Every one for himself, and the executioner for all without discrimination, this is the résumé of the life and government of an enslaved people.
Facundo, once more master of Mendoza, adopted his old methods of raising money and soldiers. One evening his agents were all over the city arresting the officers who had capitulated at Chacon; for what purpose it was not known, but the officers felt no great fear, confiding as they did in the good faith of the treaty. Nevertheless, a number of priests were also brought in and ordered to hear the confessions of the officers, who were then placed in a line and shot, one after another, under the direction of Facundo; the execution lasting about an hour. He afterwards gave as an excuse for this horrible violation of faith, that the Unitarios had killed General Villafañe. There was some foundation for the charge, but the revenge was monstrous. At another time he said, "Paz shot nine of my officers, but I have shot ninety-six of his." Paz, however, was not responsible for that deed, which he deeply lamented, and which was also an act of retaliation.
But the system of giving no quarter, so tenaciously followed by Rosas, and the constant violation of all customary forms, treaties, capitulations, etc., are the result of causes not depending on the personal character of the provincial leaders. Acknowledgment of individual rights which lessons the horrors of war, is the result of centuries of civilization, and was not to be expected among the semi-barbarians of the pampas. The savage kills his prisoner, and respects no compact when he has occasion to violate it.
