The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-07-23
WORK OF SHELLS
Destruction of Two of the
Fleets of Spain
AT SANTIAGO AND MANILA,
How Admiral Cervera's Vessels Lie
in the Surf on the Coast
of Cuba.

Their Steel SIDES mangieo Dy oneis from
without and Explosions within-The
Almirante Oquendo Only q Great Junk
Pile - Divers Investigate the sunken
Spanish War Vessels I'm Manila Bay
Admiral Dewey Points Out n Moral:
Santiago. July 23.-Nine miles west of
here. where the boldness OF the shore
line Is broken by a stretch or beach
perhaps a mile in extent. two warships
Of the Spanish navy are lying on the
rocks, playthings for the waves OF the
Caribbean sea. Battered and broken,
their steel sides mangled by shells from
without and explosions within, the AL
mirante Oquendo and Marie Teresa are
today useless wrecks as fighting ma
chimes but examples Of the terrible ac-
curacy of American naval gunnery.
Half a mile apart are these two hulks,
the Marie Teresa to the eastward, head
on, her bow a scant hundred yards
from the shore. Her companion, the
Almirante Oquendo, is as close to the
land, but her bow pointed to the north
east and her stern is submerged to the
nameplate, while the Marie Teresa
at anchor. Shoreward the waves dash
with such continuous fury that even
stanch surfboat would find landing diff
ficult; but otherwise the scene is as
peaceful as the terraces of hills that
are shown in varying effects of green,
heightened by the ever-changng clouds.
Dead Bodies Bobbing About.
| Curious Cubans on the land, gazing at
| the remains Of once powerful ships,
| add to the picture. while the dead bod
| les of Spanish sailors, bobbing about
| in the uneasy waves, dissipate the
| beauty Of the view and recall the story
| of that Sundays awful battle. when
the Spanish fleet in these waters was
| annihilated. With the possible excep-
I tion of the guns in forward and after
\ turrets. the Almirante Oquendo is be-
! yond the attention of the wrecker. Out
| side is to be seen the effect of heavy
| shellng on her bow, a great, irregular
| break in the steel indicating that it is
( soon to part company with the main
part of the ship. The gun sponsons
are poY merely shapeless masses Of
steel hammered against the sides. The
upper works are torn away or twisted
into fantastic shapes, while many
ragged holes IN the sides, their jagged
edges outward, show how powerful
| were the explosions from within when
boilers and magazines were reached
by American projectiles.
$500 mo Semblance of a Deck. -
Inside the destruction Is more marked.
Not the least semblance of deck re-
mains. From keel to coming tower is
one vast conglomeration of twisted
steel All divisions have been de-
stroyed. The ship is a great junk pile
on the rocks, held together for the pres
ent by an outside sheathing, once the
supposedly impre snable sides of a mod
ern cruiser. Forward the anchor lies
tilted to starboard mud still incasing
its 1ukes. evidence of hasty work when
the vessel left tie harbor for her last
cruise. All of the steel is hot, and
many small blazes and innumerable
smodering fires evidence the complete
ness OF the destruct on. From the for
ward turret comes the sickenng smell
of burning flesh. There at the gun still
stand two naked figures, the mortal
semblanoe of the gunners who died at
their post. Wreckage about, above and
below them makes the removal of the
bodies impossible. and there they will
stay until released by time. examples
OF faithfulness to duty as they saw 1t,
and because of their faithfulness recipi-
ents of the admiration of the men they
counted as enemies.
The viscaya and Colon.
Five miles farther west is where the
| Viscaya met her end. and thirty miles
beyond the Cristobal Colon lies on her
beamends, her tunnels dipping in the
| water-end Of the race with the Brook
/ lyn and Oregon. II Is probable that
this ship will be recovered. and one day
become a part of the American navy.
| In the channel to the harbor of San
| tiago. nesting a bit behind the rocks
on which the MORO stands. is the wreck
| of the Reina Mercedes, her stacks and
spars out of water. the last of the
fighters intrusted to the care of Admir-
al Cervera. The New York. Massachu-
setts, Texas, Newark and Harvard
steamed down the coast, and officers
and men were afforded an opportunity
to board the Oquendo and Maria Teresa
for the purpose of studying the effect
of American gunnery and the condition
of the enemy's ships. On the Harvard
were sixty Spanish officers and 200 sail
ors. For two hours they were in posi-
ton to see just what the Americans had
accomplished during the short time re-