Note 38 — XXXI THE AMERICANS AS CONQUERORS 1846–1848
Reading edition
The lépero dared not attack a sober American soldier. The scheme was to get the soldiers intoxicated, and, when they staggered and fell, knife them. After a time our men invented a trick to meet it. They would pretend to be intoxicated, fall to the ground, and make ready for the would-be assassin; and finally the léperos feared a drunken soldier even more than a sober one. Carrying concealed weapons was forbidden; suspected persons were searched; and any one found guilty was given twenty lashes on the bare back. This had an excellent effect.