, 1880-10-04
The Torpedo in Warfare.

The particulars concerning the de-
struction OF the Chilian transport Loa in
Callao bay, are intensely interesting.
The event will take its place among the
historical records of the naval opera
tions of the world. To the immediate
combatants it was relatively az impor-
tant, and as novel, as the operations of
the Monitor and Merrimae irou-clads op
posite Norfolk, in Chesapeake bay. 1t
appears that . Peruvian officer, on
procuring suitable launch, put a
torpedo into 1t, and over this he placed
false bottom resting on springs and
kept down by the weight of the cargo.
He then loaded it with choice assort
ment of fruits, vegetables and fowls,
and towing it out toward the blockad
ing squadron before daylight set it
adrift. All day long that launch
foated about. but toward 5 in the even
ing, fearing it would fall into neutral
hands, boat was sent out to bring it
back. The Loa, seeing a man from
shore making toward the neutral ves-
sells, caught sight o. the launch and
turned toward it. The Loa lowered
two boats to fetch in the prize, and it
was brought alongside and the dis
charging commenced. As the weight
in the launch was diminished the ma
chinery in connection with the torpedo
was set free, and in q moment 800
pounds of dynamite were exploded.
The Loa was almost lifted out of the
water, and appeared enveloped in
mass of flame, which resolved itself
into dense clouds of smoke. When
this cleared away the vessel seemed
not to have suffered. but suddenly she
went down by the stern and disap-
peared. The dispatch giving the par
ticulars says:
"The Chiliaa blockading vessels
were too far away to give assistance,
but the ships of war of non-combatants
quickly lowered boats ana picked up
about forty persons who were strug-
Cling in the water, of whom it is prob
able many will die. At least one hun
dred and fifty men persisted. The
only officers saved are the second COM
mander, who is wounded, the doctor,
and one engineer. Every house in
Callao was shaken to its foundation by
the explosion, and every ship in the
bay shivered as by fearful earth
quake. The Peruvians say the Chilians,
in the darkness which preceded the
dawn of the 10th of last April, sent in
a torpedo launch with the intention of
blowing up the Union, whose officers
and men we're ignorant of the enemy
being within hundreds of miles of
them. Had the Union gone down, her
two hundred men would have persisted,
as have those of the Loa, by a secret
blow"
From these particulars, and from the
experience of other nations in the use
of the torpedo in naval warfare, and
recent experiments in this country, it
is apparent that impsnetrable iron
clads and heavy ordnance will not be
the chief reliance of the future. The
torpedo seems destined to play the
most important part in naval battles.
AS the great wooden frigrates, which
once ruled the sea, and sank whole
fleets with their tremendous broad
sides, had to give way before the iron
clad and its mammoth guns, SO will
the latter have to yield the supremacy,
at least in part, to the torpedo, whose
deadly power is concealed from view,
and like an invisible besom of destruc
ton, hurls death and annihilation when
least expected, or under circumstances
that cannot be avoided. War will soon
become 80 deadly and so terrible in all
its aspects, that international interests
will some day unite for its total abo
lition. In this view of the case. the
torpedo is the agent, the fore-runner of
the Universal Peace Society .-Burling-