AROUSED BY ALARM-BELLS--COUNTRY-HOUSES SEEN ON FIRE--ANXIETY ABOUT UNCLE
RICHARD'S--RETREAT OF THE SPANIARDS--MR. LAFFAN AND I RIDE OUT TO
EGIDO--FIND THE MONTEVERDES' HOUSE BURNED TO THE GROUND--EGIDO
DESTROYED--WHAT HAS BECOME OF THE INMATES?--PROCEED IN SEARCH OF THEM--
NO TIDINGS--INQUIRE OF SOME PEASANTRY--OBTAIN RECRUITS--PURSUED BY
SPANISH CAVALRY--ALMOST OVERTAKEN--WE REACH THE TOWN--JUAN CHASES THE
SPANIARDS--FRESH TROOPS ARRIVE--ANXIETY ABOUT OUR FAMILY AND UNCLE
RICHARD'S--PAUL LOBO SETS OUT TO FIND THEM--WE HEAR THAT THE FASTUCIANS,
HEADED BY THE BISHOP OF POPAYAN, ARE ADVANCING TO ATTACK US--OUR ARMY
MARCHES TO MEET THEM--THE BISHOP SENDS A FLAG OF TRUCE PROPOSING TERMS--
I AND OTHERS ACCEPT AN INVITATION TO DINE WITH THE PASTUCIAN OFFICERS--
FEARFUL TREACHERY--CAPTAIN PINSON AND MY OTHER COMPANIONS KILLED--I LEAP
FROM THE WINDOW AND MOUNT MY HORSE--A RIDE FOR LIFE.
Rejoicings for the victory we had gained were taking place when I
returned home, wearied by the fatigues I had gone through. My father
was out attending to the wounded, of whom there were large numbers,
besides which many of the defenders had been killed. It was still dark
when I was aroused by the ringing of the alarm-bells, and dressing
hurriedly, I ran to Mr Laffan's room. He also had got up; and taking
our horses from the stable, we rode out to ascertain the cause. We
found people in every direction hastening to the ramparts. On reaching
the top of an embankment, we saw fires blazing up in several directions
to the north and east.
"These must be country-houses and farms which the Spaniards have set on
fire," observed my companion.
Several persons whom we found on the spot were of the same opinion.
Probably the cavalry who had escaped to the southward had returned, and,
in revenge, had set fire to all the residences they passed; or
detachments had been sent from the main body to lay waste the country.
As the more distant fires were in the direction of Egido, and Senor
Monteverde's hacienda, I felt very anxious about our family.
Had they had time to escape? I knew too well that the Spaniards spared
neither sex nor age. My hope, however, was that Uncle Richard would
have been on the watch, and have left the house in time--though that,
too probably, had fallen a sacrifice to the vengeance of the Spaniards.
In a short time I encountered Juan, who was anxious to march out and
attack the enemy; but the general, he said, had prohibited him from
doing so, "as his men were as yet too ill-disciplined for such an
undertaking, and would most certainly be defeated."
The alarm that another assault was about to be made proved false, as
scouts sent out reported that the enemy were still upwards of two
leagues from the city. When daylight returned no Spaniards were in
sight, nor could any signs of them be seen from the highest point in the
city.
Just as Mr Laffan and I returned home my father came in, tired out by
the arduous labours in which he had all night been engaged. On my
telling him of the fears I entertained of what had happened at Egido,
he, after some hesitation, gave me leave to ride out and ascertain if
the inmates had escaped.
"I will go with you, Duncan," said Mr Laffan; "two heads are of more
value than one, and so are two swords, and if we fall in with enemies we
shall have a better chance of cutting; our way through them."
Anxiety concerning the fate of my mother and sister overcame my father's
scruples, so, mounting our horses, Mr Laffan and I rode out through the
eastern gate. Our steeds were accustomed to the road, and we put them
to their best speed.
We had gone about two-thirds of the way, when Mr Laffan reined in his
horse, observing,--"We may be riding right into the middle of a
detachment of the Spaniards, if we go along at this rate. More haste,
less speed! A good soldier should feel his way, when an enemy is likely
to be in the neighbourhood."
We accordingly advanced more cautiously than we had done at first,
except when we could see our way for some distance ahead. Our road ran
not far from the residence of Senor Monteverde; and in regard to it our
worst apprehensions were fulfilled. The house had been burned to the
ground, the garden and the surrounding fields destroyed. I regretted
that I should have such sad intelligence to convey to Dona Dolores. A
glance was sufficient to show us what had been done, and as we galloped
on our anxiety increased lest Egido should have shared the same fate.
"We must be prepared for the worst," said Mr Laffan, as he pointed to a
column of smoke which ascended above the trees in the direction of
Egido.
In a few minutes we reached the spot where the house once stood entire;
its blackened walls alone remained, the interior filled with heaps of
still smouldering embers. The enemy had indeed made short work of it.
We found that the stables had escaped, but the horses had been carried
away, and not an animal of any description remained; nor could we see
any person moving about from whom to obtain information. We searched
the out-houses, which were not harmed, and the ruins, as far as the hot
embers would allow, but we could discover no traces of bodies.
"The inmates must have got away before the enemy arrived," I exclaimed.
"I truly hope so," answered Mr Laffan, but he did not look very
confident.
"If they escaped, they would take the road to the mountains," I
suggested. "Let us ride on in that direction; we may possibly meet with
some one who has seen them. I cannot bear to return to my father
without some more hopeful information than we possess."
The dominie not objecting, we rode on. However he very frequently stood
up in his stirrups to get a look round, fearing that we might be riding
into the lion's mouth.
We had gone some distance when we caught sight of a group of persons
collected on a slight elevation, from whence they could obtain a view
over the plain. When they first discovered us, they showed some
disposition to conceal themselves, but on observing that we were but two
persons of fair complexion their fears apparently vanished, and they
remained waiting our approach.
I immediately inquired whether they had seen any fugitives from the
Spaniards making their way to the mountains.
"Yes, senor; many and good cause they had to run, for the Godos put to
death all they caught. We ourselves got away just in time from our
cottage, which the cruel barbarians burned. They would have killed us
had we remained."
I then asked if they had seen Don Ricardo--who was, I thought, probably
known to them--with a party of ladies, either on foot or horseback.
One of two men to whom I more particularly addressed myself answered
that they had, about daybreak, seen a party who had got some way up the
mountains, but they were too far off to enable them to distinguish who
they were. More definite information they could not give us.
They were fine tall fellows, dressed in the universal broad-brimmed hat,
ponchos over their shoulders, and loose trousers--with, of course, bare
feet; while they were smoking in the most unconcerned manner, as if they
took their misfortunes lightly.
"Are you not disposed to punish those, who have destroyed your farm?" I
asked.
I then told them of the corps which were being raised, and invited them
to join. Their eyes brightened when I spoke of the possibility of
driving the Spaniards for ever from the country. A woman who was with
them, and who had remained seated beside a basket of provisions, started
to her feet.
"Yes," she exclaimed; "we shall never enjoy peace or prosperity until
that has been accomplished! Pepe! Mariano! you will fight--we will all
fight--for so good a cause."
They agreed to come into the town after they had gone back to their farm
and endeavoured to recover any of the cattle, pigs, or poultry which had
escaped.
"There is little chance of that; the thieves will have carried off
everything," observed the woman.
As we could gain no further information from these persons, we resolved
to try and make our way up the mountains, in the hope of either finding
our friends, or hearing from other fugitives where they had taken
shelter; but although we fell in with a few more people, our inquiries
proved unsuccessful.
We had ridden some distance, when the dominie, who could see well ahead,
exclaimed. "We shall either have to hide ourselves or ride for it!
Those men are, I suspect, Spanish cavalry."
To hide ourselves, owing to the nature of the ground, was scarcely
possible, and almost before we had turned our horses' heads, the enemy,
for such undoubtedly they were, had discovered us. Our animals, too,
from the rate at which we had come, were somewhat fatigued. We had only
stopped once, to allow them to drink at a fountain.
"We must gallop for it," said Mr Laffan, "or we shall chance to be shot
or made prisoners by the Spaniards. Keep a firm hand on your rein, and
do not spare either whip or spur. On we go." And digging spurs into
our horses' flanks, we galloped forward in the direction of the town,
with the Spaniards in full pursuit.
There were a dozen or more of them, but they were too far off to fire
with any chance of hitting us. We had a fair start, too, but our horses
might come down, or we might encounter another party in front; still,
neither of us were inclined to yield until every hope of escape was
gone.
"On, on!" cried the dominie, feeling for the pistols in his holsters, so
that they might be ready at any moment. "I intend to shoot one or two
fellows if they come near us,--and you must do the same, Duncan; but it
will be better to keep well ahead of them."
But the Spaniards' horses were fresh, and, led by a well-mounted
officer, they were gaining on us. At last they got near enough to fire,
and several bullets whistled through the air; but we were still too far
ahead to run much risk of being hit. The sound had the effect of
reanimating our horses, however, and they redoubled their efforts, their
nostrils snorting, their mouths and bodies covered with foam. At length
the towers and steeples of the city appeared in sight. If we could lead
the Spaniards up to the walls, they might, we hoped, be cut off. We
shouted, therefore, in order to attract the attention of the sentinels.
Fortunately we had been observed, and so were the enemy, for as we got
in sight of the gate it opened, and out dashed a body of horse, led by
Juan. It was now the turn of our pursuers to fly, and as we looked over
our shoulders we saw them wheeling round. At length pulling rein, we
stood on one side, while Juan and his troop dashed by. I should have
liked to have accompanied him, but our steeds, having once stopped,
could only just stagger on into the city.
In a short time Juan returned, having cut down eight or ten of the
Spaniards, when he had to gallop back on finding himself in the presence
of a vastly superior force.
The troops in the city, flushed with their success, were eager to be led
out against the enemy; but as they were chiefly raw recruits, the
general firmly refused to comply with their wishes. The scouts brought
back word that the enemy were retiring rapidly, although in good order,
to the northward. The object of this retrograde movement we could not
at first ascertain, but concluded that it was in consequence of other
Patriot forces gathering in their rear, and they were afraid of being
cut off from the capital.
Our numbers now daily increased. The two peasants, Pepe and Mariano,
whom we had met, arrived with twenty companions,--tall, stalwart men,
who, with others like them, made excellent infantry. Two regiments of
fairly disciplined troops also arrived, partly officered by Englishmen
and other foreigners; and it was now said that we should be able to take
the field, if necessary, to attack the Spaniards.
My father had, in the meantime, been fearfully anxious about Uncle
Richard's and our own family, but with the information the dominie and I
brought him his mind grew more tranquil. As he had perfect confidence
in Uncle Richard's judgment and forethought, he came to the belief that
they had made their escape before the house was attacked. I wished
again to set out in search of them, either by myself or with Mr Laffan,
and to bring them back into the city. My father, however, not being so
confident as many other people that the place would not be again
attacked, said that they were safer among the mountains than they would
be did they return to the city. "Uncle Richard," he said, "would
probably make arrangements to obtain provisions from his small farm,
which, being away from the highroad, the Spaniards would probably have
passed by without destroying." He settled, however, to send Paul Lobo
with a mule loaded with warm clothing for the ladies, wine, and other
articles which they were likely to require.
"Depend on me, massa. I find dem out, wherever dey are, and bring back
word," answered Paul, as he prepared to set out.
I occasionally saw Dona Dolores. Juan, too, whenever disengaged from
his military duties, spent most of his time in her society, and,
imbibing the principles which animated her, became more and more
attached to the Patriot cause.
We had generally great difficulty in obtaining intelligence of the
movements of our friends in different parts of the country, as the
Spaniards did their best to capture, and invariably shot, every
messenger or bearer of despatches. Indeed, they treated Patriots as
banditti beyond the pale of the law. It must be owned, however, that
our party often retaliated on them in a fearful manner.
We were anxiously waiting for Paul's return, when information was
received that the Pastucians--the inhabitants of the province of Pasto,
some way to the south of Popayan, who, being completely under the
influence of the priests, had always opposed the Patriots--had risen in
arms, and were marching northward in large numbers. They had been
induced to rise by no less a person than Don Salvador Ximenes, the
Bishop of Popayan; and it was said that that illustrious prelate, armed
cap-a-pie, and accompanied by his stalwart secretary, was at the head of
the Pastucian army. At first the report was not believed, but our spies
corroborated it; so, as doubt no longer remained on the subject, it was
settled that the Patriot forces must immediately march to repel the
enemy, in order to prevent the southern part of our province being
overrun. Our troops, now pretty fairly drilled, were eager for the
expedition. We had a good body of infantry; our artillery was
represented by the three guns we had captured; and we had five hundred
cavalry, including Don Juan's troop--to which both I and Mr Laffan were
now regularly attached.
Early in the morning we marched out of Popayan, and as we surveyed our
forces, we, from the oldest to the youngest soldier, felt confident of
victory.
But I must rapidly pass over this time. A march of several days brought
us in sight of the enemy, who lay encamped about two leagues from where
we halted. They were posted in an advantageous position close to a
small village, with inaccessible heights behind them, a rapid stream in
front, and a defile on the south which could be held by a few men,
through which they might retreat if defeated. We occupied a less
formidable position, but one which would enable the whole of our force
to act at once, should we be attacked. Our men were in high spirits,
and as ready to attack the enemy's position as to defend their own,
should the Pastucians, taking the initiative, assault us. Instead of
doing so, however, a flag of truce was sent into our camp from the
bishop, expressing his wish to prevent bloodshed by an amicable
arrangement of matters. Our general replied that the surest way of
bringing this about was for his followers to return to their homes and
disarm.
Several priests and others came with the flag of truce, under the
pretence of visiting their friends in our camp; and wonderfully busy
they were. It was thought that an amicable arrangement would be arrived
at, and that both parties would march back without coming to blows. So
friendly, indeed, were we, to all appearance, that the Pastucian
officers sent an invitation to the officers of the flank company of the
regiment of the Cauca to dine within their lines. An English officer, a
Captain Brown, to whom I was paying a visit, and who was unwell at the
time, begged that I would go instead of him, as I might be amused--the
Pastucians having the credit of being a set of rough diamonds.
The next day about a dozen of us set out for the Pastucian lines, two
leagues off--Captain Pinson, the commander of the company, being our
leader. We were all in good spirits, laughing and joking, and expecting
to be highly amused by our hosts. I promised to give Captain Brown an
account of the party; but thinking it probable that there would be more
drinking after dinner than I should like, I had arranged to ride back
alone, and ordered my servant Antonio, who followed us, to have my horse
in readiness at about four o'clock. The dinner-hour was to be two
o'clock.
The Pastucian officers, who were more than treble our number, received
us with every mark of courtesy, though a less attractive set of
gentlemen I had never met. Indeed, they greatly resembled a party of
banditti. Their complexions were swarthy, many of them having Indian
blood in their veins. They all wore huge moustaches and beards, with
their long black hair either falling over their shoulders or fastened
behind in a queue, while their countenances were decidedly
unprepossessing. They were, however, bland in the extreme, and had
provided abundant fare, although not cooked in the most refined style.
There was no want of wine and spirits, too, with which our hosts plied
us. I remarked that there were two or three Pastucians between each of
the Patriot officers.
Dinner went on as usual, though it was somewhat prolonged. Then
speeches were made, chiefly complimentary to each other, both parties
avoiding politics. Songs were then sung, and more speeches made.
I, however, began to grow very tired of the affair. I was seated, I
should have said, opposite to Captain Pinson,--placed in that position,
near the head of the table, in compliment to my father being an
Englishman. While a song was being sung, I heard one of the Pastucian
officers near me say to a companion, looking meanwhile at Captain
Pinson, who had on a uniform with a large amount of lace about it, "I
have made up my mind to have that fellow's coat for my share." As the
Pastucian officer appeared already to be half-seas over, I thought that
he had spoken in jest, or that I had misunderstood him.
On looking at my watch, I found that it was time for me to go, as the
hour at which I had ordered my horse to be brought had arrived; rising
from my seat, and going towards the window, I saw my servant leading my
horse backwards and forwards.
I was on the point of moving towards the door, hoping to leave the room
without being questioned, when I saw Captain Pinson start up; and
turning to the other Patriot officers, he exclaimed, "Gentlemen, we are
betrayed--treachery is intended--fly for your lives!" As he said this
he drew his sword, when several of the Pastucian officers set upon him.
By a natural impulse I sprang towards the window, while I drew my sword,
intending to support my companions. Captain Pinson had moved in the
same direction, that he might have greater scope for his weapon. I was
soon convinced that he was not mistaken in his supposition that
treachery was intended, for three of the Patriot officers by this time
lay stretched on the floor, stabbed to the heart! The rest had
endeavoured to rally near Captain Pinson, who called to them to make for
the door and cut their way out. The Pastucians, who were mostly
powerful men, set so fiercely on us, however, that I saw there was but
little hope of this being accomplished, although Captain Pinson had
already killed two of them. Pistols were drawn, and the bullets now
began to fly in all directions. It would be difficult to picture a more
fearful scene. The room was full of smoke; shouts and horrible oaths
arose; while the Pastucians rushed again and again at our little band,
on each occasion unhappily bringing to the ground one or more of our
number.
I was fighting as well as I could by Captain Pinson's side, when he said
to me, "Save yourself if you can--quick!--through the window; all hope
is gone for us." This, I feared, was too true; for just then
overwhelming numbers of Pastucians rushed into the room, armed with
spears and bayonets. Half our number had already fallen dead on the
floor; most of the others were desperately wounded, as was Captain
Pinson. I saw him plunge his sword into the breast of a third
Pastucian, who was making a lunge at me with a spear. This decided me.
Though unwilling to desert my companions, I was convinced that the
destruction of the whole of us was intended, and that I should fall a
victim with the rest. With one bound I leapt from the window, and
called to Antonio, who was on the point of galloping off. He
immediately pulled up, and rode towards me. A shower of bullets, fired
from the house, came rattling around; but in another instant I was on
horseback, and, with my faithful servant, galloping for my life.