“General San Martin is a tall, erect, well-proportioned, handsome man, with a large aquiline nose, thick black hair and immense bushy whiskers, extending from ear to ear under the chin; his complexion is deep olive, and his eye, which is large, prominent, and piercing, jet black; his whole appearance being highly military. He is thoroughly well bred, and unaffectedly simple in his manners; exceedingly cordial and engaging, and possessed evidently of great kindliness of disposition; in short, I have never seen any person the enchantment of whose address was more irresistible.”
[III.]
“It has been stated that the filling of the tubes was, from motives of parsimony, entrusted to Spanish prisoners, who, as was found on examination, had embraced every opportunity of inserting handfuls of sand, sawdust, and even manure at intervals in the tubes, thus impeding the progress of combustion; whilst in the majority of instances they had so thoroughly mixed the neutralizing matter with the ingredients supplied, that the charge would not ignite at all, the result being complete failure in the object of the expedition.”—Autobiography of a Seaman, by Lord Dundonald.
[IV.]
“ ... This bridge is curious from its simplicity, and from the close resemblance it bears to the iron bridges of suspension recently introduced into England, to which, in principle, it is precisely similar. It consists of a narrow roadway of planks, laid crosswise, with their ends resting on straight ropes, suspended by means of short lines to a set of thicker ropes drawn across the stream from bank to bank. These strong sustaining cords are six in number, three at each side of the bridge, and hang in flat curves, one above another, the short vertical lines supporting the roadway being so disposed as to distribute the weight equally. The main or suspending ropes are firmly secured to the angles of the rock on one side at the height of thirty feet from the stream; but the opposite bank being low, it has been found necessary to correct the consequent inclination in some degree, by carrying the ropes over a high wooden framework, and attaching them afterwards to trees and to posts driven into the bank. The clear span from the frame or pier on one side to the face of the rock on the other is one hundred and twenty-three feet. The materials being very elastic the bridge waved up and down with our weight, and vibrated from side to side in so alarming a manner that, at the recommendation of the guide, we dismounted and drove our horses, one by one, before us; but it must be owned, neither man nor horse appeared much at ease during the passage.”—Journal of Captain Basil Hall.
[V.]
“ ... How far his professions were sincere, or, if sincere, his plans were wise, it is now very difficult to say. They certainly appeared to many people very judicious at the time, and they were uniformly followed by the success which he anticipated.
“ ... On the 25th June I had an interview with General San Martin, on board a little schooner anchored in Callao Roads.... There was little at first sight in his appearance to engage attention; but when he rose up and began to speak, his great superiority over every other person I had seen in South America was sufficiently apparent. He received us in a very homely style, on the deck of his vessel, dressed in a surtout coat and a large fur cap, seated at a table made of a few loose planks laid along the top of two empty casks.
“ ... Several persons came on board privately from Lima, to discuss the state of affairs, upon which occasion his views and feelings were distinctly stated: and I saw nothing in his conduct afterwards to cast a doubt upon the sincerity with which he then spoke. The contest in Peru, he said, was not of an ordinary description; not a war of conquest and glory, but entirely of opinion; it was a war of new and liberal principles against prejudice, bigotry, and tyranny. People ask why I don’t march to Lima at once; so I might, and instantly would, were it suitable to my views, which it is not. I do not want military renown; I have no ambition to be the conqueror of Peru; I want solely to liberate the country from oppression. Of what use would Lima be to me, if the inhabitants were hostile in political sentiment? How could the cause of independence be advanced by my holding Lima, or even the whole country, in military possession? Far different are my views. I wish to have all men thinking with me, and do not choose to advance a step beyond the march of public opinion.
“ ... I have been gaining, day by day, fresh allies in the hearts of the people, the only certain allies in such a war.