The National tribune., 1885-12-17
SOLDIERS IN PERU.
How They Live and Fight.

LIMA, PERU, March Is, 1851.
The Peruvian soldier always has his wife
with him; at least there is a woman who main
tains such relation. The ceremony of mar
rage is not observed, nor is it to any graat
extent in civil life, for the expense of rnatri-
mony is so great that among the 'cholos7 as
the peasants are called, men and women live
their lives together without any formality and
by the sanction of public sentiment, even IL
they lack the sanction of the law. For this the
Catholic Church is responsible. and to it di-
rectly can be traced the cause of the iliegtiuacy
of more than half the population. The Ice
charged by the priests for performing the ccre-
mony of marriage is SO excessive that the poor
cannot pay it, hence marriage is practically
placed under what may be called prohibitOry
tariff. This prevails in all of the South Ameri-
can countries where the church still holds its
power, but In those which are now under the
control of the Liberal party the rite of civil
marriage has been established by law, and the
ceremony now costs from % cents to a dollar
With each company of Peruvian troops is
squad of women called "rabonas,' generally
one to every three or four men, volunteers, who
serve without pay, but receive ratiOns and ara
given transportation by the Government. They
are always with the men-in camp on the
march and in battle. In camp they do ths
cooking and other necessary work; on the
march they share the exposure and fatigue,
being treated exactly as the men are and do
most OF the foraging for the messes to which
they belong; in battle they nurse their own
wounded, rob the dead, cut the tbroat5 OF
enemies they find lying alive on the field. carry
water and ammunition, and perform other
brutal and useful service. They are always
enumerated in the rosters of troops and in the
reports of casualties, which read so many men
and so many "rabonas" killed and wounded,
for they share the soldiers death as well IS his
privation.
Some of these wives Of the regiment havs
children with them, and there IS scarcely
company without dozen or so little tots, with
out any cew to their paternity, following their
mothers heels. Going once from Panama to
Callao, the ship upon which / was passenger
took aboard battalion of Peruvian troops,
among whom were about 30 women They
were quartered upon the hurricane deck, with
out any shelter except the starlit trOpic sky,
and were packed in, men and women together,
like steers in a cattle car. Water and food wers
furnished them, the latter consisting only Of
black beans, called "frijoles," and " tort!iias,"
a sort of cornmeal cake. Instead of complain
ing of their beds upon the hard surface Of tia
shelterless deck, the soldiers told me that il
was the most comfortable place they had f0t;nd
for months. and would be glad 70 stay there
always; but the passengers and officers CT th9
ship would have objected, as the stencil thss
came from them was something horrible, "a
sembling in odor and loudness that which ID
They were as filthy as the cattle that were
housed on the lower deck, and smelled worse.
One night en- U0yage one of the women was
confined and delivered of 12-pound boy with
out the aid of the Surgeon, who was not aware
of the incident until the troops were disen-
barking and he noticed the baby. The mother
was in line with the rest looking a little pale
and weak, but carrying the child III her arms,
wrapped in blanket, and bundle OF Piuader
Of some sort on her back.
"Will the child live?" asked the Surgeon.
"Live? Yes; you couldn't drown it."
The custom of having 1" "rabonas with the
army grew out of the habit the Indians had Of
taking their wives to war, and the marital ties
became slackened by common consent 14s
Government not only licenses, but encOuras.rs
the practice, as it makes the men more cOl-
tented, and as a sanitary measure, the Surgeons
say, is very beneficial. The ratio of disease is
very much smaller in the armies where he
"rabonas" are allowed, than in others, and any
experienced Surgeon can see why this Is so.
All the private soldiers in South America, &c
least upon the west coast, are Indians or ne
groes, and all the officers are white. a whits
man, Spaniard, whatever be his station n
life, cannot be forced or persuaded to carry
musket. During the defense Of Lima against
the army of Chilli, however, lawyers, nier-
chants, clerks, and everybody, regardless OF
caste or condition. served in the ranks as they
did during our war, but without uniform.
They would fight in defense of their homes,
but were too proud to wear the uniform OF
common soldier.
Hence the rank and file is composed chiefly
of Indians, or cholos," term which is used TO
designate the mixed race descended from the
ancient and aboriginal Inca and his conqueror,
the Spaniard. There are very few full-blooded
Indians in the country, for during the 500
years of Spanish supremacy the original inhab-
itants were almost entirely exterminated.
There are good many negroes and Cinnamon
in Peru who are mixed with the natives indis-
criminately, and they all go to compose the
"cholos."
There are military schools for the education
of officers and the line and staff Of the armies
are made up of the sons of the aristoeraey, as IN
| Germany and England. They wear q very
gaudy uniform, and always appear IN it,whether
| on duty or not. Officers never appear In any
| thing but full military dress, with plenty Of
| gold lace and fub-dubs.
The soldiers are all volunteers" Conscrip-
! tion is forbidden by the constitution Of most of
| the Republics, and "volunteer" is an Indian
| who is captured on the highway, or in a Saloon,
| or at his home, and locked up until there ars
| enough of him to send to headquarters, whera
| he is taken before recruiting officer and ni1de
| to sign document setting forth that he - yoi-
unteers I" to serve his country as long e MS
services are needed. Then his hands are 81
behind him, and he is lashed to dozen or T.lcre
| other volunteers" who are driven down 10
| the garrison, where uniforms are put on tl.il
| muskets furnished and they are turned ovts 20
drill Sergeant, who puts them through ,hs
simple tactics until they know how to carry .
gun and fire it.
/ saw drove of about $50 of these ''vo!ta
| teers" come into Lima one day tied mp Ike
| chickens or turkeys in bunehes of 10 each, WITH
| an escort of 20 men, who had probably goGe
| through the same process of volunteering a
| year or so previous, and rather enjoyed the
! scene. Behind the column came 70 rso woG'au,
weeping and chattering, and some of them bad
| children tugging at their hands and skirts.
| The women could stay with their husban :, X
| they liked, and become "rabonas," and fr5h-
| ably the most of them did.
| With such material composing its army. dd
Peru attempt to defend its coast and cities wlIa
| their enormous wealth, against the assault, Of
| Chilli. The soldiers of Chill are of an entirely
| different sort. They are men who are fcud Vt
| fighting, naturally belligerent, and we're pr'l-
ised free license to plunder. The soldiers of
| Peru Were peaceable, quiet, inOfensiye " cho-
tlOs, "a silent, suffering race,-who have served
under a system of peonage all their lives; h'd
| no idea what they were fighting for, and i.s.'is
| as weak defense as possible. Whenever they
| met the Chillanos in battle they always Il, 4,
| even when they outnumbered the enemy. for
| the Chillano-reckless, daring and combat e
| never remained in line of battle, but always
] fought with charge and q whoop, carrying
/ everything before him; taking no prisoners.
4 Al - L. 4