"The result of all this was that the three countries made war upon Paraguay, and they agreed not to stop fighting until they had completely conquered it, and made it powerless to go to war again. They carried out their programme completely; Asuncion was occupied, the army was defeated in several battles, and General Lopez was killed, in March, 1870. Then peace was declared, but it found the country prostrated, burdened with a heavy debt, and reduced in territory. Before the war the population of Paraguay was about half a million; it was estimated that 170,000 men were killed during the struggle, or died of disease consequent upon it, and that 50,000 women perished by famine and exposure in the forests and swamps. And all this for the ambition and avarice of one man, General Lopez! [Illustration: A RIVER PORT DURING THE WAR.] "A gentleman who was here during the war tells us that all business was suspended, and the river was occupied by fleets of war-ships and gun-boats, and defended by forts. The few ports on the river were converted into military stations, and the expenditure of money and credit, as well as the loss of life, on both sides was something enormous. There were countless scenes of horror, such as are witnessed in every war, and the stories of bravery and cowardice, honor and treachery, devotion and suffering, would fill volumes. Before the war ended the soldiers of Lopez were barefooted, and almost without clothing, and many of their enemies were in an equally sorry plight. This gentleman visited the headquarters of Lopez one day, and found a soldier on duty there wearing nothing but a cloth around his waist and a cap on his head. Thus dressed, and with his gun on his shoulder, he paced in front of the general with the dignity of a Prussian grenadier. [Illustration: HEADQUARTERS OF GENERAL LOPEZ.] "From all I can learn, I judge that the Paraguayan people fought bravely and suffered terribly, and were overpowered by superior numbers. Lopez appears to have been a man of pleasant manners in social life, but he had no care for the good of his country, and sacrificed all its interests to his own purposes. Before the war broke out most of the commerce was in his hands; nothing could be imported or exported without his permission, and the payment of a tax which went into his pockets. He provoked the war in hope of establishing a kingdom, and failed, as he deserved to fail. "The country has few manufactures, and the principal industries are agriculture and the raising of sheep, cattle, and horses. In agriculture, the exported articles are tobacco and yerba maté or Paraguayan tea; beef, mutton, hides, and wool are the products of the grazing lands which find their way to other countries, and there are some shipments of timber and fruit.