58 NOTES OF A NATURALIST. 



above water and doing the duty of buoys. Still 

 afloat, though looking terribly battered and scarcely 

 seaworthy, was that remarkable little ship, the 

 Hiiascar, looking a mere pigmy beside the warships 

 in the harbour from which the Chilian, American, 

 French, and Italian flags were flying, England being 

 for the moment unrepresented. 



The naval war between Chili and Peru was con- 

 ducted at such a distance from Europe, and its causes 

 were so little understood, that it excited but feeble 

 interest. Even the circumstance that, in an encounter 

 brought about by the incompetence and rashness of 

 a British commander, the pigmy Peruvian force was 

 able with impunity to inflict an affront on the national 

 flag, scarcely excited in England more than momentary 

 surprise. Nevertheless the story of the war, which yet 

 awaits an impartial chronicler,* abounds with dramatic 

 incident. The record is ennobled by acts of heroic 

 bravery on both sides, while at the same time it suggests 

 matter for serious consideration to the professional 

 seaman. The important part which small fast ships, 

 carrying one or two heavy guns only, may play in the 

 altered conditions of naval warfare has been often 

 pointed out, but has been practically illustrated only in 

 the war between Chili and Peru. It does not seem as if 

 the importance of the lesson had been yet fully appre- 

 ciated by those responsible for the naval administra- 

 tion of the great European powers. 



For the remainder of the day, and during the whole 



* The only detailed account of the operations that I have seen is in a 

 work entitled, " Histoire de la Guerre du Pacifique," by Don Diego 

 Barros Arana. Paris: i88i. It appears to be fairly accurate as to 

 facts, but coloured by very decided Chilian sympathies. 



