the principal seaport of Bolivia, lying in a half-circle at a distance
of about a mile and a half from the shore.

The obnoxious tax was to come into force on the following day, if
Bolivia adhered to her original resolution; and Admiral Williams had
orders that, should such prove to be the case, he was to seize the
Custom House, invest the town, and in the event of resistance being
offered, to bombard it. Chili did not intend to submit tamely to the
high-handed action of Bolivia, which constituted a serious and
intolerable infraction of treaty.

Immediately the squadron came to an anchor, therefore, every gun was
trained upon the town, in readiness for action, should such become
necessary; and early on the following morning Admiral Williams had his
gig piped away, and, accompanied by his flag-captain, he was pulled
ashore to ascertain the intentions of the Bolivian authorities, and to
warn all the Chilian inhabitants of the place that it would be bombarded
should the President of the Republic not prove amenable to reason, so
that they might leave the town, with their belongings, before his ships
opened fire.

The Admiral was ashore until about three o'clock in the afternoon; and
when he returned to the _Blanco Encalada_ it soon became known that the
Bolivians had refused to relinquish their demands, and that therefore
Antofagasta was to be invested. He believed, however, that it would not
be necessary to bombard the town, as he thought it was hardly likely
that the inhabitants would be so unwise as to offer armed resistance to
the landing of the Chilian troops. The soldiers were therefore to be
landed at once under cover of the guns of the squadron, while a naval
force, composed of men from the _Blanco Encalada_ and the _Almirante
Cochrane_, were at the same time instructed to land at the northern part
of the seaport and seize the Custom House.

The Chilian troops, under Colonel Sotomayor, were therefore put into
boats belonging to the warships, which were then taken in tow by the
small steam craft and conveyed to the wharves at the south end of the
town, their landing being unopposed, except for a few stray shots which
were fired from the cover of some closed shops, and which a few volleys
from the soldiers promptly checked. Then the ships' boats being once
more available, the task of seizing the Custom House was proceeded with;
and it was anticipated that here, if anywhere, a determined resistance
would be m