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Our force to oppose them, should they attempt to land at Virgin Bay, the only convenient place with a pier on the whole lake, was scarcely thirty in all, a detachment from both companies having been sent a few days before to Rivas; and of this force, the privates, to a man nearly, were wanted to furnish out the picket-guards, leaving a reserve body in the citadel of some half-dozen officers armed mostly with revolvers.
For sustenance, the filibusters had the fruits around Rivas, and a small ration of tortillas and beef, furnished them daily by Walker's commissary. The beef, as we heard, was supplied by Senor Pineda, General Walker's most powerful and faithful friend amongst the natives; and the tortillas were bought from the native women in the neighborhood of Rivas.
Why had León come to him with it? Surely young Rivas had better and closer friends at the Stronghold. Why approach a newcomer? "That pinto—he is a fighter; he likes to fight. He will not allow another stud on the ground he claims." Drew was beginning to understand. Wild ones were sometimes trapped by a belled mare staked out to draw them in.
For three months this war continued with varying fortunes until the Costa Ricans were driven across the border. In June of the same year Rivas called a general election for president, announcing himself as the candidate of the Democrats. Two other Democrats also presented themselves, Salazar and Ferrer.
But after the Chamorristas were worsted, mainly by strength of Walker's Californians, and General Walker had broken with Rivas, and set up for President of Nicaragua himself, almost all the natives of any name or property had deserted him. However, many of them remained on their haciendas, and took no part in the struggle on either side.
The Chamorristas, it seemed, had been around pressing all the native men they could find into service against the Americans; and whilst we were here, two, who had been hiding all day in the bushes to avoid the conscription, came out and asked us to take them with us to Rivas, they preferring, if forced to take sides, to join el valiente Walker.
"None not so much as a cutlass even. Diego, Rivas, and Garcia, who helped them to discharge the boat, saw everything taken out of her but the oars and sails. There was a big man a half-caste, who was dressed like a white man in charge of the four Samoans. I asked him to come on deck and have a glass of grog; but he said his crew did not want him to leave the boat.
The city has a pretty plaza laid out as a garden, a new market building, a theater, and like every other town of importance in Santo Domingo, a club. At the entrance to the town is a bronze statue of Gregorio Rivas, a progressive merchant and philanthropist of this region, who died twenty years ago.
Villa Rivas, on the Samana-Santiago Railroad, 19 miles from Samana bay, was formerly called Almacen, or Storehouse, because here was situated, before the railroad was built, a warehouse for the storage of merchandise imported and exported by way of Samana and the Yuna river.
The steamer at length made its appearance, and, after landing us about forty recruits, departed south with the States passengers for Panamá; and afterwards, the new soldiers being all furnished with muskets, the detachment started on its return to Rivas.
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