The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-03-14

my lister Thompson this afternoon
" saving that President PeiXotO
had refused the terms Of surrender pro
posed by Admiral Da Cana and that
the forts had opened fire on the iusur-
gents with determination 70 force
them into unconditional surrender,
The terms submitted by Da Cana
are what have been expected. aud Pres
ideut Peixoto is understood to have eX-
pressed himself as tavorlbls to accept
ing similar conditions il the event Of
Da Gamas surrender some time ago
They offer to turn over to the goveru-
meut all the forts in the bay now IN the
hands Of the insurgents and sll the
warships which have been under Da
GamS's command, and to surrender the
garrisous Of the forts and crews Of the
vessels to federal authority on these
conditions That Da Cana and his
officers bs allowed to leave the country
under Portuguese protection. and that
the rsbsllious soldiers aud sailors bs
spared their lives
The government forces began active
operations against the insurgents at
noon, the fOrty-elght hours notice given
by President Peixoto having expired
The hilltop batteries opened tire at
.. N. No reply was made by the in-
surgeuts. The government vessels eu-
tered the harbor at o'clock, but did
not fire They found Forts YIllegsig-
non aud Cobras abandoned by the in
surgeuts. The feet was greeted with
cheers from thousands Of people on the
hilltops and With salutss from all the
government forts The insurgaut ships
meanwhile hid themselves among the
merchant vessels lying ia the bay.
Admiral Da Cana il reported to
have fed aboard the French warship.
HISTORY OF THE WAR
, The Brazilian revolution. which this
action Of Admiral Da Cana will in all
probability bring TO close. began on
the night of September ). 1893 when
Admiral de Melo attempted to repeat
the coup de main by which he had
driven President ds Fonsecs from
power While the high government
officials were at the opera he seized all
the Brazilian war vessels 10 the harbor
of Rio de Janeiro aud demanded
President Psixoto's resignation. Msllo
thought the President would abdicate
without a struggle, but, instead, he
Immediately began preparations to
bring the rebels to terms. Congress
backed up President Peixoto Al
though the rebels had the fleet, con-
Asting of twenty-'our bsttleships, tor
pedo boats and armorsd coasting steam
ers, the principal forts which formed
dsfsncss Of the harbor of Rio remained
loyal.
Mello, on Sept, 20 sent an ultima
tum to the citizens Of Rio. He declar
ed that if they did not surrender the
city at once be would recommencs the
bombardment and level it to the
ground. No attention was paid to this
Communication, and on Sept. "a the
ships reopened FIRE. The lombard
ment lasted all day and was continued
the next and the next.
A reign Of terror followed. Banks
and business places were shut mp, and
there was great rush for the country.
No attempt was made by the insurgents
TO destroy the city but in the fire that
was aimed at the various government
buildings yast damage was done in ev-
cry part Of the city. Bursting shells
carried destruction into the streets, and
many hundreds we're killed and
wounded, Discomfort was general in
the city. and Msllo was counting on a
popular uprising in his interest as a
consequence Of the bombardment.
ADMIRAL BENHANrs FAMOUS ACTION.
On Jan. 30 Admiral Bannam fred q
shot at an insurgeut warship in de.
fence of American rights The trouble
was brought about by the American
vessels the Amy and Glad Tidings, both
OF which we're laden with Ctrgoes con.
signed to Rio merchants, and neither
thought it advisable TO approach tho
docks without assurance of protection.
So they called on Admiral Benham
who ordered the commander Of the Do
troit to clear his ship for action and
escort the vessels to the dock.
The entire feet was put in readiness
for fight. As soon "a the Brazilians
noticed that the Amy and the Glad
Tidings were made fast at tho docks,
the Trajano fired q musket shot across
the bow of the Amy. The Detroit fired
q 6-pound shot under the bow OF the
Brazilian vessel The officers Of the
Trajano were surprised, but they fred
an apologetic blank cartridge, and the
incident ended with the haiing Of the
Tralano by Captain Brownsou, OF the
Detroit, who warned the Trojano's cap.
'ain to instruct his men to be careful
about the direction in which they fired
their muskets.
The government feet, consisting OF
the NictheroY, the America. the Bahia,
the Tiradenter and FIVE torpedo boats
bought in Germany. sailed into the
harbor OF Rio last Saturday. Admiral
Mello is somewhere on the southern
coast of Brazil with the Republics and
the Aquidaban, but his exact where
abouts and his attitude toward the
surrender of Da CANA are both I'M
known.