On the 26th January two corvettes arrived at Conception. They brought a regiment under the command of a French official, Colonel Beauchef, who came to assist General Freire. The regiment, which had been organized by the exertions of Colonel Beauchef, was in point of steadiness, discipline, and knowledge of drill, one of the smartest in the Chilian army.
On the 2nd February the officers of the Coquille proceeded to Conception, to pay a visit to General Freire. The nearer they approached the city the more fields were lying waste, the more ruined houses were seen, the fewer people were visible, while their clothing had almost reached the vanishing-point. At the entrance of the town itself stood a mast, with the head of a notorious bandit affixed to the top, one Benavidez, a ferocious savage,
