Three ironclads were sent up as soon as possible, and approached the scow, keeping up an incessant fire. The Paraguayans made excellent practice, in the meantime, with their eight-inch guns, seldom failing to hit one of their opponents. At last the ironclads approached within about one hundred yards, and the crew of the scow left and took to the woods. The Brazilians then lowered and manned three boats, and sent them to take possession of the scow and her gun. As they reached her, some infantry, numbering about one hundred, who were concealed in the woods, gave the boats a volley, which killed or wounded about half of their crews; the rest made off and returned to their vessels.
The ironclads then continued to fire at the abandoned scow, and at last blew up the magazine, and she sunk. The gun was not injured, and was recovered by the Paraguayans.
On the 27th they towed the other gun-boat to the same place, and opened upon the Brazilian fleet again, and the ironclads renewed the same tactics as before. This time the Paraguayans had their boat very close in to the bank, and kept their cartridges on shore, to avoid being blown up. Most of their 68-pound shot struck the ironclads, but flew in pieces. Some penetrated, however. One struck the Tamandaré at the edge of a port, broke in pieces, and the fragments entered, killing every one in that part of the casemate, including the first and second Captains, three other officers, and eighteen men killed, and fifteen wounded. The Tamandaré was driven off by this shot. The two other ironclads kept up the fire, responded to by the Paraguayan musketry from the woods, and at nine o’clock at night the Brazilians retired, having effected nothing. Next day four ironclads and four wooden gun-boats came up to engage this doughty Paraguayan 8-pounder. On this day the ironclad Barroso got four holes through her plates, and all the rest of them were more or less damaged, until, at last, the Paraguayan gun was struck, and fairly broken in two. Strange to say, not a Paraguayan was hurt.
On the night of the 29th, these irrepressible people, having recovered the 8-inch gun from the first scow, endeavored to bring a boat from Humáitá, to mount it upon. Their audacity was such that they towed it, with canoes, down the Paraguay to the confluence, and then up the Parana, and all this under a bright moonlight. At last the Brazilians saw them, before they had reached their goal, and the gun-boats steamed up, to capture an empty scow. The men had made off, in the canoes, up the Parana.
These Paraguayan gun-boats thus constantly engaged the whole Brazilian fleet. But it must be remembered that a mere float, of this kind, bearing a gun, was very difficult to hit. For a week after this, the steamer Gualeguay went out every afternoon, and fired at the Brazilian fleet with her two 12-pounders. This was done principally for Lopez’ amusement, and he, at a safe distance, had excellent long glasses mounted, with which he watched the performances. The Brazilian fleet would dash up the water, all about the Gualeguay, with every kind of missile, from a 68 to a 150-pounder, and yet this steamboat never received any damage but one hole in her smoke-stack.
In some of the subsequent bombardments, Lopez would take up his quarters in a secure bomb-proof, and receive exact reports of every gun fired; what it had effected, and so forth. But he never exposed himself for a moment.
The Allied artillery, on the left bank of the Parana, kept up a heavy fire upon the post of Itapirú. But there was nothing there to receive any damage, the 12-pounder being snugly stowed away for an occasion. This continued for some time; until, at last, the Brazilians occupied a sand bank, or bar, in the river, opposite Itapirú, and mounted eight guns there, with two thousand men in trenches. From this point they reopened a fire upon the work, which seemed a perfect bugbear to them.
On the 10th of April the Paraguayans attacked this bank, or bar; and the naval part of the enterprise consisted in their coming in canoes.
Nine hundred men were embarked, in divisions of four hundred and fifty each; with a reserve of four hundred at Itapirú. It was a dark night, and the canoes, propelled by paddles, arrived at the bank, or bar, at four o’clock in the morning. It was a complete surprise; and the Paraguayans delivered one volley, and then charged with the bayonet, taking the trenches. They were soon driven out of them again, however, by overwhelming numbers; retook them, and were again driven out. The Brazilian guns opened with canister, and the Paraguayans lost heavily from this source. Two hundred of them were dismounted cavalrymen, armed only with their swords, but they did great execution, charging up to the guns, and taking them; but being again driven off by heavy musketry fire.
As soon as the firing was heard below several gunboats and ironclads came up, and surrounded the island, while the garrison was reinforced from the left bank.