The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-07-23
A QUESTION OF HOURS
THE FALL OF MANILA CERTAIN
IN A SHORT TINE
An English Officer Sums Up the situa
tion-Americans and Insurgents
Closing In on the City

MANILA. June 29.-(Correspondence OF
the Associated Press). The British gunboat
Hong Kong with malls. which It was
thought the American naval commander.
Rear Admiral Dewey. might not sea his
way to pass for fear Of technical breach
of the blockade. but he made no objection.
So all the mails went ashore. and bless
ing they were to the poor blockaded Man
liza residents. There are business firms
with immense interests mt stake. all de-
pending on mail advices, now that the
telegraph cables are cut. For few days
the Iloilo cable was used, messages being
forwarded thence by boat to Labuan. but
that did not last long, for the Americans
found out that the Spaniards were COM
municating with their home government
on war matters and SO they stopped 1t.
The last message said that squadron Of
four armored cruisers, accompanied by
coal ships and conveying torpedo boats and
troop ships with 1900 soldiers on board
had left Spain for the Philippines.
Admiral Dewey has been most courteous
and obliging. He readily gave permission
to visit the arsenal at Cavite, where, how
ever, there is nothing to be seen OF interest.
Cavite is on a low, sandy spot, about eight
miles from Manila as the crow files. but
nearly thirty miles by road. as there Is a
broad bay intervening and the shores are
swampy for some distance inland. The
Cavite peninsula points in the direction OF
Manila and is Joined to the mainland by a
low, narrow isthmus, where In last year S
rebellion two bodies Of Spanish troops met
and mistook each other for rebels and
practically annihilated each other. over a
thousand of the soldiers losing their lives
through the blunder. At the end OF the
peninsula are two points-a large one out
side named sangley and samller one.
Cavite proper, on the inner side. jutting
out between the upper and lower parts Of
Cavite Bay.
On sangley point Is the siip-way for re-
pairing ships. and a small battery OF two
Krupp 15-centimeter guns. At Cavite ar
senal several of the Oldest type OF Arm
strong Misunderstanding six-inch guns are
mounted, apparently for ornament. with
symmetrical mounds of round shot along
side. In the arsenal enclosure are build
ings of the usual sort, machine sheds, am
munition, stores, etc. The engine shop is
kept in good order by the Americans. 1t
is small but useful. The machinery mostly
bears the names of English makers and
has been maintained in satisfactory
state of repair All the rest-magazines.
officers quarters, hospital and barracks
had been looted, first by the Spaniards,
then by the rebels Here and there the
buildings show great shot hole, but there
was LITTLE shelling of the place.
The Spanish ships in the bay. however
tell a pitiful and terrible tale. The poor
old Castillo Is the worst. though she shows
the least, for she is now almost entirely
submerged. She was a wooden cruiser
and all her woodwork burned to the waters
edge leaving only the metal skeleton. the
ribs and frames. tunnels. ventilators and
HOSTS and gun shields, battered, perfora-
ted in a thousand spots. and hammered
and twisted out Of position and almost out
of recognition. She Is a wonderful testi-
mony to the destructiveness Of modern
weapons we'll handled. 1t is the most
shocking object lesson that the friends Of
peace could possibly adduce-to picture a
number of men and boys cooped up for
two days on floating mark to be shot to
pieces with large and small projectifes,
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