The New York Herald Newspaper, June 19, 1873, Page 3

- NEW YORK HERALD, THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 1873.—TRIPLE —$—$——— et “TURBULENT SPAIN, Graphic Battle Scenes by a Herald Correspondent at the Seat of War. HE IS ORDERED TO BE SHOT. Cure of Santa Cruz. ‘The Trial of the Ex-Priest Before a Court Martial for Cruelty. HIS. SPEECH AND ACQUITTAL. The Engagement at San Vincente. The Herald Correspondent Holding Two Armed Men at Bay, General Characteristics of the War. ? THE CARLISTS AND THE VOLUNTEERS. Conrnasta, Navarra, April 24, 1878, ‘The morning after my arrival at San Sebastian ‘Was ushered in by a most brilliant sun, that brought out in magnificent relief all the picturesque features of the romantic scene before me. The rocky promontory, that juts out into the sea and forms one side of the bay on which the town is ‘Dbutit, was covered with oaks and beeches that had just burst their buds and embowered the remains of the eld citadel on the top; the sea ‘was dagzlingly blue, and _ rippled soft- ly on the white sandy beach along ‘which the neat little villas of the San Sebastian yaute volée lie scattered, and reflected in tremulous patches of white in the limpid flood below, while stately Sefioras, in all the dignity of black lace ‘veils and accompanied by their caballeros saun- tered calmly along. Altogether the whole scene put mein mind of Heine’s song, “Im Wunder- schonen Monat Mal.’’ I, too, felt the warm Spring in my veins and had made up my mind to pass the day in San Sebastian, when, on returning to my hotel for break- fast, I heard that Dorregaray was advancing toward the frontier and intended attacking Ofiate, -a thriving, well-to-do town on the frontier of the provinces of Alava and Guipascoa, The scent of battle at once routed all my tender Spring feelings, and within an hour and a half I was en route for Ofiate, where I arrived on the evening of the 13th of April, The next day I was up betimes and at conve set out to reconnoitre the position of the town and its defences. It Hes at the base of arange of high hills, toward which there runs the promenade of the Ofiatese, terminating in @ father narrow road leading up the hill toa small chapel on the left, Townwards, the promenade Yuns into a broadish street that leads to a square and opens eut onto the Town Hall, that forms one side of the square. On the right corner of the Hall there is alarge house called the Palace of Carlos Quinto; on the leit a short cwd-de-sac leads from the main street about twenty paces from the Hall. ‘This Hall, the lower part consisting of arcades, was Town Hall. Cul-de-Sac. Block of Houses. pretty strongly fortified; a strong bastion of brick and woodwork protected the front, while all the arches and windows were walled up and furnished ‘with loopholes, THE GARRISON Of the place consisted of 120 volunteers, all armed ‘with Remingtons, for which they possessed a sup- Ply of 60,000 cartridges. Apparently they had heard nothing of the intended attack, for they were all sauntering aboutin gala costume until about three P. when “a sudden change came o’er the spirit of the scene.”” Some peasant or other had brought the news that the whole of the Carlist army was approaching, whereupon the braying of bugles and the sound of the church- bells ringing the alarm, set the whole town into @ ‘wonderful commotion. But, with the exception ef atew—among whom, of course, were the volun- teers—the commotion was of a joyful kind, for the great majority of the Ofiatese are stanch Carlists, ‘Still, Carlists as well as liberals all thought it best toretire inte their houses, while the volunteers commenced to place themselves in battle array. Taking advantage of the confusion, I hurried out of the town and planted myself in @ position whence I could observe the impending operations. Very soon about fifty Vol- unteers ensconced themselves among the rocks and trees along the road leading to the chapel, and at half-past four precisely the vanguard of the Carlists made its appearance on the crest. The volunteers at once opened a spirited fire upon their enemies who, however, were far beyond range. Seeing this, three of the volunteers ad- vanced very bravely within 800 yards of the Carlists and fired so well and so rapidly that they KILLED ONE MAN and severely wounded three others, The order to charge was then given by the Carlists, who swept down the mountain like an avalanche, and of course, forced the handful of volunteers to retreat precipitately. Close on their heels followed the Carlists (who never fired shot), until they arrived at the gates of the town, when the volunteers hurried through the streets and took refuge, with the rest of their comrades, in the Town Hall. The whole thing was LIKE A SQUIB, or like the sudden flight of a boomerang, which Tushes impevuously to @ certain point and then rushes back again. Ifthe volunteers had quietly occupied the streets they might have inflicted con- siderable loss on the endtiy, and still always have ‘had the Town Hall to take refuge in, As it was, the Carlists rapidiy occupied the town and shut 3 ite defenders in the Hall. Ofute being the biggest town yet occupied by the Carlists, @nd containing many good things wherewitnal to cheer the heart of man, including among other Juxuries divers votties of a very good champagne, We gradually grew exuitant, and determined to attack the volunteers in their stronghold. At ten P.M, three companies of one hundred men each ‘were told off to execute this, from a military point of view, very praiseworthy intention. Four carts ‘were collected and filled with trusses of straw and mattresses, while another party ARMING THEMSELVES WITH BOTTLES OF PETROLEUM and a few extemporized grenades, took possession of the palace of Carlos Guinto, whence they threw “their combustibles on to the roof and through the windows of the Town Hall, of which the part ‘where the archives were kept actually took fire, The massive character of the building. combined with the efforts of the volunteers insiuc, prevented, however, the flames from epread- ing. In the meantime, having summoned the volunteers to surrender, and being met with a very decided refusal, the Carlists, led by Lieutenant Colonel Radica, Colonel Ozeariz and Major Calderon, adivanced to the attack In two parties along the two streets leading to the Town Hall. Pushing the carts before them with the intention of pro- tecting themselves from the fire of the enemy, they advanced to the very walls of the building. it was found, however, that the perambulating ramparts of straw and mattresses were utterly in- sufficient to stop the rain of deadly builets that poured out from the loopholes, so that within ten minutes Colonel Ozcariz, who was pushing the fret cart, was struck in the heart by a bullet whieh had traversed straw, mattresses and all, while of the men EIGHT WERE KILLED AND TWENTY-THREE BADLY ‘WOUNDED. ‘The hail of bullets still continuing, the Carlists were forced to retreat into the two streets, ome party, among whom was Major Calderon, taking refuge in the cul-de-sac. Just before reaching it the captain of Calderon’s company was struck down by a bullet in his right side, and Calderon, ad- vancing to drag him out of the was just about to seize him by the arm, when one @f his men, saying, “I will see to him, Major,” bent down to carry him away, and in the same moment fe dead upon the wounded man, a builet having crashed through his brain. In this cul-de-sac Major Calderon and his men were kept for more then an hour and a nall; as long, in fact, as the flames from the Town Hall afforded suficient light for the volun- teers to hatl down their bullets upon any one who had the temerity to expose a few inches of his body. Your correspondent, who was safely enaconced ina doorway opposite the cul-de-sac, was very much amused by the frantic endeavors of the volunteer Marksmen, who, by the way, shot very well, to kill the cap which Major Calderon ever and anon thrust forward on the point of his sword until it was regularly riddled with bullets. It was plain that the Hall could not to be taken without artillery, and as soon as the flames died out the attacking party retreated, having lost eleven killed and twen- ty-seven wounded. This was decidedly a damper, especially as all the champagne had been drunk and there was nothing more to excite us, The next morning we left betimes, as @ coupte of columns were close upon us, and marched in one stretch to Betelu, a distance of eight leagues. Thence we proceeded next day to San Estevan, in- tending to make @ rapid march to Urdax, in the neighborhood of which place we expected to find four pieces of artillery awaiting us. Unfortunately, however, General Noavilas had marched from Pam- peluna to Elizonda, and had dispesed his forces 80 as to intercept us, while other columns were advancing in our rear and on both flanks, so that at the moment when I began this letter we were at Vera, with General Nouvilas at San Estevan with two columns (2,400 men); Morales and Tejada, with two column, at Trun, and Loma and Cuenca with two more on our right and left fanks. Thus, on Saturday, the 19th of April, we were COMPLETELY SURROUNDED by troops, 7,200 men, and twelve pieces of artillery. Still, in spite of this overwhelming number Dorre- garay determined to await their attack, especially as he expected to be joined the same day by 1,000 men under Lissaraga and the notorions curé of Santa Cruz. The Carlists came; not so, however, the Republican troops, and by what Management or mismanagement they allowed Lissaraga to pass their lines, or why they refused to attack us is a mystery I do not pretend to solve. Such, however, was the case. During the day Lizarraga joined us, and shortly afterwards Santa Craz. Both are men of a remarkable character, similar, yet widely differing. Both are intensely religious; but while the religion of Santa Cruz has deepened into A MORBID FANATICISM, which makes him gloomy and severe and causes him to regard all things simply as instruments to forward the interests of his Church, that of Lissaraga is of a more cheerful kind and regarded by him rather as @ means of supporting the troubies: of this life and the most powerful factor in enabling aman to de hisduty. The charaeter of both men 1s imprinted on their faces. The curé of Sauta Cruz, who has entirely dropped his clerical garb and is dressed In the common costume of the peasants of the country, with leather leggings and canvas sandals, wears @ fall beard, which, with his lowering, bushy eyebrows, gives his naturally hard features a still greater intensity of gloom. His only arms are ‘a stout oak sapling and @ field giass, so that the sensational pictures of Caritst priests, in full clerical costume, with a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other, are enfirely due to the invention of our spectal artist, of whom, by the way, 1 have seen none among the Carlists. Your correspondent, in fact, being the only one of hts craft whe cared about following the Carlists im the north of Spain. As for General Lissaraga, he ts of medium height, stoutly built, and possesses a most massive head, covered far down the meck with stubborn white hair. His eyebrows, also snowy white, overhang the bluest of eyes I have ever seen; they look like two morsels of blue sky gleaming through a couple of those fantastic arches of glacier ice one some- times meets with in the Alps. His complexion, of the raddiest color, is heightened by the two rows of dazzling teeth, which bis merry lps are continually disclosing, and altogether he Presents an appearance of the most engaging kind, though he can by no means be called hand- some. In short, he is one of those persons who bring good humor and cheerfulness in the most gloomy society. As Isaid betore, he is a devout Catholic, and often have I seen him in the middie of @ march pullout his rosary ana pray a Pater- noster or Ave Maria, lis example being followed by all his men, who adore him. Such were the two persons who, with their forces, swelled our ranks to the number of about four thousand men, all well armed. But before arrangements could be made for these forces to work in harmony a disagreeable duty had to be performed. It will be remembered that the curé of Santa Cruz, having been accused of disobedience and wanton cruelty, had been condemned to death by Don Carlos, and that Lissaraga had been en- trusted with the execution of this order. Now, although Lissaraga had been the General whom the curé was supposed specially to have disobeyed, certain facts came to his ear which led him to believe that the curé had been deceived, and consequently he decided to take no steps personally in the matter, but to refer the question toacourt martial. This court martial was held on Saturday evening, and by my request I was allowed to be present—a favor which would scarcely have been granted to any one but @ correspondent of the H&RALD. At six P. M. the proceedings commenced. THE ACCUSATION AGAINST THE EX-PRIEST was that he had shot a woman and an old peasant without sufficient cause; that he “had been guilty of disobeying certain specific orders, and, finally, had used language disrespectful to his superiors, and especially so in regard to Don Carlos. His answer to the first charge I give verbatim :— “Sefiores, the woman, as well as the Alcalde of Amoroviela, who were executed by my orders, had frequently been founcin various villages where we were staying, without any good reason for their presence. They assigned frivolous reasons, which inducea me to warn them not to let me see them pgaln. Ip spite of this warning the woman Was di aoe Sab arcelag: Be ane of my men on the point of leaying the village by @ little-known footpath. She was seized and on her was found a letter from the Alcalde Informing the commander of one of the colamns—OColonel Morales—that the curé of Santa Cruz was at Amorovtela with 300 men, and that he intemded marching to a depot that same evening in order to take possession of fifty guns: Charged with their offence and their treacherous conduct, both the culprits turned pale and trem- blingly confedsed. thelf gtilt. Thereupon 1 gave them half an hour to confess, and ordered tweive of my men to, fusilade them, Here is the letter found upon the woman sewed into her dress, Call the men who discovered it and hear their testimony. You say that hitherto the Carlists have carried on the war in a nobie, generous and chivalrous manner, and that His Majesty haaethe right to expect that his cause shall not be dishon- ored py his ywo partisans, I deny that! baye iy any way disgraced the Carlistarms, But I avew it openly, I cannot extend a maudlin sentimental pity to spies and traitors whe betray us, not from fear, but for the enemy’sgold. I despise the coward who betrays his countrymen from fear; but I annihilate the traitors who sell their blood for gold. As for the charges of disobedience you prefer against me, Ihave to say that some orders which were sent to me could not be executed; that others never reached me, but were intereepted by those very spies it was my unhappy duty to execute, and that others which I did receive and did disobey were issued after I had been condemned to death with- out a trial and only upon the evidence of slan- derers, Regarding the use of disrespectful lan- guage aguinst His Majesiy and my General, I can only say that l have never used any language un- becoming @ faithful servant of that Church of which I can never more administer the sacraments, for the stain of blood is red upon my hands, The messenger of peace has become a man of biood. He has become a shedder of blood in the cause of his God, his country and his king; but he is nei- ther an assassin nor a murderer. I have no more to Say.” This speech of the Curé, delivered in the high- sounding language and with the energetic gesticu- lation of the Spaniards, created A PROFOUND IMPRESSION upon every one present and certainly modified the views your correspondent had hitherto entertained of his character and of his deeds, Still, I could see that the Court, composed of Dorregaray, Lissaraga, Marquis of Valdespina and other ofticers of the itaff recvived his declaration coldly and evidently did not mtend to accept the Curé’s own evidence 4s final, for [ must mention that the Curé was re- garded with considerable jealousy by the officers, who are much averse to have the religious clement Tepresented in their forces by its actual ministers under arms. When, however, witness after wit- hess bore out the Curé’s assertions, it was impos- sible for the Court to do otherwise but fully acquit him of all the charges brought against him, and the first to congratulate him was Lissaraga. Thus the affair was amicably and satisfactorily settled; but I very soon saw that the curéis not a man bora to obey, but to command, As the chief of a gue- rilla band he is admirable, but as one of the links in a chain of subcrdinates he is a comtinual em- barrassment, and I was not at all surprised to hear, a few days afterwards, that he and his band were sent back to their old station in the moun- tains between San Sebastian, Vera and Tolosa, ‘Thus the Saturday passed away, and as it was clear that the enemy did not intend attacking us in our present position, but, more probably, hoped to surprise us on eur march, the order was given, at twenty miuutes to twelve P. M., to march. In the darkness and silence of night the men formed with incredible rapidity, and within one hour’s time the last man and the last mule had left Vera. We went along at a swinging pace, and continued our march until seven o’clock on Sunday evening, with only one rest of two hours, having thus accom- plished a march of seventeen hours and put forty- nine miles between ourselves and the enemy’s troops, who, until eleven o’clock on Suuday morn- ing, still fancied we were in Vera. I do not believe this march has ever been equalled in any similar country, for it must be remembered that the roads led entirely among and over some of the most rugged mountains in Guipazcoa and Alava and that a column of over 4,000 men, hampered by baggage and ineficient § ani- mals, is not so easily handled as a party of Cook's tourists. On our way, at abeut eleven o'clock, one of the columns on our left flank made a feeble attempt to make us swerve from our line of march; bata company of 120 men was amply sufficient to limit their endeavors toa few cannon shot, which did no damage whatever. The next day we proceeded further southward, and in the evening found ourselves safe in the Amescuas, On the whole, this expedition into Guipaz- coa had very unsatisfactory results; we had not been able to obtain possession of the artillery, and had some what disheartened the men, who were eager to engage the enemy, added to which the great number of troops concentrated on the frontier enabled the General-in-Chief, Nouvilas, to detach acorpsin order to attack the custom- house at Daucharinea. This was done, and the Carlists temporarily dislodged, although the Re- publican troops soon discovered that they could not hold the position they had gained, and aban- doned it In a few days. From the 24th of April to the 1st of May nothing of any importance occurred. Nouvilas had been chosen Minister of War and wasin Madrid, while the Various columns were left to act as their respective com- manders deemed advisable; and that this action Was not of avery energetic nature may be gath- ered from the fact that we remained for five days quietiy in Abarruza, and then gradually worked down southward to Bernedo, in the province of Al- ava, which we left at twelve o’clock on May 1, with the intention of making a raid on Haroor Miranda, on the other side of the Ebro. Aftera march of six hours we arrived at miserable village, as wretched as any Irish or Arab hamlet, named Pipaon, where we waited about the streets while a council of war was being held, At dusk the order was given to march, At first the road was pretty fair, but it soon became terribly steep as we mounted the ragged Sierra de Tolono, the difficulties we had to contend with becoming greater as the darkness grew deeper.” Still while mount- ting and on the crest of the mountains were yet caught some of the faint light the sun had leit upon the western horizon; but when we began the de- scent and plunged into the deep and narrow gorges below the gloom became intense, and it was lite- rally impossible to see beyond the horse's head. Stambling over rocks, knocking our heads against trees and branches, now wading through shallow, brawling streams, now sinking up to the fetiocks in mud, no one could say whether the next step would lead him. To add to the gen- eral confusion the guides lost their way, and the vanguard, marching at much too rapid a pace, also lost the rear guard, which in turn lost the cavalry. There we were now, divided into three parties, each looking for the other in the darkest night and wildest tract of country it is possible to imagine. After infinite trouble and a loss of three hours’ valuable time we at last found ourselves reunited on @ plateau a little to the west of Abalos and about two hours’ march from San Vincente, a small town garrisoned by fifty-six volunteers and situ- ated on @ sharp bend of the Ebro, at the extremity of a low range of hills which rons down to the river at right angles with it. Parallel with this range of hills es asecond about a mile off to the east. Having arrived at the northern extremities of these two ranges, each about one mile and a half long, orders were given to Lorente aud Radica to lead 600 men along the top of THE SAN VINCENTE RANGB and to surprise the town, while Colonel Pe- Tula with 120 horse was to make a circuit round the town and take possession of the bridge over the Ebro, the rest of the forces marching along the eastern side of the second range towards the river. Your correspondent, wishing to see all that was to be seen as near as pos- sible, joined the attacking party, which marched rapidly along the San Vincente range until cae c - - -5 8, Vincente.® — D Ebro. 1 _——--———— A B—Ranges of hills, = leek E—Rest of Carlists, close upon tae town, when some idiot of a fellow, fancying he saw one of the enemy, suddenly fired without orders, in consequence of which the sen- tinels were roused and at once gave the alarm, within two or three minutes the bugles were sounding, the church bells were ringing, and some forty volunteers advancing to meet us. it was still dark, but as we advanced in double-quick time a long flash lit up the gloom and a crashing volley was fired into our foremog) ranks, killing three men and wounding several others. The fire was promptly returned by our men, who were then ordered to charge with the bayonet. Of course the volun- teers—a mere handful—had to retreat, but they re- treated in admirable order, keeping up a brisk fire all the while until they entered the streets. We were about to follow, when an Adjutant galloped up with orders from General Dorregaray to retreat at once, The order seemed incomprehensible, especially as Pernia had in the meantime circled round the town and crossed the bridge. Still, the order was peremptory, and of course had to be obeyed. As soon as the volunteers saw us with- drawing they sallied forth again and treated us to avery sharp fusiiade, by which we lost another three or four men. However, they did not molest us long, but returned through the town, and, mak- ing a dash at the bridge, secured their side of it, occupying a couple of houses at the head before Pernla could succeed in getting half way across, Thus we—600 men—were retreating, and Pe- rula cut off on the other side of the Ebro by forty volunteers! MY MAIR STOOD ON END. Nor did it lie quite down even after the apparent riddle had been expiained tome. The explana- tion was that, as the garrison had not been sur- prised, but had been allowed to ring the alarm. by which the volunteers in Haro, Briones, La Guardia, Abalos and La Bastida were advised of the presence of the Carlists, 1t would have been rash to attempt the passage of the Ebro. Now, the volunteers of Haro numbered 240 men, those of Briones forty, of La Bastida fifty-six, of Abalos forty, and those in La Guardia, thirty-six. Total, 412 men. Of this number only the 240 in Haro—the town we intended surprising—and the forty in Briones were on the other side of the Ebro, and thus the only forces which could oppose us. It is true, we had failed to surprise San Vincente, and conse- quently had allowed the volunteers there to warn the volunteers of Haro to be upon their guard. But was that a reason for 400 men to turn back— to be actually forced to retreat by forty volun- teera? As for the forces in our rear, they would have been aware of our presence in Haro anyhow before the day was over, so that they could never have formed a factor in the plan of surprise. Nor was I the only one who was astonished, All the officers, including Ollo and Lissaraga, were furious; the men disgusted and unsparing of bitter jokes spoken loudly at their leader's expense. However, there was no help for it, and, hungry, cold and weary, we trudged back to Peflacerrada—about two miles from Pipaon—where we arrived at ten A. M., after a tedious, fruitless march of twenty- two hours. As may be imagined, the first thing we did in Pefiacerrada was to have breakfast, and then to turn in for a few hours’ rest; for it was not certain whether we should pass the night here or go on to La Gran. Your correspondent was quartered, with the rest of the staf, in a large, rambling house, full of galleries and passages, at the end of one of which his room was situated. Throwing my- self on the ped, 1 soon fell fast asleep, and did not wake until I heard a voice shouting in my ears, “Get up, get up; the enemy is on the beights!” Jv was the priest, Don Francisco, who had thas sud- denly broken my peaceful slumbers. ‘‘Are we going to fight?” inquired. “i don’t know,” he replied; “{, myself, have only just been roused from my bed.’ So saying, he leftme. Now, knewing that there was only one column that could by any chance have reached us by this time— half-past four—I naturally thougit we were going to have an action, and, afler getting out a map, field glass, note book, &c., I went down stairs. The house appeared quite empty, and, on stepping out into the street, 1saw the fag end of the Carlists hurrying away as fast as they could through the eastern gate of the town, while atthe same mo- ment acouple of shells came whizzing over my. head, and a sharp fusilade came rattling down from the heights, at the immediate foot of which Pefiacerrada lies. It was evidently high time for me to be off also; so going into the stabic I saddled my horse and then went up stairs to fetch my valise and writing desk, which I had no desire to jose. On descending I found the landlord of the house had led my horse out into the street, where I was obliged to stand while strapping on my traps. By this time the fire had approached un- comfortably close, amd the bullets were pattering upon the stone walls im such @ fashion that the landlord beat a hasty retreat and locked and barred the door in my face. To add to the general excitement, my horse became restive, and [had already determined to abandon my valise, and had one {foot in the stirrup, when he was struck by @ bullet in the ear, and giving a tre- mendous side bound, tore the reins away from my grasp and galloped off at fall speed. Pleasant. ‘There I was, now the only human being in the mar- ket place, with the bullets whizzing all round from the heights that commanded it. Before I could determine on the best course of action to pursue, a couple of soldiers, hot with the breath of battle, turned the corner, and at once perceiving me, LEVELLED THEIR PIRORS AT ME. Tat once turned sideways, and doubling up my left arm against my side as some sort of protection, awaited the discharge, exclaiming all the time that I was no Carlist. But they took no heed. First one fired and missed, and then the other, with the same, to me, highly satisfactory result. They were not more than ten paces off, and how they missed after the long and deliberate aim they took is a mystery to me, I suppose they were excited, und coald not take a steady sight. But having failed with lead they thought they mignt as well try steel, and advanced with the bayonets, However, while stil] endeay- oring to parley with thém 1 managed to Scize their rifles by the barrels, one in'each hand, and giv- ing one a by no means gentle kick in a tender part of the stomach I succeeded in keep.ng them at bay until two officers appeared on the scene, and with great diMculty managed to protect me for the nonce from their violence. By this time the town was being rapidly Milled with the troops, and in about ten minutes tue recall was sounded and your correspondent led of by a guard of ten men to the commander of the troops, Colonel Costa, who, when tola that I had been taken by two of the tirailleurs, at once exclaimed in an ironical manner, “Of course he is not a Carlist! They never are when we catch them.’ ‘Pero ha hecho Suegor’ (but he fired at us) said one of my guards, who had seen nothing at all of the affair, “Thatia not true,’ I exclaimed. “Is it not?’ replied the Colonel in the same supercilious manner, which at last began to rile me consider- ably, ‘Certainly not,” lreplied. ‘Then show me your hands!” saia Costa, I at once, certain of my innocence, turned up the palms of my hands, and there—malediction—I found my ieft hand perfectly black with powder. “I thought so,” exclaimed the Colonel ; “LEAD HIM OFF AND SHOOT HIM!” For the moment 1 was utterly damfouuded, but I speedily recovered myself and said, politely bowing to his coloneiship: “ Muchissimas gracias (many thanks!) But perhaps you might like to know the name of the individual you intend to exe- cute; it will look better in your report to your government. Here is my passport, and here is the letter proving that 1 am a special corre- spondent of the New Yorg HeRaLp, though perhaps that may be @n additional reason for shooting me, as the Spanish government seems to take an especial delight in capturing and imprisoning the apectal correspondents of the HERALD. Ag for the powder stain on my hand, it must have got there when I caugut hold of your soldiers’ muskets while defending myself from thetr attack.” “But they say you fired,” said the Colenel, who appeared to think @ little better of me since he had seen that 1 Tepresented the HzaLp, ‘‘Have the kindness to imquire who saw me fire,"'I replied, Thereupon three or four fellows with the most vilianous physi- ognomes at Once cried out that they had. “You see!” said the Colonel. “Yes,’’ I replied, “I am sorry to see they @re such liars, Have the kind- ness to call one aside.” The Colonel complied, whereupon the man replied to my question that I had been firing witha gun. The next man, inter- rogated in the same manner, asserted that he had seen me firing with’a pistol “Now, you see,” Trephed; ‘and do you not think you might as well question the men who took me? They will be best able toay whether I was armed or not.” “1 will see to it {n the Morning; have no time now, 1 Will trouble you Bow t¢ follow these men Lato the SHEET. Town Hall, where you will remain till! send for you.” So saying, he turned away and left me to my guardians, who at once took me into the hall of the Casa del Ayuntamiento, where I saw the wretched Alcalde of the place writing out the orders for 4,000 rations of wine, bread, oil and Meat, and 100 rations of forage. Two Carlists were also seated on a bench, and looking the very pic- ture of misery. Neither had been with Dorregary, but belonged to the Alava band, and had been left behind on sick leave. Both had the fever badly, and had been dragged from their beds, As soon aslentered my knife and the few things I had with me were taken away, and I was told to sit down. Soon several oMicers came in and began to question me, It seemed that TUE MOST ABSURD RUMORS prevailed concerning me. Some said I was a special oMicial of the United States government who had been sent to treat with Don Carlos for the purchase of Cuba in the event of his success, in return for which the United States would assist him with ships and arms, Another firmly believed that 1 nad supplied the Carlists with money; a third that I was an agent for the sale of rifles; but the most absurd was the idea that I had brought @ large wooden case of ammunition, the which case had been seen on my baggage mule, “Yes,"? said I, “it was ammunition, and very good ammu- nition, too—especially for the inner man, It con- tained two dozen bottles of pale ale, and I dare say you will find some in the Alcalde’s house, where Left it.’ At hearing this good news off they set like a shot, but returned with long faces. They had found the bottles, but not the beer, which had already disappeared. At last, as the evening drew on, L was left alone, two sentries pacing up and down the room, I did not attempt to sleep, for I felt quite certain that the Carlists would return and surprise the treops im the same way they had been, for tt seems that Colone! Costa only had 856 men and eighteen horses, with two pieces of mountain artillery. In fact, I could only account for the precipitate retreat of the Carlists by sup- posing that they had not had time to form aud were unaware of the number of men attacking them. But I waited in vatn, and at last, curling my- self up on a couple of chairs, I fell fast asleep and slept until seven o’clock. At nine the Colonel sent for me@ He received me most courteously, handed me back all my papers, except my pass- port and the safe conduct I had received from General Doregarry. and assured me that a corre- spondent of the HreraLp might always command his services. He only desired me to remain with him until he had received instructions from Madrid as to what was to be done with me; for though he had mentioned in his report sent off the evening before that Ihad been accused of firing, still he had written to say that the charge had been dis- | proved. Of course, I could say nothing; it was simply the fortune of war, which special corre- spondents of the HERALD have to submit to as well asthe soldiers of the armies they accompany. “You will be quartered in the same house with me and will dine at my table and I accept your parole not to leave us. When we get to Vitoria you shall be set at liberty.” Thereupon we sat down toluncheon and talked pleasantly about affairs “What made Dorreghtoy Fun off in Sich a manner for?” asked the Colonel. I confessed my inability to reply, but set it down to the fatigue and dis- couragement of the men after the flasco at San Vincente. “But why,” continued Iinreturn, “why did you not pursue them? It was a regular rout. You might have cut them to pieces, As itis, they only leit the town and you entered it.” “Yes,” re- pled the Colonel, “it 1 had known that Perula had not been there with his cavalry I should have done 80; butI could not venture into the valley after them with only eighteen horse.” That was true. Ifhe had done so and Perula had been there things might have tarned out differently, Ateleven o'clock the order was given to march; a horse was brought tor me, and in half an hour's time I was riding out of Pefiacerrala at the head of @republican column. I was much surprised to find that Costa always marched aloug the heights and byroads, which I had thought hitherto the exclu- sive property of the Carlists. ‘I always do,” said Costa, “and I am the only one that does. You see, 1am an old soldier, and I know something of the Carlists, In 18361 went through the campaign in these very provinces. I knew General De Lacy Evans and several oMcers of the British Legion very weil, and good soldiers they were, too. OUR SOLDIERS ONLY FIGHT WELL WHEN THEY ARE INFURIATED, or from revenge, and then they fight like devils. You see," he added, half apologetically, “they are half brutes. The British soldier fights from a sense of duty; but I have seen himrun also. All soldiers are more or i¢ss alike; when the panic seizes them they ron, As for the Carlists, they are @ brave lot, hardy and sturdy moun- taineers, honest and good-natured, but ignorant, bigoted fools. As long as they keep to the moun- tains they can sustain the war as long as they like, but they will never be able to cross the Ebro. If vhey do they are utterly lost, for they have not the discipline, the machinery of regular troops. I know their policy exactly. They will never attack us un- less they can catch us in a regular trap—at the | bottom of some gorge of which they occupy the heights; and we can seldom attack them, for almost | in any place they can take up an impregnable post- tion in the mountains, whence it would take 10,000 men to dislodge 1,000 of them.” “Then you yourself do not think that this war will soon be ended?” I inquired, “It will not end until they end it themselves,” re, plied the Colonel; “but I will stake my head that they will never extend their operations beyond the Ebro,”” Thus cénversing, we arrived at Albaina at three o'clock. Here we intended to pass the night. We had marched scarcely four hours, and I could not help asking the Colonel why he did not endeavor to come up with Dorregaray. His reply was signifi- cant. He said, after a moment's pause, “There are wheels within wheels of which neither you nor I know anything!’ I nodded Knowingly, as though IT comprehended, which I coniess I did not exactly, but by keeping my eyes and ears open I found out | the solution of the riddle and shall explain it after- wards, While sitting with the Colonel his orderly brought in a large portmanteau, which I at once recognized | as Dorregaray’s. It had been taken at Pefhacer ada and contained a number of letters from Don Carios to Dorregaray, a bundle of bonds of the Carlist loan, the official stamp of the army and various other effects. The Colonel gave me the letters of Don Carlos to read. As they might interest the readers of the Heratp, I subjoin a translation of them, re- marking by the way, that His Majesty in spe, ac- cording to the etiquette of Spanish royalty, always addresses his subjects, no matter how high their rank, with the familiar, or rather derogatory, “thou.”? DON CARLOS T0 DORREGARAY. APRIL 14, 1873, MY DEAR GENERAL (MIQUERIDO GENERAL) :— L have just received your letter dated Maestu, April 9th, and am sorry to see that youare down- cast and dissatisiied with the slow progress tn the supply of arms and ammunition. You mustremem- ber what difticuities we have to con agaist here, and how great the expenses are ior the pur- chase of arms and their passage across the fron- tier. Weare all doing our very best; and Ollo tells me that in the first Carlist war the men were not nearly so well armed or equipped as at present. I see no cause for discouragement; on the contrary, lam more sanguine than ever. According to my latest advices trom Maurid, dissatisfaction 1s i creasing day by day among all parties; in fact, it only the Carlist rising that keeps the repnbilcans together. If it were not jor us the two extremes would have been engaged in actual atrife two months ago. Castelar himseif acknowledged the other day to one of our friends that he did not | entertain the sliguest confidence in the durabtity Oi the Republic; it was an artificial creation, faute- de-mieux; @ temporary structure, erected to bridge over @ chaos of conflicting passions, even as the Republic of M. Thiers, which he regards simply as a lank leading from the Empire to the Monarchy. Bae you know all this as well asI do; I mere: remind you of it. lregret much that the affair of Santa Cruz has not yet been arrauged. Lagain express firm desire that it be settled one way or the other. I am teld that he bas caused us more harm in the opinion of foreign nations than any one else. If he is guilty of the atrocities and disregard of orders that have been charged against him, then let him be lng as Ihave already ordered. If not, then make the necessary arrangements. For the pres- ent I have nothing more to say. CARLOS, APRIL 26, 1873. MY Dear GENERA: ‘The latest accow Thave received of the opers- tions in Navarre do not satisiy me. F hear that th the men and the ofice: scontented at being obliged to be continually on the march and never ¢ygaging the enemy, You have now beeo 3 Joined by Lissaraga and Ydoy with more than 1,000 Well armed men, most of them being armed wit! Remingtons and Chassepots. Bada’s battalion, am told, can pertorm wonders; you have over 200 cavalry; and with these forces 1t seems to me more could be done than has been the case. 1 do net wish you to risk any serious defeat, but I think you are quite stroug enough to attack one oreven two columns. The enemy ought to be harassed much more than’ has been done. En deavor to decoy the troops into the valleys; lay ambuscades; detach bodies of 400 or 500- men and let them make sudden forced marches, attack the cnemy und be off again. Now the season is approaching which is most in your favor; the trees are putting out their leaves, and will greatly help to conceal your movements; the rivers are becoming shallower, and the heat will tell much more severely ou the troops than on your men. Iam not at all blaming you. {can well un- derstand how you shrink from risking a defeat that might serious preiadice my cause. I quite appre- ciate your prudence; but I wish you to attack a number of troops even equal to your own, always provided that you have the advantage in position, which is necessary a8 @ set-off against the artillery, But if you are sure of being able to defeat a column, even though you lose 500 men, do so. A victory is now worth much more to us than 500 men, who can be replaced in a couple ot days. Thanking you for the services you have already rendered and will still render me, I commend you to God. CARLOS. It was evident from these letters that Don Carlos was becoming impatient and, to a certain extent, he was perhaps justifed. It was also clear to my mind that the unsuccessful attack on San Vincente was a consequence of these representations of the Prince. The next day we proceeded to Maestu, where we lodged in the same house | had occupied when here with the Cariists, who had aiso passed through the town the day before. On May 5 we left Maestw early in the morning and followed the heights through the wildest and most rugged mountain scenery I had yet seen to Contrasta, on the con- fines of Las Amescuas, wiere we arrived at tem o'clock, after a very rapid march, and remained there until two P. M., I making use of the time to finish this letter, which I had begun already at Pen- acerrada. SALVATIERRA, May 7. leould not exactly understand why we made such along stay in Contrasta after having left Maestu so early in the morning—at five o’clock— and knowing that Dorregaray could not be far from us, My wonder became greater when, on ar- riving on the precipitous helghts of the Valle de Lana, we heard the sound oi firing in the direction of Murata and Galdeano, two hours’ march dis- tant, and did not at once march to the scene of the engagement that was evidently just commencing. ‘We distinctly heard the rattle of rifle shots, above which the boom of the cannon rose, rolling through the mountain passes. But we did not budge; every one listened, and at last Costa said:—“I] am afraid Navarro has fallen into a trap, I know he and the Carlists must be in the immediate vicinity of Eraul Now, if he occupies @ good position, 1 am certain the Carlisis would leave him alone; they know the country too well to attempt un attack there. They have either caught him in the pass of Eraul or in Las Pefias de San Fausto, or else he— A HOT-HEADED, RASH MAN— has attacked them in their own posi- tion. I am much afraid he has got into a bad scrape.” Therewith, shaking his head, the Colonel, who always led the column, gave the order to march, and walked slowly to the brow of the preci- pice until he struck a zigzag path that wound down the toppling crags into the valley below ta the villages of Narcue and Ulibarri, where wo passed the night. That evening the Colonel waa particularly loquacious and spoke much of the fue ture of Spain, “Do not imagine,” he said, “that the army is in favor of a republic, We know that a united re- public is impossible; the elements of which it would be composed are too heterogenous. A fed- eral republic is equally impossible, because we will none of it, The ofiicers of the Spanish army will never consent to be atthe beck and call of a par- ish, Besides which, although we Spaniards are no longer the fanatical bigots of the Middie Ages, We are still emimently Catholic, and THE SOCIALISTS AND INTERNATION ALISTS, as well as the advocates of a fabled Utopia, will never suit the Spanish as a nation. We waut a court, we want a king, we want @ united and firm government that will stimulate industry, and, above all, our foreign trade. We want a government that will guard us against our riches, the natural riches ofour country. We want outlets for the superabundance of our produce, which is se great that it Keeps the lower classes in a state ofidieness. They have much more than enough to satisfy their physical wants; they have nothing to supply their intellectual wants except the excitement of political and clerical agitations.” “Then,” Linquired, ‘what are the objections to Don Carlos?” “The ignorance and fanaticism of his sup- porters,” was the repiy. “Itisonly the Church and its blind adherents that austain Carlismin Spain. Rome sees in Spain the last bulwark of her traditional policy, The domination of the clerical party iu Spain would be but the Inquisition modified and adaptea to the nineteenth century; and this is the true reason why we will never suffer Don Carlos to mount the throne.’ “Then whom do you want?” I asked. The Colonel shrugged his shoulders and said, “Esperainos.” (We must hope.) “That is to sa¥,'Tpérsisted, “you mean to wait for Don Alfonso, Now, why should Don Alfonso have @ greater chance tian Don Carios; a son of Isabella the Catholic, the only sovereign the Pope Geemed worthy ot the Golden Rose?” “Don Alfonso,” replied the Colonel, “is enly a half achild; he has espoused no particular party; he is pledged to no one, He is still waxen and can be moulded, Added to which, you must remember that the army 1s still the former army of Queen Isabella, and soldiers do not like to change coats. We acquiesced in the resolution of Prim because Isa- bella had made herself tmpossibie. Her son haa not yet had his chance. Had Amadeus been the son of Isabella he would nave veen reigning now.” “Then,” I remarked, “there seems to be no chance of peace tor Spain for the next two or three years at least??? c “Lam airaid not,” said the Colonel, laconically. “A foreign diplomatic intervention might, perhaps, save us. We wantit, though it is humiliating to say 80, And now, buenas noches, we must be up betimes if we want to reach Salvatierra by to- morrow. We left at six o'clock the next day, and when w@ reached Onraita we heard that Navarro had reany been caught in the pass of Eraul, just as Costa pre- sumed. He had entered the gorge and attacked the Carlists, who drew him on until he was sur- rounded, They then charged with the bayonet three times, The third time they utterly routed the troops, took one cannon, fourteen cases of shell, 820 guns and 166 prisoners, besides Colonel Navarro and three of his officers, [was not sur- prised to see that, beyond afew conventional ex- pressions of sorrow, the news did not appear to trouble either Costa or any one eéise, thus still further strengthening my conviction that the army really does not want to pat down the Carlisis yet; that they Want to keep the country ina state of anarchy until the nation in its weariness would gladly accept Don Alionso to put an end to its wretcheduess, . BAYONNE, May 22, After leaving Salvatierra we arrived without any incident at Vittoria, where I was introduced to General Gonzalez, and still allowed to remain on Parole, as my passport had not yet been returned from Madrid, It was expected that General Nouvi+ las, the new Minister of War, who intended voming to Vittoria, would bring it with him and decide ag to what was to bedone with me. Six days elapsed, and as I was beginning to get tired of my position, I telegraphed to the British AmMassador, Mr. Lay- ard, saying that I had been long enough en parole, and shortly explaining the circumstances. The me day Nonvilas arrived with two bataillions of infantry and the usual complement of artillery and cavalry. In the evening I went to the house of am Englishman, Mr. Thomas Rosser, director of the gas works at Vittoria, and was just sitting down to supper with him when the Commissioner of Police made his appear. | @fice, saying that THE GOVERNOR WISHED TO SPEAK TO ME. Althouzh it was late—pyst nine o’clock=3 TEE EEE ee