The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-03-13
JAMES A. cRossMAN,

JAM1IO A. OIbO0oNlAN,
 Commander"
 The story told by the ships officers is that at daylight last Friday about 6:9O, while going through the windward passage for the Carribean sea to the Atlantic ship was seen coming out from the land at Cape Maysi, the east ern point of Cuba. The stranger laid her course with the evident object of intercepting the Alliance and at ' o'clock she hoisted the orange and crim- son colors, which, taken with her build and general appearance, left no doubt in the minds of those aboard the Ali ance that she was Spanish man-of- war.
 No sooner were the gunboat's colors seen at her mizzen peak than Captain Crossman of the Alliance ordered the stars and stripes to be hoisted on the jack staff over the taffrail and dipped three times in salute. The marine courtesy was returned in kind by the man-of-war and the Alliances ensign was unbent from the halyards and slowed Hardly had this been accom- plished than the Spaniard again dis played her colors. and, as a mark of extra politeness, Captain Crossman or dered the Alliances flag to be run up and dipped again, and then left flying. Again was the salute acknowledged and then to the amazement of those aboard the American ship a blank cartridge was fired from the warship's forward port gun.
 The shot was probably meant as an invitation to the Alliance to heave-to, but Captain Crossman had no intention of obeying the summons He remarked to Executive Officer Russell, who was on duty:
 "The Spaniard seems to be firing a shot"
 Then Captain Crossmon kept on his course. Soon afterwards another blank shot was fired, which the captain greet ed by saying:
 "All right. Let him shoot to h-l."
 A third shot was fired, but this time it was shot in earnest It was a solid shot and not harmless blank cart ridge with which the gunboat next charged her forward port rifle, and she waved from her course that the gun might be aimed at the flying Yankee.
 The course of the shot could be seen where 1t ricocheted along the water before finally going to the bottom, full quarter of a mile short of it's mark | Still Captain Crossman kept his course and waited for the gunboat to overtake him If she could. The black smoke be- gan to pour from the gunboats funnel i and the water around her bow began | to heap up in a way that showed that | her fires were being vigorously forced | and steam pushed up to it's big heat | limit. The gunboat fired g, second solid | shot ten minutes later and a third after | another equal interval of time.
 Both shots struck the water in plain sight But observation through the glass showed that she was gradually falling astern, and after a chase lasting twenty-five miles she gave it up and laid away on her course.
 Captain Crossman was very indig- nant over the occurrence when seen here He said:
 "We were from six to eight miles off shore when the occurrence took place and not in Spanish Jurisdiction. We were southward of Cuba when we first sighted the warship and far away from where I understand they have been having trouble in that coun- try, I had seen in the Panama Star and Herald, before I sailed from Colon a dispatch stating that gunboats were cruising along the eastern coast of Cuba to prevent the landing of fili- busters. In consequence of this I took pains to keep off my ordinary course 1 usually pass within a mile of Cape Maysi.
 "If I had been within one marine league shore I would have stopped my