Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-07-21
SANTIAGO HARBOR.
Condition of the Surrendered Defences.
(Copyright 1898. the Associated PressO

Copyright, 1898, the Associated Press)
Under MORO Castle, IIarbor of Santiago
de cuba, July 19.-The old MORO fort
stands ON the bluff, terrace fashion. From
the waters edge to the brow of tho ClT
there are hugo caves formed by the aC-
ton of tho waves, and round the base
and in the supGstructurc are not few
caves MADE by The navy's projcCtilcs 1t
would appear However, that only one bas-
tiun was knocked to pieces, while the
queer little sentry boxes, dating back to
the 10th century, escaped almost intact.
Moro Castle is the only imposing fortl
fication in the harbor, and it Is only so In
appearance, since not gun is mounted
within or on the crumblcd walls. In fact,
all the batteries, masked and open, dwind-
led in their terror-inspiring qualities as
the inspection grow closer
Growing the hi'l on the west side Of
the entrance were the famous 6-inch rapid
fire guns from the Spanish cruiser Rcina
Mercedes. These were ugly loo.:ing and
dangerous. while below, on brick fodnda-
tons on the western shore of the en-
trance, were some revolving guns These
We're tho ones which poured such a Bit
ter fire into the Mcrrimac. Directly east
OF MORO Castle, on the crest of the pla
te1u-like Cliff, were six big guns, one or
two OF which were dsmounted. The Es-
trella hattery aud a small battery further
in showed no guns
All the houses near the harbor were de-
serted and strange 10 say, not one, APP
parcntly, had been touched by a hostile
proieCtie
on the inside of the slope and hill to
the westward some hastily constructed
Cascmgtcs were seen, into which the
Spanish Sunncrs were wont to retire when
our ships opened fire When the firing
ceased the gunncrs only had a few steps
To climb to their siX-inch rapid-frc guns.
which almost always fired few farewell!
shots.
A. Punta Gorda there were two finch
guns, one above the other, and neither
protected by even sand or earth. These
commanded the harbor entrance pretty
well but they could have been silencod
by one well-dircctcd heavy shell.
Commodore Schley has over and over
again expressed the belief that our fleet
could probably have entered the harbor
without the loss of Il single ship. The
mines might have stopped inGress by sink
ing the leading ship, but this is chance
of war, and not so grave as many taken
during the civil war, nor AZ serious as
would have been the situation had there
been good batteries, properly manned, in
the narbor
Commodore Schley's party first steamed
around the wreck Of the Rcuet Mercedes
which lies with her bow pointed towards
'ltt CITY one ldu Il llSt 10 SldrD1 ;Lfu, ana
rested on reef near tho foot of MORO
cliff. The cruiser was sunk to tho upper
deck on which one siX-mch gun remained.
one torpedo tube was loaded, and the
auxiliary battery seemed in place Evil
IDENTIFY the crew Of the Rena Mercedes left
her in hurry. This Is less to bc won
Tered at when IL Is noted that there were
great gaps in her sides. showing where
two twelve and two thrtecn-nch shells
had struck her.
About six hundred yards ahead of the
Rend Mercedes ana almost in line with
her. was the wreck OF the Mcrrmac. lying
IN fully six fathoms of water ana on the
very edge Of tho channel Had not the
current swung the ship alongside instead
OF ath"art the channel, the latter would
nave been well blocked. When Assistant
Naval Constructor Hobson took the col
li"r into tho harbor he was hunting for a
loHr"iathom spot and only missed il by a
few hundred yards
six or seven fine steamers in the harhor
of SANTIAGO fall as prizes to the navy ana
army, Tho Spanish gunboat Alvarez has
Deen taken possession Of by prize crew
from the New York The other vessels
lie at the other end Of the harbor, at SAN
tiaSo proper.
SPANISH DEPENCES.
Madrid, July 1.-the defence works are
/ '''''n hNAi'Nly puSHtu at All me spa nl.! N
ports.
REACTION EXPECTED IN LONDON.
New York, July 19,-Thc Evening Post 5
financial cable says:
London, July 19.-The stock markets
here were stagnant to-day but steady, OK
cept for Grand Trunk, which was steadily
sold by weak bulls and by some bears. 1t
Is believed that when the prcscn, weak
holders are cleared out a sharp reaction
may follow.
Al present tho weakness in Grand
Trunks 10 assisted by the dulness In Am
cricans which were absolutely neglected
to-day The weakness in Grand Trunk
Is not surprising considering the falling
OIL IN traffic returns and the continuance
of the rate war.
The New York demand for bonds con-
tinues. Other markets featurcless Span
lsh fours lost a point, a new West Aus
traliah loan is announced for GLc0J,OC
at ~ per cent