THE CHILIAN WAR.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume 1, Issue 1, 19 December 1891, Page 2

THE CHILIAN WAR.

The following gr«phi<f and interesting description of the gran.d finale of the above struggle for natibnaHudependenee has been sent us for publication by a valued correspondent. Valparaiso, September 12, 1891. > My dear friend, —After eight months j insecurity and trouble this great people j the Chilian Nation are again free to -speak their thoughts as formerly.' ' •. This has-been uo common revolution, if revolution ib can justly" be called/- If. .ever a peqple were justified in ;o"ver-' fhi-owing » ruler this people' were'; an 3 at last this has been done, and done thoroughly. I will not attempt to"'givedetails, they would fill volumes,.as:n6 doubt they will, and will be read with serious attention by all would-be fcyr*nfcs of this contineat and elsewhere:;.-.' ■ People abroad must not .-confound the civil war just ended with any others of which they may have read, or heard i* other countries ot South America"; the Chilians are a h&rd-wqrking .peaceloving race, that have,- "generallyspeaking, been fairly well governed, and for .these reasons have always occupied a foremosb pl*ce among the nations' of the New World. Bub enough, offthis for the present, —there being only .'time to write a few words respecting the two battles just taken place in, the'suburbs of this great city that-is" generally .referred to as the " Emporium. of the Pacific." . ;: ..>;••".• About a month ago the "Govern-: rnent','\(or say) President Balmaceda,, reviewed about 20,000 troops a few" leagues from Valnaraiso. "'• All:,weresplendidly armed, so much so!" that the. friends of 'the cause of; liberty '.weie anxious and felt uneasy as to.'the" result of a pitched battle with their friends expected from the north, who; would' not possibly have much more than'half that number of drilled men;-'.' • I'-. :•"_":• On the night of the 18th Aitgast a fleet of seventeen ships, men-of-war, and transports, arrived from the" north, and landed 10,000 men about 20 miles from, the port. On the 21st-!,took place a bloody battle with an eqjial number of Balmacedistas, a victory for thY invaders' being the result, —the jfo'rmer. losing about 3,000 men, the latter"4uO to' 500;! The "Balmacedistas" retired on the beautiful town of Vin&del-Mar, a suburb of Valparaiso, four miles from, the city, where a good of /sacking took' place. The "CongressioaaUsts" (whose ships, after bombard ing the,forts a.little retired from the bay) made a detour inland, spending a night at a small town' called Qailpue, from where there comes not the slightest complaint- as -to the 1 conduct of the troops. :■: : In Quilpue they renLaiaed till ■ ttio: 26th, leaving by the Palmas' road, passing hills and* gullies, till: after marching all day and night, ; they_i bivouacked behind the line of low hills that form the horse' shoe which', lies the city of Valparaiso. ' {Here ; on the 27th they found themselves.'front to front with the enemy, the -seMsty.le"d defenders of the legal government, splendidly placed and half-hid in the* ravines, and among the dwarf .bamboo and sub-tropical scrub that caver these hill*. It is said the Dictatorial-ai-my. numbered 12,000 men, including about 2,000 cavalry splendidly imounted and equipped, and neaily 100 cannon. -';:-i At 6 a.m. exactly on the-28tbt August. the " Liberating Army. " : advanced, slowly and silently prepared =to.attack the «' Diata-torialesi" on right and left flanks and centre . mmuttaneously; Wien they were within rifle shot, of the enemy's lines these had not as jet exposed their powerful artillery,- after "half-an-hour, however, every /-battery and mietraiileuse opened fire. An eyewitness —one of thft Tictors—writes •—; trWe never could have imagined greateractivity than that displayed by thtf'.B'.iU', macedistas in the organization of their superb defenceg. Erarikly, we would; not be.convinced, even seeing iv,:"of. Ih'e formidaUe resistance opposed to .our attack. The batterieg of the Constitu tional army were «o inferior in number that while we kept up fire .with twelve cannon, and two mietrailluse^.they

deafened, aig.with the thunder of forty . cannon fired simultaneously, every 'two*. . or thr^e urinates." Nevertheless, these' , brave men, hundreds of tfcfein 'delicate gentlemen, badly fed, fatigued,' sleeping * in th« open air,-sometimes^ very cold and afc least one night*.'raining in.. torrents, the&e brave men, I ""Bay," intended to win or die in "the attempt; and they advanced, taking no. more heed of those that fell than-to ."pick up the ' ammunition for -fear of rtfhning skqrt. This silent-.march must havecreaifed a -' tremendous panic in the enemy's files,- ., for it co«ld be seeri.-ths^.go't^nto'great confusion and uproar,: was immediately taken of^th is;'circumstance ■ and a bayonet ■•charge*.",;on-".the /guns ordered, and at the samiftimtf a'generaladvance of the entire army/;, ' : 'j'., . The same eye-witnossvWrites:-~''An-r, other, arnay Jperhap§" 'woisldf c ha f y,e;ißup;. - t ported'Vtiiis attack * -wit'Si s.tfce£ss,~ 'but ':•" the hoses of the. tyranty..demoralised,-, and cowed bythe defeat-oi-C6«o&n, v also/-; by the. inner - conviction"-'>that-~'they,!/ defended tho undefendable,. M&.._ not'believe themselves safe in'th&ir^Vsric&esy^. and so abandoned! them^in';;*^ .confused - - roiit, leaving tteir two great ■generals' "' and many officers dead;dft.™tke\field'!: ; Entire corps were takeh::pV)ssbnera "--,;'. It is now clear ,th)v6.-Xh;s soldiers'of ~" the' Dictator Don Oose^ijjpinia&t ©ailtna^-; • ceda had no great, desi'rt'tp.fi^htifor aim ",. or his cause. • -."*/■• \ •■'■•'.. .• *.""■*" * At noon on.-the-same"day.the vie-.'-torious Constitutional; ariny : :ep:Uj-ed 'the \- to\vn amid frantic;- jmariifestations^of: '<• sytnpathy. -. .•- ; ■.;-.';.f^ •• ,\ ■'.'.■'■•' .• ; .";. x"s';'.\\ ; . In this "last battle."4ng .Baliisicedisjias'.^r \ loss in dead, wbun{lp'di^nStfHers^aft4Jr!r deserters to the Opposition.^mqunt?^ft©'{>-; 7,500 men, more-or. less." \.'-':.:. y;.<fS?}Ty, I should menti6utbafc|jleXrberaJip^£-; Army of thevOp^gfe'ss^ay^^^Sul&t^ ; a fter, the teerta;of:|CS§epfi; b£ >^m% cavalry passing-jbyer ■fjf'aikj.c'he^ otherf,--side, tvncl the other side,- : or s'iy^lie'Bai- ■ macedis.as,. were - re-inforoed "by'^ifbout - •■- ---5,000 infenjDry aud artil]eiy- ; ""•"***** * v < J In"town we c6uld o^ly"listen.-tO*jfli^-" : - terrible noise, and see.the.sftiaice^nsi'B'w*''*.'; OTei\'thn hills. ' •E-rery.'thyi.gjp^sse^ tj«^ -j until su'udow'n when"tlie"-'JF6ilppa' > _ i "Jroar**. town returned • -froih: £Ke*^|tbiefieH\:? ariued vyifch iifles,.'man.^pf repealters, .and rouphs^^nd.^luevea^ti^"^' .the number of two-'or-th'res ftJiousan(J,»'^ mixed'with the soldiery of bbfh armies, "^ (who were allowed "to keep -their arms *T and -go where ;tb.:>y "lired 1) /disgerfeefd •«* themselves 'over tke town, •^hich 'i^^« three miles in.ieugtUyand : -bega*n*to*fir% "^ oft their guri's-HSame" into -the* jn&- fon „ * fun-, ethers to. kill'a"g'ouwv:nisfcsf,ndt>lrer>.- - to plunder a pawnshop.,;^iid.s others \cf i\ destroy and-burn'property belonging-'JbQi;* ' BalmacGdisfas;- whether^.'"'.pffieers '-6r-»> civilians.' - Myse]f"aad'Tahirfy rpas3«<k-..' one night: in the.^oeht/e t-df-^•street - fighting? No '-^ but of a .noise" of rifle : an"d rovolver. shots that n^w.-.ceased till-.••' after- s\ n'rise -nfext. morn^g^!^;'-,:-^-:?'; .7V: " '•■What."a sight theY^tr,eefe c:pr6serited"> heisit .morning !". I• do \aot\kapyr"\^6w ■ many were killed, but'my'.sS&* counted >'! ■ seventeen ,dtad sofaiers lyi^g.-.whereV.h they fell,-all nithin tenb^twpnty'yarrdii../;; of each other. .Porliaps "pverjohe." nu'ni* X dred were found dead in;tK€P>^eets«^xt:.y morning." • Bat lei the truth be. tald : ; ? L-;have;-: not heard of a Single foreigner '-haying-*-'. baen »olestedj on the contrafy~ali~haye ,;. been treated witltTespeWbV/aU-parties.?;-.-Nor am I aware that any 'faniily^natiye-;:-' or foreign, has suffered*, in''any >way, " "except in a way indirectly through *the " sadking ot some pawnshops-and-dnnking.-1" groceries-, tke former- kept Jby Soaniard^ J :' the latter by Itilian9>^a^|Han«. *.*;-1";^ I had .sent" my'daughter ;to. Wt'^urit'ar-::.; liouse on the' hiU..m'vtKe.; rfQrfeignßr^vl: quarter/tke rest;of;us"brayed.it*out;bu\vf. the/plaiu, and" "cijoye'd-^heT^rim; K*3p£r'. factionof Jiearing.the;peculiar w.Histle }\ of' the.new elongated.:.sreel^^ulleta'' ' passiiig over' our-- fheads-. itf • the ** opem' - • courts . behind, -as^'tHeriightsrliad been . put in tnefroßt.^^sf p alttTieLhoiwes./'.. ".A» th"e';.maUyclos^s,^wilh'in,an hour- • haYe;only time"' to; «3.a\thaLSantiago, . fair without. fig%iTttg^*Binjearlyrall./.th"e;^ : ' troops. ;Had-be."en'sehb".down- ft6;Falpaf-:-:: aisq. -. •••■•'•'"..'-.••'•'•■ :- ,;«•: .: 1/-:W-^' ts l;*" . :,Noir alii*vquiet;,;arid-.business opwi'

■«s usual. All the newspapers that were closed by order of the usurping' president on Ist January last (nearly' -all the pipers in the country) have re-1 appeared, and the trash published ati 'the expense of the nation h<»s disap. speared —1 bopo for ever'! : Senor Balmaceda -and many of his friends have taken refuge in .flight, some" ■on board foreign wgd of-war, Balmaceda; ihimself to parts unknown. Some ships, -of the fleet have been despatched to intercept hisflight. Ivind regards to self and family. ' Yours very sincerely, J B.