The Red Cloud chief., 1898-07-08

under my NINA offers the nation ~ n
Fourth Of July present the destruction OF tho
whole OF Cervcra's fleet.
No one escaped. IL ATTEMPTED TO escaped nj
p:30 n. m. Sunday, and ut : y. m. the last, the
Cristobal Colon. had run ashore six miles west
Of Santiago and had let down her colors. Tho
Jnfanta Maria Teresa, Oauendo and ViZcaya
were forcei ashore, burned and blown up
within twenty miles OF Santiago, the Furor and
pluton were destroyed within four miles OF port.
our los. one killed and two wounded. Enemy's
loss probably several hundred Of gun fire. ex-
blossoms and drowning. About 1900 prisoners,
including Admiral Cervcra. The man killed
was George u. Ellis, chief yeomnn Of the
prooklyn.-Sainpson.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, July 6.-Admiral
Ccrvera's fleet, consisting OF the ar
mored cruisers, Cristobal Colon, Almi'
rant Oquendo, ~Infanta Maria Teresa
and Vizcaya, and two torpedo boat de-
s%troycrs, the Furor and the Pluton.
which had been held in the harbor of
Santiago dc Cuba for six weeks past
by the combined s%quadrons OF Rear
Admiral Sampson and Commodore
Schley, lies at the bottom OF the Carib-
bean sea, off the southern coast OF
Cuba.
The Spanish admiral Is q prisoner OF
war on tho auxiliary gunboat Glou-
c%cster, formerly Mr.. j. P%icrpont Nor
gan's yacht Corsair, and 1000 to l,500
other Spanish officers and sailors, all
who escaped the frightful carnage
caused by the shells from tn American
warships, are also held as prisoners Of
wal by the United States navy.
The American victory is complete,
and, according to the best information
obtainable Mt this time, the American
vessels were practically untouched.
and, only M man was killed, though
the ships were subjected to the heavy
fire of the Spaniards all the time the
the battle lasted.
Admiral Cervcra made as gallant n
dash for liberty and for the prcserva-
tion of his ships Sunday morning as
has ever occurred In the history of ma
val warfare. In the face of overwhelm-
ing odds, with nothing before him but
inevitable destruction or surrender If
he remained any longer in the trap in
which the American feet had him, he
made a bold dash from the harbor
Mt the time the Americans least cx-
pccted him to do SO, and, fighting
every inch of his way, even when his
ship was ablaze and sinking, he tried
to escape the doom which was written
on the muzzle of every American gun
trained upon his vessels.
The Americans saw him the moment
he left, and commenced the work Of
destruction Immediately. For an hour
or two they followed tho flying Span
iards TO the westward along the shore
line, sending shot after shot into their
blazing hulls, tearing great holes in
their steel sides, and covering their
decks with the blood of the killed and
wounded.
At no time did the Spaniards show
my indication that they intended to
10 otherwise than fight To the last.
They showed n o signals of surrender
even when their ships commenced to
sink, and the great clouds of smoke
pouring from their sides showed they
were on fire. But they turned their
heads toward the shore, less than n
mile away, and ran them on the beach
and rocks, where their destruction was
o on completed. The officers and men
then escaped to. the shore as well
as they could, with the assistance of
boats sent from the American mcn-of-
war, and then threw themselves upon
the mercy or their captors, who not
only extended to them the gracious
hand Of American chivalry, but sent
them q guard TO protect them from the
murderous bands of Cuban soldiers
hiding in the bush on the hillside,
eager to rush down and attack the
unarmed, defeated, but valorous foe.
One after another of the Spanish
ships became the victims of the awful
rain Of shells which the American bat,
tleships, cruisers and gunboats poured
upon them. and two hours after tho
first of the fleet had started out OF
Santiago harbor, three cruisers anC
two torpedo boat destroycrs were lying
on the shore ten to fifteen miles ives,
of Moro castle, pounded to pieces
smoke and fame pouring from every
part of them and covering the entir,
coast line with u mist which could b,
seen for miles.
The Spanish admiral, who wa
wounded in the arm, was taken to tn,
Gloucester, and was received at he
gangway by her commander, Lieuten
ant Commander Richard wainwright
who grasped the hand of the gray
bearded admiral, and said 10 him "
congratulate you, sir, upon having
made as gallant u fight as was eve
witnessed on the sea-"
Lieutenant Commander Wainwright
then placed his cabin 1t the dispose
of the Spanish officers.
There Is no means OF telling no,
what the Spanish loss was, but it |
believed to have been very heavy, a
the prisoners In custody report thei
decks strewn with dead and wounde
In great numbers, and, besides, thCr
Is u statement that many bodies soul
be seen fastened TO the pieces of wrecl
age floating in the sea after the figf
was over. A large number Of tn
Spanish wounded were removed to tn
American ships.
Heavy explosions OF ammunition ~
Cured every few minutes, sendin