The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-10-26
ghe aalita 1ailn gaoIe Thursday goua @etober

Paraguay we took our course up the
Paraguay river. Here it was during the
Paraguan war that the combined forces
of Brazil, Argetine and Uruguay armies
had their arsenal and magazine and 1t
took them five years to force their way
up the river less than fifty miles; in
deed, the first year the Paraguay forces
defeated them and had it not been that
after sacking the camp they had not
drank too much Brazilian liquors this
would have ended the war. but what
could one expect. They drank and ca
reused and the enemy rallied and massa-
cred them almost to a man. Even after
these reyerses so determined was their
resistance and so CALAMITY did the SOL
diers fight that it took over five years
to conquer, or rather exterminate them.
for conquer them they never did.
At that time Paraguay was the most
progressive ofall the South American
countries. Lopez the dictator was a very
good man, in his way, very patriotic and
quite a statesman, as was his father and
grandfather before him. He had encour-
aged a number of Europeans to settle
among them and each year had sent a
number OF young men to Europe to edu-
cate at the expense of the government.
He himself had Travelled extensively and
was at the Crimea, during that war, that
he met and ran away with the unfor-
tunate Madame Lynch, a beautiful Irish
girl, wife of a French surgeon. Poor
Madame Inch. to her more than any 9TH
er person, history owes one Of the most
unequal and heroic struggles that ever
cd hnr lf1f me- mn
cumber tnis letter with accounts that
would fill volumes. Enough to say that
Brazil succeeded, through diplomacy or
perffdy ofthe Paraguayan ministers at
London, in getting hold of three ironclad
gunboats that were being built at that
time for Paraguay. With these, after
five years fighting and through the help
of Argentine and Uruguay. they, after
killing Lopez and his half dozen follow
ers that were still alive, succeeded in
debating peace to a nation of women-all
that Were left.
While 1 am on this strain I cannot close
without telling you of some Of the bat
ties; how even against ironclad gum
boats the gallant little band built a raft
and with one cannon mounted upon this,
kept them from coming up the river for
four months; how they built a great
chain cable across theriSer and planting
themselves on either side successfully
held them at bay until the high water
permitted the gunboats to sail over them
and break them down; how they manu-
featured their own guns and made tor
pedoes odt of rawhide and tallow; how
they gathered up the cannon balls that
the enemy fredand built a cannon to fit
them and fired them back, doing more
damage, I warrant, than the first owners.
1 could go on, as l said beforehand fill
volumes, but alas! poor Madame Lynch,
and alas for Lopez and his Napoleonic
dream Of great empire! Paraguay to-
day hardly takes rank as a nation even
in South America. Her money is worth
only six pence to the dollar; her history
that Of a vanquished greatness andt he
glory Of one man. Poor Madam Lynch!
Here I've been writing for an hour or
more and about nothing particular
Above on the upper deck theboys acre
peppering away at alligators that have
come out to get the war sun. The for
ests are beginning to give way to small
ranches; we are nearing the city, and I
must close so that I can send this back
by return boat
I'll tryand write at Curumba Please
tell them athome that you have heard
fromme, for I'll not lat to write them
this week FRANK.
LA GRIPPE IN TWO DAYS
Take Laxative Bromo. Qunine Tablets.
IT.