3-011-764 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Guard-house of Humaita, Paraguay, 1864. 'The people are little better than savages, and immense tracts of fertile land are still a wilderness; but there are signs of improvement. We are indebted to Mr. David Powell, who lately travelled in that region, for the sketch we have engraved, giving a view of Humaita, the great military station of Paraguay, which is reached soon after entering the Rio Paraguay from the Parana. It is situated on a curve of the river, the batteries extending for about half a mile. The guns are on earthworks, under thatched sheds, but it is rather doubtful whether they are all mounted, and no stranger is allowed to inspect the place. It owes its present existence to the presence of a Brazilian squadron in the river a few years ago. The force kept there varies from 12,000 to 20,000 men...The service is compulsory, and little or no pay is given. The sentries are stationed in a sort of pigeon-house high above all the buildings - one of which is shown in the Engraving'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.