The Central Glamorgan Gazette, and General, Commercial, and Agricultural Advertiser. — 1880-08-20 (Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, Wales)

TRANSPORT BLOWN UP AT CALLAO.  Mail advices from Panama, to July :!41-11, give particular.= of the scene in Cities) Boa- s on II; :lid of that month, when the Chilian transport was blown up by means of an infei nal in:whine, and a ent down with nearly all on board. A Peruvian °film took an ordinary fruit boat, put a torpedo in be) bottom and over this placed a false bo.toin testing on springs, so arranged as to be kept down by the weight oi the cargo above. He then loaded Gas boat with a very choice assortment of camotes, yucae, chirinioyos, giandillas, tuikeys, fowls, green yeEietabka &c., and towing it towards the blockading squadnin, before daylignt let it go adrift. All lay long the boat floated about, but the Cuilians could not see it ant ahead five o'clock in the evening the Peruvians, fearing it might fall into the bands of a neutral vessel— for a number of these were allowed under certain conditions to remain in. the bay—sent out a boat to bring it back. The 1,04 WM doing guard duty, and seeing the boat front shore making towards the neutral vessels' at once staited 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 supposed prize was brought alongside, and tile discharge at once commenced. As the weight of the cargo diminished, the machinery in connection with the torpedo was set in motion, and in a moment 3001 b. of dynamite were exploded. The effect, as described by those who were watching the operation with breathless interest from the shore, E was awful in the extreme. The Loa 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. Wi en 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 Els:dada and the Huascar, the latter being the vessel captured from the Peruvians about the cOrnintlicenielit of the war— were too far off to render any assistance, but from the fleet of neutral vessels heats 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 foune struggling in the water; another man was saved by the Alaska's boat, thaevor four men by the boat of the Decres, and six by that of the thirihaldi, 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 excesses in the progress of the war, and especially at the sacking of the Peruvitus cities of Tacna and Arica. The French Consul at the former port has arrived at Callao, and confirm. d all the horrors of which rumours had been received. Only one street escaped the sack in Tacna, this good fortune being due to the circemstance that General Baquedand had his head quarters in it Hundreds 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. six, eight, or ten murders took place daily, while the bodies of the victims were allowed to remain unburied until their removal became a meths, of necessity. Arica suffered oven more severely than Tamil, all its houses being either totally or partially destroyed. Out of the 1,800 defenders, only 60 are reported as surviving, and those of the 1,20 e inissinz who did not fall in the 10it were subseemady massacred in cold blood.  •• • • E 1)