The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1898-07-16
feet without the loss of a man, and

fleet without the loss of man, and
his ships were in good trim for another
engagement when the battle was over
And in the affair at Santiago our ships
sunk Spain's best fleet with the loss OF
only one man, while the damage to
our vessels was so slight that not one
of them will have to go into drydock
for repairs. On the Spanish side the
destruction was terrible and the loss
of life was very great. Nearly 1000
men we're killed or drowned and about
800 taken prisoners.
The story of these exploits reads
like fiction, but it is true, and evil
dences the superiority of American
officers and men. The Spanish sail
ors were not lacking in courage or
discipline, and faced death with
spirit that did them credit, though
they were lacking in the art of hand
ling machines of war and in leadership.
The ships they manned at Santiago
were equal to the swiftest cruisers
afloat, and their armor and batteries
were not much inferior to those of the
best battle ships. They had the ad-
vantage of choosing the time for the
battle, and every man was at mis- post
prepared to do his duty, while the
Americans were taken at disadvan-
tage of being surprised, though they
were not found mapping. When 'gen-
eral quarters" were sounded the fleet
was at once in motion and the gunners
were at their posts. Scarcely had the
first Spanish vessel appeared until the
American guns were trained upon it
sending shower of shell up-
on it's decks. The battleship
Iowa was the first to see the enemy,
and it took no time for "Fighting"
Bob Evans to get his ship in motion
and his fighting machines to work.
In moment the entire fleet was in
action, and with the GOODNESS which
has ever signalized the action of our
navy, the destruction of the enemy
was QUICK anu QSclSlN0.
The brilliant achievements of our
navy in the Manila and Santiago
battles, as we'll as in the past, cannot
be attributed to luck as some writers
would have it appear. but must be at
tributed to the superiority of our Off
GERS and men. Our seamen are intelli-
gent and high spirited; are dashing
and brave, and at the same time cool
and deliberate. They never lose their
heads when under fire, but go to their
work when in action with the same
precision and deliberatiOn as when at
target practice or on dress parade.
Their single thought is to fight with
the most determined energy and to
do the greatest execution in the
briefest space of time. They take
pride iu their profession, and strive to
attain the best results from the ap-
pliances at their disposal. Such men,
when officered by commanders who are
equally brave, deliberate andinteligent,
will ever continue to achieve results
similar to those recorded at Manila
and Santiago. And our navy has ever
been officered by men of the highest
type. No American naval officer has
ever refused to take his ship into action
where chances were even, and not one
has ever been guilty of rushing into
certain destruction and sacrificing his
men or ships in foolhardy exploit
where odds were all on the other side.
The American navy, though not large,
has prestige of over hundred years
of great victories behind it, and with
out any of the'braggant spirit, we may
speak of it, as the most remarkable
organization known to the world, ore
that has never failed when called up
on to vanquish a foe.