The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-05-27
SUNK BY TORPEDOES
An Account of the Blowing Up of
the BlancO Encalada.
APPROACH OF THE DESTROYERS
The Ironclad Calamity Resisted, but Finally
She was Sunk-A Dull Sound, Sudden
Lurch, and ALI was Over.

| Especial to THE HERALD-Examiper Dispatch.l
| NEW York, May 26.-The World has
received from its Valparaiso correspondent
an account of the blowing up of the Blanco
Encalada by torpedoes According to the
correspondent, the Encalada one dark
night made an attempt to destroy by a
torpedo, the government tug Florence, but
instead. destroyed the big floating dry
dock. The Encalada then put out to sea.
! Work on the torpedo boat, which was then
being prepared, was rushed as fast as pos
| slble by the government and she was ready
Tor service in a few days. The work laid
out for her was to attack the Encalada at
the first opportunity, and this soon came.
The night chosen was the night of April
49, when the ironclad was steaming up and
down outside the harbor. The Encalada
was not alone, but had been joined by the
sloop of war O'Higgins. Almost as soon as
the two boats got clear of the harbor, they
opened fire on them. None of her shots
struck either of the little crafts, and they
kept on their course towards the Encalada.
All at once the heavy guns of the latter
ship began to play on them, and both
turned tail and made for the harbor at
full speed with the hostile ships in hot
pursuit. For time it looked as if the little
craft would escape when heavy shell from
the Encalada struck the Florence, blowing
her out of the water. Every one of her
crew, seventeen men, was either killed by
! the explosion or was drowned. The torpedo
boat kept on her course and the guns from
the hills were beginning TO take hand in
the game when bya well directed broadside
from the O'Higgins the torpedo boat was
knocked all to pieces. The two vessels
then turned their attention to the forts and
a lively battle ensued. People in Valparaiso
locked to every point from which a view of
the fight could be had. At last shell from
the forts struck the O'Higgins and went
clean through her and this was followed a
few minutes later by terrible explosion.
On her deck heavy shell had struck one of
the guns on the quarter deck. When the
smoke cleared away the deck was literally
torn out of the vessel. The gun was lying
on the other side of the deck and nine men
out Of the guns crew of twelve were
blown to atoms. The O'Higgins was at
once taken out of range of the gun.
The next day the two rebel memo f-war
put out to sea to the northWard, the Enca-
lada steaming slowly by the side of her
foundered escort. The Encalada cast an
Choir in the bay of Caldea, town two days
easy steamlrg to the northward of Valpa-
raise. At 8 o'clock in the morning, April
%, the third officer, Lieutenant MARQUEE,
had just come on the bridge when the look
out called his attention to light seward
on the vessels port side. The light shone
for moment and then disappeared like a
flash from lighthouse. Events proved it
must have been the electric search light of
the government torpedo boat the Condell.
In about half an hour the clouds covering
the moon were dissipated by breeze that
sprang up and az that instant Lieutenant
Marquee saw two small vessels as they
looked to him half mile away, bearing
down on the Khcalada. One was ap-
preaching from the southwest She was
the Almirante Condell. The other was
coming almost bow on from the northwest.
She was the Almirante Lynch. The Enca-
lada was caught unawares. She was at
anchor. Her fires were banked and there
was so little steam on she could not have
turned around even had her anchor hung at
her bow, but in one instant at the alarm her
crew and officers SWarmeu on deck The
guns crews took POSITIONS, the trained
sailors who handled the topedoes under
command OF Lieutenant Pacheco Jumped to
their tubes and the Encalada, handicapped
as she was, was ready for battle. But
quick as were her men the Condel's sailors
were quicker. She turned her bow little
so as to bring her starboard torpedo tubes
to bear on the Encalada, and swish, out
hit the Encalada. At the same time the
Condell opened fire with her Hotchkiss
The Almirante Lynch, which had reduced
her speed as she approached the man-of-
war, also opened fire from her Hotchk1ss
guns, and being slmost bow on, it was par
ticularly deadly. The Encalada answered.
directing her attention more particularly
TO the Almirante Lynch. A shell from the
Encalada carried away some of the Lynch's
Lot
torpedo that missed too. Lieutenant
Pacheco carefully aimed torpedo at the
Lynch, but as she was moving and as there
was more sea on, due to breeze that had
started up, it passed harmlessly 100 yards
astern of her. The insurgents fought like
devils. The Condell fired two more torpe-
does, both wide of the mark. AS return
compliment, as one of her torpedoes missed
the Encalada, a shot from one of the latter's
heaviest guns landed on the Condelps
deck, killing four men and SCATTERING
the rear smoke stack on her starboard
side. The Almirante Lynch was
equally busy. A storm of lead
from her Hotchkiss and from her bigger
metal tore the rigging off the Encalada
into tatters, smashed her boats, and PLAYED
havoc with her upper works. Dead and
wounded men lay about her decks which
were slippery with blood, but her sailors
fought on with extraordinary bravery.
Twice more did the Lynch attempt to sink
her alone by blow, and twice more did
the explosive rifle and squirm out of Its
course. At last flag was run up to the
mast of the Almirante Lynch and her
Hotchkiss guns became silent. The Con-
dell gave an answering signal, the Lynch
worked around until she was bow on to the
starboard side of the Encalada Then
there was swish from the tube in Lynch's
stern. The Encalada got her search light
on that missile as she had on the other six
and poured a veritable leaden rain on it in
an attempt to sink it as it approached 1t
was useless. Then worst of all, the EncaIada
missed her steel torpedo net, so sudden and
unexpected was the attack she had not
had time to rig it. The torpedo struck her
just abaft her foremost. There was
deafening explosion and q huge hole yawned
in her starboard side extending below the
water into which the water rushed. Ter
scrambled for the boats hanging from the
davits, which alone were uniniured. Scores
of men were killed then by the unerring
fire from the Condell and Lynch Scores
were drowned or else met worse fate at
the teeth of sharks with which the bay
abounds. The cruiser began to settle,
lurched off suddenly and went down.
OF a crew of about two hundred officers
and men, only twelve escaped. The cap
tain swan to the beach at Caldea, escaping
the sharks almost miraculously and was
rescued, exhausted, by some Indians.
Mexico Said to be Aiding the Insurgents
NEW YORK, May ga private letter re-
ce1ved to day from the City of Mexico,