THE STATE OF PERU.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3526, 26 October 1882, Page 4

THE STATE OF PERU.

A Panama telegram, dated September 15, says that when the inhabitants of Tacua learned that the Chilian forces were about to leave a large number of Peruvian families appealed to be allowed to accompany them in order to escape from the degradations of their lawless countrymen. A few foreign families, believing the guerillas would respect them, decided to remain. Fully sixty women followed the army. NGt five hours after an immense horde of guilleras poured in. There were 600 of them armed with rifles and equipped like regulars, who entered and formed in column, followed by at least 3000 guerillas armed with sticks, clubs, lances, and other similar weapons. They entered pell-mell, shoutingvociferously. On it becoming known that all the well-to-do and decent families had left the town the fury of the Indians knew no bounds. Residences were completely stripped, and those of many of the foreign residents shared the same fate. Many assassinations followed. Among the victims were eight foreigners. In the midst of a drunken orgie Tacua wae reduced to ruins. With the object of burning the properties of tho foreigners and Chilianised Taeuans all the town was burned. The cities of Janira and lluancayo shared the fate of Tacua. At Concepcion the Chilian garrison made a noble defence against the hordes of Indians. When the ammunition of the Chilians was exhausted the assassins secured paraffin, and fired the barracks, buring some of the wounded soldiers. Captain Pinto and a few survivors of the garrison made a sally, cut down the enemy, and cleared the front and sides of the barracks ; while the men inside extinguished the flames and removed the wounded to a place of safety. In another sally Captain Pinto was shot dead. The Indians again fired the building, but sallies were organised under Sub-lieu-tenants Montierney and Piege. In one of the earliest of them the first-mentioned officer was mortally wounded. Subsequently Sub-lieutenant Piege fell wounded in a sally. The young officer was immediately pounced on by the horde of Indians, who lanced him to death. At this hour five friars from the neighboring convent of Ocopa appeared on the scene, and, crucifix in hand, commenced to incite the Indians to renew the attack on the building. At ten o'clock, out of seventyseven of the Chillians, composing the garrison, only four (and two of them wounded) remained to offer resistance. The others were either dead or dying. The building was now ablaze in every direction. Four women, wives of the soldiers, were eye witnesses of the deaths of their husbands. One of them was accompanied by her five-year-old boy and her infant, who had come into the world at the commencement of the attack. After removing the wounded from the burning building, the other surviving women went out into the square hoping that their lives would be spared. They had barely stepped outside the building when they were set upon by a crowd of yelling and drunken savages and horribly butchered. The five-year-old boy had his throat cut from ear to ear, and was barbarously mutilated, and the body of the new-born child was found pierced with six lance wounds. Sub-lieutenant Piege and the surviving soldiers refused to surrender, and fell one after another, but not until they had sold their lives dearly. When other Chilian troops arrived a few days afterward they found in the square and adjacent streets 291 of the enemy dead. The wounded were double that number, and were carried to the hills. The children dead were collected and buried. The city was burned, and everybody implicated in the masscre who could be found was summarily executed.