The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-05-09
Led IntO Danger bu
Il Spanish Trick
Small Spanish Boat Sent out to Bait the Americans and
EnCe Them Under the Spanish Guns When
Torrent of Shells From the Battery Fell
All About Them.
WILD SHOOTING SAVED THEM
All About Them.
WILD SHOOTING SAVED THEM
If the Spanish Gunners Could Have Aimed Correctly These
Two Boats Would Have Joined the Maine on the Bot
tom Of Havana Harbor--A Lesson that Will be Vau-
able One.

rolling in the trough of the sea with her
sails Tapping, an eight inch shrapnel Shell
came hurting through the air from the
water battery, mile and half away.
Ii PASSED over the Morrill, between the
pilot house and the smokestack and ex-
ploded less than fifty feet on the port
quarter. The small shot ratified against
her side 1t was close call. Two more
shots followed in quick succession. both
shrapnel One burst close under the
starboard quarter filing the engine-room
with the smoke Of the explosion Of the
shell and the other. like the first, passed
over and exploded just beyond The
Spanish gunners had the range and their
time fuses were accurately set. The
crews of both ships were at their guns
Lieutenant Craig, who was in charge
Of the bow four inch rapid fire guns Of
the Morrill,, asked for and obtained per-
missisn 10 return the fire. At the first
shot the Vicksburg. which was in the
wake of the Morrill, slightly in shore,
sheered off and passed TO windward un-
der the Morrills stern.
In the meantime Captain Smith, also
put his helm to port, and was none too
soon. for as the Morrill, stood off, a
sond eight inch shot erazed her staro0ard
quarter and kicked uD tons Of water as
! It struck a wave one hundred yards be-
yond. Captain Smith said afterward that
/ this was undoubtedly an eight inch ar
NOR piercing projectile and that it would
have passed through the Morrl's boil
ers had he not changed her course in
the nick Of time.
All the guns of the water battery were
now 1T work. One of them cut the
| Jacobs ladder Of the Vicksburg adrift
| and another carried away a portion OF
| the rigging. AS the Morrill, and the
| Yicksburk steamed away. their aft guns
were used, but only few shots were
fred. The Morrill's six inch gun was
| elevated for four thousand yards and
| struck the earthwork repeatedly. The
| Eicksburg fired but three shots from
her six FOUNDER. The Spaniards con.
tinued to fish out and shell for twenty
minutes, but the shots were ineffective
Some of them were so wild that they
aroused the American laddies to jeers
The Spaniards only ceased firing wher
the Morrill, and Nicksburg were com
pletely ont Of range.
III all the Spanish gunners had beer
suffering from strabismus. their practice
could not have been worse.
The officers of both the Morrill, anC
Yicksburg frankly admit their owl
recklessness, and the narrow escape o
their vessels from destruction. The!
are firmly convinced that the pursui
| of the schooner was a neatly planned
trick. which almost proved successful.
If anyone of the shots had struck TIL
thin skin Of either vessel it would hav
offered no more resistance than a piec
| Of paper to Il rifle ball
The accurate range of the first fey
shots IS accounted for by the fact tina
| the Spanish officers. had ample time t
make observations The bearings o
tbe two vessels were probably taken wit
a range finder at the Santa Clara bat
tery. and as this battery is probabl
connected by wire with MORO, they wer
enabled to take bearings from bot
: points. and by Iaborious calculations the
fixed the positions Of the vessels. Wit
such opportunities for observations
would have been no great trick for a
: American gunner to drop smell DOW
i the smoke stack of a vessel.
As soon as the ships sheered off, afte
the first fire, the Spanish gunners los
I the range and their practice became i
. iicrous. If they had waited five mini
es longer before opening fire, Captai
smith says. it would have been well mig
Il impossible to have missed the target.