This action
was at the same time a challenge to Quiroga in his neighboring domain. It
was a warning that right was beginning to assert its supremacy over might;
nor was the hero of La Rioja slow to understand it. Collecting a band of
four thousand Gaucho lancers, he marched upon Cordova with the assurance
of an easy victory. The _boleado_ General! The idea of _his_ opposing the
Tiger of the Plains!
What followed this movement is a matter of general history. The battle of
the Tablada has had European, and therefore American, celebrity. It is
known to those who think of Chacabuco and Maipu, of Navarro and Monte
Caseros, only as of spots upon the map; let it, therefore, suffice to say
that Quiroga was beaten decisively, unmistakably, terribly. The serried
veterans of Paz, schooled in the Brazilian wars, stood grimly to the death
before the fiery onslaught of Quiroga; in vain did his horsemen shatter
themselves against the Unitarian General's scanty squares; the tactics of
civilized warfare proved for the first time successful on these plains
against wild ferocity and a larger force; Quiroga was driven back at
length with fearful slaughter, with the loss of arms, ammunition,
reputation, and of seventeen hundred men. He returned to La Rioja, with
the disorganized remnant of his band, marking his path with blood and the
infliction of atrocious chastisements.
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