THE SOUTH AMERICAN WAR.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1908, 6 April 1880, Page 4

THE SOUTH AMERICAN WAR.

Qnr Peruvian files contain accounts of the capture of the war steamer Pilcomayo by the Chilians. That vessel, in company with the Union, left Arica on November 17th, and the Ohalaco followed shortly afterwards. The enemy had received information of this movement and for several days had been on the alert’to intercept the Peruvian vessels. On the 18th they came in sight, and the Chilian commander seeing that he could not capture all three directed his attention to the gun boat. What followed is vividly described by the commander of the Pilcomayo himself : At 10.15 a.m. the Union steered seaward again, passing at about 500 yards to stern of us. The Chalaco was keeping on south, and we had our head south-east a quarter south, the land being twenty miles off. _ The iror • clad chasing us would be about six or seven miles from us. We continued in this manner, with all steam on, and a maximum speed of ten knots —the most we could make—until midday, when we lost sight of the Union to starboard ; the Chalaco, which had changed her course, being then close in shore, steering for Paoocha. I now perceived that the ironclad intended chasing us only, although the Ohalaco, whose firstma; oeuvre had placed her close to the enemy, « as nearer to the ironclad than we were. I also noticed by means of repeated observations that the ironclad was gaining a mile an! hour upon us, and was then at from four to five miles off. In this position, and having two courses left to take, either to steer for the land, which was about twenty miles distance, and run the ship on shore, or stand out to sea, and trust to the breeze to outstrip the enemy, I chose the latter, because, besides the disadvantage of our being so far from the coast, I feared that, were I to draw the enemy in the direction of the Chalaco, which was making for the land, the nation would probably lose two ships in place of one. Standing, therefore, out to sea, and setting sail on the ship, the ironclad likewise changed her course, and rapidly gained upon us, we left the Ohalaco lar astern. At 2 p.m. the breeze fell, owing to this, and, having to make head against a heavy sea, we could scarcely keep up our ten knots an hour, although all steam was put on, and the moment was rapidly approaching when we should be within range of the enemy’s powerful artillery. Convinced, therefore, of the impossibility of escaping, I called a council of war of the officers, at which it was unanimously decided that the only course left, in view of our critical position, was to inutilizs the ship and sink her, maintaining a running fight in the meantime. At 3 p.m. the distance between ourselves and the enemy varying from 3500 to 4000 yards, we opened fire with .the forty-pounder on deck, and I instructed an officer to proceed to the engine department and open and destroy the valves, whilst another installed himself in the powder magazine with a similar object. All the inflammable substances on board were also thrown about the cabins and decks and set fire to. The gune aft were brought to bear on the hatchway leading to the officers’ state room, and fired at an angle through them into the hold, mating a hole in the water line, and another below it. Afterwards I proceeded to throw overboard the signal books, the official and private correspondence, and all the other papers in the ship. The pumps were then iuutilised and the skylights broken. Whilst all this waj being done, we continued firing with our stern chaser, firing nineteen shells in all, many of which burst on the ironclad’s side without doing any damage. These shots were replied to with three 250-poundors and a few smaller ones, the 250-pounders carrying away the forepeak and rigging, and cutting in two the stays of the yards at about 10 feet above the round-house. The remaining shots fell alongside the ship, without touching her. Observing that the fire was approaching the magazine where the loaded shells were kept, the flames darting through the second cabin hatchway, and that the engines were stopped by the water which had entered in large quantities and put out the fires, and the engineers assuring me that it would be . impossible for the enemy to save the ship, I ordered the boats to be lowered and the crew to go into them, remaining myself on board with the other officers, who would not abandon the vessel. The ironclad, which we know to be the Blanco Encalada by the Rear-Admiral’s insignia flying at the mizzen, had now approached to within rifle range to port of us, and seeing our flag still flying, the Chilians commenced firing with their mitrailleuses and with the riflemen in their tops, for about ten minutes. The fact of our haring io«t •»»» mitrailleuse and small arms in Arica, which we we re in great need of, and were to be replaced in Callao, made it impossible for me to offer any resistance, which would at any rate have been of no avail. , At 4.30 p.m. soldiers in boats frop; Blanco came on board of us, and the Chilians hauled down our flags, which were Hying at r i- -wu uiasr-heade, and they set about extinguishing the flames and freeing the ship from the water which had been pouring in. They forced our first and second engineers to shovr them where the valves were, and obliged them to shut them for the time being. The fire had by this time leized hold of both the cabins, and there were 10ft. of water in the well, the powder magazine being completely flooded. The fire was not so fierce forward, but was still alight there, lieutenant Goni, who commanded the men who hoarded us, approached the bridge, where I was standing with all my officers, and informed me that he was about to order all our men on board again, and that unless we assisted in putting out the fire, we should either sink or all be blown up together. I replied that for our part, we had done our duty and were ready to accept the consequences. About 5 p.m. I was ses.t on board of the Blanco with all my officers, the crew having already been taken out of the boats.

During the encounter we fortunately had no men killed, only a sailor named Pedro Alvarez, and a corporal of marines, Rufino Chuquihuanca, being slightly wounded, the former in the face, and the latter in the right thumb. The Blanco’s people made great efforts to save the Pilcomayo, working night and day with that object. They brought her alongside the ironclad in order to be able to use the latter’s powerful steam pumps in taking the water out of her. Nevertheless, they were several times on the point of abandoning her, as she made such large quantities of water. Unfortunately the fine weather and ealm state of the sea favored their efforts, and they succeeded in taking her in tow, steaming at the rate of from one to two knots an hour, the ironclad having frequently to stop to prevent the Pilcomayo sinking. At 10 a.m. on Thursday, the 20th, we came to anchor in this port (Pisagua), and were immediately transferred (both officers and men) to this transport, where we at present remain.