The Indianapolis journal., 1894-03-14
After Furious B0mbardment of Their
Ships and Forts That Was Not
Answered by Single Shot.
GREAT JOY AT THE CAPITAL
Streets Crowded with People
Shouting "Viva PeixotO."
Government Ships in the HarbOr-Mel-
los Whereabouts UnknOwn-Gama
Reported to Be on British Vessel.

WASHINGTON, March 1S.-The crisis has
been reached at Rio de Janeiro and the
two cablegrarns that received in
Washington to-day mark the beginning of
the saddest and bloodiest chapter of the
long and stubbornly contested insurrection
in Brazil The first news came from Adj
miral Benham in cable addressed to Sec
retary Herbert, and read as follows:
Notice has been given by this govern
ment that the bombardment of the insJr-
gent ships and forts from the city will
admiral: it is reported, has taken refuge
on the Portuguese man-of-war. On inquiry
l find he Is not on board yet"
The news conveyed by Admiral Benham
was contained in the last sentence Of his
dispatch relative to Admiral Da CANA All
of the preceding dispatches. the official as
well as the press cables, had stated that
the rebel admiral was on board the Portu-
guese man-of-war Mindello. But two in
ferences were drawn from Admiral Ben
hams statement. Da CANA had either
boarded over night one of the fleet little
steam launches. passed between the forts
without being seen, and escaped to some
friendly southern port, or he had joined
his own men on his flagship. the Tiradentes,
and was determined to fight to the last,
and, if the fortunes of war went against
him, to go down with the officers and
men he had been unable to save.
When Admiral Benhams cable reached
the Navy Department and had been in due
course of time unraveled by the cipher
experts. Commodore Ramsey, seeing It's
Importance, FASTENED with it to Secretary
Herbert's residence. The Secretary has not
been feeling well lately, and had been con-
find to the house by a touch of the grip
but he. too, became interested Immediately
upon seeing the cabegram, and, coming
to the Navy Department building, commu-
nicated its contents at once to Secretary
Gresham. Even then it was hoped that
there might be a peaceful solution of the
trouble at Rio, and it was surmised that
Admiral Benham had merely reported the
formal notice issued yesterday, without
knowledge of the effort of Da CANA to
make a conditional surrender. The dis
patches received last night seemed to war
rant such an assumption. But these hopes
were extinguished when, late in the after
noon, United States Minister Thompson was
heard from, as follows:
THE local forts commenced firing at noon
to-day. Their fire was not returned by the
insurgents. The terms of Da Cana have
open fire upon him from the city batteries
this afternoon at 3 O'Clock. The city is
nearly abandoned and deserted.
The receipt Of this dispatch gave rise to
much uneasiness to the department officials,
which was undoubtedly shared by the Presi-
dent, to whom 1t was communicated. Last
night there was every reason to believe that
a peaceful outcome had been reached in the
disastrous warfare that had been waged at
Rio, and no one doubted that President
Peixoto would concede the apparently rea-
asked by Da CANA The rebel admiral had
offered to expatriate himself and his officers
to an exile into a foreign land, on condi-
ton that the lives of his soldiers and sailors
should be saved. Such conditions are freely
accorded in any honorable warfare in civil
lied lands, yet, to the surprise of our ad-
mnistration, they had been refused by Peix-
oto. In spite of it's best efforts to be ex-
actly fair and neutral in the contest in Bra
zil this government, in it's desire to protect
American mercantile interests and uphold
the glory of republican institutions, has
given color to the belief that it's moral SYM
pathy lay with the PeiXoto government. So
the news that the rules of civilized war
fare have been disregarded, and that the
brave but defeated insurgents, hemmed in
on all sides, are to be refused the chance
to surrender on honorable terms and forced
to throw themselves upon the mercy of the
government without any guarantee of their
Eves-this news falls with disagreeable force
upon every official in the government here
who has had to do with the trouble in any
capacity. Undoubtedly. the moral sympathy
of the United States has been a valuable
and considerable aid to the Brazilian gov
ernmsnt ever since 1892, when the first
symptoms OF the rebellion We're manifested
in the southern provinces, but if Peixoto is
determined TO maintain his present unre-
lenting and vindictive attitude. for such it
is freely denominated by naval and diplo-
matte officers here. that measure of support
is certain TO be Withdrawn from him.