The herald., 1898-05-11
TRIED TRAPPING AGAIN
AND THE WINsLoW BITES AT
THE BAIT
THE HUNTED TURNS HUNTER
Three Spanish Gunboats Fail to Secure
the Game After It Had Been
Caught
Associated Press Special Wire

Associated Press Special Wire
NEW YORK, May 1o.-A dispatch to the
World from Key West says:
The torpedo boat Winslow engaged three
Spanish gunboats of Cardenas Bay Sun
day afternoon. She disabled one and came
out unscratched.
Lieutenant Bernardo, Ensign Bagley and
the men Of the Winslow thought odds Of
three to one fair. It was a brilliant minor
engagement. The Winslow and the gun
boat Machias were on the blockade of Car
denas yesterday. The harbor is thickly
strewn with mines and torpedoes. In the
entrance to the channel three small gun
boats have been bottled up since the be
ginning Of the war. Occasionally they Have
stolen out toward sea, but never venturing
beyond the inner harbor running like rats
at the sight of the American ships.
Torpedo boats have tried to draw the en-
emy out by lodging inside as far as safety
allowed. A few days ago buoy was moored
by Spaniards inside the entrance Of the bay
to mark the position for entrance for the
gunboats. signal station ON the shore
opposite was instructed to notify the gun
boats Inside when the torpedo boats were
within the limit distance marked by the
buoy.
The scheme was that the gunboats could
run out, open fire at the one-mile range
thus marked of for them and retreat with
out the chance of being cut of. The men of
the Winslow eyed this buoy and guessed it's
purpose.
On Sunday afternoon the Machias stood
away to eastward for a jaunt and the Wins
1aF< t,%o III
The Winslow steamed in nearly to the
range buoy, when the gunboats slipped
their cables and ran to their safety limit
The six Founders were trained at 1000 yards
In a few minutes shore signals to the Span
iards announced that the torpedo boat was
in range. The six-pounders cracked and
three shells threw waterspouts around the
Winslow. But the vessel was not struck
Instead Of running away. she drove ahead,
attacking the boats.
Lieutenant Bernardo no sooner saw the
first white smoke putting from the Spanish
guns that he gave the word to so forward.
One-pounders dropped shells in the middle
of the flotilla.
On plunged the winslow to within 1850
yards of the gunboats, while the row raised
by the rapid-fire one-pounders was like q
rattling tattoo. The Spanish were appar-
emily staggered at this fierce onslaught,
single handed, and fred wildly.
The Winslow now swung around broad
side to, bringing her after-guns to bear, as
the Spanish fleet scattered and lost forma-
ton. The Winslow soon maneuvered so
that she was peppering all three boats at
| once The sea was very heavy and the tor
pedo boat rolled SO wildly that it was i'm
possible to do good gun practice from her
decks, but the rapidity of her fire and re-
markable effectiveness under the circum-
stances demoralized all three of her oppo-
nents, who, after the Winslow had fred
| about fifty shells, began gradually to work
back toward the shelter Of the harbor.
They were still hammering away with
their six-pounders, but after the first fire
were wild in aim. The Spanish shells
passed over the Winslow and one exploded
100 feet astern.
At last one-pound shell from the Win
slow struck the hull of the gunboat Pin
zon little forward of amidships, appar-
emily exploding on the inside. The Win
slow men yelled. The Pinzon stopped, evil
IDENTIFY disabled, while one of her comrades
went to her assistance. BY this time the
Spanish boats had retreated nearly into
the position where they could not be fol-
lowed because Of mines. The Pinzon got
under way slowly and nmped homeward
with the help of towline from her con-
Sorts During this episode the Machias
had returned and when within the two
mile range let fly two four-inch shells,
which accelerated the Spanish fleet. The
fiotilla managed to creep back into Car
denas harbor in safety.
This is the hottest contest of the war in
Cuban waters up to date, although it was
in miniature, SO to speak.
The Spanish gunboats at Cardenas are
small, unarmored craft. about the length
of the Winslow. but mounting heavier
guns.
When the Three Friends came near
Havana at II o'clock Monday afternoon, a
tangle of masts and murky smoke north of
Moro castle, for about ten miles, looked
as II the fleet was assembled in marine