The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1898-06-09
THE SANTIAGO BOmBlRpmeNT
FURTHER DETAILS OF the FIGHT
COMMODORE ScHlEy PURPOSE TO
LOCATE FORTS AND BAT
TERiES.

Iowa Took Part In the Enxagement. the
| battieship- Using Their Big Guns on the
| Cristobal Colon aud the Cruiser Devos-
| ing her Attention. with Good Effect. to
the BATTERIES and MORO Cs.sle-Spanish
Marksmen Unable to hit our ships, Most
of Their Shot. Falling short-No Inju-
rses Reported ON the American side,
The following repor. has been
given out by the Associated Press:
PORT ANToSIA, JAMAcA, June l.
For an hour yesterday afternoon
the Massachusetts,, Iowa, New Or
leans, and Vixen. OF Commodore
Schley's squadron, exchanged shots
with the Spanish feet under Ad-
miral Cervera and with the land bat
teries guarding the harbor of Santi-
ago de Cuba, behind which the Span
ish feet is hiding.
The engagement was the first
which has occurred between the two
naval forces. and was but a prelude
to serious work in the latter part Of
this week.
No attempt was made by the Amer
lean commander to bring en- a gen
eral engagement, it being his desire
to locate the batteries on the hills
above the harbor and to determine
the position of the Spanish forts.
AT l o'clock the signal to form
column was hoisted on the Massa-
chusetts, and the New Orleans, Iowa,
and Vixen fell in in the order named.
The Massachusetts steamed slowly
until about five miles west of the
harbor entrance, when she turned in
toward the shore, and when about
5000 yards off, she turned east again
and bore down on the harbor, the
New Orleans being close up and the
Iowa half mile behind. The flag
ship gradually increased her speed
and was soon running through the
water at the rate of ten knots an
hour. She drew closer and closer to
the batteries, and to the anxious
watchers on the other ships it seemed
that she would never open fire.
one Sholl Struck tho Colon.
When, however, she passed the
harbor entrance by 500 yards, a.
great cloud Of white and yellow
smoke burst from the two thirteen
inch guns in her after turret, and
two shells rose over the hill, one of
them striking the Spanish flagship,
Cristobal Colon, full and fair as she
lay at her anchorage, and the other
falling close alongside.
The two guns on the forward tur-
ret were then fired, and their shells,
in exploding, threw up great Jets of
spray close to the Colon.
All the shore batteries took up the
challenge and began a rapid fire on
the Massachusetts,. But she was
soon beyond their range, and the
batteries thereupon turned their
guns on the New Orleans. This
cruiser had been directed to pay at
tention to the batteries and to draw
their fire as much as possible, and
she obeyed her instructions to the
letter. Her first shot located large
battery on the hill above the Moro.
1t flew straight into the fort and must
have caused much damage, as great
cloud of dust and debris rose as the
she'll burst. A couple more shots
sent part of the walls of Morro fly
ing into the air, and then the New
Orleans confined herself to the bat
teries, her fire being rapid and ex-
tremely accurate. Every shot che
fred made trouble for spain.
The Iowa came next, and, like the
Massachusetts, devoted her atten-
tion to the ships lying within the
harbor. Her twelve-inch shells made
the water fly all around that part
of the harbor in which the Cristobal
Colon lay. The latter. however,
was not seriously damaged, and kept
up her FIRE until long after the Amer
lean ships steamed out of range.
The Spanish ships, with the excep-;
tion of the Cristobal Colon were be-
hind the hills and could not see the
enemy, who threw shells around
them with such rapidlty that they
knew he was somewhere on the other
side of the hill, and then hopelessly
raised the muzzles of their guns and
banged away. The result was what
might have been expected. Their
fire tore the bosom of the Caribbean
Sea, but it harmed nothing else.
After the Massachusetts, had pas
sed the point where she could fire
into the harbor with advantage, she
turned to the open sea, the other
vessels following her. That fight
was over as far as the Americans
were concerned.
Batteries VIII not Last Long.
Commodore Schley has located all
the batteries now, and an officer on
the Massachusetts, said, after the ac-
ton: 1--WE can dismount every gun
left in less than an hour" But if
the Vesuvius does not come, and an
attack is made without regard to
the mines, the men on the first ship
will be cast in heroic mold, If they
do not feel, as they go into action,
that any moment may bring the
same fate as that which came SO sud-
denly to tho men of the Maine on
that dark February night.
ARMY mot FIT TO MOVE"
London Times Correspondents Tells What
he Calls SO Disagresabls Truth"
LONDON, June 4-The Times nuh-