New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-05-20
An ONLOOKER'S VIEW AT ANJtAN
THE FLEETS REMARKABLE ESCAPE rHo"
INJURY-THE SHOTS THAT STRUCK
THE SHIPS.

THE SHIPS.
Eev West. Fla. May 19.-An orlooker or the
hombardrnent Of the forts Of San Juan dc Porto
Rico on MAY T. by the feet Of Rear-Adn'ral
camrson gave the following details to-day Oh
that engagement. He s. id:
THE most remarkable feature about the bonn
bardment the escape OF the Meet Win 81
few casualties. The enenys fire was hea'y
and continuous and the elevation Of their bat.
teries gave them n tremendous advantage
How they missed hitting the ships no one uh-
derstands Their shots fell all around. ana their
guns had capacity for twice the range yet they
only landed two projectiles with any serious e'-
feet The San Juan affair strengthens the
opinion that the demolition Of well-placed forti-
ncatons is a hard task for even the strongest
battle-ships.
"Tbe secondary battery fire on all the ships
was not used after the line had passed once be-
fore the forts This chiefly on account OF
the smoke the smaller guns created Driitlhs III
front Of the turrets It made the handlers OF the
big guns liable to lose all sight Of the land
"The Admiral and his assistant chief Of staff
stanton. were on the superstructure on the lee
of the coming tower. They did not go INSIDE
the coming tower which VIII probably rot b"
used unless the fire Is coming from both sides
So far Il has proved rather useless INSTITUTION
ION the fOrccastlP. IN tNc lee vi Nllt l'iN"''
Pinch turret were Lieutenant March, flag
secretary and Ensign Bennett. naC lieutenant
both Of whom. with stanton. accompanied the
Admiral from the New-York Bennett had III"
signal boys with him. His flags, In their can
vas hacs were made fast with a line which ran
loosely around the turret barbctte. This was 10
prcycn, them from being shot overheard.
WAKING THE sPANGARDs Up.
"r, took about four broadeldes 10 wake the
Standard, up In the mean time great yellow
ybitish clouds were rising from tho hillside.
marking whore our shots fcll. Then Few puhs
Of white and little lines of fame came from
hooks I'm the hluT. The water spurtcd Few
yards from the Iowa and every one was glad.
because every one knew the enemy VAS return
Ing the fire. Before this the tackles had been
glun Ry thls time the smoke had begun 10
hang heavily. and the Iowa was moist and COW
cred with saltpcirc Marine glasses had To he
wiped every fcw minutes. The mems faces
were criniy and their mouths were bitter from
the salipetrc When tn biz guns IN the turret
we're fired It secmod II the ship was almost
drawn from the water in a straining effort 10
follow the projectil~s - they vvhzzel shore
ward Behind the Indiana's port side looked
like a huge fort her own smoke completely ND
Ing her starboard Side
when the Iowa turned to so back 10 III"
starting point the entire limo was engaged The
New-York stately. standing high out OF the
water and showing all her gracefulness hui
making an easy target. slowly ran the gauntlet ~
two miles the Terror and the Amphitrite stcklnt
up Ike ammunition boxes. I'M" Detroit ana
the Montgomery were little spihr"s ana all
their starbOard sides were IA thick mass OF yell
low smoke
THE sONG OF THE SHELLS.
TT was easy 10 see tho shells turning over and
over and dropping Ike wounded birds into the
sea Scarcely thirty seconds elapsed but the
shrek OF a passing she'll was heard some OF
them made weird tunes. changing keys as they
lost their velocity. Most Of them were fired at
a very high trajectory. the enemy apparently
using their rifles az mortars Jets OF water
rising in all directions showed how good or.
generally how bad had been the aim. These
tunes OF the shells after while became less
startling, and the men did not dodge unless
some one shouted. Look OUT or Get under
cover, But the frs, shrlekng Of big shells
overhead is liable To make even the bravest man
inclined to get his head nearer his feet and
keep It In that position until water Jet tells
him that the danger is past.
THE shot that fell on board the Iowa ln1urinS
three men, was lO-nch Armstrong shell man
ufacturcd I'm 1896 1t was wonder no more
damage was done.
''rhe shot which hit the New-York WAS
S-lnch shell. 1t struck the snip exactly in the
same place the Iowa was struck. coming In
at the port quarter and exploding on the Iron
stanchion Of the superstructure 1t then flew
into "A thousand pieces.
while the enemy's fire Mt It's hottest two
tackles stood at tn" Iowa's bow. without any
cover heaving the lead. They worked just as
calmly as II in New-York Harbor.
They can't hit us. George sang out one OF
them to In the lee OF the turret. Just
then a she'll whzzed by. Rig line to that
thing laughed the man In the chains point
ing derisively to the water that spurted up fifty
yards ahead Of him.
admiral Sampson and his captains have
every reason TO be proud Of their crews
THE DETRoIT's PLUCK.
"The feature most discussed was the wonder
ful pluck Of the Detroit and her marvellous es-
cape from being hit. Shells simply raned around
her as she lay within five hundred yards OF the
forts and blazed away with her fve-nch rapid
fire battery.
THE Amphirlte's trouble with her after tur-
rets was caused by accident to the gear
which supplies the turret power.
Several slight accidents occurred on the
numerous as generally happens during heavy
target practice.
THE strain on the men rather severe,
as they had little rest The heat Of the sun
was intense before o'clock
THE work done by the engineer officers and
their men, who for three hours were under the
battle gratngs. in the intense heat. cannot be
too highly praised.
The firing Of the monitors seemed hardly up
TO the mark of the other ships, the heavy swell
causing them trouble and prohibiting any de-
gree of accuracy of aim
RED CROSS NURSES TO GO.