Page:Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay (1870).djvu/298



268 FROM ROZARIO TO CORRIENTES.

exaggerates to 800. On both sides there were instances of heroism^ and it is pleasant to remember the name of the Brazilian midshipman — Enrique Martins — shot by the Pa- raguayans when he refused to give up his flag.

The defeat at Riachuelo was, I repeat, fatal to the success of the offensive portion of the Paraguayan plans. The Bra- zilian squadron could now blockade the river above as well as below Corrientes, and by threatening to cut off its rear it could compel the corps of the Parana to retreat from want of food, instead of communicating with the corps d'armee of the Uruguay. Then it directly brought about the fall of Uruguayana, surrendered by Leonidas Estigarribia (Septem- ber 18, 1865). The affair of Cueva (12th August) was intended by the Paraguayans to retrieve their fallen for- tunes ; but that attack, as has been seen, also failed.

Steaming above the long island we saw the trucks of the Jequitinhonha still topping the water. The tall cliffs gra- dually sank, and the stream became an archipelago of charming green isletry ; these disappearing, and leaving an open bank as we approached Corrientes. To the west the Bio Negro winds up a great gap in the majestic flood here — at 900 miles from Buenos Aires — some 2500 metres wide. On the left bank are yellow cliffs, partly of argile, partly arenaceous, with sand plants at their foot, and crowned with the richest verdure ; whilst, far over a clear- ing for cultivation, we sight spires, domes, and a memorial column. On a cliff projecting into the stream is the pretty quinta of Dr. Vidal, with its thatched roof, and white walls, and orange avenue leading to the door. Beyond it is the Brazilian military hospital, occupying the saladero formerly owned by Messrs. Stock and Hughes, of Buenos Aires. Turning the broken point, exposing a tanning establishment and a timber-yard, we pass towards the little bay fronting the north. The water is here forty- five fathoms deep, and