The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-05-16
|VsE DID NOT WORK.
Undertook to Decoy the
American Warships.
MADE TO RELIEVE HAVANA.
nut 10 Lend the block
Is Fleet Under the Range
os Morro's Guns.

I'd the Associated Press Dispatcn
. Spencer, off Havana. May Il.
Key West. Fla, May 10, a M
General Blanco. two hours before
tonight. attempted to execute u
b,ob If successful. would have
he front of Havana of the six ships
blookading station.
IN come out to do battle. he
the tactics of the spider and cum
BANNED to draw the prey into his
though a clever scheme, as an
proposition. it was practically a
\ Of the trick by which the gun
cksburg and the little converted
cntter Morrill, were last week de-
a fishing smack under the big
euns of Santa Clara batteries.
10 bad gunnery, both ships on that
managed to get out of the range
hsing sunk, though some of the
urst close about them and the
rg's Jacobs ladder was cut adrift.
This afternoon the ships on the
station we're dumbfounded to see
BIS steam out of Havana harb0r and
st.
was streaming from their stacks
nance showed that they were under
head OF steam. BY aid of glass s.
bder Lilley of the Maytiower, which
ing the pennant. made out the
essel OF the two, which was about
long and Of about 4500 tons dis
&nt to be the cruiser Alphonso XIII
smaller one to be the gunboat
both OF which were known TO
led uo in Havana harbor.
fst he supposed that they were taxi
tantage OF the absence OF the heavy
ships and were making a BOA
IA for the open sea. AS the senior
he Immediately signalled the out
Rn the station. the Nickshurg, An
Wasp, Tecumseh and Osceola,
Iwere moving In to form a column
brge en- echelon
the gunboats on the right flank,
lie squadron moved in ooliquity to-
he fleeing Spaniards. keeping up q
3 fire as they went.
Alphonso and her consort circled
/ about five miles below and, after
3g in for half mile, headed back fol
Rcastle. Our gunboats and the skinned
! OF the mosquito fleet did not fol
lem in Commander Lilley saw that
3iley Spaniard's ruse WAS TO draw
In under the guns of the heavy bat
where Spanish artillery officer:
plot out the exact range and POI
Sc the return was made in line
parallel with the shore Commando
had not been mistaken AS his
came abreast of the Santa Clara bat
he big guns opened fire and firec
IN shells at a distance of about five
The range was badly judged. a!
than half the shells overshot tn,
and others fell short, some as muct
hile.
Associated Press dispatch boat Kate
FER Witnessed the action, which LASTED
in hour As a spectacle. the creates
b OF stagecraft could not hav,
ID finer setting. The low sun dyeC
Cuban hills a royal purple. agains
havana's white walls cleaned llk'
pier. Morros gray sides and yellow
stood out against the blue waters o
puff, while directly behind sprang
band of the rainbow, woven in ant
hrough dense gray clouds until los
3 zenith.
! big Alphonso with her convo,
ed back 10 the harbor's mouth am
pg sharply eastward ran along tn
as though to slip through the cor
y the blockade
PAS bold trick and not at first trans
\, although the folly of it created Z
flon. as there was no hope of ulti
escape and no object in escaping. The
pwer. which. standing well out lik'
with a mouse. gave slight start
swinging her engines and the tin.
ron into line, dashed in to cut then
ne Spanish boats crowded on steam
tood along the coast long as the,
TO give zest to the chase. The May
slgnalled her consorts: "Close il
fharge.'
Pa was flung on from ship to ship a
(steamed in column en- echelou. Sesin
|ait had apparently taken. the Span
EVeered about and bringing their sterI
RS TO bear on the Americans double
LOT MORO 1T was a beautiful run
nght, viewed from where the Kat
fer lay, seven miles off MORO Castle
puif5 of white smoke burst fror
Edes or the gunboats and OCCASIONAL
fplosion OF a she'll In the air. like
OF nre, could be discerned with tn
Pf glasses.
Hash Of the spaniards' guns wa
\! visible reports of the same wer
Eno indistinct. Two OF the shells fror
! lckso'rg burst in the rigging of tn
('nso ana some of the rigging cam
out It was, of course. inpossibI
LOW whether any fatalities occurred.
american fire was much more ac
II man the Spanish. as every she'll {
la.lsr tell short of their pursuers. TIL
F'.us We're a mile off MORO and on
iuhy tour miles further out whe
4 ,eaped from the batteries of SAINT
'orts and clouds of white smok
4" up the coast. Half a minute lat,
4, NssaNy roar of great gun came liz
III siapason OF an organ on the hig
smarter guns. II was from one ,
sh hrupps mounted there, and a
ouno projeetile plunged into the w,t,
q mile inside of the American lin
(be,ss up tower of white spray.
1910 and struck again half mi
(dSa,in ne mask was now OFF.
ssr, by the failure of the plot. t,
,a continued to fire at intervals
,,n,s minutes. In all thirteen sho
ia.o. but not one struck within "a,
1 nv " o one OF our ships. As soon as II
I'll, opened Commander Lilley signal,
Il ri, ifeet stood Off shore. CAPTAIN Xii
an me bridge OF Ore vicksburg watch,
K " me shells, but he considered
- 70 waste ammunition at that di
h ne appeased the desire of the nj
r. guns however, by letting 90 a An
''s,ue az the Spanish ships. in chan
Vi making them pay for their darir