The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-06-01
IHERolsM OF THE SAILORS

Correspondents OF the Associated Press,
I KEYwEsT, May ,s7.--copyright, 1893,
4 by the Associated Press.-some day, az
4 ter, the epoch OF eagcrness of latest
news of tho war has passed, somebody
,Swill tell the true story Of the cutting Of
Z the cable at Cienfuegps. And when that
story is told people will understand
more clearly than they understand to-
day what sort OF stun Uncle Sans navy
Is made OF. It was q theme for Victor
N Hugo or picture OF Melssonier that
three hours Of herolsm, determination
and death In tho bay OF Clenfuegos that
,brish. May morning. The men knew
that death awaited them. They knew
when the small boats were lowered from
( the ships and they pulled toward tho
shore that while they worked u thou
sand Spaniards were concealed In the
4 tall grass and unlerbrush on the shore
II waiting to shower bullets upon them.
The 'lookouts from the masts knew this.
The officers knew It; tthe men knew It,
! but the order to cut the cable had been
Z given! and the command was obeyed.
Z Small sections OF the cable which these,
Z brave scamen cut that morning are
much sought for souvenirs at the Key
Z. West hotel since the wnrships brought
back the dead and wounded after the
work was done. -
There was something amusing and at
I the same time inspiring in the picture
: one often looks upon in tile rotunda of
3 the hotel as one Of the wounded men
& happens to stroll In. He sees the valued
little souvenirs passed about from hand
= to hand. He hears the story told over
9 and over again, and he smiles in silence
4 and .limps away. Ask him about It and
= he tells you the cable was cut, two men
were killed and six badly wounded.
/ That Is about all.
Lieut.. C. NJ. r. Winslow, Of the Nash
willie, who was in command of the expe-
dition, came Into the hotel last evening
and was soon surrounded by a group Of
< friends eager to hear his story of the af-
fair In which he was the principal fig
,ure He had been wounded in the left
hand and his arm was yet In q sling. He
was not eager to talk Of the matter, but
little by little the details were drawn out
and this Is the story about as he told It:
1.-THE Marbehead. Nashville and Win,
dom were detailed to do the periluus
work. The town OF, Cienfuegos Is situp-
ted some distance back from the sea. in
a sharbor which winds and twists about
between high hills completely obscurlng
It from ships standing out at sea. Near
the mouth OF the harbor, the land Is low.
2 for some distance back from the coast
and then there Is O sudden rise--a sharp
bluff towering up and covered with
trees. The low land is covered with tall
grass and underbrush. The cable which
I the Americans desired to destroy was
located very close-withln few feet Of
Y, the water. Not far from thist on one
] side was u lighthouse and on the other
Z side an old block housc. or lookout such
as the Spinishiin former years estab-
lished all along the coast They were
built for the purposes Of lnterceptlug
filibustering expeditions.
It was the plan OF the Americans to
send out the small boats from the ships.
and, proceeding close to the shore. pick
up{the cables with graphing Irons and
cut out section Of sufficient length TO
prevent the possibility of mendlng them
< byfreunitlng the severed ends.
When daylight came the three war
s-r
Z from the shore With the first rays OF
light the lookouts began to scan the
shore and 1t was soon discovered that
Y the RSpanlards were expecting and evil
IDENTIFY knew the mission Of the ships.
Rifle pits were plainly distinguished at
Z the very waters edge and Commanding
Z the point where the cable was supposed
: 10 be and where the Americans would
i have to go, in their small boats. Rapid
fire guns and small cannon could be
seen. The polished steel and brass OF
33 the guns glIstened In the sunlight.
Squads OF infantry swarmed like In
4, sects on the shore. Groups OF cavalry
were galloping here and there and con-
& stantly racing up and down 4 dusty
white path that led from the shore to
the side Of the bluff and the hilltop. All
this the men saw, but, as II the shore
were desert, the boats were lowered,
the implements were put In and the per-
ilous voyage was begun.
The little fotilla that did the hazard.
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