The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-06-06

tended hands az ais shipna-es. more than
ore lad surnes 20 hide the unbsadsn tears.
| Eut the lieutenant eade them aiisu with
/ a Smile on his handsome face
This morning the Merrinac started in
! shortly after O'clock The fall moon had
disappeared behind ! black cload bank
in the west Il was that calm hour before
dawn when lie IS at It's lowest eoo ard
/ the tide rur.ss out. carrying morals with
Il
Slowly ne seconds OF fate s.ckea on. and
far ar haur sSao strained eyes strove 10
p.esce tas deep veil Of night suddenly
several b.ood red tongues ot FIRE Shot
down from the rocky easnence on which
Moro Is situated They were followed ny
5ets and streams Of fire from the batteries
opposite, M
/ OF The hsrtar- she must have passed so
close that stone loosened from the
frowning parapes or me eastle would have
fallen on her deck.
Into the murderous hail showered down
on her the Msrrinac passed AMI moved on
q FIJI quarter Of a mile. eanlaaea from
sides, rear and front. with q plung.ng fire
from the batteries that surrounded her.
1t seems miracle that the apparently rid
dled hull could have reached the goal
After five minutes the hre ceased and
all became dark again Then. among The
watchers OF the aeer arose the question
as 20 whether those five minutes of muir
! der had left gr.ef-stricken mothers, or
. widows. or orphans.
Mother, wife. sister or sweetheart may
/ have been dreaming Of her loved one, all
unconscious Of the fact that the object OF
her dream was earning fame perhaps with
his life
During the next half hour. while the
feet silently waited in suspense for the
coming or the day, many fingers i,ched at
the lanyards of The guns. and many gun
ner sought permission to fire.
But nothing could be done. An i.i-direet-
ed shot might kill our men. possibly strug-
cling in the water toward the open sea.
When the curtain OF ihe night Was at last
lifted. the light disclosed u tiny steam
launch riding the waves. az the very
throat of the entrance Of the harhor. In
an instant the guns of the shore batteries
Were turned upon her, and with a last
lingering. vain look for the meu of the
Merrimac. Ensign Powell headed his
launch close along shore 10 the westward.
la this. lay salvation. The guns of the
batteries To- rhe westward could not be
depressed enough TO hit the little launch
and the guns on Moro castle could not
bear upon her.
But the spaniards, nevertheless, fired
wildly. overshooiing the launch. until the
latter was fully TWO miles up the coast.
Then some OF the shells began 30 drop
| fairly close, and one Of them threw a cloud
OF spray on board the small craft. Ia the
meantime the ships of the fleet had drawn
in until thu New York, Massachusetts,
Texas and Marblehead were nearly three
miles off Moro castle. The firing OF the
guns continued, but the gunnery seemed
10 grow worse un,it the spaniards be-
came tired.
Up 10 the time the Associated Press boat
left the feet this morning the admiral had
rot given any orders for the Commandment
Of Santiago de Cuba's forts. hut the spirit
Of revenge seemed 10 hang over tie fleet.
and by this time Moro castle and the Span
ish batteries may be in ruins.
The American sailors would think Il
retributive justice II part OF tbs score
owed by Spain was wiped out at Santiago
de Cuba, where. twenty-five years ago.
the forty-nlne men OF the yIrginius were
shot 10 death.