, 1879-06-02
CHILE AND PERU,
h"nI III -
TIC ttcccnt NhvNl Engagement on In,1Ju

inc ttcccnt NnVNi Enlargement on IruIure.
~ fHb!t 10 .St,r lars Htra{a
LoSDoN, May ni-A calle dispatch from
santlago, Cht'c, received this morl,t,l. ytu Rio
Janriro and pernau,b.,c,, reports Tint q ,lcs-
1leratc naval engagement llas Just hccu fought
"if tho larl'or ot lYa!yuc. IN tic southern part
o( lilo Peruvian coast between tltu Chilean
wooden Rllps nf wnr Esncraldn mud Coyn.lonCa
nntl the Peruvian lron-elada Independence u,ltl
llnaarar. Tie Cllitenn irut,-cals sailed toward
III" enntlt, lcnrn. thu corvette Esn,crnun nllll
Rnhoat CpyHtEo1,ra tc,nnnrnsiIY oM thu llucK-
nde. Thu Peruvian wnrressu|s Iluasenr Nttl
lntlencntenela hatl been closely Watching the
movements III their ehemY, nllsl as sapu as
tl~ 1rtlit.rlaa p0rtitn, Ut The Chilean squadron
was .uno steamed mp tn tle c,ltrNnce Of fc lIur-
hor nml vigorously attarIea. The dcfe,se Of
the Chf'cnNs was most hcrnc. T'lin inequalities
OF TIL: cosnGat were evident from the iIfst. hut
il!c officers III ruintnnMl Of tln. wop,len vcssula
tl!tl mt tlctttnte. Thcy ACCEPTED Eattte, al Wit
cfetilta.U result.
Tic lighting wns Of The mast desperate ctar.
acter' ~ fln rGrly pnrt ot the engagement the
l'Nsrpcnllenca dbl severe wor; ng!i1lst tho
woutlt''5 s!tlca 0f her antagonists. hut tc Gill.
cans 'la;nllet their Eanluats ln such way t'mt
The weak parts Of their. cncmy's vessel werr
always exposed to thc fire nr nnc or other OF
thcir k1sIps.. Onc OF the Chilean vessels was
sunk ~ net!uII. mil tl,a iut]clHlu1len nllI the
otllrr Chilean loAt went dnwl1 suot, after. II is
rot stntcd now t'ut,t 'nen ~erc killed IN ncttor,
or how many wcrc drowned With the sinking ycs-
sells.
THE CHILEAN VESSELS,
THE Chilean navy WIS very weak md poorly
disciplined until, III lSli, tic Congrcss yHtet a
approximation tn puErl1nsu d respectable war veg
Eel. T'Ie Es'nvrn.fa. 1argc Spanish screw cur-
fvttc, Asnscd wtl. twcntv :9.iulllulcre wis
sp'ertcu III! purchased. In 1851 The Spanish
CIlicatl war broke out, and thu S'.a,,lnrls block
aided tR!pnralho. However, the Esn1cran siipptd
n1t u p'rs ono dark night nlsl lniercrptvsl the
Spanish sunhoat Cnya'lG.ga whllu cn route
iru1n CuFn.nbo Tor FaIparalss. Tlle latter was
nt.nsi n, ,. with io;ponIaur Armstrong md Two
sixty-ctEslls rcI, aul WI. braygly t.cfe1lar, fpr
lIa!f an hilr, until tho Chilean brtnsldes Ind
esipnica ter. whon rho surrendered viii, two
Killed mud fourteen wounded. Dy ilse next wccl,
sl!e nad bcSn rct'tted ind sullcd OIL cruise
a;salnst il'u Hpantnrla, WIN wera much moTtlttl.
Ittc Est'lrrHlin was recently rcarsaoretl, ln view
~ thu wHr with Peru, Will. twelyo iN.nuuntlers,
Wlsilo thy Cnsahonua had her ba&ttry changed
to Two 2So-pul.!ld gus.
TIE PERUVIAN 1Rtx-cLAns.
!hc hanes, ii 1915. Shu was al5 feot long, ii
feet wide, ~ fcrt dopt Ut llald. and =. fect i
Inches draft. sllo wns divided Into several
wntrr.tig!t eo!11nart,nautF, nIld afnidshps her
rtlctl ArmstroaEs nn'l Two l50 Armstrong;, o,l
pty1ts on lrr spar tlrck. Her plating for thu
protection "f b9slera was ~ inches thick. 1trr
gun deek was fcgt nloye water. Ovcr th!a
Was spar deck, With isa ct,us,l,u,ts ptyot guns
n'"l nbove tlscsu rose thu bulwArls, her stiles
presenting II surface Of 25 lcct III hight. SI!u
had powerful steaNs ram allll atl Iron tower fur
thu lssu oI her commander In artinlI. Her ina.
cllneFy Was III fcps belDw tho watcr-linc. She
mas H!n.le on several oecaaisna fourteen kl,ots M
hnr. March, leGtl, the Independence WA ono
VI the fleet which fought t!,y Nlma1icla null
ol'er spulItsll vessels. Tho battle was n drawn
onc., Tl'en followed The hon,l'ur.l,luut oi Val.
paralso. Thu reccut urtnu,l.eut Ut tlo lnslu-
pendrNcla consisted Ut one ;}30-potlnlcr, two
lNpounlcrs, and twrlyc sU-po,lndcrs. TITO
!tuastHr will le remembered for her Dattls with
her lsEitanntc MaIcsty's ship Shaw. on May 20,
!S'7. Thu luasGIr wus In tin posscssion of tho
Plerola insurgents at lhu tine, aud whs watched
lY hcr comEan!utf II, this light, t,. IIn!encnlcn-
rin. Ille lluascar was built l'y t.tnyd VI tho
Clyde. Sllu IL a turretetl iru,i-ciad vessel uf |
great p,wer. The Ilupsrur's armament Is r,,l.-
puscd uf two TNtM'und gl,us IN llur tl,rrst aud |
ta . pivot Euus, 40pouAt!crs, on her naan deck. |