The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-06
A VISIT TO MORO CASTLE.
ASPECT OF THE GRIM OLD sENTI-
MEL AT SANTIAGO.

Very Little Damage by Our Bonn
bardments, Though There Are
Plenty of Scars-Antique Cannon,
the Dungeon Cell, the Draw |
Bridges and HObsOn's Prison.
Santiago Letter in New York Sun.
The Moro surrounds and surmounts
rocky point something over 200 feet high
that juts out into the harbor entrance from
the east. The seward side of this point is
precipitous and almost impossible for even
an active man unlncumbered. The north |
ern side, facing Estrella Cove, contains an
| ascending roadway cut in the rock defend
ed by two detached bastions.
Yesterdays party landed at the head of
Estrella Cove. There is a small stone dock
here and a partially submerged scow, evil !
IDENTIFY used for Transporting artillery Here
also is one of the observation mines sta
| tons. 1t is in a newly constructed board
shanty, so far up the cove that it cannot
be commanded by ships lying outside The
| apparatus consists of half a dozen boxes
of powerful electric batteries joined by ca
bles with the mines and passing through
| a current connector and the sights. The
sights are like those of a gun. The front
sights for the several mines are clamped
on a brass arc, at the center of which is
a movable telescope rear sight. The move
ment of the rear sight throws the differ
| ent mines in circuit, and when a ship Is
sighted over any one of the front sights
a finger touch on the connector explodes
! the mine that that particular front sight
| was set for. A telephone connects with two
[ mir sf9 Ixhi
| sights on the position of the same mines
| may be obtained, and from which also the
mines may be exploded.
| There is quite an arsenal Of unmounted
| guns about Estrella Cove. There are also
| abundant supplies of various accessories
! A large stone storehouse contains half a
| hundred wooden mounts besides a large
number of solid shot and old-fashioned
| shells. There are many cases of rifle am
munition, both Mauser and copper-capped
! II NM. These cases had been In progress
| of transportation when the Spaniards
stopped work, and one or two cases lay
part way up the cliff with the pole filters
on which they were being carried. 1t has
been reported that there were 100000
rounds of rifle ammunition surrendered
| with Santiago.
| The road to the top starts upward from
| the inner end Of the cove, I'm a direction
toward the harbor. 1t is mostly hewn out
| of solid rock, but has never been graded.
| In places it is more like a stairway than
a road, and no wheeled vehicle can travel
it with any ease. The road is evidently an
| old one, for, though so uneven, it is not
! jagged The footsteps of two centuries
have left their mark here as unmis taxable
/ as the ripple marks on tide-bared beach.
There is another road to the eastward
over which the new heavy guns of the east
ern battery were taken up. II has not the
! romance of age, however. One has only
/ IN cta in no n n n inns o
ton the whip-driven slaves of the old
! Spaniards toiling upward in the fierce sun,
with backs bent under heavy burdens, and
hands blistered with pulling at tagging
loads.
The first fortifioat ton is reached when
less than one-quarter of the ascent is ac-
complished 1t consists of an L-shaped bas-
ton, the long arm Of which IS against the
cliff, while the short arm stands out across
and over the way. There Is dry moat to
be crossed by a wooden bridge (once a
drawbridge), which is commanded by loop
holes in the long arm of the bastion. The
easements of the whole bastion command
the approach, too, and a matched shelter
gives evidence that the point was garrison
ed to the last.
The second defense of the roadway Is a
few steps beyond. 1t consists of a small
bastion overhanging the road. The only
chamber connected with it is a natural
cave dome shaped and about thirty feet
in diameter Ii also has been occupied
recently and there is a smell of drugs in
the air 1t is about the ceanest place of
habitation to be found on the hill, and
was probably the quarters of surgeon.
A short way beyond this eyrie the road
divides. One branch leads on around the
point to the middle level of the Moro.
and the other turning back on itself,
leads to the inland side of the top of the
hill, where is the principal entrance to the
Moro.
A narrow, walled causeway leads with
an abrupt turn upon a drawbridge over
the deep moat, now dry. The bridge leads
TO a detached triangular bastion battle
mented and double walled, with watch
tower and guardroom. There is another
sharp turn and another bridge leads d.
rectly into the arched gateway of Ell Nor
70. The chains 10 raise the draw are stin
in place, but are not connected.
This last bridge has a length of thirty
feet. but only the last eight feet of it is
hinged to draw up. Immediately inside
the gateway Is yet another drawbridge
and then one more item TO consider in
forcing an entrance is the flooring in the
series Of room contiguous to the gate
way. They have wooden floors which may
be chopped away or set on fire from be-
low. No other portion of the castle has
wooden floors.
This series Of obstacles to gaining en-
trance TO the Moro is the first thing 70 |
make a deep impression on the visitor.
1t Is after following this chain step by |
step to its end that he returns to the |
open air to take another look at the |
structure as a whole. The contour Of |
the east face OF the castle Is ike one |
side Of o four-pointed star. The gate