Connecticut western news., 1898-05-12

and Zafro, bringing up the rear. And in that order they swept grandly before the city and faced the enemy in column line.
 Though the Spaniards had opened fire at 6,000 yards, the Americans reserved their fire until within 1000 yards of the enemy, when the real battle began.
 The Reina Cristina, Castilla, Don An tonic de Ulloa, Isla de Cuba, Isla de Luzon and the Mindanao were in line of battle outside of Cavite at that time with the four gunboats and the torpedo boats inside the harbor.
 The American ships then passed backward and forward six times across the front of the Spaniards, pouring in upon the latter a perfect hail of shot and shell. Every American shot seemed to tell, while almost every Spanish shot missed the mark.
 Spanish Fleet Demolished.
 After having thus scattered death and demoralization among the Spanish fleet and in the Spanish batteries, the Amer ican fleet retired for breakfast. and in- cidentally a council of war was held on board the Olympia.
 By this time the Spanish ships were in a desperate condition. The flagship Reina Cristina was riddled with shot and shell, one of her steam pipes had burst, and she was believed to be on fire. The Castilla was certainly on fire, and soon afterward their condition be- came worse and worse. until they were eventually burned to the waters edge.
 The Don Antonio de Ulloa made a most magnificent show of desperate bravery. When her commandsx found she was so torn by the Americar shells that he could not keep her afioat, he nailed her colors to the mast. and she sank with all hands fighting to the last. Her hull was completely Siddled, and her upper deck had, been swept clean by the awful fire of the American guns, but The Spaniards, though their vessel was sinking beneath them, continued work in@ the guns on her lower deck until she sank beneath the waters.
 During the engagement a Spanish tor pedo boat crept along the shore snd round the offing in an attempt to at tack the American storeships, but she was promptly discovered, was driven ashore and was actually shot to pieces.
 The Mindanao had in the meanwhile been run ashore to save her from sink ing, and the Spanish small craft had sought shelter from the steel storm be- hind the breakwater.
 The battle, which was started at about 5:30 a. m. and adjourned at s.30 a. m., was resumed about noon, when Commo- dore Dewey started in to put the finish ing touches upon his glorious work. There was not much fight left in the Spaniards by that time and at 2 p. m. the Petrel and the Concord had shot the Cavite batteries into silence, leaving them heaps of ruins floating the white flag.
 Spanish Gunboats souttied.
 The Spanish gunboats were then scut- tied, the arsenal was on fire and the ex- plosion of a Spanish magazine=vaused further mortality among the defenders of Spain on shore.
 On the water the burning, sunken or destroyed Spanish vessels could be seen, while only the cruiser Baltimore had suffered in any way from the fire of the enemy. A shot which struck her exploded some ammunition near one of her guns and slightly injured half a dozen of her crew.
 Several shots passed dangerously close to Commoo re Dewey but little or no damage was lone on board of the flag ship. On the other hand, about i50 men are said to have been killed on board the Spanish flagship. which was totally destroyed. Admiral MontoJo, the Span ish commander, transferred his flag to the Isla de Cuba when his ship caught fire but the latter was also destroyed In due course Of time. The Reina Cris- tina lost her captain, a lieutenant, her chaplain and a mdshipman by one shot which struck her bridge.
 About 100 men were killed and about 60 were wounded on board the Castilla, Indeed. some estimates place the num- Der of Spanish wounded during the en- gagement at over 1000 men.
 The Olympia was struck five times about her upper works, and a whale boat of the Raleigh was smashed.
 Although the Krupp guns on the es- planade of Manila were fired contlnu- ously during the engagement, Commo- dore Dewey did not reply to them, and the battery afterward hoisted a white flag in token of surrender
 The terms of the equalization were still unsettled when the McCulloch left Manila, and it was said Commodore Dewey feared rioting upon the part of the insurgents if he attempted bonn bardment of the remaining fortifica- tions of Manilla-
 CapituIation of the Forts.
 The forts at the entrance of the bay were dismantled on Wednesday, after they had capltulated.
 It is said also that the Spanish com mander informed the governor general that 1t was advisable to surrender in the interest of humanity, as 1t was impossible to resist successfully, but that he and his men were willing enough to fight and die.
 Even when the Spanish flagship was half shot away her commander, though wounded, refused to leave the bridge till the ship wns burning and sinking, her stern shattered by a shell and her steam pipe burst.
 After it was over. Commodore Dewey sent an ultimatam to the city battery. ordering it to cease firing or he would lombard.
 The commodore's ultimatum was promptly accepted and firing ceased.
 On a proposal to the existing authori- ties to continue temporarily under the American flag pending the termination of the war the Spnniards delayed their decision and kept wiring to Madrid. The Americans requested the privilege of using the wire, and when this was re- fused they cut the cable.
 Gu,axat Rfartot.