cniLi. 



129 



i the sea. There wore large quant it ies 



oiii-l. in the province of Araueo, 

 the Nand nf Saiitu Maria. Before the 

 . >tiil>li>hcd themselves iii Tarapaca and 

 moved their military base from that island, the 

 plurcd that town, which is the flipping 

 lint for I he principal coal mines of Chili, and 

 n-ried otT all the Mocks at the water side. To 

 this the Government hiul posted a strong 

 :t at Coroiicl. The " Esmeralda " steamed 

 the harlior and demanded the surrender of 

 \n. When it was refused, grape and 

 mister were poured into the town without pre- 

 linary warning to the population, and solid 

 t followed, which demolished the railroad 

 it ion, luiryiiig 67 corpses in the ruins. After 

 at the commandant capitulated. 

 Having supplied themselves with cattle and 

 HT provisions at Coquimbo and Serena, and 

 out 'JiK) rifles, the Congressional expedition 

 turned to the northern coast with the inten- 

 m of attacking Iquique. This intention they 

 indoned when they learned that Col. Robles 

 re-enforced the garrison' with 500 regulars, 

 landed at Patiblos. They determined to de- 

 liver the first blow at Pisagua, defended by only 

 men. under Col. Valenzuela. The "Coch- 

 ." - < )'lliggins," " Magellanes," and"Cacha- 

 1" entered the harbor early in the morning 

 Feb. 5, and the land force was debarked 

 ider cover of the guns. The Congressionalists 

 icceeded in gaining the heights and capturing 

 ie artillery planted there to receive the fleet, 

 e Government force in the town and forts on 

 ic plain was between two fires, and, after a 

 infantry engagement and a bombardment, 

 nch destroyed the greater part of the town 

 id caused many deaths as the result of ex- 

 sions of the oil tanks and nitrate works, 

 urines landed and the infantry division exe- 

 ited an assault from the other side. After a 

 rief struggle, the enemy surrendered, All the 

 icn and officers remaining, about 200, were 

 een prisoners and four Krupp guns were capt- 

 i d. The j>eople of the district were eager to 

 slunteer, and with the rifles captured from the 

 enemy a division of 1,200 men^was formed in a 

 few days, including 200 men from the squadron. 

 his force set out for Iquique by the railroad. 

 was calculated that if the advance was made 

 land the Government commander would be 

 impelled to divide his forces in order to meet 

 column outside the town, and yet leave 

 lough to prevent the town from being occupied 

 the naval forces. The harbor had been block- 

 led since Jan. 20. The land column had not 

 Ivanced beyond Dolores when it met the ad- 

 nce guard of Col. Robles. The troops of 

 angress drew up on the heights, and charged 

 ie regular troops that formed in line on the 

 plain at San Francisco, while the irregulars took 

 position on the hill behind. Col. Robles, who 

 commanded the body near the railroad, had to 

 retreat with all the men he could get away at 

 the l\r<\ onset. The men on the hill held their 

 ground till both commanders, Villagran and 

 Hec|iiilene. were killed and few of their men left. 

 The Fourth Uegiment was reduced to CO men, 

 who joined the Congressionalists. The killed on 

 le of ( 'on^ress numbered about 125, and on 

 the other side four times as many. This battle 

 VOL. xxxi. 9 A 



was fought on Feb. 15. The victory made the 

 rebels overconfident, as Col. Robies hud HUC- 

 I in ;.''' t ing away with only 200 men, and, 

 after capturing a train of mules left by a party 

 of cavalry that wandered into their camp by 

 mistake, and finding the baggage to con 

 200 rifles and 200,000 cartridges, of which they 

 were in great need, they determined to fight the 

 enemy wherever they were encountered. They 

 met them again at Huara and underestimated 

 their strength, for Col. Silinas had re-enforced 

 Robles with the entire garrison of Iquique, 1,000 

 regulars and militia. An important reason for 

 not delaying the battle was the fact that large 

 re-enforcements of Government troops were ad- 

 vancing by forced marches from the north, the 

 "Imperiale" having landed a division in the 

 Peruvian port of Ite and the "Santa Rosa" 

 another at Arica. The fight began in the after- 

 noon of Feb. 17. The rebels gained ground 

 until they had discharged the whole of their 

 forty rounds of ammunition, and then they 

 fled in disorder, with the loss of 300 men, and 

 80 officers, among them Col. Manuel Aguirre, a 

 large number of rifles, and the three Galling 

 guns and two cannons that they had captured 

 at Pisagua and San Francisco. 



The troops had all been withdrawn from Iqui- 

 que to inflict this severe blow on the land force 

 with the idea that the town could easily be re- 

 captured if occupied by the marines. The naval 

 forces took possession of the place on the 16th. 

 On the 19th Col. Soto returned to take possession 

 of the place, which was garrisoned by only 40 

 sailors, who were ordered on board ; but Merino 

 Jarpa, the commander, having heard of the re- 

 verse at Huara, determined to resist, and shut 

 himself in the custom house. The fight lasted 

 from dawn till dark. The people on the ships 

 did not know the condition of affairs till noon. 

 In order to drive out the little band, Soto's men 

 set fire to the neighboring buildings, and the 

 whole of the business quarter of the city was de- 

 stroyed. Great damage was done also by the 

 firing from the ships to protect the men beseiged 

 in the custom house and cover the landing of a 

 relieving force. Admiral Hotham, commanding 

 the British naval force, endeavored to intervene 

 to prevent the destruction of property. The 

 bombardment enabled the Congressionalists to 

 achieve a complete victory, and on the follow- 

 ing day Col. Soto surrendered the city and the 

 remnant of his force joined the Congress 

 party. Troops were landed to hold the town and 

 strengthen the broken ranks of Col. Canto's little 

 army. The intention was to bring up troops 

 from Pisagua and fall upon Col. Robles, who. 

 after the loss of Soto's command, had but 500 or 

 600 men remaining. On the 21st 1,000 of the 

 Congressionalist soldiers arrived ; but the contest 

 was put off because one of the Government di- 

 visions joined the enemy at the same time, and 

 on the 24th the other arrived. For this reason 

 the Congressionalists camped in the town, pro- 

 tected by the guns of the fleet, until they could 

 organize a larger force. The Congressional navy 

 was now guarding the coast effectually. The 

 last Government re-enforcements were landed 

 on Peruvian territory, for which due apologies 

 were demanded and given. However, it was re- 

 ported that a third division was advancing across 



