The Red Cloud chief., 1898-05-06
FROM THE FRENCH CONSUL
He Telegraph = tbout Dcwcy's Victory
Received In Washington.

hffeiN'U III NaNhinCtDn.
WAsuING1oN. May THE French
embassy has received SONS ncws by
way of Paris touching the fight oil
Manila IL omr from NJ. dc Jou.
quire, the French consul general at
Manila. aud was sent before the cable
was closed.
The dispatch. which was received
at > p m was that six Spanisl, cruis-
crs and gunboa;s participated in the
action. The first attack began be.
tween : and . II IN, May /. The full
American squadron seems not to have
been engaged in the first attack. but
this is accounted for by the necessity
for having one or perhaps more YES
sells watching the harbor to prevent
IN attack in the rear, which
the peculiar formation of the har-
Dor favored. Then five or six of
the stronger and faster Spanish
vessels had been sent out by Admiral
Montejo rs scouts, and IL they heard
the firing they would have been
liable to come to the aid of their
friend from some unexpected dircc-
ton. The insurgcnt chief Alexandra
was on the olympia with Commodore
Dewey, and directed the Lascar pilot
81 that he avoided the mined places
in the channel. which is extremely
tortuous and difficult.
The American ships advanced in the
form of u wide V, and met the Spanish
fleet that was ranged in an inverted
\ formation, the Ecina Christina, the
Spanish Admiral Montcjo's flagship.
being at the apex. Thi, vessel was the
center OF the fire. and was riddled and
Sunl; by the guns of the Concord. She
is SAID TO have received 100 shots from
- to Il inch rapid firing runs at a dis
lance of 1000 to SOD yard, in two min
utcs The gun practice, the dispatch
states, was remarkable for its accu.
racy and dcadlincsS.
After IL was seen that the flagship
was disabled and the Spanish admiral
was observed To leave it in his cutter.
the tire was concentrated upon the
cruiser Don Juan tic Austria. which
was torn To pieces, her captain and his
first lieutenant being killed. aud over
onc.third OF the crew being killed or
disabled The wooden single screw
Castillo was next attacked with this
coavcrging fire, set on fire and sunk.
Commodore Dewey, fire tactics
seem to have been the system consid-
cred thc best by all high European
naval autioritir>, which is to select n
ship and couccutrnt, the full fire of
everything in range upon it. The
Spanish battle formation is an old
one. while that of the American com.
mudorc allows each ship in the fight
ing column to concentrate its fire ~
may be directed.
1t would appca- from the burning
and destruction OF the three largest
vessels of Spaiu's fleet that Dewey de
llberatcly selected the largest vessels,
one after another, and poured such q
storm of heavy and light shells into
each that IL pat one after the other
out OF action in short order. The iirs,
engagement, the dispatch states,
lasted forty minutes after the frs
shot, a part Of which was utilized in
taking positions to better carry on,
the system of attacking one after the
other Of the more important craft
The second fight seems to have
been Induced by the appearance o
some Spanish war vessels that had
brcn'out cruising and were coming
into port, As nothing is said abou
any OF the American ships retiring be
fore both actions closed, it would APP
pear that no disabling damages were
inflicted.