The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-09
THE FIGHT OFF SANTIAGO.
DESCRIPTION WRITTEN ON BOARD
TIE BATTLESHIP IOWA.


less Than an HOur-CHpt. Evans
Refuses to Take Away Capt. Eu-
Iate's sword DestrOyers Quickly
Vanquished.
The following account Of the great naval
battle off Santiago on last Sunday was
written for the New York Herald by ma
val expert ON board the battleship Iowa.
1t is the first technical story of the fight
10 find its way into print:
On Sunday morning, July 3, our watch
ing Ships lay rolling in the easy surges off
Tie entrance of the harbor Of Santiago.
Their distances from the guarded haven
varied from four 20 six thousand yards,
and there, with an unsrurins alertness'
they waited for that promised dash, which
all hoped for but feared might never come.
4 little after three bells in the forenoon
watch the inspection of the snip had been
concluded and as Lieut.. Van Duzer the
officer Of the watch, was relieving the nav
igating officer, Lieut.. Soheutze, then Of
fioer of the deck, he heard a quick cry to
call the captain followed by a shout.
There come the spaniards out OF the har
Dor"
The trained eye of the alert officer had
marked the thin trail Of drifting smoke
ana before the signal, Clear ship for ac-
ton" had been given. the bows Of the
Spanish vessels rushing in zine ahead,
were seen darling around 5ocapa Point for
the open sea.
in moment all was hustle and trained
energy. Men rushed to their quarters,
guns were trained, and in less than twen-
ty seconds the whistlng shrek Of rapid
fire gun warned the startled feet of the
hot work awaiting, In two minutes every
gun on shipboard was cast loose, manned,
loaded and ready for the long expected
signal 10 fire.
At the yardarm of our batileship a string
of signal flags warned the Eeet the enemy
was trying to escape, but even before the
answering pennants Of the other ships
announced their understanding of the
message every vessel was dashing to the
stations hong before allotted for the emer-
gency which mad come at last.
1t was a splendid spectacle. The Span
iards with bottled steam cleared the har-
boris mouth seemingly in moment. Tn
der their ger prows column of foam
whuened the dong pillows and their bub-
bling wakes left a furrow as straight and
sharp as a racing yacht making a VIM
ming run FOR the finish line
The course was shaped for the west
ward, bur as fast as they sped In their
desperate break for freedom, faster flew
the shells of The pursuing Americans. The
first heavy shell from the IOwas battery
fell short, and then, by a lucky mis-
chance, so did the second, but afterwards
the rain of shot fell surely and unspair
ingly upon the fleeing foe.
Not a whit behind in this eager fusil-
ade roared the batteries of the Spanish
ships. Their ports broadsides famed and
srumbled. but it was more a splendid dis
play of fireworks than a successful effort
to damage the unframed targets of the
Yankee ships In fifteen minutes after
they were discovered the four Spanish
armored cruisers had cleared the wide en-
trance and five minutes later the torpedo
boat destroyer hugging the beach and
seeking the sheltering broadside of their
sister ships, flew into the turmoil Of the
action.
At this time every gun of the American
squadron that could be brought 10 bear
was pumping projectiles into the enemy
In an instant 1t almost seemed one snip
Of the Vizcaya class burst into flames,
caused, undoubtedly, by long, sure shot
from the Oregon or the Texas.
A minute later a Pinch projectile sent
from the IoWas forward turret struck the
flagship Maria Teresa, near her after
smoke pipe a tremendous explosion fol-
lowed. Then she was shrOuded in smoke
and lighted with lurid flames; and then
when the powder cloud blew down the
wind she was seen helm hard a port rush
ing for the beach
Twenty-Five minutes after the first ship
had been sighted half the Spanish feet
had surrendered or was on fire.
ship was hulled time and again, ana it
almost seemed, in the sureuess and direct-
ness of our batteries, as If ii were the tar
get practice Of a summer morning, and
not the annihiiation of a squadron.
Even this interval would have been
shortened measureably, for aiding them
and hindering US was the cloud Of smoke
which concealed and a the best only half
revealed the wrecked enemy.
1t was a grand, sad sight; pathetic one
TO seamen, who know how much patient
thought and patriotic effort had goneeinto
the construction Of these splendid vessels,
now lying. bruised and burning, on the
shores they had hoped to defend.
There was no> time, however, 10 indulge
in emotions OF sympathy or OF pity, for
stiil rushing eagerly westward closely fol-
lowed by the New York, and az further
distance by tho Indiana, came the TORPEDO
boat destroyers.
IN inc IOl GdStIItSs Ol OBSTRUCTION we
turned loose our smaller guns on these
loudly heralded and ineffective craft and
finally by a lucky hit dropped a l2-inch
shell into the bow of the leading destroyer.
At the same instant the little Hist was
rapidly closing upon them, pouring a sick
ening fire into their fragile hulls
The Gloucester joined in this splendid
assault and so sure and 50 effective was
their rapId-ire projecties that both tor
pedo boats swung their helms hard a port
ran for the shore and buried what was left
of them among tile pltiless rocks of the
coast.
BY 1015 we were in fun cry after the
other Spanish ships. then about four miles
ahead and busy with lot replies to the de-
termined assault of the oregon, Texas and
Brooklyn.
Bending every energy to overtake the
Colon, which was then five miles away
ana perhaps two miles ahead in a direct
line and mile and a half further in
shore, we picked up the flying Vlzcaya.
The game must have seemed up to her
then, for with quick turn to starboard
she ran shore ward and we saw in an in