The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-05-10
W|NSLON'S BATTLE.
Two Spanish Gunboats Bad
ly Whipped by the
Torpedo Boat.
A Vest Pocket Sea Fight.

by Gable, Copyrighted, 1898, py Ihe 49,
sociated Press.1
ON BOARD THE ASSOCIATED PRESa
DESPATCH BOAT KATE 8 SPfsfssSEslss tlas qs41ss
OFF OARDENAS, May 9, 1898, via KEY
West May 10.-The little torpedo poaF
yVinsiow, yesterday morning, precipltate4
the first naval engagement forght tE
Cardenas pa harbor iu.sf She drew the fire Of
three Spanish coast-guard vessels anu S
lively vest-pocket sea fight followed Witt
the tiny gunboats. AS the WinsloW was
decidedly in the minority she ran 1or ltWnF W
open sea. where her big station mate, the
gunboat Machias, who had been caHeu
Up by firing, took hand IN the sannlss
with her four-inch rifles and tossed ssvs .As,
eral shells over the low sand spit penin4
which Spanish boats were sheltered e
was impossible to see whether any g
these landed, but the WinsloW was MOI
touched She claims, however, 10 naNs
knocked a few SplinterS out Oh Tue iai SSi
coast-guard boat.
The most important result or the vans
lows Reconnaissance was the olscoyety
that Cardenas harbor Is mined. II there
were any batteries on shore. the Spahlarus
did not think it worth while to disclose
their position, but that there are mines
in the channel is important in view oI siis
report that it is Cardenas and not {. Mas "a,
tanzas where the landing OF uniIed
States forces will finally occur,
The fight with Guardia Costas oc-
cured yesterday morning. Cardenas y
one of the largest bays along the COAST,
with little town of the same name az
the southern end. From the western
shore Icoeas Point reaches out like long
index finger, almost touching Piedras f1ey
light, which, in peaceful days, beaconea
the harbor entrance The light house has
been in darkness and deserted Tor many
nights.
Feeling safe in the desolate abandon
ment Of the lighthouse and the silent
shores of the bay, the little WinsaoW
crept quietly in under the early morning
haze, for a closer inspection of the harb0r
There had evidently been a lookout
among the dunes along the sand split, Tor
the Winslow was allowed to feel her way
into the harbor, taking notes OF changed
buoys and false marks designed to lead g
hostile fleet on to torpedo fields. But sud-
denly there was pun OF smoke from
among the mangrove clumps along one OF
the inlets and a six-pound shell screened
out of the bushes. Crack came ano1&er
from the shelter of tiny key in the
Then three coast guard boats darted from
their cover, under full head OF steam
like big garpike after a minnoW. The
WinsloW' S crew jumped to the two-pound-
ers fore and aft and let the Spaniards
have it. port and starboard, as they
chased in. The little gunboats came along
shooting, but after the usual Spanish
fashion that never hits anything hlat lhe
sclttled along under four bells for the
open sea- using her after gun as a stern
cnaser and defiantly shooting as she went
seaward. The Spanish boats wasted
about sixty shots, and the biggest boat
mounting a FOUNDER, kept up the
bombardment as long as the Winslow was
in range. The Spanlards who had prob
ably heard the news from Manila, were
evidently as mad as a nest of hornets and
kept up the chase until all four of the
little craft were rocking in the heavy
swell past Piedras Keys. But just then
there was crash and a roar to seaward
and the Machias, bearing in under a
canopy of smoke, sent a shell smashing
into the pursuing fleet. The little patrol
boats spun about like water spiders and
ran to shelter behind the sand spit. The
Machias sent a few shells skipping in be-
tween the sand dunes, but with what
effect could not be seen.
At any rate, there are three prospective
additions to our Mosquito Fleet bottled
up in Cardenas Harbor, awaiting ship
ment