The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-05-15
They Cut a Cable In Spite Of Spanish Forts and
Soldiers.
ONE KILLED AND SEVERAL WOUNDED,
SPANISH LOSS WAS FOUR HUNDRED
Hot Engagement at CienfuegOS, In Which Our Forces
Acquitted Themselves With Great Credit


Key West. May 14.-Amid a perfect
storm of shot from Spanish rifles and
batteries the American forces cut the
cable at Cienfuegos Wednesday morn
ing. Four determined boat crews, I'M
der the command. of Lieutenant Wins
low and Ensign Magruder. from the
cruiser Marblehead and the gunboat
Nashville. put out from the ships. the
coast having been previously shelled.
The work of the volunteers was peril
Gus. The cruiser Marblehead and the
gunboat Nashville and the auxiliary
cruiser Window drew uD a thousand
yards from shore with their guns
/ manned ready for desperate duty.
! One cable had already been cut and
] the work was in progress on the other
when the Spaniards. in rifle pits and
a battery in an old lighthouse standing
out in the bay, opened fire.
The Warships poured in thunderouS
vOlley, their guns belching forth mas
sive shells into the swarms of the en-
envy. The crews of the boats calmly
proceeded with their desperate work,
notwithstanding the fact that num-
her had fallen and finished it, return
ing to the ships through binding
smoke and a heavy fire.
One man in a Marblehead boat was
killed. and six were seriously wounded,
one of whom, Robert BOltz, is now at
Key West, and is expected to die before
morning, a bullet having passed
through the base of his brain. Harry
Hendrickson, who also may die, was
shot through the abdomen.
More than 1000 infantrymen on shore
kept up a continuous fire and the bull
lets from the machine guns struck the
warships a hundred times, but did no
great damage.
Commander Maynard of the gunboat
Nashville was slightly wounded by
rifle bullet that, before striking him,
passed through the arm of an ensign,
whose name is unknown Lieutenant
Winslow was shot in the hand. max
ing three officers wounded in all.
After the Spaniards had been driven
from the rifle pits many Of them took
refuge in the lighthouse fortress. upon
which the fire of the ships had been
centered. \ four-inch shell from the
Window tore the structure to pieces,
killing many and burying others in the
ruins. The Spanish loss is known to
have been very heavy, the warships fir
ing hundreds Of shot and shell right
into their midst.
KILLED AND WOUNDED.
Following is the list of killed and
badly wounded:
Killed-Patrick Regain, seaman
Badly wounded-John Davis Of New
York, John J. DOnran of FAN River,
Mass; Ernest SUltzenickle, Herman
Fochneister. Harry HendricksSOn, all
of the Marblehead; Robert BOltz, Cas-
ter county, North Carolina, of the
Nashville.
Soon after the arrival of the warships
off CienfuegOs four boats were :
launched and proceeded inshOre for the /
purpose OF graphing for the cable in
order to cut il. The Warships lay TO I
about LOCO yards or more of the har- /
Dor.
It was observed that the Spanish /
troops had assembled ashore. but it .
was not known that heavy guns had .
been placed in a masked battery, and (
that the old lighthouse. far out on "a .
neck of land. had been transformed into .
a formidable fort.
SPANIARDS OPENED FIRE.
The small boats proceeded cautiously
and for more than an hour worked IN
molested on the cable. Suddenly, just
as the work was about completed. the
shore battery fired a shell at the boats.
1t was followed by others and the
Spanish infantry opened fire then with
their rifles.
Then, like a fash, the Marblehead
sent a shell inland and followed it with
L perfect shower of shot. Then the
cut loose with her 4-pOunders.
In the meanwhile Spanish bullets fell
n every direction around the small
boats. Though the attack had come
l.
we're not dismayed and, protected by
he terrific return fire Of the warships,
work was continued and the cable cut.
When the boats returned to the ships,
Regain, who was in one of the Marble
lead's boats, of which there were two,
vas found TO have been killed Six
nen were badly wounded.
The Spaniards had by this time suf-
cred severe loss. Their shots from
he light house struck the warships
several times, and although they did
lot do much damage, the fire aroused
he determination of the American Of
lcers to exterminate the forts There
Ifter for the moment the fire of the
hips was concentrated on the light
louse and the improvised fort was
,iown to pieces. As there were great !
numbers of Spaniards in and behind /
he fort at the tine there is no doubt Z
hat many of them were killed.
The Marblehead and the Nashville
sed their heaviest guns, as well as :
heir small rapid fire guns, and hun ]
reds of shots were thrown into the /
panish troops. On board the ships a {
lumber of men were slightly wounded. j
WashbuTn Maynard of the &
nashville, was slightly wounded by a t
pent bullet. c
SPANISH LOSS FOUR HUNDRED.
New York. May IA special dis 2
atch from Key West reports that in h
ne fight at CienfuegOs Commander {
Tashburn Maynard and Lieutenant d
ameron NJ Winslow both of the gun I
Dat Nashville, We're slightly wounded. y
The dispatch adds that the Spanish o
ss is estimated at 400 and that of the
nited States fleet four killed and four v
ounded. c
The light house was demolished. 1t is s
,ported, the arsenal destroyed. and the v
arteries on shore silenced. The town
as set on fire by shells from the
merican fleet.
NO OFFICIAL REPORT. - :,
Washington, May 1.-THE following a
legram came to the navy department c.