Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-05-30
OUR ASIATIC POSSESSION.
Geographical Situation of Manila and
It's Environs.

| It was necessary for Commodore
Dewey to capture base of supplies,
and his plan was to steam boldly into
Manila, the flagship leading, as did the
Hartford at Mobile. Once inside, he
engaged the fleet of Spain and then
turned his attention to the reduction
of Cavite. That being ours, the bay
was ours, as were also the coal and
provisions of the once prosperous city
of Manila. Manila, on the west coast
of the island of Luzon, in the Philip
pines, is one of the most important
ports of that part of the globe, says
the New York Herald. 1t is the seat
of the Spanish government in the
orient and the naval base of Supplies
of Spain's fleet in those waters. From
Mrs bay, near Hong Kong, China,
from which Commodore Dewey's fleet
started April II, it is approximately
| $50 miles,
Commodore Dewey found the Span
ish Asiatic squadron inside the bay
of Manila, under the guns of Cavite
This fortress is situated on the east
ern shore of Manila bay. 1t was the
military post and marine arsenal Of
| Manila and of the Spanish orient, and
it was the objective of our squadron.
! Vessels were built and repaired there.
There are slip with a cradle 270
feet long and hydraulic power capable
of drawing 1000 tons and workshops
containing appliances of all kinds for
repairs. There are dock for gun
boats and a large private dock. The
town was we'll fortified and stands on
a low piece OF ground which forms a
good harbor. Cavite was regularly
| cOstructed fortress, mounting many
guns, mostly of an ancient type. A
! few pieces had recently been emplaced
at least four-some of them taken
from the ornaments of the Spanish
| fleet. There were also some mortar
batteries, mounting, perhaps, 20 of
those guns. These defensive works
caused our ships little apprehension.
From distance of four miles shots
could be dropped into Cavite, and our
squadron under way was a difficult
target to hit.
Manila lies about seven miles dis
tant from Cavite by water and Is by
land. 1t is surrounded by Gordon Of
| land batteries to prevent attacks by
the insurgent forces which have been
lowering near ready to capture the city
when the opportunity offered.
The fleet of Spain mounted alto
gether 80 guns of caliber greater than
| AZ inches, if no pieces had been re-
moved, and the largest Of these guns
was of six inches caliber; there were
l13 of them. The largest caliber
mounted on board the United States
ships was eight inches, and there were
10 of them, and there we're besides
Al other pieces of four and six-inch
caliber The battery power Of our
ships greatly outclassed the Spanish
ships. Further, only two of the Span
ish ships were protected-the Isla de
Cuba and the Isla de Luzon. All of
ours were. Again, our ships have all
| been built since 1883, of steel; some
of SPANS ships, the Castillo, for in
| stance, were launched in 1881, and
were built Of wood and iron.
There are two islands at the en-
trance of the bay of Manila, Corregi-
! dor or Meriveles, and Caballo, dividing
| the entrance into two channels, known
respectively as the north and south
| channels. The winds off the entrance
of the bay are fresh and the water
81
| blockade the bay or to lombard the
| forts at the entrance the squadron
would have to keep under way. This
fact explains the statement sent from
] Madrid that the Spaniards forced Com
modore Dewey's fleet to keep constant
ly maneuvering.
| Corregidor, the principal island, lies
only two miles from the north shore
/ of the mainland. AS the water is very
deep, 80 to 40 fathoms, the tides run
pretty strong. The southern entrance,
between Caballo island and the main
land, is five miles across and about 20
fathoms deep. The channel between
the two islands is about 2,400 feet
i wide and more than seven fathoms
deep. In them all the tide is strong,
so our squadron was not bothered by
submarine mines. Corregdor is $40
feet high and Caballo is 420 feet.
Neither place, however, nor the
salient points on the mainland oppo-
/ site, had any modern Notifications.
At least two modern guns, and per-
haps four, had been mounted on Cor
regidor and Caballo. After forcing the
entrance to the bay the squadron had
! it's hard work before it. Cavite must
be taken.
While the entrance of the bay is
high and covered with vegetation, the
shores at it's head are low, marshy and
intersected by numerous small rivers.
The city lies about 25 miles from the
! entrance, Cavite being on the south