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his cattle in 1858. 79 Recall also that Angel had clashed with Diego Lamas over allegations<br />

that Manuel Cristobo had stolen some two ounces of gold from Miguel Gelabert, the<br />

correntino merchant. 80 By 1863, Angel had joined Flores’ revolution. With his brother openly<br />

opposing the government militarily, Pastor Tejo used his position as Vice-Counsel to attack<br />

Piris and the other blancos in the town legally. Citizenship was Pastor’s chief weapon.<br />

Antonio Sagarra, the acting blanco commander in Salto, accused Tejo of being the “hidden<br />

hand” trying to obtain the release of several of his former peons conscripted from his<br />

brother Angel’s ranch on the spurious grounds that they were Argentine citizens. Sagarra<br />

noted that the men in question had actively conspired against the government along with<br />

their patron. He had offered them the opportunity to avoid treason charges by agreeing to<br />

serve in the government’s forces. Pastor now was attempting to use his position as Vice-<br />

Counsel to interfere with the just resolution of their cases. 81 Ultimately, the Uruguayan<br />

government ordered Pastor to abandon his post when it severed diplomatic relations with<br />

the Argentine government. Almost immediately, Joaquim María Viana, the Brazilian Vice-<br />

Counsel in Salto, stepped in to fill the void created by Pastor’s departure. He declared in a<br />

letter to the salteño government that the Argentine citizens remaining in the town should now<br />

be “considered under the protection of the Government of His Majesty the Emperor of<br />

Brazil.” 82<br />

























































<br />

79 Lucas Piris al Sor Gefe Político interino del Departamento del Salto D. Bernardino Alcain,<br />

AGN. Salto. Jefatura (March 30, 1858).<br />

80 Miguel V. Gelabert al Sor. Gregorio Valdés (September 11, 1858).<br />

81 Gefatura Política del Departamento Antonio Sagarra al Sor. Comandante Militar del Norte del<br />

Río Negro Brid. Gen. D. Diego Lamas, AGN. Salto. Jefatura (October 23, 1863).<br />

82 Vice-Consulado do Brasil Joaquim María Viana al Señor Gefe Política y de Policía del<br />

departamento del Salto, Caballero D. Antonio Sagarra, AGN. Salto. Jefatura (December 24, 1863),<br />

1.<br />

293
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