Part 16 (1/2)
On aucho, in soarette and, oblivious of everything except the stiest black tobacco, expanded his lungs with long inspirations, to send forth thereafter clouds of blue s perfume over a third portion of the army
Santa Colo fro the quaint, expressive phraseology of the gauchos, which he kneell, poured forth his denunciations of the Colorados with a fury and eloquence that brought the blood with a rush to many of his followers' pale cheeks They were traitors, plunderers, assassins, he cried; they had co, nothing compared with that one black criuilty of
By the aid of Brazilian gold and Brazilian bayonets they had risen to power; they were the infamous pensioners of the empire of slaves He compared them to the man who marries a beautiful wife and sells her to soes of his own dishonour The foul stain which they had brought on the honour of the Banda Oriental could only be washed aith their blood Pointing to the advancing troops, he said that when those s were scattered like thistle-down before the wind, the entire country would be with hiradation, free at last and for ever froalloped back to the front of his colureat silence fell upon our ranks; while up the slope, their tru merrily, trotted the enemy, till they had covered about three hundred yards of the ascending ground, threatening to close us round in an ie, and, led by Santa Coloma, we thundered down the incline upon the this plain, unvarnished account of an Oriental battle ht feel inclined to criticise Santa Coloma's tactics; for his men were, like the Arabs, horsemen and little else; they were,a great deal of space to be used effectively Yet, considering all the circu He knew that he was too weak to ainst e would vanish like s decided to hazard all, and knowing that in a stand-up fight he would infallibly be beaten, his only plan was to show a bold front, ether in colu by this st his opponents and so snatch the victory
A discharge of carbines hich ere received did us no dae
I, at any rate, saw no saddles e through the advancing lines A shout of triu before us in all directions On we rode in triumph till we reached the bottom of the hill, then we reined up, for before us was the stream of San Paulo, and the few scatteredaway like hunted ostriches scarcely seee body of Colorados ca down the hill on our rear and flank, and dismay seized upon us The feeble effortsus round to face theive any clear account of what followed immediately after that, for ere all, friends and foes, mixed up for soot out of it all without a scratch is a mystery to me More than once I was in violent collision with Colorado uished from ours by their uniform, and several furious bloith sword and lance were aimed at me, but somehow I escaped them all I emptied the six chambers of my Colt's revolver, but whether my bullets did any execution or not I cannot pretend to say In the end I found myself surrounded by four of our ht
”Whip up, Captain, come with us this way,” shouted one of the ht
As we rode away, skirting the hill towards the south, he assured me that all was lost, in proof of which he pointed to scattered bodies of ourfrom the field in all directions Yes, ere defeated; that was plain to see, and I needed little encouragement from my fellow-runaways to spur my horse to its utmost speed Had the falcon eye of Santa Coloht have added to the list of Oriental traits he had givenwhen I was beaten I was quite as anxious, I believe, to save my skin--_throat_, we say in the Banda Oriental--as any horse the monkey-faced boy with the squeaky voice
If the curious reader, thirsting for knowledge, will consult the Uruguayan histories, I daresay he will find a more scientific description of the battle of San Paulo than I have been able to give My excuse must be that it was the only battle--pitched or other--at which I have ever assisted, also that ether I a performances; still, as I did no worse than Frederick the Great of Prussia, who ran away from his first battle, I do not consider that I need blush furiously My conation ”You see,” said one in explanation of his mental attitude, ”there ained the day, then the Colorados would have lost” There was in this remark a sound practical philosophy; it could not be controverted, it burdened our brains with no new thing, and it made us all very cheerful Fora great deal of Dolores, ould now have a fresh grief to increase her pain
For a distance of three or four allop, on the slopes of the Cuchilla paused to breathe our horses, and, dis back over the wide landscape spread out before us At our backs rose the giant green and broalls of the sierras, the range stretching away on either hand in violet and deep blue reen and yellow plain, vast as ocean, and channelled by innumerable streams, while one black patch on a slope far away showed us that our foes were ca on the very spot where they had overcome us Not a cloud appeared in the immense heavens; only, lon in the west, purple and rose-coloured vapours were beginning to for the clear, intense white-blue sky about the sinking sun Over all reigned deep silence; until, suddenly, a flock of orange and flas swept down on a clump of bushes hard by and poured forth a torrent of wild, joyousnotes that see heaven, and notes abrupt and guttural,than ever hu the vocalists like a fountain of fire and fled away to their roost aned once ay, fantastic ed inhabitants of aearth, but sweeter than earth and never entered by death, upon whose threshold I had stumbled by chance? Then, while the last rich flood of sunshi+ne ca on the far horizon, I could, had I been alone, have cast reat God of Nature, who had given ion that languishes in crowded cities or steals shareatly, filling the soul with a solemn joy Face to face with Nature on the vast hills at eventide, who does not feel himself near to the Unseen?
Out of his heart God shall not pass: His irass
My coh the Cuchilla, were already on horseback, shouting to lance over that wide prospect--wide, yet how small a portion of the Banda's twenty thousandverdure, watered by innuht of Dolores swept like awind over my heart For this rich prize, her beautiful country, hoeakly and hat feeble hands had we striven! Where noas her hero, the glorious deliverer Perseus? Lying, perhaps, stark and stained with blood on yon darkening moor Not yet was the Colorado monster overcome ”Rest on thy rock, Androalloped away aftercomrades, already half a mile away down in the shadowy mountain pass
CHAPTER XIX
Before it had been long dark, we had crossed the range and into the departht, when our horses began to be greatly distressed My co an _estancia_, still ues distant, where they were known and would be allowed to lie in concealment for a few days till the storm blew over; for usually shortly after an outbreak has been put down an _indulto_, or proclamation of pardon, is issued, after which it is safe for all those who have taken arovernment to return to their homes For the time ere, of course, outlaws, and liable to have our throats cut at any moment Our poor horses at last beca, alked on, leading theht we approached a watercourse, the upper part of the Rio Barriga Negra--Black Belly River--and on co of a bell attracted our attention It is the usual thing for every man in the Banda Oriental to have one s; the _madrina_ always carries a bell attached to her neck, and at night her forefeet are usually hobbled to prevent her wandering far from home; for the horses are always very much attached to her and will not leave her
After listening for a few moments, we concluded that the sound came from the bell of a _madrina_, and that her forefeet were bound, for the tinkle ca along Proceeding to the spot, we found a _tropilla_ of eleven or twelve dun-coloured horses feeding near the river Driving theently towards the bank, where a sharp bend in the strea fresh horses Fortunately they were not very shy of strangers, and after we had caught and secured the _ round her, and ere not very long in selecting the five best-looking duns in the herd
”My friends, I call this stealing,” I said, though at that verymy saddle to the ani information,” said one of my comrades
”A stolen horse will always carry you well,” said another
”If you cannot steal a horse without coht up,” cried the third
”In the Banda Oriental,” said the fourth, ”you are not looked upon as an honest man unless you steal”
We then crossed the river and broke into a swift gallop, which we kept up tillour destination a little while before sunrise
There was here a fine plantation of trees not far froe, and after we had taken _mate_ and then breakfast at the house, where the people received us very kindly, we proceeded to conceal our horses and ourselves in the plantation We found a corassy hollow, partly shaded with the surrounding trees, and here we spread our rugs, and, fatigued with our exertions, soon dropped into a deep sleep which lasted pretty well all day It was a pleasant day forwhich I experienced that sensation of absolute rest ofperiod of toil and anxiety During arettes and listened to the querulous pipings of a flock of young black-headed siskins flying about fro to be fed