The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-05-16
BLANC0 TRIES 4 RUsE Attempts to Decoy American Warships Within Range
 of Havana's Guns.
THE TRICK NOT SUCCESSFUL
THE ALPHONSO IT AND 4 SPANISH
 GUNBOAT USED.


 With the Apparent Intention of
 Running the Blockade-When They
 Believed the Ruse Had Worked and
 the American Ships Were Giving Chase
 Fire Kept Up on Both Sides.
 [Copyright, 1898, by the Associated Press.l
 On board the Associated Press des- patch boat Kate Spencer, off Havana, May 14, D. m., via Key West, Fla, May 15-Captain General Blanco, two hours before sundown tonight att tempted to execute a ruse, which if successful would have cleared the front of Havana of six ships on that blockad- ing station. Unable to come out to do spider with the fly and cussingly plan ned to draw the prey Into his net, but though a clever and pretty scheme as an original proposition, it was practi- cally repetition of the trick by which the gunboat Vicksburg and the little converted revenue cutter Merrill were last week decoyed by a fishing smack under the big Krupp guns of Santa Clara batteries. Thanks to bad gun nery, both ships on that occasion man. aged to get out of range without being sunk, though some of the shells burst n1n o1a orI Uip1y To cobs ladder was cut adrift. The wary are never caught twice in the same trap.
 Late this afternoon the ships on the Havana station were dumb-founded to see two ships steam out of Havana har- Dor and head east. Dense smoke was streaming like black ribbons from their stacks, and a glance showed that they were under full head of steam. By aid of glasses, Commander Lilly of the Mayfiower, which was flying the pen- nant, made out the larger vessel of the two, which was about 200 feet long and about 4,50O tons displacement, to be the cruiser Alphonso XII, and the small one to be the gunboat Legazpi, both of which were known to be bottled up in Havana harbor.
 At first he supposed that they were taking advantage of the absence of the heavy fighting ships and were mak- ing bonafide run for the open sea. As superior officer, he immediately sig nailed the other ships of the station, the Vicksburg, Annapolis, Wasp, Te- cumseh and Pascola. The lit- tie squadron moved in obliquity to- ,-I+l, }e .ier1,+ ao o,,1r little squadron moved in obliquity to- ward the fleeing Spaniards, keeping up a running fire as they went The AL phonso and her consort circled in shore about five miles below Havana and af- ter running In for half mile headed back for Moro castle. Our gunboats and their thin-skinned vessels of the mosquito fleet did not follow them in. Commander Lilly saw that the Spanish ruse was to draw them in under the guns of the heavy batteries, where Spanish artillery officers could plot out the exact range with their telemeters and pot them. So the return was made in line ahead parallel with the shore. Commander Lilly had not been mis- taken. As his ships came abreast of the Santa Clara battery the big guns opened and fired thirteen shore shells at a distance of about five miles. The range was badly judged, as more than half the shells overshot the mark and others fell short, some as much as mile.
 The big Alphonso and her convoy steamed swiftly from the dark shadow of the harbor's mouth and turning sharply east ran along the coast as though to slip through the blockade. It was bold trick and not at first transparent, although the folly of it created a suspicion, as there was no hope of ultimate escape, and no object in escaping. The Mayfiower stand ing well out like a cat with a mouse, gave slight start, then swing ing her engines and tiny squadron into line, dashed in to cut them off The Spanish boats crowded on steam and stood along the coast as long as they dared to give zest to the chase. The Mayfiower signalled her consorts "Close in and charge Word was flung in from ship to ship. Seeing the bait had apparently taken, the Spaniards veered about and bringing their stern chasers to bear on the Americans doubled back for Morrow. It was beautiful run ming fire viewed from where the Kate Spencer lay seven miles off Morro Cas- tie. Little puffs of white smoke burst from the sides of the gunboats and oc- casionally an explosion of shell in the air, like a spark of fire, could be dis cerned with the aid of glasses. The flash of the Spaniards' guns was plain ly visible but the reports were dull and indistinct. Two of the shells from the Vicksburg burst in the rigging of the Alphonso and some of it, came down, but it was, of course, impossible to know whether any fatalities resulted. The American fire was much more &C., curate than the Spanish, as every shell of the latter fell short of their pur- suers.
 The Spaniards were mile off Morro and our ships fully four miles further out, when flames leaped from the bat teries of Santa Clara forts and clouds of white smoke drifted up the coast. Half a minute later dull, heavy roar of great guns came like deep diapason of an organ on high treble of smaller