Just then a man of ability came to the front, and saved the day. The chief pilot of the Brazilian fleet was the son of an Italian emigrant, named Gastavino. This man, seeing that the Brazilian commanding officers had entirely lost their self possession, and were doing nothing, and giving no orders, took matters into his own hands. He drove the Amazonas at the Paraguayan flag-ship, cleared her deck with grape, and ran her down. Next he finished the Salto and Olinda, in the same manner; the Amazonas being so high out of water that the Paraguayans could not board her as she came in contact with them. He wound up by sinking the Jejui with his guns. The Marquis Olinda had previously had a shot in her boilers, and almost all her crew were either scalded, or killed or wounded by grape. The other Paraguayan vessels, Tacuari, Igurey and Salto, also suffered in their boilers, and had nearly all their crews killed or wounded. During the height of the engagement, the Brazilian Paranahyba and the Paraguayan Tacuari fouled. The Paraguayans boarded, sword in hand; at sight of them, most of the crew of the Paranahyba jumped overboard. Her decks were filled with the desperate Paraguayans, and the other Brazilian vessels were afraid to use their guns upon her, for fear of injuring the few of their people who were bravely resisting. These few brave men made so good a resistance that the Paraguayan commander, Mésa, became alarmed for his own safety, and endeavored to retire to his cabin. In so doing he was mortally wounded by a musket ball. The next officer in command to Mésa was hopelessly drunk, and the Brazilians succeeded in backing the Paranahyba away, and she escaped, after much slaughter. The battle lasted eight hours; and at last the four remaining Paraguayan steamers slowly and sullenly retreated up the stream. These must also have been taken or destroyed if Vice-Admiral Barroso had done his duty, and pursued with vigor. For his very equivocal conduct on this occasion he was made a Baron. The pilot, who really fought the battle, and saved the day to the Brazilians, was made a Lieutenant. The English Engineer, Watts, by his ability and good conduct secured the retreat of the four Paraguayan vessels, it is confidently asserted. For this Lopez gave him the lowest order of his Legion of Honor, and, three years afterwards, towards the close of the war, he had him arrested and shot, as a traitor. Mésa died of his wound in a few hours. He would have been shot by Lopez, if he had returned unwounded, at any rate; and not undeservedly.