Los Angeles herald., 1891-11-20
The San Francisco Arrives
at San Francisco.
Admiral Brown Makes an Ex-
planatOry Statement.
He Insists That He Was Not a Spy
for Balmaceda.
Minister Egan's Conduct Has Been Dig
nified and Impartial-How the
Iquique Cable Came to
Be Cut.
Associated Press Dispatches.

Pacific squadron, which left here April
Sth for Iquique, Chile, returned here
this morning. The vessel was present
at the closing scenes of the Chilean rev.
olution, and Admiral Brown in an in
terview with an Associated Press re-
porter stated that the fall of Valparaiso,
after the defeat of Balmaceda's forces,
at Vina del Mar, by the Congressional
ist forces under General Canto, was
attended with scenes OF carnage and
rapine. The reports OF the lombard
ment OF Iquique, the admiral stated,
had been much exaggerated, compara-
lively little damage having been done
the city. owing to the fact that the
insurgent vessels blazed away at the
town from distance of about five miles
off shore. After the decisive battle of
Vina del Mar, near Valparaiso, the fam
lily of Admiral Viel, intendente te OF Val
paraiso, and other refugees were taken
on board the cruiser Baltimore and were
landed at Mollendo, Peru. A number
of minor offenders who went aboard
vessels afterwards went ashore again at
Valparaiso.
Admiral Brown stated that despite
the charges against United States Min
lister Egan, the latter's conduct had
been dignifed and impartial.
Concerning the report that the cruiser
San Francisco had acted as a spy at
Quinteros bay, the admiral said that he
had denied these charges, both in a let
ter to Minister Egan and in his report
to the navy department, and that he did
not care to discuss them further.
''The fact of the landing of the revo-
lutionists at Quintero," said Admiral
Brown, twas known in Valparaiso long
before we left the city. In fact long be-
fore either Minister Egan or any of my
officers knew of it. [ took with me on
the San Francisco, only one person not
belonging to my own crew, and that one
was flag officer Of the German warship
Leipsic. On returning to Valparaiso, |
sent Lieut.. George l.. Dyer, flag lieuten-
ant of the Ssn Francisco, ashore with
cipher cable dispatch. He, as was
necessary, went to the Office of
the intendente. That official was very
busy, and merely glancing at the dis
patch, which was entirely in cipher,
wrote on it the words, 'buena VISTA
and affixed his signature. The dispatch
was then cabled to Washington, not
soul in Valparaiso knowing its contents.
1t was then after pm. Theinsurgents
began landing at sunrise, only eighteen
miles distant. 1t is incredible that they
had to wait for information as to the
landing for all these hours. The state
ment that the papers got out extras,
stating that by the kindness OF the San
Francisco's officers they gave the partic-
ulars of the landing at Qulntero, is
altogether false. The papers did not
publish anything of the kind"
"We left Valparaiso" continued the
admiral, con September 14th, two days
before the attack on the Baltimore's
sailors in Valparaiso. We had on board
Col. Vedaurre, president of the court
martial that convicted and sentenced to
be shot forty-two young men for a plot
to blow up the government railroad and
store-houses, and Oyalle Vicuna, cousin
of the president-elect. These gentlemen
were landed at Callao. On arriving
there we were detained three days. We
expected to be ordered back to Valpa-
raiso, but were finally ordered north.
We came up easily, running at the most
economical speed, according to the gen.
eral department orders. During the
trip we never used more than l400 horse
power"
.'How about the Baltimore's cutting
the cable at Iquique ?" was asked.
1.-The Baltimore did not cut the cable
at ALL" replied the admiral. "The
cable company, which is an American
corporation, had contract with Chile
to have the cable working between Lima
and Valparaiso by a given time. The
war made it difficult to carry this out.
but they finally succeeded. The cable
ran from Lima to Iquique, and then
from Iquique to Valparaiso. The in
surgents had possession of Iquique and
refused to allow any messages from Val
paraiso to go through to Lima. Balma-
ceda, the head OF the only government
of Chile recognized by the United States,
warned the cable company that unless
they opened communication with Lima
according to contract, he would forfeit
their charter to all their privileges.
The company explained the facts to the
insurgents, and made every possible
offer to induce them to let Balmaceda's
messages pass through. All was in vain,
and the company decided to cut the
cable. They had regular cable boat to
do the work, but had no accurate means
of measuring the distance from shore.
Ii cut within marine league of
the shore, the insurgents would have
the right to splice it again. So they
asked the Baltimore to accompany them
and find the distance. This she did by
means of hei improved range finders,
and at the distance of five and quarter
miles out the cable boat cut the cable
in two places and inserted loop con-
Meeting the end from Valparaiso and the
end from Lima, thus leaving Iouique
out entirely. This work being done on
the high seas, over a marine league
from shore, for the Congressionalists to
tamper with it, would have been piracy,
but they were not cut off from the world
by any means.
"An English company owns cable
there that reaches from Lima to Valpar-
also, touching at six or eight intermedi-
ate points, one of which is Iquique. The
first thing the insurgents did on seizing
Iquique was to cut this cable south of
that place, but it remained ir tact to the
north, giving them uninterrupted COM
munication with Lima throughout the
war"
The San Francisco received dispatch
at noon today instructing her to proceed
to Mare island at IL O'Clock tomorrow to
go into dry dock there.
Smallpox in Georgia.
WASHINGTON, Nov. l9.-Surgeon-Gen-
eral Wyman, of the marine hospital