New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-06-10
THE FLEET AND A DESIROIEh
HOW SIMPSONS SHIPS TREATED ONE Of
spAIN'S LITTLE BOATS


or Santiago de Cuba. Saturday. June -
~ m ga Kingston Jamaica, June &, . a. H.
! The firing by the New-York and the. Ne"'oF-
! le,us briefly reported last night was directed
against 4 Spanish torpedo-boat destroyer, prom
ably the Furor or the Pluton
The character Of the enemy was not dennlteiy
known until this afternoon. when the torpeuo-
! boat Porter found two loaded torpedoeB hoauhs
off shore one sank, but the other was ha"Ieo
/ on board the Porter. IT exactly fitted the de-
scrption u the torpedoes carried by the f'u'oh
and the Furor.
II Is believed the torpedo boat destroyer es-
caped She was seen by the New-Orieans WHEN
too far away to do any damage. and the heaVy
! fire must have driven her back
The daring attempt OF the Span!ards when
was frustrated by the vigilance OF the Ne"-o
lo,rs.s lookout Is the first instance OF its kind
since the beginning OF the war 1t illustra'eo
! how, hard il is To- hit a small object at night.
As seen from tn. flagship. the scene was Drill
family dramatic The New-York was lying
several miles 10 the east Of MORO Castle. The
| Ncv-orIeans was on her starboard hand close IN
! shore ready 20 pounce upon any craft which
| might attemrt to steal out under the shadow
! OF The hills
Shortly after 10 O'clock the New-Orleans
| flashed her private signal II was answered ny
! the flagship. and In few seconds colored nsh's
! snrarg UP into the darkness from the Ne"-o'
| lears's deck They sgnncd that the eheHy
was in slght 4 little later she burned announcer
| colored light. This meant that hostie to'
pedo-boat was approaching. Then Inc semi
circle OF bockadng ships dashed night signals
| For six or seven miles ,ast and west or the mar
bo- they twinkled brilliantly In the darkness
and then went out simultaneously. hashc' Oh
fire shot from the New -Oreans's sides
SCRAMBLED FROM THEIR BrNks
On hoard the flagship men and officers had
scrambled out 81 their hunks and hammocks. IN
response to thc call 10 general quarters Ihey
STOOD in groups on deck. around me guns us
hevelled ana anxious. watching the snort sh''p
flames which showed the activity OF the New
Orlcana's rapid fire battery. The flagship was
,ben too far away TO hear the sound OF the hr-
Ing or soc its object
The Hew-Orlears kept her brilliant search
lights playing In all directions ana o'ner '"'''
near her aid the same.
m IN. decks OF The Sev-York the marines
were crouchoG down peering into the darkness.
vri.h their rifles on their knees watching FOR the
sailors most dreaded cnemy-the torpedo boat.
Tho lookou.R rnrrr In every conceivable spot
and guns were trained In che direction in which
the Ncw.Orleans Seemed 20 be firing. Now and
again sparks and Ri Are new up IN the dis
tnnce marking the explosion OF shells. Many
though. they were exploding on n torpedo-boat.
hut today II g. believed that they found their
mark shore.
Tn. moon. which had been hidden behind
clouds carn out AZ about II o'clock. The New
York war then etcaring ~ full speed toward the
shor. g. head %" n possible the retreat Of the
enemy into the harbor The evolutors had 10
~. carried on With crca; care. 10 avoid getting
In Ire % IRE from the other American ships
The seaichllghts played frequently and private
signals burned brightly
din object like small boat enveloped IN
smoke was seen on the port hand from the sig
nal bridge ard Ensign Muslin reported 10 Zap
tain Chadwick;
"A torpcdO-hoat one point forward OFT the
por; beam sir. headed this way"
| Captain Chadwick with Rear Admiral Samp-
son. was on the forward bridge
CURIOUS LURKING OBJECT.
Before a shot was fred from the flagship this
curious lurking object disappeared 1t must
have been two or three miles away from the
New. York and the same distance from the New
Orleans
The Oregon. grim ard big. crossed the New
York's bows In the direction In which the tor
nedo-boat was reported The New-York still
headed FOR the shore When about n mile away
and close to MORO Castle an object was seen
against the cliffs. II thought TO be tor
pedo- boat and the New Yorks forward 8-inch
guns beloved out. making a hIdeous noise In
the quiet night lighting up the crowded decks
and filling the air with bright yellow smoke.
on shore II few sparks close to dark object
showed where the shell struck. The 4-inch and
G-pounder guns followed suit. and for a few
minutes a sharp fire was kept UP. The boom
OF the Oregon's big guns was twice heard TO the
eastward
Cease firing" was then sounded The search
lights failed TO reveal the presence OF the enc
my. and nothing but the bare coast could be
seen After a careful search the New-York
steamed back to her station and the men went
back to their hammocks
There had been no firing from the forts and
accounts differ to whether the torpedo boat
did or did not fire. At any rate, no damage was
done
Captain Folger reported that he had sighted
a small steamer perhaps a gunboat; that she
had failed to answer the private signal, and that
he had fired on her. He believed she had es-
capped along the beach or had been destroyed
ne could not tell which.
That ended the night attack and the first ex
percncc here with torpedo boats In naval war
fare 1t was not until the Porter. this after
noon found the tUrpedoes that the danger Of
last nights affair was fully realized.
NO MORE CABLING OF WAR MOVEMENTS.
Washington. June 9.Gencral A. w. Greedy
chief signal officer. issued to- night q general
order to the cable companies that hereafter no
news concerning the movement OF American
vessels or OF American troops would be per-
mitted to he sent 20 foreign countries. The or
der covers both press cable dispatches and pri-
vate messages. General Greedy said that In the
enforcement ~ the order no exceptions would be
made The order apples 10 all movements Of
vessels and troops whether the subject matter