96 
CONTRIBUTIONS TO BOTANY, 
Presidents of Buenos Ayres and Santa Fe, revolted against his 
chief. ArtigaSj being hard pressed and deserted by his sup- 
porters, knowing also that if he fell into his enemies^ hands he 
would be immediately sacrifieed, resolved to beg an asylum in 
Paraguay ; and he obtained this permission, in 1820, from Doetor 
Francia, for himself and a thousand of his faithful followers, 
who were distributed in different parts of the country, and to 
whom portions of land were assigned, upon condition of culti- 
vating them. The Dictator generously gave his rival a monthly 
pension, together with a house and lands in the village of Cara- 
gaty, eighty-five leagues N.E. of Assuncion, where he resigned 
himself to peaceful agricultural pursuits, and lived in much en- 
joyment till the period of his death, ten years afterwards. 
In 1821, Ramirez, being then at peace with the other Argen- 
tine provinces, turned his attention to the invasion of Paraguay, 
with which view he collected a considerable body of troops, in 
order to force that country to adopt his policy. MTiile these 
preparations were going forwards, political considerations of 
greater moment induced Ramirez to suspend his project ; he 
now marched his forces to the southward, to wage war against 
the Governors of Buenos Ayres and Santa Fe ; and after a se- 
vere campaign, he was at last defeated, taken prisoner, and 
executed. Francia, thus relieved of his fears for a while, pro- 
ceeded to adopt such precautionary measures as he conceived 
would place his country for the future in greater secm-ity ; and 
in these measures Bonpland became deeply concerned. 
Doctor Francia suspected this celebrated botanist of being 
in concert with General Ramirez, knowung also that he had 
previously been the friend of General Artigas. Francia was 
well informed of all the combinations making against him ; and 
his conviction that Bonpland was implicated in these measures 
appears to have been heightened by the formal application which 
the latter made to him, about this period, to be allowed to enter 
into commercial relations wuth Itapuan, on the opposite coast of 
Paraguay, presenting at the same time, in earnest of his inten- 
tions, a contract he had formed with an Indian cacique for the 
purpose in view. Had Bonpland abstained from meddling with 
political questions, it is probable he would never have been dis- 
turbed ; but after Ramirez had given up his intended invasion, 
Francia availed himself of the opportunity by sending a force of 
400 men across the Parana to Candelaria, near the place of 
Bonpland’s residence, to destroy that post, which he considered 
to be the nucleus whence hostile demonstrations might at any 
future period be formed against his country : he likewise ordered 
them to make prisoners of certain persons, among wdiom was 
the former companion of Humboldt. These instructions w'ere 
