Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili, Peru and Brazil, from Spanish and Portuguese Domination by Earl of Dundonald Thomas Cochrane (speed reading book txt) 📖

for 1,000 men, or, if these could not be sent, for 500, and also for 1,000 stand of arms, of which there was abundance in the arsenal to equip recruits, who would have been forthcoming; and with these we could, with the greatest ease, have secured the whole of the southern provinces of Peru, the people being warmly disposed in our favour. I therefore told the Government that with such a force, we could hold the whole of Lower Peru, and gain eventual possession of Upper Peru. My request was refused, on the false ground that the Government had no means to equip such an expedition, and thus the good will manifested by the natives was thrown away.

In spite of this neglect, I determined to persevere, relying upon sacrifices made by the Peruvians themselves in our favour. General Ramirez was actively engaged in drawing men from distant garrisons to act against our small force, which was suffering severely from ague. Nevertheless, every effort was made again to advance into the interior—a number of recruits from the adjacent provinces having been enrolled—and everything promised a general revolt in favour of independence, when the Governor of Arequipa communicated to us intelligence that an armistice had been agreed upon for twenty days, between General San Martin and the Viceroy Lacerna. This happening just at the moment when hostilities could have been carried on with the greatest effect, and we were preparing to attack Arequipa itself—was annoying in the extreme; the more so, as the application had come from the Viceroy, who, being the first to receive intelligence of our success, had, no doubt, deceived General San Martin into the arrangement, in order to check our operations in the South.

This armistice was ratified on the 23rd of May, and sent by express to the Governor of Arequipa, the unusual haste proving the object of the Viceroy in persuading General San Martin to its ratification. To have regarded the armistice as a preliminary to the independence of Peru was a great mistake on the part of General San Martin, as the Viceroy Lacerna had no more power to acknowledge the absolute independence of the Colonists, than had his predecessor; and therefore the object of the armistice could have been none other than to put a stop to our progress, thereby giving the Spanish generals time to collect their scattered forces, without any corresponding advantage to the patriot cause.

Being thus reluctantly reduced to inaction, I dropped down to Mollendo, where we found a neutral vessel taking in corn for supplying the city of Lima, which city, from the vigilance of the squadron, was reduced to great straits, as shewn in an address from the Cabildo to the Viceroy:—"The richest and most opulent of our provinces has succumbed to the unopposable force of the enemy, and the remaining provinces are threatened with the same fate; whilst this suffering capital of Lima is undergoing the horrible effects of a rigorous blockade, hunger, robberies, and death. Our soldiers pay no respect to the last remains of our property, even our oxen, indispensable for the cultivation of the land, being slain. If this plague continues, what will be our lot—our miserable condition?" From this extract it is plain that Lima was on the point of being starved out by the squadron, whilst the inhabitants foresaw that, although the army of General San Martin was inactive, our little band in the south would speedily overrun the provinces, which were willing to second our efforts in favour of independence.

To return to the shipment of wheat for the relief of Lima. On ascertaining the fact, I wrote to the Governor of Arequipa, expressing my surprise that neutrals should be allowed to embark provisions during an armistice; the reply being that the most positive orders should be given to put a stop to it, upon which I retired from Mollendo, but leaving an officer to keep watch, and finding that the embarkation was persisted in, I returned and shipped all the wheat found on shore. The consequence of this was that Colonel La Hera, with 1,000 royalists, took possession of Moquega, on pretence that I had broken the armistice.

My private advices from head quarters informed me that the dissatisfaction of the Chilian army was daily increasing, on account of their continued inaction, and from jealousy at our success; knowing also, that the capital of Peru was, from the straits to which it was reduced, as well as from inclination, eager to receive them. General San Martin nevertheless declined to take advantage of the circumstances in his favour, till dissension began to assume the character of insubordination. A daily toast at the tables of the officers was, to those who fight for the liberties of Peru, not those who write. "A los que pelean por la libertad del Peru, no los que escriven." General San Martin, aware of the state of feeling in the army, went on board the schooner Montezuma, for the re-establishment of his health.

I was further informed that the Viceroy was negociating with General San Martin for the prolongation of the armistice to sixteen months, in order to give time for communication with the Court of Madrid, to ascertain whether the parent state would consent to the independence of Peru! At the same time official information was forwarded to me that a further prolongation of twelve days had been conceded.

Feeling certain that there was something wrong at head-quarters, I determined to proceed to Callao for the purpose of learning the true state of affairs, leaving Colonel Miller to return to Arica, and in case of emergency, victualling and equipping the prizes, so as to be in readiness, if necessary, for the reception of his troops.

During my absence Lady Cochrane sailed for England, partly for the sake of her health, but more for the purpose of obtaining justice for me, for in addition to the persecution which I had undergone, a "Foreign Enlistment Bill" had been passed, the enactments of which were especially aimed at my having engaged in a service which had for its object the expulsion of Spain, then in alliance with England, from her Colonies in the Pacific.

As an incident relating to her Ladyship has been mentioned in the "Memoirs of General Miller," I may be pardoned for giving it as narrated in that work.

"On the 25th, six hundred infantry and sixty Cavalry, all picked men, were placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Miller, who received directions to embark on a secret service under the orders of Lord Cochrane, and proceeded to Huacho. On the day after his arrival there, and whilst he was inspecting the detachments in the Plaza, Lady Cochrane galloped on to the parade to speak to him. The sudden appearance of youth and beauty on a fiery horse, managed with skill and elegance, absolutely electrified the men, who had never before seen an English lady. 'Que hermosa! Que graciosa! Que linda! Que airosa! Es un angel del cielo!' were exclamations which escaped from one end of the line to the other. Colonel Miller, not displeased at this involuntary homage to the beauty of his countrywoman, said to the men, 'This is our generala;' on which her Ladyship, turning to the line, bowed to the troops, who no longer confining their expressions of admiration to suppressed interjections, loud vivas burst from officers and men, to which Lady Cochrane, smiling her acknowledgments, cantered off the ground like a fairy."

In the month of February, during my absence, Lady Cochrane, tired of the crowded villages occupied by the liberating army, undertook a journey into the interior, in the hope that change of air might prove advantageous to our infant child, which was in a precarious state of health. She performed the journey on horseback, under the intense heat of a vertical sun, across a desert, impeded by the precipitous beds of torrents which intersect the country in every direction. On her arrival at Quilca, she was most hospitably received by the Marchioness de la Pracer, who placed her palace and every luxury at Lady Cochrane's disposal.

In the midst of the festivities which followed, her child was taken dangerously ill, whilst no medical assistance of any kind was at hand. On this she determined to return to the coast, and seek the aid of an English or Spanish physician, but as the Royalist army was advancing towards the direction necessary to be taken, this was judged impracticable till they had passed.

Whilst her Ladyship was in this state of suspense, information was received that the Royalists, having gained intelligence that she was at Quilca, had determined to seize her and her infant that very evening, and to detain them as hostages. This intelligence arrived just as a large party was assembled in the ball-room, when, with a decision which is one of her chief characteristics, Lady Cochrane ordered a palanquin—presented to her by the Marquis of Torre Tagle—to be got ready instantly, and placing the child and its nurse in it, she despatched them under the protection of a guard. Leaving the ball-room secretly, she changed her dress, immediately following on horseback with relays of her best horses.

Travelling all night and the following day without intermission, the party came to one of those swollen torrents which can only be crossed by a frail bridge made of cane-rope, a proceeding of extreme danger to those who are not well accustomed to the motion produced by its elasticity. Whilst the party was debating as to how to get the palanquin over, the sound of a Royalist bugle was heard close at hand. Lady Cochrane sprang to the palanquin, and taking out her suffering infant, rushed on to the bridge, but when near the centre, the vibration became so great that she was compelled to lie down, pressing the child to her bosom—being thus suspended over the foaming torrent beneath, whilst in its state of vibration no one could venture on the bridge. In this perilous situation, Pedro, the faithful soldier of whom mention has been previously made, seeing the imminent danger of her Ladyship, begged of her to lie still, and as the vibration ceased, crept on his hands and knees towards her Ladyship, taking from her the child, and imploring her to remain motionless, when he would bring her over in the same way; but no sooner had he taken the child, than she followed, and happily succeeded in crossing, when the ropes being cut, the torrent was interposed between her and her pursuers.

All travellers agree in describing these torrent bridges as most perilous. They are constructed of six elastic cane or hide ropes, four of which, with some sticks laid across, form the floor, and two the parapet. Only one person can pass at a time, and as the weight of the passenger causes the bridge to belly downwards, he remains suspended as it were in an elastic bag, from which it requires considerable skill to extricate himself with safety. Mules and horses cannot go over at all, but are hauled through the torrent with ropes.

Having reached the coast in safety, Lady Cochrane came down to me at Callao. Whilst she was on board, I received private information that a ship of war laden with treasure was about to make her escape in the night. There was no time to be lost, as the enemy's vessel was such an excellent sailer that, if once under weigh, beyond the reach of shot, there was no chance of capturing her. I therefore determined to attack her, so that Lady Cochrane had only escaped one peril ashore to be exposed to another afloat. Having beat to quarters, we opened fire upon the treasure-ship and other hostile vessels in the anchorage, the batteries and gun-boats returning our fire, Lady Cochrane remaining on deck during the conflict. Seeing a gunner hesitate to fire his gun, close to which she was standing, and imagining that his hesitation from her proximity might, if observed, expose him to punishment, she seized the man's arm, and directing the match fired the gun. The effort was, however, too much for her, as she immediately fainted, and was carried below.

The treasure-vessel having been crippled, and the gun-boats beaten off, we left off firing and returned to our former anchorage, Lady Cochrane again coming on deck. As soon as the sails were furled, the men in the tops, and the whole crew on deck, no doubt by preconcerted arrangement, spontaneously burst forth with the inspiring strains of their national anthem, some poet amongst them having extemporized an alteration of