Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1896-01-09

4UU miles Ol lovely lenBtn lHe parrots
and scarlet macaws still scream and
the red monkey chatters, just as three
century ago they chartered ant
screamed and glittered when Bolivar
went his perilous way down the river
! in the heart of country he felt il
! his mission to free from European do.
mination.
There are now 1880 men in the
I, standing army scattered through
: towns, garrsons and ships, one iron
steamer and three coast vessels tc
defend territory ten times the size
of Illinois from Great Britain. But il
!. must be taken into account that the
national militia includes all men from
) 10 to As. Sixty thousand men have
| been got into the field at one time
and that to quell civil rebellion, and
: President Crespo claims that over a
quarter of the entire male population
would be under arms in a month after
declaration of war by a foreign
power. There would be only the coast
| line OF a lew hundred miles in length
with few harbors and the Guiana from
tier to defend,
On the other hand the English
troops would have the climate to con-
tend against, an undevepped country
with mountains and forests and UNI
bridged streams, Venomous reptiles,
poisonous insects, swamps, snow, ice
and tropical heat, besides the difficulty
of transporting a sufficient number OF
troops to be effective, and thereby di-
verting shops and men from Europe and
India. Besides, they believe that the
other South American republics are
with them that the Monroe doctrine
counts for something and that there Is
Crespo, who had rather fight than eat
any day.
Crespo is a host. With seven Other
hot heads he, in his youth, rebelled
against the Catholic church. He was
rebel and tho state troops were call
Ell out against him. Two thousand
regulars camped near him, fully armed.
He had GOO or 700 stragglers with no
equipment but cowboy knives. AT mid
night while the regulars slept Crespo
seized II store OF cocoa butter, had each
man strip and grease himself and Slip
through the camp TO steal arms; the
absence Of n SHIFT and presence of a
creased skin marked cOmrade, rag of
clothing and enemy, in the darkness.
Every man came out armed to the
teeth, and the regulars had to make
terms and contribute uniforms the next
dhy to the naked men nmped on the
other side of them.
Now he sits in the yellow House"
the presidential mansion of Venezuela.
with guard of white duck uniformed
cowboys who are regarded by the citi~
zens much MS the Turks of Constanti~
nCple must have looked upon the janiz'
aries about the person Of the sultan,
and they will tell you that when this
terrible guard is on the battlefiel2tNo
man stands up before them
Term after term has Crespo served
the people and served well in the oh,Ge
OF chief executive. The old monasteries
and converts have been converted into
n federal palace, an oporahouse and
pantheon in which to lay the nations
great men. Church Is separated from
state, though Crespo is good Catholic.
He Is afraid of nothing. The United
States in dismlssing n plenipotentlary
extraordinary of big power would use
much diplomacy, and when the objec-
tionabe person did take his leave 1t
would be with all the appearance of
taking vacation with Uncle Sam bid
dill him n fearful au revoir at the
dock Wien Crespo has enough of a
nation he tells its representative to get
out within a week or be kicked ont.
! At one time 1t was confidently expected
that British, German and French gun
boats would arrive to take off the min
! lister who were so summarily dis
missed. The astonishing part of 1t Is
that nothing happened. Crespo shifts
at diplomatic correspondence. He deals
In ultimhtums. He does things with
impunity which the United States, be:
cause of It's size, would not dare do
but he Is not afraid of the conse-
qucuces and Is ready to face them
No wonder the Nenezuclans lone
their country. that fair land with O
+ climate like that Of southern France
so far from us; more foreign than In
dta or Japan, yet ms near to New York
, and Chicago as Liverpool by steamer
: Only a third Of 1t under cultivation
yet there Is no want. Prosperity
smiles on them they pay only 4 pei
cent In the markets Of the world ant
they import the manufactures o
Europe and the United States. So ricl
and varied are their products that Eng
land could blockade their coast fo'
years and not starve them out,twhil,
the capital and government were safe
ly intrenchod behind the mountains
that climb from the seaport town o
La Guayra.
Four thousand feet above sea level
and only nine miles from the coast
Caracas nostles among the ranges on !
plateau Almost below II spreads tn,
sen in one unhroken eNpanse, clear t
Florida and New Orleans. The Erea