nd Argentine forces to turn him out. But at last the
condition of affairs became critical, and on a dark night he silently
abandoned Curupaiti with his army, leaving his fires burning, wooden
images of men on the ramparts, logs in the embrasures in lieu of cannon,
and decamped to occupy a similar intrenched position at Humaita, six
leagues above, where for five months longer he checked the advance of
the allies. So adroitly was this change of position effected that the
Brazilian commander was unaware of the abandonment of the place until
four days after its desertion. To-day at Humaita a ruined belfry casts
its melancholy shadow on the long-contested field of battle.

Leaving Humaita behind, the mouth of the Vermejo, a stream which tinges
the Paraguay with the hue of its clay-colored waters, is reached and
passed: then Villa del Pilar, a forlorn hamlet, where a few dejected
inhabitants crouch in the shade of shattered houses. Next a magnificent
forest of palms appears. In front the yellow sand of the shore is
covered with alligators, which lie about in groups. From the boat M.
Forgues fires at these, and a little later he tries his skill on a
jaguar, which, however, with a fierce growl, scampers off, and is lost
to sight in the mazes of the high grass beyond. These localities and
Villa Oliva, which is next passed, are all on the left bank, the
opposite side of the river being peopled only by the wandering Indians
of Gran Chaco. A short distance above is the small and once prosperous
town of Villeta, whence are shipped in season boatloads of oranges, but
which at present is a mass of ruins that bear ample testimony to the
excellent aim of the Brazilian gunners.

Just before a turn in the river reveals the presence of Asuncion the
Republica steams by the Cerro de Lambare, a cone-shaped hill about three
hundred and twenty feet high, covered with so dense a growth of bushes
that no one has ever succeeded in climbing to its summit. The
river-channel in its length between this elevation and Asuncion still
contains remains of the obstructions which Lopez placed there to check
the progress of the Brazilian fleet and protect the city. As the steamer
rounds the bend the Paraguayan capital comes in sight. A prominent and
historical object in the medley of houses is the high tower of Lopez's
chateau, dominating the rest of the city, and now gilded with the rays
of the setting sun. A portion of its top is missing, a shell having
ca