Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1898-07-14

III hDbul lDSoh ILL
set out to dislodge the Spaniards
from their works at Aguadores,
where the Michigan troops were
repulsed on the line of the rail.
road Saturday morning while they
we're marching westward to seize
Moro battery and blow up the
fort after the fleet had driven the
Spaniards from their guns.
Our torpedo boats were not with
the feet, and when Admiral Samp-
son left Moro the battleships and
cruiser Brooklyn were grouped off
the harbor mouth.
1t is not known whether Admi-
raj Cervera had blown up the Mer
rimac or passed it in single Co
lumn. His ship, the Cristobal
Colon, glided out Of the harbor
and shot to westward, her two
tunnels and black bulwarks show
ing plain against the green of the
hills, her pennant and Spanish
red and yellow ensign in the lash
ing above.
In a few seconds the American
feet was in motion, the Indiana,
which was closest, heading straight
in shore to get closer range.
QUICK WORK.
What followed is gathered
from an account of the battle
by an expert naval authority
on board the battleship Iowa,
under date of July 4. He had
promised the Call and Herald to
write the story unless killed in
battle"
THE PURSUIT BEGINS.
1t was splendid spectacle.
The Spaniards with bottled steam
cleared the harbor's mouth SEEM
ingly in moment. Under their
eager prows a column of foam
whitened the long billows and
their bubbliug wakes left furrow
as straight and sharp as racing
yacht making a winning run for
the finish line. Their course was
shaped for the westward, but as
fast as they sped in their desper-
ate break for freedom, the faster
flew the shells of the pursuing
Americans. The first heavy shell
from the Iowa's battery fell short,
and then, by mischsnce, so did the
second, but afterward a rain of
shot fell upon the fleeing foe.
THE BATTLE RACES.
Not a whit behind in this eager
fusillade roared the batteries of
the Spanish ships. Their port
broadsides famed and grumbled,
but it was a splendid display of
fireworks rather than a successful
effort to damage the unharmed
targets of the Yankee ships. In
fifteen minutes after they were
discovered four Spanish srmored
cruisers had cleared the entrance,
and five minutes later the torpedo.
boat destroyers, hugging the
beach and seeking the sheltering
broadside of their sister ships,
flew into the turmoil of IL g action.
AT this time every gun of the
American squadron that could be
brought to bear was pumping pro.
jectiles into the enemy. In an
instant it almost seemed one ship
of the Vizcaya class burst into
flames, caused, undoubtedly, by
long sure shot from the Oregon
or Texas. A minute later a 12-
inch projectile sent from a for
ward turret struck the Maria
Teresa near her after smokepipe.
A tremendous explosion followed.
Then she was shrouded in smoke
and was lighted with lurid flames;
and then, when the powder cloud
cleared away she was seen helm
hard a-port rushing for the beach.
FINE TARGET PRACTISE.
Twenty-Five minutes after the
first ship had been sighted half
the Spanish feet had surrendered
or was on fire. As our vessels
rushed toward them every ship
was hulled time and again and it
almost seemed from the sureness
and directness of our batteries as
if it were target practise of sum-
mer morning, and not the annihi.
lation of squadron. Even this