The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1898-05-14

<Br Lieut.. J. L. Stickney, U. s. N, stan CORE
s~pondent Of ST. Louis Republic and New YORK
Herald, with the Asiatic Squadron-)
On BOARD THE FLAGSHIP OLYMPIA,
MANILA, Philippine Islands, May l, via
HoNe-KoNe, May Mot n Spanish
flag flies in Manila bay to-day. Not one
Spanish warship floats except as our
prize.
More than 200 Spanish dead and 500
to 700 wounded attest to the accuracy
of the American fire.
Commodore Dewey attacked the Span
ish position at Cavite this morning. He
svep five times along the line, and
scored one of the most brilliant sue
cesses in modern warfare.
That our loss is trifing adds to the
pleasure of victory without detractlng
from it's value. The number of hits our
vessels received proved how brave and
stubborn was the defense made by the
Spanish forces.
Miraculous as it may appear, none OF
our men was killed, and only eight
were wounded. Those who were
wounded suffered only slight injuries.
Commodore Dewey arrived off Ma
Mia bay last night, and decided to en-
ter the bay at once.
With all it's lights out, the squadron
steamed into Boca Grande, with crews
at the guns. This was the order OF the
squadron, which was kept during h
whole time of the first battle:
The flagship Olympia.
The Baltimore.
The Raleigh.
The Petrol.
The Concord.
The Boston.
1t was just eight o'clock, a bright
moonlight night. But the flagship
passed C~orregidor island without a sign
being given hat the Spaniards were
aware of its approach.
Not until the flagship was a mile be-
yond Corregidor was a gun fired. Then
one heavy shot went screaming over
the Raleigh and the Olympia, followed
by a second, which fell farther astern.
The Raleigh, the Concord and the
Boston replied, the Concord's shells ex-
ploding apparently exactly inside the
shore battery, which fred no more.
Our squadron slowed down to barely
steerage way, and the men were al
lowed to sleep alongside their guns.
Commodore Dewey had timed our ar
rival so that we were within five miles
of the city of aIanila a daybreak.
We sighted the Spanish squadron,
Rear Admiral Montejo commanding,
off Cavite-pronounced Kahveetay,
with ancent on the wee" Here the
Spaniards had a well-equipped navy
yard called Cavite arsenal.
Admiral Montejo's flag was flying on
the 3,5OO-ton protected cruiser Reina
Cristina. The protected cruiser Cas-
tilla, of $500 tons, was moored head
and stern to the port battery, and to
seaward were the cruisers Don Juan
de Austria, Don Antonio de Ulloa, Isla
de Cuba, Isla de Luzon, Quiros, Marques
del Onero and General Lezos.
These ships and the flagship re-
manned under way during most of the
action.
With the United States flag flying at
all their mastheads, our ships moved to
the attack in line ahead, with a speed
of eight knots, first passing in front of
Manila, where the action was begun by
three batteries mounting guns power
full enough to send a shell over US at q
distance of five miles.
The Concord's guns doomed out q
reply to these batteries with two shots.
No more were fired, because Commo-
dore Dewey could not engage with
these batteries without sending death
and destruction into the crowded city.
As we neared Cavite two very pow
erful submarine mines were exploded
ahead of the flagship. This IA six
minutes past five o'clock.
The Spaniards evidently had mis-
Judged our position. Immense volumes
of water were thrown high in air by
these ~destroyers, but no harm was done
20 our ships.
Commodore Dewey had fought with
Farrugut at New Orleans and Mobile
bay, where he had his first experience
with t~orpedoes. Not knowing how
many more mines there might be ahead,
he still kept on without faltering.
No other mines exploded, however,
and it is believed that the Spaniards
had only these two in place.
A few minutes later the shore kat
terry at Cavite Point sent over the flag
ship a shot that nearly hit the battery
in Manila. But Don the gunners at
Cavite got a better range, and the shells
began to strike near us or burst close
aboard from both the batteries and the
Spanish vessels.
The heat was intense. Men stripped
off all clothing except their trousers.
As the Olympia drew nearer all was
as silent on board as if the ship had
been empty, except for the whirr of
blowers and the throb of the engines.
Suddenly a shell burst directly over