CHAPTER VI.

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Santiago....Foundation....Description of the City....Contrast between the Society here and at Lima....State of Chile....Manners and Customs....Revolution....Carreras....O'Higgins....Defeat at Rancagua....Chileans cross the Cordillera....Action of Chacabuco....Of Maypu....Death of Don Juan Jose, and Don Luis Carrera....Murder of Colonel Rodrigues....Formation of a Naval Force....Death of Spanish Prisoners at San Luis....Naval Expedition under Lord Cochrane....Failure of the Attack on Callao....Attack at Pisco....Death of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles....Capture of Vessels at Guayaquil....Squadron returns to Chile.

Santiago, the capital of Chile, was founded on the 24th February, 1541, by the Spanish conqueror Pedro de Valdivia. Its situation is in an extensive valley called de Mapocho, bounded on the east by the Cordillera, on the west by the hills or mountains de Prado and Poanque, on the north by the small river of Colina, and on the south by the river Mapocho, or Topocalma, which passes the city on one side, and feeds many asequias, small canals for irrigation; it also supplies the city with water.

About the year 1450 Chile was invaded by the prince afterwards the Inca Sinchiroca, who, more by persuasion than by force, possessed himself of this valley; it was called at that time, Promocaces, the place of dancing, or merriment. The Peruvian government was not established here on the first arrival of the Spaniards, owing perhaps to the opposition made by the Promaucians, who resided between the rivers Rapel and Maule, and whom they never subdued; thus, although Garcilaso de la Vega Inca places the boundary of the territory governed by the Incas on the river Maule, it is more probable that it was on the Rapel, for near the union of the Cachapoal with the Tinguiririca, taking the name of Rapel, there are some ruins of a Peruvian fortress, built in the same manner as those of Callo and Asuay, in the province of Quito; these apparently mark the frontier, and especially as none are found more to the southward.

Santiago is divided into squares or quadras, containing in the whole, if we include the suburbs, about a hundred and fifty, which are marked out by the streets; but many are incomplete, wanting houses to finish the boundaries. The principal public buildings are the mint, the palace of the supreme director, and the cathedral, which, like that of Conception, is in an unfinished state. The mint is a very handsome edifice, vieing in elegance with any other in South America, and equal to many of considerable note in Europe. It was built by Don Francisco Huidobro, at the expense of nearly a million of dollars: he presented it to the king, and in return received the title of Marquis of Casa Real; but this and all other titles are declared extinct by the independent government. The palace of the supreme director is incomplete; the right wing, which should correspond with the left, is entirely wanting. In it are the different offices belonging to the government, and also the public gaol. The unfinished state of the cathedral is likely to continue; for large funds are wanting to finish so extensive a building.

The bridge across the Mapocho is a handsome structure of brick and stone. The tajamar, breakwater, serves to preserve the city from being inundated by the river when the waters increase, either by heavy rains in the Cordillera, or the melting of the snows in the summer, at which time this stream, though at other times insignificant, becomes a rapid torrent. Here is a public promenade, like the Alamedas at Lima, having a double row of Lombard poplars on each side, forming a shady walk for foot passengers, while the middle one serves for carriages and horses. The tajamar is formed of two walls of brick-work, and the interior is filled with earth; a very agreeable promenade is made on the top, having several flights of steps to ascend it; some seats are also placed in the parapet which fronts the river; the whole being two miles long. The snow-covered Andes are about twenty leagues from the city, yet they seem to overhang it, and the view of them from the tajamar is very majestic.

Santiago is divided into four parishes; San Pablo, Santa Ana, San Isidro, and San Francisco de Borja. It has three Franciscan convents, two of the Dominicans, one of San Augustin, and two of La Merced: those belonging to the Jesuits were five. Here are seven nunneries, two of Santa Clara, two of Carmelites, one of Capuchins, one of Dominicans, and one of Augustinians; a house for recluse women called el Beaterio, and a foundling hospital.

Santiago was made a city by the king of Spain in 1552, with the title of very noble and very loyal; its arms are a shield in a white ground, in the centre a lion rampant holding a sword in his paw, and orle eight scallops, Or. It was erected into a bishopric by Paul IV. in 1561. It was the residence of the President, and Captain-General of the kingdom of Chile, and counts fifty governors from Pedro de Valdivia, the first, to Don Casimiro MarcÓ del Pont, the last; also twenty-three bishops, from Don Rodrigo Gonsales Marmolijo to the present Don Manuel Rodriguez. Here was also a tribunal of royal audience, one of accompts, a consulate, or board of trade, treasury, and commissariate of bulls. The whole of the territory extends from the desert of Atacama to the confines of Arauco, and was subject to the above-mentioned authorities from the foundation of the government in 1541 to the beginning of the fortunate revolution in 1810.

The contrast between the society which I had just quitted in the capital of Peru and that which I here found in the capital of Chile was of the most striking kind. The former, oppressed by proud mandataries, imperious chiefs, and insolent soldiers, had been long labouring under all the distressing effects of espionage, the greatest enemy to the charms of every society: the overbearing haughty Spaniards, either with taunts or sneers, harrowing the very souls of the Americans, who suspected their oldest friends and even their nearest relations. In this manner they were forced to drain the cup of bitterness to the last dregs, without daring by participation or condolence to render it less unpalatable; except indeed they could find an Englishman, and to him they would unbosom their inmost thoughts, believing that every Briton feels as much interest in forwarding the liberty of his neighbour, as he does in preserving his own. In Lima the tertulias, or chit-chat parties, and even the gaity of the public promenades, had almost disappeared, and quando se acabarÁ esto? when will this end? was the constantly repeated ejaculation. In Santiago every scene was reversed; mirth and gaity presided at the paseos, confidence and frankness at the daily tertulias; Englishmen here had evinced their love of universal liberty, and were highly esteemed; friendship and conviviality seemed to reign triumphant, and the security of the country, being the fruits of the labour of its children, was considered by each separate individual as appertaining to himself; his sentiments on its past efforts, present safety, and future prosperity were delivered with uncontrolled freedom, while the supreme magistrate, the military chief, the soldier, and the peasant hailed each other as countrymen, and only acknowledged a master in their duty, or the law.

Another prominent feature in Chile is the state of her commerce, entirely formed since the revolution; it has rendered her not only independent of Spain, but of Peru also. Formerly the fruits and produce of this fertile region of the new world were entirely indebted to Peru for a market; but with the spirit of freedom that of speculation arose, and markets and returns were found in countries, of whose existence ten years ago (1819) even the speculators themselves were ignorant. Several of these provinces were conceived to be so situated, that no one attempted to visit them, judging that such a journey would be attended with almost insurmountable difficulties; dangers as great as the majority of the inhabitants of Europe supposed were to be encountered by a visit to the coasts of Peru.

The manners and customs of the inhabitants of Santiago are now very different from those of Conception in 1803, which was at that time nearly as affluent as the capital; the estrado is almost exploded; the ladies are accustomed to sit on chairs; the low tables are superseded by those of a regular height, those on which the family, who at that period crossed their legs like turks or tailors, sat on a piece of carpet, are now abolished; formerly all ate out of the same dish, but now they sit at table in the same manner as the English, and their meals are served up with regularity and neatness. The discordant jarring of the old half strung guitar has given place to the piano, and the tasteless dance of the country to the tasteful country-dance. In many respects, indeed, the Chileans here appear half converted into English, as well in their dress as in their diversions and manners.

The following brief statement of the revolution in Chile, extracted from official documents, and faithful reports, will I flatter myself be found interesting to all classes—its details, however, must necessarily be confined within short limits.

One of the peculiar features in all the South American revolutions was the accomplishment of the principal object, which consisted in deposing the constituted authorities without bloodshed. This was the case at Caracas, Santa FÉ de BogotÁ, Quito, Buenos Ayres and Chile; and at a later period at Guayaquil, Truxillo, Tarma, and even at Lima; for the Spanish forces quitted the city, and the Chilean entered without the occurrence of a skirmish either in the capital or its vicinity.

The same causes which operated in Venezuela and Quito, and have been already stated, were felt in Chile, and produced similar effects. On the 18th July, 1810, the president Carrasco was deposed by the native inhabitants, under the plea of his incapacity of preserving this part of the Spanish dominions for Ferdinand, when he should be freed from his captivity, and a junta which was formed of the Cabildo took upon itself to govern according to the old system, but with the secret intention of following the course and example of Buenos Ayres in declaring her independence. In 1811 Don Juan Jose Carrera, the son of Don Ignacio Carrera of Chile (who had been sent to Europe, and in the continental war had attained the rank of a lieutenant-colonel and commandant of a regiment of hussars) crossed the Atlantic to succour his native country, which he was considered by his friends as the only person capable of saving from the impending ruin which threatened it from the result of the steps taken; and he was in consequence nominated by the junta supreme president of the congress which was convened, besides which he was appointed general in chief of the army about to be formed. The first step which Carrera took was to establish a defensive army, which he immediately began to recruit and discipline, choosing his officers from among the most zealous friends of liberty. He constituted himself colonel of the national guards, appointed his elder brother, Don Jose Miguel, colonel of grenadiers, and his younger, Don Luis, colonel and commandant of artillery. At this time the principal military force of Chile was at Conception; indeed the whole of the force, excepting two companies, which had always been on duty in the capital, and about fifty stationed as a garrison at Valparaiso, was employed on the frontiers of Arauco. On hearing of what had taken place in the capital, the troops at Conception declared themselves in favour of the cause of liberty. The inhabitants of Conception pretended that their city was better calculated to be the seat of government than Santiago; and as the troops were principally composed of Pencones, natives of the place, they were persuaded to join in the request, which occasioned some difficulties to Carrera, and it was feared that this untimely pretension would be the cause of a civil war; but it was finally adjusted that, for a specified time, the troops of Conception should remain to the southward of the river Maule, and those of Santiago to the northward. This gave Carrera an opportunity to gain over the troops, which he did by sending emissaries to Conception, when a general reconciliation took place, and the whole of the troops were placed under the command of Don Juan Jose Carrera.

The Spanish troops from Lima, Coquimbo and Chiloe, under the command of Colonel Gainsa, began hostilities in the south of Chile; various actions and skirmishes occurred between them and the undisciplined Chileans, the result being favourable to the latter. In 1812, Don Bernardo O'Higgins (then a captain of militia) joined Carrera, who bestowed on him the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the line, and shortly afterwards raised him to that of brigadier general, for the important services he rendered with the Guerilla parties.

In 1813, the three Carreras, with a considerable number of their officers, were retaken prisoners by the Spaniards, and confined at Talca. The command of the army devolved on O'Higgins, he being the senior officer. He availed himself of this opportunity, assumed the civil power, caused himself to be proclaimed president, and appointed a substitute in the capital to govern during his absence. The Carreras being possessed of money bribed the soldiers at Talca and made their escape. O'Higgins instantly offered a reward for their apprehension. The three Carreras immediately set off to Santiago, disguised as peasants, and made themselves known to some friends; Don Luis was apprehended and imprisoned; Don Juan Jose went in his disguise to the artillery barracks, and having entered, discovered himself to the officers and soldiers, who welcomed his arrival, and promised to support him; in consequence of which he marched with the soldiers to the plasa, and liberated his brother Luis. The citizens promptly reinstated the Carreras, and the news being conveyed to O'Higgins, he marched his army towards the capital, leaving the enemy to avail himself of the civil discords of the Chileans. Carrera proposed to unite their respective forces, proceed against the common enemy, and leave their private quarrels to be decided by the fortune of war, or by the suffrages of the people. To these proposals O'Higgins objected, and the two generals prepared for action. Carrera chose the plain of Maypu, when O'Higgins soon began the attack, and was repulsed; the peasantry, under the command of Carrera, although victorious, called on their countrymen to desist, not to fly, but to surrender to their first and best chief; this they did, were generously received, and forgiven. O'Higgins and his principal officers were made prisoners. They all expected that their offended general would bring them to judgment as traitors; but they were pardoned, restored to their former situations in the army, and O'Higgins was reinstated in the command of the van-guard, and received orders to march towards Rancagua, where Carrera soon afterwards repaired with the remainder of the army. The Spaniards profited by the dissentions of the patriot chiefs, recruited and disciplined more troops, and invested the town of Rancagua on the first of October, 1814. Carrera and his troops defended themselves here forty-eight hours, and when their ammunition was expended and they were obliged to evacuate the place, they cut their way through the ranks of the Spanish soldiery sword in hand. General Carrera and his two brothers, O'Higgins, Benevente, the unfortunate Rodrigues, and several of the more wealthy citizens, crossed the Cordillera, leaving General Osorio in possession of the whole of Chile.

The Spanish regime being thus re-established in Chile, the different functionaries who had been deposed resumed their offices, and a new tribunal called de la purification was established, through which ordeal all those natives who wished to be considered as loyal subjects to Spain had to pass. It was composed of Spaniards, principally officers, having the celebrated Major San Bruno as president. Nothing can be imagined more arbitrary than the conduct of this tribunal; its assumed duties were to examine the proceedings of the inhabitants, and, independently of any established laws or set forms, to sentence or acquit. The prisons were filled with the objects of persecution, the places of exile were crowded with the victims of this political inquisition, and Chile groaned under the unwise administration of Osorio. This tyrannical general and MarcÓ, instead of pursuing conciliatory measures, which would have attached the mal-contents to their party, adopted every kind of persecution, and cultivated distrust; until enmity, which ripened in secret, at the first favourable opportunity produced conspiracies and all the fatal effects of revenge.

General Carrera pursued his route to Buenos Ayres, where he embarked for the United States to solicit assistance; while O'Higgins, Rodrigues, McKenny, and Calderon began to recruit and discipline a new army for the re-occupation of Chile: the command of the army was given to San Martin; it crossed the Cordillera, and the battle of Chacabuco was fought on the twelfth of February, 1817, the result of which has already been stated. On the arrival of the patriot troops in Santiago an elective government was formed, of which General San Martin was nominated the supreme director; but he declined the offer, and recommended his friend, General O'Higgins, to fill the place.

The refusal of San Martin to accept the first and highest post of honour in Chile was misunderstood at the time; it was construed into a deference to the superior abilities of O'Higgins, and to modesty on the part of the hero of Chacabuco; whereas some who knew him better were persuaded, that he intended to govern the government, and to make it subservient to his own purposes. Besides, a wider field for the ambition of San Martin now presented itself. He began to look forward to Peru, which afterwards became the theatre of his warlike virtues.

The Spaniards kept possession of Talcahuano, as well as the southern provinces, and received supplies from Peru, principally composed of the regiment of Burgos, one of the finest bodies of troops ever sent from Spain. General Osorio again took the command of the army, and marched towards the capital, while the patriots mustered all their forces to oppose him. The Spanish force was composed of about five thousand regulars, and it gained several advantages, particularly one at Cancharayada, where they surprised the Chilean army in the night, and completely dispersed it; and had Osorio continued his march, he might have entered the capital without any opposition; but he remained at Talca, and allowed the patriots to collect their scattered forces. This they were not slow in performing, for on the fifth of April they presented themselves on the plain of Maypu about seven thousand strong, including the militia; indeed very few of them could be called veterans, except in their fidelity to the cause of their country. O'Higgins having been severely wounded in his right arm at Cancha-rayada, could not take the field, but remained in his palace at Santiago. San Martin and Las Heras commanded the patriots, and Osorio the royalists on this memorable day, which sealed the fate of Chile. The conflict was obstinate and sanguinary during the greater part of the day; in the afternoon fortune appeared to favour the Chileans, when lieutenant-colonel O'Brian observed, that the regiment of Burgos were endeavouring to form themselves into a solid square; he immediately rode up to General San Martin; and begged him to charge at the head of the cavalry and prevent the completion of this manoeuvre, stating, that if it were effected nothing could prevent their marching to the capital. San Martin, instead of charging at the head of the cavalry, ordered O'Brian to charge, which he did, and completely routed the Spaniards, and gave the victory to the patriots. Osorio on observing the fate of the regiment of Burgos fled with a few officers and part of his body-guard. When O'Brian returned to the commander in chief and reported to him the news of the victory, he was answered by a bottle of rum being offered to him by the hero of Maypu, accompanied with this familiar expression, toma! take hold!

Of the five thousand men commanded by Osorio two thousand fell on the field, and two thousand five hundred were made prisoners, with one hundred and ninety-three officers, who were immediately sent across the Cordillera to the Punta de San Luis and Las Bruscas; General Osorio, with about two hundred followers, escaped from the field of action and fled to Conception.

This victory over the Spaniards gave to the Chileans that complete independence for which they had been struggling ever since 1810; but the glory of the achievement was tarnished by what took place as well at Mendosa on the east side of the Cordillera as at Quillota on the west. On the return of General Carrera from the United States, bringing with him several officers and some supplies of arms, for the purpose of equipping an expedition for the liberation of his country, he found, on his arrival at Buenos Ayres, that his two brothers were on their parole of honour in this city, and were not allowed to return home nor to join the army. This proceeding astounded Carrera, but he had scarcely time to inquire into what had taken place, when he was himself arrested and placed on board a gun brig belonging to Buenos Ayres; at which time his two brothers, fearing the same fate, fled, Don Luis on the nineteenth of July, 1817, and Don Jose Miguel on the eighth of August: on the seventeenth they were apprehended near Mendosa, and thrown into prison, when they were in hopes of having been able to cross the Cordillera and again to serve their country.

It appears that Don Jose Miguel Carrera when at Rio Janeiro had obtained a copy of the negociation which had been carried on in France by Don Antonio Alvares Jonte, the agent of the supreme director of Buenos Ayres, Pueyrredon, for the purpose of establishing a monarchy in this place, and of giving the throne to Charles Louis Prince of Lucca, the son of Don Louis of Bourbon, heir apparent to the Dukedom of Parma, and Dona Maria Louisa of Bourbon, daughter to Charles IV. of Spain, afterwards called the king and queen of Etruria. The possession of these documents, and a knowledge of all that had transpired, rendered Carrera an unwelcome visitor at Buenos Ayres, and a suspicious character to Pueyrredon, who, to provide for his own safety, determined on the destruction of this individual, but he escaped from the brig and fled to Monte Video.

Don Jose Miguel and Don Luis were equally dangerous opponents to the vices of San Martin, who on hearing of their being arrested sent over his arch-secretary Don Bernardo Monteagudo to bring them to their trial; and as it was necessary to forge some ostensible motive for their execution, as that of having disobeyed the orders of a government to which they had never promised fealty could not be accounted sufficient, Don Juan Jose was accused of having murdered the son of the postmaster of San Jose in the year 1814, of which act, however, Monteagudo himself says, in his Extracto de la Causa seguida contra los Carreras, p. 7, "although from the nature of the circumstances the murder could not be proved by evidence, yet the whole of the procured evidence was such, that the probability of the aggression was in the last degree approaching to a certainty." As this accusation did not include Don Luis another plan was laid that should inculpate the two brothers. Some of the soldiers then on duty at Mendosa were directed to propose to the prisoners the means of escaping, to which they acceded, and on the 25th of February, 1818, Pedro Antonio Olmos informed the governor of Mendosa that Don Juan Jose and Don Luis Carrera had formed a plan to escape from prison on the following night, and brought in Manuel Solis to support the information. This put the machine in motion, and five other soldiers were adduced as evidence against the unfortunate brothers. On the 10th of March the examinations closed, on the 11th they were requested to appoint their counsel, and on the 4th of April the Fiscal solicited the sentence of death; on the 8th the solicitation was approved of, as being according to law, by Miguel Jose Galigniana and Bernardo Monteagudo, to which was subjoined the following order: "let the sentence be executed—Don Juan Jose and Don Luis Carrera are to be shot this afternoon at five o'clock." (Signed) Toribio de Lusuriaga. The two unhappy brothers heard their sentence at three o'clock in the afternoon, and they were slaughtered at six. They left the dungeon arm in arm, walked to the place of execution, and having embraced each other, sat themselves down on a bench, and ordering the soldiers to fire, they again embraced each other in death. The conduct of General San Martin in this affair may perhaps be defended by his friends and partisans; but the prevalent belief is, that on finding a considerable party in Chile in favour of the Carreras, he was determined on their destruction, and that the order for the execution of Don Juan Jose and Don Luis was sent by him to Lusuriaga the governor. Nothing however can be conceived more brutal than what occurred at Santiago after the execution of the two brothers. San Martin sent to their unhappy father an account of the expenses incurred on their trial and execution, with an order for immediate payment, or that the father should be committed to prison. The venerable old man defrayed the bloody charge, and two days afterwards he expired, the victim of malice and of persecution. I was at Santiago at the period, and followed the corpse to the grave.

At the same time that this tragedy was performed on the eastern side of the Cordillera, another, which for its midnight atrocity exceeds even the fabulous legends of cold-blooded cruelty, was performed by the same manager on the western side: an act that would curdle the milk of sympathy into a clotted mass of hatred. Don Manuel Rodrigues obtained the rank of colonel in the service of his country; he crossed the Cordillera after the defeat of the patriots at Rancagua, remained with O'Higgins, and assisted to discipline the army commanded by San Martin; the battle of Chacabuco added honour and glory to his name, and the field of Maypu crowned him with laurels. His conduct as a soldier and his manners as a gentleman had endeared him to all who knew him; but the record of his virtues was the instrument of his destruction; the jealousy of San Martin could not brook a rival in those glories which he considered exclusively his own, and that the popularity of Rodrigues might withdraw for one moment the attention of a single individual from contemplating the greatness of the hero of Maypu. Rodrigues was apprehended, and sent to Quillota, where after he had remained a few days, San Martin sent a corporal and two soldiers, with an order for Rodrigues to be delivered up to them; he was conducted along the road leading to the capital, and not permitted to stop at night at a house which they passed, and where he requested they would allow him to rest. The morning dawned on the everlasting resting place of this gallant Chilean—he was murdered at midnight by his ruffian guard, and buried at a short distance from the high road. Inquiries were afterwards made by the relatives of Rodrigues, but no satisfactory accounts could be obtained at head-quarters; the soldiers who were the only persons capable of giving information were not to be found; this was easily accounted for; General San Martin had sent them to the Punta de San Luis, to be taken care of by his confidant Dupuy, who was at this time under training for another scene of bloodshed, more horrible, if possible, than the past.

After the expulsion of the Spaniards, the supreme director, O'Higgins, knowing the importance of a naval force, which might protect the shores of Chile and its commercial interests against the Spanish vessels of war, applied himself seriously to the acquisition not only of vessels but of officers and crews. The two East-indiamen, the Cumberland and the Windham, afterwards the San Martin and the Lautero, were purchased; the Chacabuco and the Pueyerredon were equipped; the Galvarino was purchased, and the Maria Isabel was taken. But after all this the possession of vessels would have been attended only with expense, had not the good fortune of South America been supported by the devoted services of Lord Cochrane, to whom the western shores of the new world owe their emancipation, and England the commerce of this quarter of the globe.

O'Higgins being desirous of lightening the burden of the administration which had been confided to him, nominated five individuals as consulting senators; but he unwarily granted to them such powers as made them independent of his own authority, and consequently rendered himself subservient to their determinations. This caused innumerable delays in the despatch of business, and prevented that secresy which is often indispensably necessary in the affairs of state; indeed these two defects of tardiness and publicity were often visible in Chile, for by such delays the enemy was informed of the designs of the government, and prepared to thwart their execution.

After the squadron had sailed from Valparaiso on the fifteenth of January, 1819, under the command of Lord Cochrane, the whole attention of the Chileans was engrossed with the expectation of decisive victories which were to be obtained over the Spaniards in Peru; they felt themselves secure under the protection of the fleet, and congratulated each other on having now transferred the theatre of war from their own country to that of their enemy; but a new scene of horror presented itself, sufficient not only to astonish the inhabitants of this part of the new world, but to call down on the head of its author universal execration. The following extract is from the ministerial gazette of Santiago of the fifth of March, 1819:—

"On the eighth of February last, between eight and nine o'clock in the morning, my orderly informed me that some of the Spanish officers confined here wished to see me. I ordered him to allow them to enter; I was at this time conversing with the surgeon Don Jose Maria Gomes and my secretary Don Jose Manuel Riveros. Colonel Morgado, Lieutenant-Colonel Morla, and Captain Carretero entered; Carretero sat himself down on my left hand, and after a few compliments, he drew from his breast a poignard, and struck at me with it, but I fortunately parried the blow. Carretero exclaimed at the same time, "these are your last moments, you villain, America is lost, but you shall not escape!" I drew back to defend myself against Colonel Morgado, who attempted a second blow, at which time General OrdoÑes, Colonel Primo, and Lieutenant Burguillo entered; Gomes, the surgeon, immediately left the room, calling for assistance, and my secretary Riveros endeavoured to do the same, but was prevented by Burguillo. For a considerable time I had to defend myself against the six assassins, who began to desist on hearing the shouts of the people that surrounded the house, and were using every effort to enter it; I requested they would allow me to go out and quiet the populace, to which they consented; but the moment I opened the door leading from the patio to the plasa, the people rushed in, and put the whole of them to death, except Colonel Morgado, whom I killed, and thus the attack on my person was revenged.

"I immediately discovered that a plot had been formed by the whole of the officers confined here, to liberate themselves, and to pass over to the Guerilla parties under the command of Carrera and Alvear; however, the populace and the soldiery took the alarm, and several of the prisoners have paid with their lives the temerity of the plan they had laid. I immediately ordered Don Bernardo Monteagudo to form a summary process, which on the fourth day after receiving the order he informed me was finished, and I agreeing with his opinion, ordered the following individuals to be shot: captains Gonsales, Sierra and Arriola; ensigns Riesco, Vidaurazaga and Caballo; privates, Moya and Peres. The number of enemies who have ceased to exist is, one general, three colonels, two lieutenant-colonels, nine captains, five lieutenants, seven ensigns, one intendent of the army, one commissary, one sergeant and two privates." This was signed by Vicente Dupuy, lieutenant-governor of San Luis.

Many other statements of the transaction were circulated by the friends of each party. I received the following from a person entirely independent of both, and who had no motive for furnishing me with an exaggerated account:

"On the night of the seventh of February, 1818, when the Spanish field officers confined at San Luis were playing at cards with Don Vicente Dupuy, this lieutenant-governor happened to lose some money, and immediately seized what was lying before Colonel Ribero; Ribero expostulated, and notwithstanding the entreaties of his friends, at length struck Dupuy on the face, whose friends immediately seized some arms, which had been placed in the room, and the Spaniards also availed themselves of part of them. The uproar that was formed alarmed the guard, and the Spanish prisoners, fearful of the result, laid down their arms and begged Dupuy's pardon; it was granted, and he pledged his word and honour, that if they would allow him to go out, he would pacify the tumult made by the guard and populace; the Spaniards believed him; he went out; but instead of quieting the disturbance he spread the alarm, and called upon the people to revenge the insults he had received from the Godos (Goths, the name by which the Spaniards were known); Dupuy re-entered the house with some soldiers and other armed individuals, and General OrdoÑes, Colonel Morgado, with six other officers were immediately butchered by them; Colonel Primo seeing that he could not escape, took up a pistol and shot himself; every Spaniard found in the streets was also massacred at the same time, and many were murdered in their houses; in all fifty Spanish officers were massacred, and only two escaped of the whole number, which at that time were at San Luis. For this memorable action Dupuy was created a colonel-major, and a member of the Legion of Merit of Chile.

"Dupuy was afterwards tried, by order of the government of Buenos Ayres, for several acts of assassination and cruelty which he had committed, and he defended himself by producing written orders from San Martin for the assassination of Raposo and Conde, as also for the murder of the unfortunate Rodrigues—these orders were very laconic—pasarÁ por San Luis, tiene mi pasaporte, recibale bien, pero que no pase el monte al atro lado de San Luis. Prontitud, y silencio, asi, conviene para el bien de la Patria: will pass through San Luis, he has my passport, receive him politely, but allow him not to pass the wood on the other side of San Luis.—Promptitude and silence, this is necessary for the good of the country. However, Dupuy was exiled to La Rioja, whence he escaped, and followed San Martin to Peru. He also proved, that the order for the execution of the Carreras was a verbal one given by San Martin before he left Mendosa."

With respect to General San Martin, it may be observed, that as his character and actions have been so grossly mis-stated by other writers, it becomes necessary that some traits which have hitherto been withheld should be published, as well for the purpose of historical truth, as for that of dissipating the cloud which envelopes the conduct of several individuals who have lent their assistance to the cause of American liberty. The presence of Monteagudo at Mendoza for the execution of the Carreras, and of his being employed on a similar mission at San Luis, are rather strange coincidences; with the additional circumstance, that he was arrested in the house of an English merchant residing at Santiago, and in the supposed character of a prisoner, was sent by the order of San Martin to San Luis, where he was considered a prisoner until called upon to form the process, and draw up the sentence of death against the Spanish officers, which sentence appears to have decreed his own liberation, for he immediately recrossed the Cordillera, and remained with his patron.

In 1819 the Spaniards under the command of General Sanches evacuated Conception and Talcahuano, crossed the Biobio, and proceeded through the Araucanian territory to Valdivia. Sanches plundered the city of Conception of every valuable which he could take with him; the church plate and ornaments, and even many of the iron windows belonging to the houses; he also persuaded the nuns to leave their cloisters and to follow the fortunes of the army: they did, and were abandoned at Tucapel, and left among the indians.

A native of Chile named Benavides was left by Sanches at the town of Arauco, for the purpose of harassing the patriots at Conception, and several Spaniards of the most licentious characters chose to remain with him. Benavides was a native of the province of Conception, and served some time in the army of his country, but deserted to the royalists: at the battle of Maypu he was taken prisoner, and, among other delinquents, was ordered to be shot, in the dusk of the evening. However, Benavides was not killed, although his face was stained with the gunpowder, and having fallen, he made some motion, which the officer observing, cut him across the neck with his sword, and left him for dead; but even after this he recovered sufficient strength to crawl to a small house, where he was received and cured of his wounds. It is said that after his recovery he held a private conference with San Martin; I have been perfectly satisfied on this head, and I am certain that no such interview ever took place; indeed San Martin is not the man for such actions, nor would it have been prudent for any chief to have risked his existence with a desperado like Benavides. This monster fled from Santiago, joined General Sanches at Conception, and was left by him in the command of the small town of Arauco, where the most atrocious hostilities commenced that have ever disgraced even the war in America.

The attention of the government was employed in fitting out a second naval expedition to the coast of Peru, for the latest advices from Europe confirmed the former, which stated, that a naval force preparing in Cadiz, and composed of the two line of battle ships Alexander and San Telmo, the frigate Prueba, and some smaller vessels, was destined to the Pacific. The Chilean squadron was by no means competent to cope with such a force; besides which, two frigates, the Esmeralda and Vengansa, three brigs of war, and some small craft, as well as armed merchantmen at Callao, being added to what was expected from Spain, the force would have been overwhelming. It was therefore determined, that the squadron should attempt the destruction of the vessels in Callao, by burning them. Mr. Goldsack, who had come to Chile, was employed in making Congreve's rockets, of which an experiment was made at Valparaiso, and which answered the expectations of Lord Cochrane.

Every necessary arrangement being completed, the squadron, consisting of the O'Higgins, San Martin, Lautaro, Independencia, (which arrived on the 23rd May, 1819, having been built in the United States for the government of Chile) the Galvarino, Araucano, the Victoria, and Xeresana, two merchant vessels which were to be converted into fire-ships if necessary, left the port of Valparaiso on the twelfth of September, and having first touched at Coquimbo, arrived in the bay of Callao on the twenty-eighth. Lord Cochrane announced to the Viceroy Pesuela his intention of destroying the shipping in the bay, if possible; but he proposed to him terms on which he would desist; namely, that he would diminish the number of his vessels by sending part of them to leeward, and fight the Spanish force man to man, and gun to gun, if they would leave their anchorage, and this, said he, might be the means of preserving the property of individuals then in the bay. His excellency, however, declined the challenge, observing, that it was of a nature which had never been before heard of. The preparations for throwing rockets among the shipping immediately commenced, and on the night of the first of October several were thrown, but without effect: the firing from the batteries and shipping began at the moment the first rocket was thrown, which appeared as a signal to the enemy. From our anchorage we could distinguish the heated shot that flew through the air like meteors in miniature; however, little injury was sustained on either side: our loss consisted in Lieutenant Bayley of the Galvarino and one seaman. One of the rafts under the direction of Lieutenant-colonel Charles was protected by the Independencia; the second by two mortars under that of Major Miller, now (1824) General Miller, was protected by the Galvarino; and the third under Captain Hinde was defended by the Pueyrredon. By accident Captain Hinde lost his lighted match rope, and sent on board the brig for another, which the soldier dropped on stepping from the boat to the raft; it fell among the rockets, and an explosion took place, but no serious injury was experienced.

In the nights of the second, third, and fourth several more rockets were thrown, without particular success: some damage was done to the enemy's vessels, but on the fourth they were completely unrigged, which was undoubtedly a wise precaution. Several of the rockets exploded almost immediately after they were lighted, others at about half their range, others took a contrary direction to that in which they were projected, and it became evident that some mismanagement had occurred in their construction. On examining them, some were found to contain rags, sand, sawdust, manure, and similar materials, mixed with the composition. Colonel Charles, who had been commissioned to superintend the making of the rockets, was at first incapable of accounting for this insertion, but at length he recollected, that the government of Chile, with a view of saving the wages of hired persons, had employed the Spanish prisoners to fill the rockets, to which mistaken policy the whole squadron might have fallen a sacrifice; for had the vessels which were expected from Spain arrived, the Chilean forces would never have been able to cope with the Spanish, especially when joined by what was in the bay of Callao.

On the fifth a large vessel was observed to windward. It proved to be the Spanish frigate la Prueba, part of the expected squadron: advices which we received from shore informed us, that the Alejandro had returned to Spain, and the general belief was, that the San Telmo had been lost off Cape Horn, which was afterwards proved to be the case.

The fire-ship being ready was sent into the bay under the direction of Lieutenant Morgel; an unceasing cannonade was kept up both from the batteries and the shipping; the wind died away, and such was the state of the fire-ship, that Lieutenant Morgel was obliged to abandon her, and she exploded before she came to a position where she could injure the enemy. Owing to the news which we received the following day, the admiral determined not to send in the second fire-ship, but to proceed to the northward, to procure fresh provisions and water, as well as to obtain news respecting the Spanish frigate. The crew of the San Martin being unhealthy, his lordship ordered her, the Independencia and Araucano to Santa, and the Lautaro and Galvarino to Pisco, to procure spirits and wine, the royal stores being full at this place. A military force being stationed at Pisco, part of the marines were sent from the O'Higgins and Independencia, and the whole were placed under the orders of Colonel Charles. On the 14th of October we anchored in the harbour of Santa, and immediately began to drive the cattle from the farms belonging to the Spaniards down to the beach; but whatsoever was received at any time from the natives was always punctually paid for; this so enraged a Spaniard, Don Benito del Real, that he headed some of his own slaves and dependents, and came from NepeÑa to Santa, where he surprised one of our sailors, and took him prisoner; he immediately returned, and reported by an express to the Viceroy Pesuela, that he had secured Lord Cochrane's brother in disguise. This news made its appearance in the Lima Gazette, and nothing could exceed the disappointment of the royalists in Lima, when they discovered that their noble prisoner was only a common sailor.

On the 15th the Lautaro and Galvarino arrived from Pisco, and as nothing can give a better account of what occurred at this place than the official dispatch of the admiral to the Chilean government, the following translation is subjoined:

"The absolute want of many indispensable articles in the squadron, as I have already informed you, left me no other alternative than to abandon the object of the expedition, or to take the necessary provisions from the enemy. I adopted the latter, and sent the Lautaro and the Galvarino to Pisco for the purpose of procuring spirits, wine, rice and some other articles.

"The result of this expedition has been glorious to the arms of Chile in the valour shewn by her officers and soldiers when fighting hand to hand with the enemy, and in the assault on the city of Pisco, and the fort to which the forces of the Viceroy retired. It is my painful duty notwithstanding to inform you, that the unfortunate Lieutenant-Colonel Charles closed in this action his career in the cause of liberty, to which his soul was devoted, at a moment when it promised to be the most brilliant which the human mind could desire. The courage and judgment of Charles were not more visible than the talent and general knowledge which he possessed; such as could only receive an additional lustre from his peculiarly agreeable suavity of refined manners, and from that diffidence in his behaviour, as if he considered that he had not arrived at the portal of wisdom, when all who surrounded him saw that he was one of the inmates of the temple.

"Would to God that that sword, the companion of his travels over the greater part of the globe, in search of information, in the day of danger, and in the hour of death, be employed by his brother, to whom in his last moments he bequeathed it, with equal zeal in the just and glorious cause, in which my ever to be lamented friend Charles has prematurely fallen.

"Lamenting the loss which the cause of liberty and independence has suffered in the death of Charles, as well as all those who knew this able and meritorious officer, I subscribe myself with an anguished heart, your most obedient servant, (signed) Cochrane."

"To the minister of marine of Chile, November seventeenth, 1819."

The Spanish force at Pisco was composed of six hundred infantry and two hundred cavalry, part veteran and part militia; six pieces of eighteen pound calibre in the fort, and two field pieces, mounted and served in the city. The force under the unfortunate Charles consisted of two hundred and eighty marines. After taking the fort they advanced on the city, and took it. Colonel Charles fell about a hundred yards from the town, and was immediately conveyed on board the Lautaro, where he died on the following day. His last expressions were, "I hoped to have lived longer, and to have served Chile; however, fate decrees the contrary; but, Captain Guise, we made the Spaniards run!" Major Miller took the command of the troops, and having arrived at the plasa, he was severely wounded by a musket shot passing through his body, but he recovered, and has continued to serve the cause of liberty in the new world. A considerable quantity of spirits and wine was embarked, but the seamen, owing to the facility of obtaining their favourite beverage on shore, became so unruly, that Captain Guise was obliged to burn the stores, consisting at that time of about fourteen thousand eighteen gallon jars of spirits and wine.

Health being in some degree established among the crew of the San Martin, she, with the Independencia, was ordered to Valparaiso, and his lordship with the O'Higgins, Lautaro, and Galvarino, proceeded to the river of Guayaquil, in the hopes of falling in with the Prueba. On the twenty-seventh we entered the mouth of the river, at eleven P. M., and at five the following morning, to the astonishment of the natives, we were at the anchorage of the PunÁ, where we found two large Spanish merchant ships. La Aguila and La BegoÑa, almost laden with timber; after some resistance the crews cut their cables, and allowed them to drop down the river, as the ebb tide had begun to run; however the boats from the O'Higgins, the only vessel that had arrived, manned them before they received any damage. The Spaniards took to their boats, and fled up the river.

A slight dissention happened here between Lord Cochrane and Captain Guise, who asserted, that the prizes had been plundered by the officers of the flag ship; but on being questioned by his lordship respecting the assertion, he denied having ever made it. A report was afterwards circulated by Captain Spry, that it was the intention of the Admiral not to allow the Lautaro and Galvarino to share in the prizes, they not having been in sight when the vessels were captured, nor until the boats from the flag ship had taken possession of them; however, Captain Spry declared to the admiral, "on his honour," that the report was absolutely false. Spry being now convinced that no objection would be made to the vessels that were not present at the capture, sharing in the prizes, next circulated a rumour, that Lord Cochrane had no right to share in the double capacity of admiral and captain; but he also declared, "on his honour," that he had neither made nor even heard such a report. These trifling circumstances would be unworthy of detail, were they not connected with future transactions in the squadron of serious importance, which it will be my painful duty to relate.

The Spanish frigate la Prueba had arrived at the PunÁ on the fifteenth of October; and having placed her artillery on rafts, she went up to the city, where, for want of pilots, it was impossible for us to follow. Having watered, and purchased a large stock of plantains and other vegetables, we left Guayaquil river on the twenty-first of December. The vessels of war and the prizes received orders to proceed to Valparaiso; the O'Higgins appeared to have the same destination; but having made the island of Juan Fernandes, the admiral gave orders to stand towards Valdivia instead of Valparaiso, saying, that he wished to examine that port, because the Viceroy of Peru had assured the Peruvians, that one of the line of battle ships had entered Valdivia, and was there refitting, for the purpose of making an attack on Valparaiso.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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