Griggs courier., 1898-06-24

Of the fOrtlncatlonS alOnS tue crest OF
the hills defending Santiago harbor
since the bombardment Thursday
morning shows that the American gun
ners spread wreck and ruin every
where. Some of the batteries were de-
molished beyond repair. The vultures
which circled on level wings over the
hills as thick as swallows around a
chimney for hours after the firing
ceased furnished grewsome evidence Of
the fatality among the Spanish SOL
diers. Hundreds Of troops could be
seen from the ships digging in mounds
OF earth piled up by the explosions of
the projectiles from the heavy guns for
bodies while their heads were famed
by the wings of the black scavengcrs
of the battlefield. There were two
spots, one on the east and the other on
the west of the harbor entrance, which
were denuded of the foliage. The hill
tops seem literally blown away. These
marked the places where the 2O0-pound
charges of gun cotton blown by the
Vesuvius landed.
Morro's Flag at Half-Mast.
few from Morro castle. The saffron
flag of Spain was half-masted for sew
eral hours. The significance of this is
not known. 1t is not customary to half
mast flags, but possibly some Spanish
leader was killed by the heavy fire of
our guns, though some officers of the
squadron believe that the flag was half
masted as notification to the Ameri-
cans that Lieut.. Hobson and his brave
men were dead. If such is the case they
must have been wantonly murdered.
The Spanish might seek to lay their
death to the bombardment, but not a
shot from the American ships struck
the fortress. Neither Admiral Sampson
nor Commodore Schley believe that
Lieut.. Hobson and his party have been
killed.
Spanish General Killed.
Spies report to Admiral Sampson that
the Spanish general, Joral, and several
officers were killed by the gun cotton
explosion at the first trial of the bat
teries of the Vesuvius.
There was evident generalization
among the Spanish troops during the
bombardment. Officers could be seen
with drawn swords driving the men to
the guns. but even then they could not
be forced to stay so long as our guns
were directed at them. The IS minutes
night work of the Vesuvius had shat
tered their nerves. 1t is believed by
some that the 13-inch projecti!e>fred
from the Texas which was reported
to have exploded the powder magazine
in one of the western batteries did not
fall in the battery. but went beyond
and blew up one of the ships in the har-
Dor.
Not Man Lost.
There were no casualties in the feet,
although the ships held fixed position,
as if inviting the Spaniards to fire upon
them. The half-stripped ships gun
ners never worked with more enthusi-
asm. The words of Rear Admiral Samp-
son were: First silence the batteries
on the shore and then continue firing
until the Notifications are reduced" !"
This order was strictly obeyed. 1t
was the first time that such instruc-
tions had been given, and the men re-
sponded with will. In 80 minutes the
order was given to cease firing, and
the message went to each ship from the
admiral: "Well done;" and the officers
and men turned in for breakfast.
Shores Swarm with spnniards.
Several attempts to find landing
places for the United States troops
within distance of two miles west OF
Santiago have demonstrated. along
with previous inquiries to the eastward.
that the shore tor IS miles is lined
with Spaniards. While this will not
prevent q landing close to Santiago, it
may entail considerable delay, as the
surrounding country must he thor
oughly shelled and cleared before the
troops can land in safety.
To Bombard MORO.
Admiral Sampson has decided to re-
duce to ruins Morro castle at Santiago.
He has deferred attacking this fortifi-
cation, knowing that the Spaniards
were holding Hobson and his men there
as shield. Sampson has learned that
the gallant band that sunk tie Merri-
mae are no longer held in Moro castle,
s1uN AO AoS uSNlOSO ~ OOuUIr(l tile JOr(.
He thinks that one shell from the Vesu-
vius will tear it to shreds. During the
firing on Santiago's land batteries care
was taken not to hit Morro because of
the knowledge that Hobson ard his men
were confined there.
Big Spanish Force at Santiago.
Key West, Fla. June 2o.-Juan San
tos, a Cuban pilot who arrived here Sum
day morning on board an American
warship, reports that he entered San
tiago de Cuba and found there Span
ish garrison of Is, 900 men. He adds that
the vessels of Admiral Cerveras fleet
lying at that port are the armored
cruisers Cristobal Colon, Vizcaya and
Almirante Oquendo, two small cruisers.
two torpedo boats and the Reina Mer-
cedes. which had been stripped of her
guns for the purpose Of using them to
reinforce the land batteries.
Reelected Senator.
Newport. r. l., June l5.-United
States Senator Nelson w. Aldrich was