The San Francisco call., 1898-06-08

they had sustained no damage Break fast was served to the men, and in a IeW minutes they re-entered the fight With the greatest enthusiasm The second fight was even more severe than the hrst It was tn that the Baltimore was struck
 During the first fight the Spanish admirars ship steamed bravely out of the line 10 meet the Olympia. The entire American fleet concentrated fire on her ana she was so badly injured that she turned around to put back At this Juncture the Olympia let fly an o-lnch shell which struck her stern ana pierced through almost her en- tlre length, exploding finally in the en- gine-room, wrecking her machinery. This shell killed the captain and sixty men ana set the vessel on fire
 The spanish admiral immediately translerreo his flag to the cruiser Isla de Cuba. Several smaller vessels of the american fleet, led by the Boston, cehtered their fire on this ship and lit erally tore her to pieces. The admiral was slightly wounded and escaped in a to Manila
 In the heat of the fight two tor peuo-Doats moved out to attack the neet. They were allowed to come within e0o yards, when a fusilade from the olympia sent one to the bottom with all on board, and riddled the other. The second boat was later found turned up on the beach covered with blood.
 Tn the second fight the Baltimore was Was sent to silence the fort at Cavite. She plunged into a cloud of smoke, ana opened all her batteries on the 1ortlncatfonS. In a very few minutes a shell struck in the ammunition and une IorI m blew up with deafening roar: The workfof the Baltimore was glorious. After the principal ships had been destroyed the Concord. Ra- leigh and Petrel, being of light draught, were sent close in to handle the re- mafning vessels of the fleet. They made quick work of them.
 Several tugs and large number of launches and small boats were cap- tured. The vessels destroyed were three cruisers, eight gunbCats and two tor pedo vessels. The series of fortifica- tions at Cavite, neighboring arsenal And the fort on Couegider Island at the head of the bay were captured. In taking possession of the land forts sev- eral hundred wounded Spaniards fell into the hands of the Americans and nearly two hundred were accounted for on the spot. Holes in which numbers had been hastily buried were found The dead were returned to relatives, as far as this could be done, and the wounded were cared for in the best manner by the American surgeons.
 "The Spanish loss footed up 400 killed and 500 wounded and property loss of anywhere from s6,000,000 to s10,- 000, 900.
 ''The day of the fight was clear and hot. Not a breath of air was stirring. After the first battle the Americans were greatly Jagged by the heat and the rest and breakfast allowed them by the commodore was of inestimable benefit. While the men were having breakfast a conference of all the off, cers was held on board the Olympia, when the plans of the second battle were made known by the commodore
 Several shots struck the Olympia. and she was pierced a number of times. One shell struck the side of the ship against the hospital ward. The chaplain and nurses were watch ing the fight through a port a few inches away and were stunned by the concussion.
 Gunner Evans of the Boston was one of the men who sent the Spanish ships down to Davy Jones locker. He directed the fire of one of the big guns on the cruiser. As such officer he was at all times greatly exposed. but did not receive shot. Not man on the Bos ton TeCelVeQ a
 MT. Evans states that throughout the \ battle the fighting force of the Boston, and, in fact, all of the ships, were as cool as if on a May-day pleasure cruise.
 ''In all the Olympia was hit thirteen times. The Boston was struck by shot which set one of the officers rooms on fire. The Boston had ricochet shell fall on her deck but it was spent and tan 6oy Dat nd cord were not hit"
 The following details of the battle were given by one of the officers who was in the engagement:
 Including four small gunboats there were about fourteen Spanish vessels all together drawn up in line backed and f1anked by the batteries of Cavite, which are heavily mounted, the ord nance including several 10inch guns. The SpaniardS gave us a warm recep- tion, and we soon found out that the Don Antonio d'Ulloa and the Reina Cristina (the flagship) carried much heavier guns than we thought. They, however, did but little execution, while the broadsides poured in by our vessels as they, headed by the Olympia, steamed across the mouth of the har Dor, soon made an impression. We first fired the port battery, and then came round and fired the starboard battery, repeating this operation four or five times.
 "The second time we came round the Spanish admiral came out in the Reina Cristina and gallantly assailed us. We received him warmly, and I don't know how in the world he escaped with his life. While the old admiral was stand ing on the bridge shot from one of our vessels blew the bridge clean over, but the admiral somehow escaped, for we saw him afterward calmly pacing the deck. Finding he could do no good he turned to get back into the harbor, but before he could take shelter an eight-inch shell from the Boston struck his vessel on the stern and set her on fire. Later on she sank with some 200 men. The admiral was among those who escaped. The Castle was the next to take fire and the Don Antonio d'Ulloa followed.
 When the attack was resumed at II o'clock we directed our attention to the batteries, the Spanish fleet having been practically annihilated. The Baltimore took the lead. She had orders to attack the shore bait eries and she went and did the cheekiest thing of the whole day. The batteries were mounted with 10-inch guns, a shot from one of which would, if it had struck her, have blown the Baltimore into atoms The vessel, however. to the admiration of the whole