This first day of the month passed without incident.
At daybreak we came to some sparse little woods where we camped, posting sentries at different points of approach. The 40 men, firing a few shots, moved on to a canyon where we were planning to go; we heard the last shots at 14:00; there seems to be no one in the little houses, although Urbano saw five soldiers go down there, not following any path. I decided to stay here one more day because this is a good spot with a guaranteed exit, and, moreover, we can see almost all the enemy troops’ movements. Pacho, with Ñato, Darío, and Eustaquio, went to look for water and returned at 21:00. Chapaco cooked fritters and we had a little bit of charqui to ease our hunger.
There was no news.
Antonio.1
The day went by with no sign of any soldiers, but some little goats driven by sheepdogs passed by our position and the dogs barked. We decided to try to leave by flanking the farm closest to the canyon and began our descent at 18:00, leaving plenty of time to get there and to cook before making the crossing; Ñato became lost, but still insisted we go ahead. When we decided to go back, we got lost again and spent the night on high ground, without being able to cook and terribly thirsty. The radio explained the deployment of soldiers on the 30th, stating that according to a Cruz del Sur broadcast the army had reported a clash at Abra del Quiñol with a small group of us, resulting in no losses on either side, although they said that they had found traces of blood after we escaped.
The group was made up of six individuals, according to the same report.
A long and unnecessarily intense day: While we were preparing to go back to our base camp, Urbano came to tell us that while we were walking, he had heard some passing peasants say, “Those are the people who were talking last night.” It is pretty clear the report was inaccurate, but I decided to act as if it were perfectly true, and so without quenching our thirst, we again climbed up to the ridge that overlooks the road used by the soldiers. The rest of the day remained absolutely calm, and at dusk we went down and made some coffee, which tasted heavenly, despite the brackish water and the greasy pan it was made in. Afterwards, we made cornmeal to eat there and rice with tapir meat to take with us. At 3:00 we began the march, after scouting the area, successfully avoiding the farm and ending up at the ravine we had chosen; there was no water but there were soldiers’ tracks made by a scouting party.
The radio brought news of two prisoners: Antonio Domínguez Flores (León) and Orlando Jiménez Bazán (Camba), the latter admits fighting against the army, and the former says that he had turned himself in, trusting the president to keep his word. They both gave plenty of information about Fernando [Che], his illness, and lots more, not to mention what else might have been said but not made public. Here ends the story of two heroic guerrillas.
Altitude = 1,360 meters.
We heard an interview with Debray, who was very courageous when confronted by a student acting as an agent provocateur.
After resting in the ravine, we went farther down for half an hour until reaching another adjoining one, which we climbed, resting until 15:00 to escape the sun. At that time we resumed the march for just over half an hour and caught up with the scouts, who had gone to the end of the small canyons without finding any water. At 18:00, we left the ravine and followed a cow path until 19:30, by which time we could not see a thing, so we halted until 3:00.
The radio reported that the general command of the Fourth Division had transferred its forward post from Lagunillas to Padilla to better monitor the Serrano area, where it is presumed the guerrillas might try to escape. The commentary also said if I were captured by the Fourth [Division], I would be tried in Camiri, and if the Eighth got me, in Santa Cruz.
Altitude = 1,650 meters.
We started out again, walking with difficulty until 5:15, when we left the cow path and buried ourselves in some sparse woods, with vegetation high enough to give us cover from prying eyes. Benigno and Pacho made various expeditions looking for water, thoroughly searching around the nearby house but did not find any; there might be a little well off to the side. As they finished scouting, six soldiers were spotted at the house, apparently just passing through. We set off at nightfall with the troops exhausted due to lack of water, Eustaquio making a spectacle of himself, crying for a mouthful of water. After an awful hike, with too much stopping and starting, by dawn we reached a little woods where we could hear the barking of nearby dogs. A high barren ridge can be seen quite close.
We took care of Benigno, whose wound was oozing a bit, and I gave El Médico an injection. As a result of the treatment, Benigno complained of pain during the night.
The radio reported that our two Cambas were taken to Camiri to act as witnesses in Debray’s trial.
Altitude = 2,000 meters.
The scouting expeditions revealed that there was a house quite close to us, and also that there was water in a ravine farther away. We headed off and spent the whole day cooking under a big rock slab that served as a roof, but in spite of this, I did not have a restful day as we had passed close to populated areas in full daylight, and were now in a hole. Because preparing the food took so long, we decided to leave at dawn and make our way to a tributary near this little creek, and from there scout the area more exhaustively to determine our future route.
Radio Cruz del Sur reported an interview with the Cambas; Orlando was a little less of a rogue. A Chilean radio station reported some censored news that indicates there are 1,800 men in the area looking for us.
Altitude = 1,750 meters.
The 11-month anniversary of our establishment as a guerrilla force passed in a bucolic mood, with no complications, until 12:30 when an old woman tending her goats entered the canyon where we had camped and we had to take her prisoner. The woman gave us no reliable information about the soldiers, saying that she knew nothing because it had been a while since she had been over there. She only gave us information about trails, from which we conclude we are approximately one league from La Higuera, another from Jagüey, and about two more from Pucará. At 17:30, Inti, Aniceto, and Pablito went to the old woman’s house; she has one daughter who is bedridden and the other is almost a dwarf. They gave her 50 pesos with instructions to not say a word, but we have little hope she will stick to her promise.2
The 17 of us set out under a slither of a moon; the march was exhausting and we left tracks in the canyon we walked through; there were no nearby houses, but there were potato seedbeds irrigated by ditches from the same creek. We stopped to rest at 2:00 because it was futile to continue. Chino becomes a real burden when we have to walk at night.
The army issued an odd report about the presence of 250 men in Serrano to block the escape of the 37 [guerrillas] that are said to be surrounded. Our refuge is supposedly between the Acero and Oro rivers.
The report seems to be diversionary.
Altitude = 2,000 meters.
1.A reference to the birthday of Antonio (Orlando Pantoja Tamajo), one of the guerrilla fighters.
2.The old woman (Epifania Cabrera) herding goats never was an informer: she never spoke to the military, and did not denounce Che.