Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-09
HOBSON ON DUTY AGAIN.
He is at Work ValuiDe the Wrecked
Spanish Par Vessels.

Vessels
copyright, 1898, by the Associated Press1
OFF Santiago de Cuba, July I. via King
ston, July S.-The United State auxiliary
cruiser Harvard has sailed for Portsmouth,
N H., with the remainder of the prisoners.
the total now being 1TJO,
A board of officers is today inspecting the
Cristohal Colon, and it is hoped she may be
saved.
Naval Constructor Hobson is on board the
Spanish cruiser, and is about to value the
Infanta Maria Teresa The Vizcaya and
Almirante Oquendo are worthless wrecks
Admiral Cervera before leaving sent the
following cable dispatch to Captain General
Blanco:
To the Commanding General of Havana:
Acting on your instructions, l left Santi-
ago de Cuba and encountered an American
force three times the strength Of mine The
infanta Maria Teresa the Almirante
Oquendo and the ViZcaya were beached and
burned; according to an American report
the Cristobal Colon was beached further
west of Santiago. The Pluton and the Flu
ror foundered The men behaved so brave
~ that they won praise from the Ameri-
cans: About COO were killed, and large
numbers were wounded. The rest were
taken prisoners. All is lost, ard we need
money.
zsya. Concas and Eulate were wounded"
CThis translation is slightly different from
that heretofore printed)
Admiral Cervera, before leaving the har-
Dor of Santiago de Cuba on Sunday morn
ie:s's"Sied the following message to his
The admiral to his dear children: He
hopes that God will grant US prompt vic
tory"
Hobson's story.
Hobson sat once more among his mess
mates last night and told the story of his
experience, his marvellous escape and his
Imprisonment in Moro Castle, watching
the shells explode outside his cell under ID
murdereus fire.
Il die not miss the entrance to the har-
Dor, he said, "as Ensign Powell, in the
launch, supposed. / headed east until l
got my bearings, and then made for it,
straight in. Then came the firing 1t was
grand, flashing out first from enc side of
the harbor and then the other from those
big guns on the hills, the Vizcaya, lying
inside the harbor. joining.
Troops from Santiago had rushed Down
when the news of the Merrimac's coming
was telegraphed, and soldiers lined the
foot of the cliffs, firing wildly across and
killing each other with the cross fire The
Merrimac's steering gear broke as she got
TO Estrella Point Only three of the tor
pedoes on her side exploded when | touch
ed the button. huse submarine mine
caught her full am,ashiDi, hurting The
water high in the air and tearing a great
rent in the Merrimac $ side.
Her stern ran upon Estrella Point.
Chiefly owing to the work done by the
mine, she began to sink slowly. At that
time she was across the channel but be-
fore she settled the tide drifted her
around: We were all aft. lying on the
deck. Shells and bullets wnistlcd around
Six-inch shells from the Vizcayl came
tearing into the Merrimac, crashing into
wood and iron and passing clear through.
while the plunging shots from the fort
broke through her decks.
Their Peril.
"'Not a man must move, 1 said, and it
was only owing to the splendid discipline
of the men that we all were not killed as
the shells rained over us. and minutes be-
came hours of suspense The mems
mouths grew parched, put we must lie
there till daylight, 1 told them. Now and
again one or the other of the men lying
with his face glued to the deck and Won
dering whether the next shell would not
come our way, would say: Hadn't we
better drop off now, sr?' but 1 said Wait
till daylight
1T would have been impossible to get
the catamaran anywhere but to the shore
where the soldiers stood shooting and /
hoped that by daylight we might be rec
ognized and saved. The grand old Merri-
mac kept sinking. l wanted 10 go for
ward to see the damage done there,
where nearly all the ire was directed
but one man said that IL 1 rose it wouHi
draw all the fire on the rest. So l lay
mouonleSs. 1t was splendid the way these
men behaved. The fire of the soldiers the
batteries and the Vizcaya was awful.
When the water came up he Merri-
macs decks the cataniaran fioated amid
the wreckage, but was still made fast to
the boom. and we caught hold of the edge
and chung on. our heads being above water
"One man thought we were safer right
there; it was quite light, the firing had
ceased except that on the New York
launch, and 1 feared Ensign Powell and
his men had been killed
"A Spanish launch came toward the
Merrimac. We agreed to capture her and
run. Just as she came close the SPAN
iards saw us. and half dozen marines
jumped up and pointed their rifles at our
heads. Is there any officer in that boat
to receive surrender Of prisoners of
war" l shouted An old man leaned out
under the awning and waved his hand 1t
was Admiral Cervera. The marines low
cred their rifles. and we' were helped into
the launch"
A process has been recently perfected by
which thin sheets of absolutely transpar-