Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-06-01

| the cable house. On they went until
they could see the faces of the Spanish
| soldiers peering out from behind tbs
buildings and over the rifle pits. They
knew it was only matter of minutes
when the fire would be opened upon
them. But the regular swing of the
oars did not falter.
| At last a point within 100 feet Of tht
cable house was reached. They were
whiting 200 feet of the rifle pits wher.
| the Spaniards were lying ready to open
| fire upon the boats.
Lieut. Winslow stood up in the boat
and gave the command for the men to
| throw out the anchor and begin graz
ping for the cable. The water was rs
| clear as glass. The bright morning
sunlight penetrated it and every object
| upon the bottom was clearly seen
| Calmly as il trolling for fish the men
| bent over their boats and began to
| work with the graphing hooks.
| All this time the men on the Nash
| vile, Marblehead and Windof stood IT
| their guns ready to rain shot and shell
puff of smoke was seen to come from
| the rifle pits
The men in the boats worked on
steadily and in silence. Lieut.. Win
slow urged them to work speedily, tell
ing them that any moment volley
| might come. They made no reply bat
bent TO their work
AT last one Of the graphing hooks
| caught something a few inches below
the soft white sand and the arms Of
| two strong sailors soon brought the
cable into view. Then came the first
shot. 1t was just flash, a sharp snap,
| a singing over the head of the sailors
| and a splash in the water beyond.
There was no white puff from the
shot The spaniards We're using
| smokeless powder But it was the sig
nal for the opening Of deadly fire up
on the men in the boats.
It was promptly answered by the
guns on the ships out in the bay.
a hurricane of shell shrieked ana
Kissed above the heads Of the sailors
| in the boats ana tore to fragments the
earth where the Spaniards were
| crouching and hiding.
Again and again the guns roareI
from the ships.
Again ana again the great clouds Of
dust and debris flew skyward on the
| shore.
Another mighty crash from the
| Nashville and the cable house flew into
the air torn into numberless fragments,
| Another crash from the Marblehead
| ana the blockhouse was in ruins.
Then this iron storm from the sea
swung around ana swept the hillsides.
1t shattered the rocks ana trees II
| ploWed great burrows in the soft sand.
| 1t drove a throng Of panic-striken men
| scurrying to shelter. Then il lowered
| again like the rays of a mighty search
| light, and raked ana rildled the rifle
| pits. What craftsmanship,
The terrible tire pouring in upon the rifle
| pits passed only few feet above the sail
ors working in the boats. Who but Yam
Ilec gUnncrs could do that? Who would
do II? And who but Yankee sailors would
| III
| furnace Of dcStructiono
At the time a heavy sea was rolling and
the miscalculation Of il fraction Of nm
| inch or the fraction of second would
have slaughtered the mon in the boats.
But there came moments pause in the
awful believing from the ships, and that
moment was the fatal one.
Snap, snap. crash from q hundred diff
ferent points came the fire from the Span
ish rifles and eight brave mon sank down
in the boats. Two were dead ana six
were wounded
Eut the Spanards were too late. Al
ready one cable had been hauled mp and
100 feet cut out Of it. This was the cable
that ran to itatallno and connected with
Havana. 1t was SLOW, laborious work.
The heavy cables had to be hauled up
across the small boats ana then by SLOW
degrees the tough steel wires Were hacked
off with axes. chiscs ana saws.
After a vollcy had been fred ny the
SpAniards. the men transferred the dead
ana wounded to another boat and began
looking for tho other cable which ran
east to Santiago. This was soon found.
ana again under the canopy Of shot amd