The Staffordshire and Potteries Examiner. — 1880-08-21 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England)

TRANSPORT BLOWN UP AT CALLAO.  Mail adviees from Panama, to July 24th, give particulars of the scene in Callao Roads on the 3rd of that month, when the Chilian transport Lou, was blown up by means of an infernal machine, and went down with nearly all on board. A Peruviali officer took an ordinary fruit boat, put a torpedo in t'a bottom and over this placed a false bottom resting on springs, so arranged as to be kept down by the weight of the cargo above. He then loaded the boat with a very choice assortment of camotes, yucas,chirimoyos, grandillas, turkeye,fowbr, green vegetables, he., and towing it towards the blockading squadron, before daylight let it go adrift. All day long the boat Boated about, but the Chilians could not see it. and about five o'clock in the evening the Peruvians, fairing it might fall into the hands of a neutral vessel— fore number of these were allowed under certain conditions to remain in the bay—sent out a boat to bring it back. The Loa was doing guard duty, and seeing the boat from shore making towards the neutral vessels, at once started in pursuit. Seeing this the boat from shore beat a hasty retreat. The Loa then fell in with the fruit boat prepared by the Peruvians' and having lowered two boats to secure it, the suppobed prize was brought alongside, and the discharge at once commenced. As the weight of the cargo diminished, the machinery in connection with the torpedo was net in motion, and in a moment 3001 b. of dynamite were exploded. The effect, as described by those who were watching the operation with breathleas interest from the shore, was awful in the extreme. The Lou was almost lifted out of the water, and appeared to be enveloped in one mass of flame, which resolved itself into dense clouds of black smoke. Wlen this cleared away she appeared not to have suffered, but suddenly she was observed to sink at the stern, while her bows went high in the air, and the vessel disappeared. While this was going on the Chilian men-of-war blockading the port—the Blanco Rucalada and the Iluasear, the latter being the vessel captured from the Peruvians about the commencement of the war— were too far off to render any assistance, but from the Di et of neutral vessels boats were quickly lowered and proceeded to the scene of the terrible disaster, boats from the Thetis, and the Penguin succeeded in saving 30 men out of those who were fount struggling in the water; another man was saved by the Alaska's boat, three or four men by the boat of the there; and six by that of the Garibaldi, making about 40 in all, of whom it was expected, at the time of writing the dispatch, many would die from the shock and the injuries they had received.—lt is alleged that the Chilian troops have committed shocking excessmi in the progress of the war, and especially at the sacking of the Peruvian cities of Tacna and Arlie. The French Consul at the former port has arrived at Callao, and confirmed all the horrors of which rumours had,been received. Only one street escaped the sack in Tacna, this good fortune being duo to the circumstance that General Baquedand haa his head quarters in it. llimdreds of the wounded and prisoners were slaughtered in cold blood, and women and girls of the tenderest ages were violated, and many killed. Since the occupation of the city, sin, eight, or ten murders took place daily, while the boies of the victims were allowed to remain unburied until their removal became a matter of necessity. Arica suffered even more severely than Tacna, all its houses being either totally or partially destroyed. Out of the 1,800 defenders, only 000 aro reported as surviving, and them of the 1,200 missing who did not fall in the fight were subsequently massacred in cold blood.