The morning news., 1896-12-27

BATTLE OF THE SAN JUAN.
The Brush Between the Three
Friends and Spanish Warshfps.


The correspondent of the New York
Herald sends additional details of the
battle between the fil.bustering steamer
Three Friends and Spanish war vessels
reported on Friday in the Morning News
dispatches, as follows:
Here let me tell in detail the battle
of the San Juan river, which may be the
cause Of International complications, and
concerning which the correspondents in
Havana have perhaps sent out version
of their own. The filibuster steamed
along the south coast all day Saturday,
and at o'clock in the evening was direct
y, OFF the mouth of the San Juan river.
Ihe wind was off the land, the moon was
yelled by clouds except at intervals, and
u seemed easy enough to make a dash at
the coast and land the men and get away
The work of landing was to occupy about
The steamer carried fifty men, a 12-
pound HotchkisS gun, $500 rifles, a supply
OF machetes, $4,000 rifle cartridges, shells
for the Hotchkiss gun and a supply of
dynamite shells for one of the guns which
Cen. Gomez has already. By 10 o'clock
an old Cuban pilot who knew every neck
OF the coast, took his place beside the man
at the wheel. The steamer was headed
toward the coast and the Trinidad noun
talns ta I began to grow, At II o'clock we
could see a niche in the hill which marked
mouth of the river.
Looking at that shore from where we
were on the bay, we could see no light
anywhere Later. when it was all over
the captain of the filibuster told me he had
seen ashes of light on the hills, and had
no doubt they were signals. He was op-
posed TO landing in Las Guasinas, as it
was there the Bermuda met with disaster
and another fillbuster landed her party
under rife fire, and he felt sure the coast
would be well guarded. Still, as the Cuban
commander INSISTED upon making this
spot the captain consented
The moonlight was growing brighter
every moment as we steamed for the riV-
ers mouth. The surf boats were all ready
TO be swung over the side TO
Gnr;D, fSTry the tba arms to the the shore; :
of Qua. run in it was decided to mount the
HotchkiSs gun on the bow, in order to
protect our boats if necessary. Mike"
Walsh, United States man-of-war's man.
late of the battle ship Maine, who was to
be captain of the gun, begged that it be
mounted on the stern, but as there was
more room forward and no one believed it
would be used it was put together on tho
bow If Walsh, the gunner, had had his
way about it history might have been
Ten men, under Edgar Carbonne, were to
go ashore in the first boat as explorers
and search for the expected Cuban troops
while the others in the party were landing
the cargo. The explorers were armed with
rifles, revolvers and machetes, and they
alone had supply of rifle cartridges, tor
ridges were still in boxes.
The landing place, dark and quiet, in the
shadow of the coast range, rising abruptly
above the waters edge, looked suspicious
ly inviting, and every one who had glasses
studied it closely. The filibuster had shut
off her smoke and when 400 yards from
the shore was still running at full speed
Fifty men leaning anxiously toward the
shore kept watch in absolute silence. The
moon strugg ed through a cloud, and as the
light increased two men, who had been on
hA ord Tn1ar N of
the Forty-seventh regiment, N. G., S. N
Y, and an engineer who left the Argentine
cruiser Nueve de Julio to serve Cuba-hur-
ried back to the pilot house, The filbus-
ter's captain lowered his glass to hear
what they had to say.
What is it?' he asked.
There's a boat in the river" German
said. 81 see her smoke"
Yes, said the engineer, she's trying
to hide"
The captain raised his glasses for a mo-
ment. Then-hes ssignalled the engine room
and in minute we had swung round and
were steaming seaward. There was no
movement in the river, l could make out a
little smoke with my glass, but the hull of
the launch was hidden by a bend in the
river Then the filibuster's captain thought
possibly there was no real cause for alarm,
and when we were six or seven hundred
yards out he stopped and began to back
toward the mouth of the river. Thus he
was able to run If necessary without vast
ing time in turning around.
The situation was thus: We were back
ing into a nest of hornets. The filibuster
had been seen from the shore. The Span
ish had planned to hide a launch about
forty feet long, with a two-pounder on her
bow, in the rivers mouth She was to
lie quiet until we had our boats down and
then open fire. AT the sound of her two
FOUNDER a gun boat lying around a point
to the eastward was to run around and
hem in the steamer. Then there would be
no escape, and the expedition would be
destroyed
This was undoubtedly the plan. The
moonlight which showed us the smoke of
the launch changed everything we were
backing in, but we had our eyes open
When we were within 200 yards of the
rivers mouth the launch began to steam
toward us.
"There she comes" said the hlibuster,s s
captain, and as he spoke he signalled "fulf
speed ahead"
In, a few seconds we were going sea-
ward once more. The men who had been
ready to step into the first boat began 10
load their rifles. You see we had been
steaming into. the cove without showing
any hight, and there could be no mistak-
ing our mission. That we would be fired
upon now no one doubted
AT the rattle of Remington breech blocks
every man who had rifle began TO look
for cartridges. A Cuban attacked a nile
of ammunition boxes with a pickaxe. and
Ignoring the danger of an explosion. work.
ed away till he had the cover off tha ION
box The men lined up and received
twenty-five rounds each.
Meantime Walsh had sumomued a pun,s
crew 70 the DOW ana was loading the
Hotchkiss. "O
IN sink her before she is alongside of
us as sure as l am lrishw said this man
of-warsman.
4 tall Columbian artilleryman stood he
side him printing the shell w. j. Tavior
a Kentucky guardsman, was the third
man at the gun.
A Cuban colonel shouted 20 the Colum-
bian not 10 fire until he got the word. ana
the order was transmitted to the Irish
man and the American
These events occupied only a few SEQ
onds. The rifemen were grouped ait IL
was ten minutes before midnight The
iuDuHter was "A plain mark ln the moon
light The launch could be seen plalnly
now. a. she had run out OF the shadow 81
tho hills.
great togue Of white smoke eurled ana
rose above her.
The iilibusicr trained q i2-pound IIoich-