The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1877-02-05
A Drunken Army Turned
Loose on q Defence
less People.
A City Sacked and the Sur
rounding Country
Laid Waste.
Men, Women and Children Fall Vic
tins to Brutal Soldiers.

PANAMA, January ia letter 10 tne
Star and Herald, giving details Of the
recent horrible scenes at Cali, in the
Csuck valley, says. General Pens, who
commanded the Liberals, was drunk and
gave bis drunken soldiers five hours
freedom, during which they gave them
selves up to every license. Neither age
nor sex were spared. Many Conservs,
tives were dragged from their hiding
places and killed before the eyes OF their
wives and daughters, who met worse
tate before being killed in turn.
Eighty.seven houses in the center of the
city were plundered and churches robbed.
The murders number several hundred.
Foreigners lose from $3.50, 900 to 500, ,OOO
in Cali alone. In the suburbs these scenes
were kept up for several days and the
country IS nearly ruined. Palueri
escaped the fate OF Cali by paying $40, 600
ransom. The houses of the Italian
consul and OF an American merchant
named Mcclure were plundered. Fears
are entertained that the civil war will
degenerate into y war OF races. The
foreigners are leaving the country.
Crowds of furies, in the shape OF
women of the lowest class, and In many
cases with their offspring at their bells,
swsrmed the streets, bounding on the
excited mob to break down all the doors
not Immediately thrown open. All the
houses were bedecked with red rags,
shawls, hsDdkerchiefs. table covers, petit.
coats, aud everything bearing
the distinctive coIors of Nera.
des. All trusted to the broken
reed for safety. By midday most of the
stores were cleared of their contents.
Men, women and children were
staggering in every direction under the
burden OF their spoils and were in turn
maitreated knocked down and some
even killed and deprived by their fellow
thieves OF the proceeds OF their robberies.
Barrels and cases of wine and spirits
we're turned into the streets, and
saturnsla OF drunkenness began
that will never be forgotten bv those
who have had the MS 'tuur TO
wits ess the deplorsble scenes Alter the
first rush On tho stores rad pro, ured
LltIn al Va NM Vi
freq zied men patroled the town, firing
aud hacking 1T every living creature.
But unsatisfed with the slaughter III the
streets, they FASTENED into the houses OF
Liberals and Conservatives alike, though
mostly the latter, and continued tne
work OF murder and destruction.
All Conservatives were rutElessl y
killed, and many Liberals, who
tried TO arrest the bsrbarians
IN their progress or to shield friends or
relatives and persons suspected oil sym
psthizing With the Conservatives, or OF
having no decided opinions in politics,
shared the same late. But al these hor.
rors are rs nothing compared with the
still more irightiul eXcesses perpetrated
in.the suburbs and OR the estates IN the
surrounding country. There murder,
lust, robbery and lncendisrism have con-
t;nued unchecked for days together. All
tne small shop keepers have
been deprived Of house and
home, estates rsvaged, cattle driven of,
hedges tern down, cane fields burned
and new machinery destroyed 50 as 10
render it useless 70 its owners. The
government III Bogats has condemned
the acts of Gen. Pena, but owing 10 his
popularity and influence in that region
it was found imprscticable to remove
him from his command. There were no
foreigners killed, but their property has
been confscated in the most shameless
manner.