Guadalcanal

“ Vandegrift now had enough men ashore on Guadalcanal, 19,200, to expand his defensive scheme. He decided to seize a forward position along the east bank of the Matanikau River, in effect strongly outposting his west flank defenses against the probability of strong enemy attacks from the area where most Japanese troops were landing. ”

“ See John Miller, jr., Guadalcanal: The First Offensive, Washington, D.C., 1949 and Cartwheel: The Reduction of Rabaul, Washington, D.C. 1959; Samuel Milner, Victory in Papua, Washington, D.C., 1957; and Philip A. Crowl and Edmund G. Love, The Seizure of the Gilberts and Marshalls, Washington, D.C., 1955, in the series U.S. ARMY IN WORLD WAR II.
The Guadalcanal Campaign, first in the Solomon ladder, was undertaken with extremely limited means. ”

“ And when his brain started functioning again, every thought was like a twisting knife buried deep in his heart.
The Japs knew of the American plan to attack Guadalcanal! Admiral "Suicide" Sasebo was obviously on his way with a huge task force to catch the Americans by surprise and wipe them out completely before sufficient reenforcements could be rushed to the Solomons. Sasebo's force [Pg 139] was headed southward, and Admiral Jackson's task force was coming up from the south to intercept. Maybe they wouldn't meet. ”

“ American scouting planes and Allied coast watchers sent word that a frighteningly powerful bombardment force was on its way down The Slot, and the most optimistic defenders of Guadalcanal wondered if this was going to be the end. Two Japanese battleships, the Hiei and the Kirishima, a cruiser, and fourteen destroyers were in the Japanese fleet. ”

“ Nothing could persuade the coast natives to venture farther, and Sheldon, with his four Tahitians, knew that it was madness to go on alone. So he stood waist-deep in the grass and looked regretfully across the rolling savannah and the soft-swelling foothills to the Lion’s Head, a massive peak of rock that upreared into the azure from the midmost centre of Guadalcanal, a landmark used for bearings by every coasting mariner, a mountain as yet untrod by the foot of a white man. ”

“ The ‘maestre de campo’ landed with 20 men, and took possession as in the case of the other islands. In the town was found, in small baskets, a large quantity of provisions, of roots, and ginger which is plentiful in this island. We put on board the brigantine what we could, including a hog. The same evening, we embarked; and we gave this island the name of Guadalcanal and to the river that of Ortega. I took the latitude, and found it to be in 101⁄2°. With the higher part of Buenavista, it lies north and south 9 leagues, and with that of Sesarga north-west and south-east. ”

“ Guadalupe is the holiest shrine in Mexico. It is the scene of a tradition that is never doubted for an instant by the people. In 1531 the Virgin appeared one evening to a poor peon, Juan Diego, and told him to go to some wealthy man and say it was her will that a church be built on that spot. The Indian, in great fright, obeyed her command, but the wealthy fellow refused to put credence in the incredulous story, so the peon returned and told the Virgin, who was still there, of his failure. ”

“ One of these worthy fathers who had been sent as a missionary to Mexico, finding the Indians rather stubborn and unyielding, conceived the plan of flattering their national vanity by fabricating a saint suited for the occasion. The Guadalupano had a poor friend who was an excellent painter, to whom he said, one day, "Take this tilma"—presenting him one of the coarsest and most slazy texture {251} (a sort of manta de guangoche) ; "paste it upon canvass, and paint me thereon the handsomest effigy of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe that your fancy can portray." ”

“ THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE. In every Mexican church, monastery, convent, palace, house, hut, hovel, hacienda, or rancho, the traveller will not fail to observe an image of "The Virgin of Guadalupe." Many men receive the name of "Guadalupe," in baptism, and almost every woman has it added to the others she receives from her parents or sponsors. A saint whose tutelary influence is at once so national and so curious deserves especial mention in the notice of a country over whose people she is supposed to exercise a mysterious dominion ”

“ The great towns of Guadalaxara, are Guadalaxara, where the governor, the bishop, and the officers of the supreme court of the royal audience reside; its population is 19,500 souls. It is placed [101] on the Rio Esquitlan, or Santiago, which flows from Lake Chapala. At the distance of twelve miles from the town, this Great River has a cataract, and is very rapid. The city stands on a plain, in which there are many rivulets, surrounded by mountains, and covered with oaks and pines. Handsome gardens are seen in all directions, which abound with every sort of fruits. ”

“ All the left bank of the Guadalquivir is a succession of orange groves,—beautiful to the sight, and filling the air with their refreshing and indescribably delicious perfume. When the wind blows from the east, nothing can be{71} more charming than an evening stroll down the river side: the broad Guadalquivir gliding by the fertile and richly-wooded banks that lie opposite, rising gradually to the hill of St. John, and diversified by country houses, and convents, and convent gardens ”

“ The water cures any disease, so they say, and at any time a crowd is found around filling its magic brim filling jars, bottles, and pitchers to take home, or supping from the copper bowl that is chained to the iron that cover the well. Very few can suppress the look of disgust when they try to swallow the vile stuff with the all-healing qualities. Nor are these all the churches of Guadalupe. Away up on top of a pile of rocks, some hundred feet in height, is the oldest church of the three. It is quite small, and filled with quaint paintings. ”

“ As night descended we began to pant upward through low hills, wooded, but free from the rocks and boulders of a mining region, and in the first darkness drew up at Guadalajara, second city of Mexico. It is a place that adorns the earth. Jalisco State, of which this is the capital, has been called the Andalusia of Mexico, and the city is indeed a Seville of the West, though lacking in her spontaneity of life, for this cruder people is much more tempered with a constant fear of betraying their crudeness and in consequence much weighed down by "propriety." ”

“ No provision is made for the education of the people, and the children grow up in ignorance, and oftentimes uncontrolled. Soon after the revolution a schoolmaster was sent from Guatimala, but as he could not get paid by the government, and the people had no disposition to do it, the doors of his establishment were soon closed.
The inhabitants of Gualan are composed of agents employed in the transmission of goods to and from Guatimala, Omoa, and Yzabal; mariners who convey them by the river Motagua, in their pitpans; and agriculturalists, (the Indian population,) who grow wheat and maize. ”

“ THE WAVE OF CONQUEST.
"O COMMANDER of the Faithful, these are not common conquests; they are like the meeting of the nations on the Day of Judgment." Thus wrote Mūsa, the Governor of Africa, to the Khalif Welīd, describing the victory of the Guadalete. There is little wonder that the Saracens stood amazed at the completeness of their triumph. Leaving the regions of myth, with which the Spanish chroniclers have surrounded the fall of Roderick, it is matter of sober history that the victory of the Guadalete gave all Spain into the hands of the Moors. ”

“ From the time of the conquest Guatimala had remained in a state of profound tranquillity as a colony of Spain. The Indians submitted quietly to the authority of the whites, and all bowed to the divine right of the Romish Church. In the beginning of the present century a few scattering rays of light penetrated to the heart of the American continent; and in 1823 the kingdom of Guatimala, as it was then called, declared its independence of Spain, and, after a short union with Mexico, constituted itself a republic, under the name of the United States of Central America. ”

“ In a few moments the great plain of Guatimala appeared in view, surrounded by mountains, and in the centre of it the city, a mere speck on the vast expanse, with churches and convents, and numerous turrets, cupolas, and steeples, and still as if the spirit of peace rested upon it; with no storied associations, but by its own beauty creating an impression on the mind of a traveller which can never be effaced. ”

“ The road to Guanajuato winds through a ravine of interminable length called Cañada de Marfil, and it was far on in the afternoon before we reached that city, whose steep streets we traversed rapidly in the direction of the Cerro del Gigante. The road that we followed on leaving the town was cut with ravines and full of ruts. I was not long in regretting that I had entangled myself in such a defile as this, especially as night was coming on, and we were on an unknown road. As we advanced the scenery became wilder and more desolate ”

“ The usual evening stroll of the Guatemaltecos is to the Cerro del Carmen, a small turf-covered hill rising to the north-east of the city, where stands an old church and the remains of a monastery, perhaps the oldest in the Republic. From this hill the view of the city with its large white churches and conventual buildings, surrounded by walled gardens full of trees and flowers, is very beautiful at any hour of the day, but at sunset the sight is one not easily forgotten. ”

“ Leaving the disgusting scene, we walked around the suburbs, one point of which commands a noble view of the plain and city of Guatimala, with the surrounding mountains, and suggests a wonder, that, amid objects so grand and glorious, men can grow up with tastes so grovelling. Crossing the plaza, we heard music in a large house belonging to a rich muleteer; and, entering, we found a young harpist, and two mendicant friars, with shaved crowns, dressed in white, with long white mantles and hoods, of an order newly revived in Guatimala, and drinking agua ardiente. ”

“ On the sea coast, the air is hot and unhealthy, but on the heights, pure and wholesome.
The chief productions of this country are wheat, maize, cotton, and cochineal, all of which are produced in very great abundance. Guadalaxara contains two cities, six towns, and 322 villages; there are five mines of silver of great value, the chief of which is Copala.
The great river of this country is the river Santiago, which crosses it from east to west, communicating with Lake Chapala. ”

“ To the south of the rivers of the plateau the only considerable stream is the Guadalquiver, with its tributaries. The character of this river is entirely different to that of the former streams. Like the Ebro, it forms a true valley, instead of merely cutting its way through rocks, cañons, and defiles. Its bed is on an average about 1200 feet below that of the Guadiana in the greater part of its course. It is also the only river in Spain of any utility for navigation; the tide is felt beyond Seville, and vessels of 200 to 300 tons ascend to that city. ”

“ There are several woolen and cotton manufactories in Guadalajara.
Opinions are divided as to whether this city or Puebla should rank next to Mexico in wealth and commercial importance.
Guadalajara lies in a fertile region. The cereals, fruits, and vegetables grow in abundance. Some farms are said to yield as much as forty bushels of Indian corn to the acre.
The following table of distances will be found useful;
An excursion may be made to the Lake of Chapala, about 40 miles distant. This lake is the largest in Mexico, having an area of 415 square miles. (See p. 30.) ”

“ Out of this raw material Hidalgo organized an army, with himself at its head under the title of general, and Allende as his lieutenant.
At Celaya, their numbers had increased to fifty thousand men—some say more. With such a force and supported by the enthusiasm which prevailed, Hidalgo resolved to march upon Guanajuato, an already rich and flourishing city, the capital of the second largest mining state in Mexico. It is built in a deep, narrow ravine, the houses crowded in steep streets like stairways. ”

“ From Rio the Hercule called in succession at Guiana, Martinique and Guadaloupe. The low shores of Guiana are clothed with mangrove swamps, the trees of which seemed scarlet, so covered were they with red ibises! Nothing more gay-looking can be imagined than the Cayenne River, and the pretty town standing on its banks—the wooden houses all separated from each other by gardens in which the tropical vegetation displays an unexampled luxuriance and variety. ”

“ Leather and straw hats and baskets were all done by hand, and what a busy city! For squares and squares, every doorway revealed a hive of busy workers, for Guadalajara must supply the country a hundred miles around, and forever, and forever, the pack-trains from the Pacific country and the mountains come and go with the exchange of commerce. It is the busiest city I have yet found here and the people are happy. Saddles and hats and hammocks and baskets and pottery and shoes are made by the thousand tons and all by hand or the crudest of foot-power machinery. ”

“ Guadalajara is bounded on the West, with Xalisco; on the South and South-West, with New Spain; and on the North, with Zacatecas. It is a Countrey exceeding pleasant, and rich in all kind of Commodities, but especially in its Mines of Silver. It is well water’d with the River Barania, which runneth through the midst of it, and with divers other Streams: yielding abundantly both Wheat, Maiz, and some other Grain. In a word, there is nothing said of the properties of New Gallicia in general, either for Soil, Climate, or People, but is peculiarly verifi’d of this Province. ”