Our War with Spain for Cuba's Freedom

by Trumbull White

CHAPTER L.

CONTINUED SUCCESS FOR AMERICAN SOLDIERS AND SAILORS.

The Bombardment of San Juan—The Engagement at Cardenas—The
Voyage of the Oregon—The Battle at Guantanamo—Santiago Under
Fire—Landing the Troops in Cuba—The Charge of the Rough Riders
—The Sinking of the Merrimac—The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet—
The Fall of Santiago.

On the morning of May 12, a portion of the fleet, commanded by
Admiral Sampson, made an attack on the forts of San Juan de Puerto
Rico. The engagement began at 5:15 a. m. and ended at 8:15 a. m.
The enemy's batteries were not silenced, but great damage was done
to them, and the town in the rear of the fortifications suffered
great losses. The ships taking part in the action were the Iowa,
Indiana, New York, Terror, Amphitrite, Detroit, Montgomery,
Wampatuck, and Porter.

At 3 o'clock in the morning all hands were called on the Iowa, a few final touches in clearing ship were made, and at 5 "general quarters" sounded. The men were eager for the fight.

The tug Wampatuck went ahead and anchored its small boat to the westward, showing ten fathoms, but there was not a sign of life from the fort, which stood boldly against the sky on the eastern hills hiding the town.

The Detroit steamed far to the eastward, opposite Valtern. The Iowa headed straight for the shore. Suddenly its helm flew over, bringing the starboard battery to bear on the fortifications.

At 5:16 a.m. the Iowa's forward twelve-inch guns thundered out at the sleeping hills, and for fourteen minutes they poured starboard broadsides on the coast. Meanwhile the Indiana, the New York, and other ships repeated the dose from the rear. The Iowa turned and came back to the Wampatuck's boat and again led the column, the forts replying fiercely, concentrating on the Detroit, which was about 700 yards away, all the batteries on the eastward arm of the harbor. Thrice the column passed from the entrance of the harbor to the extreme eastward battery.

Utter indifference was shown for the enemy's fire. The wounded were quickly attended, the blood was washed away, and everything proceeded like target practice.

Morro battery, on the eastward arm of the harbor, was the principal point of attack. Rear Admiral Sampson and Captain Evans were on the lower bridge of the Iowa and had a narrow escape from flying splinters, which injured three men. The Iowa was hit eight times, but the shells made no impression on its armor. The weather was fine, but the heavy swells made accurate aim difficult.

The broadsides from the Iowa and Indiana rumbled in the hills ashore for five minutes after they were delivered. Clouds of dust showed where the shells struck, but the smoke hung over everything. The shells screeching overhead and dropping around showed that the Spaniards still stuck to their guns.

The enemy's firing was heavy, but wild, and the Iowa and New York were the only ships hit. They went right up under the guns in column, delivering broadsides, and then returned. The after-turret of the Amphitrite got out of order temporarily during the engagement, but it banged away with its forward guns. After the first passage before the forts, the Detroit and the Montgomery retired, their guns being too small to do much damage. The Porter and Wampatuck also stayed out of range. The smoke hung over everything, spoiling the aim of the gunners and making it impossible to tell where our shots struck. The officers and men of all the ships behaved with coolness and bravery. The shots flew thick and fast over all our ships.

The men of the Iowa who were hurt during the action were injured by splinters thrown by an eight-inch shell, which came through a boat into the superstructure, and scattered fragments in all directions. The shot's course was finally ended on an iron plate an inch thick.

At 7:45 a. m. Admiral Sampson signaled "Cease firing." "Retire" was sounded on the Iowa, and it headed from the shore.

After the battle was over Admiral Sampson said:

"I am satisfied with the morning's work. I could have taken San
Juan, but had no force to hold it. I merely wished to punish the
Spaniards, and render the port unavailable as a refuge for the
Spanish fleet. I came to destroy that fleet and not to take San
Juan."

The man killed by the fire from the forts was Frank Widemark, a seaman on the flagship New York. A gunner's mate on the Amphitrite died during the action from prostration caused by the extreme heat and excitement.

The Iowa, Indiana, New York, Terror, and Amphitrite went close under the fortifications after the armed tug Wampatuck had piloted the way and made soundings.

The Detroit and Montgomery soon drew out of the line of battle, their guns being too small for effective work against fortifications.

Three times the great fighting ships swung past Morro and the batteries, roaring out a continuous fire. Whenever the dense smoke would lift, great gaps could be seen in the gray walls of Morro, while from the batteries men could be seen scurrying in haste.

The Spanish fire was quick enough, but ludicrously uncertain. This was shown after Admiral Sampson had given the order to cease firing and retire. The monitor Terror evidently misunderstood the order, for it remained well in range of the Spanish guns and continued the bombardment alone. The few guns still served by the Spaniards kept banging away at the Terror, and some of the shots missed it at least a mile. It remained at its work for half an hour before retiring, and in all this time was not once hit.

THE FIRST AMERICANS KILLED.

America's first dead fell on the 11th of May in a fierce and bloody combat off Cardenas, on the north coast of Cuba. Five men were blown to pieces and five were wounded on the torpedo boat Winslow. The battle was between the torpedo boat Winslow, the auxiliary tug Hudson, and the gunboat Wilmington on one side, and the Cardenas batteries and four Spanish gunboats on the other. The battle lasted but thirty-five minutes, but was remarkable for terrific fighting. The Winslow was the main target of the enemy, and was put out of service. The other American vessels were not damaged, except that the Hudson's two ventilators were slightly scratched by flying shrapnel. The Winslow was within 2,500 yards of the shore when the shells struck. How it came to be so close was told by its commander, Lieutenant John Bernadou. He said:

"We were making observations when the enemy opened fire on us. The Wilmington ordered us to go in and attack the gunboats. We went in under full steam and there's the result."

He was on the Hudson when he said this, and with the final words he pointed to the huddle of American flags on the deck near by. Under the Stars and Stripes were outlined five rigid forms.

List of the killed: Worth Bagley, ensign; John Daniels, first-class fireman; John Tunnel, cabin cook; John Varveres, oiler. The wounded: J. B. Bernadou, lieutenant, commanding the Winslow; R. E. Cox, gunner's mate; D. McKeowan, quartermaster; J. Patterson, fireman; F. Gray.

STORY OF THE FIGHT.

The story of the fight, as told by the Hudson's men, is as follows:

The Winslow, the Hudson, the Machias, and the Wilmington were among the ships off Cardenas on the blockade, the Wilmington acting as flagship. The Machias lay about twelve miles out. The others were stationed close in, on what is called the inside line. At a quarter to 9 o'clock the Hudson, under Captain F. H. Newton, was taking soundings in Diana Cay bars and Romero Cay, just outside Cardenas, so close to shore that it grounded, but it floated off easily into the shallow water.

At half past 11 the Wilmington spoke the Hudson and the Winslow and assigned them to duty, the Winslow to start to the eastern shore of, Cardenas Bay and the Hudson to the western shore, while the Wilmington took its station in mid-channel. This work occupied two hours. Nothing was discovered on either shore, and the boats were approaching each other on their return when a puff of smoke was observed on shore at Cardenas, and a shell whistled over them. The Winslow was on the inside, nearer the shore. The Hudson and the Winslow reported to the Wilmington, and orders came promptly to go in and open fire; but the Spaniards had not waited for a reply to their first shot. The Cardenas harbor shore had already become one dense cloud of smoke, shot with flashes of fire and an avalanche of shells was bursting toward the little Winslow:

This was at five minutes past 2 o'clock, and for twenty minutes the firing continued from the shore without cessation, but none of the shots had at that time found their mark, though they were striking dangerously near. Meanwhile the Hudson's two six-pounders were banging away at a terrific rate. How many of the torpedo boat's shots took effect is not known. The first two of the Hudson's shells fell short, but after these two every one floated straight into the smoke-clouded shore. The Spaniard's aim in the meantime was improving and it was presently seen that two empty barks had been anchored off shore. It was twenty-five minutes before 3 o'clock when a four-inch shell struck the Winslow on the starboard beam, knocking out its forward boiler and starboard engine and crippling the steering gear, but no one was injured.

Lieutenant Bernadou was standing forward watching the battle with calm interest and directing his men as coolly as if they were at target practice. By the one-pounder amidships stood Ensign Bagley, the oiler, the two firemen, and the cook. The little boat gasped and throbbed and rolled helplessly from side to side. Lieutenant Bernadou did not stop for an examination. He knew his boat was uncontrollable. The Hudson was a short distance off still pounding away with her guns. It was hailed and asked to take the Winslow in tow. It was a vital moment. Guns roared from shore and sea. Lieutenant Scott, in charge of the Hudson's aft gun, sat on a box and smoked a cigarette as he directed the fire.

Captain Newton stood near Lieutenant Meed at the forward gun and watched its workings with interest. Chief Engineer Gutchin never missed his bell. A group of sailors was making ready to heave a line to the Winslow, and Ensign Bagley and his four men stood on the port side of the latter vessel, waiting to receive it. A vicious fire was singing about them. The Spaniards seemed to have found the exact range.

KILLED BY A BURSTING SHELL.

There was a momentary delay in heaving the towline, and Ensign Bagley suggested that the Hudson's men hurry. "Heave her," he called. "Let her come; it's getting pretty warm here." The line was thrown and grabbed by the Winslow's men. Grimy with sweat and powder, they tugged at it and drew nearer foot by foot to the Hudson. Almost at the same instant another four-inch shell shrieked through the smoke and burst directly under them. Five bodies went whirling through the air. Two of the group were dead when they fell—Ensign Bagley and Fireman Daniels. The young ensign was literally disemboweled, and the entire lower portion of the fireman's body was torn away. The other three died within a few minutes. A flying piece of shrapnel struck Lieutenant Bernadou in the thigh and cut an ugly gash, but the Lieutenant did not know it then. With the explosion of the shell the hawser parted and the Winslow's helm went hard to starboard, and, with its steering gear smashed, the torpedo boat floundered about in the water at the mercy of the enemy's fire, which never relaxed.

The fire of the Americans was of the usual persistent character, and the nerve of the men was marvelous. Even after the Winslow's starboard engine and steering gear were wrecked the little boat continued pouring shot into the Spaniards on shore until it was totally disabled.

Meanwhile the Wilmington from its outlying station was busy with its bigger guns and sent shell after shell from its four-inch guns crashing into the works on shore, and their execution must have been deadly. Not a fragment of shot or shell from the enemy reached the Wilmington.

The Hudson quickly threw another line to the Winslow, and the helpless torpedo boat was made fast and pulled out of the Spaniards' exact range. The tug then towed it to Piedras Cay, a little island twelve miles off, near which the Machias lay. There it was anchored for temporary repairs, while the Hudson brought the ghastly cargo into Key West, with Dr. Richards of the Machias attending to the wounded. Not until this mournful journey was begun was it learned that Lieutenant Bernadou had been injured. He scoffed at the wound as a trifle, but submitted to treatment and is doing well.

When the Hudson drew up to the government dock at Key West the flags at half mast told the few loiterers on shore that death had come to some one, and the bunting spread on the deck, with here and there a foot protruding from beneath, confirmed the news. Ambulances were called and the wounded were carried quickly to the army barracks hospital. The dead were taken to the local undertaker's shop, where they lay all day on slabs, the mutilated forms draped with flags. The public were permitted to view the remains, and all day a steady stream of people flowed through the shop.

The American boats made furious havoc with Cardenas harbor and town. The captain of the Hudson said:

"I know we destroyed a large part of their town near the wharves, burned one of their gunboats, and I think destroyed two other torpedo destroyers. We were in a vortex of shot, shell and smoke, and could not tell accurately, but we saw one of their boats on fire and sinking soon after the action began. Then a large building near the wharf, I think the barracks, took fire, and many other buildings were soon burning. The Spanish had masked batteries on all sides of us, hidden in bushes and behind houses. They set a trap for us. As soon as we got within range of their batteries they would move them. I think their guns were field pieces. Our large boats could not get into the harbor to help us on account of the shallow water."

Amid a perfect storm of shot from Spanish rifles and batteries the American forces made an attempt to cut the cables at Cienfuegos, on the 11th of May. Four determined boat crews, under command of Lieutenant Winslow and Ensign Magruder, from the cruiser Marblehead and gunboat Nashville, put out from the ships, the coast having previously been shelled, and began their perilous work. The cruiser Marblehead, the gunboat Nashville and the auxiliary cruiser Windom drew up a thousand yards from shore with their guns manned for desperate duty.

One cable was quickly severed and the work was in progress on the other when the Spaniards in rifle pits and a battery in an old lighthouse standing out in the bay opened fire. The warships poured in a thunderous volley, their great guns belching forth massive shells into the swarms of the enemy. The crews of the boats proceeded with their desperate work, notwithstanding the fact that a number of men had fallen, and, after finishing their task, returned to the ships through a blinding smoke and a heavy fire. Two men were killed, and seven wounded by the fire of the enemy. Captain Maynard had a narrow escape from death. A rifle shot hit his side close to the heart, but caused only a flesh wound and he kept at his post to the end. The officers of the Windom were enthusiastic over the work of the men in the launches. They fired in regular order and shot well. The Windom demolished the lighthouse, which was in reality a fort, and not one stone was left standing upon another.

On May 14 Admiral Sampson ordered Captain Goodrich to cut the French cable running from Mole St. Nicholas, Hayti, to Guantanamo, Cuba, about thirty miles to the eastward of Santiago. In compliance with this order the St. Louis and the Wampatuck appeared off Guantanamo about daylight, and the Wampatuck, with Lieutenant Jungen in command and Chief Officer Seagrave, Ensign Payne, Lieutenant Catlin and eight marines and four seamen on board, steamed into the mouth of the harbor, and, dropping a grapnel in eight fathoms of water, proceeded to drag across the mouth of the harbor for the cable.

About 150 fathoms of line were run out when the cable was hooked in fifty fathoms of water. This time the lookout reported a Spanish gun-boat coming down the harbor and a signal was sent to the St. Louis, lying half a mile outside. She had already discovered it, and immediately opened fire with her two port six-pounders. The Wampatuck then commenced firing with her one three-pounder. The gunboat, however, was out of range of these small guns and, the shells fell short.

The Spaniards opened fire with a four-inch gun, and every shot went whistling over the little Wampatuck and struck in the water between her and the St. Louis. Being well out of range of the six-pounders the gunboat was perfectly safe, and she steamed back and forth firing her larger guns. For about forty minutes the tug worked on the cable, while the shells were striking all around her, but she seemed to bear a charmed life.

Captain Goodrich, seeing that he could not get the gunboat within range of his small guns, while that vessel could easily reach the St. Louis and Wanipatuck with her heavier battery, signaled the tug to withdraw. The grappling line was cut and both vessels steamed out to sea, leaving the cable uncut.

As the tug turned and started out it was noticed that riflemen on shore were firing at her. Lieutenant Catlin opened up with the Gatling gun mounted aft and the Spaniards on shore could be seen scattering and running for shelter. The French cable was cut the next morning off Mole St. Nicholas, well outside of the three-mile limit.

Lieutenant Catlin was formerly on the battleship Maine, and perhaps he took more than ordinary interest in firing his guns.

"You could tell by the grim smile on his face as he fired each shot," one of his brother officers said, "that he was trying to 'get even,' as far as lay in his power, for the awful work in Havana harbor."

SECOND CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS.

The President issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 more volunteers on May 25. This made the total army strength, regular and volunteer, 280,000.

The official call issued by the President in the form of a proclamation was as follows:

Whereas, An act of Congress was approved on the 25th day of April, 1898, entitled "An act declaring that war exists between the United States of America and the kingdom of Spain," and,

Whereas, By an act of Congress, entitled "An act to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the United States in time of war and for other purposes," approved April 22, 1898, the President is authorized, in order to raise a volunteer army, to issue his proclamation calling for volunteers to serve in the army of the United States,

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, by virtue of the power vested in me by the constitution and the laws and deeming sufficient occasion to exist, have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, volunteers to the aggregate number of 75,000 in addition to the volunteers called forth by my proclamation of the 23d day of April, in the present year; the same to be apportioned, as far as practicable, among the several States and Territories and the District of Columbia, according to population, and to serve for two years unless sooner discharged. The proportion of each arm and the details of enlistment and organization will be made known through the war department.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 25th day of May, in the year of our Lord, 1898, and of the independence of the United States, the 122d.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

By the President, WILLIAM K. DAY, Secretary of State.

RUNNING DOWN HIS PREY.

Four weeks after the victory of Rear-Admiral Dewey at Manila, Commodore Schley, in command of the flying squadron, had his shrewdness and pertinacity rewarded by finding the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba.

For ten days he had, in the face of conflicting rumors, insisted that the ships of Spain were trying to make a landing on the southern coast of Cuba. This was evidently not in consonance with certain official information and his opinion was not given much weight.

The captain of the British steamer Adula, who was interviewed at
Cienfuegos, told of seeing the Spanish fleet in the vicinity of
Santiago de Cuba, evidently awaiting an opportunity to get in.
Captain Sigsbee of the St. Paul related how he had captured a
Spanish coal vessel going into the harbor of Santiago, and
Commodore Schley argued from these two incidents that the fleet of
Spain was waiting in some haven near by until such time as a
visit, fruitless in its results, should be made there by the
Americans when, upon their departure, the Spanish fleet would run
in.

Consequently, Commodore Schley determined to find it. Himself in the lead with the flagship, he started toward the harbor. The Spanish troops at the works and batteries could be seen, through glasses, preparing in haste to give the American ships as warm a reception as possible.

When about five miles from the batteries the lookouts reported the masts of two ships, and Flag Lieutenant Sears and Ensign McCauley made out the first to be the Cristobal Colon. Two torpedo boats were also made out and a second vessel of the Vizcaya class was seen.

All this time Commodore Schley was upon the afterbridge of the Brooklyn making good use of his binoculars. Arrived at the harbor entrance, when the ships were sighted from the deck, he turned his eyes from the glasses long enough to wink and say: "I told you I would find them. They will be a long time getting home."

THE VOYAGE OF THE OREGON.

The voyage of the Oregon from San Francisco to Florida is a matter of historic interest, for it was the first craft of the kind to weather the famous cape. When it anchored off Sand Key, Fla., it had completed the longest trip ever made by a battleship. Altogether she sailed 18,102 miles in eighty-one days, and this includes the days she spent in coaling. Prior to this trip the record for long voyages had been held by a British flagship, which steamed from England to China. The distance from Puget Sound to Sand Key is more than two-thirds the circumference of the earth. The big trip was a record of itself, and it included within it several minor records for battleship steaming. For example, the Oregon ran 4,726 miles without a stop of any kind for any purpose. Such a run is longer than the voyage from New York to Queenstown or to Bremen or to Havre. It is comparable with the great runs of the magnificent merchant ships of the Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Navigation Company from London to Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. It was a triumph for any kind of a ship, but it was a wonder for a battleship. The Oregon left Puget Sound March 6, left San Francisco on March 19 and drew up at Sand Key, Fla., on May 26. Everything on board of her was shipshape. Her engines, of 11,111 horse power, were bright and fresh and ready for another voyage of 17,000 miles. Not a bolt was loose; not a screw was out of order.

HOBSON WINS FAME.

On Thursday, June 2, Admiral Sampson decided to send the collier Merrimac into the bay of Santiago and sink it in the channel's narrowest part, for the purpose of holding Cervera and his fleet in the harbor, until the time when their capture or destruction seemed advisable. He called for volunteers, explaining that it was a desperate mission, death being almost certain for all those who ventured in.

Then the navy showed the stuff of which it is made. Admiral Sampson wanted eight men. He could have had every officer and man in the fleet, for all were more than ready. Lieutenant Richmond P. Hobson was selected to command the expedition, and Daniel Montague, George Charette, J. C. Murphy, Osborn Deignan, George F. Phillips, Francis Kelly and B. Clausen were detailed to accompany him.

Just before 3 o'clock on the morning of the 3d the collier, deeply laden with, ballast material and some coal, was headed without preliminary maneuver straight for the entrance, over which the remaining batteries from Morro frowned from one side, and those from Socapa from the other. In the darkness of the early morning the Merrimac, without a light showing anywhere, dashed within the line of the forts before it was discovered, Sampson's ships thundering at the enemy's batteries to divert their attention from the collier. The Spaniards soon detected it, however, and brought every possible gun to bear. In the face of a terrific fire of shot and shell from Spanish guns the Merrimac ran into the narrow channel, where it was swung across and anchored. Then Lieutenant Hobson blew a hole in the ship's bottom and with his seven men took to a boat. They first made an effort to row out of the harbor and regain the American fleet, but soon realizing that, to attempt to pass the aroused batteries would mean certain death to all, they turned and rowed straight towards the Spanish squadron, and surrendered to Admiral Cervera, who held them as prisoners of war.

The Spanish commander sent his chief of staff, Captain Oviedo, under a flag of truce to Admiral Sampson, bearing the information of the safety of the heroes. The Spanish officers were enthusiastic in their praise of the bravery shown by Hobson and his men, and looked upon them with amazement as heroes whose gallantry far exceeded any Spanish conception of what men might do for their country, and it was with great chagrin that Admiral Cervera was prevented by the Madrid authorities from returning the heroic young officer and his brave men to Admiral Sampson, but was compelled to deliver them to the military authorities ashore as prisoners of war.

THROWN INTO A DUNGEON BY LINARES.

General Linares, with the brutal instinct that had marked his conduct of Cuban affairs already intrusted to him, deliberately placed Hobson and his men in Morro Castle as a shield against the fire of Sampson's squadron. Here Hobson was locked up for five days in solitary confinement in a filthy dungeon under conditions which must have soon resulted in his serious illness and perhaps in death. The treatment he received and the scanty food given him were no better than that accorded to a common criminal condemned to execution.

This punishment, however, was of short duration on account of the vigorous protest which was made through a neutral power to Spain, coupled with Admiral Sampson's notice to the Spanish admiral that he would be held personally responsible for Hobson's welfare. Under these circumstances Admiral Cervera interposed his influence with General Linares; and Hobson, with his men, was transferred to the barracks in the city. Here his solitary confinement continued, but he could look out of a window to the hills on the east and see the smoke from the American rifles of General Shatter's men firing from their intrenchments with the consolation that his captivity would be of short duration.

After the assault on Santiago arrangements were made by the commanders of the two armies for the exchange of Lieutenant Hobson and his men for Spanish prisoners held by the Americans, and a truce was established for that purpose. The place selected for the exchange was under a tree between the American and Spanish lines, two-thirds of a mile beyond the intrenchments occupied by Colonel Wood's Rough Riders, near General Wheeler's headquarters, and in the center of the American line.

The American prisoners left the Reina Mercedes hospital on the outskirts of Santiago de Cuba, where they had been confined, in charge of Major Irles, a Spanish staff officer, who speaks English perfectly.

The prisoners were conducted to the meeting place on foot, but were not blindfolded. Colonel John Jacob Astor and Lieutenant Miloy, accompanied by Interpreter Maestro, were in charge of the Spanish prisoners. These consisted of Lieutenants Amelio Volez and Aurelius, a German, who were captured at El Caney, and Lieutenant Adolfo Aries and fourteen non-commissioned officers and privates. Lieutenant Aries and a number of the men were wounded in the fight at El Caney. The Spanish prisoners were taken through the American lines mounted and blindfolded.

The meeting between Colonel Astor and Major Irles was extremely courteous, but very formal, and no attempt was made by either of them to discuss anything but the matter in hand. Major Irles was given his choice of three Spanish lieutenants in exchange for Hobson, and was also informed that he could have all of the fourteen men in exchange for the American sailors. The Spanish officers selected Lieutenant Aries, and the other two Spanish officers were conducted back to Juragua.

It was then not later than 4 o'clock, and just as everything was finished and the two parties were separating Irles turned and said, courteously enough, but in a tone which indicated considerable defiance and gave his hearers the impression that he desired hostilities to be renewed at once:

"Our understanding is, gentlemen, that this truce comes to an end at 5 o'clock."

Colonel Astor looked at his watch, bowed to the Spanish officer, without making a reply, and then started back slowly to the American lines, with Hobson and his companions following.

The meeting of the two parties and the exchange of prisoners had taken place in full view of both the American and Spanish soldiers who were intrenched near the meeting place, and the keenest interest was taken in the episode.

SANTIAGO UNDER FIRE.

On the morning of June 6 the American fleet engaged the Spanish batteries defending the entrance of the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, and, after three hours' bombardment, silenced nearly all the forts, destroyed several earthworks, and rendered the Estrella and Cayo batteries, two of the principal fortifications, useless.

The fleet formed in double column, six miles off Morro Castle, at 6 o'clock in the morning, and steamed slowly 3,000 yards off shore, the Brooklyn leading, followed by the Marblehead, Texas and Massachusetts, and turned westward. The second line, the New York leading, with the New Orleans, Yankee, Iowa and Oregon following, turned eastward.

The Vixen and Suwanee were far out on the left flank, watching the riflemen on shore. The Dolphin and Porter did similar duty on the right flank. The line headed by the New York attacked the new earthworks near Morro Castle. The Brooklyn column took up a station opposite the Estrella and Catalina batteries and the new earthworks along the shore.

The Spanish batteries remained silent. It is doubtful whether the Spaniards were able to determine the character of the movement, owing to the dense fog and heavy rain which were the weather features this morning.

Suddenly the Iowa fired a twelve-inch shell, which struck the base of Estrella battery and tore up the works. Instantly firing began from both Rear-Admiral Sampson's and Commodore Schley's column, and a torrent of shells from the ships fell upon the Spanish works. The Spaniards replied promptly, but their artillery work was of a poor quality and most of their shots went wild. Smoke settled around the ships in dense clouds, rendering accurate aiming difficult. There was no maneuvering of the fleet, the ships remaining at their original stations, firing steadily. The squadrons were so close in shore that it was difficult for the American gunners to reach the batteries on the hilltops, but their firing was excellent.

Previous to the bombardment, orders were issued to prevent firing on Morro Castle, as the American Admiral had been informed that Lieutenant Hobson and the other prisoners of the Merrimac were confined there. In spite of this, however, several stray shots damaged Morro Castle somewhat.

Commodore Schley's line moved closer in shore, firing at shorter range. The Brooklyn and Texas caused wild havoc among the Spanish shore batteries, quickly silencing them. While the larger ships were engaging the heavy batteries, the Suwanee and Vixen closed with the small in-shore battery opposite them, raining rapid-fire shots upon it and quickly placing the battery out of the fight.

The Brooklyn closed to 800 yards and then the destruction caused by its guns and those of the Marblehead and Texas was really awful. In a few minutes the woodwork of Estrella fort was burning and the battery was silenced, firing no more during the engagement. Eastward the New York and New Orleans silenced the Cayo battery in quick order and then shelled the earthworks located higher up. The practice here was not so accurate, owing to the elevation of the guns. Many of the shells, however, landed, and the Spanish gunners retired.

Shortly after 9 o'clock the firing ceased, the warships turning in order to permit the use of the port batteries. The firing then became a long reverberating crash of thunder, and the shells raked the Spanish batteries with terrific effect. Fire broke out in Catalina fort and silenced the Spanish guns. The firing of the fleet continued until 10 o'clock, when the Spanish ceased entirely, and Admiral Sampson hoisted the "Cease firing" signal.

After the fleet retired the Spaniards returned to their guns and sent twelve shots after the American ships, but no damage was done. In fact, throughout the entire engagement none of our ships was hit and no American was injured.

One purpose of Admiral Sampson, it appears, was to land troops and siege guns at Aguadores, after reducing the defenses of the place, and then make a close assault upon Santiago, which, in view of the present condition of its fortifications, may be expected to yield soon.

A landing of American troops was effected near Baiquiri, some distance east of Aguadores, and near the railroad station connecting with Santiago de Cuba. Later an engagement took place between the American force and a column of Spanish troops which had been sent against the landing party. The Spaniards were driven back.

THE MARINES AT GUANTANAMO.

Lieutenant-Colonel R. W. Huntington's battalion of marines landed from the transport Panther on Friday, June 10, and encamped on the hill guarding the abandoned cable station at the entrance to the outer harbor of Guantanamo. On Saturday afternoon a rush attack was made on them by a detachment of Spanish regulars and guerrillas, and for thirteen hours the fighting was almost continuous, until re-enforcements were landed from the Marblehead.

The engagement began with desultory firing at the pickets, a thousand yards inland from the camp. Captain Spicer's company was doing guard duty and was driven in, finally rallying on the camp and repulsing the enemy at 5 o'clock. The sky was blanketed with clouds, and when the sun set a gale was blowing out seaward. Night fell thick and impenetrable. The Spanish squads concealed in the chaparral cover had the advantage, the Americans on the ridge furnishing fine targets against the sky and the white tents.

The Spaniards fought from cover until midnight, discoverable only at flashes, at which the marines fired volleys. Shortly after midnight came the main attack. The Spaniards made a gallant charge up the southwest slope, but were met by repeated volleys from the main body and broke before they were one-third of the way up the hill; but they came so close at points that there was almost a hand-to-hand struggle. The officers used their revolvers. Three Spaniards got through the open formation to the edge of the camp. Colonel Jose Campina, the Cuban guide, discharged his revolver, and they, finding themselves without support, beat a hasty retreat down the reverse side of the hill. During this assault Assistant Surgeon John Blair Gibbs was killed. He was shot in the head in front of his own tent, the farthest point of attack. He fell into the arms of Private Sullivan and both dropped. A second bullet threw the dust in their faces. Surgeon Gibbs lived ten minutes, but he did not again regain consciousness. Four Americans were killed and one wounded in this engagement.

Sunday brought no rest. Every little while the p-a-t of a Mauser would be heard, and a spatter of dust on the camp hillside would show where the bullet struck. During the day the enemy kept well back, scattering a few riflemen through the trees to keep up a desultory fire on the camp. There was no massing of forces, evidently for fear of shells from the Marblehead, which lay in the harbor close by. But when night came on again the Spanish forces were greatly augmented and in the dark were bolder in their attacks.

Lieutenant Neville was sent with a small squad of men to dislodge the advance pickets of the enemy, and his men followed him with a will. The Spaniards, who had been potting at every shadow in the camp, fled when the American pickets came swinging down their way. As the Americans pressed along the edge of the steep hill, following a blind trail, they nearly fell into an ambush. There was a sudden firing from all directions, and an attack came from all sides.

Sergeant-Major Henry Good was shot through the right breast and soon died. The Americans were forced back upon the edge of the precipice and an effort was made to rush them over, but without success. As soon as they recovered from the first shock and got shelter in the breaks of the cliff their fire was deadly. Spaniard after Spaniard went down before American bullets and the rush was checked almost as suddenly as it was begun, causing the enemy to fall back. The Americans swarmed after the fleeing Spaniards, shooting and cheering as they charged, and won a complete victory. The Spanish forces left fifteen dead upon the field. The American loss was two killed and four wounded.

The night attack was picturesque, and a striking spectacle—the crack of the Mausers, tongues of fire from every bush encircling the camp, the twitter of the long steel bullets overhead, while the machine guns down on the water were ripping open the pickets, and the crash of the field guns could be heard as they were driving in canister where the fire of the Spaniards was the thickest. Then there was the screech of the Marblehead's shells as she took a hand in the fight, and the sharp, quick flashing of the rapid-firing one-pounder guns from the ships' launches.

On Tuesday the brave marines, who had been exposed for three days and nights to the fire of a foe they could but blindly see, weary of a kind of warfare for which they were not trained, went into the enemy's hiding place and inflicted disastrous punishment. The primary object of the expedition was to destroy the tank which provided the enemy with water. There are three ridges over the hills between the camp from which the Americans and their Cuban allies started and the sea. In the valley between the second and third was the water tank. The Spanish headquarters were located at cross-roads between the first and second ridges, and it was against this place that a detachment of fifty marines and ten Cubans under Lieutenants Mahoney and Magill was sent. Their instructions were to capture and hold this position. Captain Elliot with ninety marines and fifteen Cubans went east over the last range of hills, and Captain Spicer with the same number of men went to the west. A fourth party of fifty marines and a Cuban guide under command of Lieutenant Ingate made a detour and secured a position back of Lieutenant Mahoney.

The first fighting was done by the men under Lieutenant Magill with the second platoon of Company E. These parted from the others, going over the first hill to the second one. They had advanced but a short distance when they came to a heliograph station guarded by a company of Spaniards. Shooting began on both sides, the Mausers of the Spanish and the guns of the Americans snapping in unison. Our men had toiled up the hillside in the boiling sun, but they settled down to shooting as steadily and as sturdily as veterans could have done. The skirmish lasted fifteen minutes. At the end of this time the Spaniards could no longer stand the methodical, accurate shooting of Magill's men, and they ran helter-skelter, leaving several dead upon the field. Lieutenant Magill took possession of the heliograph outfit without the loss or injury of a man.

But this was in truth only a skirmish, and the real fighting was at hand. Captains Spicer and Elliot and Lieutenant Mahoney led their men up the second range of hills. A spattering of bullets gave note that the news of their coming was abroad, but they toiled up to the top of the hill. Here they found the Spanish camp situated on a little ridge below them. There was one large house, the officers' quarters, and around this was a cluster of huts, in the center of which was the water tank which they had come to destroy. Quickly they moved into line of battle, and advanced down the mountain, the enemy's bullets singing viciously, but going wildly about them.

Gradually the Americans and Cubans descended the slope, shooting as they went, and closing in upon the enemy in hiding about the huts and in the brush. Then the order came to make ready for a bayonet charge, but it had scarcely been given when the Spaniards broke from cover and ran, panic-stricken, for a clump of brush about one hundred yards further on. Then there was shooting quick and fast. There were dozens of Spanish soldiers who did not reach the thicket, for the American fire was deadly, and man after man was seen to fall.

The fighting blood of the Americans was up. Elliot's command made straight for the thicket to which the Spanish had fled, routed them out, and drove them on before. Up the ridge they forced them, shooting and receiving an answering fire all the way. Pursuers and pursued moved on over the crest of the hill, and there the Spaniards received a new surprise. Lieutenant Magill and his men had made a detour and were waiting for them. As the enemy came within rifle shot over the hill and started to descend Lieutenant Magill's men emptied their rifles. The Spanish turned back dismayed, and wavered for a time between the two fires of our troops, uncertain which way to turn. Then they assembled at the top of the hill. This was a fatal mistake, for the Dolphin had taken up a position to the sea side of the hills in the morning, and the moment her commander espied the Spaniards on the summit of the ridge he opened fire upon them.

The slaughter was terrific, but it is but just to record the fact that the enemy made a brave fight. They would not surrender, and made an attempt to fight their way along the summit of the ridge, but they were routed and ran in all directions to escape.

While the Americans were destroying the blockhouse, tank and windmill the Cubans rounded up a Spanish lieutenant and seventeen privates. These were spared and compelled to surrender. The lieutenant gave the Spanish loss in the battle at sixty-eight killed and nearly 200 wounded. Not an American was killed, and no one seriously wounded.

TRANSPORTS FILLED WITH TROOPS.

After weeks of waiting and preparation the first army of invasion to start from the eastern shores of the United States departed under the command of General Shatter on the morning of June 14 at 9 o'clock. The fleet of transports consisted of thirty-five vessels, four tenders and fourteen convoys. The actual embarkation of the troops began on Monday, June 6. The work proceeded diligently until late on Wednesday afternoon, when, after the departure of several vessels, an important order came, calling a halt in the proceedings. The alleged cause of the delay was the report that the Hornet while out scouting had sighted several Spanish war vessels.

Like a wet blanket came the order to halt. Cheerfulness was displaced by keen disappointment. Two questions were on every tongue—"Has Spain surrendered?" "Has our fleet met with a reverse?" The former met with the readiest belief, many believing the words in the order "indefinitely postponed" meant peace.

General Miles and his staff went to Port Tampa Sunday morning at 6:30' to deliver parting instructions. During a heavy rain squall on Saturday night at 8 o'clock while the transports were straining at their cables the little tug Captain Sam steamed from ship to ship megaphoning the order: "Stand ready to sail at daylight." Above the roar of the storm wild cheers were heard and a bright flash of lightning revealed the soldiers standing in the rain waving their wet hats and hurrahing. When the morning broke, piers were lined with transports, the docks were crowded with box cars, flat cars, stock cars, baggage and express cars. Most of these were crowded with soldiers who were cheered until their ears ached, and who cheered in return until hoarse.

Bright-colored dresses and fragile parasols in the crowds of blue-coats indicated the presence of the fair sex. Horses and mules were kicking up clouds of dust and the sun poured down its hot rays on the sweltering mass of humanity. Thus Sunday passed, the transports at the docks and those in midstream receiving their quotas of men and the necessaries to sustain them.

STIRRING SCENES CONTINUED.

General Miles again went to the port on Monday on the early train. The stirring scenes continued; the mad rush had not abated. General Miles from the observation end of his car watched the crowd as it passed near him. The transports swinging at their moorings were plainly in view, as were also many of those at the docks. The embarkation of animals was progressing satisfactorily.

Shortly after 9 o'clock the funnels of the transports began to pour forth volumes of black smoke. The Olivette, Margaret, Mateo and Laura were visiting the fleet, giving water to one, troops to another, animals and equipments to another. Along the pier could be heard the voices of the transport commanders as they gave their orders to cut loose. The gangplanks were pulled in, the hatchways closed, lines cast off and the engines were put in motion.

The vessels backed into the bay and anchored to await the order to sail. The Matteawan hove her cable short at 10 o'clock. All eyes were riveted on the Seguranca, the flagship, and when the final signal came a mighty cheer arose. From the lower row of portholes to her tops hats waved in wild delight. The anchor was quickly weighed and the great vessel pointed her prow down the bay. In a few minutes the City of Washington, Rio Grande, Cherokee, Iroquois and Whitney followed. As these boats picked their way through the anchored fleet men shouted and bands played. Every vessel elicited a wild display of enthusiasm. These were the only vessels to depart in the forenoon, some of them going over to St. Petersburg to procure water.

General Miles, evidently becoming impatient, embarked on the Tarpon at 12:30 and went out among the fleet, going as far down the bay as St. Petersburg and not returning until 4 o'clock. In the meantime other transports were steaming down the bay.

In the afternoon the Morgan cut a path of white foam down the channel, and her lead was followed by the Vigilance, San Marcos, Clinton, Yucatan, Stillwater, Berkshire, Olivette, Santiago, Arkansas, Seneca, Saratoga, Miami, Leona, Breakwater and Comal. By the time these vessels had moved away darkness had enveloped the remaining ships, from whose sides glimmered long rows of lights. The Knickerbocker, numbered thirteen, and the Orizaba had much to take on during the night. The last to load were eager to complete the task for fear they might be left. By daylight all the ships except the Seguranca had moved down the bay. At 9 o'clock the Seguranca, amid cheers and the blowing of whistles, followed.

General Shatter and his staff were the last to leave. The last orders were handed to Lieutenant Miley, an aid to General Shafter, and immediately the flagship started.

SAMPSON AGAIN SHELLS SANTIAGO.

Rear-Admiral Sampson's fleet bombarded the batteries at Santiago de Cuba for the third time at daylight on the morning of June 16.

For hours the ships pounded the batteries at the right and left of the entrance, only sparing El Morro, where Lieutenant Hobson and his companions of the Merrimac were in prison.

As a preliminary to the hammering given the batteries the dynamite cruiser Vesuvius at midnight was given another chance. Three 250-pound charges of gun cotton were sent over the fortifications at the entrance. The design was to drop them in the bay around the angle back of the eminence on which El Morro is situated, where it was known that the Spanish torpedo-boat destroyers were lying. Two charges went true, as no reports were heard—a peculiarity of the explosion of gun cotton in water. The third charge exploded with terrific violence on Cayo Smith.

From where the fleet lay the entrance to the harbor looked, in the black night, like a door opening into the livid fire of a Titanic furnace. A crater big enough to hold a church was blown out of the side of the Cayo Smith and was clearly seen from the ships.

Coffee was served to the men at 3:30 in the morning, and with the first blush of dawn the men were called quietly to quarters. The ship steamed in five-knot speed to a 3,000-yard range, when they closed up, broadside on, until a distance of three cable-lengths separated them. They were strung out in the form of a crescent, the heavy fighting ships in the center, the flagship on the right flank and the Massachusetts on the left flank. The line remained stationary throughout the bombardment. The Vixen and Scorpion took up positions on opposite flanks, close in shore, for the purpose of enfilading any infantry that might fire upon the ships.

When the ships got into position it was still too dark for any firing. The Admiral signaled the ships not to fire until the muzzles of the enemy's guns in the embrasures could be seen by the gun captains.

Fifteen minutes later, at 5:25 am, the New York opened with a broadside from her main battery at the works on the east of the entrance to the harbor. All the ships followed in red streaks of flame. The fleet, enveloped in smoke, pelted the hills and kicked up dirt and masonry.

Though the gun captains had been cautioned not to waste ammunition, but to fire with deliberation, the fire was so rapid that there was an almost continuous report. The measured crash of the big thirteen-inch guns of the battleships sounded above the rattle of the guns of the secondary batteries like thunder-claps above the din of a hurricane. A strong land breeze off the shore carried the smoke of the ships seaward, while it let down a thick curtain in front of the Spanish gunners.

The dons responded spiritedly at first, but their frenzied, half-crazed fire could not match the cool nerve, trained eyes and skilled gunnery of the American sailors. Our fire was much more effective than in preceding bombardments. The Admiral's ordnance expert had given explicit directions to reduce the powder charges and to elevate the guns, so as to shorten the trajectory and thus to secure a plunging fire.

The effect of the reduced charges was marvelous. In fifteen minutes one western battery was completely wrecked. The Massachusetts tore a gaping hole in the emplacement with a 1,000-pound projectile, and the Texas dropped a shell into the powder magazine. The explosion wrought terrible havoc.

The frame was lifted, the sides were blown out and a shower of debris flew in every direction. One timber, carried out of the side of the battery, went tumbling down the hill.

The batteries on the east of Morro were harder to get at, but the New Orleans crossed the bows of the New York to within 500 yards of shore and played a tattoo with her long eight-inch rifles, hitting them repeatedly, striking a gun squarely muzzle-on, lifting it off its trunnions and sending it sweeping somersaults high in the air.

When the order came, at 6:30, to cease firing, every gun of the enemy had been silenced for ten minutes, but as the ships drew off some of the Spanish courage returned and a half-dozen shots were fired spitefully at the Massachusetts and Oregon, falling in their wakes.

WENT ASHORE WITH A RUSH.

Sea and weather were propitious when, on June 22, the great army of invasion under General Shatter left their transports in Baiquiri harbor, and landed on Cuban soil. The navy and the army co-operated splendidly and as the big warships closed in on the shore to pave the way for the approach of the transports and then went back again, three cheers for the navy went up from many thousand throats on the troop-ships and three cheers for the army rose from ship after ship.

The Cuban insurgents, too, bore their share in the enterprise honorably and well. Five thousand of them in mountain fastness and dark thickets of ravines, lay all the previous night on their guns watching every road and mountain path leading from Santiago to Guantanamo. A thousand of them were within sight of Baiquiri, making the approach of the Spaniards under cover of darkness an impossibility.

There is a steep, rocky hill, known as Punta Baiquiri, rising almost perpendicularly at the place indicated. It is a veritable Gibraltar in possibilities of defense. From the staff at its summit the Spanish flag was defiantly floating at sunset; but in the morning it was gone, and with it the small Spanish guard which had maintained the signal station. Between nightfall and dawn the Spaniards had taken the alarm and fled from the place, firing the town as they left.

The flames were watched with interest from the ships. Two sharp explosions were heard. At first they were thought to be the report of guns from Spanish masked batteries, but they proved to be explosions of ammunition in a burning building.

Three hours' waiting made the men on the transports impatient to get ashore and in action, and every move of the warships was closely watched by the soldiers.

A little before 9 o'clock the bombardment of the batteries of Juragua was begun. This was evidently a feint to cover the real point of attack, Juragua being about half-way between Baiquiri and Santiago. The bombardment lasted about twenty minutes. The scene then quickly shifted back again to the great semi-circle of transports before Baiquiri.

At 9:40 o'clock the New Orleans opened fire with a gun that sent a shell rumbling and crashing against the hillside. The Detroit, Wasp, Machias and Suwanee followed suit. In five minutes the sea was alive with flotillas of small boats, headed by launches, speeding for the Baiquiri dock. Some of the boats were manned by crews of sailors, while others were rowed by the soldiers themselves. Each boat contained sixteen men, every one in fighting trim and carrying three days' rations, a shelter tent, a gun and 200 cartridges. All were ready to take the field on touching the shore should they be called upon.

The firing of the warships proved to be a needless precaution, as their shots were not returned and no Spaniards were visible.

General Shafter, on board the Seguranca, closely watched the landing of the troops. Brigadier-General Lawton, who had been detailed to command the landing party, led the way in a launch, accompanied by his staff, and directed the formation of the line of operation.

A detachment of eighty regulars was the first to land, followed by General Shafter's old regiment, the First infantry. Then came the Twenty-fifth, Twenty-second, Tenth, Seventh and Twelfth infantry in the order named, and the Second Massachusetts and a detachment of the Ninth cavalry.

The boats rushed forward simultaneously from every quarter, in good-natured rivalry to be first, and their occupants scrambled over one another to leap ashore. As the boats tossed about in the surf getting ashore was no easy matter, and the soldiers had to throw their rifles on the dock before they could climb up. Some hard tumbles resulted, but nobody was hurt. At the end of the pier the companies and regiments quickly lined up and marched away.

General Lawton threw a strong detachment for the night about six miles west, on the road to Santiago, and another detachment was posted to the north of the town among the hills. The rest of the troops were quartered in the town, some of them being housed in the buildings of the iron company.

Some of the troops were quartered in deserted houses, while others preferred the shelter of their tents in the adjoining fields.

The morning's fire, it was seen, had destroyed the roundhouse, the repair shops and several small dwellings. The town was deserted when the troops landed, but women and children soon appeared from the surrounding thickets and returned to their homes.

Part of the sun-bronzed troops quickly searched the buildings and beat up the thickets in search of lurking foes and then at nightfall marched into the unknown country beyond, with long, swinging strides and the alert bearing of the old frontier army men, ready to fight the Spaniards Sioux-fashion or in the open, wherever they could be found.

The landing was accomplished without loss of life, the only accident being the wounding of an insurgent on the hills by a shell from one of the warships.

VICTORY IS DEARLY BOUGHT.

On Friday morning, June 24, four troops of the First cavalry, four troops of the Tenth cavalry and eight troops of Roosevelt's Rough Riders—less than 1,000 men in all—dismounted and attacked 2,000 Spanish soldiers in the thickets within five miles of Santiago de Cuba. A bloody conflict ensued, and the Americans lost sixteen men, including Captain Allyn M. Capron and Hamilton Fish, Jr., of the Rough Riders.

Practically two battles were fought at the same time, one by the Rough Riders under the immediate command of Colonel Wood, on the top of the plateau, and the other on the hillsides, several miles away, by the regulars, with whom was General Young.

The expedition started from Juragua—marked on some Cuban maps as
Altares—a small town on the coast nine miles east of Morro
Castle, which was the first place occupied by the troops after
their landing at Baiquiri.

Information was brought to the American army headquarters by Cubans that forces of Spanish soldiers had assembled at the place where the battle occurred to block the march on Santiago.

General Young went there to dislodge them, the understanding being that the Cubans under General Castillo would co-operate with him, but the latter failed to appear until the fight was nearly finished. Then they asked permission to chase the fleeing Spaniards, but as the victory was already won General Young refused to allow them to take part in the fight.

General Young's plans contemplated the movement of half of his command along the trail at the base of the range of hills leading back from the coast, so that he could attack the Spaniards on the flank while the Rough Riders went off to follow the trail leading over the hill to attack them in front. This plan was carried out completely. The troops left Juragua at daybreak. The route of General Young and the regulars was comparatively level and easy of travel. Three Hotch-kiss guns were taken with this command.

The first part of the journey of the Rough Riders was over steep hills several hundred feet high. The men carried 200 rounds of ammunition and heavy camp equipment. Although this was done easily in the early morning, the weather became intensely hot, and the sun beat down upon the cowboys and Eastern athletes as they toiled up the grade with their heavy packs, and frequent rests were necessary. The trail was so narrow that for the greater part of the way the men had to proceed single file. Prickly cactus bushes lined both sides of the trail, and the underbrush was so thick that it was impossible to see ten feet on either side. All the conditions were favorable for a murderous ambuscade, but the troopers kept a close watch, and made as little noise as possible.

The Rough Riders entered into the spirit of the occasion with the greatest enthusiasm. It was their first opportunity for a fight, and every man was eager for it. The weather grew swelteringly hot, and one by one the men threw away blankets and tent rolls, and emptied their canteens.

The first intimation had by Colonel Wood's command that there were
Spaniards in the vicinity was when they reached a point three or
four miles back from the coast, when the low cuckoo calls of the
Spanish soldiers were heard in the bush.

It was difficult to locate the exact point from which these sounds came, and the men were ordered to speak in low tones.

CHARGE THE ENEMY

As soon as the enemy could be located a charge was ordered, and the Americans rushed into the dense thicket regardless of danger. The Spaniards fell back, but fired as they ran, and the battle lasted about an hour.

The Spaniards left many dead on the field, their loss in killed being not less than fifty.

The Spanish had carefully planned an ambush and intended to hold the Americans in check. They became panic-stricken at the boldness of the rush made by the invading force. The position gained was of great advantage.

Where the battle took place a path opens into a space covered with high grass on the right-hand side of the trail and the thickets. A barbed wire fence runs along the left side. The dead body of a Cuban was found on the side of the road, and at the same time Captain Capron's troops covered the outposts the heads of several Spaniards were seen in the bushes for a moment.

It was not until then that the men were permitted to load their carbines. When the order to load was given they acted on it with a will and displayed the greatest eagerness to make an attack. At this time the sound of firing was heard a mile or two to the right, apparently coming from the hills beyond the thicket. It was the regulars replying to the Spaniards who had opened on them from the thicket. In addition to rapid rifle fire the boom of Hotchkiss guns could be heard.

Hardly two minutes elapsed before Mauser rifles commenced to crack in the thicket and a hundred bullets whistled over the heads of the Rough Riders, cutting leaves from the trees and sending chips flying from the fence posts by the side of the men. The Spaniards had opened and they poured in a heavy fire, which soon had a most disastrous effect. The troops stood their ground with the bullets singing all around them. Private Colby caught sight of the Spaniards and fired the opening shot at them before the order to charge was given.

Sergeant Hamilton Fish, Jr., was the first man to fall. He was shot through the heart and died instantly. The Spaniards were not more than 200 yards off, but only occasional glimpses of them could be seen. The men continued to pour volley after volley into the brush in the direction of the sound of the Spanish shots, but the latter became more frequent and seemed to be getting nearer.

Colonel Wood walked along his lines, displaying the utmost coolness. He ordered troops to deploy into the thicket, and sent another detachment into the open space on the left of the trail. Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt led the former detachment and tore through the brush, urging his men on. The shots came thicker and faster every moment, and the air seemed filled with the singing and shrieking sound of the Mauser bullets, while the short pop of the Spanish rifles could be distinguished easily from the heavier reports of the American weapons. Sometimes the fire would come in volleys and again shots would follow each other in rapid succession for several minutes.

Captain Capron stood behind his men, revolver in hand, using it whenever a Spaniard exposed himself. His aim was sure and two of the enemy were seen to fall under his fire. Just as he was preparing to take another shot and shouting orders to his men at the same time, his revolver dropped from his grasp and he fell to the ground with a ball through his body. His troop was badly disconcerted for a moment, but with all the strength he could muster he cried, "Don't mind me, boys, go on and fight." He was carried from the field as soon as possible and lived only a few hours. Lieutenant Thomas of the same troop received a wound through the leg soon afterward and became delirious from pain.

ROOSEVELT'S NARROW ESCAPE.

The troops that were in the thicket were not long in getting into the midst of the fight. The Spaniards located them and pressed them hard, but they sent a deadly fire in return, even though most of the time they could not see the enemy. After ten or fifteen minutes of hot work the firing fell off some, and Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt ordered his men back from the thicket into the trail, narrowly escaping a bullet himself, which struck a tree alongside his head.

It was evident the Spaniards were falling back and changing their positions, but the fire continued at intervals. Then the troops tore to the front and into more open country than where the enemy's fire was coming from. About this time small squads commenced to carry the wounded from the thicket and lay them in a more protected spot on the trail until they could be removed to the field hospital.

It was not long before the enemy gave way and ran down the steep hill and up another hill to the blockhouse, with the evident intent of making a final stand there.

Colonel Wood was at the front directing the movement and it was here that Major Brodie was shot. Colonel Wood and Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt both led the troops in pursuit of the fleeing Spaniards and a hail of bullets was poured into the blockhouse. By the time the American advance got within 600 yards of the blockhouse the Spaniards abandoned it and scattered among the brush up another hill in the direction of Santiago, and the battle was at an end.

During all this time just as hot a fire had been progressing at General Young's station. The battle began in much the same manner as the other one, and when the machine guns opened fire the Spaniards sent volleys at the gunners from the brush on the opposite hillside. Two troops of cavalry charged up the hill and other troops sent a storm of bullets at every point from which the Spanish shots came. The enemy was gradually forced back, though firing all the time until they, as well as those confronting the Rough Riders, ran for the blockhouse only to be dislodged by Colonel Wood's men.

General Young stated afterwards that the battle was one of the sharpest he had ever experienced. It was only the quick and constant fire of the troopers, whether they could see the enemy or not, that caused the Spaniards to retreat so soon. General Young spoke in the highest terms of the conduct of the men in his command, and both Colonel Wood and Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt were extremely gratified with the work done by the Rough Riders on the first occasion of their being under fire.

When it became evident that the Spaniards were giving up the fight, searching parties went through the thicket and tall grass, picking up the dead and wounded. The latter were carried to a field hospital half a mile to the rear and all possible attention was given them, while preparation was made to remove them to Juragua.

ARMY IN A BAPTISM OF FIRE.

After a period of comparative idleness the campaign was opened in earnest Friday, July 1, when General Shafter's army began an attack at dawn upon the Spanish fortifications. Shatter had come from Cuero to El Caney with his army, making headquarters at Siboney. From these points the Spanish troops under General Linares had retreated a short distance and taken San Juan hill, from which they had accurate range of the American batteries. Shafter's forces were without sufficient guns, while the Spaniards had more and of a heavier caliber than was anticipated.

The American army slept Thursday night within sight of its battlefield of the morrow. At daylight Friday morning the forward movement began. Hard fighting was expected at El Caney, guarding the northeastern approach to Santiago, and against this position were massed the commands of Generals Lawton and Wheeler, supported by Capron's battery of light artillery. Both General Wheeler and General Young were sick, so General Sumner was assigned to the command of the former and Colonel Wood of the Rough Riders was placed in command of General Young's cavalry brigade. Colonel Carroll of the Sixth cavalry took General Sumner's place at the head of the First brigade of cavalry. Under General Lawton were three brigades—Colonel Van Horn's, consisting of the Eighth and Twenty-second infantry and the Second Massachusetts volunteers; Colonel Miles', consisting of the First, Fourth and Twenty-fifth infantry, and General Chaffee's, consisting of the Seventh, Twelfth and Seventeenth infantry. On the eve of battle Colonel Van Horn was replaced by General Ludlow. Under General Sumner were four troops of the Second cavalry and eight troops of the First volunteer cavalry; under Colonel Wood the Rough Riders, the Tenth cavalry and four troops of the First cavalry. These two cavalry commands occupied the left of the San Juan plain for the attack on the blockhouse at that point. They were supported by Colonel Carroll's brigade, consisting of the Third, Sixth and Ninth cavalry, and by Captain Grimes' battery of the Second artillery.

The southeastern approaches to the city were commanded by General Kent's division. His First brigade was commanded by General Hawkins and consisted of the Sixth and Sixteenth regular infantry and the Seventy-first New York volunteers. Colonel Pearson commanded the Second brigade, composed of the Second, Tenth and Twenty-first regular infantry, while the Third brigade, commanded by Colonel Worth, consisted of the Ninth, Thirteenth and Twenty-fourth regular infantry. Aguadores was their objective point. Grimes' battery of artillery and the Rough Riders were to support General Kent in his attack on Aguadores, while General Duffield, with the Thirty-third and a battalion of the Thirty-fourth Michigan volunteers, was in advance of Kent's left.

CAPTAIN CAPRON OPENS THE FIGHT.

The first shot of the engagement came at 6:45 o'clock Friday morning. It was fired by Captain Allyn M. Capron's Battery E of the First artillery. The privilege of opening the engagement was granted this officer because of the killing of his son among the Rough Riders who fell near Sevilla. The Spanish answered the challenge from their forts and trenches about Caney, and immediately the battle was on. The Spaniards for a time fought desperately to prevent the town from falling into the hands of our forces, but before the fighting had been long under way the Americans and Cubans under Garcia gained advanced ground. Foot by foot the enemy was driven back into the village. The enthusiasm of the American forces was intense and their spirit quickly spread to the Cuban troops.

At one time during this fight one of the big military balloons used by the signal corps for reconnoissance hung over San Juan, not over 500 yards from the enemy, and for five minutes the Spaniards below tried to puncture it, but they were unable to get the range. This balloon proved of inestimable service in the engagement. It floated just over the tree tops, and was easily guided along three miles of the road toward the lines of the enemy. Whenever it halted for the purpose of taking a photograph of the fortifications below, the Spaniards seized the occasion for taking pot shots.

In the fighting at San Juan a Spanish shell two and a half inches in diameter burst in the midst of Captain Puritier's Battery K of the First artillery, wounding several. Among those injured was. Private Samuel Barr. Roosevelt's Rough Riders were also in this fight and bore themselves with as much credit as in the battle of last Friday in the bush. Several of the Rough Riders were wounded.

THE FIGHT BEFORE CANEY.

Meanwhile the battle was raging fiercely at Caney and Aguadores. In General Lawton's division the Second Massachusetts up to the middle of the day sustained the heaviest loss, although other regiments were more actively engaged. During the afternoon the fight for the possession of Caney was most obstinate, and the ultimate victory reflects great credit upon the American troops. It was a glory, too, for Spain, though she never had a chance to win at any time during the day. Her men fought in intrenchments, covered ways and blockhouses, while the American forces were in the open from first to last. The Spanish soldiers stuck to their work like men, and this, the first land fight of the war, may well cause Spain to feel proud of her men. The American soldiers attacked the intrenchments through open ground, and, from the firing of the first shot until they were on the hills above Caney, they fought their way forward and the Spanish were driven backward. General Chaffee's brigade held the right of the line with the town of Caney. General Ludlow's division was in the center and Colonel Miles held the left.

The firing at times was very heavy during the morning, but the Spaniards in the covered way made a most obstinate defense and refused to yield an inch. Time and again the shells from Captain Capron's battery drove them to cover, but as soon as his fire ceased they were up and at it again. Despite the heavy firing of the American troops they were able to make but little apparent progress during the morning, although eventually they steadily drew in and inclosed the town on all sides.

At noon it became evident that the fire from the covered way could not be stopped by the artillery alone and that no permanent advance could be made until the place was taken, and General Lawton decided to capture it by assault. Accordingly he sent a messenger to General Chaffee, with instructions to take the position by a charge. General Chaffee thereupon closed in with his men rapidly from the north, while Captain Capron maintained a heavy fire on the fort, keeping the Spaniards in the covered way and putting hole after hole into the stone walls of the fort. Shortly afterward he threw a shot from the battery, which tore away the flagstaff, bringing the Spanish flag to the ground. From that time no banner waved above it.

No finer work has ever been done by soldiers than was done by the brigades of General Ludlow and Colonel Miles as they closed in on the town. The Spanish blazed at them with Mausers and machine guns but without effect. Nothing could stop them and they pushed in closer during the afternoon, and by the time General Chaffee's men were in form Miles and Ludlow were in the streets of the town, holding with tenacity the Spaniards from retreating toward Santiago, while Chaffee closed in on the right.

The fighting for hours in front of Colonel Miles' line at a hacienda known as "Duero" was very fierce. The Spanish defense was exceedingly obstinate. The house was guarded by rifle pits, and as fast as the Spaniards were driven from one they retreated into another and continued firing.

When the final closing-in movement was begun at 6 p.m. the town of Caney was taken and a large number of prisoners was captured. The Spanish loss was 2,000 in all.

ATTACK ON AGUADORES.

The only movement of the day which did not meet with success was General Duffield's attempt to occupy the sea village of Aguadores. The New York, the Suwanee and the Gloucester shelled the old fort and the rifle pits during the forenoon, drove all the Spaniards from the vicinity and bowled over the parapet from which flew the Spanish flag; but, owing to the broken railway bridge, General Duffield's troops were unable to get across the river which separated them from the little town, and were compelled to go back to Juragua.

Saturday at dawn the Spaniards, encouraged by Linares at their head, attempted to retake San Juan hill. Hotchkiss guns mowed them down in platoons. They were driven back into the third line of their intrenchments, and there their sharpshooters, reported to be among the finest in the world, checked the Americans. The batteries of Grimes, Parkhurst and Burt were compelled to retire to El Paso hill. Lawton came with the Ninth Massachusetts and the Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Michigan and the Spaniards began to retreat.

Sampson then began bombardment of the outer forts of Santiago. The Oregon shot down Morro's flag and battered the old castle into dust. The batteries at Punta Gorda were blown up by the Oregon and the Indiana. Not one of the American ships was hit by the Spanish fire.

At Guantanamo the Cuban forces under Garcia and Castillo killed 300 Spanish soldiers and routed the enemy's army there. Castillo's forces forced their way to within five miles of Santiago.

SHATTER'S REPORTS OF THE FIGHT.

The nation was thrown into a fever of excitement Friday when the following bulletin was posted at the War Department, in Washington:

Camp, Near Sevilla, Cuba 5—Action now going on. The firing only light and desultory. Began on the right near Caney, Lawton's division. He will move on the northeast part of the town of Santiago. Will keep you continually advised of progress.

SHAFTER.

For several hours this was the only information from the seat of war, but later a dispatch came from Colonel Alien, in charge of the signal station at Playa del Este. He said that the fight was growing furious in all directions. At the time he sent the telegram eight Americans and nine Cubans had been wounded. All through Saturday rumors of American reverses were rife, and to make public information definite, so far as it went, the War Department thought it wise to post a dispatch which it had received early that morning. This was as follows:

Siboney, via Playa del Este, July l.—I fear I have underestimated to-day's casualties. A large and thoroughly equipped hospital ship should be sent here at once to care for the wounded. The chief surgeon says he has use for forty more medical officers. The ship must bring a launch and boats for conveying the wounded. SHAFTER, Major-General.

The next message made public sent a wave of apprehension over the country. The text was as follows:

Camp Near Sevilla, Cuba, via Playa del Este, July 3.—We have the town well invested in the north and east, but with a very thin line. Upon approaching it we find it of such a character and the defense so strong it will be impossible to carry it by storm with my present forces. Our losses up to date will aggregate 1,000, but list has not yet been made. But little sickness outside of exhaustion from intense heat and exertion of the battle of day before yesterday and the almost constant fire which is kept up on the trenches. Wagon road to the rear is kept open with difficulty on account of rains, but I will be able to use it for the present. General Wheeler is seriously ill and will probably have to go to the rear to-day. General Young is also very ill, confined to his bed. General Hawkins slightly wounded in the foot during sortie enemy made last night, which was handsomely repulsed. The behavior of the troops was magnificent. General Garcia reported he holds the railroad from Santiago to San Luis and has burned a bridge and removed some rails; also that General Pando has arrived at Palma and that the French consul, with about 400 French citizens, came into his line yesterday from Santiago. I have directed him to treat them with every courtesy possible. SHAFTER, Major-General.

General Miles sent the following dispatch to General Shafter:

Headquarters of the Army, Washington, D. C., July 3.—Accept my hearty congratulations on the record made of magnificent fortitude, gallantry, and sacrifice displayed in the desperate fighting of the troops before Santiago. I realize the hardships, difficulties, and sufferings, and am proud that amid those terrible scenes the troops illustrated such fearless and patriotic devotion to the welfare of our common country and flag. Whatever the results to follow their unsurpassed deeds of valor, the past is already a gratifying chapter of history. I expect to be with you within one week, with strong reinforcements.

MILES, Major-General Commanding.

General Shafter's reply was as follows:

Playa, July 4, Headquarters Fifth Army Corps, Near Santiago, July 3—I thank you in the name of the gallant men I have the honor to command for splendid tribute of praise which you have accorded them. They bore themselves as American soldiers always have. Your telegram will be published at the head of the regiments in the morning. I feel that I am master of the situation and can hold the enemy for any length of time. I am delighted to know that you are coming, that you may see for yourself the obstacles which this army had to overcome. My only regret is the great number of gallant souls who have given their lives for our country's cause. SHAFTER.

In the light of these sorrowful, if triumphant, facts it must not be forgotten that the enemy also suffered a terrible loss. In the fatuous sortie upon the American position on the night of July 2 General Linares, commanding in Santiago, was wounded in the foot and shoulder and 500 of his soldiers died upon the field. Scarcely a man in our intrenchments was hurt. Of the Spanish 29th battalion defending El Caney less than 100 survived. General Vara de Rey, its commander, was buried with military honors, General Ludlow taking possession of his sword and spurs.

The Spanish fought stubbornly throughout, and their retreat, though steady, was slowly and coolly conducted. They contested every inch of the way and fought with unexpected skill, their officers handling the troops with bravery and good judgment, and demonstrating that in them our boys in blue were fighting with foemen worthy of their steel.

The gallantry of the American officers was conspicuous throughout the battle. Major-General Wheeler, who was seriously indisposed and suffering from an attack of fever, ordered an ambulance to convey him to the front, where the sound of fighting seemed to give him new life, and in a short time he called for his horse and personally directed his division in the attack.

General Hawkins, commanding the First Brigade, Ninth Division, was conspicuous for the manner in which he exposed himself to Spanish bullets. After taking the redoubt on the hill with his command he stood for a long time on the summit watching the fight. A heavy fire at times was concentrated on the spot, but he surveyed the field of battle while the bullets were whizzing past by hundreds.

SHAFTER DEMANDS THE SURRENDER OF THE CITY.

On July 3 General Shafter sent the following communication to
General Toral, commanding the Spanish army in the province of
Santiago:

Headquarters of United States Forces, Near San Juan River, Cuba, July 3, 8:30 A. M.—To the Commanding General of the Spanish Forces, Santiago de Cuba—Sir: I shall be obliged, unless you surrender, to shell Santiago de Cuba. Please inform the citizens of foreign countries and all women and children that they should leave the city before 10 o'clock to-morrow morning. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. R. SHAFTER, Major-General, U. S. A.

General Toral made this reply:

Santiago de Cuba, July 3, 2 pm.—His Excellency, the General Commanding the Forces of the United States, San Juan River—Sir: I have the honor to reply to your communication of to-day written at 8:30 A. M. and received at 1 pm, demanding the surrender of this city; on the contrary case announcing to me that you will bombard the city, and asking that I advise the foreign women and children that they must leave the city before 10 o'clock to-morrow morning. It is my duty to say to you that this city will not surrender and that I will inform the foreign Consuls and inhabitants of the contents of your message.

Very respectfully, JOSE TORAL, Commander in Chief, Fourth Corps.

The British, Portuguese, Chinese, and Norwegian Consuls requested that non-combatants be allowed to occupy the town of Caney and railroad points, and asked until 10 o'clock of the next day for them to leave Santiago. They claimed that there were between 15,000 and 20,000 people, many of them old, whose lives would be endangered by the bombardment. On the receipt of this request General Shafter sent the following communication:

The Commanding General, Spanish General, Spanish Forces, Santiago de Cuba—Sir: In consideration of the request of the Consuls and officers in your city for delay in carrying out my intention to fire on the city, and in the interest of the poor women and children who will suffer greatly by their hasty and enforced departure from the city, I have the honor to announce that I will delay such action solely in their interest until noon of the 5th, providing during the interval your forces make no demonstration whatever upon those of my own.

I am with great respect, your obedient servant, W. R. SHAFTER,
Major-General, U. S. A.

On July 6 the flag of truce which had been flying over Santiago for a day or two was still displayed, but a smaller flag was presently seen coming from the city in the hands of a man in uniform.

A party was sent from General Shafter's headquarters to receive the bearer of the flag. It was found that he was a commissioner from General Toral. He announced to those who met him that he had an important communication to deliver to the commander of the American army, coming direct from General Toral, and he desired to be taken to General Shafter.

Ordinarily such a messenger going through the lines would be blindfolded. Our position was so strong, however, and our offensive works so impressive, that it was decided to give the commissioner the free use of his eyes, so that he might see all the preparations that have been made to reduce the city. The siege guns and mortar batteries were pointed out to him, and he was entertained all the way to head-quarters with a detailed explanation of the number of our forces, our guns, and other matters that must have been of interest to him. In fact, he was very much impressed by what he heard and saw.

Arriving at General Shafter's headquarters the communication from the Spanish commander was delivered with some ceremony. It was quite long. General Toral asked that the time of the truce be further extended, as he wanted to communicate with the Madrid government concerning the surrender of the city. He also asked that cable operators be sent to operate the line between Santiago and Kingston. He promised on his word of honor as a soldier that the operators would, not be asked to transmit any matter except that bearing on the surrender, and that he would return them safe to El Caney when a final reply was received from Madrid. This request for operators was made necessary by the fact that the men who had been operating the Santiago cable were British subjects, and they had all left the city under the protection of the British consul when the Americans gave notice that the city would be bombarded unless it surrendered.

The commissioner said that General Toral wanted to consult with the authorities in Madrid, for the reason that he had been unable to communicate with Captain-General Blanco in Havana.

It was finally arranged that the truce, which expired at four o'clock on the 6th, should be extended until the same hour on Saturday, July 9th.

The commissioner was escorted back through another part of the camp which was filled with bristling guns. The British consul having given his consent to the operators returning to the city, messengers were sent to El Caney to learn if the men would go. They expressed their willingness, and were escorted to the Avails of the city, where they were met by a Spanish escort and taken to the office of the cable company.

DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET.

On the morning of July 3, Admiral Cervera, commander of the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, made a bold dash for liberty by a desperate attempt to break through the American line, in the hope of reaching the open sea.

In the face of overwhelming odds, with nothing before him but inevitable destruction or surrender if he remained any longer in the trap in which the American fleet held him, he made a dash from the harbor at the time the Americans least expected him to do so, and fighting every inch of his way, even when his ship was ablaze and sinking, he tried to escape the doom which was written on the muzzle of every American gun trained upon his vessels.

The Spaniards made a daring venture, and with a less vigilant foe they might have succeeded. It was known in the fleet that General Shatter was closing in on the city and that Admiral Cervera's position was desperate, but it was supposed that he would remain in the harbor and train his guns on the American land forces as long as possible, and that he would blow up his ships rather than allow them to fall into the hands of the enemy. It is certain that Admiral Sampson did not expect Cervera to make a break for liberty, although the American commander has known for several days that the sinking of the Merrimac did not completely block the channel entrance to Santiago harbor.

At 9:35 on Sunday morning the flagship New York, with Admiral Sampson on board, was many miles to the eastward, bearing the admiral to a conference with General Shafter. The fleet as a whole was much farther off shore than usual. Any one looking seaward from Morro Castle and seeing the distant specks on the water would not have realized that the port was effectively blockaded. Evidently the Spaniards had been waiting for the American fleet to become thus scattered. They thought our fleet was napping, and that this was the time to make a quick exit and start homeward.

Very soon after the New York had started to Siboney the shore batteries opened fire on the American fleet. As the vessels were practically out of range and not in the usual line formation this firing from the shore caused some surprise. In the first place, these batteries had been shelled the day before, and it was supposed that they had been silenced, and in the second place it seemed foolish of the Spaniards to undertake haphazard firing.

At that time the vessels of the blockading squadron were at varying distances of from three to ten miles from the harbor entrance. Most of the American cruisers were at the usual Sunday morning quarters, and not one ship was really prepared for immediate action. Almost as soon as the batteries opened fire a Spanish cruiser, the Cristobal Colon, was seen to emerge from the channel entrance and head toward sea, firing her forward battery as she came. Then the signals hurried from one ship to another, and on every American vessel there was a rush of activity. In every engine room there was a signal for full speed. The entire fleet began to move in toward the shore, heading for the channel entrance. At 9:45 the Oquendo slipped out of the channel. By this time the Cristobal Colon had turned to the west, and with a good headway was attempting to slip past the blockaders. The Maria Teresa, the Vizcaya, the two torpedo-boat destroyers, the Furor and the Pluton, and a gunboat were all clear of the channel entrance and racing for liberty when the American vessels opened fire at long range. The Brooklyn, Massachusetts, Texas, Oregon and Iowa bore down upon the Spaniards and opened fire, but they were too far away to get a good range. As for the Spaniards, they began to shoot as soon as they came out of the harbor and continued to blaze away until they were utterly defeated, but they showed poor judgment and bad marksmanship.

THE GLOUCESTER'S GOOD WORK.

As the Americans came in closer and closer the fighting became general. The Gloucester had been lying off Aguadores, three miles east of Morro, when the Spaniards came out. She hurried to join in the attack, and at first opened fire on one of the large cruisers. Already they were being pounded with terrific effect by the battleships, however, so the little Gloucester turned her attention to the two torpedo-boat destroyers which had slipped out of the harbor behind the cruisers. The Gloucester was one of the swiftest boats in the navy, and although she was equipped with nothing heavier than six-pound guns she made a resolute attack on the two destroyers, and the chase began. They headed to the west at high speed, and she flew after them, pouring shot after shot with such wonderful accuracy, that by the time the destroyers were five miles to the west of Morro both were on fire and plainly disabled. They had persistently returned the fire, and a shower of little shells fell around the yacht, but once more the American gunners showed their superiority, for the Gloucester was comparatively unhurt.

The Furor turned at last and gave battle to the Gloucester. Here was another instance of American good luck and Spanish inefficiency. The Furor sent torpedoes against the Gloucester, but they failed to explode. As soon as the Spanish destroyer stopped the Gloucester simply raked her fore and aft with rapid-fire guns, and the Furor again headed west to escape the terrible punishment. The smoke was pouring out of her sides, and soon she turned in toward shore, evidently in a sinking condition. The members of the crew flocked to the small boats and abandoned their craft. Later on most of them were taken prisoners on shore. The Furor was floating about, a mass of flame.

The Pluton also was disabled, and headed for the shore. She was beached under a low bluff, where a heavy sea was running, and was soon pounded so that she broke in two in the middle. Only about half of the crew reached the shore alive.

Having disposed of the two destroyers the Gloucester lowered her small boats and sent them ashore to rescue the Spanish sailors. The Furor drifted about until the fire reached her magazines, and then there were two terrific explosions which shattered her hull. Her stern sunk quickly, and as it went down her bow rose until it stood almost straight up in the air, and in this position she disappeared from sight.

TEST OF BATTLESHIPS.

While the little yacht had been gaining this notable victory over the two famous destroyers the big battleships had been following the line of Spanish cruisers and pounding them with great persistence. The four Spanish cruisers were under the direct fire of the Brooklyn, and the four battleships, the Massachusetts, the Texas, the Iowa and the Oregon. It was the first time that any first-class battleship had ever been put to the test in a naval battle. The huge fighting vessels kept close after the fast cruisers and fired their big guns with deadly certainty. The American fire was so rapid that the ships were surrounded by clouds of smoke.

The Spanish gunners seemed unable to get the proper range and many of their shots were very wild, though a number of them fell dangerously near to the mark.

Two guns of the battery just east of Morro also took part in the game and their shells fell around the American ships. Many of them struck the upper works of the fleeing Spaniards and must have resulted in killing and wounding many of their men.

The Spanish ships had now reached a point about seven miles west of Morro and a mile or two beyond the place where the Furor was burning and the Pluton broken in two against the cliff.

The flagship and the Oquendo were the first to show signals of distress. Two thirteen-inch shells from one of the battleships had struck the Maria Teresa at the water line, tearing great holes in her side and causing her to fill rapidly. The Oquendo suffered about the same fate and both ships headed for a small cove and went aground 200 yards from the shore, flames shooting from them in every direction.

The Gloucester, after sending a boat ashore to the Pluton, steamed along the coast to where the armored cruisers were stranded and went to their assistance. There was danger from the magazines, and many of those on board jumped into the water and swam to the shore, though a number were unable to reach the small strip of sandy beach in the cove and were thrown against the rocks and killed or drowned. Many of the wounded were lowered into the ships' own boats and taken ashore, but this task was a most difficult one.

The Gloucester had all her boats out and one seaman swam through the surf with a line from the Maria Teresa, making it fast to a tree on the shore. By this means many on the flagship, including Admiral Cervera, lowered themselves into the Gloucester's boats. The wounded were taken to the Gloucester as rapidly as possible, and the lower deck of the yacht was soon covered with Spanish sailors mangled in limb and body by the bursting of shells.

CHASE OF THE CRISTOBAL COLON.

The Brooklyn, Oregon, Massachusetts and Texas and several smaller vessels continued the chase of the Cristobal Colon, and in less than an hour were lost to view of the burning ships on shore. The Iowa and Texas both gave assistance to the imperiled crew of the Vizcaya. Her Captain surrendered his command and the prisoners were transferred to the battleship. The Vizcaya probably lost about sixty men, as she carried a complement of 400 and only 340 were taken aboard the Iowa.

Soon after Admiral Cervera reached the shore and surrendered he was taken to the Gloucester, at his own request. There was no mistaking the heartbroken expression upon the old commander's face as he took the proffered hand of Captain Wainwright and was shown to the latter's cabin, but he made every effort to bear bravely the bitter defeat that had come to him. He thanked the Captain of the Gloucester for the words of congratulation offered on the gallant fight, and then spoke earnestly of his solicitude for the safety of his men on shore. He informed Captain Wainwright that Cuban soldiers were on the hills preparing to attack his unarmed men and asked that they be protected.

For hours after Admiral Cervera went aboard the Gloucester the Infanta Maria Teresa, Almirante Oquendo and Vizcaya continued to burn and every now and then a deep roar, accompanied by a burst of flame and smoke from the sides of the ships, would announce the explosion of more ammunition or another magazine.

It may be mentioned as a coincidence that Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright, the Commander of the Gloucester, was executive officer of the Maine at the time of the disaster, and, although he remained in Havana harbor two months after the explosion, he lived on board the dispatch boat Fern and steadfastly refused to set his foot within the city until the time should come when he could go ashore at the head of a landing party of American blue jackets. To-day it was his ship that sank two Spanish torpedo-boat destroyers and afterward received the Spanish Admiral aboard as a prisoner of war.

From his position on the bridge of the Gloucester Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright watched the flames and smoke as they enveloped the decks of the three greatest warships of the Spanish navy, which were soon to be reduced to nothing but shattered masts and twisted smokestacks protruding above the water.

The prisoners of war included the captains of both boats. None offered any resistance and all were glad to go to the Gloucester, as they feared an attack from the Cubans.

When asked to make some statement in regard to the result of the battle Admiral Cervera said: "I would rather lose my ships at sea, like a sailor, than in a harbor. It was the only thing left for me to do."

The work of the American battleships was as rapid as it was terrible. At 9:35 the first vessel headed out past Morro Castle. At 10 o'clock the two destroyers were wrecked and deserted. At 10:15 the Oquendo and Maria Teresa were encircled by the Iowa, Indiana and Texas. At 10:40 both were on the rocks. A few minutes later the Vizcaya was abandoned.

The Cristobal Colon, having the lead, ran farther along the coast before the persistent firing by the Brooklyn and Massachusetts brought her to a stop. She fought for twenty minutes. At noon she was on the rocks, perforated and tattered. Spain's greatest fleet was destroyed in about three hours.

Chief Yoeman Ellis of the Brooklyn was the only American killed In three hours of incessant fighting, while the Spanish loss reached 600 killed, 400 wounded and 1,100 taken prisoners.

ADMIRAL SAMPSON'S OFFICIAL REPORT.

Following is the official report sent by Admiral Sampson to the navy department at Washington:

United States Flagship New York, First Rate, Off Santiago de Cuba, July 15, 1898.—Sir: I have the honor to make the following report upon the battle, with the destruction of the Spanish squadron, commanded by Admiral Cervera, off Santiago de Cuba on Sunday, July 3, 1898:

The enemy's vessels came out of the harbor between 9:35 and 10 am, the head of the column appearing around Cayo Smith at 9:31 and emerging from the channel five or six minutes later. The positions of the vessels of my command off Santiago at that moment were as follows: The flagship New York was four miles east of her blockading station and about seven miles from the harbor entrance. She had started for Siboney, where I intended to land, accompanied by several of my staff, and go to the front to consult with General Shafter. A discussion of the situation and a more definite understanding between us of the operations proposed had been rendered necessary by the unexpectedly strong resistance of the Spanish garrison of Santiago. I had sent my chief of staff on shore the day before to arrange an interview with General Shafter, who had been suffering from heat prostration. I made arrangements to go to his headquarters, and my flagship was in the position mentioned above when the Spanish squadron appeared in the channel.

The remaining vessels were in or near their usual blockading positions, distributed in a semi-circle about the harbor entrance, counting from the eastward to the westward in the following order: The Indiana, about a mile and a half from shore; the Oregon—the New York's place between these two—the Iowa, Texas and Brooklyn, the latter two miles from the shore west of Santiago. The distance of the vessels from the harbor entrance was from two and one-half to four miles—the latter being the limit of day—blockading distance. The length of the arc formed by the ships was about eight miles.

The Massachusetts had left at 4 A. M. for Guantanamo for coal. Her station was between the Iowa and the Texas. The auxiliaries Gloucester and Vixen lay close to the land and nearer the harbor entrance than the large vessels, the Gloucester to the eastward and the Vixen to the westward. The torpedo boat Ericsson was in company with the flagship, and remained with her during the chase until ordered to discontinue, when she rendered very efficient service in rescuing prisoners from the burning Vizcaya.

The Spanish vessels came rapidly out of the harbor at a speed estimated at from eight to ten knots and in the following order: Infanta Maria Teresa (flagship), Vizcaya, Cristobal Colon and the Almirante Oquendo. The distance between these ships was about 800 yards, which means that from the time the first one became visible in the upper reach of the channel until the last one was out of the harbor an interval of only about twelve minutes elapsed. Following the Oquendo at a distance of about 1,200 yards came the torpedo-boat destroyer Pluton, and after her the Furor. The armored cruisers, as rapidly as they could bring their guns to bear, opened a vigorous fire upon the blockading vessels and emerged from the channel shrouded in the smoke from their guns.

The men of our ships in front of the port were at Sunday "quarters for inspection." The signal was made simultaneously from several vessels, "Enemy ships escaping" and "general quarters" was sounded. The men cheered as they sprang to their guns, and fire was opened probably within eight minutes by the vessels whose guns commanded the entrance. The New York turned about and steamed for the escaping fleet, flying the signal "Close in towards harbor entrance and attack vessels," and gradually increased her speed, until toward the end of the chase she was making sixteen and a half knots, and was rapidly closing on the Cristobal Colon. She was not at any time within the range of the heavy Spanish ships, and her only part in the firing was to receive the undivided fire of the forts in passing the harbor entrance and to fire a few shots at one of the destroyers, thought at the moment to be attempting to escape from the Gloucester.

The Spanish vessels, upon clearing the harbor, turned to the westward in column, increasing their speed to the full power of their engines. The heavy blockading vessels, which had closed in toward the Morro at the instant of the enemy's appearance and at their best speed, delivered a rapid fire, well sustained and destructive, which speedily overwhelmed and silenced the Spanish fire. The initial speed of the Spaniards carried them rapidly past the blockading vessels and the battle developed into a chase, in which the Brooklyn and Texas had at the start the advantage of position. The Brooklyn maintained this lead. The Oregon, steaming with amazing speed from the commencement of the action, took first place. The Iowa and Indiana, having done good work and not having the speed of the other ships, were directed by me, in succession, at about the time the Vizcaya was beached, to drop out of the chase and resume the blockading station. The Vixen, finding that the rush of the Spanish ships would put her between two fires, ran outside of our own column, and remained there during the battle and chase.

The skillful handling and gallant fighting of the Gloucester excited the admiration of every one who witnessed it and merits the commendation of the navy department. She is a fast and entirely unprotected auxiliary vessel—the yacht Corsair—and has a good battery of light rapid-fire guns. She was lying about two miles from the harbor entrance, to the southward and eastward, and immediately steamed in, opening fire upon the large ships. Anticipating the appearance of the Pluton and Furor, the Gloucester was slowed, thereby gaining more rapidly a high pressure of steam, and when the destroyers came out she steamed for them at full speed and was able to close at short range, where her fire was accurate, deadly and of great volume.

During this fight the Gloucester was under the fire of the Socapa battery. Within twenty minutes from the time they emerged from Santiago harbor the careers of the Furor and the Pluton were ended and two-thirds of their people killed. The Furor was beached and sunk in the surf, the Pluton sank in deep water a few minutes later. The destroyers probably suffered much injury from the fire of the secondary batteries of the battleships Iowa, Indiana and the Texas, yet I think a very considerable factor in their speedy destruction was the fire at close range of the Gloucester's battery. After rescuing the survivors of the destroyers the Gloucester did excellent service in landing and securing the crew of the Infanta Maria Teresa.

The method of escape attempted by the Spaniards—all steering in the same direction and in formation—removed all tactical doubts or difficulties and made plain the duty of every United States vessel to close in, immediately engage and pursue. This was promptly and effectively done.

As already stated, the first rush of the Spanish squadron carried it past a number of the blockading ships, which could not immediately work up to their best speed, but they suffered heavily in passing, and the Infanta Maria Teresa and the Oquendo were probably set on fire by shells fired during the first fifteen minutes of the engagement. It was afterwards learned that the Infanta Maria Teresa's fire main had been cut by one of our first shots and that she was unable to extinguish the fire. With large volumes of smoke rising from their lower decks aft, these vessels gave up both fight and flight and ran in on the beach-the Infanta Maria Teresa at about 10:15 A. M. at Nima Nima, six and one-half miles from Santiago harbor entrance, and the Almirante Oquendo at about 10:30 A. M. at Juan Gonzales, seven miles from the port.

The Vizcaya was still under the fire of the leading vessels; the Cristobal Colon had drawn ahead, leading the chase, and soon passed beyond the range of the guns of the leading American ships. The Vizcaya was soon set on fire, and at 11:15 A. M. she turned in shore and was beached at Aserraderos, fifteen miles from Santiago, burning fiercely, and with her reserves of ammunition on deck already beginning to explode.

When about ten miles west of Santiago the Indiana had been signaled to go back to the harbor entrance, and at Aserraderos the Iowa was signaled to "resume blockading station." The Iowa, assisted by the Ericsson and the Hist, took off the crew of the Vizcaya, while the Harvard and the Gloucester rescued those of the Infanta Maria Teresa and the Almirante Oquendo.

This rescue of prisoners, including the wounded, from the burning Spanish vessels was the occasion of some of the most daring and gallant conduct of the day. The ships were burning fore and aft, their guns and reserve ammunition were exploding, and it was not known at what moment the fire would reach the main magazines. In addition to this a heavy surf was running just inside of the Spanish ships. But no risk deterred our officers and men until their work of humanity was complete.

There remained now of the Spanish ships only the Cristobal Colon, but she was their best and fastest vessel. Forced by the situation to hug the Cuban coast, her only chance of escape was by superior and sustained speed. When the Vizcaya went ashore the Colon was about six miles ahead of the Brooklyn and the Oregon, but her spurt was finished and the American ships were now gaining upon her. Behind the Brooklyn and the Oregon came the Texas, Vixen and New York. It was evident from the bridge of the New York that all the American ships were gradually overhauling the Colon, and that she had no chance of escape.

At 12:50 the Brooklyn and the Oregon opened fire and got her range, the Oregon's heavy shell striking beyond her, and at 1:10 she gave up without firing another shot, hauled down her colors and ran ashore at Rio Torquino, forty-eight miles from Santiago. Capt. Cook of the Brooklyn went on board to receive the surrender. While his boat was alongside I came up in the New York, received his report and placed the Oregon in charge of the wreck to save her, if possible, and directed the prisoners to be transferred to the Resolute, which had followed the chase.

Commodore Schley, whose chief of staff had gone on board to receive the surrender, had directed that all their personal effects should be retained by the officers. This order I did not modify. The Cristobal Colon was not injured by our firing, and probably is not much injured by beaching, though she ran ashore at high speed. The beach was so steep that she came off by the working of the sea. But her sea valves were opened and broken, treacherously, I am sure, after her surrender, and despite all efforts she sank. When it became evident that she could not be kept afloat she was pushed by the New York bodily up on the beach, the New York's stem being placed against her for this purpose—the ship being handled by Capt. Chadwick with admirable judgment—and sank in shoal water and may be saved. Had this not been done she would have gone down in deep water and would have been to a certainty a total loss.

I regard this complete and important victory over the Spanish forces as the successful finish of several weeks of arduous and close blockade, so stringent and effective during the night that the enemy was deterred from making the attempt to escape at night and deliberately elected to make the attempt in daylight. That this was the case I was informed by the commanding officer of the Cristobal Colon.

It was ascertained with fair conclusiveness that the Merrimac, so gallantly taken into the channel on June 3, did not obstruct it. I therefore maintained the blockade as follows:

To the battleships was assigned the duty, in turn, of lighting the channel. Moving up to the port at a distance of from one to two miles from the Morro—dependent upon the condition of the atmosphere—they threw a searchlight beam directly up the channel, and held it steadily there. This lighted up the entire breadth of the channel for half a mile inside of the entrance so brilliantly that the movement of small boats could be detected.

When all the work was done so well it is difficult to discriminate in praise. The object of the blockade of Cervera's squadron was fully accomplished, and each individual bore well his part in it —the commodore in command on the second division, the captains of ships, their officers and men. The fire of the battleships was powerful and destructive and the resistance of the Spanish squadron was in great part broken almost before they had got beyond the range of their own forts. The fine speed of the Oregon, enabled her to take a front position in the chase, and the Cristobal Colon did not give up until the Oregon had thrown a 13-inch shell beyond her. This performance adds to the already brilliant record of this fine battleship and speaks highly of the skill and care with which her admirable efficiency has been maintained during a service unprecedented in the history of vessels of her class.

The Brooklyn's westerly blockading position gave her an advantage in the chase, which she maintained to the end, and she employed her fine battery with telling effect. The Texas and the New York were gaining on the chase during the last hour, and had any accident befallen the Brooklyn or the Oregon, would have speedily overhauled the Cristobal Colon. From the moment the Spanish vessel exhausted her first burst of speed the result was never in doubt. She fell, in fact, far below what might reasonably have been expected of her. Careful measurements of time and distance give her an average speed from the time she cleared the harbor mouth until the time she was run on shore at Rio Tarquino—of 13.7 knots. Neither the New York nor the Brooklyn stopped to couple up their forward engine, but ran out the chase with one pair, getting steam, of course, as rapidly as possible on all boilers. To stop to couple up the forward engines would have meant a delay of fifteen minutes—or four miles—in the chase.

Several of the ships were struck, the Brooklyn more often than the others, but very slight material injury was done, the greatest being aboard the Iowa. Our loss was one man killed and one wounded, both on the Brooklyn. It is difficult to explain this immunity from loss of life or injury to ships in a combat with modern vessels of the best type; but Spanish gunnery is poor at the best, and the superior weight and accuracy of our fire speedily drove the men from their guns and silenced their fire. This is borne out by the statements of prisoners and by observation. The Spanish vessels, as they dashed out of the harbor, were covered with the smoke from their own guns, but this speedily diminished in volume and soon almost disappeared. The fire from the rapid-fire batteries of the battleships appears to have been remarkably destructive. An examination of the stranded vessels shows that the Almirante Oquendo especially had suffered terribly from this fire. Her sides are everywhere pierced and her decks were strewn with the charred remains of those who had fallen.

W. T. SAMPSON,

Rear Admiral United States Navy, Commander in Chief United States
Naval Force, North Atlantic Station. The Secretary of the Navy,
Navy Department, Washington, D. C.

BURNING OF THE ALFONSO XII.

Two batteries silenced; two gunboats put to flight; the Alfonso XII., a transport of 5,000 tons, loaded with ammunition, beached and burned; those were the Spanish losses in the second battle of Mariel on Wednesday, July 6. The Hawk, Prairie and Castine fought it, destroying the most valuable ship and cargo that Spanish daring employed to run into Havana's relief after the blockading squadron stationed itself before Morro.

The Hawk began the battle Tuesday night off Havana. Lieutenant Hood had taken his destroyer yacht far in under the guns to watch the western approach to the harbor. Twenty minutes before midnight he reached the eastern limit of his patrol, six miles west of Morro, and went about, swinging farther in shore as he turned. The Hawk had not finished circling when the forward lookout sighted a huge four-masted steamer creeping along in the shade of the shore a quarter of a mile nearer the beach, a mile to the westward. His "sail ho" warned the master of the steamer that he was discovered and he put about at the cry and steamed furiously away toward Mariel.

Lieutenant Hood was after him in an instant. Eastward within call lay six warships, but Lieutenant Hood wanted the steamer for his own prize, and started after her without calling for aid. Mile after mile the two vessels reeled off, the Hawk waiting to get its prey well away from the squadron before striking. Twenty miles from Morro the steamer began drawing away from the destroyer. The Hawk's men were at their quarters, and when Lieutenant Hood saw his prize slipping from his grasp his forward six-pounders began to speak. Some of the shells must have landed, for the Spaniard ran for shoal water, apparently hoping to catch the Hawk among the rocks.

Lieutenant Hood was game, however, and the light-draught Hawk kept hammering away with her rapid-fire guns and burning signals for help from the bridge. Two miles east of Mariel the hunted Spaniard broke for the narrow harbor mouth, and Lieutenant Hood's jackies, pumping steel across the moonlit waters, groaned in the fear that she might escape. The raining six-pound shells upset the pilot, however, and the fleeing ship struck hard on the bar at the west side of the entrance and stuck fast. With wild cheers the Hawk's crew tumbled into the boats and boarded the prize, but the steamer's rail was lined with riflemen and the popping Mausers drove the Hawk's tars back to their ship.

The Hawk guarded the prize till morning and then, seeing her fast aground, ran back to Havana to report to the fleet and to ask help in taking her. The Castine was sent down to aid in the work, but the shore batteries opened on the ships when they appeared. After two hours' fruitless fighting the Hood went back to the fleet for re-enforcements. The Prairie, manned by Massachusetts reserves, was dispatched to engage the batteries, and at 1 o'clock in the afternoon Captain Train took a position two miles from Martello tower and began pitching six-inch shells into the tower and sand batteries. Ten shells silenced the three guns in the tower and sent the artillerymen streaming back over the hill toward the city.

Two gunboats inside the harbor poured five-inch shells at the Prairie, but nine shells from that ship routed them and drove them back to the city. The sand batteries were harder to silence, but fifteen shells did that work and wrecked the barracks besides. The infantry in the rifle pits supporting the batteries were driven out by five-inch shells from the Castine, which fired during the morning and afternoon 250 shots. The Prairie used thirty-eight of her six-inch shells and about 100 six-pounders. The Castine and Hawk had taken the steamer, and the Hawk then reported to the fleet at Havana. The Spanish vessel was so badly riddled that the name could not be deciphered.

GENERAL MILES ASSUMES COMMAND IN CUBA.

On July 13 General Miles arrived at the front and assumed personal command of the army around Santiago. Negotiations for the peaceful surrender of the city had been going on for several days between General Shafter, commander of the American forces, and General Toral of the Spanish army, but it was not until the 16th that a final agreement was reached. On this date conditions of surrender were offered, the principal articles of which were as follows:

First, that all hostilities shall cease pending the agreement of final capitulation.

Second, that the capitulation includes all the Spanish forces and the surrender of all war material within the prescribed limits.

Third, that the transportation of the troops to Spain shall be furnished at the earliest possible moment, each force to be embarked at the nearest port.

Fourth, that the Spanish officers shall retain their side arms and the enlisted men their personal property.

Fifth, that after the final capitulation the Spanish forces shall assist in the removal of all obstructions to navigation in Santiago harbor.

Sixth, that after the final capitulation the commanding officers shall furnish a complete inventory of all arms and munitions of war and a roster of all soldiers in the district.

Seventh, that the Spanish general shall be permitted to take the military archives and records with him.

Eighth, that all guerrillas and Spanish irregulars shall be permitted to remain in Cuba, giving a parole that they will not again take up arms against the United States unless properly released from parole.

Ninth, that the Spanish forces shall be permitted to march out with all the honors of war, depositing their arms to be disposed of by the United States in the future, the American commissioners to recommend to their Government that the arms of the soldiers be returned to those "who so bravely defended them."

By the terms of this agreement the southeastern end of Cuba—an area of about 5,000 square miles—the capital of the province, the forts and their heavy guns, and Toral's army, about 25,000 strong, passed into our possession.

The ceremony which sealed the capitulation of Santiago was simple and short. Promptly at 9 o'clock in the morning all division and brigade commanders and their staffs reported to General Shafter at his headquarters. With Major-General Wheeler at his left, General Lawton and General Kent behind, and the other officers, according to rank, following, the little cavalcade, escorted by a detachment of Rafferty's mounted squadron, rode around the base of San Juan hill and west on the royal road toward Santiago. Just about midway between the American and Spanish lines of rifle pits stands a lordly ceiba, 125 feet high to the crown, nearly 10 feet in diameter at the trunk and spreading 50 feet each way from the polished tree shaft. Under this tree General Toral and a score of his officers awaited the Americans. As General Shafter came down the slope toward the tree General Toral advanced a few feet and raised his hat. General Shafter returned the salute, and then the quick notes of a Spanish bugle, marking the cadence of a march, sounded on the other side of the hedge which bordered the road, and the king's guard, in column of twos, came into view. Before they arrived on the scene the American cavalrymen had lined up with drawn sabers at a carry, each man and horse motionless.

The Spanish soldiers came through a gap in the hedge in quick time, the Spanish flag leading the column and two trumpeters sounding the advance. The soldiers marched in excellent order, but as they passed General Shafter their eyes moved to the left and they glanced curiously at the men who had served as their targets only a few days before. About 200 soldiers and officers were in the king's guard, and the little command, after moving down the entire front of the detachment of cavalry, countermarched, and, swinging into line, halted facing the Americans, about ten yards distant.

For a few minutes Americans and Spaniards faced each other, silent and motionless. Then the two trumpeters gave tongue to their horns again; a Spanish officer shouted a command; the Spanish colors dipped in a salute; the Spanish soldiers presented arms and the Spanish officers removed their hats. Captain Brett's quick, terse command, "Present sabers," rang over the hillside, and American swords flashed as the sabers swept downward. General Shafter removed his hat, and his officers followed his example. For half a minute—and it seemed longer—the two little groups of armed men, each representing an army, remained at "the salute." The Spanish officer in command of the king's guard was the first to break the silence. His commands put the Spaniards in motion, and they again passed before the Americans, who remained at "present arms" until the last of the guard had marched by. The Spaniards marched back toward Santiago a few hundred feet, halted, stacked their Mauser rifles and then, without arms or flags, filed back of the American lines and went into camp on the hill just west of San Juan hill.

The formal part of the proceedings came to an end with this little ceremony, then Spanish and American officers mingled, shook hands and exchanged compliments. While the king's guard and the American cavalrymen were saluting each other the 5th army corps stood on the crest of the parapet of the rifle pits, forming a thin line nearly seven miles long. Only a small part of the army could see the groups of Spanish and American soldiers under the ceiba tree, but every one of the men who had been fighting and living in our trenches strained his eyes to catch a glimpse, if possible, of the proceedings which put an end to hostilities in this part of Cuba.

ON THE WAY TO SANTIAGO.

After a few minutes of informal talk General Toral and his officers escorted General Shafter and his military family to Santiago.

General Shafter's entrance was hardly the triumphant march of a victor, for the procession of Americans and Spaniards ambled quietly and unostentatiously over the cobble and blue flag stones, around the little public circles and squares, past ancient churches and picturesque ruins of what once were the homes of wealthy Spaniards, through narrow, alleylike streets to the Plaza de Armas, with the cathedral, the Cafe de Venus, the governor-general's palace and San Carlos club facing the square.

General Toral was the first to spring from his horse, and he held out his hand and welcomed General Shafter to the "palace." This was a few minutes after 10 o'clock.

Here General Shafter received the local council and other civic officials, and the governor, seeking to do the honors properly, gave a luncheon to the general and his principal officers.

By this time the 9th infantry had marched into the square and formed two lines, facing the palace, and the band had taken its station in the center of the broad walk, with the American officers grouped in front. Just five minutes before noon General Shafter, General Wheeler, General Lawton and General Kent came from the palace and joined the officers, and Lieutenant Miley, General Shafter's chief aid-de-camp; Captain McKittrick and Lieutenant Wheeler, General Wheeler's son, swarmed over the red roof tiles to the flagstaff. Then followed five long, expectant, silent minutes. Some of the officers held watches in their hands, but most of them kept their eyes on the little ball of bunting which cuddled at the foot of the flagstaff. General McKibben, his long, slim figure erect, stood before the 9th regiment, and when the first stroke of the cathedral clock bell sounded from the tower he whirled around and gave the command "Present arms." The final word was spoken just as the flag fluttered up toward the tip of the staff, and the crash of hands meeting rifle butts and the swish of sweeping sabers came with the opening notes of the "Star-Spangled Banner," and every American there saluted our flag as the wind caught the folds and flung the red, white and blue bunting out under the Cuban sun and over a conquered Spanish city.

And when the last notes of the national air died away and the rifle butts had come to an "order" on the pavement, and the sabers had been slipped into their sheaths, men whose faces and throats were deep brown, whose cheeks were thin, whose limbs trembled with fatigue and Cuban fever, whose heads wore bandages covering wounds made by Spanish bullets, but who stood straight, with heads erect, were not ashamed to wipe from their eyes the tears which came when "old glory" spread its protecting folds over Santiago.

YELLOW FEVER IN SHAFTER'S ARMY.

Yellow fever broke out in the army on July 11, spreading with frightful rapidity among the men, but it fortunately proved to be of a mild type, and in comparatively few instances was the dreaded disease attended with fatal results.

When the landings at Baiquiri and Juragua were made there were many men to be handled, the facilities were limited and the landings were made in great haste. No building was burned, no well was filled, no sink was dug. Several of the enthusiastic young aids seized pretty vineclad cottages as headquarters for their respective generals. Cubans and Americans filed into the empty houses of the town without inquiry as to their antecedents.

Major LeGarde, in charge of the beach hospital, recommended earnestly on landing that every building be burned. Major Wood and Colonel Pope indorsed this, but the recommendation went by default. The camp was established in the heart of the Spanish town and the first yellow-fever case was that of Burr McIntosh, the actor and newspaper man, who had been sleeping at General Bates' headquarters in one of the pretty vine-covered cottages mentioned.

Dr. Lesser and his wife, "Sister Bettina," the New York workers of the Red Cross, were among the first victims, and Katherine White, another Red Cross nurse, was also sent to the yellow-fever camp.

After the fever was discovered every effort was made to check it and stamp it out, but the camp had already been pitted with it. Cases were taken out of the surgical wards of the hospital tents and out of the officers' tents, General Duffield being one of the victims.

Owing to the unhealthful climate and the lack of proper food, medicines, clothing, and shelter, the army was soon threatened with an epidemic of disease, and it was evident that the detention of the troops in Cuba would result in loss of life to thousands of brave men. In order that the authorities at Washington might have a thorough understanding of the situation, the officers of the 5th army corps united in the following letter which was addressed to General Shafter, and which was transmitted by him to the war department in Washington:

We, the undersigned officers commanding the various brigades, divisions, etc., of the army of occupation in Cuba, are of the unanimous opinion that this army should be at once taken out of the island of Cuba and sent to some point on the northern seacoast of the United States; that it can be done without danger to the people of the United States; that yellow fever in the army at present is not epidemic; that there are only a few sporadic cases; but that the army is disabled by malarial fever to the extent that its efficiency is destroyed, and that it is in a condition to be practically destroyed by an epidemic of yellow fever which is sure to come in the near future.

We know from the reports of competent officers and from personal observation that the army is unable to move into the interior and that there are no facilities for such a move if attempted, and that it could not be attempted until too late. Moreover, the best medical authorities of the island say that with our present equipment we could not live in the interior during the rainy season without losses from malarial fever, which is almost as deadly as yellow fever.

This army must be moved at once or perish. As the army can be safely moved now the persons responsible for preventing such a move will be responsible for the unnecessary loss of many thousands of lives.

Our opinions are the result of careful personal observation, and they are also based on the unanimous opinion of our medical officers with the army, who understand the situation absolutely.

J. FORD KENT, Major-General Volunteers, Commanding First Division
Fifth Corps.

J. C. BATES, Major-General Volunteers, Commanding Provisional
Division.

ADNA R. CHAFFEE, Major-General Commanding Third Brigade, Second
Division.

SAMUEL S. SUMNER, Brigadier-General Volunteers, Commanding First
Brigade Cavalry.

WILL LUDLOW, Brigadier-General Volunteers, Commanding First
Brigade, Second Division.

ADELBERT AMES, Brigadier-General Volunteers, Commanding Third
Brigade, First Division.

LEONARD WOOD, Brigadier-General Volunteers, Commanding the City of
Santiago.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT, Colonel, Commanding Second Cavalry Brigade.

As a result arrangements were completed as quickly as possible for the transportation of the troops to the United States, and immunes were sent to Santiago for garrison duty in their places.

ANOTHER NAVAL ENGAGEMENT.

On the morning of July 18 the vessels on blockade duty in the vicinity of Manzanillo approached the harbor of that city from the westward. The Wilmington and Helena entered the northern channel towards the town, the Scorpion and Osceola the mid-channel, and the Hist, Hornet and Wampatuck the south channel, the movement of the vessels being so timed as to bring them within effective range of the shipping at about the same moment. An attack was made on the Spanish vessels in the harbor, and after a deliberate fire lasting about two and a half hours, three transports, El Gloria, Jose Garcia and La Purrissima Concepcion, were burned and destroyed.

The Pontoon, which was the harbor guard and storeship for ammunition, was burned and blown up. Three gunboats were destroyed, one other was driven ashore and sunk, and another was entirely disabled. No casualties occurred on board any of the American vessels. The Spanish loss was over 100 in killed and wounded, and the Delgado, Guantanamo, Ostralia, Continola and Guardian, gunboats of the Spanish navy, were sent to join Cervera's fleet.