The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-07-08
FROM AN EYEWITNESS
REAL STORY OF GREAT RUNNING Ma
VAL FIGHT OFF SANTIAGO.
The Texas Sent the First Spanish
Cruiser to Beach. and Was In at
the Death of the Colon.

AS, July S-"Theyre coming outi' This
was the cry that startled all our ships at
$3.50 o'clock this Sunday morning
1t was Lieutenant Bristol who uttered the
exclamation. We were lying directly in front
of Santiago harbor, and he had seen moving
smoke floating over point on the right Ct
the harbor entrance. Hardly had he shouted.
when our from behind the Estrella battery
poked the nose of cruiser. coming with a
big bone in her teeth.
"Clang!" sounded the electric gongs.
The ships company beat to general quar-
tiers, the orders were shouted for full steam
ahead. and in dashed the Texas to meet
the foe.
Its the Vizcaya," was the general COM
ment.
Certainly the ship belonged to the Viz
caya class. but before we had done wonder
ing what she was trying to do we saw the
Cristobal Colon, easily distinguishable by
the military mast between the two tunnels
She was treading on the heels of the fore
most ship. tearing through the water at a
tremendous speed. the smoke rolling from
her tunnels and hiding what was astern of
her. In few minutes, however, we made
out two more cruisers of the ViZcaya type,
and were then sure that Cervera was at last
coming to give us battle in desperate at
tempt to cut his way to freedom. On We
went, getting more speed a every kick of
the screw. From the first the signal flags
had been fiuttering the message: The en-
envy is trying to escape!'
We could see that the cruiser Brooklyn
and the big battle ships Iowa and Oregon
responded at once and shaped their courses
fer the enemy. their distance from the shore
being about two and half miles at the time
they first got our signal. But we had little
time to look around. Hardly was the lead
ing Spanish ship clear of the shadows of old
Moro before boom went one of her big
guns-and the battle had begun. That first
she'll went wild.
TEXAS FIRED FIRST GUN.
Then our old ship shook from her keel
up. The big Texas's guns began to talk,
and soon our other ships were mixing in the
fray. The Spaniards turned to the west
ward, and we kept boring in on them. They
fired incessantly and kept their engines go
ing under forced draught, evidently intend
ing to outrun us and escape The Brook
Ign, just good at the running game as
they were, turned her course nearly parallel
with theirs. though drawing into closer
quarters a little all the while. She was soon
IN good range and her running night must
have been a great one; but We mad so much
on our own hands that there was no time
to stop and admire Commodore Schley S
work with his guns.
We were still well in the lead of our
ships, nearer the enemy than the others
and getting a large share of the enemys
attention. We hammered away at the fore
most ships. and they hammered back as
they gradually drew away to the westward,
keeping in the shadow of the shore. But
we nailed the third ship in their line. This
was either the Vizcaya or the Maria Teresa.
We had her in fine fighting range before
she could get by, and you should have
seen the first battle ship commissioned in
fhl fn6 fotr |. s-l,<
to business in her first sea fight. They used
to call the Texas the "Old Hoodoo" but
guess the "Old Hero will be good enough
for us after this day. We were in close
enough now, we turned west with our
adversary. Our speed was not equal to hers
but what we lacked in speed we made up
with shells. We could see that our shOts
We're getting home, but the enemy replied
with much spirit and some accuracy Capt
Philip was on the bridge up to this time
but it soon became the part of discretion to
retire, so he ordered the bridge contingent
to the coming tower passage, taking con-
troll of the ship from the tower itself
CAPT. PHILIPS CHARMED LIFE.
There is a good angel presiding over Capt.
Philip Hardly had he left the bridge when
big shell from one of the fleeing Span
iards ripped right through the pilot house
1t certainly would have killed the man at
the wheel and possibly every officer on the
bridge had not the captain given his coming
tower order just as he did. SO the captain
with Executive Officer Harbor,' Navigating
Officer Miner and Cadet Reynolds who
was operating the range finder, stood on the
coming tower platform. issuing his orders
through messengers, and keeping as cool as
charity through all the heat of the firing
For half an hour the enemy'S shells whistled
all about the Texas. One more got home.
This one bored a hole through the ash hoist
amidship and exploded inside the smoke
stack, doing some merely incidental dam
age and injuring nobody. Our own guns,
however were enough to kill delicate men.
Their din was so dreadful that orders had to
be shouted right into the ears of our mes
sengers. Then the smoke would come up
In such density that we couldn't see each
other. On two occasions the Pinch turret
guns were swung athwart ship and
turned loose. The conclusion then shook the
immense vessel as II she had been toy
boat The sensat ton was much as if we had
been struck with big projectile Every
thing movable was splintered. All the
faces. Seaman Schram knocked
through hatchway into the forward hand
ling room, breaking his leg.
But the enemy must have suffered more
than we did from the shots for we held
deadly range, and the guns were being
served as guns never were served before.
The Oregon had come whirling past and
gone on to help Schley ard the Brooklyn
disposed of the leading Spanish ships. The
Iowa, too, had turned westward, and was
continually laundering. We were ali in the
mess up to our elbows.
shes on fire.!
That was the wCrd we passed from ear
to ear, shrieking it in our joy. for masses
of smoke were pouring from our particular
antagonist, and in pause of the firing we
heard our men cheer and shout their glee.
Our big shells had got through her armor,
and we felt that our part of that fight was
nearly won.
THE FIRST VICTIM.
Soon we saw that our smoking and bat
tered adversary was done for and was MAX
ing at all speed for the beach. So we let
her go and began firing at the cruiser
steaming behind her-the fourth in the
Spanish line The Brooklyn and Oregon.
after few parting shots, also abandoned
all effort to help US smash this particular
cruiser, and devoted all their steam and
guns to the two foremost vessels, which we
took to be the Oquendo and the CriStobal
Colon Just then sighted the two tor
pedo boat destroyers, the Furor and the
cruisers, and were sneaking off down the
coast, going as if they had the right of
way.
''All small guns on the torpedo boats?'
went the order.
Soon we had the ocean splashing and
foaming all about them. Ensign else. with
a six-pOunder Of the starboard battery got
leading destroyer fairly in the boiler Above
the roar Of battle we could hear crashing
and rending. and saw a great spout of
black smoke roll up from that torpedo boat
Either the Furor or the Pluton went out of
ID F. Y q