The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1898-05-05
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
Engagement Expected soon,
DEWEYs PLAN d BATTLE-
RlDDLC0 ONE SHIP ATATlME.


Waahingtou. D. G, May 2 The
] rench Embassy has received some
Lews by way + Paris touching the
fight yesterday of Manila, and at
Cavite, ten niles southwest Of Ma.
lula, which IS interesting. 1t comes
from M. de Jouquire, the French
Consul General at Manila, and was
sent before the Geographic cable was
closed to the outer world.
The dispatch, which was received
at 5 p. M, was to the effect that six
Spanish cruisers and gunboats par
ticipated in the action The first
attack began between 8 and 8 a H.,
May L. The full American squadron
seems not to have been engaged in
the first attack, but This is accounted
Tor by the necessity for having one
or perhaps more vessels watching
the harbor to prevent an attack in
the roar, which the peculiar forma-
ton of the harbor favored. Then
five or six of the stronger and faster
Spanish vessels had been sent out
by Admiral Montojo as scouts, and
if they heard the firing they were
liable to come to the aid of their
friends from some unexpected direc-
ton. The insurgent chief Alexandra
WAS on the Olympia with Commo-
dore Dewey, and directed the Lascar
pilot so that he avoided the mined
places in the channel, which is ex.
tremely tortuous and difficult.
The American ships advanced in
the form of wide V, and met the
Spanish fleet that was ranged in an
inverted Y formation, the Reina
Christina, the Spanish Admiral
Montojo's flagship being at the apex.
This vessel was the center of the
FIRE, and was riddled and sunk by
the guns of the Concord. She is
said to have received 100 shots from
5 and 6 inch rapid-fring guns at
distance of 1000 to 800 yards in two
minutes. The gun practice, the dis
patch states, was remarkable for it's
accuracy and deadliness.
After it was seen that the flagship
was disabled and the Spanish AID.
mirsl was observed to leave it in his
cutter, the fire was concentrated
upon the cruiser Don Juan of
Austria, which was torn to pieces,
her Captain and his First Lieutenant
being killed, and over one-third of
of the crew being killed or disabled.
The woods single screw Castillo was
next attacked with this convergipg
tire, set on fire and sunk.
Commodore Dewey's fire. tactics
seem to have been the system con-
'idered the best by all high Euro.
oean naval authorities, which is to
select a ship and concentrate the
ull fire of everything in range upon
I. The Spanish battle formation is
n old one, while that Of the Ameri.
AN Commodore allows each ship in
he fighting column to concentrate
is fire as may be directed.
1t would appear from the burning
nd destruction of the three largest
'essels of SPANS fleet that Dewey
deliberately selected the largest
'essels, one after another, and poured
ueh a storm of heavy and light |
bells into each that it put one after ,
he other out of action in short
rider The first engagement, the &
ispatch states, lasted forty minutes
fter the first shot, part of which ]
Tas utilized IN taking positions to :
etter carry out the system of at q
acking one after the other of the !
acre important craft. t
The second fight seems to have a
cen induced by tho appearance of j,
ONE Spanish war vessels that had s
cen out cruising and were coming y
ato port. As nothing 10 said about a
ny OF the American ships retiring
efore both actions closed, it would {
ppsar that no disabling damages n
ere inflicted. a,