Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-01
Destruction of Cables at Cienfuegos
Was Calamity Done.
MEN FACED DEATH LIKE HEROES
Worked Under a Dangerous Fire
From the Shore.
DETAILS OF THE INCIDENT
Copyright. 1881


Correspt hdence OF the Associated Press
KEY WEST. Fla. May 2s-Some day
after the epoch of eagneIness of latest
news of the war has passed, somebody will
tell the true story of the cutting of The ca
bic at Cienfuegos. And when that story is
told people will understand more clearly
thar they understand today what Sort of
stuff Uncle Sans navy is mad of. 1t was
a theme for Victor Hugo or a picture for a
MISSIONER that three hours of heroism. de-
| termination and death in the bay of Glen
fuegos that bright May morning.
The men knew that death awaited them
They knew when the small boats were low
cred from the ships and they pulled toward
tie shore that while they worked thou
sand Spaniards were concealed in the tall
grass and underbrush on the shore. waiting
to shower bullets upon them: The lookouts
from the masts knew this The officers
knew it. the men knew 1t; but the order to
cut the cable had been given. and the COM
r,and was obeyed
Small sections Of the CABLE which these
brave seamen cut that morning are much
sought for souvenirs at the Key West Ho-
tel since the warships brought back the
dead and wounded after the work was DONE
An Amusing Feature.
There is something amusing and at the
same time inspiring in the picture one often
looks upon in the rotunda of the hotel as
one of the wounded men happens TO stroll
in. He sees the valued little souvenirs
passed about from hand to hand. He hears
the story told ever and over again, and he
smiles in silence and iimps away. H. alone
knows the story. But he is the last one TO
tell it. Ask him about it, and he tells you
the cable was cut, two men were killed and
six badly wounded. That is about ali.
Lieutenant c. N. r. Wlnslow of the
Nashville, who was in command of the eX-
petition, came into the hotel last evening
ard was soon surrounded by a group of
friends eager to hear his story of the al
fair in which he was the principal inquire
He had been wounded in the left hand and
his arm yet in a sling. He was not
eager to talk of the matter, but little 10y
little the details were drawn out, and TINS
is the story about as he told 1t:
The Marbiehead, Nashville and WINDOW
were detailed to do the perlous work. The
town of Cienfuegos is situated some dis
tance back from the sea in Il harbor when
winds and twists about between hlgn Mills
completely obscuring ii from ships standins
out at sea Near the mouth of the harbor
the land is low for some distance back from
the coast and then there Is sudden rise
a sharp bluff towering up and covered with
trees The low land is covered with tan
grass and underbrush. The cable house,
which the Americans desired to destroy,
was located very close-within few lcet
of the water. Not far from this on one
side was a light house and on the other
side an old block house or lookout. such
as the Spanish in former years established
all along the coast They Were built Tor
the purpose OF intercepting filioustering eN-
petitions.
Plan of the Americans.
1t was the plan of the Americans TO send
out the small boats from the ships, and.
proceeding close to the shore, pick up the
cables with graphing irons and cut out
a section of sufficient length to prevent the
possibility of mending them by reunlunS
the severed ends.
When daylight came the three warshlps
were in position short distance out from
the shore. With the first rays of light the
lookouts began to scan the shore and ii
was soon discovered that the Spaniards
were expecting and evidently knew the
mission of the ships. Rifle pits were plain
ly distinguished at the very waters edge
and commanding the point where the cable
was supposed to be and where the Ameri-
cans would have to go in their small boats.
Rapid-fire guns and small cannon could be