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[Illustration: CHILEAN FARMER.
_Engraved for Stevenson's Narrative of South America._]
A
HISTORICAL
AND
DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE
OF
TWENTY YEARS' RESIDENCE
IN
SOUTH AMERICA,
_IN THREE VOLUMES_;
CONTAINING TRAVELS IN ARAUCO, CHILE, PERU, AND COLOMBIA;
WITH AN ACCOUNT OF
THE REVOLUTION, ITS RISE, PROGRESS, AND RESULTS.
BY W. B. STEVENSON,
FORMERLY PRIVATE SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT AND CAPTAIN GENERAL OF QUITO,
COLONEL, AND GOVERNOR OF ESMERALDAS, CAPTAIN DE FRAGATA, AND LATE
SECRETARY TO THE VICE ADMIRAL OF CHILE,--HIS EXCELLENCY
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD COCHRANE, &c.
VOL. III.
LONDON:
HURST, ROBINSON, AND CO.
CONSTABLE & Co. AND OLIVER & BOYD, EDINBURGH.
MDCCCXXV.
CONTENTS OF VOL. III.
PAGE
CHAP. I.--First Revolutionary Symptoms in South
America....Morales and Quiroga....Character of Morales....Of
Quiroga....Discovery made by Captain Salinas to two
Friars....Their Report to the Government....Imprisonment of
Morales, Quiroga, Salinas, and Riofrio....Character of
Salinas....Of Dr. Riofrio....Liberation of the Prisoners....
Junto formed at Quito....Advice of to the President, Count
Ruis....Manner in which the Revolution was conducted....New
Oath....Marquis of Selva Alegre....Character of....Dissensions
in the New Government....Count Ruis reinstated....Arrival of
Troops from Lima and Santa Fé....Imprisonment of the
Insurgents....Trial of....Character of the Count Ruis....Of
the Oidor Don Felipe Fuertes Amar....Of the Fiscal Arrechaga
....Of Colonel Arredonda...._Proceso_ sent to Santa Fé 1
CHAP. II.--Second Revolution at Quito....Massacre of the
Prisoners....General Meeting held....Spanish Troops leave
Quito....Revolution at Santa Fé....Arrival of Don Carlos
Montufar at Quito....Arredonda invades Quito....Arrives at
Huaranda....Flies from....Montufar marches towards Cuenca
....Desists from attacking the City....Returns to Quito....My
Appointment to Esmeraldas....Capture and Escape....General
Montes enters Quito....Death of Montufar....Quito taken by
General Sucre 26
CHAP. III.--State of Lima in 1811....Constitution proclaimed
....Some Effects of....Wishes of the Inhabitants
of Lima....Manifest of Venezuela 45
CHAP. IV.--State of Lima....Expedition to Chile under Colonel
Gainsa....Exit of....Regiment of Talavera arrives from Spain
....Part of sent to Huamanga....Revolution of Cusco and
Arequipa....Death of Pumacagua, and the Patriot Melgar....
Arrival of Flags taken by Osoria in Chile....Viceroy Abascal
superseded by Pesuela....Character of the former....Beginning
of Pesuela's Administration....Arrival of La Serna....State
of Lima to 1817....Battle of Chacabuco in Chile....Extract of
a Journal....New Expedition to Chile under Osoria....News of
Battle of Maypu....Loss of the Spanish Frigate Maria Isabel,
and part of Convoy....Arrival of Lord Cochrane off Callao 120
CHAP. V.--State of Lima on the Arrival of the Chilean
Squadron....Arrival of at Huacho....At Supe....Chilean Naval
Force, how composed....Capture of the Maria Isabel by
Commodore Blanco....Arrival of Lord Cochrane....Appointed
Admiral....Leaves Valparaiso....Arrives at Callao, Huacho,
Barranca, Huambacho....Proclamation of Cochrane, San Martin,
and O'Higgins....Description of Huambacho....Paita taken....
Proceed to Valparaiso....Arrival....Description of....Road
from Valparaiso to Santiago 141
CHAP. VI.--Santiago....Foundation....Description of
the City....Contrast between the Society here and at
Lima....State of Chile....Manners and Customs....Revolution
....Carreras....O'Higgins....Defeat at Rancagua....Chileans
cross the Cordillera....Action of Chacabuco....Of Maypu....
Death of Don Juan Jose, and Don Luis Carrera....Murder of
Colonel Rodrigues....Formation of a Naval Force....Death of
Spanish Prisoners at San Luis....Naval Expedition under
Lord Cochrane....Failure of the attack on Callao....Attack
at Pisco....Death of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles....Capture
of Vessels at Guayaquil....Squadron returns to Chile 169
CHAP. VII.--Passage from Guayaquil River to Valdivia....Lord
Cochrane reconnoitres the Harbour....Capture of the Spanish
Brig Potrillo....Arrival at Talcahuano....Preparations for
an Expedition to Valdivia....Troops furnished by General
Freire....O'Higgins runs aground....Arrival off Valdivia....
Capture of Valdivia....Attempt on Chiloe fails.... Return of
Lord Cochrane....Leaves Valdivia for Valparaiso....Victory by
Beauchef.....Arrival of the Independencia and Araucano....
O'Higgins repaired....Return to Valparaiso....Conduct of Chilean
Government....Lord Cochrane resigns the Command of the Squadron 211
CHAP. VIII.--Lord Cochrane and the Chilean Government....
Preparations for the Expedition to Peru....Captain Spry
....Charges presented by the Admiral against Capt. Guise
....Lord Cochrane throws up his Commission....Letters from
the Captains and Officers....Commission returned by the
Government....Offer made by San Martin to the Foreign
Seamen....Embarkation of Troops for Peru....Announcement
of Sailing of the Expedition....Force of the Squadron 243
CHAP. IX.--Sketch of O'Higgins, San Martin, Lord Cochrane,
Las Heras, and Monteagudo....Sailing of the Expedition, and
arrival at Pisco....Debarkation....Occurrences at Pisco....
Colonel Arenales, with a division of the Army, marches to
Arica....Troops embark, and proceed to Ancon....News of the
Revolution of Guayaquil....Capture of the Spanish Frigate
Esmeralda....Army goes down to Huacho....Head Quarters
at Huaura 275
CHAP. X.--Battalion of Numancia joins the Liberating Army
....Victory at Pasco by Arenales....Route of Arenales from
Ica....Courts Martial held in the Squadron on Officers....
Conduct of General San Martin....Viceroy Pesuela deposed....
Expedition to Pisco....To Arica....Action at Mirabe under
Lieutenant-Colonel Miller....Description of Arica....Of
Tacna....Of Ilo....Armistice celebrated by Generals San
Martin and La Serna....Prorogation of....Lord Cochrane
leaves Mollendo, and arrives at Callao 303
CHAP. XI.--Lima evacuated by La Serna....Occupation of by the
Liberating Army....Loss of the San Martin....Arrival of Lord
Cochrane at Lima....Conduct of the Spaniards after leaving
Lima....Independence of Peru sworn....San Martin constitutes
himself Protector of Peru....Interview between Lord Cochrane
and San Martin....Announcement of the views of the Spanish
Army....State of the Squadron....San Martin takes the Field
....Arrival and Departure of Cantarac....Proclamation
of San Martin....Treasure taken at Ancon by Lord Cochrane
....Surrender of Callao....Tribunal of Purification
established at Lima....Lieutenant Wynter arrested at Callao
....Paroissien and Spry visit the Squadron at Midnight
....Squadron leaves Callao, arrives at Guayaquil 339
CHAP. XII.--Revolution and State of Guayaquil....Squadron
leaves....Island of Cocos....Bay of Fonseca....Visitors from
the Shore....Leave Fonseca....Volcano....Arrive at Acapulco
....General Waevell and Colonel O'Reilly....Letter from
Iturbide....Leave Acapulco....Description of....Gale of Wind
off Tehuantepec....Tacames or Atcames....News of the Enemy
....Arrive at the Puná....Guayaquil....Lord Cochrane hoists
the Chilean Flag in the Vengansa....Conduct of the People at
Guayaquil....Treaty with the Government....Letter from General
La Mar....Leave Guayaquil, and arrive at Huambacho....Callao 396
CHAP. XIII.--Commercial Code at Lima....Provincial Statutes
announced....Liberty of the Press....Foreigners declared
amenable to the Laws....Institution of the Order of the Sun
....New Commercial Rules....Titles changed....Order to convene
the Constituent Congress....San Martin delegates his Authority
to the Marquis de Torre Tagle....San Martin leaves Lima and
returns....Army defeated under Tristan at Ica....State of
Lima on our Arrival....Visit of Monteagudo to Lord Cochrane
....San Martin annuls the Treaty at Guayaquil....Exile of
Spaniards from Lima....Lord Cochrane leaves Callao for
Valparaiso....Spanish Vessels that surrendered to the Chilean
Squadron....Convention of Chile meets....Monteagudo exiled
from Lima....Disturbances in Chile....San Martin arrives at
Valparaiso....O'Higgins abdicates....Lord Cochrane leaves
the Pacific 423
CHAPTER I.
First Revolutionary Symptoms in South America....Morales and
Quiroga....Character of Morales....Of Quiroga....Discovery made by
Captain Salinas to two Friars....Their Report to the
Government....Imprisonment of Morales, Quiroga, Salinas, and
Riofrio....Character of Salinas....of Dr. Riofrio....Liberation of
the Prisoners....Junta formed at Quito....Advice of to the
President, Count Ruis....Manner in which the Revolution was
conducted....New Oath....Marquis of Selva Alegre....Character
of....Dissensions in the New Government....Count Ruis
reinstated....Arrival of Troops from Lima and Santa
Fé....Imprisonment of the Insurgents....Trial of....Character of
the Count Ruis....Of the Oidor Don Felipe Fuertes Amar....Of the
Fiscal Arrechaga....Of Colonel Arredonda...._Proceso_ sent to Santa
Fé.
Shortly after the arrival of his Excellency the Count Ruis de Castilla
at Quito, the capital of his government, the collegians of San Fernando
presented him with four theatrical representations, at which the whole
of the nobility attended as spectators. The pieces chosen were Cato,
Andromacha, Zoraida, and the Auraucana, the whole of them tending in
their design and argument to inculcate a spirit of freedom, a love of
liberty, and principles of republicanism. However, as is often the case
with people who visit public exhibitions with a predetermination to be
pleased, this tendency passed unobserved by the president and the other
members of the government. Inattentive to what the state of affairs in
the mother country might produce in the colonies, the American rulers
judged that they themselves were surrounded by the same obedient vassals
whom their predecessors had governed, without ever dreaming that the
people were awake to what was actually passing in the parent state; for,
although the opportunity of deriving information from the press was
prevented by the government, yet the Americans who resided in Spain at
this period were very actively employed in communicating to their
friends in America the true state of affairs, and the natives were
generally better informed of what passed in the mother country, than the
Spaniards resident in America or even the government itself; because
Spanish correspondents being loath to place their property in America in
jeopardy, or judging that the colonists had only to obey whatever orders
they might receive, either gave indistinct or favourably exaggerated
accounts; or else treated the Americans with that contempt which as
their superiors they fancied they had a right to exercise.
After the performance of the pieces, I became gradually acquainted with
the individuals who had selected them--Dr. Quiroga and Don Manuel
Morales; the former an advocate of some respectability, a native of
Arequipa in Peru, married in Quito; the latter, a native of the city of
Mariquita in the Viceroyalty of Santa Fé de Bogotá, had been secretary
to the government when the Baron de Carondelet was President; but having
offended him, Morales was discarded from his situation by the orders of
the Baron. He hoped to have been restored on the arrival of the Count
Ruis; but this chief having in his suite a young advocate of the name of
Don Tomas Arrechaga, whom he had educated, and for whom he wished to
provide, the claims of Morales were disregarded, and Arrechaga was
nominated secretary to the government.
Morales was possessed of a strong mind, had received a liberal
education, and having been employed many years in the secretary's
office, had obtained a knowledge of the affairs of the government and an
insight into the intrigues of the Spanish court. He considered himself
unjustly dealt with by the Baron de Carondelet, and more so by the Count
Ruis, who could only know his failings through the too often distorted
medium of report: he saw his situation filled by a stranger, himself an
exile, and was determined to be revenged on those whom he regarded as
the supporters if not the authors of his disgrace. To this end
circumstances that could not possibly escape his observation aided him;
and had not rashness prompted him to execute his designs prematurely, he
might have succeeded, and have lived to receive the thanks of his
countrymen; whereas, his ashes can only be revered by them, his name can
only dwell in their memories with painful regret, or gratitude drop a
tear at the recollection of his untimely death.
Quiroga was of an unquiet aspiring disposition, rash and undaunted in
his undertakings, but very self-opinionated: unable to brook controul in
any shape, but open to conviction when persuasion was the medium. He was
successful as a pleader at the bar, loquacious and eloquent, but even
here his hasty temper drove him into difficulties; he was repeatedly
reprimanded by the tribunal, and at length was not only mulct, but even
suspended from the exercise of his office as an advocate. In one
instance, when a fine was imposed upon him, he declared that he could in
no manner pay it, because the tribunal was not competent to levy it;
that the Regent and Oidores had taken possession of their seats on the
bench contrary to law, or held them contrary to justice; and he proved
his assertions by stating the cases, quoting the laws, and citing the
regulations of the tribunal. This necessarily drew down upon him the
hatred of the members, and obliged him to leave the bar. Quiroga was the
constant companion of Morales, and, like him, expected that on the
arrival of Count Ruis, an appeal to his Excellency, as President of the
royal audience, would restore him to the exercise of his profession; but
a report from the Regent Bustillas prevented the fulfilment of his
expectations, and this circumstance drove him to despair.
These two disappointed individuals chose the dramatic pieces which were
performed at the college of San Fernando in October, 1809, selected
perhaps in order to probe the government; if so, the result was
completely satisfactory to their views, for not the least suspicion was
evinced, nor any alarm taken.
In February, 1809, Captain Salinas, who was commander of the infantry at
Quito, informed two friars, Father Polo and another, of a plan that was
about to be formed to depose the Spanish authorities in Quito, and to
elect others from among the most respectable citizens, as substitutes.
The information was immediately reported by the friars to the President,
and a secret commission was given to the Oidor Fuertes Amar to proceed
against all suspected individuals according to law. Don Pedro Muños was
appointed to act as privy secretary, but this man had no other
qualification than that of being a native of Spain. Quiroga, Morales,
and the parish priest of Sangolqui, Dr. Riofrio, and Captain Salinas,
were apprehended, and placed under an arrest in the convent of La
Merced. Their declarations were taken down in writing by Muños, and
every possible means employed to prevent the people from becoming
acquainted with the state of the _proceso_; no person was allowed to see
the prisoners, and they were deprived of the means of communicating to
their friends any particulars relating to their situation; the secretary
was not allowed the assistance of an amanuensis, and every inquisitorial
practice was brought into action. In the beginning of April, when Muños
was going in the evening to the palace to report on the proceedings to
the President, the papers were stolen from him. This accident produced
considerable confusion; many who were really concerned in the plot were
assured that their names had never been mentioned by the prisoners, who
uniformly denied having any knowledge of it; and Salinas protested
against having mentioned any thing concerning it to the friars. Thus by
a fortunate accident the plans of the government were frustrated, the
prosecution ceased, and the prisoners were liberated. This occurrence,
however, taught them to be more on the alert, and to be more careful in
future; but the torch was lighted, and although the flame had been
smothered for a short time, it was not extinguished.
The character of Salinas was well known to Morales and Quiroga. He was a
true Quiteño, volatile and variable, embracing every novel object with
avidity, without reflection, or discrimination; the pursuit of any new
scheme was as ardently begun by Salinas, as it was easily abandoned the
moment it ceased to be new, or the moment that another was suggested;
but as this officer was at the head of the infantry, which consisted of
about four hundred men, with part of which he had been formerly
stationed at Panama, and which in their opinion was considered a
campaign in a foreign country, he had become the idol of the soldiers;
so that it was absolutely necessary that Salinas should be brought over
to second the plans of Morales and Quiroga; and this was easily
effected--the plan was novel, and promised a succession of what was most
congenial to his feelings.
Dr. Riofrio was a secular clergyman, of a sullen morose temper, ready to
coincide with any set of men whose plans were calculated to bid defiance
to any thing that did not please him; yet, whether from natural
imbecility, or natural cowardice, he seemed to be only an instrument,
and probably became acquainted with the plans in agitation by being a
frequent visitor at a house in Quito where Morales had lived, and on
account of his own house being sometimes the residence of Morales, when
he was estranged from Quito by the President Carondelet. This man and
Salinas were both natives of Quito, but neither of them of families of
rank or fortune, although from the situations which both had held they
were very respectable.
After the release of the four denounced conspirators, Salinas and
Riofrio returned to their former occupations; Quiroga to his home, more
injured than ever; and Morales went into the country, without having
reaped any advantage except experience. The government now appeared
quite satisfied in having declared the acquittal of the prisoners
honourable; they were pleased that no act of injustice had been
committed, and flattered themselves that the papers lost by Muños had
fallen into the hands of some pick-pocket, or that having been dropt in
the street, they had ceased to exist in a shape which might betray their
intentions. But they were deceived; the papers found their way into the
study of Quiroga, who drew such conclusions from them as best suited his
own ends, and disseminated their contents among such individuals as he
judged most proper to entrust them with. From April to August, 1809,
nothing particular occurred, except new advices from Spain; so that the
abdication of Carlos, the accession of Fernando, the imprisonment of the
King, and the invasion of the country by the French, were the subject
matter of every conversation. But still tranquillity reigned in every
part of the colonies, and their inhabitants seemed to vie with each
other in enthusiastic demonstrations of loyalty and attachment to their
_amado Fernando_. Every new advice from Spain served to increase the
apprehension and the dismay of the governments and Spaniards residing in
America; and their whole attention was so engrossed with the state of
affairs in the country to which they belonged, that they had not time
to meditate on the effects which might be produced by it in the country
in which they were stationed--satisfied that the colonies must follow
the fate of the parent state, just as if it had been annexed to it by
the ties of nature, instead of being attached to it by the most
unnatural connexions. But the bubble burst when and where it was perhaps
least expected to happen, and although the effects of the explosion were
soon repressed, yet it rent the veil, and laid the foundation of that
emancipation which the whole of the heretofore enslaved nations of the
new world now enjoy.
On the morning of the 10th of August, 1809, at an early hour, two
natives of Quito, Ante and Aguire, waited on the president with a
letter. The orderly who was at the door of the antechamber objected to
carry any letter or message to his Excellency at so unusual an hour; but
Ante persisted in the necessity of its immediate delivery, saying, that
it contained matters of importance from the JUNTA SOBERANA, sovereign
junta, a name as new in the ears of the orderly as was the body itself
new in America. The orderly awoke the president, delivering the letter,
and repeated the words which he had heard, as an excuse for his untimely
errand. The president having read the superscription--"From the
sovereign junta to the Count Ruis, ex-president of Quito," dressed
himself, and read the following:
"The present unsettled state of Spain, the total annihilation of the
lawfully constituted authorities, and the dangers of the crown of the
beloved Ferdinand VII. and his domains falling into the hands of the
tyrant of Europe, have impelled our trans-atlantic brothers to form
provincial governments for their personal security, as well against the
machinations of some of their traitorous countrymen, unworthy of the
name of Spaniards, as against the arms of the common enemy: the loyal
inhabitants of Quito, resolved to secure to their legitimate King and
Master this part of his kingdom, have established a sovereign junta in
this city of San Francisco de Quito, of which, and by the command of his
Serene Highness the President and the vocal members, I have the honour
to inform your lordship, and to announce to you, that the functions of
the members of the old government have ceased: God preserve your
lordship many years. Hall of the junta in Quito, August 10th, 1809:
Manuel Morales secretary of the interior."
After reading this unexpected epistle, his Excellency entered the
antechamber, and walked towards the messengers, who inquired whether he
had received the note, and on being answered in the affirmative, they
bowed, turned round, and retired. The count followed them to the outer
door and attempted to pass it, but he was prevented by the sentry. He
now sent his orderly to call the officer of the guard, who politely
answered, that he could not consistently with the orders he had
received, speak with the _Count_, pronouncing the last word with
considerable emphasis. A great number of people began to assemble in the
square before the palace, at six o'clock, when a royal salute was fired,
and the military music, stationed on the esplanade in front of the
palace, continued playing some national airs till nine o'clock. At this
time the members of the new executive government met, the Marquis of
Selva Alegre, president, the vocal members, the Marquis of Orellana,
Marquis of Solanda, Count of Casa Guerrero, Marquis of Miraflores, Don
Manuel Zambrano, Don Manuel Mateus, and Don Pedro Montufar, the two
ministers. Morales and Quiroga: the declaration of the installation was
published, and the form of the oath to be administered to all persons
employed under the new government was drawn up. The Bishop of Quito was
elected vice-president, but he refused to assist at this or any
subsequent meeting.
The whole of the revolutionary change was effected in the night of the
ninth. Morales came to Quito, and, with Quiroga, convened a meeting; he
informed the members of the risk in which the country at large stood,
set forth the intention of the government to acknowledge Napoleon as
their sovereign, because the Kings of Spain had ceded their sovereignty
to him, and exhorted them at the same time to preserve themselves and
this part of the Spanish dominions from the fate that awaited the rest;
and this he told them could only be done by establishing a provincial
government in the name of Fernando, and of removing all suspicious
persons from their offices. This harangue was nothing but a matter of
form, because all the preliminaries had been agreed on beforehand.
Salinas, being present, was deputed to bring over the soldiers, which he
immediately did; he went to the barracks, and having formed the infantry
in the square or patio--he informed them that their beloved King was a
prisoner in France; expatiated on his sufferings; told them that the
existing governments in America were determined to deliver up the
country to the common enemy, and concluded by asking them, whether they
would defend their beloved Ferdinand, or become the slaves of Bonaparte?
The deluded soldiers immediately shouted Viva Fernando Septimo! Viva
Quito! The commandant of the cavalry, Don Joaquin Saldumbide, received
orders for the same purpose, and executed them in the same manner. On
the return of these two individuals to the junta, they were commanded to
give the necessary orders to the different guards, and to administer to
the troops the following oath:
"I swear by God and on the cross of my sword, to defend my legitimate
King, Ferdinand VII.; to maintain and protect his rights; to support the
purity of the holy Roman Catholic Church; and to obey the constituted
authorities."
After the conclusion of this ceremony, the necessary orders were given
to the officer of the guard at the president's palace, barracks, and
prisons: a guard was placed at the door of each suspected person,
particularly at those of the Regent and Oidores; and the members of the
government retired to their houses.
An express was immediately sent to Chillo, an estate belonging to the
Marquis of Selva Alegre, with the news of what had taken place, and a
request that his lordship would immediately come to Quito, and take
possession of the supreme command of the government of the kingdom.
Thus, in one night, without bloodshed or even without any popular
commotion, a government which had been established for more than three
centuries was displaced, and a new one erected on its basis.
The Marquis of Selva Alegre arrived on the morning of the tenth, and was
visited by the members of the new government, while the two ministers
proceeded on their duty to place new officers and clerks in the
secretary's office, and to take charge of the archives belonging to the
royal audience.
The character of Selva Alegre is almost indefinable. As a private man he
was extremely kind and polite, having more of the polished courtier
about him than might be supposed to exist in an individual born in what
may be termed a sequestered country. Both in his town and country house
a great deal of taste and splendour were exhibited, in a manner somewhat
uncommon at Quito; yet neither his income nor his popularity could in
any way be compared to those of Miraflores nor Solanda. As a public
character Selva Alegre was extremely unfit; wavering and timid, wishing
rather to reconcile the two parties than to support either; fond of
show and parade, but frightened at his own shadow, as if it mocked him.
At the gaze of the people he would, like a peacock, have allowed his
gaudy plumage to fall to the ground; he would have endeavoured to hide
himself, or, as the most enthusiastic Quiteños expressed themselves,
"his shoes did not fit him."
On the thirteenth the new government visited the church of the Carmen
Alto, the different members dressed in their robes of ceremony; His
Serene Highness in the full costume of the Order of Charles III., of
which he was a knight; the members of the junta in scarlet and black;
the two ministers were distinguished by large plumes in their hats; the
corporation, officers of the treasury, and other tribunals, in their old
Spanish uniforms, and the military in _blue_, faced with _white_ instead
of _red_, as heretofore.
After the thirteenth of August, anarchy began to preside at all the
meetings of the junta. Morales insisted on a reform in the regulations
of the tribunals; Quiroga, that preparations offensive and defensive
against the neighbouring provinces which did not follow the example of
Quito should be made; Selva Alegre and the members wished that every
thing might remain as it was. However the army was increased, and
detachments sent to Guallabamba against the Pastusos, and to Huaranda,
to prevent an invasion by the Guayaquileños. The people began to shew
marks of discontent, particularly dreading a scarcity of salt, which
article was procured from Guayaquil. The governor of Guayaquil first
threatened to invade the provinces, next the Viceroy of Santa Fé, and
lastly the Viceroy of Peru. Advices arrived that troops from these
different quarters were absolutely on their march, and to complete the
consternation of the people, the Count Ruis retired from his palace into
the country, to a small _quinta_, or country seat, two leagues from the
city, where he remained, till on the night of the eighth of November a
deputation from the sovereign junta waited on him with proposals for his
reinstatement in the presidency, to which he acceded. On the part of the
president the condition was, that the members of the junta should retire
to their respective homes, and become quiet citizens, as before the
tenth of August; and on the part of the junta, that what had passed
should be referred to the central junta in Spain, and that no
prosecution should take place against them until the resolution of the
representative authority of Spain should be known. These simple
preliminaries being agreed to, his excellency the Count Ruis entered
Quito on the following morning, and was received with the most
enthusiastic demonstrations of joy; the inhabitants and the members of
the ex-junta presented themselves, and made a tender of their several
titles, which were accepted by the president, and with all the acts and
other papers belonging to the intrusive government, as it was stiled,
were ordered to be burnt; but Arrechaga, instead of obeying the order
given to him, kept them with the most depraved intention for the most
execrable purposes.
On the second of December the auxiliary troops arrived from Lima and
Guayaquil, composed of five hundred infantry, and fifty artillery men,
under the command of Colonel Arredonda. The inhabitants of Quito,
relying on the fulfilment of the conditions agreed to by the Count Ruis,
erected triumphal arches to receive them, and strewed flowers along the
streets as they passed; but scarcely had they taken quiet possession of
the city, and disbanded the native troops, than Arrechaga, who had been
appointed fiscal on the death of Yriarte, advised Arredonda to solicit
of the president an order for the apprehension of all persons who had
taken an active part in the late revolt, grounding his solicitude on
the law of power, that good faith ought not to be kept with traitors.
The count had the weakness to accede to the request of Arredonda, and an
order was immediately issued commanding Don Manuel Arredonda, Colonel of
Infantry, and Commandant of the Pacifying Troops, _tropas
pacificadoras_, to arrest all the persons who had been concerned in the
late rebellion, the names of whom were subministered by Arrechaga, and
on the twelfth of December upwards of fifty of the most respectable
inhabitants of Quito were dragged from their homes, and immured in cells
in the barracks. Judge Fuertes Amar was again appointed to form the
_proceso criminal_. Every succeeding day brought new victims to the
prison, for not only those who had taken an active part in the affair
were apprehended, but many individuals also to whom letters had been
written by the insurgents; and some because they had not declared
themselves hostile to the revolutionary government; however the Regent,
Oidores, Fiscals, and other persons who had remained neuter, and some
Spaniards in office who had kept their places during the administration
of the junta, were not included in the number; but the Bishop, who,
being an American, was included in the list of insurgents, and accused
of having connived at the treason of his flock, because he did not
anathematize them, interdict the places of public worship, and sentence
to everlasting torments all schismatics to royalty and passive
obedience.
Two hundred more soldiers arrived from Santa Fé de Bogotá, and brought
with them a greater security to the ministers of despotism, and the
whole of the provinces of Quito groaned under their tyranny. Many of the
most wealthy inhabitants fled to their estates in the country, and many,
although totally unconnected with the affairs of the junta, were afraid
of being swept away by the torrent of persecution. Among those who
fortunately absconded, and eluded the vigilance of the government, was
the Marquis of Selva Alegre: the Marquis of Miraflores died of grief in
his own house, and a guard of soldiers was placed over him even till he
was interred.
Not content with imprisoning those persons who might be termed the
ringleaders, the soldiers were taken into custody, and placed in a
separate prison, called the presidio. This alarmed the lower classes,
who began to steal into the country, and seek in the mountains and woods
an asylum against the systematic persecution that now pervaded the
miserable hut of the labourer as well as the residence of his
employer--the cabin of the indigent as well as the mansion of the
wealthy. Provisions became daily more scarce in the city, the soldiery
in the same ratio became more insolent, when, to crown the state of
desperation among all classes of the inhabitants, except the natives of
Spain who resided here, the examination of the prisoners was concluded,
and the _vista fiscal_ was drawn up. This horrible production, worthy of
its author, Arrechaga, divided the prisoners into three classes, but
sentenced them all to death: their number was eighty-four, including the
prisoners and the absent, who were outlawed; even the Bishop was not
excluded, although, according to the laws of Spain, he could only be
tried by the council of Castile. Distress, affliction, and grief now
reigned triumphant: mothers, wives, and daughters filled the air with
their cries for mercy on their sons, their husbands, and their brothers,
who had been torn from them and immured in dungeons, where they were not
allowed to visit them; and who lay under sentence of an ignominious
death, no hopes being left, except that the president would not confirm
the sentence, and in this hope they were not deceived.
When the proceso was concluded, and required no more than the veto of
the president, it was presented to him; but instead of concurring in the
opinion of the fiscal, and giving way to the entreaties of Colonel
Arredonda, he ordered the papers to remain in his cabinet. The agitation
of the old count was now truly distressing, and he frequently said to
me, that he would prefer signing his own death-warrant to the
sacrificing of so many deluded victims, the greater part of whom had
only committed an error of judgment, founded, perhaps, on a mistaken
sense of loyalty; at last he determined to refer the case for revision
to the Viceroy of Santa Fé, to the inconceivable chagrin of Fuertes,
Arrechaga, and Arredonda, who all founded their hopes of preferment in
Spain on the execution of the prisoners, who had been denominated
traitors.
The Count Ruis was at this time eighty-four years of age; he had resided
in America upwards of forty; first in the capacity of Corregidor of
Oruro, then of Governor Intendent of Huancavilica, afterwards as
President of Cusco, and lastly of Quito. When at Huancavilica he
commanded the troops, in 1780, against the unfortunate Tupac Umaru, who
was taken prisoner, and quartered alive in the plasa mayor at Cusco, by
being tied to four wild colts, which were driven to the four opposite
angles of the square.
When President of Cusco, the unhappy victims of Spanish jealousy and
cruelty, Ubalde and Ugarte, in 1796, were executed on an ex-parte
evidence. This proceso was conducted by the Oidor Berriosabal,
afterwards Count of San Juan and Marquis of Casa Palma, and who was
afterwards, in 1821, proscribed in Lima by San Martin. The Count Ruis as
a private individual was remarkably kind and familiar, and excessively
charitable: in his public capacity he was too easily overruled,
especially by persons in authority under him, and when he could be
induced to believe them to be actuated by motives of justice; but he was
obstinate in the greatest degree if he once suspected their integrity.
The court of Spain was so well convinced of the virtuous character of
this nobleman, that in 1795 a royal order was issued inhibiting him from
a residenciary investigation at the expiration of his first government
of Cusco: an honour which I believe was never conferred on any other
governor in the Spanish colonies.
The Oidor Don Felipe Fuertes Amar was remarkably timid, in fact he was a
complete coward, and this weakness brought him to the gallows, during a
commotion of the indians in 1810.
The Fiscal Don Tomas Arrechaga was a native of Oruro, said to be the
offspring of a friar of San Juan de Dios and a mestisa of Oruro. The
Count Ruis took him when a boy under his protection, educated him, and
brought him to Quito to establish him in the profession of the law,
which he had studied. Arrechaga was brutal in his looks, his manners,
and his actions; he was possessed of all the subtle cruelty peculiar to
the caste of chinos, which is a mixture of African and indian blood: his
mother was of the latter race, and his father was not entirely exempt
from the former. Arrechaga would have waded through the blood of his
countrymen to secure promotion; and from the first discovery of the
country this had been too often the means of obtaining it.
Don Manuel Arredonda was the son of the Viceroy of Buenos Ayres, and
nephew to the Regent of the Royal Audience of Lima; he was in search of
reputation, fame, and promotion--not in the cannon's mouth--no, for
indeed he was the original fop described by Hotspur, he was effeminate,
proud and cruel, the general qualifications of a coward soldier; an
imperious tyrant when in prosperity, but the most abject of all
wretches when in adversity.
The person chosen to convey to Santa Fé the whole of the proceso was Dr.
San Miguel, a young advocate who had become the constant companion to
Arrechaga. Not less than six reams of written paper formed the important
charge, for the safety of which a piquet of horse was ordered to escort
San Miguel as far as Pasto, lest some of the outlaws might surprize him
on the road. The prisoners expected no favour at the hands of the
Viceroy, because he was the uncle of the Oidor Fuertes who had tried
them. It was natural to suppose that he would not extend his mercy
against what he would consider the justice of the law as expounded by
his nephew; for, although it may appear very strange in England, that
the inclinations of persons in such elevated situations should be
biassed by personal interest, this was too frequently the case in South
America.