The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-02-12

feet Of Brazilian ironclads lying in tn,
river below Humanita. The men were al
| good swimmers and divers, with the dar
ing and hardy habits Of their race. The
1ronclads were eight in number, and the
boarders, armed with carbines, revolvers.
hatchets and hand grenades, embarked in
AZ canoes, divided into eight sections, one
for each ironclad. The flotilla got ready
In thicket Of reeds on the river bank,
and the canoes were overhung with leafy
| branches to resemble the floating island
occasionally seen in the Paraguay river.
Setting out just before daylight the I'd OF
| March, the canoes drifted under stealthy
4 paddles and nearly reached the fleet when
the island collided with Brazilian guard
boat. The astounded guard backed off
1 and pulled for the nearest ironclad. the
| double turret Lima Barrios, followed i'm
mad haste by the canoemen, who broke
tnelr sections, II going at the Lima Bar
rios, IL at the Cabral and the others scat
tering to attack the ones lying at a dis
lance The guard alarm boat and the
Paraguayan canoes struck the Lima Bar
rios at the same time. The crew ran in
side, closing the matches, but the Para
guayans swarmed over the decks, cutting
down all who were shut outside. Then n
bloody fight took place at the towers
Where revoIvers were used on both sides
The Brazilian captain and his first officer
Were wounded in the hand to hand fight
ana horrible slaughter took place inside
the towers and ports where the Paraguay
ans hurled their hand grenades. The Ca
oral was completely surprised by the 10
canoe loads of boarders, but her crew had
tlIne 20 go into their casemate The Para
guayans swarIned over her sides fighting
with carbines and revolyers through the
ports. Their own dense ranks, however
suffered terribly from the shots of the
BraziIians, for which they retaliated with
the deadly hand grenades, hurled through
the ports, down smokestacks and through
openings cut in the matches The CabraI
mad no steam on and couldn't throw hot
water, so she soon became helpless can.
tive
Two ironclads next in line, the SaIado
and Herval, received some warning and
deluged their assailants with grape before |
they could leap from their canoes. Farther
on the Brazil, a ten gunner, got I'D steam |
and made for the cluster of vessels where |
the battle was raging so f1ercely. Coming |
abreast OF the Cabral, she swept her decks |
With grape, then lay alongside the Lima
barrIos. The Paraguayans upon Barrios
stood couple of volleys of canister from
he guns Of the Brazil, then jumped for
their boats. The horrible slaughter of the
grape was more than outdone when the
oaded canoes were caught between the |
ides Of the grinding hulls. A few of the
'araguayans reached the water and were
given the choice Of surrends1 or death by
hooting. They chose the latter, and the
3razilians got but IS prisoners out of So
anoe loads, or 900 boarders. involved In
ne disaster. On the decks Of the Lima
3arrios and Cabral lay 40 bodies OF the
,araguayans. The wounded victims who
leo AFTER jumping into the water and
nose killed by Brazilian marksmen when
winning away swelled the loss to 400
LIED Romantic in purpose to the high
81 oegree, the capture of fleet with which
maintain freedom, and marked at every
5age by the Hottest heroism, the attack on
ne ironclads off Taya has no parallel in |
lodern naval annals
GEORGE L. KILSER.