APPENDIX. 455 



charged us. They easily succeeded in routing us, as we were not more than 

 50, and not in formation. The day was extremely dark ; and not being able 

 to see any of our men, we considered the action lost, and ourselves the only 

 remnant of the fugitives. We were chased by the enemy a considerable dis- 

 tance ; when falling in with a large party in our front, which we supposed to 

 be enemies, and which proved to be Colonel Benevente with all the force he 

 could collect, we again charged the Mendocinos, routed and entirely dis- 

 persed them, which terminated the action. There was not a shot fired except 

 by the guerillas in the commencement of the action. We lost 80 men, and 

 a few officers ; the enemy lost their general and all their best officers : their 

 loss in killed we never ascertained, as we marched immediately off the field 

 in pursuit of those who had escaped. We retook our waggons, and the women 

 who were prisoners with them. In this action our effective force did not 

 exceed 300, the Mendocinos' were 1400. 



We marched directly to Conception, which was the point of re-union for 

 the enemy, where we found 150 men, who abandoned the town, and re- 

 treated precipitately for the sierra ; but as their horses were all fatigued in 

 the action, and without any others to replace them, we came up with them 

 at nightfall, and summoned them to surrender ; but whilst their commanding 

 officer, Colonel Quiroga, was treating with Carrera, the soldiers passed the 

 river in their rear unnoticed in the night, and dispersed, every one pursuing a 

 different route : this was all Carrera wished — their total dispersion. 



We continued our route for San Luis, taking many of the dispersed officers 

 and soldiers prisoners in our march. This late action (in the idea of the pea- 

 sants) established our good fortune on supernatural principles. They had an 

 opportunity of seeing the enemy's troops and ours, and could not conceive 

 how the few soldiers of Carrera could be so frequently victorious over the 

 numerous divisions of their enemies ; however, they attributed the cause to 

 a communication with daemons or familiar spirits which were subservient to 

 Carrera, as the most easy way of accounting for the effect. Carrera being 

 advanced with a party a few days subsequent to the action, entered a cot- 

 tage, where he passed himself on the people for an officer of Mendoza 

 coming with reinforcements against Carrera, and made many enquiries 

 relative to the situation and operations of the Carrerinos, or people of Car- 

 rera. The old woman told him, that all his countrymen had been killed by 

 Carrera a few day ago, in the action of Conception or Rio Quarto ; and con- 

 jured him by all the saints to make his escape as quick as possible to Mendoza, 



