five o'clock in the afternoon of October 1, 1879
Hands up anchor ! '' and the seamen came tumbling up from below , happy and eager as a parcel of schoolboys off for a holiday . A string of signal-flags soared aloft to the _ Blanco 's _ mainyard-arm , and half an hour later her screw began to revolve as she led the way out of the harbour , with the other ships following , in column of line ahead . It was five o'clock in the afternoon of October 1 , 1879 , and the cruise had begun which was to prove so eventful for at least two of the ships comprising the squadron . As they passed out to sea with ever-increasing speed the forts on either side of the bay fired a farewell salute ; and the spectacle of the sun sinking over Monte Bajo and the Centinela Alto , coupled with the lurid flashes of flame and clouds of white smoke from Forts San Antonio , Bueras , Valdivia , and the Citadel , constituted a picture the grandeur of which Jim never forgot . A very careful look-out was maintained during the progress of the fleet up the coast , and Commodore Riveros took the precaution to look into Chaneral Bay , Cobija , and Iquique , to make quite sure that the Peruvians -- who might possibly have got wind of the expedition -- should have no chance of escaping by lying hidden until the Chilians were past , and then making a sudden dash southward upon the comparatively defenceless ports of the lower coast . There was , however , no sign of the enemy anywhere in any of these places , and all the news that Riveros was able to pick up tended to confirm the telegram which he had received at Valparaiso , to the effect that the Peruvians would certainly be found at Arica .