Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-06-13
A FAMOUS SEA FIGHT.
ENGAGEMENT Between CHILEAN
AND PERUVIAN iRONcLApS.

The Destruction Of the Huascar on e,.
Bolivian Coast A Terrible Slaughter
What Fight Between Modern War YES.
e.Is Means.
In The Century Claude H. wetmore
has an article on ga Famous Sea
Fight, describing the engagement be-
tween Chilean and Peruvian ironclads
of the coast Of Bolivia in 1879. Mr..
Wetmcre says:
From the first Of the battle the en-
couragirg voice of Gran had come to
the men IN the turret through the speak.
ing tube from the coming tower, hut
when the Blanco crowded into the thick
CT 1t and great shot struck the Huas-
cars sides as regularly as blows Of a
battering ram the orders of the com
nander were no longer heard The Off
GER III charge Of the turret called to his
| superior. There was no answer, and
when Commander Elias Aguerre ran IN
The narrow little ladder that led TO the
tower be stumbled over tho dead body
of his admiral. A shell hard struck the
coming tower ana had taken off Grau' q
head az neatly as il the decapitation
had been by the guillotine This shell
also killed Lieutenant Ferre, the 3D.
mirals old. There was only time to
pus! the corpses aside, and the new
commanding officer pulled back the
tube flap to give his directions, but as
he did so tho Huascar staggered, keeled
over, then shook in every plate, while
q conclusion more terrific than any SO
Tar told that shell had entered the
turret and had burst there. When the
fumes had cleared away so that a per-
son could speak, midshipman called
nut that one of the great guns had been
iismounted and 90 men killed. The
SURVIVORS tumbled the bodies through
the hatch that opened into the deck be.
low. thus releasing the clogged ma.
chinery, and as the corpses ratified down
other men rushed up, throwing off their
clothing as they jumped into the pools
OF blood to seize hold of the gear and
swing tho remaining gun into position,
that 1t might train upon one of the
shtps-they could no longer make out
which, nor did they care-and it was
discharged. hauled IN, loaded and dis.
charged again.
Onco more all was silent in the con
ming tower. Lieutenant Palacios has.
tened there, but before be could enter
no was compelled to push three bodies
out OF the way. He had barely given
his first COMMAND. when bullet from
the we aimed rife Of a marine in an
eremy,,s top lodged between his eyes,
Then the fourth to command the Huas.
car that day, Lieutenant Pedro Garezon,
took the place, and as he did SO he call.
cd through an aperture telling the
quartermaster to put the helm to port;
for be had determined to rain one of tho
adversaries and sink with hey if neces-
sary. Over and over spun the wheel,
but the tiuascar's head still pointed be.
tween the Chileans.
Port! Port, sayi" screamed the
commander.
"Sho won't answer" came back the
sullen reply from the only one of four
quartermasters alive. The bodies of the
others were lying upon the grating at
his feet.
"A shot has carried away the star
board steering gear, sir" reported an
ensign, and he dropped dead as the
words left his mouth.
The Huascar now lay drifting in a
hell of shot and flame, but all the while
the red, white and red futtered from
the peak. One by one, in twos and in
threes, the men in the turret dropped
at their posts and at last the remaining
great gun was silent, its tackle literally
choked with dead. The turret could not
be turned for the same reason. CoKpses
hung over the military top; corpses
cloggcd the coming tower.
With coats and waistcoats of the sur
geons had been laboring in the ward
room upon the wounded, who, Shrek
ing in their agony. bad. been tum blcd