Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-08-02

minister of public improvements in Crespos
cabinet but an opponent of the new president,
took to the hills at the head of 5000 troops.
Crespo really was responsible for the curse OF
Castro, for had he selected strong as
his successor the mountain brgand never could
have commanded a force sufficiently powerful
to overthrow him.
Within a month Andrade went through the
form of appointing Crespo commando in chief
of the army, in order that he might clfnch his
dictatorship. For while Crespo contented
himself with enjoying his 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
it out. The two armies met in the mountains
near Victoria June II, 1898. Hernandez was
led into trap given drubbing and captured.
After the battle Crespo walked across the field
and leaning over a wounded man when
he was shot from behind and instantly killed.
Some few months after Crespos 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 new administration, the
price Of peace. Andrade, to his credit be it
said, fouted him. Castro left the Yellow
house in a rage, sought the councils of An
drade's enemies, and after many confer
ences, a general insurrection was arranged
for early the following summer. The pres
oped the greatest strength during the CAM
paign
Castro learned that he was alone in the revo-
luton, his promised partners having failed tn
take the field on account of chickering's and
jealousies among themselves. This discovery
and the addition Of Ferrer's 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-
lieving that no one could be worse than An
drade, and finding out as had Castro himself
what powerful person he really was accept
ed him as their master
Almost the first thing he did was to annul
our concession, along with dozen others on
the ground that its terms had not been COM
Piled with, the beginning of his war on all
foreigners. l denied this right to cancel our
grant, especially as it contained a clause which
stipulated that any disagreement between the
government and the concessonaire should be
referred to the Alta Corte Federale or su
preme Court for adjustment
The troops were continually spying on us and
annoying US with fictitious charges but it was
a lear or more before the government angered
by it's failure to get rid of me- resorted to ex
IRENE measures. A governor was sent
down with strict orders to remove me, by force
If necessary He advanced toward the house
into the rifle 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 a short
consultation with his staff he gave the order
to advance, while he bravely directed opera
tions from the As hts men crossed the
line and eight of them fell They continued to
advance and We fired 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 or three days they came back. with
their force slightly increased, and the gen
eral again called on me to surrender under
penalty of being arrested as a disturbing fac
tor. / gave him the same reply as before. and
after thinking it over for a while he marched
his troops away again.
That little encounter produced prom ounced
respect for the Americans among Castro's sol
diers and they did not give us much trouhIe
afterward.
This enforced idleness eventually became
intolerable, and early in 1906, the company in
the meantime having sent one of It's officers r.
Caracas to protect It's interests, | returned 70
New York after having held the fort for ter
years. / came back much poorer in pockat
but with fund of information re-ardine Van
ezuela and its people,