Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1898-05-28
MARBLEhEAD'S MEN
TERRIBLY AVENGED
Later Details of That lfdr a:
Cienfuegos a Few Days
Ago,
THREE HUNDRED SPANlaRDS SLAIN
Sharpshooters on the Vessels Did
Deadly Work With Their
Guns.
NEWS OF ANOTHER SLAUGHTER
(ubans Received the Arms Taken
Ovcr by the Eaglc--ltcmark-
able Picket Work Ia
Progress.

Key West, Fla, May 2l.-(New York
World cablegram.) The loss of two
of the cruiser Marblehead's men of
%Cienfuegos has been terribly avenged.
The number of Spanish dead is now
put at 800. Cuban officers say private
houses in Cienfuegos were turned into
hospitals and morgues so great was the
number Of dead and wounded.
Fifteen hundred artillery, cavalry
and infantry fired on four boatloads of
men sent from the gunboats Nashville
and Marblehead 10 cut the cables.
They were on a narrow strip of land on
each side of Cienfuegos bay. Into these
1900 the M%arblehead. Nashville and
Window poured n murderous crosstire.
The Marblchead fired no less than 800
tive-inch shells and 500 one and six
pound shells. The Nashville fired 500
four-inch and 800 secondary batteries.
Scores of sh~arpshooters kept up the
deadly work. The ships fired shells
exclusively. The men say that where
many exploded scores of rifles which
had volleyed steadily became silenced.
Two of the enemy's batteries were
silenced in ten minutes. One man
jumped to tile Notifications at Colo
radios point to get bearings for a COM
rade. He fell backward the next mo-
mcnt AT the crack Of a score Of Ameri-
can sharpshooters on the Nashville,
Marblehead and Window. The Mar
blehead with two five inch guns at the
same time blew the light house off the
earth. 1t fired at 500 yards and kept
it up until the Spanish ceased firing al
together. Estimates of fearful havoc
are confirmed by Colonel Oriz and
Lieutenant Alvarez.
All the Cubans who reached the Mar
blehead in the open boat had been in
the cockleshell thirty hours until they
signaled the Marblehead. They came
from a camp fifteen miles west of
Cienfugos. Cubans from the city
brought the news of a Spanish slaugh-
ter. \ hundred were wounded and all
troops have since been withdrawn 10
the city. The Cubans received 5000
! rounds Of 45-caliber ammunition which
the IIgle put ashore with the CuDans
near camp. The Cubans also reported
that the overland wires to Cienfuegos
tiuc," ts~e-u~ ~os.~ ftrv .abg~-s-~ea RatalAa-
no TO Cienfuegos was in ten and a half
fathoms and the cable from Cienfugos
TO Santiago de Cuba in fifteen and a
half fathoms. Sections of the cable
were cut out and taken aboard the
Nashville and Marblehead as souvenirs.
The Marblehead has other souvenirs
in the shape Of two kinds of bullets
fired by the Spanish, one Mauser, the
other of larger caliber, which pierced
a mans cartridge belt withoutiniuring
him. tunnels of both the Nashville
and Marblehead show shots, but are
only slightly damaged. Hendriksen Of
the Marblehead, though half his jaw
had been carried away, climbed unat-
tended from the cutter to the ship.
Two ships watched Cienfuegos, but no
attempt was made TO splice the cable.
The Nashville was off San Antonio
Point Wednesday night. The Marble
head reports remarkable picket work
by the Cincinnati. Although fourteen
miles away the Cincinnati saw the
Marblehead change its curse aud
steamed at b~reakneck speed toward it.