PERUVIAN TORPEDO RUSES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 737, 7 April 1881, Page 2

PERUVIAN TORPEDO RUSES.

During the blockade of the Peruvian >j| coast and the city of Lima by the Chilians,' r the defending Peruvians wrought con- I siderable havoc amongst the enemies' I vessels by their skilful and ingenious use of torpedoes. Several of the incidents are worth relating, as clever tricks of war. '\ One particular case was the destruction of \ the Chilian transport Loa by a torpedo ' deceptively oonoealed iu a fruit boat wkioh J was tamed adrift so as to fall into the ( 41 8 hands of the Loa as if by accident. The |j market boat, laden with a tempting dis-S play of tropical fruit, was deemed agrate- I || ful prize, by the seabound Chilians, ari ' I they eagerly seized upon it, and ■ commenced to appropriate the spoil. But '.> whilst they were in the act of rifling the > bananas, brer-dfvuit, and delicious pineapples, an infernal machine secreted below the piles of fruit set fire to 3001b of i dynamite, and blow the Loa into pieces. | The corvette Covadonga was destroyed k * a : similar manner. "While she was engaged in bombarding Chancay, a minor * port about forty miles from Xiina, a small boat, disguised to look lift-'the offioial .'": gig of the Captain of thefport was seen . ' slowly making its way out w her. There ~'"i was something suspicious about the look i of the craft, and the commander of the " 1 corvette gave orders to fire upon it. The • 1 shot had the effect of causing the crew of ■. ft the suspicious stranger to leap into the water, and make the best of their way , ashore. The Chilians then manned a launch, and started out after the forsaken, gig; but they were extremely cautious in approaching it; and to make sure that no torpodos were anchored to it they passed ■> a line clear under the bottom to see that neither chains nor wires were there. i Moreover they examined it to see if it ' had any_ falso bottom, and generally inspected it, but could find .nothing danger- j ous. So the launch took it in tow to the \ side of the corvette, and began to hoist it on board. But as soon as the weight of j the boat came on the fore and aft rings, a • ] steel rod, adjusted to break under a cor- • \ tain weight, snapped asunder, and by the ' i act exploded a heavy charge of dynamito carefully stowed in the air chamber along Ii each side. Ten minutes saw the last of j the Covadonga, and out of 160 men on board only 40 were rescued from a watery J grave. ]'