The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-16

| We spent the most of our time, were al
most sitting. "Corking mats" as they
are termed in naval parlance, were very
much in evidence. The sailors "corking
mat is strip of canvas which he spreads
| upon the deck to protect his clothing from
the tarry teams when he feels the neces-
slty Tor siesta or nap, which is quite
often.
toward evening we were put to work a.
a task which gave welcome promise OF
coming action. Under the direction Of
! the executive officer we broke out a
number Of bags of coal from the orlop
deck and piled them five deep and about
the same number in hight around the
steam steering engine under the forward
| wheel house. This was to give added pro-
lection to vital part of the ship.
The work was hard and unpleasant, es-
| pecially to men who had not spent the
major portion of their lives at manual
labor but 1t was one of those disagreeable
| fortunes of war to which we were grow
| ing accustomed, and we toiled without
! comment That night when we turned in,
| that is, those who were fortunate enough
to have the "off watch" it was generally
| rumored about the decks that the fleet
would surely lombard early the follow
| ing morning.
About two bells Is O'clock the different
guns crews, who were sleeping al the
| batteries, were called by the boatswain's
mate, and told 10 go to breakfast at once.
IT'S coming" exclaimed Hay, joyfully.
THE old Yankee will see her real bap-
tism of fire to-day. Kid, you young rat.
| you'll have chance to dodge shells be
fore you are many hours Older
you may get a chance to stop one"
| retorted the boy.
After a hurried meal, word to clear ship
| for action was passed, and the Yankees
| boys set TO work with a vim. The task
| was done more thoroughly than usual;
| the boats and wooden matches were cover
| ed with canvas, everything portable that
| would splinter was sent below, the decks
| were sanded, and all the inhammable oils
| were placed in a boat and set adrift for
the Justin, one of the GOLFERS. to pick up.
| The day seemed fitted for the work we
had in hand The sky was overcast, and
| occasionally rain squall would sweep
down from the direction of the land and
| envelop the fleet. 1t was not a cold, raw
rain, like that encountered in more north
ern attitudes in early summer, but drip
| ping of moisture, peculiarly grateful af-
ter the heat of the previous day.
| Shortly before O'Clock the members of
| the crew were in readiness for business
| The majority had removed their superflu-
| Gus clothing, and it was really stirring to
| see the different guns crews stripped to
| the waist and barefooted, standing at
| their stations. There was something in
| the cool practical manner in which each
| man prepared for work that promised
well, and it should be said to the everlast-
| ing credit of the naval reserves that they
invariably fought with the calmness and
| precision of veterans whenever they were
| called upon.
In the present case, there would have
been some excuse for faint-heartedness
| But the crew of the Yankee, made up OF
men whose previous life had been one OF
| absolute peace, who had never heard a
| shot fired in anger before their arrival
at Santiago, who had felt home and bust
ness in defense of the fiag-these men
went about their preparations for attack
| ing the Notifications with as little con-
| Germ as if it were simply a yachting trip.
There was no holding back, no hesita-
fancy, no looks of concern or anxiety, but
when the signal to advance inshore ap
peared on the New York at six bells q
o'clock they could hardly keep from
cheering in their exuberance of spirits.
They were Americans!
The hagship's signal to advance in for
! nation was obeyed at once. Moving in
double column the fleet stood in toward
| the batteries. The first line, as we saw
from the after port. was composed of the
| Brooklyn, Texas, Massachusetts and Mar
| blehead. The line TO which the Yankee
| was attached included, besides that YES
| sell the New York, Oregon Iowa and
| New Orleans. When within 5000 yards
| from shore, the first line turned toward
the west leaving us to steam in the OPP
posite direction.
The batteries ashore could now be plain
| ly distinguished. Moro castle grim and
| defiant, seemed to Ignore our coming il
| the absence OF life was any proof. Lower
| down, on the other side of the entrance,
| where the Estrella and Catalena batteries
| were located, there seemed to be more &C.
tivity Men could also be seen running
| about in several new batteries little
| 10 the eastward of MORO Castle. It was
| evident to us at once that the enemy had
| not anticipated an attack on such rainy,
| windy day.
| On swept the two lines of chips without
| firing shot until they formed a sem-cir-
| Gle with the heavier vessel directly facing
4 the forts, then the New York opened with
| one of her heavy guns, the Iowa, following
| Immediately. AT this moment, 7:45 a. M.
| the ships were arranged as follows, count
| ing from the right: New York, Yankee,
| New Orleans Massachusetts,, Iowa, Indi-
| ana, Texas, Marblehead and Brooklyn.
| Guarding the extreme left were the Vixen
| and Suwanee, and doing similar duty on
the other flank were the Dolphin and Por-
| ter.
The shot from the flagship was the sig
! nal for a general bombardmsut There
| was no settled order of firing but each
! ship Just pitched in to use a common
! expression, and banged away at the forts
| with every available gun.
The scene on the gun deck of the Yam
| kee was one never to be forgotten. When
| the word to commence firing reached us
we sprang TO the work at once. Each
| crew paid strict attention to its own sta
| ton, and the routine of loading and firing
| went on with the regularity of clockwork.
| A number of boxes of fixed ammunition
had been whipped" up from below while
| We were steaming into position, and there
was no lack of dealing food for the
| hungry maWS of the battery.
| Not much could be seen of the outside
| at first as the task in hand claimed our
strict attention, but after while an oc-
| casional glimpse was obtained of the other
| ships and the forts. The heavy battleships,
the Indiana, oregon, Massachusetts, Iowa
| and Texas were lost in the dense smoke
| of their guns. 1t was thrilling to see
| them ike moving clouds. emitting streams
| of fire which shot through the walls OF
yapor like flashes of lightning athwart a
| gloomy sky.
The noise was terrific. 1t seemed to rise
at times In such an overwhelming eouI-