The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1898-05-21

1 zine out of commission. FortunatS4y
twas the aft boilers and engine which
were being used. The accuracy OF the
Spanish gunners in this case is nc.
counted for by the fact that buoys in
~concentric circles had been located in
the upper bay to give them an exact
range. When the guns We're trained
on the Wilmington they either over.
shot or their shells fell short.
Fragments of bursting shells, how
ever, were time and again showercd
upon the decks of the Hudson and vii.
mington, but not q man was touched
aboard either ship nor a piece of rig.
ging carried away. Two dents We're
found in tho Wilmington near the port
bow after the action, bnt Captain Todd
thinks they were made by shells burst
ing In shore. He says he fred owe 100
shots before the guns were silcnced.
The shore guns used smokeless pow.
der and their location could only be
judged by the flashes. AS the fire of
the Wilmington was directed at them
and at the gunboats lying In the shell
ter of the moles, many of her shells
plowed their way through the lower
part of the city, which was all ablaze
when the action ceased and the Hud-
son towed out the crippled torpedo
boat.
The fire spread through the city and
for half the night the lurid glare of
burning buildings dyed the heavens IL
blood red. Considering the fact that
a perfect storm of shot and shell was
being poured i'll upon the Winslow, the
officers of the Wilmington consider
her escnpe from complete destruction
little short of miraculous. Had any of
her t%orpedoes exloded or had the shot
passed through the one in use she
would have been blown to atoms.
Killing Of Ensign Bnglcy.
1t was practically the last shot that
killed Ensign Bagley. The firing from
shore had almost ceased. He had gone
up to the forward coming tower,
where his wounded commander Law
still CALAMITY directing the action of
his torn and riddled vessel and had
congratulated him.
i am glad we are well out" said he,
but am awfully sorry you were hit"
He then moved aft to the 1-pounder,
where Il group of oilers, seamen and
the negro mess attendant stood, and
was killed.
The engagement Gems to have dem
o~nstrated the advantage of the use of
smokeless powder in shore batteries in
the present state of naval warfare,
which involves engagement at long
range, and the further fact that the
Spaniards, unless their harbors are
mined or the range actually deter
mined in advance, as was the ease in
the firing at Santa Clara on the Nicks-
burg, seem absolutely incapable of ac-
curate gunnery. At pot shooting they
have thus far done as well MS a boy
would with a gun at rest on n rail
fence. To hit a moving target, like
wing shooting for a small boy, ii is
quite a different matter.
The ruins of the signal station on Di-
anacay, which was destroyed by a force
of marines from the Machias after an
engagement Wednesday afternoon
were visible from the Kate Spencer ycs-
terday morning.
Captain Todd expected to destroy the
signal station on Key Blanco yester-
day. The channel in the vicinity of
the sunken sloops was examined for
evidences of mines, and a mass of tam
gied rope running off in both dircc-
tions was found, evidently laid to look
like mine wire. When brought to the
surface it proved to be n mere bluff.
During the firing on Wednesday two
trains probably loaded with refugees
left Cardenas.
Captain Todd thinks the guns and
munitions of war brought from Spain
by the M~ontserrat, which managed to
get through the blockade into Cien-
fuegos, have been distributed between
Cardenas, M~atanzas and Havana, and
he has also reason to believe that the
Alfonzo XIII. has been stripped of her
guns. The guns of her main battery,
he thinks, have been mounted in old
Queens battery on the bluff back Of
MORO castle, and the guns of her sec
ondary batteries lave been divided be-
tween Matanzas and Cardenas. The
officers of the Wilmington think tho
loss of life and the destruction of prop
erty in Cardenas must have been heavy.
They venture no opinion as to whether
any of the Spanish gunboats were de-
stroyed, although the shells fell thick
about them. Some of the men claim to
have seen a shell explode aboard the
largest; gunboat of the three. They
say that when it struck the smoke
stack it vent up in the air and the
whole vessel was lifted and seemed to
have been completely shattered. They
believe she must have sunk at her
mornings.