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 THE PERUVIAN WAR 279 man. As a large part ol the property in the town be- longed to neutral foreigners, there does not appear to be much to say by way of justification of this reckless bombardment. After the affair at Pisagua the Chilean squadron re- turned to Iquique. The troops in the town found it difiScult to obtain water, as the blockaders forbade the use of the condensers. The only other recourse was to obtain it from Arica in water-boats and this was a hazardous undertaking. An attempt was made to defy the enemy and to use the condensers, but the smoke Trom a chimney betrayed the disobedience of the order and caused a number of heavy shells to be fired toward the spot.