The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-07-15
ON THE low AS BRIDGE.

Z
ION THE low AS BRIDGE,
Graphic Description 81. tho Great
Naval Battle or Santiago
de Cubs.
New York. July s che Herald prints
| the following graphic account OF the
great naval battle In which Admiral Ger,
yera's fleet was destroyed, written BY m
expert naval authority on board one 81
the United States warships:
4 On Board u s. s.. Iowa, OFF Santiago,
/ July A.. (By Herald Dispatch Boat Geld
enrod to Port Antonio, July 6.)-On
Sunday morning, July 5, our watching
/ ships lay rolling In easy surges off the
harbor of Santiago. Their distance from
the guarded haven varied from 1000 tQ
| 5000 yards, and there, with an unsparing
alertness, they waited for the promised
| dash which all hoped for, but feared
might never come. 5ssy5S
| A little later-three bells in the fore
noon Watch-the inspection Of the ship
had been concluded, and as Lieut.: Van
Duzer, officer of the watch, was relieving
! the navigating officer, Lieut.. Schuetze,
| then officer Of the deck, he heard the
quick cry to call the captain, followed by
the shout: :, Z { .. 81 W. / sss rs eds.
There come the spaniards out of the
rbOr." IL. : $50 81 $Z q e. ss Z
The trained eye of the alert officer had
and before the signal, .tClear the ship for
action, had been given the bows of the
| Spanish vessels, rushing in a slime
ahead, were seen darting around Socapa
point for the open sea. ~ . 81 :.
Ships Clear for Action.
In a moment all was hustle and trained
| energy. The men rushed to their quar-
| tiers, the guns were trained, and in less
| than twenty seconds the whistling shrek
of rapid-fr gun warned the startled
fleet of hot work awaiting. In two min
loose, manned, loaded aud ready for the
ong-expected signal to fire. AT the yard
arm of our battleship string of signal
fiags warned the fleet that the enemy was
/ trying to escape, but even before the an
swering remnants of other ships an
nounced their understanding of the mes
sage, every vessel. was dashing to the
stations long before allotted for the emer-
gency which had come at last. ~
l. 1t was q splendid spectacle. The Span
lards with bottled steam cleared the har-
boris mouth seemingly in a moment. I'm
der their eager prows q column of foam
whitened the long pillows, aud their bub-
sharp as a racing yacht making VIM
ming run for the finish line. Their course
was shaped westward, but as fast as
they sped in their desperate break for
freedom, faster flew the shells of the pur-
suing Americans. 's-.
The first heavy shell from the Iowa S
battery fell short, and then. by a lucky
-mischance. so did the second, but after
ward rain of shot fell upon the fleeing
fusillade roared the batteries of the Span
ish ships. Their port broadsides famed
and grumbled, but it was splendid dis
play of fireworks rather than a success
full effort to damage the unframed tar
gets of the Yankee ships.
In fifteen minutes after they were dis
covered four Spanish armored cruisers
later the torpedo-boat destrOyers,- hug
cling the beach and seeking the shelter
ing broadside of their sister ships, flew
into the turmoil Of action.
9. Marie Teresa Disabled.
At this time every gun of the Amer
lean squadron that could be brought to
bear was pumping projectiles into the enc
my. In an instant, it almost seemed, one
ship of the Vizcaya class burst into
flames, caused, undoubtedly, by long,
sure shot from the Oregon OF Texas. A
minute later a Pinch projectile sent
from her forward turret struck the flag
ship Maria Teresa near her after smoke
pipe. A tremendous explosion followed.
Then she was shrouded in smoke and was
lighted with lurid flames; and then when
the powder cloud blew down the wind
she was seen helm hard aport rushing for
the beach. Twenty-Five, minutes after
%l0 Enc% Chi hal >A~I LIZ l.
Spanish feet had surrendered or was on
FIRE. -. III
AS our vessels rushed toward them
every ship was hulled time and again,
and it almost seemed that in sureness
and directness our batteries were at tar
get practice of summer morning and
/ not seeking the humiliation of squad
ron g Even this interval would have been
shortened measurab1y, for aiding them
md hindering US was cloud of smoke
which concealed and at best only half
revealed the wrecks of the enemy. >.'
1t was grand, sad sight, and a pa
thetlc one to seamen, who know how
much patient thought and patriotic eff
fort had gone into. the construction of
and burning. on the shores they had
hoped to defend.
Torpedo-Boat Destroyers Sunk,
in emotions Of sympathy or of pity, for
still rushing eagerly westward, closely
followed by the New York and at a
further distance by the Indiana, came the
torpedo-boat destroyers. In the hot
eagerness of destruction we turned loose
our smaller guns on these loudly-heralded
and ineffective craft, and finally by a
lucky hit dropped twenty-inch she'll in
to the bow Of the leading destroyer. At
the same instant the little Hist was rap
Idly closing upon them, pouring sick
ening fire into the fragile hulls. -
The Gloucester joined in this splendid
assault, and so sure and so effective were
their rapid-fire projectiles that both tor
pedo-boats swung their helms hard a.
was left of them among the pitiless rocks
of the coast. 49,
By q quarter past 10 we were in full
cry after the other Spanish ships. then
about four miles ahead, busy with hot
replies to the determined assault of the
Oregon, Texas and Brooklyn. f. s. Ut.
Bend1hg every energy to overtake the
and perhaps two miles ahead in direct
line and mile and a half further ii
shore, we picked up the flying Viscaya.
The game must have seemed up to her
then, for with a quick turn to starboard
she ran shoreward, and we saw in an in
slant that she was flaming fore and aft.
A beautiful Spanish flag floated from her
gait, and another higher still from her
main topmast head showed her to be
the flagship of the second in command.
She Jagged heavily in the water. No
longer did she s'carry bone in her teeth -
and her foaming wake was gone. When
we drew near we saw something had
gone amiss with her, for just as we swung
with touch of our helm to give her q
finishing broadside the beautiful flags
drifted from the truck and gait end and
the white flag of surrender went up, and
the cheers Of our ship went with it. We
stopped our engines when close aboard and
hoisted out our boats to save her people.
We received on board $50 of her crew
The Hist took another hundred, and that
was all that was left-of them, for the other
hapless sailors were lying dead and