rendezvous of the Chilean fleet in harassing the Peruvian coast. The 1400 miles of Peruvian coast line is broken by only thirty valleys where supplies of food may be obtained in crossing the barren desert.[1] Rapid movement of troops from place to place is, therefore, impossible by land; and, when the Peruvian navy was destroyed, cach military unit was obliged to work out its own problems alone. Chile, on the other hand, was able to concentrate her entire force upon a single point and crush her opponents, then move on to the next point, certain that her transports were free from danger. In this way it was not long until Chile had control of the entire littoral.
The blockade of the coast ports of Tarapaca is a far different thing from the blockade of the ports of a self-contained coun- try. There are no streams on which ships of war can be built and sent to sea to run a blockade, no railways for the rounda- bout transmission of goods, not even the bare necessaries of life. Light mountain artillery can be taken over the desert with difficulty, heavy siege guns are impossible of transporta- tion. One of the most interesting maneuvers of the war was carried out at Tacna and Arica and illustrates admirably the isolation of the various units of the widely-scattered Peruvian army. After the preliminary events in Tarapaca and the re- treat of the Peruvian forces to Arica, Chile began the cam- paign against Arica, then the most important port in southern Peru. The plan included the separation of Arica and Tacna, which are connected by rail, and the shutting off of supplies coming to the Peruvian army from Tacna and Moquega. ‘len thousand men were embarked at Iquique and Pisagua, and, on February 26, 1880, they landed at Ilo and Pacocha, at the mouth of the Moquega valley (Fig. 1). Using the railway, the Chilean forces were transported up valley, and in the battle of Torata, 15 miles northeast of Moquega, the Peruvians were defeated, and Tacna was isolated from the sea. The route from Moquega to Tacna followed by the Chilean forces is inter- rupted by the valleys of the Locumba and Sama, the only two places where water may be secured for man or beast. The in-
- ↑ G. I. Adams: An Outline Review of the Geology of Peru, Anu. Rept. Smithsonian Instin. for 1908, pp. 385-430; see Maps Opp. p. 430.
