The Osceola times., 1881-03-19

sacked, as Tacna and Pisagua had been,
when II iellintot the handsof the Chilians
Its fall was even moro important TO the
conquerors than the capture Of TaCna
The town was garIisoncd by 700 men,
Of whom 200 were killed. 100 wounded
and 500 captured. The Chilian. lost 1880
killed and about 200 wounded. Mean
while the Gillian feet appeared OF Call
lao, hut was unable TO approach sutfi-
ciently near 10 the city to keep up an
efficient bombardmcnt, and suffered
severely from torpedoes. two fine ves-
sells being destroyed. The advance on
Lima began by land from Pisco on NOV.
10. Eighteen Gillian war vessels and
transports appeared of Pisco. but their
landing was so hotly resisted by the
Peruvian force on shore that they were
fain TO land 10 miles away from the city.
The Peruvian force amounted TO only
200 men, which was soon surrounded.
The troops having been landed the
transports returned TO africa, and the
troops marched by the shore on the
Peruvian capital, distant from Pisco
about a l26 miles. Three divisions of
Peruvian troops, with s. guns. left Lima
to oppose this force at every possible
point The Chilians moved from Pisco
with about $1,000 men. The force de-
Tending Lima has been variously esti-
mated at between 10000 and 10000 men.
The first news received here from the
time of the departure of the Chilian
troops from Pisco. in December last, was
that they had reached the Peruvian de-
fensiye works erected near the beautiful
seaside town of Chorilles, nine miles
from the city of Lima, formidable posi-
ton, the capture of which in 1854 had
decided the fate of the dictator Echen-
ique. Yesterday came the news Of
battle before Chorilles. resulting in the
defeat Of the Peruyians, and to-day comes
a circumstantial story of the fall of Lima.
The war has been waged with great de-
termination, and, unfortunately, also
with great ferocity and Il terrible waste
of life and treasure. In the early part
of the conflict fell the Chilian, Capt. Ar
thur Prat, a sort Of southern Paul Jones.
He commanded a small wooden vessel of
five hundred tons, which, after three
hours fighting with the iron-clad IIuas-
car, went down with her flag nying.
Arthur Prat jumped from his sinking
vessel on board the Huascar shot the
first officer, and fell, covered with
wounds. Afterward some English Off
GERS, who had witnessed the fight, sent
divers down for some memento of the
fight. They recovered the flag, and pre-
sented it to the Chilian government. In
September last the Peruvians sank the
Chiian ship Covadonga off the port of
Chaucay by the following ingenious
device: A valuable boat, finished in such
a style that it would not escape atten-
ton, was fitted with an explosive appar-
atus containing a tremendous charge of
nitro-glycerine. The machine was at
tached to keel and carefully boarded
over, 50 that nothing but the exploding of
the charge could discover it. The fulmi-
mating compound was connected by wire
with the hosting rings of the boat, so
that Immediately the falls were hauled
out to lift her out of the water this dia-
bolical engine would explode. As soon
as the boat drifted toward the Cava-
donga a boat Was lowered to examine it.
The boats crew swept lines under her
keel and used other precautions, and
then the Chilian commander ordered
the boat to be brought alongside. No
sooner were the falls hauled upon than
the mine exploded and in three minutes
the Covadonga sank. OF her crew of $50
men Just half perishcd. Twenty escaped
in the boat which had brought the
derelic alongside, and which, curiously
enough, was not destroyed, and 45 were
taken prisoners by a Peruvian launch
sent out from Chaucay. The organized
force of Peru must now be utterly
broken, and prolongation of the struggle
can only lead to the ruin of both states.