The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-08-04
THE SANTIAGo NAyA1 RATTLE.
Description Written Home by Young
 sailor Who Saw It All,

Description Written Home by Young Sailor Who Saw It All,
 The following Interesting letter was
 written home by young Philadel
 phian Wilmon Whelldin Harris, quar- termaster on the United States auxili-
 ary ship Resolute, describing the naval
 battle off Santiago, the Resolute being
 present at the conflict. The letter was sent to Miss Edith L. Northrop, of Woodmont, and Is as follows:
 l U. S. S. Resolute, or Santiago, | July B. 1898. | To All at Home:
 Am safe, and have been II, the great | est naval battle l.. 5 world has ever
 known. Last Saturday night we were | sent to Santiago de Cuba in haste ar l irving there on s inday morning. The l ships were all lined up as usual, ex- |. ! cepting the New York, which steamed | up the coast to a little place called | Aquatorris, followed by the Errisson, a | torpedo boat. We had reported to the | admiral and were ordered to remain l with the fleet until further orders. We | lay there about twenty minutes, when we saw smoke coming down back of | the land. It was my watch. I reported | to the captain. A little while after I saw more smoke in two or three differ | ent places. started down to the cap
 tain, when what did see but long | black ship steaming out of the harbor After that I never imagined anything
 like it. run up signals the minute the ich | and Blcnco batteries opened fire on us
 and the fleet. The Spaniards got wind | Of our vessel being loaded With subma-
 rlne mines and ammunition. May be the shot didn't fly around us There
 was shell exploded along side of us, | ripping our awnings and so on, and throwing the water high into the air | The Oregon was the first vessel to l start it on our side. l saw one of her thirteen-inch shells go right through | the after part of one of the Spanish | ships, which turned and made for 1 shore all on fire She blew up thirty | minutes afterward By this time the | New York came along. She ordered us to go to Guantanamo and tell khe | rest of the fleet to come to Santiago at | once. So we piled on steam and let
 her go, another quartermaster and | myself on the lookout. We had not gone fifteen miles before we sighted a | strange war vessel dead ahead coming l like the old Harry. I got a glimpse of her colors which were red, white and | red-the Austrian flag. We'll, we took her for Spaniard, a man-of-war, and l so did the captain. We stopped, fired | three shots at her and started on for the fleet, thinking fleet was probably following her. We blew our whistle
 and fired our guns so as to give the alarm. When we caught up to the
 Indiana the battle was pretty we'll un- | der way. The Spanish ship Christobol Colon had gone through our lines and was being chased up by the Brooklyn, Oregon, Texas and Vixen. We hailed the Indiana and told her that a Span | ish ship was heading eastward. She told us to go and tell the admiral. | Well, the admiral was chasing the Co.,
 lon so the only thing left for us to do
 was to follow suit. We passed the | Spanish ships. -Almirante Oquendo was
 aground and all ablaze, explosion fol- lowing explosion, throwing burning NooI dllQ lleCGS. OL lIOIi bll StDOuL us.
 The next ship we came to was the Ma ria Theresa. She was aground; also on
 fire and exploding. Her men were on
 the shore when we passed, waiting for
 some one to pick them up, which was | done soon after by the Ericsson. The | next was the Vizcaya, the fine ship that visited New York. She, too, was all on
 fire, and blew up just as we passed her. It was the most fearful, yet finest sight ever saw. Her tunnels, masts and
 upper decks went flying through the air. We'll we saw smoke ahead which proved to be the Brooklyn and Oregon,
 Texas, Vixen and New York. The Colon found she could not get away from the
 Brooklyn, so the Spaniards run her
 ashore, which started her aleaking;
 then she hauled down her flag to the
 Brooklyn. When we got there they
 were taking the crew off of her, so we
 just got there in time to get lot of
 them; 494 persons in all When we told
 the admiral about the ship we saw, the
 Brooklyn started right back for the
 supposed Spanard. We heard after
 ward that when the Brooklyn sighted
 the Austrian that she cleared for &C.,
 tion. After giving her good looking
 over the commodore decided that he
 could whip her alone, so he started for
 her at full speed The Austrian had to
 hoist signals, saying l am an Austrian
 So you see we were not the only ones to
 be fooled. Now I will go on with the af-
 ter part of my yarn. We were four and
 a half hours taking on prisoners. It
 was 10:30 before they were all on. At
 9:3O the Colon keeled over on her side
 filling with water. We feared a total
 wreck. We brought the prsoners to
 Guantanamo, where we transferred
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