The naval war was opened with the blockade of Iquique by the Chileans. With Iquique as a rendezvous the Chilean navy visited various ports, and inflicted serious damage to commercial interests. The aim was to deprive Peru of her main source of revenue. Peru had an intrepid and doughty admiral by the name of Grau, who commanded the Peruvian fleet, of which the _Huascar_ was the flagship. While the main part of the Chilean navy was away from Iquique, two Peruvian boats appeared in that harbour. The _Huascar_ rammed and sank the _Esmeralda_, one of the best of the Chilean ships, after four hours of heavy firing. It was at this fight that Arturo Prat, who was in command of the _Esmeralda_, made a hero of himself by leaping upon the deck of the _Huascar_. “Follow me,” said this brave officer, as he boarded the _Huascar_, sword in hand. The ships, however, separated so quickly that only one man was able to follow him. Prat rushed along the deck of the ship as though he himself had captured it. “Surrender, Captain,” said Admiral Grau, “we wish to save the life of a hero.” Prat refused, and was soon cut down while still fighting with his sword. The _Esmeralda_ sank with colours flying, and only fifty out of a crew of two hundred were saved. Before the conflict ended, however, Peru also lost one vessel, the _Independencia_, which ran upon the rocks while pursuing the Chilean _Covadonga_. For four months Admiral Grau traversed the Pacific coast from Arica to Valparaiso. He prevented the transport of the Chilean army northward. Discontent grew rapidly. The Chileans decided that they could do nothing until they rid themselves of this doughty seaman. Their navy was divided into two squadrons, both of which began patrolling the coast. The _Huascar_ was accompanied by the Bolivian _Union_. These two vessels were cruising together near Antofagasta on October 8th, 1879. When the mist, which had been thick, lifted, they made out three distinct clouds of smoke toward the northeast. These were soon recognized as one of the Chilean squadrons. Admiral Grau fled, but soon ran into the other squadron approaching him from the direction in which he was fleeing. The Admiral at once decided that the only thing to do was to close with the _Cochrane_ before the other boats could come up, and steamed straight for that boat. None of the shots of either boat were effective until they were in close quarters, when a chance shot disabled the _Huascar’s_ turret. Grau tried to ram the _Cochrane_, but the latter was too quick for her. By this time the Chilean _Blanco_ had come up and added her shots to those of her sister boat. A shot struck the conning-tower, in which the Admiral was stationed, and blew that commander into atoms. A little later the second officer, and then the next one in seniority, were killed, which demoralized the Peruvian crew. One-third of the officers and men had been either killed or wounded when the vessel was finally surrendered.