The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-06-26
:, =, The cParaguayan Amazons.
1IEuTENANT-ooIoNEEf MARGARET FERREIRA IN
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES ELIZA LYN0H's
! CAMP, &C., SO, 81.
From the Busnos Ayres Standard J

:
/ Lieutenant Colonel Margaret Ferreira and
sCaptain Anita Gill are the female officers in
command at the pass of the River Teblcuar'
whore a very respectable force of girls and wo-
men is held under arms to dispute the passage
of the river by the allies. This is the tenor OF
the advices that last came down from Para-
quay, and every. well-informed person IN mill
tary matters knows that they are correct; :.
Brigadier- General Eliza Lynch, with the
main body of the female army, is encamped
midway betwoon the pass Of the river. and
small irland.t town. On the road to vllla Rica
the right wing Of her army, under the COM
mand of. the mother OF Capt. Herrero, has de-
ployed slightly to the left, 80 as to hang on the
invaders should they effect crossing OF the
river, and cut up Mrs. Colonel Margaret Fer,
reira and her heroic girls. Relays OF glris ana
women keep constantly arriving at the mead
quarters of the feminine commander-in-chief.
From what We gather from letters and state
inents, it would seem that the male portion OF
the Parsruayan army is very reduced, and ore
occupied in defending the fortress OF Humalta,
The positions near limbo, tho encampment at
villa Rica. and the fortifcation at Lambare.
The guerrilla portion of the campaign-or what
is termed here the guerra de recursos',-ls
entrusted to the women OF Paraguay; and re-
to the north, near the Tranquera Loreto are
exclusively composed OF women.
As to tho oxact number OF women under
arms in Paraguay at present 1t IL Impossible 70
say, owing to the varied and conflicting state,
nents; but for yea rs past great poraon OF
the heavy work attending on camp llte mas oeen
performed, by the unfortunate daughters OF
that once lovely country! Even in the trenches
around Humaita the weak arm of woman has
shoyeled out the earth to make grave for the
allied invaders; female chssques have gone
from point to point over the country with dis
matches: the steamers and vessels in the port
Of Asuncion have been alternately discharged
and laden by tile trembling hands o. the Wo,
men in the capital. Everything OF worth and
value that these poor women possessed mas
been snatched from them to assist in the de-
fence of their countryi They have toiled in
the field for the Inst three years; they have
sowed. raised and harvested the ops; they
have made clothes for the soldiers from the Il
bres of plants; they have maintained the nos
pitals. cared for the wounded and sick; they
have supplied the army-and now. with sa,
tanic power, they are dragged to the front, aud
placed in the breach to fight the whole allied
armyi
We. for our part, demand OF the foreign
ministers to send commissioners up to Para
quay to investigate the roal condition of affairs
and report thereon. If, as the news goes, the
the allies, in attempting to cross the Tobcuari,
have to fight the girls, then the honor OF E,!-
rope is at stake In at once stopping tnls nofil-
bic war. The allies themselves must see the
hitter impossibility OF carrying on hostihlies
upon such terms; supposing that it wero possl-
Bic the allied army could afford argument OF
a division 80 mercenary and 30 base as to fight
against the poor Paraguayan women, ana II 10
the battle the allies were 80 unfortunate as 10
win the day, not all tue wealth of Matte Gros,
40. not ali the trophies of Paraguay, would
recompense LOT the tarnshed honor Of such an N
ill-starred victory. If the war is to be carried
on under such circumstances, IT the allies
must mi fight the women Of Paraguay to carry
out the tenets of the triple alliance, then at at
least let it be on equal terms; let women be
ranked against women, and man against man.
South America is strange land, Bhere such
eventualities come to pass, and when the
women have fought it out on their own Line,
and the men also fought it ont on theirs, then
let us take to the children, send for General
Tom Thumb and his wife, and thus bring 10 a
feicitous conclusion this celebrated and never
to-be-fofgotten Triple Alliance War.