Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1898-07-16
HOW CERVERA'S FLEET
WAS DESTROYED
An Eye Witness vividly Portrays
the Great Naval En-
counter.
SCHlEY WAS IN COMMAND
Terrible Rain Of Shot Upon the II
Fated Spanish
Cruisers.
PERFORATED AND RUN ASHORE
From the Moment They Came Out
OF the HurbOr They Were
Flooded with Shot and
Shell.

Santiago. July 9.-The following is
a graphic description of the dcstruc-
ton of the Spanish fleet from a cor
respondent with the squadron:
The Brooklyn was lying opposite
the mouth of tho harbor, about $500
yards out. Near her was the Glouces-
ter, the converted yacht formerly ).
Pieront Morgan's Corsair.
The instant Schley sighted the de-
stroyer he OWNED what was coming.
He sent for his signal officer, Ensign
McCauley, and in another minute a
string of flags was flying from the
Brooklyn, ordering the ships in the
squadron TO beat 10 general quarters.
The drum and bugle rang out on the
Brooklyn the same instant, and the
members of the crew, who were Toll
ing about between decks to keep out
of the sun ran TO their fighting sta
tons stripping themselves TO the
waist and kicking of shoes and socks.
The Brooklyn was the first under
way. Before she had gone a hundred
yards the ram bow of the OquendO APP
peared i'm the channel with "a white
furrow curling up on either side. She
was ploughiDg along as fast as her
foul hull would let her. Right astern
of the 0quendo came the Nizcaya,
three minutes later the lnfanta Maria
Teresa and last the Cristobal Colon,
tho finest cruiser Of them all.
Schley ordered the Brooklyn TO be
headed for the Colon. He knew that
the Colon had been Cervera's flagship,
but he did not know the old admiral,
....l a.. ,.,1lnnfru hn.l ipunGfarrnn
his flag TO tho slowest ship in his
Sect the Infanta Maria.
All the time that the Brooklyn was
running in toward the shore her Sec
ondary battery and the 5-inch rifles on
her gun deck were barking at the
Pluton and Furor. When the first OF
the cruisers appeared her main bat
terry was set TO work.
Lieutenant Rush, in the forward
turret, got his two S-inch guns going
first. Not twenty seconds behind HIM
were the two 8-inch guns in the port
turret, and their two sisters in the
starboard turret. The splendid bat
terry arrangement of the Brooklyn was
being demonstrated.
brooklyn Demonstrates Her Fight
ing Abilities.
Running bow on, she was using six
Of her eight S-inch guns, and when she
turned to run parallel with the
Oquendo she still had six Of them
working the two in the bow, the two
in the starboard turret and the two in
the after turret, each n of them
hurting immense shells at the Span
iards three times every four minutes,
SO rapidly was the ammunition served.
Right alongside of the Brooklyn
kept the Gloucester.
The two d~estroyers, which had evil
IDENTIFY been instructed to assail our
ships and engage their attention UNI
til the Spanish cruisers could gain the
open, found the work too hot for
them. The men behind the machine
guns on the Brooklyn we're. getting
their range, and shots were pepcring
the water closer to them every second.
The vicious battle of the quick fire
guns filled In the short breaks between
the revcrberating roar OF the heavy
guns. The d~estroycrs turned, and the
Gloucester, breaking away from the
BROOKLYN without orders of any kind,
headed straight after them, keeping up
u lItultlliOuo NV LIN "''N' b.
the range just as they turned, and
held it until both were beachcd TWEEN
ty minutes later, the shot ripping and
tearing their sides and decks in n hun
dred places.
Commanders stood on the Bridges
Right behind the Brooklyn came the
Texas, with Captain Jacob Philip on
the bridge, his brown eyes swapping
and his bald head glistening in the
brilliant sunshine like n ball of ivory.
Off in the port quarter OF the Texas
the low hulled Massachusetts came
laundering down with Captain Hig-
ginson, small, quiet and rosy checked,
the bridge. There were no con
ming tower" captains on our slips in
this fight. They disdained the shell
ter of steel and stood out in the open
where they could see and be seen. Al
most abreast the three terrible light
ers, the Oregon, Indiana and Iowa,
bore down.
Without signaling the different
ships selected their victims from
among the four cruisers speeding
along the Cuban shore. The Brooklyn
kept after the Colon and the Texas
followed her. The Iowa and Indiana
for the Vizcaya. The Texas, get
ting a good chance at the latter, left
her chase with the Brooklyn and from
her 12-inch gun in the starboard tur-
ret began to hurl steel into the Don
the mastery aim of Lieutenant.
Bristol.
The massive Oregon joined the
Brooklyn i'm the chase after the Colon,