Under the Chilian Flag Part 4

The news brought by the _Magellanes_ very soon filtered through the fleet, and was to the effect that her skipper had been sent from Valparaiso to inform the admiral that the Peruvian President Prado intended to leave Callao, on the night of May 16, for Arica, in the paddle-transport _Oroya_; and that he was to be accompanied by the _Independencia, Huascar, Chalaco_, and _Limena_. Admiral Williams was therefore ordered to abandon the blockade of Iquique, and, proceeding northward immediately, was to endeavour to intercept the squadron and, by forcing a fleet action, to destroy it, and so deal a fatal blow at the naval power of Peru. Simpson also reported that while on his way to join the flag he had fallen in, off the mouth of the river Loa, with the Peruvian warships _Union_ and _Pilcomayo_, and that he had fought a running action of over two hours with them; his final escape being entirely due to his superior speed; as either of the Peruvian vessels would alone have been more than a match for his own little ship.

This news occasioned the utmost bustle and activity among the Chilians.

Every man was most eager to be off, for the prospect of a decisive action appealed irresistibly to all, both officers and men.

Jim Douglas, however, was found by the ship's surgeon to be suffering from a very severe attack of prostration, which had doubtless been brought on by his recent experiences ash.o.r.e at Iquique. Sorely against his will, he was removed aboard the little _Esmeralda_, together with a number of other sick men, the admiral having decided that since he was almost certain to be obliged to fight a severe battle, he would take with him no men save such as were absolutely sound.

Amid the commiseration of his friends, among whom was, of course, Terence O'Meara, Jim, together with other sick men from the flagship's crew, was put into a steam-launch and conveyed to the gunboat, from the deck of which he watched, half an hour later, while comfortably seated in a deck-chair, the departure of the Chilian squadron, consisting of the _Blanco Encalada, Almirante Cochrane, O'Higgins, Chacabuco, Magellanes_, and _Abtao_, the last-named being filled with combustibles so that she might serve, if necessary, as a fire-ship.

The poor lad felt very keenly disappointed at being unable to accompany the fleet and take part in the action which everybody confidently looked forward to as being inevitable; but, had he only known it, fortune was at that moment about to smile on him, for Rebolledo Williams did not catch a glimpse of the Peruvians, while the _Esmeralda_ and _Covadonga_ were presently to take part in a fight which has since become world- famous, by reason of the dauntless bravery which was exhibited by the Chilians in the face of overwhelming odds.

Commander Arturo Prat, the captain of the _Esmeralda_, was at this time only thirty-one years of age, but was the senior officer of the two ships; the _Covadonga_ was commanded by Carlos Condell, whose name has also pa.s.sed into history. As has been said, Admiral Williams, having kept too close in under the land, altogether missed the Peruvian fleet, which escorted President Prado safely into Arica. The _Huascar_, Captain Grau, and the _Independencia_, Captain J.G. Moore, thereupon proceeded southward in the hope of falling in with some of the Chilian ships, and, having looked into Pisagua to make sure that the squadron of Rebolledo Williams was not lurking there, went on again toward Iquique, off which port they appeared at daybreak on the morning of May 21.

Jim, having had nearly a week in which to recover from his attack of prostration, was by this time quite himself again; and it was with keen satisfaction that he reported himself to the commander as fit for duty, upon the appearance of the two Peruvian warships. The lion-hearted captain, when he saw the enormous superiority of the vessels opposed to him, recognised at once that he would have no chance in the coming encounter; but, quite undaunted, prepared at once for action, and signalled to the _Covadonga_ to do the same. Both gunboats were fortunately under steam at the time, although the little _Esmeralda's_ boilers were in such a shocking condition that she could muster only sufficient power to move herself as fast as a man could walk. In a few minutes both vessels were as completely prepared for action as it was possible for them to be, and, calling aft his crew, many of whom were invalids, Prat made a short speech to them, which exhibited the lion courage of the man who has been called "the hero of Chili." He said:

"Children, the odds are against us, but our flag has thus far never been lowered in the presence of the enemy, and I hope that it will not be to- day. As long as I live that flag shall fly in its place; and if I die, my officers will know how to do their duty."

The men were then dismissed to their quarters, and almost immediately afterwards--at eight o'clock in the morning--the _Huascar_ fired the first shot, which fell right between the two Chilian ships, and then began one of the most memorable sea-fights that have ever been recorded in history. The Chilians at once replied with every available gun, and the action instantly became fierce, the _Huascar_ singling out the _Esmeralda_ as her antagonist, while the _Covadonga_ was attacked by the _Independencia_.

The Peruvian ironclads steamed slowly along toward their prey, the _Huascar_ firing her two 10-inch turret-guns as she came, but she was somewhat handicapped by the circ.u.mstance that there was great risk of her shot striking the town, which was, of course, still in Peruvian hands. But each of these sh.e.l.ls weighed as much as 300 pounds; and whenever they hit the unfortunate sloop at which they were aimed, the effect was terrible. One of them pierced her thin side, and penetrating to the engine-room, burst there, killing every one of the engineers, and partially disabling the crazy engines. Arturo Prat, however, immediately detached from among the invalids a squad of men to do duty in the engine-room, and redoubled his fire upon his opponent, keeping up such a furious fusillade with his small-arms that Captain Grau of the _Huascar_ mistook it for machine-gun fire; and so excellent was the aim of the marksmen that it destroyed the Peruvians who were working the unprotected guns, and prevented them from being replaced.

Jim was here, there, and everywhere, encouraging and cheering on his men, both with voice and example; but the odds were most fearfully against the Chilians. Shot fell upon the unfortunate _Esmeralda_ like hail, and one of them shivered Douglas's sword in his hand as he waved it above his head. The undaunted crew of the sloop were too fully occupied with the work of fighting the _Huascar_ to take any notice of what was happening in the town behind them, and suddenly a shower of sh.e.l.ls began to hurtle over the devoted craft from sh.o.r.eward. The Peruvians there had dragged down to the beach a battery of field-pieces, with which they now opened a galling fire upon the _Esmeralda_. Her present berth at once became untenable, for she had not enough men left to work the guns on both broadsides, and Commander Prat at once rang down to his engine-room for "full speed ahead," the anchor having been raised at the beginning of the action; and the doomed vessel's engines began the last revolutions that they were ever to make.

As soon as she was seen to be slowly steaming farther out into the bay, the captain of the _Huascar_ determined to try to ram his opponent, and thus end the fight at once. He accordingly steamed for the _Esmeralda_ at a speed of about eight knots, steering north-east, while the sloop was steering due north but was only just moving through the water.

Douglas at once divined the intention of the Peruvian and shouted a warning to Prat, who had left the bridge for a few moments in order to a.s.sist with the repairing of a gun, the mechanism of which had become jammed, and the gallant commander immediately sprang to his bridge- telegraph, and rang for all the steam his boilers could give him. But the engineers were already getting every possible ounce of work out of the crazy machinery, and the sloop's speed could not be increased! For two dreadful minutes the combatants paused, as if by mutual consent, while the _Huascar_ rushed onward, like some fearful sea-monster, at its prey.

But Captain Grau stopped his engines just a few seconds too soon, and the _Esmeralda_ was within an ace of sc.r.a.ping clear. She was nearly past--only a few yards more and she would be in safety--but her wretched engines chose just that precise moment to break down, and the sloop at once lost her way. The next second the Peruvian monitor struck her with a concussion that threw every man to the deck; but the blow was fortunately a glancing one, and the _Huascar_ rubbed harmlessly along the sides of the sloop, coming to a standstill alongside her in consequence of the entanglement of some raised port-shutters.

Now was the Chilian's last opportunity to s.n.a.t.c.h success out of the jaws of failure, and Captain Prat immediately seized it.

Waving his sword above his head, he shouted: "Boarders, away! Follow me all who are able!" And he sprang over the side of his ship on to the decks of the _Huascar_.

Douglas was the second man aboard the Peruvian monitor, and he raced along her deck, followed by only twelve men, in the wake of his gallant commander. The Peruvians were not prepared for the attack, as they had quite expected to sink the little sloop with the first blow of the _Huascar's_ ram; but they quickly recovered from their surprise and swarmed out of the turret, and up from below, charging furiously upon the boarders, with drawn cutla.s.ses and revolvers. Scarcely a man, it appeared, had been touched aboard the Peruvian, owing to the great thickness of her armour-plating, and her crew, being practically intact, brought an overwhelming force to bear upon the handful of invaders, who were instantly surrounded by their enemies.

There were but fourteen of them, all told, against quite a hundred of the _Huascar's_ people, but they fought like the heroes they were, and repeatedly charged home with their cutla.s.ses, into the thick of the foe.

Prat, still at the head of his men, laid about him with his red-stained sword, and encouraged them, both by voice and example, in the which he was ably seconded by Douglas, who took upon himself the task of guarding his captain's rear. Cut and thrust, cut and thrust, the little band raged at the Peruvians; and for a few seconds it really seemed as though their desperate valour would prevail. But, alas, they had all long since emptied their revolvers, and only their blades remained to them, many of which had been broken by the delivery and warding of furious blows, so that many of the men were obliged to use their bare fists, or their pistols held club-wise.

Such an unequal conflict could not long endure; the Chilians were falling, man after man, but all fighting desperately to the very last.

Then, from somewhere up aloft, rifle-bullets began to hurtle among them, and then the end was very near. Looking upward, Douglas saw that a number of Peruvians, armed with rifles, had clambered up on the roof of the turret, and up into the _Huascar's_ low fighting-tops, and were firing directly downward into them.

It was one of these bullets that put an end to the career of the gallant Chilian commander. He and Jim were fighting, shoulder to shoulder, and, at the head of only five men, were endeavouring to cut a way through their foes in order to regain their own ship. Indeed, their desperate valour had nearly carried them through when Prat, suddenly dropping his reeking sword, put both hands up to his face, and, after swaying on his feet for a second, fell into Jim's arms. His face, as Douglas saw when the dead hands fell away, was literally shot to pieces by at least half a dozen bullets which must have struck simultaneously. Nothing could be done for the gallant sailor, for he must have died instantaneously, so Jim allowed him to sink gently to the deck, and took up his own defence again. There were only two men now left, beside himself, and escape seemed absolutely hopeless, when a volley of rifle-bullets plumped into the circle of Peruvians, evidently fired by some of the few remaining members of the sloop's crew. Taken by surprise, the Peruvians scattered for a moment; and Jim, with the two Chilian seamen, took advantage of the opening and dashed through the crowd, gaining the _Huascar's_ side in safety. But to his horror he found that the two ships had drifted apart, and that the _Esmeralda_ was even now steaming away, at a very slow speed, certainly, but still far beyond the reach of the three deserted men on the _Huascar_!

Jim took one hasty look round and then, putting his hands above his head, plunged downward into the sea, and began to strike out after his own ship. A few bullets splashed harmlessly into the water alongside him, and then the Peruvians turned their attention to other and larger prey. The _Huascar_ went ahead once more and, taking a wide circle, presented her stem once more at the unfortunate _Esmeralda_. Jim then recognised that the sloop was doomed, and that it would be of no use for him to strive to regain her. It would be better to endeavour to reach the _Covadonga_, should she still be afloat, and he looked round to see whether he could see her.

To his great surprise, even as he was looking for her, he heard a shout and saw the gunboat heading directly for him, with the _Independencia_ in hot pursuit. Carlos Condell, seeing the fate of his consort, and realising that he was hopelessly outmatched, had evidently determined to retreat while his engines were still intact; and the _Covadonga_ was now heading out of the bay at full speed to the southward.

For a moment Douglas thought that the ship would run over him, but a second glance showed him that it was evidently Condell's intention to try to pick him up. As the _Covadonga_ approached, her captain sent his engines hard astern, checking the vessel's speed sufficiently to allow of Jim being picked up by a rope which, already noosed, was cleverly thrown to him.

Although the lad thought that his body must certainly be torn in half by the strain upon the rope, he was safely hauled aboard and deposited on deck, whereupon Captain Condell again sent his engines ahead at full speed and resumed his flight. Jim was soon upon his feet again, and almost before he had fully recovered his breath an officer came up to him to tell him that Commander Condell wished to see him, in order to receive a report from him as to what had, up to now, occurred aboard the _Esmeralda_. Jim therefore made his way to the little conning-tower where Carlos Condell was directing the fighting of his ship; but before he had time to enter he saw the final act in the fight between the _Huascar_ and the _Esmeralda_.

The Peruvian had dashed straight at the sloop and, stopping his engines when only eighty feet away from her, had struck her fairly on the starboard broadside, piercing a huge hole in her side, through which the water poured in cataracts. That finished the fight; and at ten minutes after twelve o'clock mid-day the gallant little _Esmeralda_, with her colours still flying, and guns still firing, plunged downward out of sight into the deep blue waters of Iquique bay, having fought a most heroic battle against overwhelming odds.

Jim was not long in making his report to Captain Condell, and with a glance at the _Independencia_, which was hard upon the _Covadonga's_ heels, firing as she came, he now ran down below to change into dry clothes and equip himself with another sword and revolver; having, of course, lost his own when he jumped into the sea.

The _Independencia_ was a slightly faster craft than the _Covadonga_, but she drew a good deal more water; and Captain Condell, with masterly skill, availed himself of this circ.u.mstance to the full, by running across shoals over which the Peruvian ship dared not follow him, and by keeping quite close in to the sh.o.r.e where she could not approach.

Luckily, too, the _Independencia's_ gunners were raw, and found great difficulty in hitting the little gunboat; but whenever they did the execution on board the small craft was tremendous, by reason of the huge size of the projectiles.

At last, finding that he could not hit the _Covadonga_ in a vital spot, or bring her to a standstill, Captain Moore, the Peruvian captain, determined to risk his own ship in an endeavour to bring the running fight to a close. The combatants were now off Punto Gruesos, where the sh.o.r.e was steeper, and the water consequently of greater depth, and Moore decided to ram his opponent. He gradually edged closer and closer to the _Covadonga_--continually firing his heavy guns, to which the Chilian replied with a withering small-arm fire--until he was separated by only about a cable's-length from the gunboat.

He now suddenly changed his course from south to south-south-east and steered straight for the _Covadonga_, which was within a hundred yards of the beach, and had herself just touched a rock in her pa.s.sage over it. But alas for the Peruvian, she missed her blow, and struck immediately upon the rock over which the gunboat had a moment before pa.s.sed, becoming immovably fixed there.

"Now," roared Condell to the helmsman, "up with the helm, and we will go about and destroy that fellow completely. Senor Douglas," he continued, to Jim, "kindly go down and superintend the working of that forward 70- pounder gun; I am told that the lieutenant in charge has been killed by the _Independencia's_ last shot."

Jim ran off, as requested, and took charge of the weapon, while the _Covadonga_, describing a wide curve, wheeled round until she presented her bow to the wrecked Peruvian, and at a distance of about half a mile, began to plump sh.e.l.l right into her stern. Jim made excellent practice with the gun, and put shot after shot into the hapless vessel, each of which, entering her stern, pa.s.sed through the whole length of the ship, finally setting her on fire in several places. Then, the _Independencia's_ hull having very nearly filled with water, she fell over on her side and became a complete wreck. Jim, however, still continued his firing until a man on board the Peruvian crawled aft and, hauling down the colours, hoisted a white flag in its place. The _Covadonga_ then, and only then, ceased firing.

But unfortunately she could not enjoy the fruits of her victory, for, at the very moment when the Peruvian surrendered, the _Huascar_, having picked up the survivors of the _Esmeralda's_ crew, made her appearance beyond the western end of the island which forms the south side of the bay of Iquique. The gunboat was, of course, no match for the monitor; and Condell was therefore reluctantly compelled to abandon the _Independencia_ and seek his own safety in flight to the southward.

Jim therefore fired a gun in defiance at the _Huascar_, which immediately took up the pursuit, and the _Covadonga_ steamed away toward Antof.a.gasta, which she reached on the following day, having run the _Huascar_ out of sight; that ship being unable to steam very fast in consequence of an injury to her bow, caused by the ramming of the _Esmeralda_.

CHAPTER SIX.

THE INCA'S PROPHECY.

On reaching Antof.a.gasta the _Covadonga_ went into the roads and lay inside the reef which stretches across their entrance; and there, her captain, Carlos Condell, telegraphed to Valparaiso, giving details of the previous day's fight, and asking for further orders, while he set about repairing the very extensive damage which had been sustained by his ship in her fight with the _Independencia_. On the following day Condell received news from Valparaiso to the effect that the Chilian fleet had gone north to Callao; and was instructed that he himself was to rejoin as soon as he received word from Iquique that Admiral Williams had returned to that port. He was further instructed to proceed, meanwhile, as rapidly as possible, with the repairs to his own ship.

The gunboat was accordingly hauled alongside the wharf at Antof.a.gasta, her heavy guns were lifted out of her, and the vessel was careened in order that the shot-holes below her water-line might be plugged.

As the work on the _Covadonga_ would, it was expected, occupy at least a fortnight, Jim Douglas applied to Commander Condell for leave to go ash.o.r.e occasionally, that he might explore the quaint old town, which dated back to a period long anterior to the conquest of Peru by Pizarro and his band of adventurers.

During his short sojourn on board the _Covadonga_ Jim had formed a rather intimate acquaintanceship with her first lieutenant, a man named Jorge Montt; and one evening, after he had returned from one of his periodical surveys of the town, Jim entered the tiny mess-room to find Montt discoursing at length to an eager circle of listeners upon the legends and traditions of old Peru.

"Yes," Montt was saying, as Douglas entered, "it is an undisputed fact that there are thousands--nay, tens of thousands--of the descendants of the ancient Inca race now living in Peru, Bolivia, and upper Chili, who implicitly believe that a time will come when the Incas will regain their old supremacy, drive all the Latin races out of this part of South America, and re-establish the old Inca monarchy once more, in all its pristine glory. You know, of course, that there are many stories extant in this country as to the existence of vast h.o.a.rds of buried treasure?

Well, it is prophesied, I believe, that one day a man shall arise in Peru who shall head a vast Indian insurrection and drive the 'oppressors' into the sea; and his power will, it is said, be derived from these enormous h.o.a.rds of buried treasure, the locality of which is well known among the Incas, and which will be revealed to the 'Libertador'--when he makes his appearance. The study of these Indian traditions is very interesting, I a.s.sure you, gentlemen," he concluded.

"But then," remarked Jim, who had sat down and was listening intently, "nearly all semi-civilised races have traditions of the same sort. Take the North American Indians, for instance; or the Zulus. Why, even the Chinese believe that one day a chief will arise among them who shall lead them to the conquest of the whole world! I do not think there is very much in these old legends. Every nation has them, in some form or other."

"Yes, that is so," agreed Montt; "but I have studied the history of the Inca races very closely, and, so far as my experience goes, there is no nation on earth whose prophecies are so likely to come to pa.s.s as are theirs. I am personally aware of many occasions on which prophecies made by members of this strange race have come true in the most marvellous way. For myself, I feel convinced that the Incas really have some means, unknown to us, of foretelling future events; for I once visited in my youth an old woman in this very town of Antof.a.gasta, who prophesied many things about my future, many of which have, so far, come true, and the rest of which will doubtless happen in due time."

Montt finished his remarks to the accompaniment of a chorus of derisive laughter, and a number of voices were raised in protest against his attempted imposition upon their credulity. Whereupon the lieutenant became somewhat angry, and replied shortly:

"Well, gentlemen, you may believe me or not, as you please; but it is the truth that I am telling you; and I can take you to that identical personage, if you wish, for I believe she still lives here, and you can therefore experiment for yourselves, should you feel so inclined. For my own part I believe implicitly everything that she told me. Now, are any of you willing to accompany me to this Inca woman's house and put her powers to the test?"

There was a lengthy pause, for all the officers were either Chilians or of Chilian descent, and the South American races are notoriously superst.i.tious. But Jim, being an Englishman, had no qualms; and he felt, for some reason or other, a great curiosity to see this strange personage. He therefore replied:

"Well, Montt, if none of these other gentlemen feel disposed to go with you, perhaps you will have no objection to take me? I am very much interested in all matters of this kind, and I have been impressed by what you have just told us. I should very much like to go with you, if you don't mind."

Montt bowed gravely and answered: "By all means, Senor Douglas; I shall be only too pleased; for I am sure that the woman would interest you, whether you believe in second sight or not. I shall be off duty to- morrow evening, after six o'clock. We shall dine at half-past, as usual, I suppose: how would half-past seven suit you as the time for going ash.o.r.e? We could be back before midnight, easily, if we went at that time."