PARAGUAY. 



609 



;'o makes out more than 50,000 allies 



16 l>:i:iU of the r;ir:ii.:i, supported by a 

 fleet of twentv \r^l-"f-\vur, including throe 



aguayan army were 

 indefinite. According to one report, 



/. was nt Humaita, with 



Tho Paraguayan fleet, 



OWfating of fifteen small steamers and one hun- 



,c whore between Humaita 



The fortress of Ilumaita was 



: v two hundred guns some rifled; 



three chain cables :ind several infernal machines 



! with stockades. Small forces were 



Parana, at Ytapiru, Itapua; other 



\--iniadu,C'oinibra, and Curuniba. 



lira/.il'an t!< et, wliich was anchored at 



was composed as follows : 



On January 31st, a fight took place between 

 the Paraguayans and the Argentines at Paso 

 de la Patria. A force of Paraguayans, num- 

 bering about COO men, crossed over to the 

 . These were promptly reen- 

 ! till the total number of the im 

 amounted to from 3,000 to 5,000. The Ar- 

 gentine General, Ilornos, with only a division 

 of cavalry, met the invaders, when a sanguinary 

 conflict ensued. General Hornos was subse- 

 quently reinforced by a Buenos Ayrean division, 

 commanded by Colonel Oonesa, and after the 

 fight had lasted some hours, the Paraguayans 

 r ~ed, leaving several hundred dead and 

 wounded on the field. 



On February 10th, the Paraguayans again 

 crossed the river at Paso de la Patria, with 45 

 canoes, each with 25 men and 6 oarsmen, all 

 under protection of one steamer. They formed 

 on the beach in good order, and attacked the 

 cavalry of General Hornos, which fled before 

 . A reinforcement came up and drove 

 them back to their boats. The loss was tri- 

 fling, but the audacity was great. The skirmish 

 -ix hours, and 5,000 men were engaged. 



On February 17th, throe steamers appeared, 



crowded with troops, who landed about one 



leairuo north of Paso do la Patria, where they 



found tho abandoned tents and huts of the 



Paraguayans under General Flores. Tho latter 



had gone to defend the little town ofYtati 



from raids. They burned the tents and huts, 



cd a kind of picnic, and retired tinmo- 



!. On February 20th, they made a similar 



raid, resulting in the same way. 



On March 17th, the Brazilian fleet w< 

 anchor at Corrientes, and entered tho Upper 

 Parana, extending tho vessels, on the 21st, from 



BOOM to the Paraguayan fort of Ita; 

 1' <!e l:i Patria. The iron-clad Tamar.daro 

 VOL. vi. 39 A 



mid the Aragunry and Henrique Martins passed 

 higher up, reconnoitring, about ei^'ht 

 above the pass, seeing only two flaf.s^ and 

 a steamer lying between the isle and the port, 

 s a number of canoes full of Paraguayans. 

 The Araguary and tho Barroso struck on rocks, 

 and tho former was obliged next day to go 

 down to Corrientes for repairs. On. the 22d a 

 Paraguayan flying battery opened on the iron- 

 clad Barroso, which made no response. Two 

 gunboats, also, going up to aid the Araguary, 

 were fired at by tho fort and armed flats, which 

 expended 49 shots without effect. On tho 

 same day tho Paraguayan steamer, the Guale- 

 guay, steamed out, but, after a few shots at an 

 Argentine picket on tho Corrientes side, took 

 shelter again under the fort. Four of tho 

 heaviest Brazilian vessels and the two Argen- 

 tine armed steamers, together with 8,000 men, 

 remained behind at Corrientes to guard the 

 great depots there from an attack, there being 

 a bayou, named the Atajo, which, leaving the 

 Paraguay above Trcs Bocas, came into the 

 Parana below Corrientes, giving passage to 

 light steamers, such as the Paraguayans possess. 



On March 21st the fleet, under the command 

 of Visconde Tamandare, took up its position in 

 front of the Paraguayan territory in two divi- 

 sions; the first opposite the Paso, and the sec- 

 ond at the confluence of the Parana and tho 

 Paraguay rivers. The Brazilian admiral, know- 

 ing nothing of the different channels of the 

 Parana, it was indispensable to reconnoitre tho 

 river for some distance above the ford, and the 

 fortress of Itapicu. Accordingly, different ex- 

 peditions were organized for this purpose ; and 

 several of the vessels of war and row-boats went 

 about sounding within short cannon-shot of tho 

 fortress of Itapicu, which opened fire, keeping 

 it up incessantly, without eliciting an answer 

 from the Brazilians, as their object then was to 

 obtain information, and not to fight. On the 23d 

 a more extensive reconnoissance was made by 

 the little steamer Cysne, having on board the 

 admiral, General Mitre, and tho Brazilian min- 

 ister, accompanied by two gunboats and tho 

 iron-clad Tamondare. They ran past Itapicu, 

 receiving the whole fire of its battery, without 

 sustaining any damage, going up to tho Parana 

 till within a league of Itati, and seven leagues 

 from its junction with the Paraguay river. 

 From March 23d to 27th, there was continual 

 fighting between Paraguayan flatboats and tho 

 Brazilian v. 



On April 5th, the allies occupied an island in 

 front of Itapicu. General Ilornos (Argentine) 

 and General Flores (Uruguayan) moved up 

 above Itati to effect a crossing there. Ilornos 

 took four Brazilian regiments, two Argentine, 

 and two rifled cannon. The iron-clads covered 

 the passage of the boats carrying the troops, 

 and they also used the shelter of the island. 

 During this time Fort Itapicu kept up a steady 

 fire on all in its range. The Duquo de Saxe was 

 hit below the water-line, and filled with water, 

 but was saved. Earthworks were soon thrown 



