The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-04-24

spain Driven From the PaeIfIe Ocean
by Chill and Peru-No ReseOn
For Better Sailors.

country and the United States.
Since the battle of LapontO in
1870, when the Spanish and the
Venetians together fought the
Turks and won after long and
bloody contest, Spain has not won
a notable victory on the sea. Her
naval power has steadily declined
and today few of the little SOath
American republics. WHO were her
former colonies, would confess th q
they were afraid of her.
The last naval battle fought by
Spain in the new world showed
conclusively how her maritime
power has decreased. She was d.
feated by Peru, with Chili's aid,
and since then the Spaniard has
kept away from the Pacific coast of
South America.
The story of that war and its
disasterous results to Spain is told
in the Army and Navy journal.
In 1864 Spain sent a squadron of
seven vessels, mounting 211 guns,
to punish the Peruvians for the
maltreatment of Spanish subjects.
The Peruvians had nothing on the
water with which to oppose this
force, but Chill came to her aid
with three vessels-the Esmeralda,
carrying fOrty-two smoOthbores;
the Victoria, a small one-gun mon
itOr, and the Loa, a diminutive
Merrimack, plated with iron and
mounting two sixty eight-ponnders.
The Esmeralda met the Spanish
gun boat Cavandogo (three guns)
and captured her in twenty minutes
without the loss of a man. The
Spaniards fired only three shots.
They had two men killed and four
teen wounded. The loss of the
Cavandago, followed bv the cap
ture of an armed launch, so chag-
rined the Spanish admiral, Pareja,
that he blew out his brains in his
cabin.
Admiral Nunez, who succeeded
Pareja, then gallantlv assailed the
defenseless Valparaiso, where not a
single gun was mounted except a
few saluting pieces. Not a shot
was fired from the town and the
inhabitants promptly evacuated it.
This Spanish admiral, in spite of
the protests of the foreign men-of-
war in the harbor, threw from
1000 to 5000 shells into it from
his fleet of six vessels. The Span
ish gunnery was so wretched that
little damage was done, ex-
cept by fire, which destroyed $10,-
100000 worth of neutral goods.
1t was most wanton piece of bar
barity, for if the Spaniards had
had landing force they could have
taken the town without firing
shot.
The gallant Nunez next assaulted
the city of Callao, which taught
him the difference between an open
town and one that was adequately
defended: In four or five hours
the Spanish squadron was badly
used up and was glad to crawl
back to Spain as best it could in
its crippled condition. The Villa
de Madrid, fifty-six guns, got
shot in her steam chest and was
towed out of action; the Berengu-
eula, fifty-six guns, had a hole
twenty feet square knocked into
her near the water line by an ex-
plOding shell and crawled out of
range to repair damages.
The ammunition in two other
Spanish vessels gave out after
two hours fight, and they had to
retire, one of them having been
twice on fire in the neighborhood
of the magazine. This left two
vessels, the Numancia, Ironclad,
and the Almanac. Two hours later
these vessels ceased their fire and
the Chilians firing at
them until they were beyond range. |
The Spanish loss is not exactly |
known hut IL Is SMnnOSad IN hava