The end of the war, unduly protracted, came at last.  The capital, Asuncion, had fallen into the hands of the allies, and Lopez, failing any other refuge, had taken his place with the last remaining body of the defenders—­a ragged and tragic army, many of whom were practically nude, and very few of whom could boast anything beyond the remnants of a shirt or a hide loin-cloth.  Others flaunted a crude poncho or a leather cap, while many possessed no weapons but an old flint-lock rifle or a worn lance.  Although nominally an army of a thousand and odd men composed this last hope, they were little more than fugitives.  Nevertheless, these last atoms of the once great Paraguayan host turned and resisted grimly each time the pursuing forces came within reach of them and delivered an attack.

[Illustration:  THOMAS COCHRANE, TENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD, G.C.B.,

Who reorganized the Chilian and Peruvian navies and destroyed Spanish naval power in the Pacific.

A.  Rischgitz.]

At last the few remnants of even this remnant found themselves at a spot—­Cerro Cora, in the forests of Paraguay—­where they were overtaken and brought to bay.  There, in the face of an attack on the part of overwhelmingly superior Brazilian forces, the little party finally lost its grim determination and broke up, leaving Lopez, Madame Lynch, and their family to shift for themselves.

Madame Lynch escaped for the time being in a carriage.  She had not, however, travelled far before her pursuers came up with her, and she was eventually brought back to Asuncion.  Lopez, attempting to follow her from the battle-field on horseback, became bogged in the midst of some treacherous country.  Here he was overtaken and, showing resistance, was slain by the pursuing Brazilians.  With his death ended the first and last reason for the invasion of Paraguay.

The condition of Paraguay at the conclusion of the war was utterly deplorable.  Indeed, the state of the country was one which very few lands have experienced since the beginning of history.  The natural resources of Paraguay lay in agriculture.  Since all the men had been engaged in fighting, and merely a few itinerant bands of weak women had been employed in this occupation in the meanwhile, the cessation of hostilities disclosed the fact that agriculture was to all practical purposes no more.

One of the few really wise moves which Lopez had made during the war was the wholesale planting of orange-trees, the growth of which was wont to flourish to an extraordinary degree in Paraguayan soil.  The numerous new groves now proved, to a certain extent, the salvation of the population, and the fruit was eagerly devoured.  For the time being there was little else upon which the unfortunate people could live.  It is true that there were fewer mouths to feed, since the population of the land at the close of the war was insignificant compared to that which the country had supported at its beginning.  Thus, in 1863, the people of Paraguay had been estimated roughly as numbering 1,340,000 souls.  When peace was declared there were less than a quarter of a million Paraguayans left to enjoy its benefits, and of these only 28,000 were men!