Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1898-05-13

fore the city and faced the enemy IN
column line.
Though the Spaniards had opened
fire at 5000 yards, the Americans re-
served their fire until within 1000
yards of the enemy, when the real bat
tie began. The Reina Cristina, Cas-
tilla, Don Antonio de Ulloa, Isla de
Cuba, Isla de Luon and Mindanao
were in line OF battle outside OF Cavite
at that time, with their four gunboats
and the torpedo-boats inside the har-
Dor.
The American ships passed. back
ward 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.
After having thus scattered demon
alization among the Spanish fleet an6
batteries, the American fleet retired
for breakfast, and incidentally a coun-
Gil of war was held on board the
Olympia.
BY this time the Spanish ships were
in a desperate condition. The flag
ship Reina Cristina was riddled with
shot and shell, one of her steam pipes
had burst, and she was believed to be
on fire. The Castillo was certainly on
fire, and soon after the fire became
worse and worse, until they were
burned to the waters edge.
The Don Ulloa made a most magnif-
cent display of bravery. When her
commander found she was so torn by
American shells that he could not keep
atloat, he nailed her colors to her mast
and sank with all hands fighting to the
last. She was completely riddled, and
her upper deck had been swept clear
by the awful fire of the American
guns, but the Spaniards, though their
vessel was sinking beneath them, con-
tinued working her guns on her lower
deck until she sank beneath the waters.
During the engagement a Spanish
torpedo-boat crept along the shore and
around the offing in an attempt to at
tack the American s%toreships, but she
was promptly discovered. She was
driven ashore and was actually blown
to pieces.
The Mindanac had meanwhile been
run ashore to save her from sinking,
and the Spanish small craft had
sought shelter from the steel storm be-
hind the breakwater.
The battle, which was started at
about 3 A. NJ, and adjourned at $3.50
A. NJ, was resumed about noon, when
Commodore Dewey started in to put
the finishing touches on his furious
work. There was not much fight left
i'll the Spaniards by that time. At 2
T. NJ. the Petrol and Concord had
shot the Cavite batteries into silence,
leaving them heaps OF ruins and float
ing the white flag.
She Spanish g%unboats We're then
scuttled, the arsenal was on fire, and
the explosion of a Spanish magazine
caused further mortality to the Span
ish defenders OIL 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
n of her guns and slightly injured a
dozen of the crew.
Shots passed dangerously close to
Commodore Dewey, but little or no
damage was done on board the flagship.
On the other hand, about 100 men
are said to have been killed on board
the Spanish flagship, which was to-
tally destroyed. Admiral Monteio,
the Spanish admiral, transferred his
flag to the lsla de Cuba when his shin
caught fire, but the latter was also de-
stroyed in due course OF time. The
Reina Cristina lost her captain, a lieu.
tenant, her chaplain, and a midship-
man by one shot which struck her
bridge. About 100 men were killed
and 60 wounded on board the Castillo.
Indeed, some estimates place the u,a
Der OF Spanish wounded during the en-.
gagement at over 1000 men.
The Olympia was struck five stimes
about her upper works, and a whale
boat OF the Raleigh was smashed.
Although the Krupp guns on the es.
planade OF Manila were fred continu.
ally during the engagement, Commo.
dore Dewey did not reply to them, and
the battery afterwards hoisted a white
flag in token of surrender
The terms of the capitulation were
still unsettled when the McCulloch
left Manila, but it was said Commo
dore Dewey feared %rioting upon the
part OF the insurgents ii he attempted
a oombardment of the remaining forti.
ications at Manila.
The forts at the entrance of the hay
were dismantled Wednesday, of,ar H.,