E un confuso bisbiglio entro e di fuore
Trascorre i campi e la città dolente.
Tasso.
A pillar of dust rising in the distance, or the smoke of burning weeds in the neighbouring farms, were sure to be attributed by the anxious spectator in the city to the less harmless fire of musketry and skirmishers. On the appearance of any such sign, notice was immediately given from the lofty steeple of La Merced, or the arcade of the bridge opposite the palace balconies. If a playful black boy was seen to gallop on his donkey by the trees of the old Alameda, or suburbs of Malambo, then some mercachifle or pregonero[29] would instantly give the alarm, which was conveyed by the vocal brotherhood with the rapidity of lightning—and “Hay viene el negro Escobar y los ladrones!” (Here comes the negro Escobar and the robbers!) was soon ringing through all parts of the city—whereupon in every direction would follow the running tumult of “Cierra puertas!”—shut doors!—and then the creaking and heavy clash of massy doors, and the jarring of chains and bolts, as every street and area entrance were closed and barricaded. During these moments of self-imprisonment, suspense, and anxiety, the streets were entirely abandoned by the unarmed populace; and the noise from the pavement, caused by the gently progressive motion of an ambling hack, was exaggerated in fancy, so as to imitate the clang and tread of a hundred horses. It produced the same startling effect in the over-excited imagination of those within, (who, to see what passed without, hardly ventured to peep through a key-hole, or from the corner of a latticed balcony,) as the unwelcome rattling of a wheeled carriage or the dull Pantheon car, on the morning succeeding a desolating earthquake, never fails to produce on sensitive frames while under the still abiding influence of recent alarm. Under such circumstances of general consternation it was that the timely arrival of irregular troops, “montonera,” under the command of a Patriot general, Vidal, delivered Lima out of the hands of a formidable band of freebooters under the celebrated negro Escobar, who had already begun the work of depredation, and whose sanguinary disposition, if excited by drink or excess, threatened to realize the worst anticipations of the dismayed citizens. In this very condition of infuriated exultation and inebriety, being in the act of plundering a house in open day, he was surprised, and in less than an hour afterwards shot in the plaza; where, only the day before, he had showed off very proudly under the balconies of the archbishop’s palace, mounted on a magnificent black steed, which he had taken by force from the prelate’s own stable. But now in his last moments his only intelligible prayer was said to be that he might receive forgiveness from the archbishop, whose sacred dignity he had so recently insulted; and, probably, of all the unhappy Peruvians who are brought to suffer death at the “banquillo,” there falls not one but shows some mysterious respect for the church; and the greatest criminal among them is never, perhaps, entirely forgetful of his tutelar saint. Whatever their career of life may have been, their faith, well or ill founded, yields them hope at the last hour; and it is allowed by those who witness their tragic end, that they generally die the death of the wicked with the composure of martyrs.
On the day that General Vidal, with his orderly montonera, entered at the invitation of the municipality—“cabildo,”—for the protection of the terrified city, it was interesting to observe the contrast presented by the negro Cimarones, when arrayed in the cathedral square of the capital by the side of the freemen of Huamantanga, and the poor but independent Indians of Yuyos, who, of all their tribe and fellow aborigines, are the least passive under political oppression. In the laughing negroes, the perpetual motion of their long and dangling limbs, never at rest in the saddle, betokened an exuberance and locomotive waste of nervous energy; while, on the other hand, the contemplative-looking and compact little Indian, mounted on his hardy nag, just emerged from the solitary and rugged wilds of the mountains, though surrounded with the novelty and excitement of a great city in confusion, never for a moment lost the composure and serenity of his countenance and demeanour.[30] These highland bands, together with a few other brave but undisciplined volunteers, inspired the lower orders of the Limenians with that transient enthusiasm to which, on extraordinary occasions, they have more than once shown themselves capable of being raised; and simultaneously they rushed to arms as the bells from every spire tolling the solemn “llamada a fuego,” or the alarm of conflagration, summoned them to the defence of their beloved Lima, which was menaced and ultimately attacked by a formidable sortie from the castles of Callao. The assailants were led on by Solar the governor, and cousin to the spurious president, Salaverry, whose illegitimate cause, now on the eve of being lost for ever, his less energetic relative but faintly sustained. It is worthy of remark, that even on this momentous occasion, the spirit-stirring 6th of January 1836, the patrician youth—“los hijos de familia”—took no active part. Educated with the utmost tenderness of indulgence, they are more inclined to love than arms. In short, the business of their life is pleasure.
Until the last memorable rally and sanguinary struggle at Socabaya, near Arequipa, under that Limenian lusus naturæ, General Felipe Santiago Salaverry, the military name of the Patriot officers of Peru had been rapidly sinking into utter contempt. By far the greater number of their spirited and intelligent country-women decried the turncoat fraternity, and regretted that they themselves were not born to carry arms, that they might redeem the fallen honour of their country. These degenerate officers seemed to take pleasure in calling every now and then the attention of the public to their vile “pronunciamientos,” or open abjuration of honourable allegiance to those placed in just authority over them. Such vain and faithless vaunters, whose proudest achievements were but to forsake their duty, bind their chiefs, and desolate their native land, became the objects of public scorn, and were despised even by the softer sex, as being fitter to wield the distaff than the sword.
But Salaverry, a man of vast though ill-directed energy and reckless spirit, made the sky re-echo to his shout of war to the death! And such complete ascendency did he acquire over the minds of his countrymen, by his almost insane impetuosity and appalling executions,[31] that he not only constrained them to a state of awe and submission, but, what is more remarkable, inspired them, when he pleased, with martial ardour, and made them emulate the deeds of Zepita, Junin, and Ayacucho. During the gloomy reign of the black banner, and continuance of the revolution of Salaverry, the Limenian women, uneasy beneath the accumulating evils of political oppression, made their way into the ranks of the insurgents. Disguised in their mysterious “mantos,” they circulated patriotic proclamations, and whispered abroad the low and solemn murmur of public opinion; until at length, on the famous 6th of January 1836, when the populace rushed to the walls, it was shouted aloud from every mouth,—ay, the cannon’s mouth,—to the confusion of rapacious upstarts struggling for ascendency. And still the women played their part—as they raised the whirlwind, so they rode on it; for, without any metaphor, they were to be seen armed and on horseback amidst the crowd.
Two days after this display of popular feeling so unusual in Lima, the provisional president made his entrance into the city amid loud rejoicings that nothing could exceed. A few weeks after this event, the eminently brave General Moran by a gallant assault forced the castles of Callao, then under the command of the insurgent Solar, to capitulate; and, on the 7th of February, General Salaverry lost the hard-contested battle of Socabaya, also called Altos de la Luna, or Heights of the Moon, a name singularly in character with that high and lunatic excitement which hurried to his doom this enthusiastic child of ambition. He escaped from the field of action with many of his officers, and the remainder of his wearied troops; and, when nearly in sight of their shipping at Islay, they were taken prisoners by our countryman, General Miller, under circumstances which demanded on the part of this very distinguished officer the exercise of that active vigilance, coolness, intrepidity, and self-possession, for which he has been so remarkable throughout his honourable military career.
On Thursday, February 18, 1836, General Salaverry, and eight of his principal officers, were by sentence of court-martial condemned to death; and, accordingly, were publicly shot in the great square of Arequipa. This event, though lamented by a few, was matter of rejoicing to the many, who now looked forwards to the re-organization of the political state of Peru under the protection of General Santa Cruz, the President of Bolivia.