The herald., 1898-07-19
ENTER The HARBOR
coyrNoDoRE SCHLEY AND HOB
SON VISIT THE FORTS
MoRRo CASTLE NOT DAMAGED
Associated Press Special Wire

Associated Press Special Wire
UNDER MORRO CASTLE. HARBOR
OF SANTIAGO DE CUBA, July II, =. m.
| via Playa del Este, July Is delayed In
transmission) AT exactly o'clock this
morning the Spanish flag was lowered from
the stan browning the heights upon which
battered Moro Castle spreads half way
The lowering of this emblem of the defunc'
sovereignty of Spain in this part OF the worlc
was witnessed by few Spanish and Amer
lean troops on shore and by the Brooklyn,
New York, Vixen and Vesuvius, lying with
in few hundred yards OF the harbor en-
trance. Almost Immediately after the
flag was pulled down steam launches COM
manded by Lieuts. Hobson and Palmer en-
tered tho harbor. penetrating as far as the
firing stations of the submarine mines
These mines were judged not to be so for
midable as expected, and later In the after
noon they were all exploded under the SUI
pervision of the Vixen.
It was seen that two mines had been ex.
ploded at the time Of the entrance OF the
Merrimac into the channel of Santiago
harbor, but It Is not thought that any Of
them had anything to do with the sinking
Of the craft.
Six or seven steamers In the harbor fall
as prisoners to the army and navy. The
Spanish gunboat Alvarez had already beer
taken possession of by prize crew from
the New York. The other vessels lie at the
other end Of the harbor, at Santiago proper
Soon after noon Commodore Schley, with
Captain Cook of the Brooklyn, Lieut.. J. IL
Sears, the flag lieutenant; Lieut.. B. Wells
the flag secretary, and three invited CORE
spondents Of the Associated Press went into
the harbor on steam launch, which moved
slowly In order to make close observations
Of the Spanish forts and batteries.
Every one expressed satisfaction at the
fact that Moro Castle was not demolished
by the bombardment, Captain Cook saying
I'VE need FL MORO as an object lesson, and
America 10 rather shy on ruins anyhow"
The old fort stands on the bluff, terrace
fashion From the waters edge to the
cliff there are numerous caves formed by
the action Of the waves. and around the
base and in the superstructure are not a
few caves made by the navy's projectiles
It would appear. however. that only one
bastion was knocked to pieces. while the
queer little sentry boxes, dating back to the
FIFTEENTH century. escaped almost intact.
MORO Castle 10 the only imposing forti-
fication in the harbor, and 1t is only so In
appearance. Not % gum ia mounted within
OK on the crumbled walls. In fact all the
batteries. masked and open. dwindled in
their terror-inspiring qualities as the inspec-
ton grew closer.
entrance we're the famous six-inch rapid
a ~. 0s.o -let& nAtv,
Mercedes These wers ugly looking and
dangerous, while below. on big foundations
on the western shore Of the entrance, were
some revolving guns. These were the ones
which poured such bitter fire into the
Merrimac.
Directly east of Moro Castle, on the
crest of the plateau-liks cliff, were six big
guns, one or two Of which were diswounted.
The Estreala battery and small neigh
Dor further In showed no guns, while the
famous Cayo Smith filled the islet with
blue. white and yellow houses situated in
groves of towering trees. some Of the
buildings looking as II they had been the
resorts Of pleasure seekers In happier
times. Others were humble enough in ap-
pearance for hshermens houses. All were
deserted, and strange to say, not one ap-
parsntly had been touched by hostile pro-
1ectile.
On the inside Of the slope and hill to the
westward some hastily constructed but
very comforting classmates were seen, into
which the Spanish gunners were wont to
retire when our ships opened fire. When
the firing ceased the gunners had few
steps only TO climb to their six-inch rapid
FIRE guns which almost always fired few
spiteful farewell shots.
In Santiago there were four six-inch
guns, one above the other. neither protected
by sand or earth. These commanded the
harbor entrance pretty well. but they
could have been silenced by one well-direct-
ed heavy shell. Commodore Schley he
over and again expressed the belief that
our feet probably could have entered the
harbor without the loss Of single ship
The mines might have stopped ingress by
sinking the leading ship, but this Is the
chance of war, and not so grave as many
taken during the civil strife, nor as serious
as would have been the situation had there
been good batteries, properly manned, in
the harbor.
Commodore Schley's party first steamed
around the wreck Of the Reina Mercedes
which lies with her bow pointed toward
the city. She had list to starboard and
rested on a reef near the foot of Morro
cliff The cruiser was sunk to the upper
deck. on which one six-inch gun remained