Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-05-05

report oil which feacned TINS country a lew days
ago: nas2r.psAN ~ tfss
BUENos AYRgst February 20, 1855.
Before this communication reaches you, you
win probably receive intelligence OF an occur
renee which recently transpired in the river
Parana, which may be followed by serious con-
sequences
iis well.known that for some months past
the United States exploring expedition has
been the .La-PlaH and its tributaries. 1t
consists Of one steamer 1.-THE Water Witch) and
a small propeller buiif ont here niterfhe com
meAcelnent OF the exploration, called III Pill i
comaSe," and is under the direction OF Com. q
lmalider Thomas Jefferson Page. sgaa n 81 "a.
N On The, 3lst IF January Tie two vessels sep.
arated at Corrientas 81 Cpmmapder Page, with
Midshipmen Powell and Iieury the surgeon
Dr. Carter, and nineteen picked 7merl. started
down the river, leaving the Water Witch in
command Of Acting lieutenant w. w. Jellers,
who was ordered to proceed in her up the Pa
rama for some. purpose belonging to the eXpe-
fdition. Mr.. j. had with him Messrs. Potts,
Lambdin, and Taylor, engineers and a crew Of
twenty-six men, eight of whom we're seamen,
and the remainder boys, firemen, and lands
men. After steaming up the river for several
hours they approached q marrow part known as
the. Piso del Rey.Y Here the steamer ground
ed, and, during the detention thus occasioned,
a DOdL came OH irOLl ~ uoWf i0rt Oil the ara
guayan side Of the river, a4dH paper in Spanish
was offered to Mr.. LETTERS, who declined to ac-
cept IL and ordered the persons in the boat to J
| 10 Shortly after the steamer was got under
way again, and as she moved up abreast the
fort three blank cartridges were fired at her;
but, disregarding these intimations to her TO z
| turn back, q twenty-four-pound shot was fired,
| which entered the stern, Just above the deck,
| carrying away the tller-ropes and mortaly
wouhding the auartermaster, who was steering
at the time The firing continued for twenty
minutes, during which the Water Witch re-
ceived, on various parts of her huh, four TWEEN
| tyfour and three nine pound shots. Mr.. Jeffers
had but three guns, one twenty -fourpound brass
| howitzer and two nine-pounders Of similar
descriptions With these he continued to reply
to the six guns Of the fort until the steamer was
slowly backed out beyond the range Of the
enemy's fire. After some slight repairs the
| Water Witch returned down the river, joined :
the PiIcomayo, and, taking Commander Page,
officers, ond crew on board. the whole explor 8
ing party, in rather sorry plight, proceeded on
their way to Buenos sAyresl Arrived here they 4
seemed to be at stand, They could not, as
/ they desired, procure guns with which to return
and lombard the fort.
II The United States sloop of war Germantown,
4 Commander Lynch, had. been ordered to Rio
| few days before, and Commodore Slater had
| not as was expected. arrived at Montevideo.
Thus there was not single armed American
vessel in all the La Plata Finally, the gentle
men of the expedition conclndedlthey could do
no better than to go to Montevideo and wait i
the arrival of the Commodore, IN order 10 con \
suit with him as to the best means Of healing
the wound inflicted through them upon the
honor Of the American peoples gis
a In this connection we publish the follow
ing letter from Commandment Page, Just re-
ceiyed by a gentleman in New York - .as,ls
tifs .as WArER Wren, BuENos AYREs,
siaoa sgaaeai jag February-l2, 1855.
My DEAR Sir: With this send you the
British Packet of the 10Th, in which you will
find short account Of a most dastardly attack
upon the Water Witch, by a fort of Paraguay,
mounting six guns, some Of them 24-pounders.
The Water Witch was in the act Of exploring
the river Parana, when she was fired into.
This river is, mind You, the common bound
airy between the Argentine Confederation and
/ Paraguay; and such a thing as Paraguay even
making an objection to the Water Witch's as
cending this river, never entered my head.
And even had she objected, this would have
been no reason for my not exploring the river,
when was invited to do so by the Argentine
government, and especially by the province of
Corrientes, the bordering State @a
The Water Witch was ascending the river,
therefore, under the right from the Argentine
government. A more fragrant outrage upon
national right was never perpetrated. ,.j,....5
H / had left the Water Witch, taking with me
all of the working officers, save the first lien.
tenant and eighteen Of the best men, for the
purpose Of ascending the river Salado, which
traverses the province Of Santa Fe This work
| had expected to do, il possible, in two of our
boats and as the work there was supposed,t6
be most arduous, the most exposed &c, i had
taken the above officers and crew. The cond
ton Of the Water Witch, her diminished mum
Der Of officers and Grew, was well known TO the
government Of Paraguay and especially to the
commander Of the fort. Had the officers all
been on board, / believe unequal as would
have been the contest-the Water Witch's
small howitzer boats guns against 24pound
ers mounted on fort--7the dastardly savages
would have been entirely driven from their
guns. Icy $50. 1913 1881
I am here now, hoping most anxiously for
the arrival Of the CON modore. have, much
TO my regret found not one single man-ofwar
in this river, a place that should never be left
without one. 1 had hoped to have met here !
with the Germantown, Captain Lynch, from
whom should have gotten two Of bis 64-pound-
ers, and have returned to Paraguay in less than
one month. With this force, I would ask no.
thing more, and would have taken upon myself.
the responsibility, after this outrage, Of knock
ing downevery Paraguay Portland capturing their
whole navy--ones steamer and sixteen small
craft This is no boasting *r* -
Ever since that difficulty between Lopez and
Hopkins) President Dopez's conduct towards
the Water Witch has been most childish. He
is provoked with me, personally, because pro-
tected the Americans and removed them from
under his tyrannical hand and he has gone far
out of his territory to annoy and interrupt her
progress IN this work, precisely as IL IL we're
private affair of mine, in which the Govern
rnent of The United States had no interest. And
yet he is all tbetime prolessing,-in his cores
pondencea with the government at home, tho
most earnest desire for the most amicable re-
lations. take it for granted that the United