INTRODUCTION. 53 



Cochrane offered as a loan for an unlimited time, the prize money he 

 had made during the expedition. * 



The squadron, consisting of the O'Higgins, Lord Cochrane ; the San 

 Martin, Captain Wilkinson ; the Lautaro, Captain Guise ; the Inde- 

 pendencia, Captain Forster ; the Galvarino, Captain Spry ; the Arau- 

 cano, Captain Crosbie ; and the Pueyrredon, Captain Prunier, met at 

 Coquimbo, to complete their water and other stores. They had with 

 them two transports, chiefly employedinconveyingmortars and rockets, 

 with which it was intended to annoy the enemy. On the 28th of 

 September, the squadron arrived off Callao, and began immediately 

 to construct their rocket and mortar rafts, and to prepare the ships 

 for action. The admiral began by several False attacks, in order to 

 weary out the enemy ; but on the night of the 1st of October, the 

 Galvarino, Araucano, and Pueyrredon, entered the bay of Callao, each 

 towing a raft, two for the rockets, and one for the mortars : the In- 

 dependencia was ordered, also, to go in to protect the brigs, but by 

 some mischance anchored eight miles off. Unfortunately one of the 

 rocket rafts blew up, and severely wounded Captain Hind who com- 

 manded, and the men employed. The rockets themselves, either 

 from bad materials or unskilful composition, did not answer their 

 purpose ; but the shells produced some effect and a constant dis- 

 charge of them was kept up. Meanwhile the forts and shipping- 

 were firing incessantly on the brigs and rafts, and red-hot shot was 

 used ; but the damage done by it was trifling considering the cir- 

 cumstances, amounting to little more than the wounding the Arau- 

 cano's foremast, and breaking one of her anchors f ; the Galvarino 

 lost Lieutenant Bealy and some men. On the three following nights 

 feint attacks were made which annoyed the enemy as appeared par- 

 ticularly from an attempt made by their ships to escape from the bay 

 on the night of the third : by the fifth every thing was ready for an- 

 other serious attack. The brigs, as before, towed the rafts into their 



* See Gazette, July 3. 1819. 



f Stores were so scarce in the squadron, that the mast was fished with an anchor 

 stock from the Lautaro, and an axe was borrowed from the O'Higgins. 



