heard the long-expected clarion of the traitor. He was approaching us from the town; and when at the distance of about a quarter of a mile, halted his column, and sent in a flag of truce, demanding an unconditional surrender. The reply of our brave general was, that we would never surrender to a traitor! As we had expected, this reply brought down upon us an immediate and heavy assault. Our little complement of seven hundred men were drawn up outside of our barricade, to oppose a force of near three thousand. But our situation was one which drives men to desperate deeds; besides, we were too proud to exhibit to the minions of treachery the slightest indication of dread.

The assault was bravely met by our noble fellows, and if we suffered from the onslaught, our enemies were not unscathed, for many a miserable traitor at that hour bit the earth in the agonies of death. Our ammunition was soon nearly exhausted, and after the first show of resistance, we took shelter, from their overpowering numbers, within the enclosure of our breastwork. Here, from loopholes cut through the bottoms of the carts, which had been placed upon their sides, we poured such a well-directed fire, that our assailants found it prudent to retire beyond the range of our guns. They had secured the remaining bullocks belonging to the caravan, and sat down at a short distance, determined to starve us to death. Thus imprisoned, we remained all that day, and the following night, without food or drink. The sufferings of the wounded were extreme; and early next morning a council was called, at which it was proposed that we should send a flag of truce, with an offer of capitulation. The proposition was at first strenuously opposed; but the agonizing cries of our suffering companions, begging, with their dying gasp, for "water! water!" wrought upon the hearts of our most determined men, and we at last reluctantly consented to adopt that course. The brave and beloved Capt. Boedo, of whom I have before spoken, was selected as our

messenger for the occasion; and he left the breastwork just as a large body of Echagua's troops had commenced a movement towards us. Seeing the flag, they halted at a distance of about three hundred yards; Boedo met them, delivered his message, and was instantly brought out in front of their column, his hands were tied behind him, and, without further ceremony, he was shot before our eyes! This murder was instantly followed by a headlong assault, and at the same time arose from our retreat the agonizing yell of hopeless vengeance. The cold-blooded act of cruelty and perfidy rendered most of our companions almost frantic with rage, and they fought with such desperation and slaughter that our enemies were once more forced to retire, and with them, to our astonishment, some forty of our own men rushed from the enclosure, and attempted to cover their desertion in the general retreat; few, however, accomplished their design, for they were a close mark, and the carbines of our indignant troops brought many of them to a disgraceful death. Another council was now called: the sufferings of the whole body had become intense, officers and men had become perfectly desperate, and it was resolved, that, rather than stay there, dying inch by inch, we would make a sortie, and fall upon the sabres of our enemy. Gen. Ramarez, the good, the brave man, was alone in opposition to this measure. "Gladly," said he, "would I give my own life as a hostage for so brave a gang, would such an act appease yon bloody monster." His words were interrupted at this moment by the discovery that our barricade was on fire, whether by accident or design I know not, but the flames rose and crackled so fiercely among the dry timbers and wood-work of the carts, that to stay them was impossible. The whole body rushed forth; and in an instant we were fighting for life on every hand, the enemy having completely hemmed us in a common centre. During the fray I received a blow upon my breast from the butt end of a musket, which fractured my ribs, and felled

me to the ground. In attempting to rise, I was instantly seized by two men, and, on looking about me, I discovered several of our friends prisoners like myself, and among them Gen. Ramarez.

The fight lasted but a few moments, yet the ground was strewn about me with the dead and dying, for so long as a man had been found in the attitude of resistance, he was put to the sword. Poor Ramarez! his fate we all knew. No ceremony was required by these butchers, and without trial, or even the calling of a council to give his death the color of an execution, as soon as the skirmish was over, he was led before the little remnant of his own army, his arms pinioned, a guard at his side, and a file of soldiers following in his rear. Clasping my hands, to heaven I whispered a prayer for his soul. No word was spoken; but as the brave man knelt before his murderers, he cast upon me a long, an earnest look, which I shall never forget, and at the next instant fell dead before me. The butchery of the gallant officer was accomplished, but the hellish purpose of his murder was not appeased. The lifeless head of Ramarez was severed from his body on the spot, and, as I afterwards learned, was sent as a trophy through the seditious towns of the republic.

The prisoners were now all stripped of their clothing, expecting momentary death,—an expectation not at all allayed by the repeated assurance of our captors, that they would "shoot us by and by." The merchandise of the caravan, which Ramarez had ordered to be held sacred to its owners, was now taken possession of by the soldiers of Echagua; the prisoners were placed under an escort, and we left the place of blood, not knowing at what moment we should be called upon to join our lost comrades in the regions of eternity.

CHAPTER III.

Treatment as Prisoners-Gen. Bustes-Desperate Fight in a Farmer's Coral-Journey to San Luis-Fate of the Chilian Carrere.

THE whole number of prisoners taken at this time was about three hundred; being all that remained of an army of more than two thousand men, which but a few days before had marched from the city of Buenos Ayres in all the pride of conscious right, and with the firmest guarantee of a successful campaign. The prisoners had been divided into different parties, and were marched in different directions. The party in which I was placed, consisted of about twenty prisoners; and was given in charge of a detachment numbering about three hundred men, who took up their march indirectly towards the city of Cordova. On the way we suffered the privations of hunger, thirst, and nakedness; for our conductors, when short of provisions or water, never troubled themselves about the necessities of their prisoners; and in addition to these privations, we were for some time subject to the wanton sneers, taunts, and insults, of those who had us in keeping. One deaf man in particular, who was often at my side, seemed to take especial pains to convince me that he had no very deep-seated regard for my comfort at least. Twenty times a day that fellow would approach me, and, placing his mouth at my ear, as though I had been as deaf as himself, would scream out with the most impudent air imaginable, "Ahora te degolliara," (I'll cut your throat directly.) At length, however, we became so accustomed to their jeers, that they were made the subject of jest among ourselves. And our tormentors, finding that they no longer annoyed us, finally laid

them aside; and, in lieu of abuse, gave us each a blanket to cover our nakedness.

After journeying over a winding and circuitous route, going from hamlet to hamlet for about fifteen days, and when near Cordova, we learned, at a small village where we halted, that Gen. Bustes had then an army in campaign, marching towards Rio Quarto; and also that parts of his army were at that time scouring the country in the neighborhood of where we then were. This was to us grateful news; and we openly prayed that it might be our fortune to fall in with some of his troops, and thus find means of release from our captivity. Nor were we long in doubt on that score; for, on the following morning at daybreak, our guard, who never took the trouble to establish pickets at night, awoke in astonishment at finding themselves the prisoners of one of Bustes' divisions. The tables were now turned; and, in a spirit of retaliation, I did not hesitate to assure my deaf tormentor, in his own words, that I would "cut his throat directly."

We were soon conducted to a little village near at hand, where Bustes was then quartered; and the general, on hearing that I was among the captured, sent me an invitation to call at his quarters, which I immediately complied with, having in the mean time been supplied with clothing and food. As I entered his room, he arose courteously to meet me; and extending his hand, he said

"Ah, my young friend, I am glad to find you! I have heard that you are a brave lad; and now you must sit down and favor me with the particulars of your last campaign."

He had heard of our discomfiture at the "Punta de San Luis," and also of the treachery of Echagua; but when I told him of the butchery at the Villa de la Ranchos, and the cold-blooded murder of the brave Ramarez, he arose from his seat, and muttering a threat of vengeance, paced the floor in an agitated manner. ments, he said—

Seating himself again in a few mo