to apprehend that he had a very delicate and difficult task to perform. He had been confirmed in this on reaching Paraguay, as appears from his first letters to me, in which he complained of the great dis- courtesy with which he had been treated, and said he could not learn either where I was or where Lopez was. The most of the officers of the Wasp, however, I found to be of the opinion, held almost universally throughout the United States and Europe, that Lopez was a hero, fighting bravely in 436 PARAGUAY. defence of his country and republican principles against mon- archy, despotism, and slavery. They had, as was natural, an intense contempt of the Brazilians for allowing themselves to be held in check so long by a power so inferior in resources to themselves, and the sight of the huge squadron they had passed in the river lying idle for years, or bombarding at long range, apparently afraid to move against fortifications that would not delay an American monitor for a single day, was indeed well calculated to excite the contempt and disgust of veterans who had fought at Mobile and Fort Fisher. They were therefore unwilling to credit my statements in regard to the character and conduct of Lopez, or to admit that all their sympathies had been with a wretch so vile, cowardly, and cruel that all history could not show his parallel. Commander Kirkland, however, with whom I had been for a long time quite intimately acquainted, seemed to concur with me in everything, and gave me a minute account of all that had occurred between him and Lopez since he had first notified the latter of his presence in the vicinity. He told me that he had been greatly annoyed and delayed by Lopez's conduct to- wards him, until at last he was invited to an interview at his head-quarters. He had gone there with extreme distrust, feel- ing that Lopez was none too good to arrest him and treat him as he had many others, and had carried a loaded pistol in his pocket, prepared at the least sign of harm towards himself to shoot the tyrant dead on the spot. In the interview Lopez received him with his usual affability, and entered into conver- sation in regard to the object of his visit. Kirkland replied that he had been sent to take away the American Minister and his family. Lopez then said that his relations with Mr. Washburn were very bad ; that a great conspiracy had been discovered, and Mr. Washburn had been engaged in it ; that the conspiracy included a plan by which a revolution was to take place in Paraguay at the same time that the Brazilians, under the Marques de Caxias, should make a grand demonstra- tion at different points ; and that the plan of the conspiracy had been arranged by Caxias and the American Minister. INTERVIEW BETWEEN LOPEZ AND KIRKLAND. 437 Kirkland said that he laughed in his face when he told him this, and replied that Caxias was too unfriendly to me to have any arrangement with me ; that he was very badly disposed towards me, and had done everything that he dared to prevent the Wasp from coming to my relief; that whatever the Ameri- can Minister might have had to do with other parties, he could not have had any relations with the Marques de Caxias, as he was his bitter enemy. Lopez replied to this, that he had no doubt of the fact ; that he had hundreds of witnesses to that effect. Kirkland replied that whether he had or not he did not know and did not care. It was not his business to in- quire into any such matter ; he was not a diplomate, and it was not for him to enter into diplomatic questions. He had been sent there to take away the American Minister, whose offi- cial acts were of no concern to him as a naval officer. His own duties were the same. Lopez replied that under the cir- cumstances he should not permit the American Minister to leave. He might perhaps allow him to take away the Min- ister's wife and child, but as for Mr. Washburn he must re- main in the country. Kirkland promptly answered that he would not take away Mrs. Washburn and the child unless he took Mr. Washburn ; he had been sent to take away the American Minister, and unless he took him he would take no- body. At this stage of the conversation, Kirkland, according to the version of the interview that he gave me when I first went on board the Wasp, and many times afterwards, saw that it was time to appeal to the only motive that could in- fluence Lopez, fear. Assuming therefore an air of indiffer- ence, and smiling as if talking of a trifling matter, he said to Lopez he had better not commit any act of violence against Mr. Washburn. He then proceeded to magnify the influence and importance of the man whose liberty and life were the subject of discussion, saying some things of so extravagant a nature that I forbear quoting them. In substance they were to the effect that the American Minister still in the power of Lopez had such connections and political influence at home, that, were he to receive any harm, the whole military and 438 PARAGUAY. naval power of the great Republic would be despatched in- stantly to Paraguay to punish the outrage and avenge the in- sult. The government and people of the United States were not expecting any such action on the part of Paraguay. On the contrary, they had been greatly provoked by the conduct of the Brazilians in preventing the Wasp from passing the blockade several months before, and were even then preparing to take such measures against the enemies of Paraguay as would greatly inure to its advantage. The United States were greatly outraged by the refusal of the Marques de Caxias to permit the Wasp to pass the blockade in the preceding May, and had sent a squadron of six monitors, which was already on the coast of Brazil, with instructions, if the allies did not recede from their pretensions and make ample apology for the wrongs they had done in detaining the Wasp previously, to make war upon them. " And," said Kirkland, to quote his own words to me, " I told him that when these monitors reach Rio, if they shall find that Minister Washburn has been maltreated by you, they will not make war against Brazil, but will ascend the river Paraguay, which they can easily do, as they draw only seven feet of water ; and the first you will know, you will find that Asuncion is knocked about your ears ; and I advise you not to touch that man, for if you do the United States will hunt you all through Europe ; they will have your head sure." Kirkland said that while talking to Lopez in this way he could read his thoughts, and see that he felt as though he wanted to order him out to be shot ; that he could see the workings of his mind, and the smothered wrath that was rag- ing within, and which he could hardly repress. He said that throughout the conversation he could see his object, and could tell when he was talking for effect and when he was telling the truth ; and he said that, of all the men with whom he had ever come in contact, he was the most transparent fool. At the threats of what the United States would do in case he carried out his intentions towards me, Kirkland said he could see that rage and anger were struggling against the fears of the cowardly tyrant ; and though he assumed a laughing, banter- BRAZILIAN COURTESY. 439 ing style in talking to him, he kept his eye fixed upon him, determined, if his passion got the better of his cowardice, and he showed any signs of treachery by ordering him to be ar- rested, to get the start of him by shooting him on the instant. After this conversation, as Kirkland told me, Lopez drew a long breath, reflected awhile, and said he should let me go ; and on comparing dates afterwards I found that it was not till after that conversation with Kirkland that I received the letter from Caminos, in which, after recapitulating at such enormous length my offences and crimes, he concluded with the notice that my passports would be sent to me. Commander Kirkland had brought with him a large num- ber of official and other letters addressed to me, and an im- mense number of newspapers, in fact all the correspondence and all the newspapers that had accumulated at different places between the mouth of the river and the military lines during the last ten months. Among these were a box and a package that the same officer had left with the Marques de Caxias on the loth of June preceding, with a request that he would send them through the lines together with the letter that he intrusted to him, to advise me that, as he was not permitted to pass the blockade, he was about to return to Montevideo. I now learned that Caxias, taking advantage of my inabil- ity to make complaints to my government, had committed an act of great discourtesy and palpable dishonesty in detain- ing those packages. The letter from Commander Kirkland, stating that he had left them to be forwarded, did not reach me for two weeks, and when it did come I was informed by Colonel Fernandez, and I have no doubt correctly, that it had not been sent by an officer with a flag of truce to the ad- vanced lines, but advantage had been taken of the errand to send a monitor under flag of truce above Humaita to Timbo to deliver the letter, and at the same time take observations of the Paraguayan defences. Caxias had promised to send the packages at the first opportunity. Yet though he sent a gunboat to carry the letter from Kirkland, he showed that he cherished his old vindictiveness towards me by detaining my 440 PARAGUAY. correspondence, and keeping it in his possession till after I had left Paraguay and it had become nearly valueless. Thus while Lopez was trying to fasten upon me the charge of being engaged in a conspiracy with Caxias, holding frequent corre- spondence with him for more than a year, and planning the details of a revolution, the latter would have it that I was the friend and champion of the Paraguayan tyrant, and that he was absolved from observing the ordinary rules of courtesy and of common honesty towards me. Among the despatches brought me by Commander Kirkland was my letter of recall, for which I had so often asked my government. There were also several letters from our Min- ister in Rio, General Webb. In these letters he complained of the vacillating and tortuous course of the Brazilians, the shameful corruption that was existing in the army, and the weakness and duplicity of that government ; and as he sup- posed at the time that some of them were written that I was still in good relations with Lopez, he assured me that if he could hold out for a limited period he would finally triumph ; that the Brazilians would not much longer maintain so expen- sive, exhausting, and useless a war. As Commander Kirkland advised me after I had got aboard the Wasp that he should again visit Lopez to take a final leave of his Excellency, I requested him, with an object more malicious than diplomatic, to take my letter of recall and one of General Webb's letters and read them to Lopez. This object was to show him how transpar- ent were all the falsehoods which he had put into the declara- tions of Berges and others of his victims in regard to me, and likewise to make it manifest to him that in all I had done I had been supported by my government, and that, having been re- called at my own request, made many months before, it would be clear to all the world that I could not possibly have had any such designs as had been imputed to me in the declara- tions which he had extorted by torture from his victims or else had forged himself. I also gave to Kirkland a memoran- dum of things which I desired him to say to Lopez : among others, that there never had been any conspiracy to the best MESSAGES TO LOPEZ. 441 of my knowledge and belief; and that I knew none of the parties who had been in my house, and who were then, as I supposed, in his power, had ever taken any part in anything of the kind, even supposing that there had been a plot of a treasonable character undertaken by others. I also requested him to protest against the arrest of Bliss and Masterman, and .say that I regarded them as members of my Legation, and that their seizure in the street from my side was as much a violation of my rights as a Minister, and of the American flag, as though he had entered my house and taken them by force ; that I should thus represent their seizure to my govern- ment, which I had no doubt would take the same view of it and demand their release, holding him responsible if any evil should befall them. Kirkland left the Wasp on the morning of the nth Sep- tember to make his visit of ceremony. At the time he left he regarded Lopez as a wretch capable of any fraud or treachery, fully believing that he was going into great personal danger, and the last thing he did before going over the side of the vessel was to place in the side-pocket of his coat a small revolver ; large enough, however, to do efficient work at close quarters. When he came back in the evening and related to me the incidents of the day, I was greatly surprised and disap- pointed at being told that he had forgotten to take my memo- randum with him. Having read it over hastily, before going on shore, he had endeavored to recollect its contents and to com- ply with my request by telling Lopez all that I had desired him to say. He delivered the letter of recall, and translated the letter of General Webb. The main point, however, my protest against the arrest of Bliss and Masterman, he did not allude to, or at least not in such terms as I had desired him to use. From the general tenor of the conversation which he had, both with Lopez and Madam Lynch, I inferred that his reception had been much more gracious and cordial than on the preceding occa- sion, and that they had concluded it would be for their interest to make a friend of him before his departure. I was confirmed in this by the fact that the next morning some supplies of fresh 442 PARAGUAY. beef and a quantity of sugar-cane were sent to the Wasp, be- sides which there were several large tercios of yerba mate. Previously to his going on shore the last time, Kirkland received a note from Dr. Carreras, requesting that if he had brought any letters for him he would deliver them to the bearer. Being familiar with the handwriting of Carreras, I knew the signature to be his, and as there were several letters for him in my packages I requested Kirkland to deliver them in accordance with this request. I knew, indeed, that this note had been written under compulsion ; but as I was convinced there could be nothing in the letters that could implicate or compromise Carreras in any manner, but that they must rather vindicate him, I could see no objection to their falling into the hands of Lopez, though that Carreras would ever see them I had little expectation. Kirkland, however, declined to deliver them, unless I would first open them and ascertain whether they contained anything of a treasonable nature or not ; for, after the accusations which had been brought against me, he said he was determined to deliver nothing of which he did not know the contents, lest he too might be accused of aiding conspirators in transmitting their correspondence. As nothing favorable to Bliss and Masterman had resulted from Kirkland's last interview with Lopez, it was incumbent upon me to send a written protest directly to him, and I ac- cordingly wrote a note to that effect early the next morning ; Kirkland, having expressed his intention to weigh anchor and start at an early hour, left no opportunity for discussion. While I was writing this letter an officer came aboard, bring- ing a letter from Mr. Bliss to me, another to Captain Kirk- land, and a third to Henry Bliss, Esq., of New York. I opened Bliss's letter, and found it to be the following very extraordinary document, in Spanish : "September 11, 1868. " To his Excellency Hon. Charles A. Washburn, United States Minister Resident. SIR, Finding myself at length relieved from the restraint which your Excellency has so long exercised over my will, I cannot do LETTER FROM MR. BLISS. 443 less than confess freely and spontaneously the important part which your Excellency has taken in the revolution, in which you have involved many persons, and among them myself. I have declared (regretting deeply, because I would like to avoid such a scandal to your Excellency, but following out the truth) that you have been the soul of the revolution ; and if this deed now appears to the light of Heaven, confessed to by all its accomplices, to whom does it owe its existence save to your Excellency, who has continued its direction up to a very recent period ? I consider myself, therefore, completely absolved from the promise which you extorted from me yesterday in your office, not to reveal your proceedings old or new. Even your brilliant speculations with the company of Hopkins, for which you were to pocket a hundred and odd thousands of patacones, have been put in evidence, as also the gilded pill Polidoro and Octaviano made you swallow, besides the last one administered by Caxias, at the time of your Excellency's celebrated visit of mediation in March, last year. " The object of this letter is to say to you that I have determined to request from your Excellency the delivery to the bearer of my historical manuscripts, which involve a compromise with this gov- ernment, and which are without reason in deposit with Your Excel- lency, you having taken possession of them during my illness last year, and I having forgotten to demand them of you. They con- sist, as your Excellency well knows, of a voluminous history of Paraguay till the year 1810, and some two thousand pages or more of notes in Spanish on more recent epochs, with the chronology up to our days. "Also, I beg that you will have the goodness to send me the three letters written by your express order for your justification re- garding the affairs of the revolution, of which one is addressed to the New York World, another to Rev. William T. Goodfellow in Buenos Aires, and the last to my father, Henry Bliss, Esq., of New York. " The truth having been fully displayed, these letters cannot serve you for any object, and since they are false it suits me no longer to keep the mystery of hypocrisy, and for your own honor you ought to comply strictly with these my demands. " I do not exact from you the English manuscripts which you made me write in a spirit inimical to Paraguay, since these are your property. But I advise you as a friend not to attempt to fight against the evidence given by infinite witnesses. 444 PARAGUAY. "I take advantage of the occasion to salute your Excellency with distinguished esteem and appreciation. "PORTER C. BLISS." Commander Kirkland's letter contained a request from Mr. Bliss that he would delay the departure of the Wasp a suffi- cient time for me to deliver to the Paraguayan authorities the documents, letters, etc., alluded to, and enclosed a duplicate of his letter to me. The letter which Bliss had sent to me ad- dressed " Henry Bliss, Esq., New York," I saw at a glance was for a mythical person. It explained the whole story of the circumstances under which it had been written, though for my part I needed no explanation. The letter was in these words : "PARAGUAY, September 11, 1868. " HENRY BLISS, ESQ. " DEAR FATHER, I feel myself under an obligation to inform you that the letter which you will receive through Mr. Washburn, dated the 5th instant, is utterly unreliable in all its details, for the reason that it was written at the command of Mr. Washburn, and for the only object of clearing him from the true charges made against him by the conspirators, who have given in their truthful testimony before the tribunals. Mr. Washburn demanded of me that letter, in order to publish it in self-justification, when the fact of the case is that Mr. Washburn has not only been the head of a revolution here, but has by his influence and commands, taking advantage of his official posi- tion, involved me in a co-operation to some extent in his plans, for which I am truly sorry, and deposit all my hopes of pardon in the magnanimity of Marshal Lopez. I have written from the same point of view two other letters, one to the New York World, and another to William T. Goodfellow, of Buenos Aires, both of which are to be considered in the same light as that to you, and I do not write to rectify them solely from lack of time. I hope you will not be de- ceived into accepting as facts the statements in the letter referred to, but will believe that the conduct of Mr. Washburn has been in this matter worthy the highest execration, and I hope that you will give publicity to the present rectification. " Your affectionate son, " PORTER C. BLISS." LETTER FROM MASTERMAN. 445 As I knew that Henry Bliss was not the name of the father of the writer of this letter, but that his father was the Rev. Asher Bliss, of Cattaraugus County, New York, it was clear that Bliss had resorted to this subterfuge at the last moment in order to show, not only to me, but to others, that he was writing under duress. Masterman, I may remark, wrote the following letter to me, which for some reason I never received. I found it published afterwards, however, by the Paraguayan govern- ment : " September 12, 1868. " MY DEAR MOTHER, In my letter to you of the 8th instant, sent through Mr. Washburn, I mentioned the terrible conspiracy to de- stroy the government of Paraguay and its President, who by his skill and bravery in this war has defied the power of Brazil and gained a reputation unexampled. The conspiracy was suggested and cheer- fully arranged by Mr. Washburn, who was in league with the enemy. As I was living in his house, I could not help hearing about it ; and I am sorry I did not denounce him to the government, but I have done all I could to make up for the neglect. I have candidly con- fessed all I know of this terrible business, and I hope I shall be pardoned by the President. I hope my life may be spared so I may see you again. " Your affectionate son, " GEORGE." Kirkland, upon reading the letter from Bliss, said to me : " This man must be a fool. Does he think I am going to stop the steamer here for him ; that I will delay for his accommodation ? " I instantly told him that both these let- ters from Bliss had been written at the dictation of Lopez, and undoubtedly their author had been most cruelly tortured in order to compel him to write them ; that he should pay no attention to his letter, as I knew that Bliss neither expected nor desired it. I hastily finished my letter to Lopez, and as soon as pos- sible had it copied. I give it here entire : 446 PARAGUAY. " United States Steamer Wasp, off Angostura, River Paraguay, September 12, 1868. " To his Excellency Marshal Lopez, President of Paraguay. " SIR, When Captain Kirkland was about leaving this vessel yesterday to bid farewell to your Excellency, I gave him a memo- randum of certain things to which I requested him to call your attention. Captain Kirkland informs me that on reaching your head-quarters he found he had omitted to take this memorandum with him, and therefore was unable to comply fully with my request, having only given the paper a hasty perusal. I therefore take the liberty, at the moment of my departure, of deviating from diplomatic customs, and sending a personal note directed to your Excellency. In this memorandum I suggested that he might show you a letter from General Webb, our Minister in Rio, from which it would ap- pear that he had almost come to a rupture with that government, by reason of its refusal to permit this vessel to pass above the squadron. This he had done on his own responsibility, without waiting for orders from the United States government, which, on hearing of the outrage, has doubtless taken the most energetic measures to enforce its rights and extricate its Minister from a most frightful position. This letter, which you saw, proves how much truth there was in the declaration of your ex-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jose Berges, that I was in collusion with General Webb, and in the interest and pay of the Brazilians. " I have in my possession several letters for Dr. Carreras, which I yesterday requested Captain Kirkland to deliver, but which he re- fused to do unless I would open them, lest he too should be accused of conveying treasonable correspondence. I herewith send the let- ters, however, as I do not believe that any treasonable correspond- ence has ever passed through my hands for or to anybody. In fact I do not believe there has ever been any conspiracy. "The declarations of Berges, your two brothers Venancio and Benigno, and Sr. Urdapilleta, as given in the notes of your last two Ministers of Foreign Relations, in so far as they implicate me of having any knowledge of a conspiracy, are entirely false, and you know it ; and you know that not one of them would confirm or affirm the declaration imputed to him if he were out of your power, but would deny it in toto, and declare that he had never made it, or that he had done so under torture. Declarations of that kind, your A PARTHIAN ARROW. 447 Excellency ought to know, will have no weight outside of Paraguay. Not one word of them will be believed ; and that all may not be de- nied by them, you must not only kill all the persons who have made them, but all by whom they were extorted. " Before finally leaving Paraguay it is my duty to make my solemn protest against the arrest of those two members of my Legation, Porter Cornelius Bliss and George F. Masterman. Their arrest in the street, as they were going with me from the Legation to pass on board the steamer, was as gross a violation of the laws of nations as would have been their seizure by force in my house. It was an act not only against my government, but against all civilized powers, and places Paraguay outside the pale of the family of nations ; and for this act you will be regarded as a common enemy, one denying allegiance to the laws of nations. " You will also be regarded as a common enemy for having seized and made prisoners and loaded with fetters nearly all the foreign- ers in Paraguay, and afterwards entered their houses and taken away their money on the miserable pretext, that, finding less in your treasury than you expected, those who had any money in the country must therefore have robbed it from the government. " Your threat to Captain Kirkland, on his first arrival, that you would keep me a prisoner in the country, will be duly represented to my government ; and I only wish to confirm his reply to you, that had you done so my government would have hunted you, not only through all South America, but throughout Europe. " Your obedient servant, " CHARLES A. WASHBURN." I enclosed this with a brief note to Bliss, which I did not suppose he would ever be permitted to see, stating that I had nothing in my possession belonging to him, and there- fore should send nothing, and requesting him to deliver the accompanying letter to President Lopez with his own hand. As I was writing that note I had little doubt that, if Lopez should receive and read it before the Wasp was below his batteries, in his rage and fury he would fire upon her. But I was then under the American flag and in a national gunboat, and I knew that if he sunk the vessel and destroyed us all we PARAGUAY. should not die unavenged. He could not then fabricate a version of the affair that could justify him or avert from him a terrible retribution. He had not the power to destroy all the witnesses and blot out the entire record as he had while I was yet in Asuncion. I said nothing to Commander Kirk- land, however, in regard to the danger which such a letter would provoke if received by Lopez while we were yet under his guns. But before we were ready to start, or my letter had been delivered, we were informed that a small steamer with a flag of truce would accompany us below the Paraguayan fortifications and to within sight of the Brazilian squadron. The letter accordingly was not delivered until we had passed all the Paraguayan batteries, and the flag-of-truce boat had turned up the river, where it was detained for a moment, and a boat from the Wasp put off to deliver this Parthian arrow. In this opinion, that Lopez would have fired on the Wasp had he received that letter in time to have done so, I was con- firmed by the first letters which I received, both from Dr. Stewart and Colonel Thompson, after they had escaped from the power of Lopez. Colonel Thompson wrote me very soon after he was taken prisoner, that, had Lopez received that letter while the Wasp was yet above his lower batteries, he himself, being in command of them, would have had orders to sink the vessel. Dr. Stewart, who was near Lopez at the time, also, in the very first letter which he wrote me after escaping from Paraguay, alluded to the narrow escape of the Wasp, and said that, had my letter been received in time, all the Paraguayan guns that could have been brought to bear against her in her descent of the river would have opened upon her. Bliss and Masterman have both in published statements given their experience of those times, and I will give the fol- lowing extract from Mr. Masterman's book of his experience during the first days after they fell into the hands of Lopez ; and as in all its parts it agrees with the statements of Mr. Bliss, and is otherwise corroborated, I believe it is literally correct. The manner in which they were taken from me when I left MASTERMAN AS A PRISONER. 449 the Legation has been already described. Their subsequent treatment I give in Masterman's own words : "We that is, Mr. Bliss, the negro Baltazar, and myself were sur- rounded by about thirty policemen, who with shouts and yells ordered us to march down to the Policia, .... When we reached the office we were halted in the road, and kept standing there about an hour; then the negro was taken within, after some time Mr. Bliss, and lastly myself. I found the Chief of Police seated in the corridor, with a group of his savage myrmidons around him ; he looked at me in silence for some minutes, and then by a gesture ordered me to be stripped. My clothes were most strictly and systematically ex- amined, the lining torn out, and every fold ripped up. My little packets of quinine were of course discovered, pounced upon with a shout of triumph by the men, and put carefully on one side. My handkerchief, cravat, and money were taken from me, the rest re- turned. I was then told to sit down, that fetters might be riveted on my ankles, and afterwards taken through a side court and thrust into a cell About seven o'clock in the evening the door opened ; a sergeant and two men entered with a lantern ; one car- ried a hammer and a small anvil, the other a set of irons The fetters I was wearing were removed, and the massive bar the man bore on his shoulder was riveted in their place. Two rough iron loops, with eyes at their extremities, were first placed over my an- kles ; then the bar, which was about eighteen inches in length and two in diameter, was thrust through the eyes,- and an iron wedge, with many a blow of the heavy hammer, riveted firmly at one end, whilst a broad knob secured it at the other. Thus fettered, it was with the greatest difficulty that I staggered to my feet, a*nd then sat down again, scarcely able to bear the weight. I had previously heard them riveting similar irons on my companions. A short time afterwards the sergeant reappeared, and motioned me in silence to follow him. I did so. He led me to the front of the Policia, where, by the light of some lanterns, I saw Mr. Bliss and Baltazar mounted sideways on mules, and waiting for me. I was lifted into the saddle, for the thirty or more pounds' weight of my fetters prevented me even raising a foot from the ground I soon found to my dismay that Villeta was our destination, a dis- tance of thirty-five miles I begged the sergeant to let us travel as slowly as possible ; for at every step the heavy bar swung back- VOL. ii. 29 450 PARAGUAY. wards and forwards, and a jolt was agonizing. He did so ; but once, in descending a steep slope, the mules broke into a trot. In trying to steady the bar, I lost my balance, and fell to the ground. I was tied to the girths, and, unable to extricate myself, was dragged for some distance head downwards, the mule kicking viciously the while. Fortunately the only damage was a deep cut in the ankle and a few bruises." Of that night's journey, Mr. Bliss * testified as follows be- fore the Congressional Committee of Investigation : " The sufferings of that night to all of us were such as I never en- dured in an equal period before or since, though I was subsequently put to the torture on various occasions ; but the tortures to which we were subjected were tolerable, when compared with the agony we suffered on that fearful night The weight of the fetters on my ankles had become excruciating torture, until I nearly fainted, but nevertheless was obliged to maintain my position, still without food or relief, until noon of the next day I fell off several times, and was dragged a considerable distance by the horse I rode." On arriving near Villeta they were helped to dismount, when they fell exhausted, and more dead than alive, to the ground. Masterman's narrative continues : " An alferez harshly told me to stand up ; I tried, but the weight of my irons threw me on my face. He drew his sword and struck me heavily with the flat of it, and a corporal came up and thrashed me with his stick, until, by a violent effort, I staggered to my feet. A few paces off was g square space enclosed with hide ropes ; I was told to go within it ; and then, too fatigued to notice the poor wretches, my fellow-prisoners, I threw myself on the bare ground, and fell almost immediately into a deep sleep. Late in the after- noon I was awakened by a blow with a stick, and told to rise and march towards a little grove of orange-trees, about half a mile off. Aching in every limb, I obeyed, and, supporting my fetters with a strip of hide, moved with pain and difficulty in the direction indi- cated as fast as my bruised and bleeding feet would carry me. A cabo y or corporal, followed, armed with a bayonet and a stick. ' Go faster!' he shouted every moment; I tried, but in vain, to do so. * Paraguayan Investigation, p. 138. BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL. 451 He thrashed me savagely with his stick over my shoulders and arms, knocked me down twice, and beat me more cruelly for falling. At last, bruised and breathless, I reached a group of little huts, made of branches and reeds, and placed in two rows. I saw Mr. Bliss and Baltazar taken separately on one side ; I went to the other, and entered the farthest hut. Within it was seated an old captain, named Falcon, and a priest, who, as I afterwards found, acted as secretary. " The former signed me to enter, and after scrutinizing me for a few minutes, said, 'Ah ! we have got you at last. Now confess that Washburn is the chief of the conspirators, and that you took refuge in the Legation for the purpose of plotting against the government.' I replied, calmly, that I had no confession to make ; that I had never plotted against the government, but had done all in my power to serve the Paraguayans ; that I was sure that Mr. Washburn was quite innocent of the crimes alleged against him ; and I explained in a few words under what circumstances I had entered his service. He heard me with many marks of impatience, to the end, and then said, ' You will not confess ? ' 'I have no confession to make.' ' Con- fess,' he repeated, 'or I will see if we cannot make you.' Then turning to the priest, he told him to take me out and put me in the rack (pofro). He took me behind the hut, but close to it, so that Falcon within could hear all that passed. I prayed silently for strength to bear this trial, and then looked round for the implements of torture, but found that these savages, like those in ' The Last of the Mohi- cans,' ought to have expressed regret that their means of inflicting pain were so primitive At this call the corporal and two soldiers came forward, carrying a bundle of muskets and strips of hide. I was told to seat myself on the ground, with my knees raised ; I did so, and was again asked, ' Will you confess ? ' ' No, I am innocent.' "One of the men tied my arms tightly behind me, the other passed a musket under my knees, and then putting his foot between my shoulders forced my head down until my throat rested on the lower musket ; a second was put over the back of my neck, and they were firmly lashed together. They left me so for some time, striking the butt-ends of the fire-locks occasionally with a mallet ; the priest meanwhile, in a monotonous voice, as if he were repeating a formula he had often gone through, urged me to confess, and ' re- ceive the mercy of the kind and generous Marshal Lopez.' I made 452 PARAGUAY. no reply, but suffered the intense pain they were inflicting in silence. At length they unbound me, and I was asked once more, 'Will you confess ? ' I replied in the negative. They bound me up as before, but with two muskets at the back of my neck. As they were tight- ening the cords, I threw my head forward to avoid the pressure on my throat, and my iips were badly cut and bruised against the lower musket ; the blood almost choked me, and I fainted from the excru- ciating pain. " When I recovered I was lying on the grass utterly exhausted, and felt that I could bear no more ; that it would be far preferable to make a pretended confession, and be shot, than suffer such cruel torture. So, as they were about to again apply the uruguayana, as it is called by them, I said, ' I am guilty ; I will confess ' ; and they immediately unbound me. The priest said, ' Why were you such an obstinate fool ? Your companion Bliss was only threatened with the torture, and confessed at once.' .... I heard poor Baltazar loudly praying for mercy several times, and now the sounds of heavy blows, each followed by a shriek from him, proved how much more they were prepared to inflict upon us ; they were smashing his fin- gers with a mallet ; I pitied him very much, for he knew nothing whatever about the pretended plot, nor the charges against his master, and could not save himself, even by protesting that he was guilty. " I drank some water and tried to eat a little meat they offered me, but could not, and then, returning within the hut, I told as well as I could remember it, the same miserable story that had been wrested from Carreras, Berges, Benigno Lopez, and the rest whose depositions I had read with Mr. Washburn. There was no help for it, but God knows with what agony and shame I repeated that wretched tissue of fables and misrepresentations. I felt that I ought rather to have suffered any martyrdom than purchase life on such terms, and until I was put to the torture I hoped and believed I should have done so ; it was that, however, and not death, I feared. It must be remembered that for three months I had suffered great anxiety, daily expecting to be arrested ; that I had heard how merci- lessly those who refused to confess had been mangled before exe- cution ; that I had had a long and painful journey ; and that I had been almost without food for two days. On the other hand, I could do but little wrong to the accused. Mr. Washburn was safe on board CONFESSIONS. 453 the Wasp ; Rodriguez, Gomez (late the Mayor-de-Plaza), Bedoya, Barrios, and Gonzales had already been shot or died ; and as to the others, I could only repeat what I had heard of their own dep- ositions. . . " During my examination several officers came in From the conversation of these men I gathered several valuable hints as to the course I had best adopt, and especially that the more I abused Mr. Washburn the better. I also ascertained incidentally that he was then on board the Wasp, and that I could not therefore en- danger his safety by anything I should say against him. " Late at night a priest named Roman came in ; he looked at me, with a malicious smile playing round his mouth for some time, and then asked for my deposition. Falcon, who was evidently in great awe of him, handed over the papers. He read them through, was about to tear them in pieces, but restrained himself and threw them contemptuously on the table, saying, ' Que miserables disparates ! ' (' What wretched trash ! ') Then turning to me, ' Are these your revelations ? Now, look you. I go for a short ride, and if on my return I do not find that you have confessed clearly that the great beast (gran bestia}, Washburn, is the chief conspirator, that he was in treaty with Caxias, and that he received money and letters from the enemy, and that you knew it, I will put you in the uruguayana, and keep you there till you do " The clanking of my irons as I move uneasily on my hard seat calls the attention of the ' fiscal ' to the business in hand. ' Come, Masterman,' he says, not unkindly, 'let us have the whole of the story ; tell us how the great beast intended to destroy us all.' He puts on his spectacles again and writes down my words in a con- densed form on a spare piece of paper, for he likes to amplify them himself without any particular attention to what I did say ; but I am too tired to object and protest as I did at first, and am not sure but that it is better to let him do as he likes. 'The criminal, having confessed freely and voluntarily his guilt,' he begins to dictate to his secretary, the awkward subject of torture being kept in the shade, ' and having been solemnly admonished by the Senores Fis- dlles to tell the whole of the truth now, in order to relieve his burdened conscience, deposes that Washburn was the originator and chief mover in the plot,' and so on through two sheets of closely written foolscap. I got on swimmingly for a time, but presently I 454 PARAGUAY. was asked how much money Washburn had paid me. 'Not a rial,' I answered, stoutly, and truly enough Thus I had had many disputes with Mr. Washburn on political and literary subjects. .... I magnified these into quarrels, and put it to them as rea- sonable men if it were likely that a person who regarded me as an enemy, and who had retained me in his house because he needed my professional services, would place his life in my hands by con- fiding such a secret fully to my keeping. " I went on to remind Falcon how much I owed to Mr. Washburn ; that he had obtained my release from prison, and had taken me for his medical attendant when the government had refused me a license to practise, and for that reason I had not denounced him to the police. For although I was a devoted friend of the Paraguayans (and there I spoke truthfully enough), I felt so grateful to him that I could not ruin him, a man who had befriended me. I took shame to myself, and repented greatly of my obstinacy in compel- ling my judges to put me to the torture, when I ought to have de- clared the truth months before ; but they must remember that I was distracted between obligations to the state and to him." This treatment, which was bestowed with much impartial- ity on both Bliss and Masterman, was that which they received on the day following their arrest. It seems that they were brought to head-quarters and immediately tortured and ex- amined, with the purpose of compelling them to disclose be- fore the departure of the Wasp what they had written to their friends. Having admitted that they had sent letters by me, they were ordered to write others also to be taken by me, declaring that their first letters had been written under com- pulsion and at my dictation, whereas the letters they then wrote were free and spontaneous, and what, having escaped from my power and influence, a sense of duty induced them to write. Bliss's letter, as given before, he was compelled to write over five separate times before it met entirely the views of Lopez. More properly it was Lopez's letter, and Master- man's letter was written also while the fetters were on his ankles, with a soldier over him, and in such terms as suited the purpose of Lopez. They had little hesitation in regard to those letters, so far as they themselves were concerned, for LOPEZ'S FRIENDSHIP FOR THE UNITED STATES. 455 they knew that I should understand under what circumstances they had been written. We had all anticipated that something of the kind might be done ; and under that anticipation I had advised them, if necessary to save their lives, to admit any- thing whatever so far as I was concerned. According to the narratives of both, they were subjected simultaneously to the same treatment. When first questioned as to their knowl- edge of any conspiracy or plot, both of them declared that they were ignorant of anything of the kind, and the tor- tures were applied to make them confess. At first they as- serted that they had nothing to confess, that they knew nothing. They were told, however, that it was useless for them to deny anything ; that the government was already informed of everything ; and in order to induce them to yield, as they were both being examined at the same time at a considerable distance apart, each was told that the other had already confessed, and had admitted that he was a conspirator, and that the other was equally so. Masterman when told this was very indignant that his fellow-sufferer should so easily give in, and not only confess to what was false, but should inculpate him. Bliss, who still retained his self-possession, saw at once through the trick when told that Masterman had confessed, and did not give in till afterwards. The matter of priority, however, was of little consequence ; they were both compelled to yield at last ; and as they had no idea of what they were expected to admit or to avow a knowledge of, they could only judge from the questions that were put to them what answers were desired. These two gentlemen, members of the American Legation, were subjected to the dreadful tortures which have been de- scribed on the very day subsequent to my departure from Asun- cion, while the Wasp was yet lying in the river in front of Vil- leta, and at the very moment that Commander Kirkland was holding an interview with President Lopez, in which interview, while expressing great dissatisfaction with my course, the tyrant was professing the greatest regard and respect for the government and people of the United States, and declaring 456 PARAGUAY. his intention to do everything in his power to maintain friendly relations with them. On entering the open space in which he was to be con- fined as a prisoner, after having undergone the torture de- scribed, and confessed to his complicity in the conspiracy, Masterman thus proceeds : " Within a space on the gently sloping hillside which had been roughly cleared from brushwood, and about a hundred feet square, lay forty prisoners ; and on all sides, as far as I could see, were similar enclosures tenanted in the same way. The nearest was somewhat luxurious, for each prisoner had a little straw kennel to lie down in ; and there I saw Don Venancio, the President's eldest brother, and Captain Fidanza, an old friend of Mr. Washburn ; the rest were officers, some of high rank. I have said that Dr. Carreras lay next to me during the night ; I was removed some distance from him in the morning ; but he had time to whisper, ' Has Mr. Wash- burn gone ? ' ' Yes.' He was about to ask other questions when a sentry noticed us and growled, ' Hold your tongue.' The doctor was a pitiable object, indeed so changed that I could scarcely be- lieve that the wretched creature before me was really he. Ema- ciated, travel and blood stained, he was but a shadow of his former self. For two months he had been lying as I saw him, in the open air, with no shelter from the sun or rain but a blanket. He had rolled it up for a seat, and was furtively watching me and trying to form questions by the motion of his lips Taylor, the master mason and builder of the new palace, of whose arrest we had no knowledge while in the Legation, looked at me and raised his hands with a gesture of commiseration, but did not dare to give any other sign of recognition. In the centre of the prison encampment, or guardia, as the natives term it, was a row of priests, I think eight in number ; they were all in irons, and must have been recently brought in, for their long cloth cloaks were little worn ; then some prisoners of war, there were a major and three captains among them, as I learnt when our names were called over ; they were not fettered, but were in the last stage of misery, almost, some quite, covered with wounds, and the majority too feeble to walk ; and last- ly a group of felons, distinguished by a single iron ring on the right ankle. These looked scarcely human, were without a rag of clothing, and generally lay in a huddled heap on the ground TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. 457 In our rear was the kitchen, that is, a large iron pot set over a fire in the open air ; there a stalwart negro, assisted by several prison- ers, prepared the food for all the guardias around, and little enough it was, a small allowance of boiled meat and broth in the morning, and at night a handful of parched maize and the bones and scraps left by the soldiers. I saw poor Dr. Carreras, once the most influ- ential man in Uruguay, an ex-prime minister, eagerly gnawing the gristle from a few well-picked bones, contemptuously thrown him by a passer-by." Such was the treatment accorded by the tyrant of Para- guay to the two members of the American Legation that he had forcibly taken from the protection of the Minister. The details of their treatment, of course, I did not know then, but the letter that I had received from Bliss after his seizure told the whole story of his torture. What could I then do for him or Masterman, was my first thought on reaching the Wasp. They would, of course, be treated with most inhuman cruelty ; but I knew that Lopez took too much delight in the infliction of pain to put them speedily to death, and besides I believed that fear would restrain him from such an act until he might learn whether or not my government would sustain me and demand them. My last letter to him, in which I still claimed them, though taken in the street, as members of my Legation, and denounced their seizure as the act of a common enemy of the human race, would appeal to his sense of fear ; and I hoped that ere they were executed an American squadron would come to their rescue. My first duty was to hasten to the mouth of the river to give the alarm, and advise the Admiral of the insult to the flag and the outrage on the Legation. CHAPTER XXXI. Final Departure. Corrientes. Duties of Neutrals. Excitement at Buenos Aires. The Semanario. Published Correspondence. Letter to the Eng- lish Minister. Hostility of the Allies. The Wasp sent to the Seat of War. Refused a Passage through the Blockade. Return to Montevideo. General J. Watson Webb. His Energetic Action. He demands his Passports. The Objections withdrawn. The Wasp returns to Paraguay. Her Arrival a Surprise to Lopez. His Plans deranged. Indignation of the Allies. Gaucho Ideas of the Duties of a Neutral Minister. The American Navy : the System and the Practices under it. Despotic Powers of the Admiral. Rear-Admiral Charles H. Davis. His Fleet-Captain, Francis M Ramsey. Difference of Opinion between the Admiral and General Webb. Insulting Letter from the Admiral. He shows his Independence by delay- ing the Departure of the Squadron. AT last we were beyond the tyrant's power. As we passed beyond the reach of the guns of his fortifications at An- gostura, the sense of security to ourselves which we then ex- perienced brought more vividly than ever to our minds the situation of those we had left behind. The misfortune that had befallen Bliss and Masterman was but a single item in the catalogue of disasters that had happened to hundreds of our friends, whom we should never meet again, and of whom we should never learn anything more than that they had been made to suffer the most horrible agonies that the combined cruelty and avarice of Lopez and Lynch could invent. Bliss and Masterman might escape, but of many others in whom we took a deeper interest than in them we were convinced we should never hear more than that they had miserably perished of torture and starvation or had been executed. I had lived for a long time in Paraguay, and the people, without exception, when acting of their own impulse, and not under the orders of Lopez, had always treated me with kindness, hospitality, and EXCITEMENT AT BUENOS AIRES. 459 respect. Among all the Paraguayans I believed I had not a*/ single enemy except Lopez, and among all the foreigners none except Madam Lynch. On our way down the river we stopped at Corrientes, where I advised every one I met that Lopez had arrested all the for- v/ eigners in Paraguay, and had killed or would kill them all un- less the allies should show more activity and destroy him before he had time to carry his plan of indiscriminate murder into execution. I was hoping that this information might be known to Caxias and the whole allied army, and that it might stimu- late them to move before the whole people were exterminated. * Lopez had committed an act of war against the United States, and for it I had denounced him as a common enemy. I there- fore considered myself at full liberty to publish to the world any information I might possess, and believed that I was not only acting within the limits of my official duty, but should do the world a service, if I contributed to bring to a speedier close his murderous career. I observed, however, that Com- mander Kirkland was extremely reluctant to have anything promulgated prejudicial to Lopez, giving as a reason that neutral gunboats passing the military lines had no right to convey intelligence from one belligerent to the other. On arriving at Buenos Aires, the news brought with us caused the greatest excitement. I had scarcely reached my hotel before it was overrun with people who came anxiously to inquire for friends in Paraguay. I had but one answer for all : " Lopez has arrested your friends, and has either killed them all or holds them as prisoners loaded with fetters. Their wives and children, if not arrested, have been driven to the interior to die of starvation and exposure, rather than that they should escape to tell the story of his cruelties." I had brought away with me a file of the Semanario con- taining the correspondence between Benitez and myself until Lopez, finding that my answers confounded his witnesses and showed them to contradict themselves and each other, dis- continued the publication. I loaned this to an editor of one of the daily papers to be republished, reserving that which had 460 PARAGUAY. not already appeared in the Scmanario, as it is a rule of the State Department that official correspondence shall not be published till so authorized by the Secretary. Commander Kirkland had brought another file of Semanarios, which had been furnished by Lopez, that the correspondence might be published in Buenos Aires. A copy of the long letter signed by Caminos, which had not appeared in the Scmanario, was also given to Kirkland to be published with the rest. Lopez also ordered Dr. Stewart to write a letter to his brother, George D. Stewart, in Buenos Aires. This letter was never published, but was shown to me by the recipient, who, before I read it, said he hoped I would not feel any unkindness towards his brother for writing such a letter. I replied no, I certainly should not. It was Lopez's letter, not Dr. Stewart's ; and though it might be in the handwriting of the latter, it had been dictated by Lopez. This letter pre- tended to give some details of the conspiracy which we had never heard of before. Among other things it said that it was a part of the plan to kill off the soldiers of the Republic by poisoning the wine in the public storehouses. As there was no wine in the country except that which was closely guarded for the use of Lopez and Madam Lynch, the absurd- ity of the story would defeat the object of the letter among those who knew anything of Paraguay. But the purpose of Lopez in having the letter written was to have it published and circulated in countries where people could not know of its absurdity. This letter, together with the Semanarios and a manuscript copy of the long letter of Caminos to me, was given to Commander Kirkland, to be made use of for the benefit of Lopez in Buenos Aires ; and that officer, who had been so cautious lest he should violate the rules of war by conveying intelligence that might be used to the prejudice of Lopez, readily became his agent to carry away his secret de- spatches. Finding that Lopez had taken such measures to have his part of the correspondence published entire, while a mate- rial part of mine would be suppressed, I gave out the whole, together with a long letter I addressed to the English Minis- ARRIVAL OF THE WASP. 461 ter, the Hon. William Stewart, on the condition of affairs in Paraguay ; and it was all published in every daily paper in Buenos Aires, besides which a large edition was issued in pamphlet form, by the government, for circulation abroad. My first duty after reaching Buenos Aires was to advise the admiral of our squadron of the outrage committed by Lopez in seizing two members of the American Legation at Asun- cion, and urge him to go to their rescue. But previous to giv- ing an account of the part taken by the squadron in this affair not in vindicating the American flag, but in trailing it in the dust at the mandate of the tyrant of Paraguay it becomes necessary to revert to events which had previously occurred. As early as the I4th of October, 1867, I had sent a despatch to the Secretary of State, advising him that even then there was great fear among the people lest the evacuation of the capital should be ordered, to which I added, that I should not leave the town till so ordered by my government, unless it were as a prisoner. From the contents of this despatch, Mr. Seward inferred that my situation was liable to become dan- gerous, and so advised the Secretary of the Navy, and in- structions were sent to Rear-Admiral Charles H. Davis, then commanding the United States South Atlantic Squadron, to send a gunboat to my relief. The Wasp was accordingly despatched ostensibly on this service. Commander Kirkland was ordered to proceed in her " to the seat of war," and then communicate with me, and take me away if I should wish to leave. The " seat of war" at that time was Humaita, nearly two hundred miles below Asuncion, and for all practical purposes of relief Admiral Davis should have known that the Wasp might as well have been on the coast of Africa as below that point. He gave no instructions for her to go above the blockade, and apparently did not care whether she did or not, or whether she afforded any relief to me. As might have been foreseen, when the Wasp arrived near the blockading squad- ron, objection was made by the Brazilians to her going above it. This was a repetition of the outrage which had been at- 462 PARAGUAY. tempted on the Shamokin a year and a half before, but from which they receded when they saw that only force would avail to stop her. The question of principle or right having been previously settled, they would adhere to or waive their objec- tion at this time according as they found the commander of the gunboat disposed to respect or disregard it As previously related, I advised Commander Kirkland that the Brazilians had no right to stop the Wasp, and not to heed their protest until they fired upon her or at least across her bows, an act I had already proved they would never commit. Kirkland, however, disregarded my advice, and, reporting his exploits to the Admiral, took credit to himself for having shown his independence, and volunteered the opinion that it was very impertinent for a minister to make suggestions or recommen- dations to a naval officer. Kirkland had been the favorite officer in command of a vessel when Godon was admiral of the squadron, and had doubtless learned from him that the most direct road to re- ward and promotion from the head of the Navy Department was to treat with contempt the advice or requests of the dip- lomatic agents of his government On arriving at Montevideo he wrote to Admiral Davis, then at Rio, of the refusal of the Brazilians to permit him to pass their blockade. His despatches were duly received by the Ad- miral, but so little importance did he attach to them that he allowed them to remain for several days unopened, and per- haps would never have looked at them had not his attention been called to them by General Webb. The Minister of the United States in Rio de Janeiro at this time was General James Watson Webb, a gentleman having a national reputation as a diplomatist and political writer. Hav- ing been for more than thirty years editor and proprietor of a leading newspaper, and accustomed to deal as a statesman with all the great political questions of the time, foreign and domestic, his experience had admirably qualified him for any exigency that might arise in the career of a diplomate. This experience, joined to a very high order of ability, had not only JAMES WATSON WEBB. 463 rendered him familiar with international law, but the frequent discussion of questions affecting our foreign policy had made him peculiarly sensitive to any infringement of the rights or honor of the United States. When these were touched, General Webb, as Minister, did not wait for instructions from home as to the course he should pursue. He took the responsibility of acting without waiting to learn whether or not his government would sustain him. For him to act, it was only necessary to know what the national honor and dignity required. When the Wasp was despatched on her voyage in the month of April, 1868, for the purpose, not of carrying a min- ister to Paraguay, but of bringing him away, General Webb little thought that the Brazilians would again assume an atti- tude towards the United States from which they had been compelled most ungracefully to recede. Great was his sur- prise, therefore, to learn, on reading his morning paper, that the Wasp had been refused a passage through the blockade, and had returned to Montevideo. The paper boasted that the insolent Yankee had been snubbed, and the stars and stripes that had gone flaunting up the river had returned drooping to Montevideo. On reading this, General Webb lost no time in finding the Admiral and inquiring if it were indeed true that the Wasp had been sent back ; for if it were so, he supposed the Admiral must have known of it for some days, and would have notified him of the fact, in order that he might take such official action as the case demanded. But on meeting him the Admiral remarked he knew nothing of the matter. True he had received despatches from Com- mander Kirkland some days before, but they were lying un- opened on his table. He would read them on returning to his flag-ship, and would then take the matter into consideration. But he could not see that the case demanded any unusual action from him. The government could be advised that the Wasp had been turned back, and then, if instructions should be sent to him to force the blockade at the risk of a war, it would be time enough to do it. General Webb said, " No, the issue must be made here and now ; advise me officially that 464 PARAGUAY. the Wasp has been turned back, and I will have the question settled at once. The allies shall not be permitted to keep a Minister of the United States a prisoner in a position declared dangerous by our government." After much persuasion, which it may be presumed was so urgent that it might more properly be expressed by a stron- ger word, the Admiral gave him the official notice, and then General Webb addressed himself to the Brazilian government. The Ministry approved the course of the Marques de Caxias in refusing permission to the Wasp to pass the blockade. General Webb replied, " She must go through and she will go through ; if not with your consent, still she will go to the re- lief of our Minister." The government, having indorsed Caxias, refused to yield ; and General Webb then gave notice, that, unless it did so, the friendly relations between the United States and Brazil could no longer be maintained. The Wasp must be permitted to go through the blockade, or he would demand his passports, break up his Legation, and return to the United States. This energetic action had its intended effect. The Ministry that approved the conduct of Caxias resigned, a new Ministry was appointed, and orders were sent to Caxias that when the Wasp might next appear she should be allowed to pass. The Wasp was accordingly again despatched for Paraguay ; and notwithstanding the vehemency with which General Webb had pressed the Brazilian government to grant permission for her to pass the blockade, nearly three months had passed from the time she had left Curupaiti, to return to Montevideo, before she returned and dropped anchor within the Paraguayan lines. As before related, she arrived barely in time to derange and defeat the plans of Lopez, not only towards all who were in the American Legation, but all the intelligent foreigners in his camp who might, if left alive, escape through the fortune of war, and publish to the world the truth in regard to his false accusations and pretended conspiracy. Had the return of the Wasp been delayed till instructions could have been received from Washington, she would have found no minister to take ARRIVAL OF THE WASP. 465 away, and no member of his family, unless it were a little child too young to tell of anything which had transpired. The arrival of the Wasp completely deranged the plans of Lopez. It had been his purpose to kill all the witnesses and blot out the record, and then to send forth to the world his own version of the occurrences which had led to their destruction ; and on their own confessions he was to be justified, and they were to be adjudged by the world as having received their de- serts. Her appearance had been most unwelcome to Lopez, and for several days after her arrival he hesitated whether to give up his cherished purposes or not. His position was em- barrassing. He knew that if I were to escape I should expose him and his hideous acts to the world ; and it was then too late to consummate his plans towards me, and yet make it appear that he had been forced to it for his own security or the " safety of the Republic." It was too well known that when the Wasp arrived I was still alive and well ; and with all his precautions, including the destruction of the foreigners about his camp, it was impossible that many Paraguayans should not, either as prisoners or deserters, fall into the hands of the enemy. Then the whole plot would be exposed, and his well-woven web of testimony would be proved to be but a tissue of falsehoods in- vented by himself and ascribed to the victims whom he had killed in orcjer to make sure that they should never deny them. That this plan was not carried out in all its parts many of those now alive, besides myself and the others in the United States Legation, have to thank General Webb. It is true he was not then aware of our terrible situation, for, so far as he knew, my relations were as friendly with Lopez as they had ever been. But he knew that for a long time I had been unable to com- municate with the outer world, and that the conduct of Brazil was insulting to the honor and integrity of the United States. He knew, too, that our admirals on that station had shown a criminal indifference to the dignity and rights of their country, and he took the responsibility of forcing Brazil to the alter- native of a rupture with the United States or of receding from her pretensions. 466 PARAGUAY. The indignation in Buenos Aires against Lopez, when it was known that he was torturing and killing all the foreigners in his power, was most intense. Many of his victims were Por- teftos, and many others had friends and relatives at the mouth of the river. The publication of my correspondence with Benitez and Caminos touched the pride of the Argentines, as in it I had made many reflections far from complimentary to the allies. I had remarked on the barbarism of making war, as they appeared to be doing, without fighting, and with the object of exterminating the Paraguayan people by starvation. These remarks were too just and true not to be keenly felt ; but it was not for them I was arraigned so much as for what I had said in regard to the "conspiracy." When I had been officially notified by Benitez that a conspiracy had been dis- covered the object of which was to assassinate Lopez, I had, in accordance with all diplomatic usage, expressed my felicita- tions at his escape from the threatened danger. I had de- clared my abhorrence of assassination; and to the charges that the conspirators were making my Legation their head- quarters, and thence carrying on a correspondence with their fellow-conspirators and with the Marques de Caxias, I had replied that I would not tolerate such persons in my house if such charges could be substantiated against them, but would instantly send adrift and denounce any one who could thus abuse my confidence and hospitality. It was at this that the gaucho republican editors of Buenos Aires and Montevideo were so vehemently indignant; that I would not allow my house to be used as a rallying-point for a con- spiracy against such a wretch as I had shown Lopez to be ; that I should refuse to take part with conspirators, and denounce assassination as a crime, when the object was to de- stroy a monster who was daily murdering scores of the best people in Paraguay, one whom I had denounced as an en- emy of the human race ! On reaching Buenos Aires, my first duty was to fulfil my promise to Bliss and Masterman. I immediately wrote to Ad- THE AMERICAN NAVAL SYSTEM. 467 miral Davis and General Webb, both of whom were at Rio, advising them of the violation of the American flag by the seizure of these two members of my Legation, and that they had already been subjected to torture, and would inevitably be killed unless prompt measures were taken to rescue them. In writing this work the disagreeable task has devolved upon me of exposing and denouncing the perverse and unpatriotic conduct of several officers of high rank in the American Navy. This exposure of the misconduct of the public servants of the United States I would gladly have omitted, had they not brought the naval service into contempt, and were it not a duty to inform the American people, so far as lies in my power, of the way in which their naval commanders demean them- selves on foreign stations. The interests, the dignity, and the honor of the United States demand a most thorough and com- plete reorganization of the navy, which will only be brought about when the people who are taxed to maintain it shall learn to what purposes their money is devoted. I therefore shall make no apology for a digression in this place for the purpose of showing those defects in the present system which have kept the most meritorious officers in inferior and subordinate posi- tions, while fawning sycophants and flatterers have through fa- voritism been advanced to places they were utterly unfit to fill. The system as it now is constitutes the admiral of a squadron the absolute despot over all who serve under him, so that what- ever tyranny he may inflict on his subordinates they have practically no remedy. The autocratic powers of an admiral over all in his squadron lead him to suppose that in the ports which he visits he is the only representative of the United States, and that ministers or consuls have no more right to advise him, or suggest to him what the honor of the flag de- mands, than the midshipmen of his squadron. The system which makes the admiral so independent and despotic fosters this idea ; and though the most of those in our naval service have the honor of the country too much at heart to allow their personal feelings to interfere with their public duties on foreign stations, yet when weak, vain, and malicious men are put into 468 PARAGUAY. such responsible positions, they may, as was seen in the case of these South American difficulties, bring great discredit on the naval service, and seriously compromise the relations of the government with other nations. A system that permits such abuses is certainly susceptible of reform and improvement. When an admiral is ordered to a distant station to take command of the squadron there, the Secretary of the Navy, the only person to whom he is responsible, will be the better pleased the less he hears from him. If few questions, or dis- putes, or reports of courts-martial, are referred to him, he as- sumes that all is harmonious on board the fleet, and that the admiral is a competent and successful officer. Hence it is an object with them all that their reports shall show nothing but the regular routine which always is supposed to exist when the admiral is a just man and officers and men are respectful and obedient. Once on a distant station, the admiral is the autocrat of the fleet. Of course he will have his favorites ; that is human nature. Admirals, like other men, are susceptible to flattery, and when they are weak and vain, as it is possible for admirals to be, the sycophants and tale-bearers become his intimates, while those who scorn to act the flunky and the scandal- monger are subjected to a most galling tyranny. Every officer is anxious to be well reported to the Secretary of the Navy, as on his record made up by his admiral must he depend for promotion. Hence the admiral has absolute power over what the honorable and aspiring officer most highly prizes, his good name and his chance of promotion. If any injustice is done to an officer, the regulations provide that he may appeal to the Secretary of the Navy. But in practice it is left to the discretion of the admiral to send forward their complaints or not. Everything must first be submitted to the admiral before it is forwarded to the Secretary ; and then if it be of such a nature that the admiral dreads to have it go forward, but fears to suppress it, he will try and conciliate the com- plainant and induce him to withdraw it. If, however, the wronged and insulted officer insists on sending forward his CHARGES PROVED. 469 statement, he knows that he will be in purgatory so long as he is subjected to the admiral's orders. Hence it is that, how- ever intolerable the situation, however insolent and tyrannical the admiral, the aggrieved officer almost always finds it to his interest to submit in patience till death or the Secretary shall promote the admiral to another station. If the charges finally go before the Secretary, the admiral is sure to have his coun- ter-charges ; and the Secretary as a rule listens to the admi- ral, and dismisses the complainant with a reprimand, usually equivalent to a notice that by his insubordination he has injured his standing at the Department* * " Q. What are the relations between you and Admiral Godon, friendly or otherwise ? " A. Unfriendly. They had their origin mostly, nine tenths of them, on ac- count of my having been on friendly terms with Mr. Washburn. " Q. Prior to this period you were on fiiendly terms with the Admiral ? "A. There had been no rupture at all, no open rupture. " Q. Were there unkind feelings before that ? " A. I had no very particular admiration for him. Still I did my duty. I had received several complimentary letters from him for services I had performed ; not very complimentary, but as complimentary as he was capable of writing. I had heard about this coal business, that Mr. Hale and some Americans had offered to furnish coal to enable Mr. Washburn to go up the river. " Q. What was the motive df the Americans in doing that? " A. I suppose they saw that the Minister was treated with indignity, and that it had the effect to bring our country in disrepute with the Argentine Republic ; that we were losing very much of the importance which we had already, and which we still held in that country as a nation. He (Admiral Godon) charged me with not having written to him about Mr. Washburn, his conversation, and his movements, while I had been acting as the senior officer in the ports of Montevideo and Buenos Aires. I told him that I did not consider that that was any part of my duty ; that my duty was to report to him everything official ; but as for writing of Mr. W r ashburn, what he said, or about his movements, or any- thing connected with him, I never could perform any service of that kind. I said it in considerable warmth, and he charged me with being disrespectful in language and manner. I disclaimed any intention of that kind I then stated to him that he had on more than one occasion outraged my feelings ; that I had no desire any longer to serve in his squadron ; that he had upon more than one occasion insulted me. He replied that I should go on board my ship ; that he would not put me under suspension. I obeyed the order. While smarting under this imputation of Admiral Godon, I applied officially to the Secretary of the Navy to be relieved from the command of the United Staies steamer Kansas, as- signing as a reason that I had been promoted on the station to a commander, and was therefore entitled to a large vessel ; but that I had also reasons of a special 470 PARAGUAY. Admiral Charles H. Davis, to whom I communicated the circumstances of my departure from Paraguay, though an old man, and one who had been long in the navy, had seen but little sea service. Though a man of liberal education and courteous manners, he was utterly wanting in that tact or quality that carries with it obedience without assuming the appearance of authority. Incapable of organization, his time was devoted to trifling details, which so engaged his attention that matters of grave importance were neglected, and in a little while his squadron was, if not bordering on mutiny, in a state of constant broils and quarrels. Courts-martial were so frequent as to crowd upon each other, and the Admiral soon found himself in more than one sense lost at sea. character which I would at some future day make known to the Department. I forwarded that communication to Admiral Godon, sending it by the coxswain of my boat, and indorsed on the outside of it the subject-matter of it That appli- cation he returned to me, because it happened to be Sunday. " Q. Was it the same Sunday that he had the dance and music aboard his vessel ? " A. No, sir ; it was some other time ; I only heard of that ; it did not occur then. I sent the same application to him the next day. By some mistake I had indorsed the subject-matter on the outside of the envelope ; there I made a mistake. He then hoisted the signal for me to repair on board ; this was in the afternoon. When I went on board I was told by his acting fleet-captain, Lieutenant-Commander Marvin, that the Admiral was taking a nap, and that I should wait there. I was invited by that officer into his stateroom, or office ad- joining the cabin, which invitation I declined to accept. I remained on the quarter-deck nearly an hour before the Admiral sent for me. He seemed to be very much excited, very much enraged. He referred to this application of mine. I told him that I had no desire to serve any longer in his squadron. I was standing at that time against the sideboard in the cabin, and was perfectly re- spectful in manner and in language. lie spoke of my repeated disobedience of orders, and said that while I was serving in his command I was to understand that I must obey his orders. He accompanied this with an offensive and insult- ing gesture, shaking his finger in my face. I called his attention to it, and he repeated it. I again called his attention to it in these words : ' Admiral Godon, you are shaking your finger in my face.' He then ordered me in the most per- emptory manner to go on board my vessel under suspension. As I was leaving the cabin I asked him if I should transfer the command to the executive officer. He shook his finger again towards me ; at that time I was some three or four feet from him ; he said that he knew what his duty was, and that I should go on board my ship under suspension. I remained under suspension two days, the first suspension that had ever been inflicted upon me in a naval service of over twenty-six years. By the rules and regulations of the service, I was obliged to ADMIRAL CHARLES H. DAVIS. 471 In the midst of his perplexities the Admiral leaned on his fleet-captain, whose unpopularity and insolence were the cause of many of his difficulties. This fleet-captain was Francis M. Ramsey, an officer very young for his position, and one who in his person afforded an excellent illustration of the defects in our naval system. During the years preceding the Rebel- lion, while the Navy Department was managed with a view to a dismemberment of the Union, he had connections at Wash- ington who were able to second his own efforts to obtain rapid promotion. He had early learned that the surest road to ad- vancement in the navy was by striving in all things to please the flag-officer of the squadron. Hence he had been promoted far beyond his deserts as an officer, and was fleet-captain of confine myself to the cabin, about one third the size of this committee-room. I was not allowed to go to any other part of the ship, except, perhaps, to use the water-closet ; that was on the upper deck. While under suspension I made a report in detail of this outrage to the Secretary of the Navy. I wish to state, however, that during this time I had orders to proceed to the coast of Africa on a cruise, to visit the ports from the Cape of Good Hope up. I reported all these indignities which I had endured. I attributed them mostly to my friendship for Mr. Washburn, and because I did not conform to the strict regulations of the service, which require the official communications to be sent to the commander- in-chief of the squadron. To protect myself from further indignities, which I knew he would visit upon me if I presented this report of his conduct in person, I con- fided it to Surgeon Wells of the Shamokin, requesting him to place the document on board the flag-ship as soon as he learned I had left the port of Montevideo I came home and reported my return to the Secretary of the Navy, and pressed this matter upon Mr. Welles as much as it was possible for a man to do. I courted the strictest investigation into my conduct. Mr. Welles said he was very sorry that our relations had been so unfriendly ; that Admiral Godon, in a conversa- tion with him on this subject, had disclaimed any intention of insulting me by his gesticulations ; he said that Admiral Godon was a Frenchman ; that he was naturally excitable, and that he had gesticulated in that way to him. I told him that I did not think Admiral Godon would dare to shake his finger in his face. Mr. Welles then seemed inclined to order an investigation. I had submitted documentary evidence refuting all the charges. Mr. Welles thought the matter had better drop ; that it was unfortunate ; that I had better let the matter die out. I told him it was a matter I thought of the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, and that I would be willing to go out on the station and place myself under arrest for an official investigation into these troubles. He would not consent to that, and after an interview which lasted half an hour I left him." Paraguayan Investigation, testimony of Commander Clark H. Wells* pp. no, in, 113. 4/2 PARAGUAY. the South Atlantic Squadron at the time that Admiral Davis was in command of it. He had a certain positiveness and self-assertion, qualities entirely wanting in the Admiral ; and these, united to a most offensive vanity, made up to some extent for his other defects, including a propensity to look after those petty details of buttons and formalities which men of average scope of mind seldom think of or notice. These qualities, while they caused him to be disliked in the squadron, commended him so much to Admiral Davis that he became vir- tually the commander of the fleet. But neither the actual nor the nominal admiral had any idea that the squadron might be called upon to perform any service which might interfere with his pleasure or convenience. They fully shared the opinion which Admiral Godon had so freely expressed, that they were under no obligations or responsibility to the diplomatic agents of the government, and were not bound in any way to defer to their wishes or requests. It was, therefore, far from agreeable to both of them, when the Wasp was turned back by the Mar- ques de Caxias, that General Webb should so promptly resent the indignity to the United States, and compel Brazil to grant permission for her to pass the blockade. The consent, how- ever, having been granted, there was no alternative but to send back the Wasp. Until the Wasp had completed this latter voyage, there had been no rupture between the diplomatic and naval representa- tives. General Webb and Admiral Davis were on the most intimate and cordial terms, and supposed they were about to part as the best of friends, when the news came that the flag of the United States had been insulted by Lopez, and two members of the Legation in Paraguay had been arrested and carried off to prison and probable torture and execution. It was not necessary for a man to be " sudden and quick in quarrel " for an outrage of this kind, which was nothing more or less than an act of war against the United States, to arouse in him a feeling of intense indignation. Such a feeling was aroused in the mind of General Webb. The Admiral, how- ever, seemed to regard it as a matter of little importance and GENERAL WEBB AND ADMIRAL DAVIS. 473 as calling for no unusual action on his part. Neither of them had received any official notice of what had transpired, and had only read the accounts in the newspapers of Buenos Aires, and their comments abusive of me. These the Admiral and his fleet-captain were disposed to listen to, while General Webb, without hesitation, assumed that they were scanda- lously and transparently false. But true or false, he said that it made no difference as to the duty of the Admiral. A gross outrage had been committed on the American flag, and in- stant redress should be demanded. On (he 5th of October, 1868, my letters to the Admiral and to General Webb were received by them. General Webb im- mediately sought the Admiral, to urge upon him that the case would admit of no delay. The Admiral, however, hesitated, and questioned the necessity of any action on his part. He said that my version of what had transpired in Paraguay was not to be credited, and my evidence of the violation of the flag was not sufficient for him to base any action upon. Finding that the Admiral was not disposed to do anything whatever, General Webb returned home mortified and heartsick. To all appearance the Admiral was playing into the hands of Lopez, who had already committed an act of war against the United States. But General Webb, anxious to avoid a rup- ture, wrote him a letter in terms such as one friend might em- ploy in addressing another who he feared was about to make a fatal mistake. It was earnest and kind, and in no sense dictatorial, disclaiming all right to control the squadron, while forcibly representing the insult to the national flag. This urgency on the part of the veteran statesman and di- plomatist the fleet-captain chose to consider impertinent, and a very brief and grossly insulting note was sent in reply to the long and friendly letter of General Webb. This letter was doubtless written to warn the Minister that, in questions of grave interest affecting the honor of the country, he was not only not to control the Admiral, but not even to express his opinions. It had been notoriously owing to the action of General Webb that the Wasp had gone through the blockade 474 PARAGUAY. after having been once sent back ; and if his advice were now to be followed, the idea which many naval officers cherish and seek to promulgate, that they are the only representatives of the United States abroad, would be dispelled.* As before stated, the day for the departure of the squadron for the Plata had been already fixed when the news of the outrage of Lopez on the Legation in Paraguay reached Rio. Though not officially announced, the officers understood that they were to be ready to sail on Saturday, the loth of October, and it had been so announced in the English newspaper published at Rio. But General Webb, on receiving information that Bliss and Masterman had been seized by Lopez, and that the only chance of their escape consisted in the promptness with which a force should be sent to rescue them, urged it upon the Admiral that he should not wait so long, but sail for the- Plata as soon as he could possibly get ready. In this way he could save two whole days, and on the saving of that time might depend, not only the lives of the men seized, but the averting of a war on the tyrant who held them in his power. But the Admiral had chosen to quarrel with the Minister, and to show his independence he gave public notice that the fleet was not about to leave for the Plata nor for any other place. In fact, the departure of the squadron on a duty so urgent and pressing that every moment of unnecessary delay was crimi- nal was deferred for three weeks, for no other purpose than to demonstrate the independence of the Admiral. * The letter of Admiral Davis was as follows : "UNITED STATES FLAG-SHIP GUERRIERE, (first-rate,) Rio DE JANEIRO, Octobers, 1868. " SIR, I owe you, perhaps, an apology for not having acknowledged sooner the reception of your letter of the 6th instant, in which you give me the unsolicited benefit of your opinion on the subject of my official duties. " Since your opinion is formed without a knowledge of all the circumstances of the case, I may not, possibly, attach so much value to it as you seem to expect. " Very respectfully, your obedient servant, "C. H. DAVIS, Rear-Admiral Commanding South Atlantic Squadron, v HON. J. WATSON WEBB, United States Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of Brazil." CHAPTER XXXII. The Commercial Interests of Paraguay. Policy of the United States in Regard to the Republics of South America. M. T. McMahon appointed United States Minister to Paraguay. Conflict of Testimony. Admiral Davis's Ex- cuses for Delay. Extract from General Webb's Testimony. Davis and McMahon. Indorsement of Commander Kirkland. His Letter to Admiral Davis. DURING the whole time of my residence in Paraguay the commercial interests of that country with the United States amounted to nothing, and so long as the Lopez dynasty and system might last it never would amount to enough to justify our government in the expense of keeping a minister there. Only political reasons can be alleged for maintaining ministers, as is now done, at several South American repub- lics. It had been the policy of the United States to be the first to recognize them as independent sovereignties after they had severed their connection with Spain ; and the prin- cipal motive in keeping up diplomatic relations with several of them has always been to encourage them, amid their many changes and revolutions, to adhere, at all times, to the republican form of government. The despotism of Paraguay, however, was so absolute, and the prospect that our commer- cial relations with that region would be extended was so slight, that on resigning my office as minister it would have been my duty, except for the peculiar state of affairs existing at the time, to recommend that the office be discontinued. But in view of the fact that important political changes seemed im- pending in that part of the world, in which both the politi- cal and commercial interests of the United States might be concerned, I urgently requested that a successor should be appointed to my place. Another motive with me in making 476 PARAGUAY. this recommendation was the fact, that the people there, espe- cially the foreigners, thought that the presence of the minister of a great power would give them a certain protection and security. In accordance with this request, another minister was appointed to succeed me. The person selected for the position was General Martin T. McMahon of New York. His appointment was made about the ist of July, 1868 ; but as the State Department soon after received information that affairs in Paraguay were in a most uncertain and unsatisfactory con- dition, his departure was delayed till the latter part of Sep- tember. The Admiral afterwards alleged, as a reason or excuse for his long delay in Rio, that he had received informa- tion that General McMahon was to leave New York on the American steam-packet for Rio on the 24th of September, and that he waited for him and the instructions which he might bring with him before starting for the Plata. This, however, was an afterthought, and I am sorry to say was not true. Though he had heard of General McMahon's appoint- ment, he could not have had any definite information of the time of his leaving for his post at the time he postponed his departure for the Plata, nor of the instructions which he was to bring.* * " He (the Admiral) stated distinctly that he should sail from Rio on the fol- lowing Saturday, it being the loth of October ; or, if he did not get off on Satur- day, the loth, he would most certainly leave on Monday, the I2th, or possibly Tuesday, the I3th ; but he had no doubt about getting off on the roth. On Mon- day, the 5th of October, I met an unusual number of officers in the streets of Rio, and learned from one or more of them that they were there for the purpose of settling up their accounts, because the Admiral had given notice he would sail on Saturday, the loth ; and on reference to my correspondence with the Admiral it will be perceived that I say, in substance, to him, "that inasmuch as you are prepared to sail on the loth, let me beg you to get off on Thursday, the 8th, and thereby save two days." At that time, bear in mind, the Admiral had full knowledge of the fact that these gentlemen of the Legation had been seized, and we were actually corresponding about the necessity of his moving to their relief. It appears to me, therefore, utterly impossible, that on the 5th of October, when he refused to move, his " motive " in so doing was, as he alleges now, to await the arrival of General McMahon ; and it is equally impossible that at that time he could have known, as he says he did, that General McMahon would arrive in the next steamer. Had it been his intention to await the arrival of the new minister on the 2Oth or 2ist of October, why announce to me, and to all at DAMAGING TESTIMONY. 477 It was not till after McMahon had actually reached Rio, which he did about the 2Oth of October, that the Admiral ventured to put forth as a reason for his delay the fact that he was waiting for his arrival. As soon, however, as he knew he had come, he sought to capture him and make him an ally as against General Webb. The reader has seen how Admiral Go- don refused to give passage both to General Asboth and myself at a time when no other means of passage was available, and from that would infer that it is contrary to the naval reg- ulations for war vessels to convey the ministers of their own nation. But no sooner had General McMahon reached Rio, than Admiral Davis, without waiting to be asked, invited Min- ister McMahon and his family, consisting of three besides my table, that he would sail on Saturday, the loth ; and why give notice to that effect to the squadron, in order that the officers might settle up their accounts ? " Anterior to September, General McMahon had been appointed Minister to Paraguay, and ordered to proceed to his post of duty. The State Department, learning from me the difficulties that existed in regard to the Wasp, and that the Wasp had been stopped by the allies in passing up to Asuncion, instructed General McMahon, on the l8th of August, not to leave the country until he received further orders. On the 2d of September, 1868, Mr. Seward addressed to General McMahon the following : " ' When, on the i8th of August last, you were on the eve of your departure for Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, as Minister Resident of the United States to that Republic, this Department by direction of the President, requested you to remain in the United States until you should receive further instructions. The occasion of that direction was, that Rear- Admiral Davis, who commands the United States South Atlantic Squadron, had just then reported that he had sent the United States ship-of-war Wasp up the Parana, for the purpose of bringing away your predecessor, Mr. Charles A. Washburn, and his family, from Asuncion " ' To-day I received from Mr. Webb a despatch, which bears date August 7, and which came from London by cable, in which despatch he says that the Bra- zilian Ministry has yielded to his request, and that the Wasp goes to Asun- cion. " ' The information thus received is deemed sufficient to warrant your proceed- ing at once, by the next United States steamer, to the seat of your legation.' " Now, the next United States steamer was to sail September 23. That despatch most probably did not reach General McMahon, in New York, until the 4th. By what means, then, could the Admiral know of its existence at Rio on the 5th of October ? If General McMahon wrote to Captain Ramsey, by the steamer of the 5th, via England, the day after the receipt of this letter from Washington, it would not reach England before the ijth. There is no telegraph from England to Rio Janeiro, or any part of Brazil, and the first steamer from England would 478 PARAGUAY. himself, to take passage to Montevideo on board the flag-ship Guerriere. General McMahon, having been advised to confer with Gen- eral Webb on arriving at Rio, did so, notwithstanding his newly fledged friendship for the Admiral. The latter freely expressed his views on the situation, and in an official letter gave it as his opinion that Lopez had committed an act of war against the United States, and that therefore no diplomatic relations could be held with him till he had restored Bliss and Masterman, and given satisfaction for the outrage on the American flag. In my letter from Buenos Aires to Admiral Davis, I had, after telling him of the circumstances attending the seizure of Bliss and Masterman, advised him that I should remain be that of 2Oth of September, from Liverpool, due in Rio in twenty-four days, she being a freight propeller. That would make its receipt in Rio fall on the I4th of October, whereas my correspondence with the Admiral, in regard to this movement to Paraguay, commenced on the 5th of October, and terminated on the loth, the very day which he had fixed for his departure, my application for his departure having been made and refused on the 5th. It appears, then, to be morally and physically impossible that any information could have been in the Admiral's possession, by private letter, apprising him that General McMahon would arrive in the steamer of the 23d, and I therefore again give it as my firm belief that the Admiral did intend to sail on the loth, without having any idea of the arrival of McMahon, and that he remained in the harbor of Rio, not for the purpose of receiving General McMahon, as he alleges, and of whose arrival he could not have knowledge, but because, as I have said to the government, I, as Minister, had urged him to expedite his departure from the loth to the 8th. I consider the declaration now made, that he knew that McMahon was coming, a mere subterfuge, not sustained by what possibly could be the facts of the case, and palpably an afterthought. But the Admiral also says that he waited for the Minister to Paraguay, ' who had a right to be consulted and needed to take direc- tion, and that was the intention of the government, as he was specially instructed to act in co-operation with me, and I in co-operation with him.' " Now mark this additional specific reason assigned for delay. The committee asks the Admiral : Did General McMahon, when he arrived on the 2ist, bring any instructions ? The Admiral answers in the negative. It is true that the government did expect and did order that General McMahon and the Admiral should co-operate, but not previously to the 5th of October. That order was not given except in a despatch dated Washington, November 21, which would arrive at Rio only on the 2Oth of December ; and yet the Admiral says that a knowledge of that fact on the 5th of October, forty-six days before its existence, induced him to determine not to move until General McMahon had arrived." Paraguayan Investigation, testimony of General J. Watson Webb, pp. 257, 258. THE ADMIRAL WANTS BETTER PROOF. 479 there to await his arrival, in order to give him any further information that it might be necessary for him to have, in order to act with a full understanding of the situation. I did not then suppose that there would ever be the least difference of opinion as to what ought to be done, and was greatly surprised, after waiting for some two or three weeks, to learn that a quar- rel had arisen between General Webb and the Admiral. From the Admiral, whom I had never known personally, I received a most polite and friendly letter, congratulating me on my escape. From General Webb I received another letter, advising me of the difference he had had with the Admiral, partly because of his apathy and indifference to the honor of the flag, and partly because he had given as a reason for his inaction his disbelief in my statements, and alleging that he had other information, derived from Commander Kirkland, in regard to matters in Paraguay, that conflicted with my account of them. But General Webb, in his letter to the Admiral, said it mattered very little what Kirkland had reported, and added : " The duly accredited Minister to the government of Paraguay has made his report, which I have placed in your possession, and every word of which I indorse Both you and I know him to be the duly accredited Minister of the United States, and his testimony, which we have, it is our bounden duty to respect." As the reader is aware, I had 'had before this a very serious dispute with Admiral Godon, whose conduct had been such as to give the people of the Plata anything but a favorable im- pression of his fitness for the position he occupied. But with all his insolence, his efforts to defeat or embarrass me in the performance of my official duties, he had never called in ques- tion any statement I had ever made. But with Davis, I find that even before he knew me he had quarrelled with General Webb, and to justify himself in that quarrel he questions my veracity ! This was certainly an embarrassing position. I had seen my flag violated, my rights as a minister outraged, and two mem- bers of my suite, as much entitled to legation privileges as I was, had been forcibly torn away from me and carried off to 480 PARAGUAY. torture and probable death. Their last words to me were an appeal to notify the Admiral of our squadron of their situation. I had done so, and I was the only witness that could testify to the outrage. And yet the Admiral would not take my word, but remained at Rio to show his independence. Until I received this letter from General Webb, I had not suspected but that Commander Kirkland was acting in the most perfect good faith towards all parties. On the voyage down the river he had repeated to me so many times the con- versations he had held with Lopez, both while he was threatening to keep me a prisoner and afterwards, in which he made it appear that it was by his threats to Lopez that the tyrant had been induced to let me go, that I supposed his conduct could not be too highly commended. In my let- ter to the Admiral, I made use of the strongest terms of approval of his conduct, based entirely on his own version of the service he had done me.* What information Admiral Davis received from Commander Kirkland, at the time he alleged it as a reason for discrediting me, he has never made public. He could have no knowledge of what had occurred in Asuncion, as he was not permitted to go there, and at the time of the arrest of Bliss and Master- * " BUENOS AIRES, September 30, 1868. "Mv DEAR SIR, .... I wish here to give my testimony in regard to the firmness and good judgment displayed by Captain Kirkland in treating with Lopez. No one who has not lived in Paraguay can realize the delicate nature of the task he had to perform, that was to get me and my family unharmed out of the country. Fortunately he speaks the Spanish language fluently, and had known Lopez before, and knew that he was the most arrant coward on the face of the earth. He therefore knew how to take him ; and when Lopez threatened to keep me as a prisoner, he talked to him in such a manner that the craven wretch quailed before him and said he would let me go. And this defiant attitude he maintained during all the time he was detained there by Lopez, waiting for me to come on board the Wasp. He repelled the rude officiousness of Lopez's officers as though he had the Dunderberg, the Monadnock, and Miantonomoh at his back, and fairly cowed Lopez and attained his object, where a man of less nerve or tact would have failed entirely. I trust that this important service may be put to his credit and allowed to draw interest. " Very respectfully, your obedient servant, " CHARLES A. WASHBURN. "REAR-ADMIRAL C. H. DAVIS, United States flag-ship Guerriere, Rio tie T/jftf/ro." A REAL CONSPIRACY. 481 man was some twenty miles distant. While at Lopez's head- quarters he had no communication with any persons except Lopez and Madam Lynch, unless others were present to be spies upon them ; and therefore whatever he wrote, to Ad- miral Davis that conflicted with my published statements must have been received either from Lopez or his para- mour. What object Kirkland could have at that time in be- coming the mouthpiece of Lopez, and what was the nature of the statements he made to Davis while acting in that character, has never to my knowledge been divulged, and is, I believe, a secret among the real conspirators, Davis, Ramsey, McMahon, and Kirkland, conspirators engaged in a plot to destroy the testimony of a minister of their own government, and serve the interests of the worst tyrant that ever figured on the page of history. From an expression of McMahon in a de- spatch to the Secretary of State, written while he was still at Rio, October 27, 1868, an inference may be drawn of the general character of Kirkland's letters. In this despatch Mc- Mahon says he learns " that all prisoners held for political of- fences in Paraguay are treated with no unnecessary harsh- ness." How could he learn that ? No one but Kirkland or myself could have brought the news, and if Kirkland had any such knowledge he had derived it from Lopez or Madam Lynch. I had published to the world that Lopez was torturing and mur- dering all the best people in Paraguay for alleged political of- fences, and McMahon had read my letters. Yet he writes to the Secretary of State that he is not treating them with un- necessary harshness. Evidently the plan by this time is al- ready conceived, and McMahon, Davis, and Kirkland have de- termined to become the apologists and champions of Lopez. Though I have told them his hands are reeking with the blood of hundreds of foreigners and thousands of Paraguay- ans, including some of his own nearest relatives, they see that their interest lies in discrediting me, and in taking Lopez's own words as reported to them through Kirkland. As a part of this conspiracy, and now I talk of a real VOL. n. 31 482 PARAGUAY. conspiracy, it is thought prudent to send abroad for pub- lication a statement to neutralize the effect which it is sur- mised my accounts of Lopez's atrocities may have on the people of the United States. This was accordingly done. Im- mediately after the newspapers throughout the country had given currency to my version of Lopez's barbarities, another statement was sent forth as coming from Kirkland, in which Bliss and Masterman are represented as being in no danger, as Lopez had assured him that he was still desirous of main- taining friendly relations with the United States. So it would seem that Lopez still had good friends in the American Navy, and that his outrage on the flag did not prejudice him in their minds. The official report made by Kirkland to Admiral Davis was dated September 22, but that contains no reference to the treatment of prisoners in Paraguay for political offences, and therefore McMahon's knowledge of it, which he communicated to Mr. Seward, must have been derived from private and unof- ficial letters which have not been made public. In the mean while, Kirkland, having sent to the Admiral his report of the trip, remained at Montevideo, awaiting further orders from Rio ; but before he could receive any reply, he sent another letter to the Admiral, unofficial, in which he pretended to give an account of his first interview with Lopez. I give the fol- lowing extract : "On the 2d of September I first visited President Lopez. I inquired after Mr. Washburn, and Lopez replied, ' I am sorry to say we are very bad with Mr. Washburn.' I said that I was very sorry to hear it. Lopez said, ' Mr. Washburn is an enemy to Paraguay.' I said I did n't believe it ; and he continued : ' I do not doubt it ; I have the proofs.' I then said again : ' I do not believe it, but if he is, it is none of my business.' Lopez then said : 'I wish you to take a part in this, and try to arrange the matter between myself and Mr. Washburn, as I am very loath to take any step inimical to the United States.' I replied that my mission was a specific one ; that I was not a diplomate, and that I would not interfere in the matter in any way. He remarked that, unless the matter could be arranged, he feared he LETTER FROM KIRKLAND. 483 would have to detain Mr. Washburn ; and I answered him, as nearly as I can recollect, as follows : ' Any steps taken against the United States Minister will be avenged by that government, even should the Minister be in the wrong in the first instance. Your duty is to allow him to depart peaceably, and to refer your complaint, if you have any, to the President of the United States ; and you may rest assured that if the Minister has been guilty of unfriendly acts to the gov- ernment of Paraguay while residing in your country he will be called to account for it ; but if you take the law in your own hand, and insult his sacred diplomatic character by such an act, a fleet of six light-draught monitors, with fifteen and twenty-inch guns, which was in Pernambuco, bound to this river for the purpose of forcing the Brazilian blockade, will take sides with the allies, will pass your bat- teries, knock down your towns and cities, and the government of the United States will hunt you over the world, and demand you from any government that may have given you shelter. I shall wait a proper time, and if Mr. Washburn is not put on board, or I am not allowed to embark him with the means at my command, I shall re- turn immediately, and report to the government that he is a prisoner at your hands.' Lopez then asked how long I would remain. I re- plied, ' Only a few days, as I have strict orders on the s^DJect.' Lo- pez, after a short while, said : ' You are right ; I will let Mr. Wash- burn go, and will represent his conduct to his government.' .... I have no idea that Lopez's remark was intended as any threat against Mr. Washburn's liberty ; but he was very anxious to have the ship in the river, if possible, and thought he could accomplish that by tem- porizing." In his first version of this interview with Lopez, made to me verbally on board the Wasp, Kirkland represented that he made use of much stronger language than he has given in this account of it, subsequently sent to the Admiral, and at that time he did not disclaim the credit of having frightened the tyrant by his threats of the vengeance of the United States. He had heard many rumors of the atrocities of Lopez but a short time before, and when he went on shore to visit him was quite uncertain of his reception, or of the dangers before him. He watched the countenance of the despot as he talked to him, and could see the suppressed anger raging behind his 484 PARAGUAY. malignant, cowardly eyes, and was watching for the first sign of a movement against himself, or for an order in Guarani to the surrounding guards to seize him, prepared to make an end of Lopez sooner than be arrested. Kirkland is the only person, so far as I know, that ever went armed into the pres- ence of Lopez, and with the intention of killing him sooner than be arrested. It was from his own version of the inter- view with Lopez that my letter of indorsement and approval of his conduct was based. I then believed, as I believe now, that Kirkland conducted himself with great judgment and tact in all his intercourse with Lopez up to the time when he had succeeded in frightening the tyrant from his purpose of keep- ing me. For that service I wished to do him all possible credit, and when afterwards I learned that he repudiated my gratitude, and was seeking to invalidate my words by representing that Lopez was not the wretch I knew him to be, and did not treat his prisoners unkindly or with any " unnecessary harsh- ness," I was forced to the conclusion that Lopez, having given me up, decided to try and make Kirkland his friend, and suc- ceeded. * In the same letter to the Admiral, as if to show, without say- ing so, that he discredited my words, Kirkland wrote the fol- lowing : " Mr. Washburn told me that he had never heard anything of a revolution or conspiracy against the government ; but, on one occa- sion, Mrs. Washburn, when her husband was not present, said that there was a plan to turn Lopez out of power, and to put in his place his two brothers, Venancio and Benigno. As Mrs. Washburn had entirely agreed with her husband when he emphatically denied ever having heard of any plan, this admission on her part rather astonished me ; but I did not comment on it." In all the "declarations " of Lopez's tortured witnesses, and in all the statements made at different times by the persons who subsequently escaped from his power, no allusion was ever made to this plan to turn out Lopez and put his brothers in his place. No one of the survivors had ever heard of it except Mrs. Washburn, and the improbability, not to say impossibility, SAILING OF THE SQUADRON. 485 that she could ever have made such a remark, is, therefore, sufficiently evident. It may be here remarked, that when the Congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs were engaged in the investiga- tion of the Paraguayan difficulties, all the friends and apologists of Lopez, including Davis, McMahon, Kirkland, and Ramsey, were categorically questioned if they had any evidence derived from persons beyond the reach of the tyrant that any conspir- acy had existed in Paraguay, and they could allege nothing except this remark that Kirkland said was made by Mrs. Wash- burn, and one or two sentences in my correspondence with Be- nitez, in which I had spoken of the conspiracy as if I had be- lieved in it. All who have since escaped, and have spoken in regard to the matter, have expressed their belief that there never was any conspiracy, so that the only witnesses to the contrary are Mrs. Washburn and myself. At length, on the 28th of October, the Admiral started fo_' Montevideo in the Guerriere, having Minister McMahon and his family on board. The smaller vessels of the squadron had sailed a day or two before. Nearly a month had elapsed since he first heard of the seizure of Bliss and Masterman, but by his delay he had taught the lesson to American ministers, that in all cases in which the honor of their country is concerned they are not to be consulted, and that if they offer any opinion they may be rudely insulted, and the insult will be indorsed by the Secretary of the Navy. CHAPTER XXXIII. Investigation of Paraguayan Affairs by Congress. Its Object. The Course taken by the Naval Department. Extracts from the Report of the Congres- sional Committee. Admiral Godon censured. Extracts from the Testi- mony of Captain Clark H. Wells. Interview with Admiral Davis and Gen- eral McMahon. The Admiral's Forgetfulness. He determines to demand the Release of Bliss and Masterman. Extract from a Letter to McMahon. His Subsequent Course. Antecedents of McMahon. Return to the United States. Naval Courtesy. Captain Ramsey. THE reader who has followed me thus far in my " Remi- niscences of Diplomacy under Difficulties," may object to so long a digression from the events in Paraguay to the conduct of officers in the American Navy. It may also be objected that in a work of this kind, intended to be more permanent than the ephemeral literature of the newspapers, the faults of our own countrymen should be made public. It is certainly a task far from agreeable to expose the doublings and dishonesty of men to whom is intrusted to some extent the guardianship of the national honor, and the person who does it is sure to bring upon himself a crowd of assailants who, if they cannot disprove his facts, will impugn his motives. Before he ventures on such a labor, therefore, he should be very sure that there is no vulnerable point in his own armor. These possible objections have all been duly considered. When I first escaped from Paraguay, knowing that I brought away with me the good-will of every person in that country except Lopez and Madam Lynch, and that hundreds felt grateful to me for the efforts I had made, at great risk to my- self and family, to serve and save them, and that every one who had ever lived there, and could appreciate my situation, would approve my every act, I did not anticipate that the INVESTIGATION BY CONGRESS. 487 acknowledgment for all these services would be a general con- demnation, based not only on the ridiculous and self-contra- dicting charges of Lopez and the tirades of the allies, but on the reports of the officers of our own squadron. I then said that the truth would at some day be made clear, and that I could afford to wait. At that time I had nothing but my own unsupported word to put against that of Lopez and his multi- tude of tortured witnesses, against the allies, and against the higher officers of the South Atlantic Squadron. Afterwards, when Bliss and Masterman were released, and I had some witnesses, they prepared a memorial to Con- gress, asking an investigation into the treatment they had received from Lopez, and also at the hands of Admiral Davis and his officers. This memorial was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and by a resolution which, at my instance, was made to call for an investigation into the conduct of the officers of the squadron, and that of " the late Minister to Paraguay," myself. I desired that the in- vestigation might be thorough, and that those officers who had been so free to defend Lopez and assail me might have a chance to make good their statements, and if, in their zeal to serve a tyrant, they had digraced the naval service, that the public should be informed of it. It was not enough that the head of the Navy Department should know it, for I had learned that it was a rule, scarcely ever departed from, in that Depart- ment, to sustain the higher officers in the service, whatever they might do. The Secretary of the Navy had indorsed and approved throughout the conduct of Admiral Godon, notwith- standing which the Committee on Foreign Affairs, after full investigation, severely condemned it.* The conduct of Ad- * " This manifest indifference on the part of Admiral Godon to the reasonable request of an American Minister continued for a considerable period of time, and finally resulted in excuses which soon became as numerous as they were friv- olous " That this excuse of an ' insufficiency of coal ' was a mere evasion of the Admiral is furthermore apparent from his own testimony " Thus, after a delay of over a year, for which there was, in our opinion, no justifiable excuse on the part of Admiral Godon, Mr. Washburn was permit- ted to reach his destination. 488 PARAGUAY. miral Davis was likewise approved throughout by the same Secretary, Gideon Welles, who not only justified him in all he had done, but induced the Secretary of State also to write a letter of commendation. The Vice-Admiral of the Navy, now the Admiral (Porter), when called before the investigating committee to give his testimony in regard to the usages of the navy, found nothing in the conduct of Godon, Davis, Ramsey, or Kirkland to con- demn, but approved and indorsed it all, and testified that they were all most marvellously proper men, and ornaments to the country and the service. In fact, so explicit was he in his ap- proval, that he justified Davis for treating Bliss and Master- man as prisoners, though the latter had under oath denied that he had thus treated them. Had he hung them both at the yard-arm of the Wasp at the order of Lopez, he would doubtless have been as fully sustained by the Navy Depart- ment. In the naval service it is understood that there is no appeal to any power but to the Secretary. No wronged sub- ordinate officer can appeal to the public through the press without incurring the liability of being court-martialed. His complaints to the Secretary must first be delivered unsealed to the admiral, who will forward them or not, according to his own pleasure. If sent forward, they are accompanied by the admiral's justification and counter-charges, and the difficulty is hushed up by the Secretary, always, however, leaving the admiral unscathed and the public ignorant of his tyranny and injustice. That the public may remain quiet and acquiescent " During this investigation your committee have seen, with regret, the exist- ence, among the officers of the South Atlantic Squadron, of a feeling of extreme bitterness and malevolence, accompanied with acts of superciliousness and petty tyranny totally unworthy of their position, derogatory to our national character, and subversive of that efficiency in the naval service which can spring only from harmony and proper respect on all occasions. The necessity and justification of these remarks are to be found in the accompanying testimony. " In this connection we also feel compelled to advert to a feeling of disrespect exhibited by Admiral Godon towards our diplomatic representatives with whom he came in contact, and which probably furnishes the motive for his course in this matter." Paraguayan Investigation, Report of Committee on Foreign Affairs^ pp. iii, v, xxvi. EXPENSE AND ROUTINE OF THE NAVY. 489 in the enormous expense of the navy, it must be kept un- informed of the tyranny practised within it, and of the utter uselessness of the squadrons that are maintained on foreign stations, at the cost of millions annually. To keep one first- rate, like the Guerriere, flag-ship of Admiral Davis, abroad, costs more money than the whole diplomatic service of the United States ; and yet, though Admiral Godon made him- self the friend and " confidential " adviser of the allies, in preventing an American Minister from reaching his post of official duty, and bitterly persecuted the best officers in his squadron because they would not approve his conduct and act a part unbecoming a gentleman,* and though Ad- miral Davis meekly submitted to the indignities offered by Lopez to the American flag, without pretending to resent them, yet the conduct of both admirals was approved and commended by Mr. Secretary Welles. When such acts were approved, certainly it was time for a power stronger than the Secretary to take the matter in hand, and make a thorough investigation. In the ordinary routine of the navy, under its present system, which prevents the public from knowing how their money is squandered, and renders the department an imperium in imperio, these abuses might go on indefinitely if their exposure were dependent on persons subject to the authority of the Secretary. They cannot appeal to the public without a certainty of being ignominiously dismissed from the service, after which, as disgraced men, they have little or no influence. Hence it is for persons in no way connected with the navy to expose the abuses within it, if the people are ever to be informed of them. But as it is seldom that any one not in the navy becomes cognizant of the tyr- anny and wrongs which are perpetrated on distant stations by * " He (Admiral Godon) charged me with not having written him about Mr. Washburn, his conversation and his movements, while I had been acting as senior officer in the ports of Montevideo and Buenos Aires. I told him that I did not consider that that was any part of my duty ; that my duty was to report to him anything official : but as for writing of Mr. Wastiburn, what he said, or about his movements, or anything connected with him, I never could perform any service of that kind." Paraguayan Investigation, testimony of Captain Clark H. Wells, p. no. 490 PARAGUAY. officers high in rank and command, it is certainly my duty as one of those in another branch of the public service who have been forced, not only to witness, but to suffer from the arrogant pretensions on one hand, and the humiliat- ing concessions on the other, of these same officials, to fully expose their delinquencies as a part of my " Reminiscences of Diplomacy under Difficulties." On the 4th of November, the Guerriere arrived at Monte- video, and shortly after Admiral Davis and General McMahon took passage on the Wasp for Buenos Aires, where I had the honor of being visited by both of them at my hotel. I now learned for the first time that the Admiral had decided to go to Paraguay and demand the release of Bliss and Master- man, and was assured by him that the report I had heard of his having expressed doubts in regard to my representa- tions of the conduct of Lopez, and the condition of affairs in Paraguay was utterly untrue. He had never said anything of the kind. This was a flat contradiction of what General Webb had written to me ; and I afterwards had other evidence that would indicate that the Admiral was forgetful. He nevertheless seemed disinclined to believe that Lopez was quite so bad as I had represented him to be, and declined to advise me as to the course he should pursue in case Bliss and Masterman had already been executed or Lopez should refuse to give them up. I warned him that Lopez would try very hard to deceive him, and that he could manu- facture testimony at pleasure. From my intimate knowledge of all the circumstances of Lopez's character and his system of diplomacy, I thought I could be of some service in the negotiations if I could return as a passenger. But the Admiral thought himself too acute to be overreached, and declined my offer ; and though I knew perfectly well that a sharper man than he, and one more sensible of the difficulties of the task, would be hoodwinked and imposed upon, I could not with propriety tell him so. I advised him, however, with- out reserve, and also General McMahon, of the obstacles they LETTER TO MY SUCCESSOR. 491 would have to encounter. To the latter I expressed the opinion that he ought not to go near Lopez, nor present his credentials, till he received further instructions from the government. In order to advise him more definitely in regard to the property of certain persons that had been left with me, and to enlist him in behalf of friends whom I had left in Paraguay, if they should survive till Lopez was overthrown, I wrote him a letter, from which, as it contained the impressions then fresh in my mind just after my escape from the despot's power, and was addressed to one who might soon have an opportunity of verifying their correctness, I make the follow- ing quotations : " We left many friends in Paraguay, concerning whose fate we feel the most painful interest. To spite us, we fear, Lopez may have robbed, imprisoned, tortured, or shot those known to be our friends. We are terribly anxious to know their fate, and depend on you to advise us. Of all the Paraguayans, the family in which we take the most interest is that of the late Don Jose Mauricio Casal, living, if still in their old home, near the villa of Limpio, some five or six leagues from Asuncion. Both Mrs. Washburn and myself were more intimate with that family than any other, visiting them often and being visited by them in return. On leaving, I made a request that my horses, four in number, and cows, of which I had about ten, might be sent out to this family. I am afraid, however, they were not sent, but, instead, our good friends were sent off to the Cordil- leras, or were taken in irons to the army, and perhaps the backs of the pretty Conchita and Anita scored with the lash. We charge you, both of us, to inquire particularly about this family, and let us know what became of them. Should the war end and they be left in their old home, you will find their house the most delightful place to visit in all Paraguay. " Another friend in whom we take great interest is the widow Dona Carmelita Gill de Cordal. She lived close by, and visited us very often. She is a sister of the Captain Gill who was one of the heroic defenders of Humaita. Few men living have been under fire so much as he. But, because he and his handful, surrounded by ten times their number, and literally starving, with no possible chance of escape, surrendered, Lopez has published him as a 492 PARAGUAY. traitor, very probably confiscated the property of all his family and sent them into exile, or, perhaps, taken them in irons to his head- quarters to be shot. That is his style. So he has served many others under similar circumstances. Try and advise us of the fate of our spunky, witty, confidential, Lopez-hating little friend. When the war began she had a husband, who was one of the richest men in Paraguay, and three children. Her husband was taken as a common soldier, and sent into the ranks barefoot, and killed in the first battle in which he took part. Now we fear she has nothing left but her iron anklets. " Several Englishmen and one German, in the employ of Lopez, sent away their money by me. It was brought down by the Wasp. Lest it might be seized in Buenos Aires and confiscated, I sent it to Montevideo, and ordered it to be delivered to the London and River Plate Bank, and the part that was to be sent to England was to be forwarded as directed on the boxes, and the rest was to be put to the credit of the owners in said bank. The Wasp charged two and a half per cent as freight, which was all the expense incurred. " You will understand that I write now in view of contingencies that may never arise. I take it for granted that after Lopez's insults to me, and his seizure of two members of my Legation, you will not have any communication with him till the government has been advised of his conduct, and has deliberately resolved on its course of action. I am confident that our government will never resume diplomatic relations with Lopez. I have denounced him as a common enemy, and have no doubt my course will be approved. But a common enemy cannot long stand against the world. He must soon bite the dust, and my hope is that this ogre may be finished off before he has destroyed all my friends in Paraguay. In that case you may learn something of the condition of those who remain, if any such there be, and the way the others were murdered by the grim monster. It is in view of such contingencies I beg of you to advise me of the fate of some of the dearest friends I have ever known. I never was so anxious to leave a place as I was to leave Paraguay, and I never left a place with so sad a heart. I had the feeling that all who had been particular friends to me and mine were to be put to death perhaps after torture for that crime. "But I could do no more for anybody, and the more I defied Lopez the more provoked he was to visit his wrath on my friends, GENERAL MARTIN T. McMAHON. 493 and at the time of the last arrival of the Wasp he was on the point of proceeding to violent measures against me. This fact will appear if any of those persons immediately about him shall escape to tell what they know. But he does not intend they shall escape. His plan is to destroy all the witnesses. I beg of you to see if all I now write is not confirmed ; and if you will advise me from time to time of what you may learn, I will thank you very sincerely, and re- ciprocate in any way that I may be able." Little did I think, while penning that letter, that a few months later General McMahon would return from Paraguay, knowing nothing of the friends for whom I had solicited his good offices, but abounding with admiration for the great Lopez, the murderer of most of them ; and that he would return to the United States and endeavor to convince the government that Lopez was invincible, was a great and good man, dearly beloved by his people ; and that the diplomatic relations that had been suspended by his recall should be im- mediately renewed. General Martin T. McMahon, who was appointed by An- drew Johnson to succeed me as Minister to Paraguay, was born in Canada, and is of Irish parentage. Left an orphan in his youth, he was taken in charge by Archbishop Hughes of New York, and educated at his college. At the breaking out of the Rebellion, he volunteered as a soldier on the Union side, and rose during the war to the rank of brigadier-general of volunteers, having throughout a good military record. In the long list of brigadiers who were brevetted as major-gen- erals after the war, his name was included. Having been edu- cated as he was, not unnaturally he was earnestly devoted to the Catholic Church, and certain magnates of that body united in recommending him to the President as a proper person to send as Minister to Mexico. A more eminent soldier, though probably no braver, General W. S. Rosecrans, and one, it is to be presumed, more faithful to the Catholic Church, was appointed to Mexico ; and as the mission to Paraguay was vacant, McMahon was appointed to it. With such antece- dents it was hardly to be expected that he could ever become 494 PARAGUAY. the champion of a tyrant who had murdered the bishop and nearly all the priests in Paraguay, after subjecting them to every imaginable indignity and suffering. Yet the champion of such a character he became.* * There were three native Americans in Paraguay at the time I left, besides Mr. Bliss, John A. Duffield, Thomas Carter, and a man by the name of Sheri- dan. Manlove had been already executed. There were also two naturalized Americans, Jose Font and Leonard Charles. Duffield and Charles escaped by being taken prisoners by the Brazilians ; the others are all supposed to have been killed by Lopez. From a letter received from Duffield, dated July 6, 1869, I give the following extracts, as indicating the zeal of my successor in looking after the interests of his countrymen. " My True and Considerate Friend, Mr. Washburn : "My dear Sir, I received your note of November 11, 1868, May 18, 1869, enclosed to me in a letter and package of books from your successor, General M. T. McMahon, in which letter he gives no reasons for the detention of said note I was asked by a great many natives, and also by the families of murdered for- eigners, why the United States wished to prolong such a heart-rending, bloody war by sending a Minister here to back up a remorseless tyrant and coward, at a time when he was driven out of his last stronghold, and every hope fled of being able to stand against his enemy. At this crisis the General arrived to congratu- late a phenomenon of tyranny, who had just wallowed in the blood of six hundred foreigners whom he ordered to be first tortured and then lanced to death, with- out trial or explanation of any kind. Nor was he contented with taking the lives of innocent, industrious foreigners and natives, but also took their property, even to the wearing-apparel of the widows and orphans I will mention again, that a Christian country sends a Minister to congratulate the author of all these inhuman barbarities in its President's name, as McMahon mentioned in his oration to Lopez when he presented his credentials, to congratulate a cowardly despot who has never yet been nearer to a battle-field than two leagues, to con- gratulate a consummate, blood-thirsty despot, immoral in his habits as any savage or brute beast, and who boasts of having ruined hundreds of women ; and it is well known that lately he ordered several of these same women to be ignomini- ously put to death for some trifling word which they said, or were accused of saying I will finish this painful subject by giving you a short account of Gen- eral McMahon's regret on being recalled, also the last farce or petty piece on his departure. In the first place, he sent me a letter and the package of books before mentioned, with your note enclosed, by post His letter was as follows : ' I have seen the Minister of Foreign Relations, and he tells me that the chief of your partido will furnish the necessary pass for you to come here and visit me, as I am recalled, and will be very much pleased to see you before my departure from this country. Come as quick as possible, for I intend to leave on Saturday next.' I immediately put on my best clothes and started in flying colors, after ten months of sickness and imprisonment The next day I arrived at my destina- tion, having travelled all night on an empty stomach, and wet to the skin, as the distance was twenty-four miles, and he leaving the very next day I could not wait RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES. 495 Admiral Davis having resolved on his plan of action, and being little more inclined to respect my opinions than he was those of General Webb, I could be of no further service by remaining longer in Buenos Aires ; and as Mrs. Washburn until the rain was over. On my arrival I went straight to his house, directed by a policeman. I met the General standing in his doorway. He received me very cordially, so far as words went. His first conversation was to express great re- gret on being recalled, and mentioned your name, saying that he believed you were the cause of it His next remark to me was that the Legation in Asuncion had been sacked by the Brazilian soldiers, and that he wanted a list of the articles which were there belonging to me. I told him that a safe, which I lent you for the Legation, and a large red-cedar box, also four cushions belonging to my large coach, were the only property which belonged to me in the Legation. He then asked me if there was money in the box. I told him no ; but that there were ar- ticles in it that were the same as money to me, as the box had a false bottom, un- derneath which was jewelry of the most expensive kind, studded with brilliants and diamonds, and in the upper part of the box there were books, clothes, and various other articles I told him I left the stars and stripes in my room, so that if there was a sack it could not be done innocently ; also the fire-proof safe in the same contained my papers to show the amount which the jewelry cost me. .... The amount total I paid was $ 6,000 and some pesos (dollars), of which I cannot recollect the exact amount At this part of his questions and my answers, an officer walked right into the room where we were sitting, without any ceremony, and told the General that her Excellency was coming to visit him in a very short time. This knocked me out of time to see a Paraguayan soldier plunge headlong into an American Minister's house and apartments, as if he was all at home and quite accustomed to the room of the American Legation. I also was puzzled to know who her Excellency was, but in a very few minutes I was relieved of my suspense on seeing Madam Lynch's face approaching the Minis- ter's door, and he running to do the amiable in ushering her into his house. On entering, she gave a distinct nod of her head to me McMahon turned to me and said, ' DufiSeld, excuse me a few minutes.' .... On leaving the Legation, I met by accident some old friends of yours, who were the family of Requelmes and Annabella Casal. They inquired after you very kindly, and invited me to go with them to have mate at their house, or tolderia, which was a few hides stuck on posts ; and even that was more than a majority of the best families have After taking a few mates, I felt myself coming to life, as I was perfectly be- numbed with cold and wet, and weak with hunger, which those good-hearted girls could see directly, though they were very little better themselves. Still they sympathized with me far more than the thoughtless, inconsiderate Mc- Mahon After whispering over a great many things in general, as you know well we could not talk very loud, they told me about a great many respecta- ble families that had nearly all died off in that district of starvation and ex- posure Finally I thanked them for their mate and took my departure, leav- ing them all in sorrow I directed my course back to the Legation, where I met the General alone and very pensive after his conversation with her Excellency. 496 PARAGUAY. had so far recovered from the reaction consequent on the terrible strain and anxiety of the last three months in Para- guay that her physician thought she might venture upon the sea, we started, on the I4th of November, to return to the United States. He told me if I needed money he would cash the order which your note con- tained on Samuel B. Hale and Company, if I wished ; which proposition I agreed to, and he handed me the money on my indorsing the note. Having no more business to transact in the Legation, and McMahon offering me no consolation or prospect of being able to get out of this dreadful hell on earth, because, as he said, 'This was no time to embarrass Lopez with questions,' I left him a cold- water good-by and started immediately to change some pats* and have a little to eat. Not finding any person that dared to offer more than ten reals for each pat, I was obliged to change four to pay for a little dish of puchero (stew) that did not half satisfy my hunger. I omitted to mention, that, on my departure from the Minister's quarters, I was surprised on seeing Jose Solis standing in the doorway of a room adjoining the Legation. As I passed, he saluted me, and appeared to be very much astonished that I was not dead yet. Before he got over his aston- ishment, I asked him if he occupied those rooms. He said that they were her Excellency La Madama's, and that he had just come to pack, or superintend the packing of a large quantity of boxes for the American Minister to take away. " I will now finish this sorrowful account of suffering, hoping that neither you nor yours may ever experience the like. May God bless you and your family ! If this letter reaches you, please publish a part or the whole of it, as you think proper, but first correct my bad orthography, and oblige " Yours, " JOHN A. DUFFIELD." * Pataconet, silver dollars. CHAPTER XXXIV. Delay of Admiral Davis in going to the Rescue of Bliss and Masterman. The Paraguayan Tribunal. Examination of Mr. Bliss. Specimen of his Testi- mony, as taken down by the Tribunal. Torture. Political Prisoners. The Narrative of Mr. Masterman. His Fellow-Prisoners, Dr. Carreras, Don Benigno Lopez, and others. The Cepo Uruguayans Its Origin. Mr. Taylor's Experience in it. Other Victims. Sufferings and Privations of the Prisoners. The President's Sisters. His Mother. THE Admiral, having learned to his satisfaction that Bliss and Masterman were treated with " no unnecessary harshness," delayed his departure from Buenos Aires to go after them till the 23d of November, nearly two months after he first heard of their arrest. This delay would be regarded as no less than criminal by the people of the United States, should all the facts ever become known to them. It was necessary, in order to palliate the dilatory conduct of the Ad- miral, to manufacture evidence in Lopez's favor, and prove that he was not the cruel tyrant that I had represented him to be. Having thus taken measures to forestall public opin- ion at home, the squadron, consisting of four vessels, the Wasp, the Pawnee, the Quinnebaug, and the Kansas, started for Paraguay. In the mean while it may be of interest to the reader to know what had become of Bliss and Masterman. Each of them has given to the public a full narrative of his treat- ment, to the general correctness of which numerous others have given corroborative testimony. In a previous chapter I have given an account of their torture and sufferings imme- diately after their arrest, while I was on board the Wasp, and Kirkland was holding that last interview with Lopez, in which he learned so much of his benevolent intentions, and VOL. ii. 32 498 PARAGUAY. of his ardent desire to continue friendly relations with the United States. Mr. Bliss, on being taken into the open square, found a large number of prisoners there confined. All of thern were in the most squalid, starving condition. Among them he noticed a person who had a familiar look, but whom he was unable to recognize for a long time. His nose had been broken in, evidently by forcing his head against a musket, while under- going the torture of the cepo umguayana. He was heavily ironed, as were the other political prisoners, of whom there were some fifteen or twenty that Mr. Bliss recognized. There were also several priests in like manner loaded with heavy fetters. Of the large number of these prisoners who were to be his companions, he alone escaped death. A few days after the rescue of Bliss and Masterman, the great battle of Pikysyry took place, which resulted so disastrously to the cause of Lopez. As was usual with him when anticipating an attack, he gave orders, that, in' case the battle should go against him, the prisoners, with a few exceptions, should be killed. Of the political prisoners there were at least five hundred executed or tortured to death between the time when he devised "his plan of conspiracy and his defeat at Pikysyry. A very few of these political prisoners, at the time this battle commenced, had been so far set at liberty as to be released from their fetters ; and in the battles which succeeded, some half-dozen of them had the good fortune to escape and to be taken prisoners by the Brazilians. But all the others, with two or three exceptions, were killed. During the first days of the prolonged combat they were kept in a place exposed to the shots of the enemy, and had the Wasp, which went to their rescue, not arrived before this battle took place, Bliss and Masterman would both of them have shared the fate of the other prisoners. Being in fetters, so that they could not run away, they could not have escaped at the same time with Truenfeld, Von Versen, and Taylor, who a few days before had been so far set at liberty as to have only a guard over them. THE "SOLEMN TRIBUNAL." 499 On being called before the tribunal, these two members of the United States Legation were driven, with their fetters still on them, from where they had dismounted, being beaten over the head and shoulders at almost every step by the soldiers having them in charge. The tribunal consisted of six men, all in uniform, and apparently officers, though two of them were priests. One of these proved to be the " terrible Padre Maiz." The tribunal began its examination of Bliss by ask- ing him why he had been arrested, and continued as fol- lows : " ' You ought to understand that when we have brought you before this tribunal your guilt is an ascertained fact You are not brought here to make any defence of yourself. You are brought here simply for the purpose of clearing up by your own confession and your own depositions the facts in the case connected with your complicity in the conspiracy. As to your guilt, we know that already, and we shall not allow you to endeavor to dodge the point.' I was then asked again if I would confess myself to be guilty. I replied that I would not, ' that I had always been, during my entire residence in Paraguay, perfectly loyal to the government, had never taken any step which could justly be complained of by the government ; that so far as relates to the quarrel between Paraguay and Brazil concerning the question of boundaries and of the balance of power in South America I had sympathized with Paraguay, and had done what I could to sustain the Paraguayan cause in that aspect of the case ; that, as to the accusation of conspiracy, it was absolutely false, no matter who might have testified to the charge.' This was all recorded as my protestation of innocence. I was then asked if I knew Dr. Carreras, and if I knew Mr. Rodriguez, and then each one of five or six others who were charged as being principal persons in the conspiracy, and who, as I afterwards learned, were named as members of the committee to which I was accused of having belonged, and which included two of the members of Lopez's Cabinet, his own brother, Benigno, and two or three foreign gentlemen who had resided in the country. I was asked if I knew these persons. I replied in each case in the affirmative, stating exactly how far I had known each of these gentlemen. I was then interrogated, the second time how it was possible, I having stated 500 PARAGUAY. that I was well acquainted with each of these individuals, and they having confessed that they were members of the conspiracy in which I was deeply involved, holding an important post therein, for me to have the audacity to maintain my innocence. I replied that ' I knew nothing about any such committee or any such con- spiracy ; that other people might say what they liked, but I would speak the truth. That as I had been sworn, on my entrance to the tribunal, to speak the truth, in accordance with the terms of my oath I was resolved to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth.' "After that, the two priests, as members of the tribunal, appealed to me again, saying that it was entirely useless for me to maintain my innocence. ' It was well known I had been led away by Mr. Washburn, who was the genius of evil for the Paraguayan nation.' It was intimated to me, by insinuation, that, by developing all I knew about Mr. Washburn's machinations as connected with the con- spiracy, I might lighten my own sufferings and the guilt which they considered as attaching to me in the case. They said to me that they knew I had a most wonderful memory ; that I was perfectly acquainted with all that had taken place in the matter from first to last ; that I had conducted the correspondence in a great measure, and they expected from me a full and detailed statement of all the facts and circumstances, saying that by so doing I might render a service to the government which might go very far to mitigate my own position. They desired me, therefore, to state ' all the facts in regard to the manoeuvres of this wretch Washburn, who had just got away from the country by the skin of his teeth.' They expressed themselves very bitterly against Mr. Washburn, who had been charged by the prisoners previously tortured and forced to confess with being at the head of the conspiracy. The plan of proceeding was simply this : These prisoners were obliged to invent some story, and were desirous of attaching as much blame as they could to parties whom they knew to be beyond the reach of the Paraguayan government ; it being their plan to protect as far as possible the innocent prisoners who were then within the clutches of Lopez. " . . . . After a good deal of reflection, extending amid these altercations through several hours, and having undergone fear- ful physical suffering (I was not then put to what was ordinarily called torture ; but the treatment I had suffered was actually greater torture to me than that I endured on any other occasion) ; having CONFESSIONS OF BLISS. 01 been taken to that tribunal and kept for twelve mortal hours without any food, and this after having been denied food for twenty- four hours previously, with my manacles on me, which had become pain- ful beyond endurance, eating into the flesh, what I suffered was to me torture beyond anything I afterwards endured, although not technically called torture. I say that, having endured all this, and after reflection, I finally came to the conclusion that I would confess in a general way, and throw the blame of everything on Mr. Wash- burn ; that I would not implicate any one within the reach of Lopez, but that I would spin out my statement as long as possible, for the purpose of gaining time, until I was sure Mr. Washburn had left the country, and was out of harm's way ; that I would go into great detail about Mr. Washburn's previous antecedents, thus talking against time, and see if it were not possible, by throwing everything upon him, to palliate the charges against myself and the other victims who had been forced to make similar confessions. I therefore com- menced my statements, going back to the first arrival of Mr. Wash- burn in the country, seven years before. I spun a long story about the influences under which Mr. Washburn had been appointed " On the fourth day I was told that my statements about Mr. Washburn were all very well so far as they went, but that I had been prevaricating ; that I had not confessed the full extent of my own complicity with what was called the revolution (that was the cant name for the supposed conspiracy). I had not confessed my own very great complicity, and the very important part I had taken. I was interrogated by the person who acted as chief torturer, an officer named Major Aveiro, and who was brought into requisition whenever the services of any person were needed for that purpose. The plan of the conspiracy, as this tribunal had it, was that eleven individuals, constituting a committee, at such a place and such a time, had put their names to a certain paper, which I had drawn up as secretary, in which they had agreed to assassinate Marshal Lopez and organize a new government in Paraguay. This was the first intimation I had of such a committee. I knew before that I was accused of having put my name to some such paper, but who were the oilier persons who had signed along with me I had no idea, and the demand made by the tribunal for the details of this trans- action took me by surprise. I replied that I knew nothing about it ; that I had not seen such a paper. The Major said it was useless to 502 ARAGUAY. deny it; that he knew I had been secretary of the committee, and drawn up the paper myself, and then said I would be con- fronted by all the other members of the committee, that they had all confessed their complicity and accused me, and that I would have to confess mine. I again replied that I knew nothing about it. During the rest of that day I continued to hold out in my denial of any knowledge of this committee. This was the fourth day. At nightfall, after having been taken back to the encampment where I was kept, I was brought up again along with Dr. Carreras, the Portuguese Consul, and an Italian captain (Fidanza), who had been a friend of mine, also a prisoner, all three of whom were accused of having been members of that committee to which I was supposed to have belonged. We were brought up in single file. I was taken in and asked if I still persisted in denying my signature to that document. I replied : < I do deny it, and I will continue to deny it.' ' O,' said a priest, 'we- will bring in wit- nesses'; and they did bring in the Italian captain, who, being con- fronted with me, was asked if it was true that I had signed that paper. This man, having of course been previously tortured and forced to confess, said I was one of the eleven who had signed it. I still stood out, and said that I had not. He was then told to expostulate with me, and he said to me substantially : ' You know, Bliss, you signed this paper. Why do you attempt to deny it ? All of us will testify to the same fact. You know very well that you did. Let me bring the circumstances to your mind. Don't you remember that on a certain evening we met together, eleven of us ; that Manlove was to have been there, but did not ap- pear ? Don't you remember that you arrived last, after we were all assembled ? ' Said I : ' Who were the individuals that signed the paper, and in what order did they sign ? ' He then mentioned the names in order, commencing with Benigno Lopez, the brother of the President ; then Berges, the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs ; then Bedoya, a brother-in-law of Lopez ; then Dr. Carreras, the Uru- guayan Prime Minister, and Rodriguez the former Charge d' Affaires of Uruguay, both of whom had been lately living with us at the American Legation ; then the Portuguese Consul and Vice-Consul, the former of whom had also been arrested from the American Legation ; then the Italian captain, who was a witness against him- self; then two Frenchmen, one being chancellor of the French WITNESSES CONFRONTED. 503 consulate, and lastly myself. I paid great attention to this detail, as it gave me the first clew to the individuals with whom I was expected to confess myself to have acted on that committee ; and it was for that purpose that I requested him to give the order of names in which we had signed. Having a good memory, I was en- abled to keep it in my mind for the purpose of making use of it whenever I should .come to the point of continuing my confession into this branch of the conspiracy. " This captain was then taken away and Dr. Carreras brought in. He was asked, ' Is it true that Bliss was one of the eleven who signed that document with you ? ' He replied that it was, and the question was then asked of me, ' What do you say to that ? ' I re- plied, ' It is false/ Dr. Carreras said to me in a low tone, ' It is useless to deny it.' " Dr. Carreras was then taken away and the Portuguese Consul brought in, being the third witness, who was asked simply, ' Do you know the prisoner before you ? ' His answer was, ' Yes.' ' Was he one of the eleven who signed with you ? ' ' Yes.' I had also ascertained that I would be charged with having received an amount of money for my services ; in fact, that had been stated to me before by the torturer. And I wished to ascertain what had been deposed against me. I therefore asked permission to cross-examine this witness, to which they assented. I then said to the Portuguese Con- sul : ' You have testified to my having signed that paper ; I suppose you have also said that I received money for it ? ' ' Yes,' he said. ' How much money do you pretend to charge me with having re- ceived ? ' " The officers of the tribunal, breaking in then, refused to allow the question to be answered, and the Portuguese Consul was hustled away. Then turning to me they said : ' Three witnesses, you see, have testified against you. You know that two witnesses constitute legal proof. We have been very indulgent towards you, while you have been making a fool of us for the last three or four days. You have made statements upon certain points, but you have not confessed the most important point up to the present time. We were under no obligation to bring these witnesses, because our own word is sufficient. All the other members of that committee have confessed in like manner. Will you now confess your part of the plan ? ' I replied : ' No ; because of the oath I have taken. I 504 PARAGUAY. admit that three witnesses constitute legal proof, and yet they can- not make a falsehood true. And I can mention circumsta'nces which would somewhat lessen the worth of their testimony.' ' What circum- stances do you allude to ? ' Said I, ' I allude to physical torture.' There was an exchange of glances on the part of the members of the tribunal ; when one of them remarked, ' You are talking very metaphysically with us.' ' But we will treat you. in a very physical manner. Call in the Major,' he said, referring to the officer act- ing as chief torturer. Major Aveiro then came in. He repeated the question, ' Do you confess having signed that paper ? ' I re- plied, ' No.' He said, ' You are tryiqg to make a fool of me. I shall not fool with you.' Whereupon he commenced buffeting me in the face with his fists. I stood there in my irons while he con- tinued striking me with the full weight of his fist in the face, at every blow asking me, ' Do you confess ? Do you confess ? Do you confess ? ' And I answered him, ' No.' When he got tired of that, he drew his sword and commenced beating me over the head in like manner, each blow bringing the blood, and asking me, ' Do you confess ? ' I replied in like manner, ' I do not,' until, believ- ing I had done enough to save my conscience, and that I should not gain anything by enduring this suffering any longer, I replied, ' Yes.' ' Then dictate to us the document you signed on that occasion, as we know you were secretary of that organization, the document in which you promised to assassinate Marshal Lopez and to take upon yourselves the direction of the revolutionary movement.' Thrown upon my wits in that manner, I did dictate in a slow manner the document which is published in one of these congressional papers, in which I gave the text of a paper agreeing to assassinate Marshal Lopez, provided the means were not found of overthrowing him otherwise, and giving each to the other our word of honor not to re- veal what had been agreed upon " I had been twice obliged by the pressure of events to confess what was not true, as I had been confessing all along ; but I thought I would again make a stand, that I would not confess anything further now, that, if obliged to do it, I would stand the torture as long as I could. I had had eight or ten days of enforced idleness in which to think about it, and came to the conclusion that I would say nothing more, unless I was obliged to by pressure beyond my ability to endure. So then I refused to confess anything further, and BLISS IN THE CEPO URUGUAYANA. 505 the torture was put in execution. I was seated on the ground, two muskets were placed under my knees and two muskets over my neck, my wrists were tied together behind my back and pulled up by the guard : the muskets above and below were connected with thongs fastened around them so as to be readily tightened ; in some instances they were violently tightened by pounding with a mallet. They continued to tighten them, bringing my body in such a position that my abdomen suffered great compression, and that I distinctly heard the cracking of the vertebrae of the spine, leaving me in that posture for a long time. In fact, after I was on board the United States squadron I could never stoop forward without feeling a twinge in the back and in the abdomen. I remained in that position about fifteen minutes, the officers standing over me, watching the effects of their cruel work. At the end of that time I was prepared with a new batch of novelties of the most startling character. The priests came and stood over me, cross-questioning me, and extracted from me a general confession as to the heads of what they had inquired about before they released me. After I had confessed in general, I was taken in that condition before the tribunal, who set to work to elucidate the minutiae of my new confesssion." * * This testimony of Mr. Bliss as taken down by the tribunal and forwarded to the United States as evidence against their late Minister extends through twenty- five octavo pages, of which the following is given as a specimen : " He " (Washburn) " also said of the patriotic speeches that appeared in the Sunanario, that they were got up for the occasion by professional orators, and did not express the sentiments of the people. Dr. Roca, for instance, had written more than five hundred speeches for such occasions, and they were all just as like as coins from the same mould, and the same soup was served every Saturday from the Semanario, namely, praise of Lopez. Its columns were devoted to the praise of the government, and nothing could be discussed if not in laudation of Lopez. " In fact, Washburn ridiculed the government to all his correspondents. " On the 1 5th the evidence was as follows : Deponent confesses having signed a document with ten others, at Berges's house at Salinares, to concert with the commanders of the allied armies to bring about a revolution against the national government. He acted as secretary to the meeting, and drew up the secret pact sworn to by the conspirators present to take Lopez's life. The persons that as- sisted him in drawing up this document were Jose Berges, Benigno Lopez, and Antonio Carreras. The document was engrossed in a fine, clerkly hand, and, to the best of his recollection, was as follows : " ' We, the undersigned, citizens of the Republic of Paraguay, and strangers residing therein, having good reasons for desiring a prompt termination of this 506 PARAGUAY. When Bliss and Masterman were first brought before the tribunal and questioned in regard to their knowledge of the "conspiracy," they said it was limited to what they had learned, while in the Legation, from Benitez's letters ; and after having been put to the torture till they could endure it no longer and promised to confess, their greatest difficulty was to learn what sort of confession would save them from further suffering. This they could only guess at from the nature of the questions put to them. They were as ready to confess one thing as another, and when Bliss was commanded to give the names of his fellow-signers of the " secret pact " of assas- sination, all of whom but himself, he was told, had already confessed, he could say nothing, as he might, if he gave names, inculpate persons who were still in favor, and thus cause their destruction. So he positively denied all knowl- edge of any such pact till three of the other signers were brought forward to confront him. With their aid, and the blows administered lustily by Aveiro, Bliss's memory was so long and bloody war that is ruining the country and destroying the male inhab- itants, and believing it necessary to select competent persons to bring about a radical change in the system of government by putting out of the way the only obstacle to the accomplishment of this, and having the consent of the allied enemy, we bind ourselves mutually to work together to effect a change of govern- ment and choose a new chief-magistrate ; and if it is found necessary to resort to violence to rid ourselves of the President of the Republic, we also obligate our- selves to do so, after trying other means to effect the same end. We swear by our word of honor upon the holy Evangels to aid each other in whatever is agreed on by the majority of the signers to realize the design already expressed, and' to keep the secret of this conspiracy upon the pain of death. In faith where- of we have signed this pact in each other's presence. Dated at Salinares, No- vember, 1867 (about the middle of the month, he thinks). Signed by Henigno Lopez, Jose Berges, Saturni-no Bedoya, Antonio Carreras, Francisco Rodriguez Larreta, Jose Maria Leite Pereira, Antonio Vasconcellos, Simone Fidanza, M. Libertat, Domingo Pomie, Porter Cornelius Bliss.' " Manlove did not come in time to sign." " After the signing of the above document, another was drawn up as a consti- tution for the country, after the first project was executed. It was signed early in December by Carreras, Rodriguez, and deponent, at the house of Benigno Lopez, at Asuncion. Conferences were held at the house of Carreras in Trinidad, at Berges's office, and several other places, before it was finally adonted " For his services*in the conspiracy, deponent got five thousand patacones from TREATMENT OF PRISONE-RS. 507 quickened that he was able to testify as desired, and after^ wards as he could judge to some extent from the questions put to him what answers were required, he for a while could confess quite satisfactorily. The narrative of Mr. Masterman gives an equally vivid description of the miseries to which he and Bliss, and indeed all those prisoners accused of political offences, were subjected, none of whom, however, as the Secretary of State was ad- vised by General McMahon, "were treated with unneces- sary harshness." A few days after their arrival near head- quarters, an order was given for the prisoners to be removed to a place some leagues distant, called Pikysyry. Says Mas- terman : " We were turned out into the sun, and had to wait for some time, for we were at the head of the sad procession and the hundreds of prisoners. The lines of the guard and men carrying the cooking- pots and troughs were marshalled with difficulty, blows and curses being showered mercilessly on the sick and loiterers. Benigno Lopez, at one time, and on three other occasions five thousand five hun- dred dollars in paper money, which he thought came out of Lopez's private prop- erty, but found it came from the national treasury, which was the banking-house for the conspiracy. Deponent learned this from Washburn, who had received large sums of money on account from the same source. This was found out after the evacuation of the city. Washburn also told him that C arreras and Rodriguez had received money for their co-operation in the contemplated con- spiracy. " All the money received by deponent (except eight hundred dollars, his expenses up to the time of his imprisonment) was deposited with Washburn, to be taken to Buenos Aires and deposited in Maua's bank there, subject to deponent's order. " Washburn acknowledged to deponent that he had received large sums of money from Benigno Lopez, to pay the conspirators. Deponent saw two women carrying the money in covered baskets on their heads to the Legation more than once. All this money, with much more belonging to Carreras, Rodriguez, and others, was carried away by Washburn to be deposited for the owners in Buenos Aires." "On the i6th the testimony given was this : " ' Deponent heard of the surrender of Humaita from Washburn, who had a letter from Caxias, dated the roth of June, informing him that the surrender was agreed upon for the last of July with the chief officers, Francisco Martinez, and Remigio Cabral, called Admiral of the Paraguayan Navy. Deponent thinks a letter came at the same time from Caxias to Jose Berges, announcing the same event.' " 508 PARAGUAY. " From one of the hovels near me crept out, on all-fours, Don Benigno Lopez, the President's youngest brother ; he was well dressed, but heavily ironed ; and from another, a spectral old man I was long in recognizing as the ex-Mimster for Foreign Affairs, Don Jose* Berges. He was leaning feebly on a hedge-stake, and was followed by his successor, Don Gumesindo Benitez, bareheaded and with naked fettered feet. Then two very old men, evidently in their second childhood ; they were without a rag to cover them. One was in irons, and could only crawl tremblingly on his hands and knees ; the other looked round with a timid smile on his silly face, pleased with the bustle around him, and evidently but faintly conscious of what was going on And what would their offence be ? A wailing complaint for the loss of their few comforts, a passionate lament for the death of their sons or grandchildren ; an idle word spoken in garrulous old age, and construed into treason, or perhaps simply the fact of their relationship to some poor wretch who had died in the rack or'on the scaffold. " At length we set off in an easterly direction, skirting the base of the hills, through a narrow defile, and then into a pathless wood. In the former we got into some confusion ; the prisoners were huddled together and separated a little from the soldiers who, with fixed bayonets or drawn swords, were guarding them. It was an opportunity I had long been waiting for ; for some minutes I was at the side of Dr. Carreras ; he asked me again, in an eager whisper, if Mr. Washburn had gone. ' Yes, he is safe,' I replied in the same cautious tone, and then went on to ask him if there were any truth in his depositions. ' No, no, lies, all lies, from beginning to end !' ' Why did you tell them ? ' I asked somewhat unnecessarily. ' That terrible Father Maiz,' said he, ' tortured me in the uruguayana on three successive days, and then smashed my fingers with a mallet.' He looked at me with an' expression of utter wretchedness on his worn face, and held out his maimed hands as a testimony. Then, after a pause, he asked me, ' Have you confessed ? ' ' Yes,' I an- swered sadly. ' You have done well, they would have compelled you to do so : God help us! ' I told him about a difficulty I had had in not being able to say how much money Mr. Washburn was said to have received from the Brazilians, although the sum had been mentioned several times in the ' depositions,' and asked how much I should say. ' Fifteen thousand ounces, I told him,' he re- plied ; ' lies, false, false !'.... TORTURE OF DON BENIGNO. 509 " The two old men, being found too feeble to walk, were each put in a hide, and carried with a pole by two soldiers ; they were tumbled out on the ground when they halted, close to me, yet thanked their bearers with, 'God reward you, my sons! God reward you !' But the next day they were denied this favor, and were thrashed most horribly by the corporals to make them go faster ; it was heart- rending to hear them, in weak treble tones, praying for mercy, and to see them arrive an hour after the rest, covered with dust and blood ; they had crawled on their hands and knees nearly a mile. Several women were brought in that day, strangers to me, but evi- dently belonging to the better class of natives ; two or three had the little huts I have mentioned, others had formed a screen of a shawl or two strained over a few sticks ; and I saw one poor girl, about sixteen years of age, crouched under a hide propped against her shoulders ; she never moved save to turn as the sun wested, and sat with her eyes bent to the earth, and tears often stealing silently down her cheeks " I remained there four days, and one afternoon, as I was viewing the shocking spectacle of a prisoner being tortured in our midst, a guard came and took Mr. Bliss and myself away with them. I fully expected to be shot, but it was to rejoin our late companions. They were located in a rocky cleft in the hills far from the others. I found there Leite Pereira, Captain Fidanza, Berges, Don Benigno and Don Venancio Lopez, the latter a colonel and the President's eldest brother, Benitez, and Carreras, each in a hovel apart " On the 23d of September, Don Benigno Lopez was put to the torture ; he had been taken away early in the morning, and did not return till long after noon ; he shuffled slowly into his hut, which nearly faced mine, and shortly afterwards an officer, with three men carrying the well-remembered bundle of muskets and cords, came up. I became sick with anxiety, Don Benigno turned pale, and rose tremblingly as they came near him, thinking, probably, of his brother-in law, Don Saturnino Bedoya, who died under its infliction some months before, and followed them, at a signal from the officer, behind a copse of trees near at hand. About an hour passed away ; several officers, including Major Aveiro, went to see him ; and at length he was led back, unable to stand, and with his face frightfully distorted by the agony he had suffered." The torture known as cepo umguayana is said to have been 510 PARAGUAY. first used in Bolivia in the time of Bolivar. Its efficiency as a means of extorting confession is believed to be unequalled by any means ever invented by pitiless man. It was never resorted to in Paraguay previous to the time of the second Lopez ; and how he Jearned of its terrible capacity for creating pain is not known. It was formerly called the cepo boliviano ; but the surrender of Estigarribia at Uruguayana so greatly enraged Lopez, and those who offended him were so fre- quently subjected to this terrible punishment, as to cause it to be considered as in some way connected with that disas- trous campaign. At least it was called, after that, the cepo uruguayana. Mr. Alonzo Taylor, an Englishman, who had lived about ten years in Paraguay, and was in the employ of the govern- ment as master-builder or mason of the more important g public buildings, and of the new palace of Lopez, thus describes his experience of the cepo uruguayana : " The torture is as follows, and this is how I suffered it : I sat on the ground with* my knees up; my legs were first tied tightly together, and then my hands behind me with the palms outward. A musket was then fastened under my knees ; six more of them, tied together in a bundle, were then put on my shoulders, and they were looped together with hide ropes at one end ; they then made a running loop on the other side from the lower musket to the other, and two soldiers hauling on the end of it forced my face down to my knees and secured it so. " The effect was as follows : First the feet went to sleep, then a tingling commenced in the toes, gradually extending to the knees, and the same in the hands and arms, and increased until the agony was unbearable. My tongue swelled up, and I thought that my jaws would have been displaced ; I lost all feeling in one side of my face for a fortnight afterwards. The suffering was dreadful ; I should certainly have confessed if I had had anything to confess, and I have no doubt 'many would acknowledge or invent anything to escape bearing the horrible agony of this torment. I remained two hours as I have described, and I considered myself fortunate in escaping then ; for many were put in the uruguayana twice, and others six times, and with eight muskets on the nape of the neck. TESTIMONY OF ALONZO TAYLOR. 511 " Senora Martinez was tortured six times in this horrible way, besides being flogged and beaten with sticks until she had not an inch of skin free from wounds. " At the expiration of two hours I was released ; Serrano came to me, and asked if I would now acknowledge who was to be the new President. I was unable to speak ; and he went on to say that I had only been kept in the cepo a short time, owing to the clemency of his Excellency Marshal Lopez, and that, if I did not then divulge it, I should have three sets of irons put upon me, eight muskets in place of six, and be kept in much longer. I was so utterly exhausted, and so faint, that at the time his threats made no impression on me. Afterward I was taken back to the guardia, and as a great favor I was not tied down that night." Mr. Taylor could not tell why it was that he was so bar- barously treated. But that was the case with all. According to his own account, his treatment was humane as compared with what he saw inflicted on many others. It is incredible that any being having the human form could inflict, from mere delight in causing pain, such cruelties as he describes. He says : " I saw an Argentine officer taken away one day, and when he returned the whole of his body was raw. The next morning, when we were loosened, I pointed to his back, but did not speak ; he let his head fall on his breast, and with a stick wrote in the sand ' one hundred.' From that I gathered he had received a hundred lashes with a cow-hide, or else with one of the creeping plants (I think they call them lianas) which grew in plenty on the trees around us. That afternoon he was sent for again, and when he came back he wrote ' two hundred.' The next day he was shot. " The prisoners were of all nationalities and of all grades and positions, but with the heat, wear and tear, the rain and wind, they were soon all alike, nearly naked. And our guards used to offer us pieces of bread or a few spikes of maize for our clothes, and, suf- fering from hunger as we did, we were glad to purchase a day's life at the price of a coat or a shirt. Amongst them were many wo- men, some of them belonging to the best families in the country ; some quite old and gray-headed, others young and pretty, espe- cially Dolores Recalde, a very tall and beautiful girl, and Josefa 512 PARAGUAY. Requelme, a handsome woman, with very fine eyes. They suffered much, poor creatures, though they had little A-shaped straw huts to shelter them, as did some few of the other prisoners of the highest class, and used to weep piteously over their miserable fate . " For my part, I do not believe that there was any conspiracy at all, unless on the part of the President himself and some of his tools to rob foreigners of their money " It is useless to attempt to describe the miseries of our daily life in San Fernando, one unvarying round of privations, fresh pris- oners, punishments, and executions. Not a day passed but some of us were taken out to be beaten, tortured, or shot. The cries of those being flogged were heart-rending. Two Orientales I saw flogged to death ; and when young Capdevila was shot, he was black and blue from head to foot from the blows inflicted on him. " There were several ladies among the prisoners ; they were flogged in the huts, but we could hear their cries " On the 2ist of December we were released from the stocks, as usual, at 6.30, but at once tied down again, because the Brazilians had got our range, and shell were flying over and close to us, and the Paraguayans hoped to see us thus got rid of. But I felt no fear, and was quite resigned ; for the shocking misery I had suf- fered for five months had blunted indeed, nearly obliterated all feelings, moral and physical." While yet a prisoner, but after he had been relieved of his fetters, Taylor was so fortunate as to be taken prisoner by the Brazilians. Of his condition when taken he thus speaks : " I was a miserable object, reduced to a skeleton, and enfeebled to the last degree. When I was at Luque, I weighed one hundred and seventy-eight pounds ; and when I went on board the gunboat Cracker, only ninety-eight pounds. " After recruiting my strength for four days at Lomas, I left on horseback for Asuncion. I suffered terribly on the road ; for I had scarcely any flesh on my bones, and had not strength enough to keep myself in the saddle. " There I arrived at last, but so ill that I could not speak for some days " I am daily getting stronger and gaining flesh, but I look like a THE MOTHER AND SISTERS OF LOPEZ. 513 man just recovering from yellow fever ; and as I dictate this to Mr. Shaw, my memory sometimes seems to leave me, I cannot fix my attention ; but I hope I shall soon recover my health, both of mind and body." Of all those fearful scenes and trials to which the prisoners were subjected, Lopez's two sisters, Inocencia and Rafaela, were witnesses and participators. The only distinction shown them was that they were not forced to make the first part of the journey, after leaving Pikysyry, on foot. Each of them was kept closely shut up in a cart, similar to those which are commonly made use of for wild beasts that are carried about for exhibition. From these they were never taken out, while at Pikysyry, except to be carried before the tribunal, to be there treated like other accused persons. It was not till a later period that the mother of Lopez was arrested, tortured, and condemned to death. VOL. ii. 33 CHAPTER XXXV. The Depositions of Bliss and Masterman. Contradictions. A Conspiracy to overthrow Republicanism in South America. Lopez's Mode of eliciting the Truth. Measures adopted by Bliss and Masterman to gain Time. Bliss becomes my Biographer. Youthful Infirmities. Kleptomania. College Life. Favorite Books. Experience as a Lawyer, Doctor, and in other Ca- pacities. Removal to California. Novelist, Editor, Poet. Appointed Minister to Paraguay. Magnanimity of Lopez. My Ingratitude. The Paid Agent of the Brazilians. Pretended Extracts from my Forthcoming Book. Parallel between Lopez and Rehoboam. My Opinion of Lopez and the Principal Characters among the Allies. Character of the Book. Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver outdone. Circumstances under which it was written. Remarkable Memory of the Author. His Style. He endeavors to excite the Superstitious Fears of Lopez. The Letter " B." Previous Relations with Mr. Bliss. Want of Taste and Delicacy shown in the Book. Extenuating Circumstances. The Writer accomplishes his Object. Indignation of the Naval Officers. THE depositions of Bliss and Masterman are such a strange medley of contradictions as to render the Para- guayan mystery more dark and incomprehensible than ever. In them a great number of persons are charged with being engaged in the conspiracy who were out of the reach of Lopez, and would certainly deny all knowledge of or participation in any such plot. It would seem, therefore, from his sending these depositions abroad, that he believed them, and that they would be taken as evidence, by our government, to convict me of wrongful practices while in office. According to these declarations before the " solemn tribunal," it would appear that correspondence passed through my hands between the con- spirators in Paraguay and their colleagues on the other side of the lines as freely and safely as if there had been a daily mail. The number of letters that passed between me and Caxias was astonishing, considering the fact that we were CAXIAS ON THE CONSPIRACY. 515 two hundred miles apart, and that for more than fifty years no person not authorized by the government had ever been able to traverse the space between us. It was also singu- lar that none of this treasonable correspondence was ever discovered and published ; and more singular, that the only evidence of it that exists is the testimony of tortured wit- nesses. The Marques de Caxias, when he first learned of the fre- quent and protracted correspondence that he had been carry- ing on with me, wrote a letter to his government denying the accusation, asserting that he had always freely advised the Ministry of War of all he had done, and that his official reports would show that the allegations contained in the declarations made before Lopez's tribunal were utterly with- out foundation. He said that when he first took the command of the allied army he would have had no hesitation in assist- ing the Paraguayans to make a revolution against the tyrant ; but he soon learned, that, under such a system of espionage as was maintained by Lopez, it would be utterly impossible for dissatisfied persons to have any concert of action, and had never thought of such a thing as a revolution afterwards, till he read in Benitez's letters that he had been engaged for a year and a half in promoting one. Caxias, however, according to the testimony of the wit- nesses before the " solemn tribunal," was only acting a sub- ordinate part in the great scheme I had devised for chan- ging the map of South America. The principals with whom I was intriguing were Napoleon III. and Pedro II. These two mighty potentates had vast designs of territorial aggrandize- ment, and in arranging the details they both appealed to me as arbiter or umpire. Brazil, however, had got the start by ap- pointing me Minister Plenipotentiary, with a salary of forty- eight thousand dollars a year, besides occasionally sending me, in the way of extras, such trifles as twenty thousand gold ounces. I did not, however, consent to the establishing of new empires in South America in order to give thrones to the sci- ons of the imperial houses of Bonaparte and Braganza, though 5 1 6 PARAGUAY. I had an Emperor on each hand imploring me to do so. I persistently adhered to the Monroe doctrine, and told Don Pedro, that, while he might annex all the adjoining territory he could get possession of, I should not permit him to erect an- other throne on the American continent.* Certainly I had never supposed, when first appointed as Minister to the little republic of Paraguay, that I was to figure in such company. But, as Shakespeare says, "some men have greatness thrust upon them." The other conspirators, it seems, had no knowledge of the full extent of my relations with the crowned heads, and it was * " On the 4th of November the deposition was as follows : Washburn told deponent that at the time of his arrival at Rio Janeiro, in 1865, the leaders of the imperial government there made no secret of their intentions, in case of success in the war against Paraguay. He said Paranhos, Saraiva, Octaviano, Zacarias, and even the Emperor, confessed the intention to annex all the territory on the left banks of the Plata, Parana, and Paraguay Rivers to Brazil. " Washburn believes another war will break out, after the conclusion of the present one, between the Argentine Republic and Brazil, about the division of spoils ; and he expressed as much in his note to Caxias, in reply to the one mentioning the secret treaty. " The Emperor Napoleon III. has a mortgage on that vast region of Brazil north of the Amazon, and has done all he could to get a prince of his house on a throne of South America. His original idea was to extend his colony of Cayenne by annexing to it British and Dutch Guiana, to be acquired by purchase, and then add the Brazilian territory mentioned, so as to form an empire or kingdom almost as large as Mexico. In case Brazil chose to pay off the mortgage, he proposed to erect a kingdom on the Plata, containing all the territory east of the Plata, Paraguay, and Parana Rivers, or composed of Paraguay, Mato Grosso, and Eastern Bolivia ; and, as inducement, he proposed to marry the new monarch to a princess of the house of Braganza. " This proposition did not meet with much favor in Brazil, because the nobility there preferred annexing the conquered territory to Brazil ; or, in case of a new empire, they wanted one of their own princes or princesses to occupy the throne, proposing the Count d'Eu, or the Duke of Sax, with his wife, the second daughter of the house ef Brazil. " In his conferences with the statesmen above mentioned, Washburn rejected the French proposition, on account of the Monroe doctrine professed by the North American government, not to permit the erection of any throne on the American continent, or at least no throne for a European prince. For the same reason he opposed the founding of a throne for a prince of Brazil, because Napoleon would not allow any of the Bourbon family on a new throne in Europe." Deposition of Porter Cornelius Bliss before the Paraguayan Tribunal, Executive Doc. 5, Part 3, PP- 31. 32. STARTLING DISCOVERIES. 517 not till Mr. Bliss had been many times before the tribunal, and testified satisfactorily on all points on which the others had confessed before him, that Lopez was made aware of the grand combination against him. Having obtained all this, Lopez then thought he would try the effect of the cepo uruguayana, to which tyiss had not yet been subjected. He was therefore told by tH'e inquisitors that he was keeping back important information, and they knew it. Having endured the torture as long as he could bear it, he promised to confess everything, and was then released. His further confessions are thus related by himself: " I thought I would try the experiment of frightening Lopez by representing that the whole world was engaged in a combination against him. I stated to that tribunal, that the alliance of Brazil, the Argentine government, and Uruguay had been dissolved and replaced by a new secret treaty of double alliance on the part of Brazil and the Argentine Republic, by which the Republic of Uru- guay was to be sacrificed along with Paraguay, and both of them fall a prey to the larger powers, and to be divided up like Poland. I went into geographical details, stating what were to be the boun- daries of each one of these countries, and to give the terms of the treaty, which I had called the double alliance between Brazil and the Argentine Republic ; stating that England, France, and Spain, through their diplomatic agents, had all been lending their countenance to the allies, that they were all in sympathy with the conspiracy going on against Paraguay, that it had been resolved to take possession of the Paraguayan army after the conquest of the country, and engage it with the Brazilian army in fighting against Bolivia, Peru, and other adjacent countries. In that way I endeav- ored to confuse Lopez, who believed every word of these state- ments, and to convince him that he was in a most desperate strait. The evidence that he believed it may be found in the fact that after this he issued a proclamation to his army on the i6th of October, the Paraguayan 4th of July, in which he repeated the statement made in my last declarations as to a general combina- tion of most of Jthe civilized nations against them, and made a last appeal to their patriotism." It was certainly a hazardous venture to make up such 518 PARAGUAY. a stupendous story in regard to matters that if true could not escape public notoriety, and which would be proved en- tirely fictitious were any neutral gunboat to arrive bringing files of newspapers. If the trick were discovered, the perpe- trator might count on a renewal of the cepo,\Q be prolonged till the body could no longer endure it, when he would be handed over to the executioner. The official declarations having been completed, Bliss and Masterman then supposed they would be despatched. But a new lease of life was given them, that they might write out in narrative form the substance of their testimony. They were both furnished with writing-materials, and their straw huts so raised that they could sit upon the ground. A box was placed before each of them, to serve as a writing-table, and then they were told to commence. They had their fetters on all the time, and a sentinel was always at hand to prod them on and to keep them to their work. They had both learned by this time, that their work, to profit themselves, must abound with abuse of me and in praise of Lopez. Masterman's work was not published, or, if so, was not sent abroad. It was made up almost entirely of praises of Lopez and abuse of me ; but as it threw little light on my political offences, it was probably suppressed for that reason.* The work of Mr. Bliss, written under such circumstances, while in taste it was little better than Masterman's, in fact, nearly as bad as could be, so completely effected the writer's object that it may be regarded as the greatest literary success of modern times. It undoubtedly saved the writer's life and that of his companion, Masterman. On being arrested, they both felt that their only hope of ever leaving Paraguay de- pended on my success in bringing a gunboat or a squadron to their rescue. They had little doubt, that, if they were not killed within three or four months, a force of some kind would * " In order to conceal my real object, the whole was interspersed with abuse and ridicule of el gran bestia and his friends the nuicacos and cainbhs (the 'baboons' and 'niggers' of Brazil), and laudation so fulsome of Lopez, that he would indeed be a blind man who did not see through it directly." MASTER- MAN'S Seven Eventful Years, p. 301. A LITERARY SUCCESS. 519 be sent for them ; and as they had learned that Godon was no longer in command of the squadron, and knew nothing of the character of Davis, they hoped that within a few weeks the American flag would be seen again in the river. It was every- thing, therefore, for them to gain time ; and when Bliss was commanded to write a connected account of those events to which he had testified as a witness, he saw that the more ex- tensive the scale on which he projected his work the better were his chances of escape. The torturers had taught him that the more extravagant the denunciations of the " evil genius of Paraguay," or the " Great Beast," as the inquisitors were ac- customed to call me, the more acceptable were his " declara- tions " to their master. He, therefore, as he testified before the committee of Congress, resolved to make his narrative serve a double purpose ; his work should be gross and start- ling enough to make Lopez desirous of its continuance, and at the same time so absurd and ridiculous that it would defeat the very object which the tyrant had in view in ordering it to be written. He had seen, by the way his " declarations " had been received, that Lopez, though in many things showing a marvellous degree of shrewdness and cunning, in all matters touching himself was little better than a lunatic or an idiot. With this knowledge of the man whom he was to glorify and vindicate to the world, he began his task, which, before it was concluded, formed a volume of three hundred and twenty-three pages.* Few men,' indeed scarcely any except those who are put forward as candidates for President, are so eminent either in good or evil as to have their biographies written while yet living. Lopez, however, having resolved to make me one of those few and favored individuals who are permitted to read the story of their own famous deeds, set Bliss to the task of relating them ; and so well satisfied was he with the execution * " Historia Secreta de la Mision del Ciudadano Norte Americano Charles A. Washburn cerca del Gobierno de la Republica del Paraguay. For el Ciuda- dano Americano, Traductor titular (in partibus) de la misma mision, PORTER CORNELIO BLISS, B. A. ' Quousque tandem, abutere patientia nostra.' Ciceron." 520 PARAGUAY. of it, that he took every possible opportunity to send the book abroad to convince the world that he had defeated the greatest diplomatist, and the boldest, most unscrupulous in- triguer, who had ever sought to make kings and emperors the " mere titular dignitaries of the chess-board." The book (written in Spanish), commences with the fol- lowing paragraph : " Charles Ames Washburn, late Minister of the United States in the Republic of Paraguay, is a per- sonage that, for his own misfortune, will figure so much in the annals of four countries of South America that some details on his biography cannot be otherwise than interesting to all who care for contemporaneous history." The author then goes on to state that " he had enjoyed great advantages for the fulfilment of the task that he had undertaken, from hav- ing received from the mouth of his hero the relation of the rogueries of his childhood, the follies of his youth, and the in- expressible as innumerable adventures of his advanced age." As a youth, the author says that the subject of his memoir was one of those who give early promise of rising to eminence by being hanged ; and that, " among the other precious qualities that adorned the hope of the family, and which caused unceasing anxiety to his parents, was a constitutional inability to distinguish between meum and teum, which induced them to consult a physician of the place, who gave them the benevolent decision that it was an organic infirmity known in the profession by the scientific name of kleptomania ! and that perhaps he would be cured by diet- and by the assiduous use of certain remedies. The remedies indicated were tried, but without result ; and it is sad to add that our hero yet suffers with frequent attacks of kleptomania." The unfortunate youth is afterwards sent away to school, where he learns all that ought not to be learned and little else, and is expelled from different institutions of learning on account of his mental or moral depravity. Every anec- dote, from the time of the peripatetics of students repre- manded or ridiculed by their teachers which the author can recollect, is made to do service in this biography. His hero's YOUTHFUL ECCENTRICITIES. 521 favorite books in youth were the works of Shakespeare, Charles Lamb, and Joe Miller ; and at a later period, Machiavelli, John Stuart Mill, and Henry Thomas Buckle. The cause of his leaving college so abruptly is thus explained : "The cause of this new misfortune is not perfectly clear, and is one of the matters on which he always preserved a signifi- cant silence ; but the explanation that rumor give^ is, that it was connected with the disappearance of certain silver spoons from the table of the academic dining-room." Having tried his hand at a variety of occupations, the subject of this biography obtains a clerkship at Washington, where, accord- ing to the biographer, " he was given up to the pleasures and orgies of the capital in company with the dissolute youth he met there, and was expelled from office without a certificate of character ; and when he left, his reputation was well estab- lished as a rake given up to the bottle, to gambling, and the pleasures of the table." The future "evil genius of Paraguay" afterwards becomes a schoolmaster, then a lawyer, then a doctor, in all of which professions he attains similar distinction. As a lawyer he had no clients ; and as a doctor his patients ordered their coffins before consulting him. At last, however, the hero of this volume abandons the scenes of his early triumphs, and flees to California. "There, among the purlieus of political in- trigue, in the worst-governed city of the world, where crime most abounded, he found the field of his natural abilities." He gathered around him a set of desperadoes, and was known as the chief of a gang of political demagogues. "Then the administration of the city of San Francisco was in the hands of the comrades of Washburn, depraved men, whose rule was a true reign of terror." The power of this leader of the roughs was "cut short by the rising of the people, who constituted themselves a vigilance committee, and improvised a code of laws after the style of Draco, and sent to the gallows by the dozen the most daring of the ruffians that before had ruled the metropolis. Their leader just escaped with his life, by fleeing on board a vessel bound for Panama, at the first mutterings of the tempest." 522 PARAGUAY. The fugitive from the vigilance committee tries his hand at writing a novel, of which the principal characters are the most abandoned wretches found in any work of fiction, one of whom is the type of himself, and escapes hanging in a similar manner. The versatile hero next becomes an editor, and serves up to his readers old jokes that can be understood because they are old, and new ones that cannot because they are original. That the original wit might not be lost, the following notice was kept standing at the head of the column in which it appeared : " The editor gives notice to his subscribers, that if there may be any among them who hereafter may not com- prehend the whole sense of his original jokes, he will have much pleasure in going round to the houses of such sub- scribers as may desire it, in order to explain, viva voce, the meaning of all that may have appeared obscure in these jests." This accommodating editor adds to his other qualifications for office that of a poet ; and his biographer devotes some six pages to a criticism of his poetry, not a line of which, un- fortunately, is he able to remember. The critique, however, as a literary feat, is a remarkable production, and illustrates, as well as anything can, the situation of the author at the time he was writing it. Literally, he was writing for life ; and was contriving every possible way to spin out his work till something should come to his rescue. To criticise imagi- nary poetry and " body forth the form of things unknown " was only to be done by one who could " give to airy nothings a local habitation and a name." But Bliss, though a prodigy of learning and a living encyclopaedia of knowledge, was not aware till then that he possessed the divine afflatus, or held the poet's pen ; and yet he gives a slashing criticism of poetry that was never written, which would have done honor to a quarterly review. In relating his experience at this time, he has since said that his mind was abnormally active. His ideas were not clogged by over-indulgence at the table, for while thus engaged he never had half so much to eat as he wanted, and what he did get was seldom anything more than WRITING FOR LIFE. 523 a bit of boiled beef without salt. He was kept at work in- cessantly for twelve or fourteen hours a day, a guard over him all the time to keep him up to his task, being frequently roused up at night to correct his proofs. In spite of himself, therefore, his work got on faster than he desired ; and at the rate he was progressing it would be completed before the hundred days which he fixed as the time that must pass before the squadron would come after him. To gain time, he made errors in his manuscript, and a great number of corrections in his proofs ; and when these were returned to him, he would correct them again and then again, thus prolonging his task, as did Penelope her web while waiting the return of Ulysses. About forty pages of the book are devoted to the life of his hero previous to his appointment as Minister to Paraguay, which was conferred upon him, notwithstanding his notorious character, at the instigation of the Rhode Island Company, and especially of their former agent, E. A. Hopkins. Some twenty pages more are devoted to his career during his first residence in Paraguay, in which he showed himself to be a bitter enemy of both government and people ; and yet he so won the esteem and confidence of his Excellency, Francisco Solano Lopez, that he covered him with benefits, and loaded him down with money to expend for the benefit of Paraguay, but which he put in his own pocket, and left his illustrious friend to look elsewhere for his lost treasure. When he left the country he did not intend to return to it, but unexpected events at home, particularly the death of President Lincoln, decided him to go back ; and as soon as he reached Rio de Janeiro, he was taken into the councils of the Brazilian government, and became their paid agent, holding the most confidential relations with the Emperor and his principal ministers. His pretended quarrel with Admiral Godon was a farce, all arranged to deceive the American government, as he was receiving four thousand dollars a month from the Emperor during all the time of his delay. His own government, however, at last imperatively orders him to his post ; and so at last he passes through the blockade, being continued in receipt of an in- 524 PARAGUAY. come from the allies, compared with which his salary from his own government is a mere bagatelle. Having exhausted that part of the early life of his hero, Mr. Bliss was at a loss for another subject on which to enlarge. But as it was known to Lopez that during my residence in Paraguay I had been collecting materials for a book on the country, a part of which was already written, he instructed his inquisitors to question the prisoner as to the tenor and contents of the forthcoming volume. By this time Bliss had shown so much zeal in denouncing and exposing the subject of his biography, had abused him with such apparent unction, had cursed him so roundly for having seduced him from the path of virtue, and from the loyalty and devotion that was justly due the " greatest warrior of the age," that Lopez seemed to believe that he had in reality become my bitterest enemy ; that he had been conquered by kindness, and con- verted to be his friend and champion. He did not, however, take off his fetters or give him any better food. So long as a man, though a starved prisoner who had often been tortured, had breath in his body, Lopez considered that he owed him an infinite debt of gratitude ; and that, if afterwards he were set at liberty, he ought to spend his days in defending the cause and person of his magnanimous benefactor, and in chanting his praises. My biographer, therefore, continued on the dan- gerous experiment of giving from memory what he called quotations from my unpublished book, in which he resolved to incorporate so much truth, that, though Lopez was not acute enough to see his object, it would, if ever published and circulated beyond the limits of the Paraguayan camp, en- lighten the world as to the tyrant's character and government. As fast as eight pages of his work were completed, it was printed and distributed through the army. The object of Lopez in circulating the advance sheets is intelligible, so long as the work was limited to abuse of me ; but that he should continue to do the same afterwards, when the sheets thrown off contained little more than the most violent denunciations of himself, seems almost as incompre- IMAGINARY QUOTATIONS. 525 hensible as the mystery of the great conspiracy. During the long and intimate acquaintance which I had had with Mr. Bliss, every act of importance in the career of Lopez had been passed in review by us, and we were perfectly in accord in our estimate of his character : our opinion being that of every intelligent person in Paraguay, with the exceptions only of himself and Madam Lynch. These opinions were the same as have been expressed in this work, and it will be found that the material facts in Bliss's book and mine in regard to the character and conduct of Lopez are virtually the same. Many things in Bliss's narrative, however, are not in mine ; some for the reason that they are of too gross a character to be believed by the general reader, even if true, and some because I had never heard of them till I saw them in my own biography. From this singular book I shall translate a few pages, re- gretting that I cannot give the larger part of it. If the author shall ever make a translation of it, and publish it with notes explaining the circumstances under which it was written, his surroundings, and the hints received from the torturers, the quotations from old Latin works furnished by the priests who watched the progress of his writing it, it could hardly fail to be as extensively read as ever was Robinson Crusoe or Gul- liver's Travels. In giving what he called extracts from my manuscripts, he more frequently gave the substance of conversations that actually took place. Long before Lopez had marked me out as one of his victims, I had, in a conversation with Bliss, compared him to Rehoboam, and from this suggestion my biographer gives the following as an extract from my book : " The conduct of Lopez forcibly suggests the analogy of Reho- boam, son and successor of Solomon, of whom the Bible gives the following account. The Hebrew people, during the latter part of the reign of King Solomon, having been oppressed with heavy labors for the construction of the celebrated Temple and other ob- jects, some of them conceived great hopes that their burdens would alleviated by the son, and in that expectation addressed him their 526 PARAGUAY. supplications. Rehoboam, unused to the cares of empire, collected in a council the old servants of the crown, and submitted to them these petitions. The council of old men gave their opinion in favor of the petitioners, and so represented to the young king ; but he in the mean while had taken a dislike to those old public functionaries, and, before deciding, he convoked a company of the young companions of his orgies. These furnished to Rehoboam the text of the famous answer to the petitioners in the opposite sense, that is : ' My father has loaded you with light yokes, but I will oppress you with heavy yokes ; my father has chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions : my little finger shall be thicker than my father's loin.' " In the same way General Lopez has discharged the most aged and faithful servants of his father, until it came to this, that to have belonged to the council of the last administration soon came to be a just ground of suspicion and persecution of the new regime. Very soon the principal personages among them fell under the stern rod of the Paraguayan laws, that in other words are the despotic mandates of the modern Rehoboam, in comparison with whose atrocities the rule of the autocrats of all the Russians is mercy itself, and the worst rigors of the Holy Inquisition are tender caresses." Following this estimate of the character of Lopez, proba- bly the most just one he ever heard expressed of himself, the biographer next gives the opinion of the barbarian Minister, who " had just' escaped by the skin of his teeth," and gone abroad to spread his calumnies on those holy men, the Para- guayan priests : " In the world are three classes of despotisms, civil, ecclesiastic, and military, each of which is sufficient to effect the misery of a people ; but the unhappy Republic of Paraguay is the only country in the world where are found all three in a state of full activity and perfect equilibrium, administered by the great Equilibrista of the Plata. If the civil despotism is the head, the ecclesiastic and mili- tary are the two arms, of the present government ; all the clergy, from the bishop down, being but an active instrument of espionage systematized into complete subordination. The immorality of the Paraguayan clergy is excessive, and runs apace with its gross igno- THE PARAGUAYAN PRIESTS. 527 ranee. As there is scarcely a priest in the whole Republic that knows more Latin than is strictly necessary to mutilate the words of the holy office, who can believe that the Great Architect of the universe would wish to be represented on earth by such a vile horde of intriguers and spies ? " From the treatment that the priests were receiving about this time, it would seem that Lopez had a very similar opin- ion in regard to them as is here expressed. For while Bliss was pretending to quote to him from my manuscripts the calumnies on those pious sons of the Church, all the more intelligent among them, excepting only Padre Maiz, were pris- oners in fetters, several being within sight of his hut. Of Lopez's courage and fitness for military command I am thus made to speak by my biographer : " When Washburn came to treat of the military knowledge and strategy of the Marshal, he represented them to be very limited, and asserted more than once that he lacked the first requisite of a soldier, personal valor ! That the Marshal had an extraordinary regard for the safety of his own skin, and that he is perhaps the only general in the world, at least of those who have directed a campaign as chief, that does not know personally the emotions of the battle-field, as he has never had a near view of any combat of war, and has always remained at a respectable distance from the scene of battle, whilst he showed a criminal disregard of the lives of his subjects, whom he sacrificed by thousands without the least compunction ; that if the Marshal had at any time established or given proof of his personal valor, his present conduct in keep- ing himself far from the immediate theatre of battle could not be criticised, but that nobody had a right to demand from his subor- dinates a bravery and contempt of life of which he had not at any time given an example. Notwithstanding this, Marshal Lopez wishes to have the reputation of surpassing valor, and to be consid- ered as one who is accustomed to cavort unterrified on his mettle- some charger, in the midst of a shower of bombs and balls." How Lopez could permit a man to write truths like these I have quoted, and which everybody around him knew to be truths, whether quotations from me or original with Bliss, seems scarcely credible even to me, who have known of so many of 528 PARAGUAY. his stupid and foolish acts, and have the book before me from which I make the translations. The others saw through the trick, and on several occasions Padre Maiz said to the prisoner, sotto voce, that, while he was pretending to be quoting from me, he was writing a most scathing criticism on his Excellency. The character of Lopez having been portrayed in such colors, the biographer next proceeds to quote from my forth- coming book my opinions of the principal characters among the allies, of whom he says I speak in terms of the bitterest sarcasm and contempt, notwithstanding the large sums of gold they had paid me to be their friend and champion, and at the very time I was writing the most biting satires on the Emperor Pedro II., Caxias, Octaviano, Mitre, and others, I was in fact the Brazilian Minister Plenipotentiary, and receiving a fabulous salary from the imperial treasury. " From a regard to truth," says the author of this interesting work, " we shall admit that the satires which Washburn hurls at his friends Caxias, Mitre, et id omne genus are well merited, and sometimes felicitous. This part of his work was written about the middle of the year 1867, when the scheme of the revolution was not far advanced, and when the fierce anger of his hate beyond the theological towards this Republic had not arrived at the extreme to which it afterwards reached. Therefore this part of the work of Washburn is the only part that possesses any merit ; and leaving out of view the ingratitude, we can applaud the justice of his hits. They have de- served it, but not from him, will be the judgment of the impartial reader ; since our hero satirizing his comrades among the allies would be like the pot calling the kettle black, or, more expressively, Satan rebuking sin. If it is true that the characters of the chiefs of the alliance are not completely immaculate, it is no less certain that their implacable -satirist is one on which coal would make a white mark. ' O wad some power the giftie gie us, To see oursels as others see us ! ' has sung the inspired bard of Scotland. When the Marques de Caxias may see the pages of Washburn, ingratitude, more sharp than treacherous steel, will quite conquer him ; he will exclaim, ' Et tu, Brute. This is the most unkindest cut of all ! Get thee behind me, Satan ! Take any form but that 1 Save me from my friends ! ' " IMAGINARY QUOTATIONS. 529 Probably he will. In giving so many and such long extracts from this book of Bliss, it has not been my object to amuse the reader so much as to let him understand the contemptible character of Lopez. Every page of it, before it was published, was submitted to him and approved, and in one sense it may be considered Lopez's book. His object, undoubtedly, in send- ing it abroad, was to vindicate himself, and to prove to the world that the minister of another country, whom he had so grossly insulted, whose ambassadorial rights he had outraged, and whose employees he had imprisoned, was none other than the arch-plotter of modern diplomacy, the agent of foreign po- tentates who sought to deprive the Paraguayan people of their liberties ; that he was a scoffer at religion, the very Antichrist who would defile the fountains of knowledge by substituting for the pious teachings of the priests of Paraguay the doctrines of such profane writers as Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, John Stuart Mill, Buckle, and Tennyson. These writers are the ones most frequently quoted by Bliss ; and as it is scarcely possible that Lopez ever heard of them before, he must have imagined, from the frequency with which Shakespeare was quoted, that he was the inventor and advocate of all abominable doctrines. To give a more complete idea of the character of the book, I translate a few pages for a foot-note.* These will * " It is a portentous phenomenon," says Bliss, pretending to quote from me, " how this people has been able to consent to be their own hangman, in the same way that sometimes the Roman citizens, whose death the tyrant Nero desired, re- ceived permission from the Emperor to open their veins It is inexplicable how this people, seeing itself, like Prometheus, chained to a rock, whilst a vulture (the Marshal) devours its entrails, and being able, by a simple gesture, to break these chains, there has not been found one to act the part of Junius Brutus ; that it can only be explained by the ancient proverb, ' WHOM THE GODS WISH TO DESTROY THEY FIRST MAKE MAD ! ! ! ' That, without doubt, among the de- signs of God is the complete destruction of the Paraguayan race, as the fig-tree in the Evangel, of which, not having produced fruit for three years (the years of the war), Jesus Christ said, 'Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground?' That already are very near the dies ir&, dies ilia of the Paraguayan people. That God's vengeance may be slow, but it is sure, approaching with an imper- ceptible step, as the Greek poet jEschylus has expressed it (that applying them to the delays of the allied forces Washburn has repeated times without number VOL. II. 34 530 PARAGUAY. serve to show, not so much the wealth of the writer in quota- tions, his remarkable memory, and a playfulness of style, in conversation), ' The avenging gods are shod with wool.' That for their stupidity and blindness, and other sins, the Paraguayan people have merited the complete extermination that awaits them, and that the world will have reason to con- gratulate itself when there shall not be in it a single person that speaks the accursed Guarani idiom. "That at the mouth of the river Paraguay ought to be erected a column with this warning inscription, which Dante in his poem of the Divina Commedia repre- sents to have been placed above the door of hell, 'All you who enter here, leave hope behind ! ' And, changing the solemn style for the festive, he says there are two classes of men that ought never to come to Paraguay, the fools and the men of sense ; and that his advice to all persons who think of coming here would be the same that Punch gave to persons about to marry, ' don't.' .... " That as in the feast of Belshazzar, the last night of the Babylonian Empire, appeared in characters of fire traced upon the wall, by a visible hand, the warning prediction, Mene tekel upharsin, the same prophecy is already written against the Republic of Paraguay (and particularly against Marshal Lopez) in letters so large that he that runs may read them ! ! ! That the Marshal has the greatest reason to exclaim, in the famous words of Prince Metternich, ' After me the deluge,' since as the prophet Daniel had prognosticated that the end of Babylon would be by a deluge, the same will happen in the present case. " That, as to exclamations, Lopez will find more than one that will be suggested in his last extremities in the two master works of Shakespeare, the celebrated dramas of Richard III. and Macbeth, whose heroes, kings, one of England and the other of Scotland, were flagrant criminals, in whose death, as tragic as well deserved, the Marshal could get a glimpse of his own if he knew enough of English to read what he would recommend to him." The story of Richard's death is then related at considerable length, and a de- scription is given of the manner in which the shades of his many illustrious vic- tims arise from the earth and pass in slow procession before him, each one shak- ing his bony finger at him, " at which Richard, starting up, calls out, ' A horse, a horse ! my kingdom for a horse ! ' In such case Lopez (adds Washburn, with gross indecency) would be satisfied with a jackass." Then the tragic story of Macbeth's last hours is related, and it is foretold by the same irreverent prophet that Lopez will have the same death ; but having already perished like Belshaz- zar and Richard, he must have been a character like Mrs. Malaprop's Cerberus, " three gentlemen at once." " Macbeth also knew of the death of his queen, the accomplice of his crimes, and kept on to the last point of desperation ; one of his suite having hinted to him that something should be arranged for to-morrow, there broke forth from his agonized heart this tremendous soliloquy : ' To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps on its petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time : And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death.' INSPIRATION OF LOPEZ. 531 under the circumstances, still more remarkable, as the in- credible stupidity of Lopez in publishing and circulating a " And though Jesus Christ may have said, Take no thought of to-morrow, for to-morrow will take care of itself, yet Lopez has too often present to his mind the avenging shears of the Parcae, that will cut the throat of his criminal exist- ence, to fail to appreciate the whole force of these lines. " Before leaving the arsenal of war that he had found in Shakespeare, our prophet wished to throw the last dart against Marshal Lopez, remembering in the tragedy of Julius Caesar the appeal of Cassius to Brutus inciting him to take part in the conspiracy against the life of Caesar, ' Now, in the name of all the gods at once, Upon what meat hath this our Cxsar fed, That he hath grown so great ? ' And answered the question contained in these lines, saying that probably Lopez had nourished his heroic valor on lion's marrow, and concluded saying he has no doubt that Lopez in his disturbed dreams had seen many times a spectre like that which appeared to Brutus, saying, ' I am thy evil genuis ! You will see me at Philippi.' .... " Lopez has imitated exactly the conduct of the celebrated Scottish Chief Lochiel in disregarding an augury, very similar to that which before the battle of Culloden, in 1745, was given by a Highland seer in these words, according to the poetic version of Campbell : ' Lochiel \ Lochiel ! beware of the day,' etc. "That Lopez also pretends to gifts of inspiration, and in an address in the Guarani language to the officers of his army in Humaita, near the beginning of the war, he told them, ' This hand has signed the commissions of five hundred of you, and has been guided in it by the direct inspiration of God ! ' " That if the inspiration of God were never more effective than in the case alluded to, the inspiration of the Devil would be better, since the greater part of those to whom this speech was addressed did not respond to the expectations of Lopez, and many of them have been compelled to go and give an account of their inspired commissions by means of four shots that the inspired Lopez had ordered to be discharged at them " That if this state of things should continue much longer, the Republic will be converted into a vast prison, in which the entire population will be shut up, and that then Marshal Lopez, being the only person who will remain at liberty, may mount the tribune, shaking in his hands the keys of the prisons, and pro- claim to the astonished world, parodying the words of Louis XIV., (L'(at c'est moi!) 'I am the Paraguayan people. Order reigns in Warsaw. The Paraguayan people is free and happy, and has had no part in the iniquitous plan of revolution incited by some traitors in its bosom.' Washburn added that this discourse would perfectly express the idea that the Marshal has of what constitutes the liberty of a people, since he accepts without reserve the famous definition enunciated by James I. of England : ' A free govern- ment is that in which the monarch is perfectly free to do whatever he pleases.' " Extracts from Bliss's " Historic, Secreta" pp. 113 to 120. 532 PARAGUAY. work of this kind in vindication of himself. It fully equals Francia's letter of vindication against the charges of Dr. Rengger. Frequently passages are given in Latin as quota- tions where the Latin is made for the occasion, and ascribed to writers of whom neither Lopez nor any of his inquisitors ever heard. The quotations which I have given from this book show that Bliss was trying to work upon the superstitious fears of Lopez. In another place, as a reason for introducing such absurdities as signs and omens, he describes me as a great believer in them, and as having a variety of ways by which I prognosticated the future. Among other portentous signs that to me were of prophetic import were certain letters. The letter B was of all in the alphabet most ominous of disaster to Lopez ; and to call his attention to the fact, Bliss gives the following proofs that it was really so : " And what shall we say of the stupendous discovery that Wash- burn made about this time, that the letter JB is of evil omen for Marshal Lopez ; as all the countries, persons, and things whose names begin with this letter seemed to have entered into a conspiracy against the Marshal? As such, he cited the countries Brazil, Buenos Aires, Banda Oriental ; and also, for certain contingencies, Bolivia and Great Britain. The persons alluded to were the brothers of the Marshal, Benigno and Venancio, (whose name he spelled with a B, JBenando !} the Bishop, Barrios, Bedoya, Berges, Bruguez, Benitez, Bliss, Bareiro (Candido), Brizuela, and Bonaparte ; and the author does not know why he did not cite Beelzebub and Belial, as these illustrious persons ought not to be omitted from such a list. The things which were mentioned in this strange connection were the ironclads (blindados), the blockade, batteries, bombs, balls, and bayonets of the enemy " Apropos of this list, the author wishes here to suggest to his hero, what did not occur to him at the time, that, as he included Venancio in the list, substituting a B for a V in his eccentric orthography, he might with double reason have included his own name, as in that case the double V (W) would signify with great truth a double fatality /" Thus while Lopez by brutal force was extorting such " con- BLISS'S PORTRAIT OF LOPEZ. 533 fessions " as these from his victim, the latter was playing on his known credulity and superstition, and telling him of the horrid visions and killing remorse of others, who like him had shed seas of innocent blood. In the course of his work Bliss also stated that the late Minister had fully appreciated the dangers from which he had escaped, and had frequently said, during the two months preceding the arrival of the Wasp, that he was likely to be " the hero of his own novel," who, in endeavoring to serve and save others, had exposed himself to a miserable death. The portrait of Lopez, as drawn by Bliss in the extracts I have given, was very correct ; and in reading them he must have seen that every stroke had been suggested by acts that were notorious ; and if he believed that I had gone away with the proofs of his cowardice, his cruelty, his jealousy and thirst of blood, which I had already arranged for publication, he must have been even more angry with himself that he had not made way with me before the arrival of the Wasp than he was after the receipt of my letter denouncing him as an enemy of the human race and a common thief. It would be a satisfaction to many to know how he received these advance sheets of his own biography. Did he regard them as so pre- posterous and extravagant that they could never affect his name or reputation ? Did he still believe that the words which his paramour, his torturers and inquisitors, were con- stantly whispering in his ears, that he was too good, too kind- hearted, too unsuspicious, too reckless of danger, were the same that would be finally inscribed on the page of history ? Or did he take a delight in contemplating the destruction he had caused, and reflect with satisfaction that his would be a name forever accursed in the future annals of his country ; and that, like Attila, he had achieved a name so infamous in history that men would call him the " Scourge of God." Did he glory in leaving a " . . . . name to other times, Linked with no virtue, and a thousand crimes " ? The book reaches its climax with the concluding para- 534 PARAGUAY. graphs. The writer, having spun out his story to such length, is admonished that he must bring it to a close. He antici- pates that with the conclusion of the work will come the order for his execution. He therefore makes a last appeal for life by swearing that if it shall be spared him he will spend it in expos- ing and bringing to justice the "evil genius of Paraguay" : " We have sketched with free strokes the history of the greatest violation of the duties of a neutral diplomate that modern times can offer. We denounce to the Divine anger, to the opprobrium of the world, and to the condign punishment of his country, Charles Ames Washburn as guilty of high treason, and particularly of an enor- mous conspiracy against the government to which he was accredited, and against the life of the supreme Magistrate of this Republic of Paraguay. " Our present task is concluded ; but at laying aside the pen we swear solemnly, if God gives us the opportunity, to follow Washburn through all the earth until he shall receive the just punishment of his unheard-of and execrable crimes ! ! ! " This book, though as an intellectual and literary feat a most remarkable production, certainly shows little of the he- roic or noble in the author ; and a person reading it, who knew nothing of the circumstances under which it was written, while he could not but wonder at the great memory and ex- tensive reading of the writer, as evinced by his numerous and often very long quotations from a multiplicity of authors, would naturally have great contempt for his character. That any person having a proper sense of honor and decency should make up such a farrago of falsehoods about a man who had for years befriended him, and on whose efforts to save him hung, at the very time he was writing, his only hope of life, appears incredible. The utter want of taste and delicacy shown in the book would seem to be impossible to a man having a due regard to them, and the sustained humor and wit, taken with the professed indignation and repentance, would appear to be hardly within the range of human power and self-control, unless the writer were in earnest, and en- joyed the labor in which he was engaged. INTERESTED CRITICS. 535 Other men of unimpeachable character and the highest sense of honor had confessed to having committed the same acts as those admitted by Mr. Bliss, and no one who knew of the horrid appliances that Lopez made use of to extort confes- sions ever reproached them for doing so. The apparent pleas- ure, however, that Bliss took in imposing his fabulous stories on Lopez was well calculated to create a prejudice against him among those who were not aware of the circumstances under which the book had been written. As I was the only person to be affected by his startling revelations, garnished with allusions and anecdotes of at least questionable taste, it would hardly be supposed that the very parties who were most unfriendly to me should be the most indignant with Bliss. The officers of the squadron affected to be very angry with him that he should thus calumniate a friend and benefac- tor, at the same time that they tried to create an impres- sion in the public mind that his accusations were true, and that they had obtained irrefragable evidence while in Paraguay that there had been a great conspiracy, of which I had been the master spirit. They assailed me because I had needlessly abandoned Bliss to the horrid cruelties of Lopez, and then, when he had been rescued from his perilous position, they treated him like a felon, alleging as a reason his ingrati- tude to me ; and next, to crown all, they became the apologists and defenders of Lopez, and tried to excuse his barbarities, though numerous and unimpeachable witnesses testify to his having committed almost every crime imaginable, and such as were never committed before by any person bearing the human form. The book was a success, and its style had made it so ; for, writing it as he did, Mr. Bliss so interested Lopez that he was permitted to continue at his work until so long a time had expired that he might reasonably hope for deliver- ance. CHAPTER XXXVI. Arrival of the Wasp. Admiral Davis's Letter to Lopez. The New American Minister. The Release of Bliss and Masterman demanded. Lopez boasts that he has the Naval Officers on his Side. Interviews between Davis and Lopez. Bliss and Masterman regarded as Criminals. Lopez's Opinion of Davis. Davis sends two of his Officers to verify the Declarations of Bliss and Masterman before the Tribunal. Extracts from the Testimony taken during the Paraguayan Investigation. Joy of Bliss and Masterman on learning that their Deliverance was at Hand. Lopez's sudden Turn of Affection for Bliss. The Incomprehensible Character of Lopez. THE book at last being finished, the author was anxiously waiting to know whether Lopez had any further use for him than to shoot him. The last sheet of manuscript had but just passed from his hands when the American flag was again discovered by the advanced pickets on the river-bank. What followed was. thus related by Bliss to the Committee on Foreign Affairs : " I had spun my pamphlet out as long as it was possible, and finally brought it to a conclusion on the 2d of December ; that is to say, the printing was finished then ; the writing had been finished some time before. On the 4th of December I was told that Mar- shal Lopez, out of his unbounded clemency, had determined to mitigate my sufferings, and a blacksmith was called in to take off my fetters. I had worn my fetters all this time, and had been kept on starvation diet, which consisted of a small ration of boiled beef twice a day, with a little cake of mandioca flour, made from the root of a vegetable of that country used as a substitute for potatoes. The diet was insufficient in quantity. I could have eaten, at any time, twice as much as I received. I was then asked what I would do in case I should see Mr. Washburn, or be brought face to face with him. I was asked if I remembered the .concluding paragraph of my pamphlet, in which I expressed myself as desiring nothing CONSISTENCY REQUIRED AND PROMISED. 537 better than to be allowed to go away from Paraguay, in order to prosecute Mr. Washburn before his own government for malfea- sance in office. I declared that I would prosecute Mr. Washburn from one end of the world to the other, until I had obtained satis- faction from him for getting me into that ' bad box.' I replied that I did remember it well, and quoted it. Some further hints were then given me that I might, perhaps, be soon set at liberty, though nothing definite was said on that subject. I was asked whether I would maintain my consistency in case I was the recipient of the clemency of his Excellency Marshal Lopez. A blank book was brought to me, and I was invited to write in it, and asked what I wished to write. I said I did not know ; ' I was willing to write any- thing.' I was set to work writing some epistles in a satirical style, di- rected to the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Army, the Marques de Caxias, which were immediately published in sheets by order of Lopez. Four days later (on the 8th of December), I was called out of my hut and had an interview with the inquisitor and head torturer. I was at that time, as I have mentioned, without any irons on, they hav- ing been removed four days before. I was then told that in his most exalted clemency Marshal Lopez had resolved to pardon my great offences ; that a new American Minister had arrived there, and that, as an act of courtesy to this American Minister, President Lopez wished to pardon me, on condition of my maintaining consistency with my declarations before the tribunal, and that I was about to be brought before the tribunal for the last time ; that everything would depend upon my conduct there, and my preserving consistency. I had been for three months wearing the same suit of clothes, and of course my pantaloons were cut to pieces with the irons. Of course I was fear- fully dirty, and covered with vermin. A pair of drawers, a shirt, and some water, were brought, and I was requested to put myself into a little more presentable condition before being called before the court for the last act. I was told I would find some of my countrymen there. I was not told who they were, or for what pur- pose they would be there. Nothing was said about the presence of the American squadron. Nothing was said about a demand having been made for our liberation. I concluded I was going to be for- mally sentenced to death, and that this sentence would then be remitted, and prepared to listen to such a process. But no sentence was passed upon me, and my trial never came to a technical con- clusion." 538 PARAGUAY. By this time Admiral Davis had arrived, accompanied by Kirkland and Ramsey and Minister McMahon. Of the four gunboats that left Buenos Aires, only the Wasp came through the blockade. The others remained below to await orders. When Lopez was notified that an American gunboat had arrived and was at anchor below Angostura, he imme- diately divined the object of her coming, and at first appeared greatly excited and enraged ; so much so that those around him feared he would show his defiance and signalize the occasion by some new enormity. He anticipated that he would be called upon, not only to deliver up Bliss and Master- man, but to make other humiliating concessions. He was yet in this frame of mind when Commander Kirkland ap- peared at his head-quarters, bearing a letter from Admiral Davis. The few foreigners yet remaining in his camp, know- ing the desperate state of mind that he was in, were exceed- ingly anxious lest he should answer the unwelcome message by arresting and shooting the bearer of it, and were greatly relieved when they saw him return unharmed to the Wasp. But the first paragraph of Admiral Davis's letter, if not the assurances of Kirkland, convinced him that Davis had come as a friend, and not as an- enemy ; that his object was rather to make than to demand an apology. It was in these words : SIR, I have the honor to inform your Excellency that I have arrived in front of Angostura, having on board his Excellency Gen- eral M. T. McMahon, the Minister of the United States to the Re- public of Paraguay." So he was not an outlaw and a barbarian, after all. Though he had grossly insulted the last American Minister by making the most outrageous accusations against him, had threatened his imprisonment, and arrested and tortured two members of his suite, yet here was a new Minister coming with gentle words, asking to be received. The Admiral, having thus advised Lopez that he had brought a hostage to leave in place of the prisoners in his hands, then INTERVIEW BETWEEN LOPEZ AND DAVIS. 539 says : " As an indispensable preliminary step to the pre- sentation by General McMahon to your Excellency of his credential letters, I have to request that Messrs. Bliss and Masterman, the persons arrested and detained in Asuncion while under the protection and attached to the Legation of the previous United States Minister, be restored to the au- thority of the United States flag." Having read this letter, Lopez expressed a wish to have a personal interview with Admiral Davis, and requested Kirk- land to return and invite him to come on shore at a later hour of the same day. As soon as Kirkland was gone, the Marshal appeared to be greatly relieved, and intimated to those around him that he had already got the naval officers on his side, " and would you believe it ? " said he, " another Yankee Minister has come." As may well be supposed, the hearts of the foreigners in his camp, who had hoped that he was to be taught a lesson, and made to understand that he could not imprison and kill innocent persons with impunity, sank within them when they heard of these boastful words. A little later he started with a part of his staff for the bank of the river, where he was met by Admiral Davis, and they had an interview that lasted for some three hours. No full report of what transpired on this occasion has ever been published ; but from the course pursued afterwards by the Admiral, it would seem that he was completely charmed and captivated by the Marshal. What proofs Lopez offered to disprove the statements that I had made, and which the Admiral had evidently come to seek, the latter has never made public. In his report of the interview to the Secretary of the Navy, he said, however, that Lopez did not object to delivering up the men, but was unwilling to concede that they had ever been members of the Legation, and therefore objected to surrendering them at a request based on that ground. He accordingly desired that Davis should withdraw that letter and write another, so that by surrendering them he would not yield the point so long in dispute between him and me. The Admiral, promising to write such a letter, returned 540 PARAGUAY. on board the Wasp, deeply impressed with the courtesy and frankness of the Marshal; and Lopez, feeling very jubilant, went back to his head- quarters. The high opinion which the Admiral conceived of Lopez was not reciprocated by the latter. On the contrary, when he reached his head-quarters, he expressed the greatest contempt for his visitor, exulting over his success in outwitting him, and said he was anything but a soldier. In the next letter of the Admiral, dated on the 4th of Decem- ber, he makes no allusion to the fact that Bliss and Masterman had been members of the United States Legation, and says that it does not belong to him to define, or even to consider, the status of these individuals, but that " Lopez may repose confidence in the justice and friendship of the United States." He also promises that any pape/s which Lopez " may be pleased to send with those individuals will be transmitted to Washington by the earliest opportunity." But even this did not satisfy Lopez ; and on the following day a note was sent to the Admiral, signed by the military secretary of Lopez, in which, with an insolence and impudence showing that he had rightly gauged the firmness and calibre of the man he was dealing with, he tells him that " he should not conceal from himself the fact that Bliss and Masterman are criminals deeply committed in the affairs of a horrible conspiracy, very particularly the former." Nevertheless, Lopez says he will deliver them up, " provided it is requested in a manner more in conformity with the fact of their being accomplices of Mr. Wash burn, and the first intimately ac- quainted with his intrigues in the character of conspirator and agent of the enemy, of which he is now accused in the national tribunal, since they would be useful in the adminis- tration of justice by the American government, to whose judgment he would confide the above-mentioned criminals." The demand that the Admiral shall first recognize Bliss and Masterman as criminals, and my accomplices in a conspiracy, is immediately assented to by the Admiral. In a letter to Lopez of the same date, he says that it is no part of his LOPEZ ASKS FURTHER CONCESSIONS. 54! official duty " either to offer or refuse any terms which will affect the alleged criminal conditions of the two persons in question." Having made this concession, the Admiral again reminds Lopez that he has a Minister with him who is waiting to present his credentials ; and says that he wishes Bliss and Masterman to be sent on board, in order that he " may keep them in security, subject to the government of the United States." By this time, however, he begins to fear that it is Lopez's purpose not to deliver them ; and he there- fore requests to be informed when he may expect to receive them on board, or else to be apprised that it is not his Ex- cellency's intention to send them at all. To this Lopez replies that it has never been his intention not to give them up, but in doing so it would be as a courtesy to the United States. The reclamation or demand being waived by the Admiral, the "criminals," as they are invariably called, would be sent on board the Wasp on the afternoon of the 8th of December. There was, however, another prelimi- nary to their rendition. Lopez desired to further humiliate and degrade the naval service of the United States by having two officers of the squadron to assist at his " solemn tribunal," and verify as witnesses the "declarations" of those who were to be delivered tip as my accomplices, and sent as prisoners for trial to the United States. I have now to give the circumstances and details of a transaction that I would gladly pass over unnoticed. The story must cause a blush of shame to mantle the cheek of every American that reads it ; and whoever else may know of it will bless his lot that the shame and disgrace of the act does not attach to his own country. That such acts may not be repeated, the people must know of them. It is nothing that the Navy Department may be advised of them ; for, as we have before seen, it is according to the policy and system of that department to defend and justify every act of its higher officers, no matter how tyrannical or disgraceful to the country and the service. Admiral Davis having promised to send the two officers to 542 PARAGUAY. join the court of inquisition, his fleet-captain, Francis M. Ramsey, and Commander Kirkland, were sent on shore, on the morning of the 8th of December, to render that last humili- ating service to Lopez. In the mean while Bliss and Masterman were made aware that something had occurred which promised deliverance. On the day after the interview between Lopez and the Admiral, and two days after his book was finished, Bliss received the first intimation that it was not the purpose of Lopez to exe- cute him. He thus relates the incident : " I was brought before the tribunal, and found there two of our naval officers, to whom I was introduced in a very indistinct way. I understood one to be Lieutenant-Commander Kirkland. The other officer's name I did not then catch, but ascertained subse- quently that it was Fleet-Captain Ramsey, chief of staff to Admiral Davis. These officers said nothing to me except to ask my name, 'Are you Bliss? or are you Masterman?' I replied, giving my name. The tribunal then proceeded to cause all my depositions which had been taken down, during twenty days or more, to be read over, occupying the entire afternoon in the process. This took place in the mud hut in which the tribunal was held by the two priests I have referred to. These two naval officers took seats with the members of the tribunal, with whom they were laughing, smoking, drinking brandy, and receiving presents.* They seemed to be on * It should be here stated that Captain Ramsey, when before the Congressional Committee, denied that he partook of the refreshments offered. His testimony is as follows : " While standing outside, talking to these officers, one of whom had been in London and the other in Paris, a boy passed by wearing a pretty embroidered shirt, which I remarked upon, and asked if that was the work of the country. They told me that it was, and that their women prided themselves on that kind of work. He then sent into the house for some specimens of the work, and a shirt and a towel were brought out. He handed me the towel, and said, ' Per- haps your countrymen would like to see some specimens of Paraguayan work. Won't you take this ? ' He then gave me the towel, which I have brought with me, for the purpose of showing it to the Committee. I received nothing else. They also brought out some earia and cigars, and asked us to partake of them. I neither smoke nor drink, so I did not accept of their invitation. Commander Kirkland, however, did take some ; and after a short recess we returned to the hut where the tribunal was held, and Masterman was brought in. While we had THE COURT OF INQUISITION. 543 the most intimate terms with the members of the tribunal, but never saying a word to me, or taking any interest in my condition. At various times during this proceeding I was called on to acknowledge the genuineness of my signatures to the successive depositions. I did so, speakmg in Spanish. I was then told by one of the naval officers to speak in English, and I replied in English, ' That is my signature.' At the conclusion of this proceeding we exchanged no further words, and in the presence of the United States officers I was called upon to subscribe to the entire document, acknowledging all my signatures, and certifying again to the correctness of the entire depositions, on which the members of the tribunal and the officers of the United States Navy present signed the record. It was not stated whether or not they signed as witnesses, or as members of the tribunal " During this interview there were present two Paraguayan officers who understood English, so that I could not have spoken freely to the American officers. The head torturer sat opposite me, sword in hand, and with his sinister eyes fixed upon me with the most menacing manner all the time." * been out I saw a person standing beside a tree, with a sentry near him, whom I supposed to be Mr. Masterman. As Mr. Masterman came in he had to pass close by my side, and as he passed me he said : ' You must forgive me for what I am going to say. I hoped to be spared this shame.' Those were his exact words, and I wrote them down as soon after as I could. When he was first sworn he exhibited great fear. His manner was that of a man very much alarmed ; and when he took his seat he twitched and moved about all the time. He seemed very uneasy." Paraguayan Investigation: testimony of Fleet-Captain Francis M. Ramsey, p. 178. * Questions to Mr. Bliss at his examination by the Congressional Committee : " Q. Did it occur to you that you could speak right out and deny all these con- fessions before these naval officers ? " A. The question occurred to me, and I reflected upon it as much as I could within the limited time allowed me ; but I was then of the opinion, which I still hold, that my life depended upon my confirming those statements. " Q. Did you not believe it was in the power of these officers to have protected you ? " A . No ; the presence of these officers would have afforded no protection. I should have been ordered out for instant execution. " Q. Did these officers then leave you ? "A. They did. " Q. Did they put no questions to you at all ? " A. None, except to ask me my name, and tell me to speak in English. 544 PARAGUAY. Mr. Masterman was also called up, and " the terrible Padre Maiz " gave him a long lecture on the duty of consistency, and told him that it would be his duty thenceforth " to de- nounce Mr. Washburn as a conspirator all over the world." At hearing this, Masterman at once divined the reason of it He thus speaks of what next occurred : " I could scarcely conceal my joy, for I knew that help had come ; but I replied, submissively, that what was written was written, that which I had said I could never unsay. He smiled approvingly He went on to tell me that a new Minister had arrived from the United States, and that the President had commuted my sentence of death to banishment for life, and he trusted that I would employ the rest of my days in praising the clemency of the Marshal and denoun- cing the wickedness of Washburn. I promised that I would make the truth fully known, (luckily he did not ask, ' What is the truth ?' ) and now I am fulfilling that promise. A blacksmith was then called, my fetters were knocked off, and I was told that in a few days I should leave the country. I thanked him unaffectedly, but he said When I was called upon to verify my signature, I replied, ' That is my sig- nature.' That is all I said and all they said. " Q. Did they ask you whether your statement was true or false ? "A. Lieutenant-Commander Kir-kland said, ' You acknowledge all that to be true ? ' I replied, ' Yes.' " Q. Did he ask you how it was obtained ? " A. He asked no further question whatever. " Q. Did either of them remonstrate with the officer for keeping watch over you with the drawn sword ? "A. They made no remonstrance whatever. They seemed to be perfectly satisfied with the manner affairs were going on. " Q. Had you reason to believe that these American officers were under any impression that these statements had been extorted from you ? "A. I did not consider it safe for me to say a word to that effect under these circumstances. " Q. Were they under the impression that your depositions were all true ? "A. If they were fools enough to believe so, under such circumstances, they may have done so ; in fact, I suppose they did so believe. " Q. How long had they been in the country before this ? "A. They had just arrived. They arrived on the second day of that month. This was on the 8th. They had had no communication with any foreigner in the country, the foreigners being all in the prison ; and they knew nothing except what Lopez had told the Admiral. Lopez said that we had freely confessed our guilt, and apparently succeeded in bamboozling him completely." CONFESSIONS AFFIRMED. 545 my thanks were due to the Marshal, and that I ought to write a letter to him. I excused myself by saying that he could express my gratitude so much better personally than I could in my imper- fect Spanish ; but, in truth, I loathed the very idea of writing more adulation and lying compliments " Two days afterwards I was again sent for. On my way I met Father Maiz, who repeated the substance of what he had told me before, and reminded me that my life depended on my discretion. He told me that two American officers were then waiting to hear me acknowledge the truth of my written statements, and that I must declare that they were all true ; none knowing better than he the falsity of my confession of guilt." He was then brought before the tribunal, where he found two officers wearing the American naval uniform, and was told to listen while his " declarations " that had been extorted by means before described were read over to him in their presence and hearing. At the time they had been taken down, he had been obliged to sign each sheet on which they were written, and now he was required to verify his signature in presence of these additional members of the inquisition. On entering the miserable hut where the court was held, he found the two priests with whom he had so often been con- fronted before ; and to make sure that he should not deny anything before written, the head torturer of Lopez, Major Aveiro, who had not only beaten both him and Bliss most un- mercifully at various times, but had put them in the cepo uniguayana, sat all the while in front of him, with his eyes constantly fixed upon him. The additional precaution was taken of having two Paraguayans present who understood English, so that no word not understood by the tribunal should pass between him and the officers. Neither of them gave him a word of encouragement, or intimated that he would be protected in speaking the truth. Ramsey, indeed, asked him if the depositions read to him were true, and Master- man begged that he would ask him no questions. He had good reason for doing so, for he had just been warned that his life depended on his adherence to his previous " declara- tions." VOL. n. 35 546 PARAGUAY. The declarations of both the " criminals " having been re- affirmed by them, the two priests Maiz and Roman, and the two American officers Kirkland and Ramsey, signed as wit- nesses, after which the accused were remanded to prison, and the officers returned on board of the gunboat.* It was two days after this before they were delivered up ; and as they had been treated so contemptuously while in the presence of the American officers, who seemed to be on the best of terms with Lopez's inquisitors, they began to apprehend that these offi- cers had been induced to be witnesses of their declarations as * One of the most melancholy incidents of these Paraguayan difficulties was the humiliation experienced by Captain Ramsey on reading my correspondence with Lopez, and to which he thus pathetically testified before the Committee of Foreign Affairs : " Q. How do you know that Mr. Washburn would have been safe had he re- mained ? " A. I only know that Mr. Washburn was the representative of the United States of America accredited to the government of Paraguay, and there was no danger for any representative of a foreign government. He could have re- mained there with perfect safety. I felt humiliated when I read Mr. Washburn's letters. " Q. Are you aware that Bliss and Masterman, knowing all the circumstances, advised Mr. Washburn to take the course he did take ? "A. I read that in the letter of Mr. Washburn. " Q. Had you any reason to doubt it ? " A. No, sir. " Q. Are you not aware that Rodriguez, Secretary of the Legation of Uruguay, duly accredited to Lopez, was kept in the country after relations were suspended, was arrested, tortured, and executed by Lopez ; and that if he did it in one case he would do it in another ? "A. I know nothing about the case. I do not believe all these stories." Paraguayan Investigation, pp. 184, 185. The Committee also felt humiliated, but for another cause. In alluding to the " declarations " of Bliss and Masterman before the court of inquisition of which Ramsey and Kirkland were members, they say : "The 'declaration' referred to in the foregoing testimony is a so-called con- fession that Bliss and Masterman were engaged in a conspiracy to dethrone Lopez, and that Mr. Washburn, forgetful of the duties he owed to himself as a man, and to the government whose Minister he was, was engaged in the same conspiracy. When we reflect that this declaration had not the least semblance of truth, that it was extorted from those trembling and friendless prisoners under torture, and that the Admiral and his two witnesses had every reason to believe it had thus been extorted, we seek in vain for any excuse or palliation for their connection with this shameful transaction. / ', his wife com- pelled to testify against him, 365, 508. Benitez, Valiente, ii. 379. Berges, Don Jose', commissioner, i. 384, 386, 418, 528, 550; ii. 5, in, 151, 156, 179, 211 ; char- acter, 229, 230, 273, 508. Bermejo, ii. 32, 33. Bermejo River, i. 95, 97 ; exploration of, 366. Berro, Bernardo P., i. 503, 517. Bishop, i. 66. Bismarck of Prussia, i. 1 19. Bljss, Henry, ii. 444. Bliss, Porter C., quoted, i. 96 : ii. 90 ; his abil- ities, 96 (and note), 98 ; made member of the Legation, 236, 254 ; action against, by Lo- pez, 310; accused of conspiracy, 311 ; his narra- tive, 323 ; makes his will, 346 ; perils of, 367 ; accusations against, 413 ; perilous situation, 425 ; arrest ot, 432 ; his forced letter to Min- ister Washburn, 444 ; letter to New York World, 444 ; his treatment by Lopez, 448 - 454 ; tortured, 455, 478 ; new plans for re- lease, 490 : situation of, 497 ; examination of, 499- 505 ; his testimony, 516 ; his book cited, 519 ; his portrayal of Minister Washburn, 520 et seg., 542, 543 ; release, 549 ; infamous treatment by Davis, etc., 550 et seg. \ trans- ferred to the Guerriere, 553; petitions Con- gress, 555. Bliss, Rev. Asher, ii. 445. Blyth, J. and A., i. 473, 540, 543. BogadOL Dean, 11. 395. Bogardin, i. 177. Bogarin, Lisardo, i. 322. Bohanes, the, i. 36. Bonaparte, Joseph, i. 137. Bonaparte, Napoleon, i.' 52, 55, 137; imitated by Francia, 222. Bonpland, M. Aime 1 , i. 260 et seq. ; encounters Francia, 261 ; capture, 262 ; sent away, 266, 267. Bougainville, cited, i. 79 (notel Bowen, George, prisoner, ii. 160. Bowlin, Hon. James B., commissioner to Para- guay, i. 379, 415. Braver, Count de, French Consul, i. 411 ; his efforts for the French colonists, 412-414. Brazil in trouble with Lopez, i. 416 ; policy to- ward Paraguay, 51 2 et seq., 518; dishonorable conduct of, 522 ; trouble with Lopez, 526 ; warlike preparations, ii. 12, 13, 15; lack o honor in its Emperor, 17 ; joins the alliance against Paraguay, 22-24; fleet s a'' s U P 'he Parana, 24 ; military inefficiency, 36 ; alli- ance with the Argentine Confederation, 38 ; battle of Riachuelo, 66 - 73 ; condition of the army, 187, 188; squadron passes Humaita, 222 et seq> ; attack and ignominious retreat by the gunboats, 241, 242; inefficiency, 253 ; inaction of, 400 ; success of, 561, 568 ; bad management of Caxias, 571 ; a new com- mander, 574 ; closing scenes of the war, 581 et seq. Brazilian Navigation Company, i. 536. Bristol, birthplace of Sebastian Cabot, i. 5. Brizuela, i. 407, 408. Brossard, the French Consul, \. 415. Bruguez, General, ii. 52, 157, 161, 187, 282; treatment by Lopez, 287, 391 ; put to death, 392. Bucareli, Francisco de Paula, i. 126, 129. Buchanan, President James, his policy in re- gard to the Rhode Island Company, i. 384, 423. Buckle's Civilization, referred to, i. 13. Buckley, R. C., i. 372. Buenos Aires, location of, i. 8 ; bad situation, 17; its different names, 17 (and note) ; abandoned by Mendoza, 20, 73, 25, 27, 37 ; abandonment of, 418; founded a second time, 67, 68, in, 115, 116, 119, 127 ; Jesuits at, seized, 127, 128, '35. 136 I dislikes the rule of Spain, 136 ; revo- lution in, 139; sends army to Paraguay, 140; cause of revolution in, 157 ; the Robertsons arrive at, 165, 175, 176, 178; its war with Spain, 186, 234, 241, 245 ; arrival at, of Bon- pland, 260, 267 ; commerce of, 295, 348, 496 ; war with the Argentine Coniederation, 497 ; policy respecting Paraguay and Uruguay, 509 et seg., 517; treacherous neutrality of,' 518; declines an alliance with Brazil, ii. 15 ; indig- nation at Lopez, 21 ; opposed to war, 39 ; ar- rival at, of Minister Washburn, 121 ; indig- nation at Lopez, 466. Burgos, Pedro, ii. 52 ; his daughter mistress of Lopez, 52. Burrell, Percy, i. 542 ; ii. 222, 576. Buzzard, gunboat, i. 398. Caacupe 1 , Virgin of, worship of the, i. 75. Caaguazu, i. 456, 461. Caapucu, i. 443. Caballero, military commander, i. 174, 175, 177, 178, 179; ii. 583. Cabanas, Manuel Alanacio, i. 153, 156, 280; his treatment by Francia, 323, 324. Cabildo, the, or municipal council, i. 137. Cabot, John, birth and marriage, i. 5 : his con- tracts with Henry VII., 6; discoveries in North America, 6. Cabot, Sebastian, sketch of, i. Chapter I. ; Para- guay discovered by, 5 ; enters service of the king of Spain, 6; efforts to reach Peru, n- 15 ; sends for reinforcements, 12 ; returns to Spain, 14, 42. Cabral, flag-officer, ii. 96, 266. Caceres, General Nicanor, 5- 515. Caceres, Sinforianp, ii. 20, 171, 392. Calagua Indians, ii. 587. Camarra, General, ii. 592. Caminos, Luis, ii. 204, 219 ; his letter to Minis- ter Washburn, 407, 410; correspondence, 413 et seg., 460; death of, 591. Campo Grande, ii. 177- 179. Campos, i. 337. Campos, Carneiro de, n. 70. Canabe, the river, i. ii. Canavarro, General David, i. 508, 515. Candelaria, expedition arrives at, i. 22, 42, 142, 151, 260, 263. Canstatt, James, i. 394 et seg., 464, 532. Capdevila, Aureliano, ii. 150. Capdevila, Don Ramon, ii. 14, 150. CaracarAs Indians, i. 37. Cardenas, Bernardino de. Bishop of Paraguay, i. 90 et seg. ; imprisoned at Asuncion, 92 ; dis- graced, 04, 98, 1 08. Carios Indians, i. 37. Carlyle's Essay on Francia, i. 166 ; quoted, 196, 211, 252 (note), 274, 278. Carranza, Major, ii. 19. Carreras, Antonio de los, i. 315, 502 (note), 517, 549. 55. 555 ' " 237, 238, 254, 275, 277, 281, 283 ; Lopez dislikes him, 284, 360, 361, 369, 442 ; dreadful condition of, 457, 458, 502. Carter, Thomas, ii. 244, 318, 494. INDEX. 619 Carvalho, Sebastian, attacks Jesuitism, i. 118 et seq., see Pombal; policy against Jesuits, 119, 121, 158, 159. Casal, Anita and Conchita, ii. 100, 124, 222, 233, 245, 246, 490. Casal, Candida, ii. 233. Casal, Dolores, ii. 233, 245. Casal, Jose Mauricio, i. 443, 444 ; ii. 208, 491. Cass, Lewis, his policy with Lopez, 378 et seq. Castro, Don Jose' de Autiquera. bee Anti- quera. Cataldino, Jose, one of the first Jesuits in Para- guay, i. 69. Catalina, Saint, island of, i. 50. Catechism of San Alberto, ii. 56 ; extracts from, 56, 57 (note). Cavallero, Don Alexandra, i. 452, 462. Cavour, Count, i. 119. Caxias, Marquis de, ii. 88, 165, 187, 188 ; cor- respondence with, 197- 199, 264, 289, 360, 361, 401 ; his dishonesty, 439, 462 ; fictitious cor- respondence, 514 ; bad management by, 571. Centeno, Diego, Irala superseded by, i. 60. Centinela, newspaper, ii. 171. Cepeda, battle of, i. 497. Cepo uruguayana, torture of the, i. 510. Cerda, Gregorio de la, i. 186; his popularity, 187- 189, j 97 . Cernto, i. 263, 417, 427 ; ii. 90. Cerro Leon, i. 452, 512 ; encampment at, ii. 179. Cespedes. See Jaray. Chaco Indians, i. 58, 96. Chapperon, Lorenzo, ii. 225, 320, 321, 429. Charcas, Audience of, i. 91, 93, 109. Charles I , i. 131. Charles II., i. 163. Charles III. of Spain, i. 119. Charles IV., i. 137, 144. Charles \.. his desire for gold, i. n ; his con- tract with Mendoza, 15, 48, 55, 114, 121. Charles XI I. of Sweden, i. 148. Charles, Leonard, ii. 494. Charlevoix, the Jesuit historian, i. 77, 78 ; esti- mate of his writings, 78, 98, 108. Charruas tribe, i. 35. i. 6' Chaves, Capta no de, lead? an expedition, Chiriguanos, the, i. 37. Chili, i. ,62* Chiquitos, i. 127. C-'sneros. the Viceroy, i. 137. Ciiidad Real, i. 69, 73, 87. Civilization in Peru and Mexico, i. 13 Civita Vecchia, i. 119. 122. Clement XI! I., i. 119, 125. Clement X I V., i. 123. Cochelet, M. Laurent, French Consul, i. 545, 546 ; his difficulties with Lopez, ii. 138 et seq., 152: obnoxious to Lopez, 206; leaves Para- guay, 207, 225, 230, 361, 416. Coimbra, Fort, ii. 10. Coimbra. town of, i. 365. Collins Telegraph Co , ii. 29. Colonia, held by the Portuguese, i. 119. Communism, i. 79 (note). Company, United States and Paraguay Navi- gation, i. 357-372, 378-3S7- Concepqon, i. 177, 429. Conception del Uruguay, ii. 42. Confessional, Lopez uses the, ii. 254. Congress called at Asuncion, ii. 65 et seq. Congress of Amiens, i. 36 (note). Conspiracy, Guarani, i. 32. Conspiracy, the Yegros, i. 297 et seq. Constitution of Paraguay, i. 467. Convent of San Francisco, i. 293. Cordal, Carmelita, ii. 425, 490. Cordal, Fernando, ii. 168. Cordilleras, military expedition into the, i. 53. Cordova, University at, i. 127, 161, 162, 178, 214, 231, 279. Corocoro, 11. 281. Corpus Cristi, Fort, i. 20, 23, 25, 27. Correntinos, war with the, i. 352. Corrientes, the author's detention in, i. 46 ; mi- raculous cross at, i. 76 ; Cardenas at, 93, no, 132, 234, 260, 349, 515 ; proposed invasion of, ii. 12; capture of, 20-22, 24, 26; campaign in, 88 et seq. ; evacuation of, 90 ; Minister Washburn at, 116, 163. Corsica, Jesuits land at, i. 123. Cromwell, Oliver, i. 52, 163. Crosby, Captain Pierce, ii. 130, 131 ; the right man' in the right place, 132-135. Cuberville, French Minister, ii. 207, 215, 225, 263, 296, 361. Curuguayti, ii. 582. Curuguati, Artigas sent to, i. 252. Curumba, i. 61. Curupaiti ii. 134, 135, 157, 210. Cuyaba, 11. 37. D. Davis, Admiral C. H., ii. 368, 461 ; character of, 470 ; thwarts General Webb's plans, 473 ; insolent letter to General Webb, 474 ; treat- ment of McMahon contrasted with that of Minister Washburn, 477, 478; quarrels with General Webb, 479; apologizes for Lopez, 4^1 : changes his tactics, 490; conveniently forgetful, 494 ; his delays, 497 ; arrives at Paraguay, 537 ; interview with Lopez, 539 ; his infamous treatment of Bliss and Master- man, 550 et seq. ; probable reasons of his conduct, 553, 577 ; correspondence with Lo- pez, 609-614. Decidee, steamer, ii. 207. Declaration of Independence of Paraguay, i. 177. Decoud, Juan Francisco, i. 183. Decoud, the brothers, i. 402. Derqui, Dr. Santiago, i. 498. Diaz, General Cesar, i. 493, 501, 510; ii. 162. Doblas, Don Gonzalo de, i. 132. Dogtown, or Yaguaron, i. 161. Doria, William, Charge" d'Affaires, i. 401. Dorignac, i. 412. Duarte. ii. 80- 82. Duffield, John A., ii. 244, 494 ; letter to Min- ister Washburn. 494-496. Dupin, Charles, his version of the conspiracy, i. 320 et srq-, 336. Dure, Ramon, i. 337. Duvall, Dr. Mariu's, his kindness, ii. 553 ; court- martialed by Davis, 554. Echagiie, Don Pascual, i. 231 (note). Eco del Paraguay, ii. 31. Ejusquiza, Don Felix, i. 402. Elizalde, ii. 117. El Paraguay, steamer, i. 359. Empedrado, ii. TOI, 114. Encarnacion, i. 260 : ii. 104, 189. England, attempt of, to aid her subjects ii guay. ii. 203 et seq. Entre Rios, i. 234 : missions of, 244,496 ; Escalada, Juan Pedro, a teacher, i. 317 ; it Lopez, 319, 325 (note), 388; ii. 46. Espinola, Jose", i 135, 140.. Espmosa, Don Salazar de, i. 20, 23; his i reveals a conspiracy, 32, 55. 62O INDEX. Espinosa, Lazaro Ribera, i. 135. Estagarribia, Francia's physician, i. 328. Estigarnbia, General Antonio, li. 80, 82, 84; capitulation, 87 ; treachery, 88, 89. Eu, Count d", in command of Brazilian army, ii. 574. Falcon, Jose", ii. 65, 451. Ferdinand VI I. , i. 137, 138,140,144. Fernandez, Francisco, Colonel, n. 94, 200, 231, 263, 280, 303, 317; his wife compelled to testify against him, 365, 376, 439. Fidanza, Simon, ii. 154 ; arrest of, 294, 542, 565. Fitzpatrick, Commissioner, i. 377. Flores, Venancio, i. 491 ; his treachery, 494, 553 ; made Minister of War, 495 ; assumes the Presidency, 496 ; deposed, 496 ; his career, 498-508, 510; his invasion, 513 et seg., 527, 547 ; ii. 22 ; fate of, So ; assassination, 279. Font, Jos^, ii. 494. Fort Coimbra evacuated, ii. 34. Fort Itapiru, ii. 144; capture of, 145. Four Years in Paraguay, J. P. and W. P. Robertson's, i. 164. Fourier cited, i. too. Fox, Dr. John, ii. 142 : arrest of, 143, 170 ; re- leased, 175, 285, 560. Fran 3.8 ; intermarriage with SpSniards, 39; description of, 44, 46 ; as soldiers, 60 ; atti- tude toward Spaniards, 64. Guarani, Marquis of, i. 310 (note). Guardia, Francisco La, i. 214, 231. Guasarapos Indians, i. 37. Guatos, the, i. 44, 45. Guayra, province of, i. 69 ; occupied by Jesuits, 73, 81, 82, 84, 86 ; Jesuits expelled from, 89. Guayra, Salto de, i. 73, 86. Guerreros, Francisco, i. 182. Guerriere sails for Montevideo, ii. 483. Guido, Don Edwardo, i. 382. Guzman, Alonzo Riqueline de, i. 61. Guzman, Ruy Diaz de, historian of Paraguay, i. to ; cited, 34, 61. H. Hale, Samuel B., ii. 496. Harrison, Captain, ii. 10. Henderson, C. A., consul, i. 394, 396. Henry VII., his contract with Cabot, i. 6. Herrera, Don Nicholas, diplomatic agent to Paraguay, i. 196, 197, 199 ; his reception in Paraguay, 199. Herrera, Juan J., i. 526, 527, 547. Herval, liaron, i. 513. INDEX. 621 Hinistrosa, Gregorio de, i. 91. Historia Secreta, Bliss's, extracts from, i. Holderberg, Baron, i. 242. Hopkins, Edward A., his arrival in Paraguay as Hopkins, U. S. agent, i. 353 et "9- his P lans - 355 : returns to United States, 357 ; his company, and his business affairs with Lopez, 361 - 372. Humaita, fortress of, i. 417, 428, 554; ii. 65, 121, 134; description of, 156, 180, 195, 233; its defence, 269. Hunter, ii. 377, 433. Ibai, the river, i. 85. Ibera, steamer, ii. 90. Ibirai, i. 176, 280. Ibitimi, i. 462. Ignacio, Admiral, ii. 162, 264. Igurey, steamer, ii. 136. Ilia, Colonel, i. 513. Indians, character of, i. 9 ; Payagua tnbe, n ; unjust dealings with, 18 ; Timbu, 19 ; Guara- ni, 23 ; Querandi, 23 ; conciliated by Irala, 29. Indies, western passage to the, i. 8. Inquisition, the, i. 70. Institute of France intercedes for Bonpland, i. 263. Investigating Committee of Congress on Minis- ter Washburn's case, quoted, ii. 123, 386, 387, 450, 469, 470, 476, 478, 485 ; censure of Go- don, 487, 488, 516, 542-544, 546, 555, 557, 566, 580. Ipora, Lake, ii. 562. Ipora, steamer, ii. 189, 195. Irala, Domingo Martinez de, i. 21 ; ascends the Parana and Paraguay Rivers, 22, 24, 25 ; chosen governor, 27 ; his wise administration, 29, 42 ; his policy, 48^ seq. ; his government, death, and character, 57 - 63 ; death, 65 ; what he accomplished, 103. Itapiru, Fort, ii. 19, 120; capture of, 121, 162, 196. Itapua, i. 260. Itu, village of, i. 3,7. Iturbe, Vicente, i. 178, 324. Izarie, M., French Consul, i. 440 ; ii. 144. !ara, Antonio, ii. 428. ara, Don Luis, ii. 139 ; arrest of, 164, 428. arayes, Lake, i. 44. aray, Luis de Cespedes, i. 85 ; opposes Jesuits, 85'; his crimes, 87, 88. Jeffers, Lieutenant, i. 373, 374. Jejui, steamer, ii. 90. Jejuy, i. 429- Jequitmhonha, steamer, n. 95, 9?. Jesuits, the, their influence on the Paraguayan people, i. 64 tt seq. ; their operations, 63 et seq; their first "reduction," 69; the policy of the Jesuits and that of Irala, 72, 73 ; their arrival not pleasing to the natives, 73 ; their deceit and treachery, 74 ; treatment of the natives, 77 ; estimate of their labors, 79-88 ; their expulsion from Guayra, 87 ; distrusted by the government, 89; they appeal to the Pope, 89 ; expelled from Asuncion, 93 ; re- called, 94 ; new plans, 98 : injustice of, 103, 104 ; trouble in prospect, 108 ; people weary of, 114 ; return to Asuncion, 116; exposed by the Spaniards, 117 ; in Europe, 117 ; expelled from Portugal, etc., 122 ; charges against, 124; expulsion from Spain, 120-124; ^ nt from Paraguay to Spain, 128; interfere with civil government, 134; expulsion from Para- guay, 159 ; establish schools at Asuncion, 161 ; influence of, in Paraguay, 173 ; influence on morals, 212, 213, 346 (note). Johnson, Hon. Cave, i. 385. oseph, King, i. 140, 144. Kanzas, steamer, ii. 160. Kirkland, W. A., ii. 196, 197, 279, 283, 284, 289 et seq., 409, 410, 419, 435; his interview with Lopez, 436, 441 ; his reticence concerning Lopez, 459, 461 ; commended in a letter by Minister Washbum, 480; apologizes for Lo- pez, 481 ; his interview with Lopez, 482 ; arrives at Paraguay, 538 ; his service to Lopez, 542 ; infamous treatment of Bliss and Master- man, 550. Laguna, Colonel, ii. 19. Lamas, Don Luis, elected President, i. 496. Lambare, the hill, i. 429 ; ii. 226. Language, the Guarani, i. 31 ; Spanish taught in schools, 31 ; natives not taught European languages by the Jesuits, 105. Lapido, Dr. Octavio, i. 511, 528. La i'lata, the Argentine Confederation, and Paraguay, Page's, cited, i. 108, 130. Larreta, Francisco Rodriguez, i. 453, 528 ; ii. 17. Latitude of Paraguay, i. 5. Lavalleja, General, i. 495. Leal, Brazilian envoy, ii. 66. Leghorn, Jesuits at, i. 122. Leman, Gustavus, i. ^09 (note). Leon, Sebastian de, i. 94. Lescam, Chief-Justice, arrested, i. 483, 487. Lettsom, W. G., i. 553 ; ii. 24. Lhuys, Drouyn de, ii. 107. Libertat, Chancellor, ii. 208, 408. Lima, Audience of, i. 114. Lima, Vianna de, Brazilian Minister, i. 529, 530, 532 ; ii. 3, 4 ; his reply to Berges, 6 ; his escape, 20 ; negotiations concerning, 21-25, 28, 29; his treatment condemned at Buenos Aires, 30. Limehouse, i. 540. Limpio, village of, i. 443, 452 ; ii. 208, 222. Lincoln, Abraham, i. 64, 423. Littsom. William G., ii. 24. Lomas, Valentinus, ii. 57. Longchamp, i. 165, 174 : allowed to leave Para- guay, 264, 267, 292, 308, 309, 317. Lopez, Adelina, n. 202. Lopez, Basil io, made bishop, i. 353, 466. Lopez, Benigno, i. 388; ii. 179, 193 ; his char- acter, 213; picture of, 214, 232, 254, 281, 283, 286, 508 ; execution of, ^65. Lopez, Carlos Antonio, i. 319 ; his plans to succeed Francia, i. 337, 338 ; character and historv, 338-341 : assumes power, 350; made President, 351 ; his policy, 351 ; his friend- ship for Hopkins, 355 ; business matters be- tween him and Hopkins, 361 - 372 ; fires upon the Water Witch, 374 ; his negotiations with the United States in regard to the Rhode Island colony, 377 - 387 ; his family, 388 ; makes common cause with Corrientes, 389 ; contest with Rosa, 389 et seq. : licentiousness of the family, 391, 392; his treatment of Can- 622 INDEX. statt, 394 et seq. ; sends ambassador to Eu- rope, 405 ; Madam Lynch, 407 ; treatment of French colonists, 408-414 ; suspicions of for- eigners, 415; difficulties with Brazil, 417- 419 ; refuses to reopen Rhode Island Com- pany question, 424; character of Lopez, 463; takes possession of Church property, 465; difficulty with the Pope, 466, 467 ; death of, 474; character and administration, 477-482 ; funeral, 535 ; ii. 46, 109. Lopez, Cirilo, i. 339. Lopez, Dona Juana Caiillo de, ii. 143, 200. Lopez, Dona Rafaela, i. 388 ; ii. 200, 209, 213, 2 S4- Lopez, elder and younger, i. 281. Lopez, Francisco Solano, i. 319, 340, 381, 388, 3?9. 397 : sent ambassador to Europe, 405 ; his course while there, 406 et seq., 470 ; his visit to Europe, 471 ; desires a military glory, 472 ; accession to power, 475 ; prepares for war, 576 ; secures his own election, 484 ; ne- gotiations with Mitre, 501 ; trouble with the Emperor of Brazil, 522 etseq. ; his reception of foreign ministers, 530 ; his lack of good policy. 545; his warlike intentions, i^s, 8,9; his am- bition, 10-12; captures the Olinda, 12; his treatment of the officers, 13 ; interview and correspondence with the author, 17 - 22 ; change of manner toward the author, 4 ; his views as to policy of other nations, 13 ; cap- tures Argentine steamers, 13; correspondence with Urquiza, 25, 26, 28 ; his official organ the Sematiario, 29, 34 ; his treacherous policy, 39, 40 et seq. ; calls a congress, 40 ; his rea- sons for war, 41, 42 ; birth, education, and character of, 46-56 ; uses the confessional as a means of despotism, 54 ; arrests and tor- tures Maiz, 59-63; directs battle of Riachu- elo, 66-74 ; distrusts Robles, and puts him to death, 75 - 77 : his rage at defeat, 87, 88 ; builds a palace, 93, 95 ; court etiquette, 103 - 106 ; forced honors to, 95 et seq. ; his recep- tion of Minister Washburn, 105, 106; his dis- appointment at the non-interruption of inter- | course between the United States and the ; Allies, 137 ; his troubles with the French Con- et \ J ucu, | 157 ; forced obsequiousness to, 161 ; levies taxes, 173, 174 ; consults Minister Washburn, 187, 188 ; his disappointment at inaction of foreign nations, 190 ; his vanity and assump- tion, 191 195 : presentation to, 200 ; rejects basis of peace, 203, 205 ; causes of different opinions of, 205, 206 ; treatment of Manlove, 216 - 222 ; his desperate situation, 235 et seq. ; makes new preparations for war, 249 : retreats up the river, 253 ; presentation to, 257 ; cruelty to w-ife of Martinez, 270; his mother's anxi- eties, 281 ; numerous arrests by, 295 ; his malignity, 298; brings charges against Min- ister Washburn, 301 et seq. ; false accusations of conspiracy, 313; his diabolical plans, 335 : public reception. 339 ; his plans to ensnare Minister Washburn, 352 ; manufactures evi- dence, 355 : plans thwarted, 369 ; his horrible cruelty, 382, 383 ; plan to entrap Minister Washburn, 384 ; hypocrisy, 394 ; the arrival of the Wasp prevents Lopez from arresting Minister Washburn, 417 ; forced to allow his prey to escape, 434 ; terrified by Kirk- land, 436-438; letters written by compul- sion of, 460 ; plans deranged by arrival of the Wasp, 465 ; pretends friendship for the United States, 482, 483 ; compels Bliss to write a book, 519 ; interview with Admiral Davis, 539 ; makes dupes of the navy officers, , sul, 138, 139 ; cruelty to Englishmen, 142 seq. ; receives Mr. Washburn at Paso Puc 340 et seq. : changes treatment of Bliss, 547 ; makes friends with McMahon, 557; new dan- gers of, 561 ; his defeat and cowardice, 568, 569; intrenches at Pass ot Ascurra, 571 ; cru- elties to the people, 574 -576; defeat and in- cidents, 580 et seq. : suspects a new conspir- acy, 584 ; tortures his mother and sisters, 585 ; last resorts, 590, 591 ; deal Is of, 592 ; no apolo- gists for, 600; correspondence with Davis, 609-614. Lopez, Caspar, ii. 279. Lopez, Dona Inocei.cia, i. 388; ii. in. Lopez, Venancio, i. 388, 389, 391, 444; ii. 211 ; character, 231, 263. 509. Loreto, the first Jesuit settlement, i. 70 ; aban- doned, 74, 83, i 5 , 102. Louis XV. of France, i. 120. Loyola, Ignatius, and his followers, their influ- ence on Paraguay, i. 64 et seq. ; character of Loyola, 70. Luque, ii. 237, 279. Lushington, Admiral, i. 397. Lynch, Madam, mistress of Lopez, i. 407, 408, v >i. 20 ; picture of, 52 ; her influence against Robles, 76, 77, 95 ; her services secured for Masterman, 151 ; her house at Paso Pucu, 157, 161, 171 ; her son Pancho Lopez, 182, 205, 206, 220 ; asks aid of .Minister Washburn, 238, 259, 269 ; her duplicity, 285, 286, 327 ; removes her propertv from the Legation, 179, 380; aids Lopez in his cruelties, 35-3~8S; her influence upon Lopez, 397 ; her fe,ar of Lopez, 399; makes friends with McMahon, 557; friendship for McMahon, 570; flight of, 591 ; captured, 593 ; hatred toward, 595 ; her business shrewdness, 596. M. Mably, cited, i. 79 (note). Maceta, Simon, one of the first Jesuit priests in Paraguay, i. 69. Machain, Juan Jose', i. 170, 171. Maciel, Andres, ii. 186. Macobies, i. 127. Macomb, Lieutenant W. H., i. 424. Madariaga, Governor, i. 390. Madruga, Manuel, i. 455, 461. Magellan's route, Cabot follows, i. 7. Maiz, Benigno, i. 489. Maiz, Padre Fidel, i. 477, 483, 487, 490; ii. 20, 58 ; his arrest and confession, 59-63. Mallada, Don Mariano, i. 180, 183. Mamelucos, the, i. 83, 84, 85; trouble with the Jesuits, 90. M angolas Indians, i. 37. Manlove, James, i. 453 ; ii. 216 ; his career, 217 et seq , 233 ; made member of American Legation, 236, 247, 248, 284, 494. Mansilla, Colonel, ii. 218. Maranham, i. 360. Marco, Commander, ii. 565. Marcy, W. L., Secretary, i. 372 ; interferes in behalf of the Rhode Island Company, i. 377- Mana de Fe", i. 102. Maria, Don Josi de, i. 176, 178. Mamelukes, the, i. 37. Marquesas Islands, i. 47. Marquez, Colonel Coriolano, i. 513; ii. 19, 173, 337- M.miacre, questions of, i. Chapter II. Martinez, ii. 259 ; accused of treachery, 268 ; torture of his wife, 270 ; she is compelled to testify against her husband, 365 ; execution of . Madam Martinez, 566. INDEX. 623 Martinez, Francia's secretary, i. 281. Masterman, George F., ii. 142, 143 : his book quoted, 146; a prisoner, 175, 210, 236, 254; action against by Lopez, 310; accused of con- spiracy, 311 ; perils of, 367 ; critical situation, 425 ; arrest of, 432 ; his letter to Minister Washburn, 445 ; his experiences related by himself, 448 - 454 ; forced confessions and ac- cusations, 454, 455: tortured, 448-455, 478; new plans for release, 490 ; situation of, 497 ; his account of his treatment, 507 - 509 ; cited, 518 ; compelled to affirm charges against Min- ister Washburn. 543 ; release, 549 ; infamous treatment by Davis, 550 et seq. ; transferred to the Guernere, 553. Matorras. school at, i. 180. Matto Grossp, i. 62, 364, 416, 419, 425, 536 ; ii. 10 ; expedition against, 37. Mauricio, ii. 154. Mbayas Indians, i. 37 ; description of, 40-42. McCabe, M. B., cited, i. 236 (note). McMahon, Martin T., succeeds Minister Wash- burn, ii. 476-478; becomes an apologist for Lopez, 481 ; sails for Montevideo. 485 ; sketch of, 494 ; arrives at Paraguay, 538 ; infamous conduct of, 551 et seq. : interview with Lo- pez, 557 ; assumes charge of the illegitimate children of Madam Lynch, 559 ; his War in Paraguay cited, 562 : incidents in his career, 565 - 567 ; his negotiations with Lopez, 569, 570 ; friendship for Lopez and Madam Lynch, 570; his devotion to Lopez, 576, 577 ; recalled, 577> 578 : '* derided by the people of Buenos Aires, 579 ; at Washington defends Lopez, 580. Medina, General, i. 502, 508, 517. Meincke, secretary, ii. 216, 319. Melgarejo. Ruy Diaz de, i. 69, 70, 73, 87. Melville, Herman, i. 47. Mendez, banishment of, i. 282, 283. Mendoza, Antonio de, in command at Corpus Cristi, i. 26. Mendoza, Don Diego de, i. 18. Mendoza, Don Gonzalo de, his search for Ayolas, i. 21 ; succeeds Irala, 63 ; death of, 64. Mendoza, Don Pedro de, expedition under, i. 15 et seq. ; unpopularity, 16 ; dealings with the Indians, 18 ; abandons Buenos Aires, 20 ; death of, 20. Mendoza, Francisco de, appointed acting gov- ernor, i. SQ, 60. Mesa, Admiral, ij- 66, 69-71. Mexico, civilization in, i. 13 ; despoiled by Spain, 50. Milleres, execution of, i. 284 (note). Minuanes, the, i. 37. Miracles, i. 26, 75, 76 ; by Solano, 97. Miranda, Jo*? del Rosario, i. 318. Misiones, province of, i. 136, 141 ; the Jesuits at, ii. 37, 38. Mitre, President, his history cited, i. 141, 142^ seq., 497 et seq. ; will not be involved in war, ii. 15 ; lack of honor, 17 ; urged to make war on Lopez, 21, 22, 26, 38 ; suspected by | Lopez, 40, 85 ; his conduct toward Minister '> Washburn, \\betseq.; his subterfuges, 127, 129; prepares to attack Lopez, 167, 273; ac- cused by Lopez of conspiracy, 396. Mdas, Don Mariano, cited, i 245. Molina, Padre Luis de, i. 124 Molucca Islands, Cabot sails for, i. 7. Mongilo, Colonel, ii. 584. Monserrat, college of, i. 178. Montoya, Father, i. 78 (note) ; represents the Jesuits at the Court of Spain, 89. Monterroso, Friar, i. 243. Montesquieu cited, i. 79 (note). Montevideo, i. no, in, 184, 234, 240, 256, 282, 365. 382, 394, 492, 494. 496, 516, 519, 522, 536 ; siege of, ii. 17 ; tall of, 19, 25. Montiel, the brothers, i. 321. Mora, Don Fernando, L 177, 197 ; execution of, 301. Moreno, General Lucas, L 508, 517. X. Nalicue'gos Indians, i. 37. Neembucii, port of, i. 268, 269, 428. Negron, Diego Marin, supersedes Saavedra, L 69 ; death of, 70. Nemours, Duke de, ii. 574. Nery, Felipe, i. 5:9. Nette, General Felipe, i. 513, 518, 520, 527; fate of. ii. 26. New Bordeaux, i. 429. Nuavas Indians, i. 37. Nunez, Alvar. See Yaca. O. Obelar, Cristoval Dominguez de, i. 116. Ocole Indians, i. 97. Octaviano, Senor, ii. 121 et seq. Olinda, Marques de, steamer, i. 419 ; seizure of, 557 et seq. ; treatment of her passengers, ii. 3, 6. impo. Fort, i. 22, 24, 42, 61. Olimpo, steamer, ii. 179. Omoo Islands, i. 47. Onteveros, town of, i. 69, 73, 87. Oribe, General, i. 492, 505, 506, 519. Oriental government calls Gomez into service, ii. 3. Oriental Republic of Uruguay, i. 496, 511. Orrego, the inspector, i. 228. 229. Ortellado, Don Bernardo, i. 316; intercourse with the author, 316; ii. 150. Ortiz, Manuel Antonio, i. 336. Osorio, Don Juan de, military commander under Mendoza, i. 16. Osorio, General, i. 513; ii. 22, 119; his plans for the campaign, 189. Owen, cited, i. 100. 3. Olim Paddison, George, i. 439 ; ii. 145. Page, Thomas J., his book cited, i. 108, 130; commissioned to negotiate a treaty, 364 ; his experiences with Lopez, 365 - 374. Paisandu, capture of, ii. 15, 16. Palacios, Manuel Antonio, Bishop, ii. 52, 55, 59. Palos, Fray Jose, Uishop of Paraguay, i. in. Paraguari, battle of, i. 149 ; town of, 453, 454 ; steamer, ii. go. 98. Paraguayan nation, how composed, i. 39. Paragiiayo Inaefendente, the newspaper, i. 351; cited, ii. 30. Parajruay, vague ideas of, i. i - 4 : situation, 5 : various expeditions to. Chapters I. - IV. ; gen- eral prosperity of, 57 ; Spanish ideas of the country, 57 ; the inhabitants as affected bv the colonists, 58, 59; types of civilization, 58 ; how affected by Irala's failure, 61. 62: intro- duction of Jesuits and their influence, 64 et seq. ; secondary to Buenos Aires, 6S ; treatment of natives by Irala and others, 72-74 ; Jesuit missions in, 83-88; domestic life in, 104 ; natives oppressed by Jesuits, 89 624 INDEX. et seq. : Balmaceda appointed governor, 109 ; people weary of Jesuits, 114; in rebellion, 116 ; Jesuits expelled from, 128 et seq. ; Ve- lasco made governor, 136 ; invaded by Bel- grano, 140 et seq. : victorious, 150 ; revolu- tion in, 156 et ieq. ; its independence, 159 ; influence of Jesuits in, 173 ; its declaration of independence, 177 ; conspiracies in, 180, 181 : condition of the people, 196 ; general igno- rance, 206 ; condition under Francia, 226 et seq. ; non-intercourse with the world, 244 : population, 247 ; general isolation under Fran- cia, 267 - 269 ; industrial labors, 270 ; char- acter of people, 272 ; a reign of terror, 285 et seq. \ commerce of, 295 ; condition of, after death of Francia, 334, 335 ; release of prison- ers, 342 ; education, 343 ; the new govern- ment, 344 ; law for extinction of slavery, 348 ; Lopez made President, 357 ; origin and his- tory of the American Company, 357 : in diffi- culty with the United States, 377 - 387 ; inde- pendence acknowledged, 405; revenue, 420- 422 ; general description of the country, 425 et seq. ; Constitution of, 467 ; military rule under Lopez, 474 ; policy of Brazil and Buenos Aires towards, 509 ; difficulties with Brazil, 529 ; forced support of war, ii. 28 et seq. ; military efficiency, 36 ; declares war against the Argentine Republic, 67 ; religious senti- ment of, 54 ; fleet sails for Asuncion, 64 ; the battle of Riachuelo, 66-73; return from the campaign, 91 ; people of, compelled to honor Lopez, 95 et seq. ; impressment of people into service, 167 ; heavy taxation of, 173, 174 ; condition of, 199, 200 ; critical condition of, 233. 234 I painful uncertainties and prospects, 261, 262; the bogus conspiracy, 321 et seq.; kindness of the people, 458, 459 ; commercial interests of, 475 ; in a bad military situation, 562 ; closing scenes of the war, 581 et seq. ; condition of, at death of Lopez, 595 ; hatred of Madam Lynch, 595 ; probable future of the country, 606. Paraguay River, the, i. 37, 268 ; description of, 4 2 5 Paranahyba, steamer, ii. 95. Parana River, the, i. 8 ; ascended by Cabot, 9, ii ; Jesuit settlement on, 70, 73, 8t, 86, 88; union of the Bermejo with, 95, 136; recrossed by the army of Belgrano, 156, 233, 242, 260, 268 ; exploration of, 373, 426 ; Brazilian fleet on, ii. 48. Paranhos, Counsellor Jose 1 Maria de Silva, i. 418, 495 ; ii. 13, 37, 39, 45, 62 ; returns to Rio, Parish, Sir Woodbine, i. 264, 265. Parodi, Don Domingo, i. 451 ; ii. 212, 275. Parsons, Captain, ii. 559. Paso de la Patria, ii. 57, 88, 91, 117, 120, 162. Paso Pucu. ii. 50, 51, 136, 180, 195, 258. Patino, Policarpo, Francia's secretary, i. 324, 336- Paulistas, the, i. 83, 85. Paunero, General, ii. 24, 81. Pavon, battle of, i. 498. Payagua Indians, i. n, 22; difficulties with, 25, 42, 43. Payaguas, Rio de los, i. 43. Paysandu, i. 548. Pedro II., Emperor, i. 523, 526. Pendleton. Ensign, ii. 133- 136. Penn, William, his treatment of the Indians, i. 32- Peonage, i. 432. Percy, Captain, i. 249. Pereira, Gabriel Antonio, i. 500, 501. 503. Pereira, Leite, ii. 225, 279 ; seeks protection of Minister Wtshburn, 296 ; difficulties concern- 298 et seq. ; arrested, 304 ; agony 346, 428, 509 : execution of, 565. ing, 298 et seq. ; arrested, 304 ; agony of his wife, 346, 428, 509 : execution of, 565. Perez, Manuel Atitor)io, preaches Francia's funeral sermon, i. 328 Peribebui, steamer, ii. 66. Peru, Audience of, i. 112. Peru, ideas entertained of, i. Chapter I. ; iu gradual subjugation, 13 ; despoiled by Spain, 50 ; reached by Irala, 60. Pesoa, mistress of Lopez, ii. 52. Phillimore, Dr. Robert, i. 400. Philip II. and the Inquisition, i. 71, 121. Philip III. issues letters-patent to the Order of Jesus, i. 69. Philip of Pokanoket, i. 43. Pikysyry, battle of, ii. 498 ; description of, 561 - . Pilcomayo, exploration of the, i. 366. Piratiny, Republic of, i. 513. Pirayu, battle at, i. 115. Pirebebui, ii. 567 ; capture of, 582. Piriz, General Lucas, ii. 15, 16. Pizarro, Gonzalo, i. 60. Plata, Rio de la, the river, ascended by Cabot, i. 5, 7 ; description of, 8 ; second expedition to, 15, 28, 34, 37, 40; arrival of De Vaca at, 50, 246. Plaza del Gobierno, ii. 132. Pokanoket, Philip of, i. 43. Pombal, Carvalho, Marquisof.i. 118; his policy against the Jesuits, 119, 121. See Carvalho. Pompadour, Madame de, i. 120. Porrero, Obella, ii. 181. Porter, Admiral, sustains Godon, ii. 488. Portenos, name given to the people of Buenos Aires, i. 136; in battle, 149, 156, 197, 234, 243. Portugal, Jesuits expelled from, i. 122. Portuguese explorers, i. 37 ; in Brazil, 82, 83 ; relations with Jesuits, iiS ei sey. ; antipathies of Portuguese and Spaniards, 255. Prat, Anna, i. 412. Priests, immorality of the, i. 170. Pulaski, the gunboat, i. 424. Q- Juatrefaghts, Surgeon, i. 407. Jueirolo. Sefior, i. 455. Juerandi Indians, i. 23, 35, 139. Juintera, General, i. 242. JaintaniUa, i. 462. Juinteros, execution of prisoners at, i. 502, 51 Railroad projected, i. 473. Raleigh, Sir Walter, his discoveries, i. 14. Ramirez, i. 251, 263 ; his defeat of Artigas, i. 267, 300; ii. 19. Ramsey. Francis M , ii. 471 : character of, 472, 477, 488 ; his service to Lopez, 542 ; infamous conduct of. 551 et seg., 577. Ranger, steamer, ii. 10. Ravnal cited, i. 79 (note). Rebellion. United States, war of the, i. 136. Recalde, Don Francisco, i. 179, 290. Recoleta, town of, i. 338, 340 ; ii. 226. Rengger, cited, i. 161, 162, 165, 166, 174; quoted, 181, 184, 221, 243, 245, 262 : allowed to leave Paraguay, 264, 267. 274, 284. 292 ; Francia's defence against, 308-310 (note), 317. Republicanism in South America, i. 256 et seq. INDEX. 625 Resquin, General, i. 453, 461 : .". 157. 6i, 5' : protests that he was an unwilling tool of Lo- pez, 601 : his Diary, 53, 76, 150 (note), 186, 392 ; capture of, 569, 581. Rhind, Dr. James, ii. 142 ; arrest of, 143, 146 ; released, 151. Rhode Island Company, i. 359-425- Rhode Island Legislature charters the United States and Paraguay Navigation Company, i. Riachiielo, the river, i. 19 ; battle of, ii. 69-73 ; result of, 74. Ribera, General, i. 495. Ricci, Father, i. 122, 123. Rincon de los Gallinos, i. 507. Rio Apa, the, i. 44 ; ii. 430. Rio Blanco, steamer, i. 407, 473, 541. Rio de Janeiro, i. 83 ; court of, attempts to re- lease Bonpland, 263, 519; correspondence with Montevideo, ii. i, 8, 152. Rio de la Plata, the river. See Plata. Rio de los Payaguas, i. 43. Rio Grande, i. 255 ; campaign in, ii. 104. Rivarola, Lieutenant, i. 179, 320. Rivero, Major, i. 585. Robertson, J. P. and W. P., cited, i. 162, 164- 166, 174, 184; quoted, 186-188, 190-195, 198, 203, 204, 205-211; Francia opens his policy to, 207-211, 215, 221 ; description of Orrego, 228, 229, 231, 232, 245, 246 : taken prisoner, 247, 268 (note), 274, 282, 284 (note), 292 ; de- scription ot the Yegros conspiracy, 298 et seq. ; quoted, 303-307, 317 ; account of conspiracy, 322, 325 (note). Robles, General Wenceslao, i. 488, 567 ; ii. 24, 59 ; suspected of treachery, 75 ; executed, 77 ; character, 78, 89. Roca, Tristan, ii. 171, 202. Rodriguez, ii. 238, 254 ; character, 277. 284; his troubles and good conduct, 305 et seq. ; ar- rested, 309. 414. Rodriguez, Domingo, i. 170, 171. Rojas, Logan, i. 340, 388. Rojas, Manuel, i.' 485. Roman priest, ii. 453. Romero, ii. 88. Ros, Don Baltasar Garcia de, i. no, in. Rosa, Octaviano d'Almeida, ii. 22. Rosario, town of, i. 389, 499 ; ii. 117. Rosas, the tyrant of Buenos Aires, i. 245, 349 : war with the Correminos, 352, 389, 492, 506, Rosecrans, General W. S., ii. 493. Rousseau. Jean Jacques, i. 79 (note). Ruiloba, Don Manuel de, i. 115. Russell, Earl, i. 546. SaA, Victoria Correa de, i. 85. Saavedra, Hernando Arias de, i. 169 ; efforts to convert the natives, 69, 137* Sagastume. Jose Vasquez, i. 528, 556; ii. 17. Saguier, AHolfo, i. 539. Sapuier, Carlos and Fernando, i. 533, 535, 536 ; their escape, 537; Don Carlos, ii. 139 Saldanha, Colonel, i 513. Salinares. ii. 333 Salter, W. D., Commodore, i. 374; his repre- hensible conduct, 374, 375. Salto, cariture of. ii. 39, 98. Salto. Oriental, ii. oo. Sanabria, M alias, ii. 232, 247, 321 ; arrest of, 376. San Antonio, i. 428, 429. San Bias, patron saint of Paraguay, i. 27. San Borja, ii. 104. Sanchez, ii. in, 228; character, 229, 567; death San Espiritu, visited by Cabot, i. 10; Fort, n, 12-. San Estanislao, colony of, i. 82. San Fernando, ii. 280 : abandoned by Lopez, 408. San Francisco, convent of, i. 292. San Ignacio, i. 102, 112. San Ildefonso, treaty of, i. 36 (note). San Joaquin, ii. 32. San Luis, i. 128 San Martin, i. 254. San Miguel, i. 129. San Paulo, i. 83, 85. San Pedro, i. 429. San Plabo, i. 37. San Salvador, i. 287. Santa Cruz, Gongalez de, Governor, i. 70. Santa Fe, i. 23, 231 (note), 242, 497. Santa Maria, i. 262, 263. Saraiva, Jos Antonio, i. 521, 526, 527, 547, 548, 550. Saraiya, Senor, n. 15. Sarmiento, i. 254. Savannah, U. S. ship of war, i. 375. Sctnanario, the, ii. 30, quoted 53 (note) ; its character, 55, 56. Seward, W. H., Secretary, sustains Minister Washburn, ii. 149, 272 ; directs that Minister Washburn be relieved, 461. , Shamokin, steamer, L 130; conveys Minister Washburn to Asuncion, 132-135. Shubrick, Commodore, i. 380. Silva, Captain, ii. 171. Silvero, Victor, ii. 20. Skinner, Dr., ii. 422, 559, 585. Slavery, i. 37, 72, 73, 85, 86 ; law for extinction of, 348. Social questions, i. 30. Solano, Francisco, first American saint, i. 95 ; sketch of, 95 et seq. : performs miracles, 97. Soils, Jose, ii. 379. Solis, Juan Diaz de, Soils, Rio de, the, i. his voyages, i. 8, 35. Somellera, Don Pedro, i. 136, 157-159 : author of the revolution, 159, 161, 174-176; quoted, 178-184, 245, 324. Somerella, Benigno, i. 179. Soroeta. Ignacio, Governor, i. 113. Sousa, General, i. 157. Spain, Vol. I. passim; Jesuits in, i. 120; ex- pelled from, 122, 123, 126 ; war with Buenos Aires, 186. Spanish adventures, early, i. 6. Spanish intercourse with natives, i. 30 : rule in Paraguay, 103; belter than represented by the Jesuits, 103 ; they attempt to expose the Jesu- its, 117, 241 ; antipathies of Spaniards and Portuguese. 255. Squillaci, i. 120 ; his influence over Charles III. of Spain, 120 ; dismissed, 121. Stark, William, i. 453. Stewart, Dr. William,, i. 476, 566. 567 ; ii. 136, 158, 163, 181, 187, 220, 285: his revelations, 384 ; testimony of, 386, 387, 399. 422, 448, 460, 557 ; his wife a prisoner, 569, 585. Stewart, George D., 11. 460 Stewart, William, ii 4 6. Si Robert. M. Chevalier, cited, i. 236 (note). St. Stephen's, i. 209. Suarez, Goyo. ii. 16. Swann, Thomas, his report, ii. 555- Taboada, Padre, i. 183. Tacuari. the river, i. 150, 151, 158 ; battle of, 323 ; war steamer, 398, 473 ; ii. 65. 626 INDEX. Tamandare", Baron de, his circular, i. 553 ; ii. 22, 82, 117, 119 ; his connection with the an- noyances of Minister Washburn, 122 et seg., 155; treatment,of, by Emperor of Brazil, 162. Taruma, i. 81 Taylor, Alonzo, ii. 118, 498; his description of the torture of the cepo uruguayaua, 510, 511, Tea, Paraguayan, or yerba mate\ i. 260. Tebicuari, the river, i. no, 115, 129; Belgrano s army crosses, 146, 428 ; head-quarters of Lo- pez, ii. 258. Telegraph Company, the Collins, lu 29. Temperature of Paraguay, i. 457- Tevego, or San Salvador, i. 287. Thompson, George, his history cited, n. 25 - 28, 79; his description of Humaita, 156, 158, 161, 181, 182, 205, 282, 283, 287, 389, 448, 56, 562. Thornton, Sir Edward, i. 397, 4'. 53 : his re- ception by Lopez, 531-533, 538-54: "is opinion of Lopez, 546 ; ii. 8. Timbu Indians, i. 19; Spanish treachery to- wards, 25, 26, 37. Tobacco, manufacture of, i. 160. Toledo, i. 66. Tome, Antonio, ii. 280. Torre, Pedro de la, appointed bishop, i. 66 ; his policy, 72. Treaties, various, with Paraguay, i. 405. Treaty of San Ildeforys, i 36 (note). Treaty, Lieutenant Page commissioned to ne- gotiate, i. 364 ; between United States and Paraguay, 371 ; between Brazil and Paraguay, 419 Tres Bocas, i. 416, 426 ; n. 134. Treuenfeld, ii. 390, 498, 566. Triple Alliance, the, i. 491 ; formed, ii. 22-24 : absurd features of, 199, 257, 594. Troya, Don Nicolas, i. 452, 453. Tucaques Indians, i. 37. Tucuman, bishop of, ii. 80 ; colony of, i. 68 ; province of, ii. 167. Tupis Indians, i. 37. Turin, i. 530. Tuyuti, Marques, ii. 183. Typee, i. 47. U. Ulrich, Carlos, ii. 236. United States and Paraguay Navigation Com- pany, history of, i. 357 et seg., 362 - 372 ; wars m, 495-505 United States government, its instructions to Godon, Webb, and Asboth, ii. 130 et seg.\ mediation of, 185 : rejected, 195 : renewed at- tempts, 197 : its policy toward South Ameri- can republics, 475. Urbieta, Juan Gregorio, appointed bishop, i. 467; ii. 55: death, $\ 257. Urdapilleta, Captain Pascual, i. 312 et seg. Urdapilleta, Andres, i. 312 et seg. Urdapilleta, Josi Vicente, i. 312 et seg., 453 : made Chief- Justice, 315. Urdipilleta, Vicente, ii. 210, 414. Urdapilleta family, the, i. 312-317. Urquiza, General J. J., i. 381, 396, 496, 498 ; ii. 42 : his vacillating course, 18-20, 25 ; fate of, 26 (note) ; his intrigues, 3?. Uruguay, missions, i. 119 ; republic of, 234, 254, 260 ; Oriental Republic of, 496 ; policy of Buenos Aires towards, 509, 527; difficulties with Brazil, ii. 5. Uruguay River, the, i. 8, 9, 81, 87, 136, 515. Uruguayana, ii. So. V. Vaca, Cabeza de, expedition of, i. 48-56; his character, 49 ; journey through the wilderness, 51 ; imprisoned, 54 ; sent to Spain, 55. Valiente, Captain, ii. 77. Valpy, Henry, engineer, i. 542, 543 ; ii. 158, 181, 222, 273, 576. Varela, Don FJorencio, i. 486, 487 ; 505. Vargas, Valta, i. 297. Vasconcellos, Antonio, ii. 279. Vasquez, Nicholas, i. 384, 485, 487. Velasco, Benito, i. 136, 156 ; resigns, 158, 174, 175 ; a prisoner, 179, 184, 192, 197, 280, 317 ; his character, 324, 325 ; death, 325 (note). Velasco, Don Bernardo, appointed governor, i. '36, 39, '4 I his career, 141 et sey. Velazco, Ramirez de, governor of Tucuman, i. 68. Vergara, Francisco Ortiz de, i. 61 ; governor, 64. Vermejo River, i. 428. Vianna de Lima, his note, i. 550, 552, 559. Viceroy of Peru appoints Santa Cruz governor, i. 70 ; appoints Balmaceda governor, 109. Vidal, Dr., i. 313. Villa del Pilar, i. 268, 428. Villa del Salto, i. 548, 552 ; gunboat, ii. 2 ; at- tempt to capture, 6, 178. Villa Franca, i. 428. Villalba, Don Thomas, ii 41. Villa Occidental, i. 429. Villa Oliva, i. 428. Villa Rica, i. 69, 73, 74, 87, 455. Villeta, i. 428 ; ii. 561. Volney, i. 280. Voltaire, i. 280. Von Versen, ii. 498, 566. W. Walloon Guards, the, of Spain, i. 120. Ward, Samuel, secretary to James B. Bowlra, ' 379, 385- Washburn, C. A., appointed resident commis- sioner at Paraguay, i. 424 ; reception by Lo- pez, 425 ; personal experiences and adven- tures, 439 et seg. ; a visit to the yerbales, 451 ; protests against seizure of steamer Olinda, etc., 562 et seg. : correspondence with Brazilian Minister, 568; interview with Berges, ii. 16; with Lopez, 4, 5 ; leave of absence, 8 ; inter- view with Caxias, 88 : personal observations on court customs of Lopez, 104 et seg. ; re- ception by Lopez, 105, 106 ; his efforts with Lopez for justice to foreigners, 113 et seg. ; sails for the United States, 114; obstacles and diplomatic annoyances in return to Asuncion, 115 et seg. ; difficulties with Mitre and Admi- ral Godon, 122 et seg- : his protest. 125 ; re- news his demands on Mitre, 126 ; is master of the situation, 130 ; welcome at Cunipaiti, 136 ; reaches Asuncion, 162 : welcome at, 138, 741 ; secures the release of imprisoned Englishmen, 151 ; negotiations for Mastennan, 151 ; visits Lopez, 156: labors for release of American prisoners, 160 ; personal incidents, 179 et seg.', visits Lopez, 179: visits the camp of the Al- lies, 183; interviews with Lopez, 1^7 et seg.; extracts from journal, 188- 195 ; receives de- spatches from United States. 196 ; attempts mediation, 197-199: daily life at Asuncion, 200-216 ; refuses to leave the city, 223 ; inter- INDEX. 627 view with Berges, 233 : increases numbers of the American Legation, 236 ; notifies the au- thorities of this act, 237 ; Madam Lynch seeks his aid, 238 ; routine of life at the Legation, 253 ; extracts from journal, 261, 262 ; dis- pleases Lopez by his protection of foreigners, 272 ; asks to be recalled, 273 ; precautionary measures, 277. 278 ; preparations for leaving, 280 ; correspondence with Kirkland, 289 ; in- mates of his house, 293 ; difficulties, 297 ; cor- respondence with Benitez, 297 et sey. ; charged with various crimes by Lopez, 301 ; under displeasure of Lopez. 309, 310 ; asks for his passports, 311 ; gains time by diplomacy, 313; visited by Chapperpn, 320 ; concealment of manuscript, 323 ; visited by Madam Lynch, 327 ; dangers increase, 333 ; visited by Benitez, 341 ; t'alse charges against, 355 ; refutes them, 357 ; perils of, 367 ; a third time demands pass- ports. 373 : defends Bliss and Masterman, 374 ; in personal danger, 384 ; direct issue with Lopez, 404 ; correspondence with Cami- nos, 413 et seq. ; preparations for leaving in the Wasp, 422 ; the escape, 434 ; attempts to rescue Bliss and Masterman, 441 ; receives letters from, 444 ; letter to Lopez, 446, 447 ; final departure, 458 ; publishes the course of Lopez, 459 : embarrassments, 460, 461 ; reaches Buenos Aires, 466 ; comments on the United States naval service, 467, 468 ; difficulties with Admiral Davis, 479, 480; iniquities in the navy, 489. 490; forced charges against, 500- 507 ; fictitious correspondence with Caxias, 514: portrayed by Bliss, 520. Washington, George, i. 64. Wasp, gunboat, arrives at Itapiru, ii. 196, 280, 289 */ seq. : returns, 368, 409, 417: the situa- tion of, 419, 434, 461 : recital of her voyages, 461 et seq ; returns to Corrientes, 552. Water Witch, steamer, i. 364 ; ii. 19 ; its vicis- situdes, 365 - 372 ; fired upon, 374-376, 557. Watts, John, u. 65, 150, 247. I Webb, General James Watson, ii. 130, 131, 185 ; letters from, 440 ; his efficiency, 462 ; i his activity and patriotism, 463, 464 ; prompt- ness to vindicate rights of Americans, 472 ; difficulties with Admiral Davis, 473 ; his tes- timony, 476, 478 ; his opinions, 478, 553 ; his valuable services, 560. Wells, Captain Clark H., ii. 136; testimony of, 469-471. Welles, Gideon, Secretary, approves of Admiral Godon, ii. 487, 488, 489, 490. Whytehead, W. K., superintendent, i. 439. Wisner, Colonel, ii. 95, 159, 187, 220, 287. World, A'fw York, Bliss's letter to, ii. 444. V. Yaguaron, i. 91, 161, 279. Yatai, ii. 80: battle of, 86. Yegros, Fulgencio, i. 151, 156, 159; made Presi- dent, 177, 201, 280. Yegros, Jose Tomas, i. 178 ; chosen second con- sul, 202 ; his duties, 205 ; deposed, 214 ; dis- satisfaction of people at, 216 ; conspiracy of, 297 et seq., 319, 464. Yerba mate, or Paraguayan tea, i. 260 ; descrip- tion of, 433 ; culture of, 450, 457 - 461. Yequibel, Dona Juana, her grand entertain- ment, i. 191 - 195. Ytapua, entertainment at, i. 193. Yturbide, execution of, i. 301. Zavala, Bruno Mauricio de, Governor of Buenos Aires, i. 110-113, 116. Zavala, Dona Petrona, i. 170. Zavala, Juan B., i. 182. THE END. Cambridge : Electrotyped and Printed by Welch, Bigelow, & Co. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 1NTERLIBRARY LOANS MAY 15 1973 THREE WEEKS FROM DATE OF RECEIPI NON-RENEWABLE tCC &4K 1973 Form L9-Series 444 DEC 3 11976 ID-UK NOV IV1 09J984 r.D-URL 1158 00967 8573