The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1898-06-23

Copyright, 1898, by Associated Press)
Off Santiago, via Kingston. Jam,
June IS. Rear Admiral Simpsons
feet bombarded the batteries at San
tiagO de Cuba for the third time ut
daylight yesterday morning. For
hours the ships pounded the batteries
at the right and left of the entrance,
only sparing FL Moro, where Lieut.
HObson and his companions OF the
Merrmac are in prison. The western
batteries. against which the main az
sault was directed, were badly
wrecked One was utterly destroyed.
In others many guns were dismounted.
At first the Spaniards replied passion
| ately and wickedly, but impotently.
Soon most of the guns were deserted
Not ship was struck nor man III
jured on the American side. 1t is be-
lieved the enemy's loss Of life was
| heavy. AS preliminary to the ham
| mering given the batteries, the dyna-
mite cruiser Vesuvius at midnight was
| given another chance. Three 2J0-
| pound charges Of gun cotton were sent
over the Notifications at the en-
| trance. The design was TO
Dropped Them Into the Bay
| around the angle, back of the emf
| nence on which FL Moro is situated,
where it was known the Spanish tor
pedo boat destroyerS were lying. Two
| charges went true, as no reports were
| heard-a popularity of the explosion
of gun cotton in water. Whether the
destrOyers were demolished is not
| known. but the destructive area or
| gun cotton is large and 1t would not
be surprising il it is subsequently as
| certained that one or both were de-
stroyed. The third charge exploded
with terrible violence on Cayo Smith
and crater big enough to hold a
| church was blown out of the side Of 1t.
At 500 a. IN. the New York opened
| with a broadSide from her main bat
terry at the works at the east of the
entrance of the harbor. All the ships
followed with red streams of flame.
The gun captains he'd been cautioned
not 10 waste ammunition, but to fire
with deliberation, yet the fire was so
| rapid that there was almost continu-
Gus roar The Dons responded spirit
| edly at first, but their frenzied, half
crazed fire could not match the cool
nerve. trained eyes and skilled gun
merry of the American sailors. Our
| fire was 1,3gy@IFs
Much More Effective
than in the preceding bombardments.
In fifteen minutes one western battery
was completely wrecked. The Massa-
chusetts tore a gaping hole in the en-
placement with thousand-pound pro-
jectile and the Texas dropped shell
into the powder magazine. The ex-
plosion wrought terrible havoc. The
frame was lifted, the sides were blown
out and a shower Of debris flew in
every direction. One timber carried
out of the side of the battery went
tumbling down the hill. The loss OF
life must have been great. The bat
teries on the east of Moro were harder
to get at, but the New Orleans crossed
the bows Of the New York to within
500 yards Of shore and played tatto
with her long eight-inch rifles, hitting
them repeatedly, striking gun
squarely in the muzzle, lifting it Off
its trunchions and sending it sweeping
somersaults high in the air. When the
order came at $3.50 to cease firing every
gun of the enemy had been silenced
for ten minutes, but as the ships drew
off some Of the Spanish courage re-
turned and half-dozen shots were
fired spitefully at the Massachusetts
and Oregon, falling in their wakes.