allantry that her name will go down to history as one
of the epoch-making ships of the world.

From 1873 to 1879 Admiral Grau was a member of the Peruvian Congress for
Paita, but on the outbreak of the war he successfully applied to be
reinstated in his former command of the _Huascar_. By him the Peruvian
squadron was arranged as follows: The first division, under Admiral Grau
himself, consisted of the _Huascar_; _Independencia_, armoured frigate;
and the _Oroya_, a paddle-transport of 1597 tons. The second division
was placed under the orders of Captain Carillo, and consisted of the
monitors _Manco Capac_ and _Atahualpa_, bought from the United States,
each of 2100 tons; and the _Chalaco_, a transport of 1000 tons
displacement. The third division, under Captain Garcia y Garcia,
comprised the _Union_, a wooden corvette of 1150 tons, and a very famous
ship; the _Pilcomayo_, gunboat; and the _Limena_, a paddle-transport.

Such was the Peruvian navy at the commencement of the war; and the whole
fleet, in three divisions, as above, was under the command of Admiral
Grau.

The port of Antofagasta having been occupied by Chilian troops, the
squadron under Admiral Williams left the place and commenced a patrol of
the coast, with a view to enforcing a blockade. On the 5th of April the
fleet appeared off Iquique, in Peru, and the admiral announced that a
blockade of that port would begin on the 15th of April following, thus
allowing ten days for the Chilian inhabitants of the place to leave and
carry with them all their belongings.

Up to this time no naval action had been fought at sea; and it was, even
yet, a moot point whether Peru would not "climb down," and back out of
her alliance with Bolivia. But, all unknown to the Chilians, the
Peruvian warships _Union_ and _Pilcomayo_ were cruising up and down the
coast for the purpose of snapping up any small Chilian craft that they
might happen to sight, and to do as much damage to the Chilians as they
possibly could.

Now, it happened that, shortly after the Chilian squadron had invested
Antofagasta, the small corvette _Magellanes_ arrived at Valparaiso,
having returned from police duty in Tierra del Fuego. She was thereupon
immediately ordered by the Chilian authorities to proceed northward and
join Admiral Williams's fleet. But on her way, while off the mouth of
the river Loa, she fell in with the Peruvian ships _Union_ and
_Pilcomayo_, with which she fought a running