Evening journal., 1891-05-26
THE TORPEDO SUNK HER
Graphic Account of Chili's Big
Naval Battle.
DESTRUCTION OF THE ENoALADA

tween the AhrurkthA mh@-nA-nhh H"N
the Government Torpedo Boats Lynch
and CondeiI In CaIdera Bay.
VALPARAISO, Chilli, May e6-AlL that is
left of the Blanco Encalada, the big steel
man-of-war upon which hung so many
hopes OF the insurgents, lies at the bottom
OF Caldera bay with the water gurgling
through tremendous hole ia her star
board side. She was sent there by a tor
pedo fred from Balmaceda's cruiser the
Almirante Lynch, and as she lurched and
went down there ended what may be well
called two naval engagements as novel
and picturesque as they were hard fought
and sanguinary
Novel, because they were not only con
tests of gun against gun, Of armor and
armor; they were fights Of torpedoes. Re
alizing how many millions Of money have
been spent and are being spent by all the
civilized nations Of the globe to perfect
guns and to create invulnerable armor;
realizing that few torpedoes can, as now
proved, blow them into splinters, the de-
tails Of the battle prove unusually inter
| esting
Designs on the Florence.
The Blanco Encalada lay at the entrance
to this harbor April l2 The government
took large tug, the Mary Florence, armed
her with a l0opounder and awaited a
chance to get her out OF the harbor
Captain Luis A. Goni, of the Encalada,
got wind of this and made an effort to
sink the Mary Florence. The first dark
night was chosen for that purpose, and
with every light extinguished the ironclad
slowly steamed into the harhor.
The plan was TO get as close to the Flor
ence as possible in the darkness and then
blow her up with torpedo
The Encalada succeeded in getting into
the harbor and close up to the Florence,
but when the torpedo was fired it was
aimed too low and missed the tug II
struck the big floating dry dock, and when
it exploded the dock was blown to pieces
Blew Both Out of water.
The Encalada was driven out of the har-
Dor by the forts OlE.April IS the Florence
and torpedo boat went out to blow W
the Encalada The big ironclad had been
joined by the sloop-of-war O'Higgins, g
vessel carrying ten guns Almost as soor
as the two boats got clear of the harbol
they were detected by the O'Higgins, anc
she opened fire on them. Then the heavy
guns Of the Encalada began to play OF
them, and both turned tail and made fo
the harbor at full speed.
For a time it looked as if the little Graf
would escape, when a heavy she'll from tia
Encalada struck the Florence, blowing he
out Of the water. Every one of her crey
of seventeen men was killed.
The torpedo boat kept on her course, an,
the guns from the hills were beginning {
take hand in the game when by a wei
directed broadside from the O'Higgins til
torpedo boat was knocked all to pieces.
The o'Higgins Badly Crippled.
The two vessels then turned their atten
tion to the forts and lively battle ensued
At last a shell from the forts struck tn
O'Higgins and went clear through hel
and this was followed few minutes late
by a terrible explosion on .her deck. !
heavy shell had struck one of her guns o.
the quarter deck. When the smoke cleare
away the deck was literally torn out @
the vessel the gun was lying on the othe
side of the deck and nine men out of th
guns crew of twelve were blown to atoms
The O'Higgins was at once taken out G
range Of the guns.
she Was Caught Unawares.
4he Eucaldda lucu went 10 1hiutid. "
the 23d she lay with her nose pointing t
the northwest The night was clea
but dark, clouds obscuring the moor
At o'clock in the morning the third of
} Ger, Lieutenant Marquee, had just com
on the bridge when the lookout called hi
attention to a light, seaward, on the We
sells port side.
The light shone for a moment and the
/. disappeared. Events proved that it mus
have been the electric search light of Il
government torpedo boat, the Condell.
about a half hour the clouds covering til
moon were dissipated by a breeze thu
: sprang up, and at that instant Lieutenar
Marquee saw two small vessels half mi
away bearing down on the Enealada. Or
was the Almirante Condell and the 9th,
was the Almirante Lynch.
n The Enealada was caught unaware
She was at anchor. Her fires were banle
! and there was so little steam on that 81
IN could not have turned around even hs
1 her anchor hung at her bow. But in OF
( instant, at the alarm, her crew and Office
swarmed on deck.
Target for Torpedoes.
y But quick as were her men, the Condell
cofln,.c MANA ,felrov Id f,,rpaI bay, ~