Page:Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay (1870).djvu/409



TO THE BRAZILIAN FRONT. 370

them down stream to encouraging so " immoral ^' a pro- ceeding. On the other hand, I could observe that none of the information given by the spies, deserters, or captives was ever to be relied upon, especially when it concerned Marshal- President Lopez. Possibly this arose from the fixed belief that their country^s cause would ultimately be successful, and from fear of engaging in open treason ; and it is also probable that, once made prisoners, they do not want to return. Moreover, they have found out that they are ex- ceptionally well treated at Rio de Janeiro and Sta. Catherina. M. Duchesne de Bellecourt is certainly not justified in asserting that the Brazil applies her Paraguayan prisoners to painful labour, that they may die the sooner of ^' misery, or nostalgia " — these men are certainly not made of such soft stuff. The semi-" Indians " affect, when under examina- tion, a peculiar simplicity, or rather stupidity of manner, which effectually conceals their cunning. To my question about the battalions of women. Marshal Caxias replied that the rumour had gone abroad, but that nothing of the kind had appeared in the field.

The papers salaried by, or interested in, the Brazilian cause had printed upon the subject of " Amazons " sundry solid and circumstantial lies, ending by way of colophon with deductions and morals squeezed out of the premisses which they had themselves invented. It is amusing enough to see at the same time El Cabichui, the Punch of Para- guay, caricaturing Her Imperial Majesty the Empress of the Brazil, recruiting and reviewing a body of soldieresses intended for the war.

I cannot see any serious objection against the use of feminine troops, especially in a country where, as in Mexico and other parts of South America, it is said El Fraile, the priest, is the captain of the gun, and the woman is the gunner. The mythical Amazons were the first cavalry.