Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1898-05-17

Sh'ly 'ho SuhhCl vi tuC SobSoiu
had hit home.
Then the Boston cracked away
with an eight-inch shell and, just
to show that we were in the fight,
the McCulloch sent a few shots
hurting toward where the Span =
ish hashes told of batteries that
were enarling at our invasion OF
their harbor.
1t was not necessary to pay
much attention to the shore forts.
They evidently had enough of
trouble after few shots, for they
ceased to fire and boom, and the
American feet steamed on into
Manila bay.
This was a time to try the souls
of men. We expected every min
ute that the Spaniards would come
out to meet us. Among the men
it was supposed that the engage
ment would be fought in the dark
with all the horror of guessing
which was friend and which was
foe.
Dawn came out of the black
suddenly. Then we saw that "tbe
old man" knew just what he was
about all The time. Right ahead
of us lay the Spanish fleet and
Cavite forts. Far up the bay was
Manila.
We were in for it. But on went
Dewey and on went the fleet. 1t
seemed to me it was at least two
hours since we were ordered out
of line of battle. l found after
ward it really was about twenty
minutes.
The Spaniards began firing at
$40, and Dewey steamed right
into the teeth of their fusillade
until $50 without a shot. His
executive officer told me afterward
that the "old man" was as cool
and as chatty as if he had gone on
a practise cruise.
That hill reminds me of hill
back of our old home up in Yer
mont" he said. THE smoke is
TX he morning mist5 in ouy
valley"
Then he set his signals and
changed his course, showing his
port side to the foe. The other
ships followed suit.
At this instant something hap
pened. There was a great roar.
TIE Olympia disappeared in
smoke. We at first feared she
had hit a mine and had gone up.
But out she came into the light
and reared again.
1t was a time for Americans to
cheer, and we cheered. l cried,
and l know Captain Hodgdon did.
L was proud of my nation and my
race.
THIS WAS REAL WAR.
The firing of the Spaniards had
seemed lively-almost continuous.
L had thought that the mouth of
hell yawned when their guns
were making all that noise. But
once the Olympia opened, | knew
that everything that had gone be.
fore had been imitation war. Our
men fred their guns as if they
had been doing nothing else all
their lives.
The Baltimore opened in the
same booming way. The Raleigh
was next and the Boston and the
Concord covered the little Petrol.
The Olympia made a straight
run for the Reina Christina, the
flagship of the Spanish Admiral.
AS she led the fighting line, she
fred volley after volley into this,
the best cruiser of the enemy; and
the execution was fearful. The
Reins Christina was soon on fire
in a dozen places and rents were
seen near her water line where
eight-inch shells had torn their
way.
STUCK TO HIS SHIP.
Admiral Montejo stuck to his
ship, but men were dead every
where around him, and the unin
jured were panic stricken, The
gunners deserted their guns and
the sailors jumped overheard to
swim ashore.
The Baltimore attended to the
Castillo in short order and the
big old wooden hulk was mass
of flames from stem to stern be.
fore our ships had passed the fire
line.