PARAGUAY. 



was xiid to I' paying at tho rate of about 

 $100,000 a dji '"0. 



:lt till-- point lit' tin- enemy's coail- 



rer, that tin- nllic-. thought lit. to 

 l.-iml, :iml tlnMv they now conduct u war on a 

 ile tliiin, up to tlii- pre-eiit time, any 

 ,er been OOHdootea in South Amcr- 

 llra/.iliaii ' i-aid ID muster 



ahoiit -1(1,0110 men; tlie Argentines, 5,0(10; and 

 the I'riiu'iia.Mins -less than 1,000. The main 

 portion <>f the army, which is commanded by 

 the Itra/.ilian fu-M-marsha!, tho Marquis do 

 . iieampeil at a place called Tuyuty, 

 its riirht rcMing on a marsli, and its left on a 

 lake which communicates with the River Para- 

 guay. At tho distance of lour miles to the left 

 of tho main force, the second Brazilian corps 

 <i'<innee is encamped at Curuzu, on the Para- 

 guay Kivor. This corps, consisting of about 

 6,000 men, and which has been recently much 

 reduced by cholera, is under the orders of Vis- 

 count Porto Alegro, an officer greatly distin- 

 guished as having led an army across the thick- 

 ly-wooded province of Rio Grande, and as hav- 

 ing subsequently driven the troops of General 

 from their position at Curuzu. Between 

 the main army and this corps the only commu- 

 nication is by telegraph, or by water, the latter 

 mode necessitating a passage over a distance of 

 nearly 30 miles. The left of the camp of the sec- 

 ond corps rests on the River Paraguay, and by 

 it is stationed the Brazilian fleet, which con- 

 of 24 vessels-of-war (10 of which are iron- 

 clad), and of upward of 30 transports. The 

 fleet is commanded by Admiral Ignacio, who 

 served in other years under Lord Cochrane. 



" The fleet for months past has been mainly 

 engaged in bombarding the Paraguayan fortress 

 of Curupaity, which is on the River Paraguay, 

 in front of the second Brazilian corps tfarmee at 

 Curuzu. Beyond that fortress, higher up tho 

 river, is the fortress of Humaitfi, and opposite 

 to these two strongholds the foresight of Gen- 

 eral Lopez has presented difficulties to an invad- 

 ing force in the shape of torpedoes and stock- 

 ades, which, with the guns of the fortresses, 

 have hit her to effectually prevented the advance 

 of the Brazilian fleet. 



"The position of General Lopez is a very 

 strong one. His main army is encamped at a 

 place called Britts, situated nearly half-way 

 between Curupaity and the extreme left of his 

 line of defence, called Las Rojas. From Britts 

 he can, as occasion may require, pour his troops 

 either into the fortresses of Hiimaita and Curu- 

 paity, on his extreme right, or into the trenches 

 at Las Royan, on his left, opposite to the Brazilian 

 main army at Tuyuty. Between the Paraguayan 

 find Brazilian lines there is a series of mar.-hos, 

 lakes, and jungles, the passage of which the 

 Braziliana and their allies have hitherto found 

 impracticable. General Lopez is said to have 

 prepared for this war during many years, and 

 the quantities of ammunition which his troops 

 have up to the present time expended ore such 

 as could not have been manufactured in the 



small arsenals of Paraguay. The Paraguayan 

 dictator is further said to have, at tho begin- 

 of the war, ordered a levy of 100,000 

 men, for tho organization of which fore, 

 helievcd to have given orders to spare neither 

 rank, nor profession, nor age." 



In the latter part of April the ullied army 

 suffered from cholera, and was obliged to 

 move its encampment at Curuzft and Taybi. 

 The mortality was terrible, as upward of 2,700 

 Brazilians died at Cuni/u in four days. The 

 only reinforcements which were received by 

 the allied army came from Brazil, which, from 

 January to June, sent from 9,000 to 10,000 new 

 troops to the seat of war. 



For several months military operations were 

 almost suspended. On Juno 13th the Brazilians 

 retook the town of Corumba, in the province of 

 Matto Grosso, which had been in possession of 

 the Paraguayans since the commencement of the 

 war. The place was carried at the point of 

 the bayonet, and the Paraguayans lost about 

 200 killed, amongst whom was the colonel 

 commanding the garrison, and several other 

 officers. The losses of the Brazilians were com- 

 paratively small. Eight cannon, many small- 

 arms, and a quantity of ammunition and provi- 

 sions were taken by the attacking force. Two 

 small Paraguayan steamers which were station- 

 ed there suffered very much from the field- 

 pieces that fired upon them from the land, but 

 were ultimately able to escape, one being towed 

 by the other. On August 1st President Mitre, 

 of the Argentine Republic, reossumed the com- 

 mand of the allied armies, the bulk of which 

 was at this time encamped at Tuyncue, about 

 four miles from Humaita, while Porto Alegre 

 held his ground at Tuyuty. About the middle 

 of August the Brazilian iron-clads successfully 

 forced the passage by the batteries of Curu- 

 paity, and advanced within range of the chief 

 fort of Humaita. The iron-clads suffered, as 

 they were struck with 246, 68, and 80-pounder 

 shots at point-blank range ; but no vessels were 

 lost, and the injuries were soon repaired. The 

 river in front of Humaita is considered inacces- 

 sible; it was defended by 60 cannon, and ob- 

 structed with torpedoes, etc. The ten iron- 

 clads, and one mortar-vessel, were keeping up a 

 constant fire on the great stone casemated fort 

 called the London Battery, and on other bat- 

 teries within range, assuming positions where 

 the batteries from their construction could 

 moke little response. 



On the 24th of September a body of 800 

 Paraguayan cavalry, supported by a large force 

 of infantry, appeared at the Estero Rojas, with 

 the evident intention of crossing it and falling 

 upon the great convoy proceeding on that day 

 to Tuyucue. This, however, the movements 

 of a Brazilian brigade, posted in cover to pro- 

 tect the convoy, disconcerted, and the convoy 

 having passed beyond danger, all the Brazilian 

 troops, except the corps of cavalry stationed to 

 maintain the ordinary communications between 

 tho camps, recrossed the Estero, and were in 



