In circumstances such as these it is not to be wondered at that the ranks of the sublime Lopez dwindled and became thin to the point of extermination; nevertheless, the gaps were caused by death and disease rather than by desertion.  One of the most pathetic circumstances of the campaign was the deep fidelity of the Paraguayans.  This was as a rule sufficiently ill-requited, as will be evident from the fate of a number of troops who, having been made prisoners by the allies, succeeded after a time in escaping and in rejoining their suffering and starving comrades.  In order to keep faith in this manner they had left a neighbourhood of peace and comparative plenty.  But Lopez gave them no thanks.  On the contrary, he ordered them to be executed for not having returned to their regiments before!

Towards the end of the war scarcely a man of mature age and whole body was left in the ranks.  These were filled largely now by youths and, indeed, mere boys.  Many children of twelve and fourteen were to be found in the later stages of the war carrying their rifles and fighting with the rest, while the women of the country, including in their numbers all those of good estate and of gentle birth were, under the guardianship of lancers, set to march through the desolate forest tracts and over the countryside in order to establish new agricultural colonies.  Here they were made to dig the soil and to plant cereals and sweet potatoes in order that the armies might be fed; and should any one of these women on the march fall by the wayside, her body was transfixed by the spear of one of the escort as an example to the rest.  Thus the roadway was littered with the corpses of these slain women.

All this while Lopez was sufficiently busy in his own way.  His dreams of Empire appear to have died hard, and not until the very end came could he be brought to believe that his armies could effect no more.  He permitted his own comforts to be very little affected by the dire hardships which his troops—­and, indeed, the entire nation—­were undergoing.  Although he refrained as much as possible from entering into the neighbourhood of the battles themselves, he took an important share in the direction of the campaign, and it was undoubtedly owing largely to his crass ineptitude in all strategical matters that many of the disasters came about.  Although some of his moves were of the nature to render surrender or death inevitable to the actual combatants engaged in the grim struggle, a capitulation on the part of one of his officers was, in the eyes of Lopez, an unpardonable crime, and not only was the offending officer himself wont to be executed on account of the deed, but on several occasions his family was made to share his fate.

Seeing that the male members and connections of his own family had suffered tortures and execution at his hands, and that even his sisters had been flogged by his orders, it was not to be expected that the average Paraguayan would meet with mercy from Lopez.  Certainly it is no exaggeration to say that none was ever shown unless with some special object in view.  There is no doubt that a Paraguayan field-officer had, if anything, rather more to dread from his own Dictator than from his official enemy.