The Sun.
London, England, 1810-09-28 00:00:00

SPANISH CHIEFTAINS.

[FROM A CoRRESPONDONT.] •
,4 two years and• a half the conquest of Spain
,hos not been achieved ; the spirit of ..re4istance in-
_erOses, and isconf.rrried, while those who .serve the
i'nOder§. 'are fill of \disoontent and dissension. Be-
sides (hi more iegulararmies, which under Blake in
Caro Valencia, O'Donnell in Catalonia,
Romana-in -EStreinadura, Mahi in Gallicia, and Elie
apt ilielsiati'd of Leon, are unbroken and well
; the whole Cciutitry 'swarms, With bands of
pat riotli, • who.intereept convoy and couriers; destroy
small detachn'ierits of the French, and infest the 'Very
gatesbf the towers fir their pOsse,4ion' - -

. .
"'The leadefs of those binds are as various as the
nature of their followers;' monks, curates, nobles,
and peasants.obev-Or"colUmand with Out ithstinEtion,
As this is the: Ade of warfare which h is rejeern-
ed4ain'and other, countries tram conquest, being.
the' moit-Ongebial to the natiire of the land, and
toihe. chbratter of the natives; .I have thought that
.
'd brief Memoir' of one of the most active and cele-
brated chiat'aiifs would be read with interest in
ngland !—. • : .
The EMpezings cici. having witnessed at'Aranda,
Dourb; the murder Of his whole fatnily inyold_ blood
bya party of _French soldiers, 'escaped from their
hands, and swore never hi sheath his sViord while a .
Frenchman remained in Spain.
He colletlei .a troop. of 1200 men, who have
armed .themselves as well as they. have been able,
and are clothed in thelmperial uniforms which-they
have taken. There is scarcely a province in the
Peninsula which. he, has not visited; and in all his
~name is the theme of praise, and the cause of terror.
In Gallicia he reduced the army of Marshal Ney
to want, and literally to nakedness, by inteicepting,
his supplies and his couriers.
In the mountains of Guadararna, near Madrid,
the French bad taken prisoners. eight of his men,
whom they had ,nailed to the trunks of trees, as
a warning 'to other brigands ; this was no sooner
knOwn to the Empezinado, than he marched
.10
the attack of a French detachment ; having suc-
ceeded. in taking • some prisoners, 'he conducted
them • to_ the very spot on which his own fol.:
lowers had suffered' death, and inflieled uphn them
:the same punishment -in 'the same manner. Mar-
shal Bessieres,: qUickly perceiving .on which side
would be the advantage of such a warily e of retaliation,
was obliged 'to 'submit to' the huMiiiation of coil-
eluding 'a format treity, in which both parties pro-
mised to'adopt. a milder and more civilized system.
1. have been intormtd• by a". Spanish officer, who'
served with distinctiOn near Salamanca and Valla-.
.dolid, that the Empezinado appeared often at' the
gates of the .former .city, .playing on, his guitar, and
' provoking the, French soldiers.. to come forth and
fight him. .
Having resolved to deliver three hundred Spa-
niards Who were imprisoned in Valladolid, he en-
tered the city at ,night in disguise, and contrived to

intoxicate French centiltels, and released- the
captives, -whom he sent to the.artny of the. Marquis
de la Rotnana.

This intrepid Capia:n has trecinently carried off

lie French'gu'ard from the gates of Madrid, and of
other cities. He has. twice attempted to seize the
person of Joseph Buonaparte.. On the first occasion he
sacked the palace of the Buen &tiro, close to Ma-
drid, and escaped with a booty, of 50,0001. sterling.
On the last, be failed by the treachery of one 'of his
Lieutenants, who having engaged part of the troop
to betray their leader, was himself killed by them.
These anecdotes- will suffice to prove the Em-
pezinado possessed of all, the qualities which ro-
mance itself attribute, to his occupation. Stith a
warfare; co'ndu&ed by such leaders, and there
,arc
many in Spain, is most noxious to the enemy, and
most de*erving of support from the government.
. - Tautus amor laudum, tantaqueinjuria ciao."

Eighteen deserters were yesterday morning march-
ed-into town frOm Ireland, and safely lodged in. the
Savoy. Among the number of the men is Thomas
Fagan, whose apprehension was recently stated in a
Dublin Paper. This extraordinary charaaer is said
to have concealed himself
_tor upwards of 14 years
in a wood in- Ireland. • His appearance is "truly
savage. On his back the hair has acquired the ap-
pearance of bristles. His only covering is a pair of
trowsers, as he constantly reje&s every other species
of cloatliing. It is .by some doubted whether,,he is
really a deserter, or an unhappy creature, who, in a
state of mental . derangement, may have made his
escape from those to whose care he may have been
entrusted. . •