The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-09
LATIN AMERICAS AMAZONS.
WOMEN SERVE IN THE ARMY IN
VENEZUELA AND ELSEWHERE.
whole Families Enlist Sometimes I'm Central
and south American Repubaics-The
Women and Children often More
savage Fighters Than the Men.

4
Colombia, Hayti. Santo Domingo, Bolivia.
| Nicaragua and some Of the other less adj
| vanced Latin-American countries the en-
tire family sometimes goes to war.
| II happens this way. A revolution is
! in progress, and there is an urgent demand
for troops by both sides.
A group of half-civilized Indians are
| tilling their fields. A band OF soldiers
comes along, surrounds them and marches
| them all off to fight for cause about which
they know and care nothing
But my wife, my boys. sehor! walls
! the peon to the commandante who has
captured him. What is to become OF
| themy'
The family troops up, weeping. and begs
the officer to let the man 60. The officer
, looks at them thoughtfully, and aces that
the boys are Swapping lads Of twelve and
fourteen, and that the wife is a fine. strong
woman.
NO, must take your man. he tells
her. but. if you like, you and the boys
can come, too They are strong enough
to march and carry rifles, and you can help
do the cooking for us and look after the
wounded
So it comes about that the entire family
marches OF to the front, happy and cheer
full again. There are no harder people in
the world than the Indians of Central Amer
lea. Colombia and Venezuela Even the
women think nothing of marching thirty
miles a day over rough mountain tracks.
carrying rife. a heavy cartridge belt, a
machete and a pack!oad of miscellaneous
baggage.
Sometimes a guerrilla band will enlist
all the members OF family from the young
est boy of ten TO the grandfather of seventy
And they " i'll march and fight side by side
husband and wife, mother and daughter,
father ard son, uncles, aunts, cousins and
grandparents.
During the recent civil war in Colombia,
when the Government was very hard
pressed for troops. 10 was a common practice
TO surround country churches on Sunday
and forcibly enlist the entire congregation,
except old people and infants unable to
march.
The armies with which President Castro
has made his great fight against the Matos
revolutionists in Venezuela comprise a
large proportion OF mere boys. whose ages
range as low as and 0, and every COM
twenty women attached to it. They are
generally Indians or mulattos, and they
march with the baggage train.
When Castro's army marched home to
Caracas last January in triumph. after de-
feating the revolutionsts d few DAYS be-
fore Christmas, foreigners lad a good
chance 10 study its makeup.
First came tho fife and bug.e band. COM
posed of hall dozen ragged Indian boys
blowing a triunphal march for all they
were worth Behind them. riding proudly
on a stolen mule, copper-colored General
carried huge Venezuelan flag. it's gaudy
stripes OF red, blue and yellow Aaunting
proudly in the sunlight.
He was dressed in a pair OF tattered red
trousers. with bread gold stripe, blue
service blouse like that of the United States
Army. an old palrnleaf hat with a ribbon
OF the Venezuelan colo;s twisted round it,
and a pair OF alpargattas--tbe native can
vas sandal, WHICH exposes the toes and
heels.
4 Msuser rife was slung over his shoulder,
an Andino machete. with a Gayly colored
scabbard. hung on one side and brass
hilted regulation sword on the other, while
y
revolver and enough cartridges for Maxim
gun.
The army followed in single file, Generals
and Colonels marching along on the TANKS
| in generous profusion. There MAS field
Officer TO every half dozen men, but you
could hardly tell the field officers from the
| rank and file.
| The officers we're dressed In odds and
ends Of uniform from nearly every army
| in the world. The rank and file made no
! prCtenca at uniform, but wore anything
| they happened 70 have picked up. Some
went half-nGked.
The Indians, who mad" up the bulk OF
| the army, wore their favorite alpargattas;
| but a few negroes and mulattos went hare
! footed. They al! marched along sturdIy
at swinging 9niGkstrpaim ,sir t rot.
| that day and gone through Il fortnights
hard campaigning.
Zach man carried u Mauser, a belt full
OF cartridges. nachete or sword, and
| perha ps a blanket, = mess kettle and a tin
pan. The Venezuelan soldier has to be his
own commissariat service, or go without.
There were scores of little boys, = or 10
years old, carrying cut-down Nnusers,
and stepping out as bravely and sturdly
as the rest. An even stranger sight 10 n
| foreigners eyes was a company OF Indian
and mulatto women. well armed who
|
baggage train.
Here and there whole family marched
! togerher--women and men, boys and girls,
| all mixed up. There wac no attempt 70
! enforce military order. II the soldier
| liked to enjoy the society Of women folk
| and ci idren on the march. the General
didn't think it WAS up To him to Interfere
Indeed, it was good business for the re-
| public, as all the members of the family
were quite ready to fight whenever the
need arose. They cost nothing to feed,
FOR the army had no official commissariat.
| 1t lived on the country.
| The soldiers foraged for themselves,
with the help OF their children and women
| folk. Nearly every man in the force had
a little loot to show, il il was only a skinny
fowl or small bunch Of plantains slung on
! his Mauser rife.
| The fortune Of war often brings men 10
the front with surprising rapidity in these
! republics. The family that goes TO war
ragged and shoelcss may, in n few short
weeks or months, become one of the greatest
in the land, A man may be ragged Irdian
peasant one year and a distinguished Gen
erDl the next.
When President Castro fought his way
to supreme power in Venezuela, many
men went up on the crest of the wave with
him. One of them, Gen. Louis Otalora,
| used to he the village barber at Castros
home in tho Andes. He still shaves the
President, as part OF his military duties.
Another friend Of Castro's. an old Indian
/ who had fought well, was made Minister of
| War. He Immediately purchased n gor-
! 1on,,a ,,p;for,,, with lpfe ~ ooll ap. 1,-ar