The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1912-08-02


minister of public Improvements in Crespo's
cabinet, but opponent of the new president,
took to the hills at the head of 5000 troops
Crespo really responsible for the curse Of
Castro, for had he selected a strong man as
his successor the mountain brigand never could
have commanded force sufficiently powerful
to overthrow him.
Within month Andrade went through the
form of appointing Crespo commander in chief
Of the army in order that he might clnch his
dictatorship. For while Crespo contented
himself with enjoying his new title and direct
ing operations from the capital, but the Her
nandez revolution finally assumed such proper
tons that he took the field in person to stamp
1t out. The two armies met in the mountains
Victoria, June r. 1898. Hernandez was
led into trap, given drubbing and captured
After the battle Crespo walked across the field
and leaning a wounded man when
he was shot from behind and instantly killed
Some few months after Crespo's death, Cas-
tro, who had made himself governor Of the
state Of Los Andes, visited Caracas and
called on Andrade to demand an important
position in the administration, as the
price OF peace. Andrade, to his credit be It
said tlouted him. Castro left the Yellow
house in rage sought the councils of An
drade's enemies and, after many confer.
ences, a general instruction was arranged
for early the following summer The pres.
idency was to go to the leader who devel.
oped the greatest strength during the CAM
paign.
Castro learned that he was alone In the revo
luton, his promised partners having failed to
take the field on account of chickering's and
Jealousies among themselves. This discovery
and the addition Of Ferrers forces gave him
his first really serious notion that he might be.
come president and he marched forward In
frenzy Of bombastic joy
BY this time the people OF Venezuela. be-
Heving that no one could be worse than An
drade, and finding out, as had Castro himself
what powerful person he really was. accent
ed him as their master
Almost the first thing he did was to annuI
our concession, along with dozen others on
the ground that it's terms had not been com
Piled with, as the beginning Of his war on all
foreigners. l denied this right to cancel orr
grant, especially as 1t contained a clause which
stipulated that any disagreement between the
government and the concessionaire should be
referred to the Alta Corte Federale. or Su.
preme Court for adjustment
The troops were continually spying on lie and
annoying with fictitious charges. but IT was
year or more before the government angered
by its failure to get rid of me- resorted to ex.
IRENE measures A new governor was sent
down Win strict orders to remove me, by force
il necessary. He advanced toward the house
with about IS soldiers l ordered nv men
into the rife pits and met the general AT
the gate
The general could see my rife pits but
he did not know how many men they held nor
how well they could shoot After short
consultation with his staff, he gave the order
to advance, while he bravely directed opera
tons from the rear. AS his men crossed the
line and eight of them fell. They continued to
advance, and We fred again dropping nine
more Of them, while several others were hit
That was too much for them, and they broke
and ran. leaving seven dead and ten badly
wounded.
In two three days they came back. with
their force slightly increased. and the gen.
eral again called me to surrender under
penalty OF being arrested as a disturbing fac
tor l gave him the same reply as before. and
after thinking 1t over for a while he marched
his troops away again.
That little encounter produced pronounced
respect for the Americans among Castro's sol
Tiers, and they did not give us much trouble
afterward.
This enforced idleness eventually became
intolerable. and early in 1906, the company In
the meantime having sent one OF it's officers to
Caracas to protect It's interests l returned 10
New York. after having held the fort for ten
years came back much poorer In pocket
but with fund of information regarding ven-
szssla and its people.