Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1898-07-16
which was fast outdoing che others,

Oregon brought into play the two 13-
inch terrors in he forward turret and
the s-inch guns on her side. At times
the clouds Of smoke over our ships
was so heavy that che gunners could
not tell where the shells landed.
The Colon had only n effective
gun, the 11-inch Hontoria, in her after
turret. She could not use her bow
Hontoria and the quick fires in her
secondary battery were too small for
good work. Her men paid no attention
TO the Oregon. They knew it was use.
less to attempt to bore through her
belts OF steel. But they kept up a
steady fire on the Brooklyn. At times
they got the range. In all she landed
! six shells on Schley's s%hip--one OF
them bursting and blowing the head
clean off of Ellis, the chief yeoman
A fragment of the same shell injured
one of the sailors. No casualties re
suited from the other five shells, and
they did little damage to the ship.
While the chase was going on the
Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts,, Texas
Gloucester and the little Vixen played
havoc with the other ships of Ger
vera's doomed squadron. One of the
shells from the Texas tore clean
through Captain Eulate's cabin
smashing into flinders the beautiful
mahogany case holding the gorgeou!
battle flag which the ladies of Viz
caya had worked and presented to the
ship, and, finally exploding in the
ward room, where the surgeons were
al work on the wounded.
Itnked the Vizcayn Fore and AZ
This shell did terrific damage, il was
afterward learned, killing and wound
ing nearly twenty men, many of them
non-combatants.
For ten minutes three of the bat
tleships concentrated their fire on tho
Infanta Maria Teresa and her guns
were silSlccd. She had been using her
two forward and after 1l-inch ilonto-
rias. like the Nizcaya and the Oquen-
do, with no success whatever as far
as hitting our ships was concerned.
The guns on each OF the Spanish ships
were firing at long intervals, fully six
minutes elapsing between shots from
tho same gun, showing the difference
between the breech mechanism If the
Hontoria and II guns.
Under the combined fire the plight
Of the Maria Teresa was terrible.
Flames broke out from many parts OF
the ship. They had started before, but
had evidently been subdued. This time
they were beyond control. The PROV
Of the cruiser vas turned toward the
beach, and five minutes later she had
grounded. The fate Of the Pluton and
FurOr had already been settled, and
the Gloucester, which had put them
out Of the fighting business forever,
ran up close to the cruiser. Later she
took off the Spanish admiral.
1t was about four miles west OF the
Moro that the Infanta was bcached,
with black smoke pouring out OF her
in clouds and her steel sides almost
red hot from the flames raging within.
Two Cruisers Aiire aud Bcachcd.
The battleships then began on the
Nizcaya, which was already in trou-
BILE. The firing had slnckencd to an
occasional shot. Flames we're bursting
from her and she was almost envel-
oped in smoke. The Iowa and Texas
ran up close and smohtered her in an
awful fire. No ship in the world could
have withstood it. Our two ships Sc
lccted their own positions and poured
shells into her as fast MS the ammuni-
zion hoists could be worked.
Five minutes after the Bleaching Of
the lnfanta the Nizcaya turned feebly
toward the shore and quickly ground
ed. Her fight IA over, and the lowa's
boats at once put out to her 10 rescue
her men. Three hundred and forty
of them were taken on board. Sixty
were killed. Then the Texas turned
westward to join the chase of the Co
lon.
just then the flagship New York
passed with Admiral Sampson on
board. Schley had sent him word the
first thing by the Resolute OF the
work ia hand. Sampson saw the
wrecks of the destroyers, of the In
fanta and the Nizcaya and saw that
the Indiana and Massachusetts were
making short work Of the Oquendo a
couple OF miles further along.
The New York followed the Texas
in the direction of the firing which
indicated where the Colon was being
hunted TO her death. She and the
Brooklyn and the Oregon had passed
out of sight down the coast. Twenty
minutes after the Nizcaya had been
demolished the Oquendo was run
aground near the shore rocks. Her
sides had been almost tori off by the
13-inch guns of the Indiana and Mas
sachusettS.
The chase Of the Brooklyn lasted
four hours before the Colon gave up,
sixty miles west OF Santiago. She was
not as badly injured as the others, but
the Brooklyn had worked up abeam
and would soou cut across her bows,
placing her between q terrible fire
from the flagship and the Oregon.
The prisoners from the Colon were
being transferred to the Oregon when
the Texas and New York sailed up.
When escorted on board the Glou-
ccster Admiral Ccrvera'S first thought
was Of his men. He spoke earnestly
to Commander Wainwright of his So
licitude for the safety Of his men on
shore. He informed the captain that
Cuban soldiers were on the hills pre-
pairing to attack his unarmed men, and
said he thought his sailors had suf-
fered enough in their battle with the
American forces, and that he was will
ing to surrender his entire command,
but he asked that some protection be
giyen TO his sailors until they could
be taken off in the American vessels.
Captain Wainwright had heard sim
liar reports from his own officers re-
garding the presence of Cubans in the
brush, and he sent a guard OF mn
sailors ashore TO prevent the prisoners
from being molested.
of ngres and the president the prop.
erty of a country to which they are