SAN MARTIN'S VIOLATION OF
TRUTH--REMOVAL OF BLOCKADE--SPANISH DEPRESSION--TROOPS DYING
OF FEVER--SAN MARTIN'S DESIGNS ON GUAYAQUIL--MUTINOUS
CONDUCT OF OFFICERS--REFUSAL TO OBEY ORDERS--DEPOSITION OF
VICEROY--SAN MARTIN GIVES ME TROOPS--JEALOUSY OF SAN
MARTIN--ATTACK ON ARICA--CAPTURE OF TACNA--CAPTURE OF
MOQUEGA--REFUSAL OF MORE MEN--AN ARMISTICE
RATIFIED--DISTRESS OF LIMA--DISSATISFACTION OF THE
ARMY--LADY COCHRANE--GOES INTO THE INTERIOR--DANGEROUS
POSITION--LADY COCHRANE IN ACTION--DEVOTION OF SEAMEN.
On the 8th of November I went to Ancon
with our prize, this being hailed
with great enthusiasm by the army,
which--now that the Spanish naval
force had received, what even the
Spaniards themselves considered its
death blow--made certain that it would
be at once led against Lima,
before the authorities recovered from
their consternation. To their
mortification--no less than my
own--General San Martin, in defiance of
all argument to the contrary, ordered
the troops on board the
transports, having decided on
retreating to Huacho! whither the
O'Higgins and Esmeralda, abandoning
the blockade, had to convoy
them. In place of prompt action--or
rather demonstration, for the
occupation of the city would have
amounted to little more--he issued a
proclamation, promising, as before,
the most perfect freedom to the
Peruvian people if they would join
him:--
"Spaniards, your destiny is in your
own hands. I come not to declare
war against the fortunes and persons
of individuals. The enemy of the
liberty and independence of America
alone is the object of the vengeance
of the arms of the PATRIA. I promise
you in the most positive manner,
that your property and persons shall
be inviolable, and that you shall
be treated as respectable citizens, if
you co-operate in the great
cause," &c. &c.
By the 12th the
army was again disembarked, amidst evident
manifestations of dissatisfaction on
the part of the officers, who were
naturally jealous of the achievements
of the squadron, from being
themselves restrained from enterprise
of any kind. To allay this feeling
General San Martin had recourse to an
almost incredible violation of
truth, intended to impress upon the
Chilian people, that the army, and
not the squadron, had captured the
Esmeralda!--indeed stating as much
in words, and declaring that the whole
affair was the result of his own
plans, to which I had agreed! though
the truth is, that doubting his
confidants, I had concealed from him
my intentions of making the attack.
The following is an extract from the
bulletin issued to the army:--
"Before the
General-in-Chief left the Vice-Admiral of the
Squadron, they agreed on the execution
of a memorable project,
sufficient to astound intrepidity
itself! and to make the history of
the liberating expedition of Peru
eternal!"
"Those valiant soldiers who for a
length of time have suffered
with the most heroic constancy the
severest oppression, and the
most inhuman treatment in the dungeons
of Casas-matas, have just
arrived at our head-quarters.
Flattering promises of liberty, and
the threats of death, were not
sufficient to destroy their loyalty to
their country; they have waited with
firmness the day on which
their companions in arms should rescue
them from their misery, and
revenge the insults which, humanity
has received in their persons.
This glory was reserved to the
liberating army, whose efforts have
snatched from the hands of tyranny
these respectable victims. Let
this be published for the satisfaction
of these individuals, and that
of the army, to whose arms they owe
their liberty."
It thus went forth
to the people of Chili, that the army captured the
frigate, and subsequently released the
prisoners, though not a man in
the whole force had the most distant
idea that an attack was even
contemplated, much less could it have
co-operated, seeing that it was
far away in cantonments! This bulletin
excited the astonishment of the
troops; but as it contributed to their
amour propre, by representing
to the Chilian people that the
achievement which had been effected was
due to them, they accepted it; whilst
I thought it beneath me to refute
a falsehood palpable to the whole
expedition. It had, however, as
General San Martin no doubt
calculated, the effect of allaying, for the
moment, a dissatisfaction which
foreboded serious consequences.
On the 15th we
again sailed from Huacho, to renew the blockade at
Callao, beyond which nothing could be
done; though even this was of
importance, as cutting off supplies
from the capital, the inhabitants of
which, in consequence of the
privations they were subjected to, caused
great uneasiness to the Viceregal
Government.
Several attempts were now made to
entice the remaining Spanish naval
force from their shelter under the
batteries, by placing the Esmeralda
apparently within reach, and the
flag-ship herself in situations of some
danger. One day I carried her through
an intricate strait called the
Boqueron, in which nothing beyond a
fifty-ton schooner was ever seen.
The Spaniards, expecting every moment
to see the ship strike, manned
their gun-boats, ready to attack as
soon as she was aground, of which
there was little danger, for we had
found, and buoyed off with small
bits of wood invisible to the enemy, a
channel through which a vessel
could pass without much difficulty.
On the 2nd of
December the Esmeralda, being in a more than usually
tempting position, the Spanish
gun-boats ventured out in the hope of
recapturing her, and for an hour
maintained a smart fire; but on seeing
the O'Higgins manoeuvring to cut them
off, they precipitately
retreated.
The preceeding
successes caused great depression amongst the Spanish
troops, and on the following day the
battalion of Numantia, numbering
650 disciplined men, deserted in a
body, and joined the Chilian forces
at Chancay. On the 8th, forty Spanish
officers followed their example;
and every day afterwards, officers,
privates, and civilians of
respectability, joined the patriot
army, which thus became considerably
reinforced; the defection of so large
a portion of his troops being a
severe loss to the Viceroy.
On the 6th,
Colonel Arenales, who, after his previous success, had
marched into the interior, defeated a
division of the royalist army at
Pasco. On his proceeding to Huamanga,
the authorities fled, and the
inhabitants declared themselves
independent. Tarma was next abandoned,
and followed the same example, as did
Huanuco, Cuenca, and Loxa;
whilst, on the news of the capture of
the Esmeralda arriving at
Truxillo, that important province also
revolted, under the direction of
the Spanish governor, the Marquis of
Torre Tagle.
Notwithstanding this succession of
favourable events, General San Martin
still declined to march on Lima,
remaining inactive at Haura, though the
unhealthy situation of the place was
such, that nearly one-third of his
troops died of intermittent fever,
during the many months they remained
there. In place of securing the
capital, where the army would have now
been welcomed, he proposed to send
half the army to Guayaquil, in order
to annex that province, this being the
first manifestation on the part
of General San Martin to found a
dominion of his own--for to nothing
less did he afterwards aspire, though
the declared object of the
expedition was to enable the South
Pacific provinces to emancipate
themselves from Spain, leaving them
free to choose their own
governments, as had been repeatedly
and solemnly declared, both by the
Chilian Government and himself.
Finding that I
would not consent to avert the naval force from the
purposes to which it was destined, the
project was abandoned; but the
troops which had advanced to Chancay
were ordered to fall back on Haura,
this step being actually a further
retreat as regarded the position of
the Spanish forces, which thus managed
to check further desertion by
apprehending and shooting all who
attempted it.
Still General San Martin was
determined, if possible, to accomplish his
views on Guayaquil. Two deputies,
Tomas Guido and Colonel Luzuriago,
were despatched with complimentary
messages to Torre Tagle and others,
warning them against the designs of
Bolivar, whose success in the north
led San Martin to fear that he might
have designs on Peru. The deputies
were strictly enjoined to represent
that if such were Bolivar's
intention, Guayaquil would only be
regarded as a conquered province;
whilst, if the people of that place
would adhere to him, he would, on
the fall of Lima, make it the
principal port of a great empire, and
that the establishment of the docks
and arsenals which his navy would
require, would enrich the city beyond
measure. They were at the same
time exhorted to form a militia, in
order to keep out Bolivar.
By way of
conciliating me, General San Martin proposed in a flattering
way to call the captured frigate the
"Cochrane," as two vessels before
had been named the "San Martin," and
"O'Higgins;" but to this I
demurred, as acquiescence in such a
proceeding might in the estimation
of others have identified me with any
course the general might be
inclined to pursue, and I had already
formed my conjectures as to what
were evidently his future purposes.
Finding me firm in declining the
proffered honour, he told me to give
her what name I thought proper; but
this was also refused, when he said,
"Let her be called the
'Valdivia,' in memory of your conquest
of that place;" her name was
accordingly changed from the Esmeralda
to the Valdivia.
The command of the
frigate had been given to Captain Guise; and after
her change of name, his officers wrote
to him a letter deprecating the
name, and alleging, that as they had
nothing to do with the conquest of
Valdivia, it ought to be withdrawn,
and one more consonant with their
feelings substituted. This letter was
followed by marked personal
disrespect towards myself, from the
officers who had signed it, who made
it no secret that the name of Guise
was the one sought to be
substituted.
As the
conversations held by these officers with the rest of the
squadron were of such a derogatory
nature as regarded my character and
authority, as might lead to serious
disorganization, I brought the whole
of the officers who had signed the
letter to a court-martial, two being
dismissed the service, the remainder
being dismissed the ship, with a
recommendation to General San Martin
for other appointments.
During the arrest
of these officers, I had determined upon an attack
upon the fortifications of Callao,
intending to carry them by a coup de
main, similar to that which had
succeeded at Valdivia, and having, on
the 18th, taken soundings in the
Potrillo, was convinced of the
feasibility of the plan.
On the 20th, this
intention was notified by an order, stating that on
the following day I should make the
attack with the boats of the
squadron and the San Martin, the crew
of which received the order
with loud cheers, volunteers for the
boats eagerly pressing forward from
all quarters.
In place of
preparing to second the operations, Captain Guise sent me a
note refusing to serve with any other
but the officers under
arrest--stating that unless they were
restored, he must resign his
command. My reply was that I would
neither restore them nor accept his
resignation, without some better
reason for it than the one alleged.
Captain Guise answered, that my
refusal to restore his officers was a
sufficient reason for his resignation,
whereupon I ordered him to weigh
anchor on a service of importance; the
order being disobeyed on the
ground that he could no longer act,
having given over the command of the
ship to Lieutenant Shepherd. Feeling
that something like a mutiny was
being excited, and knowing that Guise
and his colleague, Spry, were at
the bottom of the matter, I ordered
the latter to proceed with the
Galvarino to Chorillos, when he also
requested leave to resign, as
"his friend Captain Guise had been
compelled so to do, and he had
entered the Chilian navy conditionally
to serve only with Captain Guise,
under whose patronage he had left
England." Such was the state of mutiny
on board the Galvarino, that I deputed
my flag-captain, Crosbie, to
restore order, when Spry affected to
consider himself superseded, and
claimed exemption from martial law. I
therefore tried him by
court-martial, and dismissed him from
the ship.
The two officers now made their way to
head-quarters, where General San
Martin immediately made Spry his naval
aide-de-camp, thus promoting
him in the most public manner for
disobedience to orders, and in
defiance of the sentence of the
court-martial; this being pretty
conclusive proof that they had been
acting under the instructions of
General San Martin himself, for what
purpose will appear in the course
of the narrative. The course now
pursued by General San Martin
sufficiently showed that the
disturbance previously made at Valparaiso
emanated also from himself, and that
in both cases the mutinous officers
felt quite secure in his protection;
though I will do both the credit of
supposing them ignorant at the time of
the treacherous purposes of which
they were afterwards the instruments.
Knowing that I
should take their punishment into my own hands if they
returned to the squadron, General San
Martin kept both about his own
person at head-quarters, where they
remained.
So dissatisfied were the Spanish
troops at Lima with the government of
their Viceroy, Pezuela, to whose want
of military capacity they absurdly
attributed our successes, that they
forcibly deposed him, after
compelling him to appoint General
Lacerna as his successor. The deposed
Viceroy wishing to send his lady and
family to Europe, applied to
General San Martin for a passport, to
avoid capture by the Chilian
squadron. This was refused; but Lady
Cochrane having arrived at Callao
in the British frigate Andromache, to
take leave of me previous to
her departure for England, the
Viceroy's lady, Donna Angela, begged of
her Ladyship to use her influence with
the General to obtain leave for
her departure for Europe. Lady
Cochrane immediately proceeded to Haura,
and effected the object; after which
she remained for a month at
head-quarters, residing at the house
of a Peruvian lady, Donna Josefa
Monteblanco.
A passage was
also, by Lady Cochrane's influence, procured for the lady
in the Andromache, on board which ship
Captain Sherriff politely
invited me to meet her. At this
interview the ex-Vicequeen expressed her
surprise at finding me "a gentleman
and rational being and not the
ferocious brute she had been taught to
consider me!" A declaration,
which, from the unsophisticated manner
in which it was made, caused no
small merriment in the party
assembled.
As I was determined not to be idle,
General San Martin was with some
difficulty prevailed upon to give me a
division of 600 troops, under the
command of Lieutenant-Colonel Miller.
On the 13th of March we sailed for
Pisco, of which, on its previous
abandonment by the army, after a
useless sojourn of fifty days, the
enemy had again taken possession. On
the 20th it was retaken, when it was
found that the Spaniards had
severely punished the alleged
defection of the inhabitants for
contributing to the supplies of the
patriot force during its stay. Not
imagining that we should return, the
Spanish proprietors of estates had
brought back their cattle, of which we
managed to seize some 500 head,
besides 300 horses for the use of the
Chilian forces, the squadron thus
supplying their wants instead of
remaining in total inaction.
Previous to going
to Pisco, I had again urged on General San Martin to
advance on Lima, so convinced was I of
the goodwill of the inhabitants.
On his refusal, I begged him to give
me 2,000 men, with whom I offered
to take the capital, but this was also
declined. I then offered to
undertake the capture of Lima with
1,000 men, but even this was refused,
and the detachment under Colonel
Miller was only given to me to get rid
of my importunity. Of this detachment
I however determined to make the
most before our return.
The only way of
accounting for this indisposition on the part of General
San Martin to place an adequate
military force at my disposal, was the
reason current amongst the officers of
the army, who were all eager to
place themselves under my orders; viz.
the violent jealousy which caused
him to look upon me as a rival, though
without reason, as I should
certainly not have attempted to
interfere with him in the government of
Peru when its reduction was complete.
Suspicious himself he could not
trust me, employing every effort to
lessen my reputation amongst his
officers, and endeavouring to the
utmost to prevent the squadron from
gathering fresh laurels; even
sacrificing his own reputation to this
insane jealousy, by preventing
anything being done in which I could take
part.
On the 18th I
shifted my flag into the San Martin, and leaving the
O'Higgins and Valdivia at Pisco to
protect the troops, sailed for
Callao, where we arrived on the 2nd of
April. On the 6th, we again
attacked the enemy's shipping under
the batteries, and did them
considerable damage, but made no
further attempt to gain possession of
them, as I had other aims in view.
After this demonstration, the object
of which was to deter them from
quitting their shelter, we returned to
Pisco.
General San Martin
having now given me discretionary power to do what I
pleased with the few troops placed at
my disposal, I determined on
attacking Arica, the southernmost port
of Peru. Reimbarking the troops,
and abandoning Pisco, we sailed on the
21st, and on the 1st of May
arrived off Arica, to the Governor of
which I sent a summons to
surrender, promising to respect
persons and personal property. As this
was not complied with, an immediate
bombardment took place, but without
any great effect, as, from the
difficulties of the port, it was
impracticable to get sufficiently near
to the fortifications.
After a careful
survey, the San Martin was on the 6th, hauled nearer
in shore, and some shells were thrown
over the town by way of
intimidation. As this had not the
desired effect, a portion of the
troops was landed at Sama, to the
northward of the town, being followed
by Colonel Miller with the remainder,
and Captain Wilkinson with the
marines of the San Martin; when the
enemy fled, and the patriot flag
was hoisted on the batteries. We took
here a considerable quantity of
stores, and four Spanish brigs,
besides the guns of the fort and other
detached artillery. A quantity of
European goods, belonging to the
Spaniards at Lima, was also seized and
put on board the San Martin.
On the 14th
Colonel Miller, with the troops and marines, advanced to
Tacna, and by my directions took
possession of the town, which was
effected without opposition, two
companies of infantry deserting the
royalist cause and joining his force.
These I ordered to form the
nucleus of a new regiment, to be
called the "Tacna Independents."
Learning that the
Spanish General Ramirez had ordered three detachments
from Arequipa, Puno, and La Paz, to
form a junction at Tacna, to execute
the usual Spanish order--to "drive the
insurgents into the sea"--Miller
determined on attacking them
separately. The Arequipa detachment, under
Colonel Hera, was fallen in with at
Maribe, and immediately routed, the
result being that nearly the whole
were killed or taken prisoners,
together with four hundred mules and
their baggage. In this affair we
lost a valued officer, Mr. Welsh, an
assistant surgeon, who had
volunteered to accompany the
detachment. This gentleman was sincerely
mourned by all, and his early death
was a great loss to the patriot
service.
This action was
fought none too soon, for before it was over the other
detachments from Puno and La Plaz
appeared in sight, so that the
patriots had to face a fresh enemy.
With his usual promptness Miller
despatched Captain Hind, with a rocket
party, to oppose their passage of
a river; when, finding that the
Arequipa detachment had been cut up,
the royalists remounted their mules
and decamped, in the direction of
Moquega.
On the 22nd Miller
pursued the runaway royalists, and, on the 24th,
entered Moquega, by a forced march of
nearly a hundred miles, where he
found the enemy, deserted by their
colonel. Notwithstanding the fatigue
of the Chilenos, an instant attack was
made, when the whole, with the
exception of about twenty killed, were
made prisoners. The inhabitants
at once gave in their adherence to the
cause of independence, their
Governor, Colonel Portocarrera, being
the first to set the example.
On the 25th
Colonel Miller learned that a Spanish force was passing
Torata, about fifteen miles distant,
when, coming up with them on the
following day, they were all taken
prisoners or dispersed, as were also
those who had fled from Arica,
numbering four hundred men; so that in
less than a fortnight after landing at
Arica, the patriot forces had
killed and made prisoners upwards of
one thousand of the royalist army,
by a series of difficult forced
marches, and amidst hunger and
privations of every kind, which were
cheerfully borne by the Chilenos,
who were no less inspired by a love of
country than with attachment to
their commander. The result was the
complete submission of the Spaniards
from the sea to the Cordilleras, Arica
forming the key to the whole
country.
Having ascertained
that Colonel Miller was at Moquega, I took the San
Martin to Ilo, from which anchorage
the patriot force was supplied
with everything requisite. The sick
were taken on board the brigs
captured at Arica, as were also the
Spanish colonels, Sierra and Suares,
who had been taken prisoners, but whom
I liberated on their parole,
not to serve again until regularly
exchanged.
It has been said that, before sailing
to Arica, I had procured from
General San Martin discretionary
powers to do as I pleased with the
troops placed at my disposal. My
object was believed to be to create a
diversion in favour of the general,
but this was the least part of my
intention; for, as the army had
remained inactive from its first landing
in Peru--with the exception of the
detachment under Colonel
Arenales,--no diversion would have
been of much use. I wrote to the
Government at Santiago for 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 the
words into a prayer for the blessing
of Divine providence on me and my
devoted wife; the effect of this
unexpected mark of attachment from five
hundred manly voices being so
overwhelming as to affect her Ladyship
more than had the din of cannon.