The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1898-05-12
A Wonderful Victory and Total De-
structiOn Of Spanish Fleet.
YANKEE SKILL AND DARING.
Spanish Fleet Was Caught Without Steam Ur
and Annihilated Spanish Refused Dewey
the Use Of the Cable. so He Cut
II. Shutting orr Dispatches.

fact that the cable between this port and
the Philippines WAS not in working order,
having been cut, it is said, some distance
from the capital of the island. there has
been delay in obtaining a detailed &C.
count of the battle, and the facts in the
case were only available when the United
States gunboat Hugh McCulloch arrived
here yesterday, and even then the ire
mendous pressure OF business suddenly
thrown upon the cable necessarily made
the entire account of the engagement
somew hat broken.
Commodore Dewey's orders were to
capture or destroy the Spanish fleet, and
never were instructions executed in so
complete fashion. At the end of seven
hours there was absolutely nothing left
of the Spanish fleet but few relics. The
American commander had most skilinlly
arranged every detail of the action, and
even the apparently most insignificant
features were carried out with perfect
punctudlity, and on railroad timetable
order.
At the end of the action Commodore
Dewey anchored his fleet in the bay be-
fore Manila and sent message to Coy
ernor General Augusti announcing the
Inauguration of the blockade, and adding
that il u shot was fired against his ships
he would destroy every battery abou,
Manila.
The position occupied by the Spaniards
the support which their ships received
from the land batteries, and the big guns
they had ashore, gave them an enormous
advantage. Therefore, when it is con.
sidered that the Spsniards lost over 600
men in killed and wounded, and that
their naval arsenal at Cavite was also de.
stroyed with it's defenses, it will become
apparent that the victory of the Ameri
can commodore is one OF the most com.
plete and wonderful achievements in the
history of naval warfare.
Not man on board the American feet
was killed; not ship was damaged tC
any extent, and only six msn were in.
jured slightly on board the Baltimore
This grand achievement is quite as much
due to the generalshp of Commodore
Dewey rs to the fact that the American
gunners, ships and guns are superior to
any atioat anywhere.
The American fleet entered Manila bay
Saturday night with the greatest of ease.
The Spaniaris had not established pa
troll, and there were no searchights at
the entrance of the bay. In fact, the
American ships would probably have
passed inside the bay without any chal-
lenge had it not been that some sparks
flew up from the McCulioch's funnel
Thereupon few shots were exchanged
with the batteries on Corregidor island
but the fleet did not slow down, and soon
took mp Il position near Cavite, awaiting
dawn in order to commence hostlities.
The early hours of the morning revealed
the ships to each other, and the Spanish
flagship opened fire. Its action was fol
lowed by some of the larger Spanish war
ships, and then the Cavite forts opened
up, and the smaller Spanish ships
brought their guns into play. The Amer
lean squadron, werlich entered the bay
through the shells of the Spaniards
which began to strike the water arount
them, moved majestically onward.
When nearing Bakor bay, q sudden up
hnayal nj watny a short distance ahead nj
the Olympia showed that the Spsniards
had exploded mine or a torpedo. This
was followed by second and similar ex
plosion. They were both utterly unsuc
cessful
The American fleet was then drawing
nearer and nearer to the Spauiards, whose
gunnery was very poor, the shots from
the Cavite batteries and Spanish ships
being equally badly aimed. either falling
short or wide OF their mark
When the American fleet entered the
bay, coming through the southern chan
mel between CabalIo and Frile inlets, the
following was the order: Flagship Olym
pia, Baltimore, Raleigh, Concord, Boston
Petrol and McCuloch. The two store
ships, Nanshan and Zeafro, brought az
the rear.
In that order they swept grandly be
fore the city and faced the enemy il
column line.
Though the Spsniards had opened firt