The San Francisco call., 1898-07-05
MAP OF THE VICINITY OF SANTIAGO CUBA, SHOWING THE SCENE OF DISASTER TO ADMIRAL CERVERAS FLEET AND THE POSITIONS OF THE SEVERAL DIVISIONS OF SKATERS ARMY, THE DISPATCHES.

l Colon was invisible, frequently in low 1 hanging smoke from his own guns, and also that which drifted inshore from the battle-ships.
 i Clearly now it might have been better | if they had moved in circles and given battle under the Santiago batteries, whose aid would have lessened the odds against him, but the Spaniards, through off until the batteries could no longer | train their guns on our fleet.
 1 At 11:30 o'clock Cervera saw the Ore gon cutting inshore ahead of him to round him to. The smoke was very thick. The firing was incessant. Ger vera's available guns were no longer ' well served. Shells had set fire to his ship near the stem. and the flames were controlled with difficulty, but the Spanish admiral altered his course and between the two ships and run for it. It was impossible. The Iowa and Texas were already moving down to close the gap, and the Spanish flagship, raked by the Oregon and Brooklyn at from a thousand to two thousand yards and by the Iowa and Texas at longer range, turned inshore again and ran for the rocks, where the surf was breaking. He still replied occasionally, and I won | dered when the smoke hid his ship if he would be afoat when it lifted.
 The Golden Rod, leaving the burning cruisers on the beach, bore at full speed on the Iowa as she closed in on the l doomed admiral. I could discern the l Spanish flag from time to time as the smoke drifted away and the flash of a l gun at intervals proved that the Span iard was consistently following the idea which led him to quit the harbor- which was to make a glorious end
 But his ship moved slowly now, as if ! disabled, and in a few minutes more his guns were silent. Black smoke re- placed the swirling white. The flag unable either to work the guns or smother the flames caused by bursting shells, and she was headed for the rocks
 She struck bow on and rested there. l Red flames burst through the black smoke, and soon a pillar cloud rose straight up thousand feet and then bent against the green mountain. Ger veras ship was hopelessly lost
 The American battle-ships ceased fir ing before she struck and ran in, appar- ently with the intention of saving the survivors as prisoners. This was evil dently expected by the Spaniards, mo- tably by the Vizcaya's men, hundreds of whom thronged the forward deck, watching the flames eating their way toward them.
 Dr. Simonds of the Iowa, who accom- panied me and assisted me during the engagement, said that the fourth Span ish cruiser was unable to leave the har- bor with the others because she was disabled.
 The casualties will not be accurately determined until tomorrow. Evidently the American losses were slight com pared with the tremendous importance of the accomplishment of annihilating Cerveras squadron.
 The Golden Rod was the only dis patch boat near the ships in action. ] would have gone to Guantanamo with a bulletin had not the Resol11te headed all non-combatants to the westward by the strange warning that Spanish ship was coming, from the eastward. As the Resolute ran toward the New York this afternoon after the engagement a shell from the western battery at four miles range passed few feet over and ahead of the Golden Rod.