THE BATTLE OF CONCON. 787 to the pitiless hail from the quick-firers of the torpedo gunboats, which mowedthe men down as theypoured up from below. A shell from a 14-pounder Hotchkiss burst in her fore-compartment,killing Lieutenant Pacheco. The ironclad fired one of her heavy guns in reply, but the shot passed over the torpedo gunboats. The ship began to go downvery fast, and a minute later the order to abandon her wasgiven. At that moment the sills of her battery ports were level with the water. Of her total crew, which mustered 288 officers and men, eleven officers and 171 men were killed or drowned." This was the first time in naval warfare that a Whitehead torpedo had been used with complete success. Tlae Encaladasank in sixty feet of water. It is well to remember that all the conditions were favourableto the attack. There wasa badlook-out, no picket boats scouting in the bay, no nets rigged,a crew that went slowly toquarters, shot badly, and left the water-tight doors open. When tlae Chinese flagship was torpedoed at Wei-hai-wei,the doors wereclosed, and she didnot sink for some hours.

anchored just ouisjde them, and he had strict orders to avoid doing injury to neutrals which might provoketheintervention of theirGovernments. It was not till August that the Congressist army wasreajy foraction. It had been organised and trained by aGerman staff officer, Colonel Emil Korner, who, though nominally acting as chief of the staff to General del Canto, the Congressist commander, really directed all the operations. He had got some thousands of Mannlicher repeating rifles from Europe, and these,it was hoped, would give the Congressist force a marked advantage on the battle-field. Balmaceda had not yet succeeded in inducing the French Government to let him have two finearmouredcruisers whichhad beencompleted for the Chilian Government in the dockyard of La Seyne. The Congressist,or, asit was sometimes called, the Constitutional army, was only 10,000 strong. It was a bold decision to attack with this force Valparaiso, heldby a Balmacedist garrison of at least 25,000 men. But the Congressist leaders knew that many of Balmaceda's adherentswereonly kept onhis sideby a system of cruel terrorism,and they countedonnumerous desertionsas soon as the armies were face toface. The gunboats ran out of the bay without having suffered the loss of even one man. As they got out to sea, they observed a large steamer off the bay, and made for her, thinking she was their consort the Imperial. She was, however, a Congressist ship, the armed transport Aconcagua. They opened fire on her with their guns, but, as it was broad daylight and they had still some loaded torpedoes on their decks, theydid not venture to make a torpedo attack. To come close enough for that would havebeen to risk having the torpedoes exploded in the tubes by the Aconcagua's quick-firers. The transport,after a brief exchange of fire,ran into the bay. Moraga was about to followher, when he saw a large warshipcoming down the coast. Thinking this was a Congressist ironclad, he beat a hasty retreat, only to discover later on, to hisdisgust, that he had run away from a neutral ship, a large British cruiser.

Escorted by the fleet, the troops were embarked on transports at Iquique and Caldera in the second week of August. On August 20th the fleet seized Ouintero Bay to the north of Valparaiso. The troops organisedin three small brigades were landed there, and next day forced the passage of the Concon River defended by about 11,000 Balmacedists. It was the battle of tlae Alma on a small scale. The President's troopshelda line ofheights south of the stream, with their left near the sea shore. The fleet covered a flanking attack up the heights to the left, while another attack was made directly against the front of the heights across the stream. About 1,500 of Balmaceda's men threw downtheir arms, some thousands moredispersed to their homes. His generals were able to keep together only about 3,000 as they retired towardsValparaiso. The Congressists had learned a lesson from the action in Caldera Bay. Henceforth they took precautions against surprise, and as a rule their warships steamed out to sea during the night, returning to their moorings at dawn. On May 14th Moraga arrived off Iquique, but found the anchorage protected by booms and torpedoes. On the 16th he looked into Caldera Bay again. A number of Congressist transports were moored near the shore, but he could not attack, for a line of neutral merchant ships was On the 23rd, del Canto and Korner advanced against the Vina del Mar position on the north side of Valparaiso. But they found the ground strongly fortified, and their artillery could make noimpression on the batteries of the forts and earthworks. The attack was abandoned, and a boldresolution was taken. This was to march rapidly round to the south and more open side of Valparaiso and attack there. The long flank march through difficult country was successfully