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CHILI. 



destroyed to cut off the food supply of the capi- 

 tal. When insurgents appeared in numbers they 

 were driven into the mountains. On Jan. 21 a 

 mutiny broke out in the barracks at Valparaiso, 

 and, though it was quelled, many soldiers de- 

 serted with their arms. Under Gen. Jose Fran- 

 cisco Gana as commander-in-chief, the army 

 was organized in seven divisions, the first com- 

 manded by Maj.-Gen. Barbosa, with headquar- 

 ters at Santiago ; the second by Col. Guitterrez, 

 with headquarters' at Valparaiso ; the third by 

 Col. Wood, with headquarters at Quillota ; the 

 fourth by Lieut.-Col. Jarpa, with headquarters 

 at Talca ; the fifth by Col. Ruiz, with head- 

 quarters at Chilian ; the sixth by Col. Soto Zal- 

 vidar, with headquarters at Angol ; and the 

 seventh by Lieut.-Col. Garcia, with headquarters 

 at Concepcion. 



The Congressionalist proclamation, appointing 

 Capt. Jorge Montt commander-in-chief of the 

 naval division for the restoration of constitu- 

 tional government, was signed by Waldo Silva, 

 Vice-president of the the Senate ; Ramon Barros 

 Luco, President of the Chamber ; Pedro Montt, 

 leader of the National party ; Senor Arana, ex- 

 President of the Delimitation Commission ; Gen. 

 Manuel Vaquedano, senior major-general ; Sena- 

 tors Augustin Edwards and Manuel Irarrazabal, 

 leaders of the Conservative party ; Deputy Ed- 

 uardo Matta ; and Senator Altamirano. Capi- 

 talists placed their fortunes at the disposal of 

 the Parliamentary Committee, ladies sacrificed 

 their jewels, and money and credit were not 

 lacking in Europe and the United States, it 

 being said that the nitrate speculators were 

 ready to give material aid to the revolution. 

 The admirals in the navy held themselves neutral 

 or sided with the Government, and of the nine 

 generals of division the majority kept out of 

 the contest. Gen. Urrutia and Commander 

 Canto organized the Congressional Volunteers, 

 who were encamped on the island of Santa 

 Maria, in the southern province of Arauco. Men 

 were recruited in all the ports. Parties of volun- 

 teers went down to the shore, and were taken off 

 at night by boats sent from the men-of-war. 

 There was an insufficient supply of arms that 

 had been secretly taken from the Government 

 stores. Men came on rafts and boats from the 

 mainland, and for lack of muskets were trained 

 with sticks of wood in the practice of arms. 

 The parliamentary party had not anticipated a 

 war, and were behind the Government in their 

 preparations. Gen. Vaquedano took the chief 

 command of the land forces, and had under him 

 Gen. Urrutia, Gen. Saavedra, Gen. Sotomayor 

 Col. Canto, and others. 



Movements of the Fleet. When the fleet 

 revolted the squadron at Valparaiso consisted 

 of the ironclads " Almirante Cochrane " and 

 " Blanco Encalada," the latter of which was 

 made Admiral Montt's flagship, the cruiser 

 ' Esmeralda," the ram " Magellanes," and a cor- 

 vette. The " Huascar," which was undergoing 

 repairs, was afterward cut out by the rebels, who 

 captured the torpedo boats, seized all the tugs 

 and launches, took all the stores that were in 

 the harbor, and carried off the Congressionalists 

 desiring to reach the fleet who could evade the 

 police and soldiery. Troops lining the esplanade 

 fired on the boats, and the crews answered by 



firing over their heads, desiring to avoid blood- 

 shed. The "Blanco Encalada" sailed for the 

 Strait of Magellan to intercept the corvette 

 " Abtao " and the two new torpedo cruisers ex- 

 pected from Europe. Officers declaring for the 

 Government were put on shore. The "Acon- 

 cagua " and other captured vessels of the Chilian 

 Steamship Company were converted into trans- 

 ports, storeships, or armed cruisers. The trans- 

 port " Amazonas" was taken with a regiment of 

 Government troops and a large store of provisions 

 bound for the port of Antofagasta. These soldiers 

 readily enlisted in the Congressional cause. The 

 coast was declared blockaded by the Congres- 

 sional Junta. President Balmaceda, in proclaim- 

 ing the rebel fleet outlawed and piratical at the 

 outset, had hoped for the intervention of Eu- 

 ropean nations : but, following the lead of Mr. 

 Kennedy, the British minister, the diplomatic 

 corps offered no protest, and their governments 

 decided to ignore the blockade, since to recog- 

 nize it would involve the concession of bel- 

 ligerent rights. The blockade was not enforced 

 against foreign vessels. The blockade of Val- 

 paraiso began on Jan. 16. The fort opened fire on 

 the " Blanco Encalada," and a shell exploded in 

 the men's quarters, killing six and wounding 

 many more. Admiral Montt could hardly re- 

 strain the crew from returning the fire, and 

 threatened to shell the fort if it fired again 



Campaign in the North. After a few weeks 

 of drilling at Santa Maria, the nucleus of the 

 Congressional army, consisting of a few hundred 

 ardent young men, embarked on the fleet for 

 the northern province of Tarapaca. Half the 

 men had no arms except the national cuchillo 

 or dagger. The people in the north were all for 

 Congress. The garrison at Pisagua revolted on 

 Jan. 19, and the commander of the " Magellanes," 

 which had arrived in the harbor three days 

 before, took possession of the place in the name 

 of Congress. Government troops were sent from 

 Iquique to recapture it. Fighting took place at 

 Zapiga on the 21st, and at the Izpiza Hospicio 

 in front of the town on the 23d, which resulted 

 in the defeat of the Congressionalists, of whom 

 100 were killed, but the Iquique troops did not 

 reoccupy the place till the 25th, when they came 

 in stronger force, and marched in at night to 

 escape being fired upon by the three naval vessels 

 in the harbor. Another landing was made, and 

 the Congressionalists were repelled, but succeed- 

 ed in bringing away about 200 of Col. Canto's 

 scattered soldiers. The first attempt to gain a 

 foothold in the nitrate province thus proved a 

 failure. A large part of the patriot force was 

 without arms and ammunition, and the squadron 

 was running short of coal and provisions. To 

 provide these a landing was made in the province 

 of Coquimbo. At the rich commercial port of 

 that name, which is the outlet of a flourishing 

 mining district, the Congress party were received 

 with open arms. The troops of the Government 

 made only a pretense of resistance. Balmaceda's 

 Minister of War made every attempt to recover 

 the province, but the first regiment that was 

 sent by land from Santiago deserted to the 

 enemy. This province, being connected by rail- 

 road with Santiago, could not be held by the 

 insurgents. The fleet was in constant need of 

 coal, having to depend on the colliers that were 



