The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-07-27

and artillery rapidly going ashore. This is a well protected harbor. Water sufficient for all transports and heavy vessels to anchor within 200 yards of slyore. The Spanish flag was lowered and the American flag raised at Il a. m. to-day. Captain Hig- ginson, with his fleet, has rendered great assistance. Troops in good health and best of spirits No casualties.
 (SigneO Miles,
 Major General.
 Copyright, 1898, The Associated Press.
 Port of Guanico, Porto Rico, July 25. Tine American military expedition un- der General Miles landed here to-day after a skirInish with few Spanish troops and thirty of the crew of the auxiliary gunboat Gloucester, during which four Spaniards were killed. The Americans suffered no loss General Miles will push forward without delay Ponce, ten miles distance. From Ponce there Is an excellent military road run ming eighty-flve miles north to San Juan, the capital of the island
 The whole of General Brooke's force with the New Orleans, Annapolis. Cin- oinnati, Layden and Wasp are expected here within twenty-four hours. The ships left Guantanamo buy suddenly on Thursday evening with the Massa- chusetts, Captain F. J. fiigginson, lead ing. Captain Higginson was in charge of the naval expedition, which consist ed of the Columbia. Dixie, Gloucester and Yale. General Miles was on board the last named vessel The troops were on board the transports Nueces, Lam pasas Comanche, Rita, Uniopist, Still water, City of Macon and Specialist. This was the order in which the tratls- ports entered the harbor here. The voyage from Guantanamo bay to this port was uneventfu1 At no6n yester- day General Miles called for q consul tatfun announcing that he was deter- mined not to go by San Juan cape, but to go by the Mona Passage instead, land there, surprise the Spafiards and deceive their military antlprSEtee The course was then changed and the sDixie was sent to warh GenAral Brooke at Cape San Juan. Bbrt Guam ico has been fully described by Lieu tenant Whitney of General Miaas' staff, who recently made an adcsnturous tour of, Porto Rico. Ponce. which is situated. about ten or fifteen miles fxom this port, is to the eastward and a harder place to take. In additacrs, the water at Ponce IS too shallow for the transports to be able to get close in shore. Then again, Ponce itself is some little distance from whepe fhe troops would have been able to land If that point had been selected for the debarka- ton of the expedition. The advantage of that place is that it is sitfatsd close to the railroad connecting with Ponce, which means of transportation our troops hope to secure to-day
 Early this morning the Gloucester, in charge of Lieutenant Commander Wainwright, steamed into Guanico har- bor in order to reconnoitre the place. With the fleet waiting outside, the gall lant little fighting yacht Gloucester bravea the mines which were supposed to be in this harbor and, upon sound ing, found that there were five fathoms of water close inshore. Guanico bay is "a quiet place, surrounded by cultivated lands. In the rear are high mountains and close to the beach fiestles a village of about twenty houses. The Span iards were completely taken by sur prise. Almost the first they knew of the approach of the army of invasion was the firing of a gun from the Glou- cester, saucify demanding that the 1Spaniards hahl down the flag of Spain, which was floating from flagstaff in front of a block house standing to the east of the village.
 The first couple of three -pounders were fired into the hills right and left of the bay, and in order to scare the enemy the fighting yacht purposely; avoided firing into the town. The Gloucester then hove-to within about six hundred yards of the shore and lowered launch, having on board Colt rapid fire gun and thirty men un- der the command of Lieutenant Huse, and she was sent ashore without en- countering any opposition. Quarter master Beck thereupon told Yeoman Lacy to haul down the Spanish flag, which was done, and they then raised on the flagstaff the first United States flag to float over Porto Rican soil. Sud- denly about thirty Spaniards opened fire with Mauser rifles on the American party. Lieutenant Huse and his men responded with great gallantry, the Colt gun doing effective work. Nor man, who received Admiral Cervera's surrender, and Wood. a volunteer lieu tenant, shared the honors with Lieu tenant HuSe.
 Almost immediately after the Span- iards fired on the Americans the Glou- cester opened fire on the enemy with all her three and six-pounders which could be brought to bear, smelling the