The evening times., 1898-07-09

Yet from the first moment the strength
of the enemy's armor and the power o.
his guns demonstrated that his ships wer,
invuinerable to our energies and our ar
maments; the hostile squadron Swoult
never have entered our bay had not iti
surety been guaranteed by its manifes
superiority.
1.-THE city walls, the church towers, the
roofs of high buildings and all high places
convenient for observation were occupied
by those who were not retained by their
military duties within the walls, on the
bridges, or at the advanced posts. The
slightest detail of the enemy's ships were
eagerly noted as they advanced toward
Cavite in a line parallel with the beaches
of Manila, as though they had just come
out of the Pasig River. There were no
gaps in the line, but the curious public
hardly realize the disparity between their
great guns and the pieces mounted on
our Notifications. Some had glasses and
others were without, but all seemed to
devour with their eyes these strangers,
who. while brave, were not called upon
TO show their courage, since the range OF
their guns and the weakness of our bat
teries enabled them to preserve their
impunity while doing us as much harm
as they pleased
"All who appreciated the impunity with
which the hostile ships maneuvered, as
If on harmless parade, Were full of
such rage and. desperation as belongs to
the brave man who can make no use of
his courage: to whom remains no remedy
except an honorable death rather than a
cowardly inactivity.
"A soldier of the First Battalion of Ca
zadores gazed at the squadron sweeping
over the waters out of reach of the fire of
our batteries, looked out at the ships and
then toward heaven, saying: If that sea
was turned into land, the Yankees would
find out how we can charge in double
time And a crouch.ng naive. staring out
at the ships. said: Just let them come
ashore and give US a whack at them
'.On they stood at full speed in column
of battle, heading for Cavite. with the de-
cision due TO a sense of safety and firm
assurance of success.
For more than an hour and a half the
bombardment held In suspense those
whose souls followed the unequal strug-
gle, in which the Spanish ships went
down with their glorious banners flying.
What was going on in the waters of
Cavite? From Manila we saw through
glasses the two squadrons almost min
gled together in the clouds of smoke.
This was not far from a triumph for our
side. considering the weakness of our
batteries. For, once alongside the enemy,
Int CRY VI away
of cold steel might have enabled our de-
voted seamen to disturb the calm in
which watches and instruments were reg
ulating and directing those engines of
destruction. In the blindness of our rage
how should we paint the heroic deeds.
the proweSS. the waves OF valor which
burst forth from our men-of-war? Those
who fought beneath the Spanish flag bore
themselves like men, as chosen sons of
our native land. who never measure fore
es. nor yield TO superior force in the
hands of an enemy; who would rather
die without ships than live in ships
which have surrendered.
ITO name those who distinguished
themselves in battle would require the
publication of the entire muster rolls of
our ships-from captain TO cabin boy. To
these victorious seamen of ours We offer
onGratulations-laurels for the living;
prayers for the dead; for all. our deepest
gratitude. Since we cannot reconstruct
the bloody scene which was exhibited last
Sunday in the waters of Cavite, We will
not attempt a description, which would
only be a pale shadow of great deeds de-
serving a perpetual place in the pages OF
history
When the hostile squadron turned to-
ward Cavite the crew of the steamer Isla
de Mindanao heard the drums beating TO
iudt itls anu dIlSNtTtU Will eIllNuSldSHl
the three rounds of cheers for the king.
for the queen and for Spain, which echoed
along our line. Later. until a quarter to
>, absolute silence reigned. Everything
was ready. The idea of death was lost
in ardor for the fray ana every eye was
fixed on the battle flags waving at our
ma astheads. In perfect and majestic or
Ger-why should we deny this?-the nine
Yankee ships advanced in battle array
a = in 1aa lo a.
led the column, followed by the other
ships, steering at full speed toward Ca
vite. The Olympia opened fire, and an in
stant reply came from the battery on the
mole, which kept on firing at five-minute
intervals, while the ironclad shaped her
course for the Reina Christina and Cas-
tiila. Into both these ships she poured
steady and rapid fire, seconded by the
ships which followed in her wake An
other ship which directed a heavy fire on
our line was the Baltimore, and so the
went on until a quarter to s.
At that moment the Don Juan de Austria
advanced against the enemy, intending to
board the Olympia, and If a tremendous
broadside had not stopped her self-devotei
charge, both ships might perhaps have
sunk TO the bottom.
THE captain of the Reina Christina,
seeing that the resolute attempt of his
speed until within about 200 yards of the
olympia, aiming to attack her. Then a
shower of projectiles swept the bridges
md decks, filling the ship with dead and
Heroes and martyrs whom the
nation will remember as long as 1t en-
lures! A dense column OF smoke from
he bow compartment showed that an
ncendiary projectile, such as the law of
iod and man prohibits, had set fire to
- Ii
Ter fire on the enemy. withdrew from the
arsenal where she was sunk TO keep her
rom falling into the hands of the Yank-
aeS.
"The desperation of the men of the
Reina Christina was aggravagated by
sight of the Castillo. also In a blaze,
rom a similar use of incendiary projec-
lies.
THE principal ship of our little squad
on having been put out of action. the
Yankee vessels some of them badly Grip
,led by the fire of our ships. and the
at Port Sangicy. stood out to-
ward Mariveles and the entrance of the |
Jay, ceasing their fire and occupying
themselves in repairing injuries unntil 10
} clock. when they began a second at
ack to complete their work of destruc-
ion.
I'm the second assault the fire at the
lrsenal was eXtinguished and they con-
inued to cannonade the blazing gun
,oats One gunboat, which seemed to
lave nothing more venturesome to un-
ertake, detached itself from the squad
on and set 10 work to riddle the mail
teamer Isla de Minanao. Now that the |
hips were in flames, the Admiral Senior |
dontojo who had shown his flag as long |
S there was vessel af1oat. landed, and !
ostilities ceased. The only Spanish ship |
which had not been destroyed by fire or |
" the enemies projectiles sunk herself |
% she could in no wise be taken. Such in |
road outlines, which we cannot correct |
I this moment. was the naval battle of |