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266 horse under Miller, were placed at the disposal of Cochrane for this purpose.

On the 22nd March Miller and his troops landed at Pisco, and took possession of the town of Chincha, under protection of the guns of the San Martin, O'Higgins, and Valdivia, an attack on an advanced party by Colonel Loriga being beaten off by Captain Videla.

On the same day an insurrectionary movement took place in Cuzco, headed by Colonel Lavin, an Argentine, formerly an ardent Royalist, but at this time under arrest in that city on account of an abortive conspiracy at Arequipa. The insurrection was put down, all the insurgents, including Lavin, being killed.

Leaving Miller at Chincha, the Admiral then sailed off to Cerro Azul, but being unable to effect a landing on account of the heavy sea, he wrote to San Martin again, advising an attack on Lima, and later on asked for a further reinforcement of infantry for an attack on Cerro Azul, which was the key to the provinces of the south. San Martin could spare no more men, whereupon he wrote to O'Higgins, asking for a contingent which would enable Miller to penetrate into Upper Peru. San Martin also wrote in support of this suggestion, but the Chilian Government replied that they could do no more, which was the simple truth. Meantime the Spaniards at Pisco and their adherents suffered heavily from forced contributions, to the great discredit of the expedition.

The Viceroy, on hearing of the landing at Pisco, despatched a division, under Camba, to watch the movements of the Patriots. Inland from Pisco lay two beautiful valleys, the Chincha Alta and the Chincha Baja. Camba encamped in the first of these valleys, while Miller moved up from the town and encamped in the second. For a month the two parties sat watching, each the other, nothing doing, then an enemy more to be feared than either came down on both of them, the endemic fever of the coast, the tertian ague. Both those beautiful valleys became