The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-07-13
CERvERA's WRECKED SHIPS.
All Are Sunk or Broken Into shape
less Masses, Except the Colon.

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, July 6, via
Charleston, S. c.. July 12.-The four ships
and two torpedo boats of Spain are totally
destroyed. The converted yacht Vixen took
the Associated Press correspondent from
tho Brooklyn close in to where the wrecks
of Cervera's fleet are beached and an ex-
ceent idea of their damage was obtained.
The only ship not burned or blown up is the
Colon, but she has rolled over almost bot
tom up and the heavy surf is beating her
to pieces. On the Vizcaya all the guns
loaded so that when the fire reached them
they would explode. The Colon was scut-
tied.
The line of wrecks extends from a point
the torpedo boats lies, to point sixty miles
from Santiago to the west, where the
Cristobal Colon was beached.
One of the torpedo boats blown up
and shot to pieces and went down in deep
water within a mile Of Moro. Several of
her crew of fifty men escaped. The other
torpedo boat was riddled with shot from the
Gloucester and run ashore at Cabanas, two
miles from Santiago harbor. She was alb
solutely cut ir two by the rain of steel and
when she beached broke in half, her stern
washing upon the reef and her bow piled
upon the sanLy shore. A few of her crew
dropped overheard, but were killed by the
surf on the reefs and it is not believed
any one escaped. In the two great grue-
some piles she lies a remnant of a terrible
engine of war. The surf is beating her to
pieces although there is rapid-hre gun
on her deck still above water at this writing
Six miles to the west of Morro lies the
wreck of the Maria Teresa, the flagship of
Cervera and the one that received the bulk
a.
is hard and fast on the reef and her steel
sides that were glistening with black paint
when she came out of the harbor, are
dirty red with the fierce heat that burned
her inside and the explosion of shells on
the outside Several places where shells
struck can be seen, one having raked the
gun deck fore and aft, killing forty men
and dismantling many guns. Her magazines
exploded and she is completely gutted, even
her protective deck being blown out. Her
guns probably are ruined by the heat.
A mile to the west of the Maria Teresa
the smoke still curling up from her inter-
ior, lies her sister ship, the Almirante
Oquendo, her nose upon the reefs and her
stern settled on the bottom in deep water.
She is equally as much of wreck as the
Teresa Her military mast was shot away,
her forward turret shield smashed and there
are four eight-inch shell holes in her port
side. The fire reached her magazines and
she is torn to pieces inside. Some of her
guns look as if they might be saved, but
the intense heat may have affected them.
Over hundred half-naked bodies lie about
her decks and both she and the Teresa are
charnel houses.
The Vizcaya made longer run of it than
her two sister ships and the general wish
expressed when the war opened that the
Brooklyn and the Vizcaya could fight it out
was granted. They fought at a range of
from 1900 to 1,100 yards and the Brooklyn
literally riodled the Spaniard with eight
inch shells She was on fire, her steam pipes
were ripped open and her superstructure
blown entirely away when she ran for
shore. 1t would seem as if fate had steered
this ship, for with only half of her crew
alive and her captain badly wounded she
turned into a little bay where a portion of
the Cuban army lay. AS she grounded the
men in the ship who were alive dropped
over the side and began to swim for shore
The Cubans opened fire upon them and but
for the timely arrival of the Iowa and the
torpedo boat Ericsson all would have been
slaughtered. The flag was hauled down as
she went ashore. AS She lies she is prob
ably total wreck, for she burned fiercely
and all of her magazines exploded. Her
nose is high on the reef The officers saved
say that she is a total wreck.
Forty miles to the west of the wreck of
the Vizcaya, which is seventeen miles from
Santiago, lies the Cristobal Colon. which
was the pride of the Spanish navy and
which believed to be a match for anv-
thing in the American navy. As she beached
and hauled down her flag she ran with her
bows towards shore. She lay in that posi-
tion when she surrendered to Commodore
Schley, but hour later, when the New
York arrived, Admiral Sampson ordered the
oregon to pull her off so she would NOT
break TO pieces. When she slid off she be-
gan to sink and the New York pushed her
back on the beach stern first. 1t was found
that she had been struck astern by one of
the Oregona thirteen-inch shells and twice
amidships by eight-inch shells from the
Brooklyn. These would not have DESTROYED
her had not the Spaniards scuttied her 1t
was found upon examination that the heads
had been knocked off the sea valves so As
to let the water in, and that the torpedo
tubes had been opened for the same pur-
pose. The breech blocks of all the large
guns and many of the small ones were
thrown overheard. All the marines rifles
were treated in the same way. Some OF the
machinery wos also purposely damaged
The Colon lay with her stern on shore, but
rapidly sinking at the head at 10:3O o'clock
not five minutes after she had been de-
serted. She rolled over on her port side. her
starboard guns pointing towards the moon
lit sky. The heavy surf beat against her
with a low moan as II deploring the tragedy
When part of her officers and crew were
taken on the Vixen it was discovered that
many Of the men were under the influence
of liquor and all of them had a quantity of
money which they asked tho captain to put
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