Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1899-09-09

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Lieutenant lose Baqucro y Orioncz
of the navy of his Catholic majesty of
Spain Strokcd his long white beard
action From the decks of his little
gunboat he looked once more WHO
knows" thought he. but it is for the
last time" ON the sleepy cove Of tn
riguano. that had sheltered his craft
50 long and well from the prowling
Yankee fleet Then sharp orders were
given. and the white. shining ship
moved swiftly ont of the tiny Cuban
| harbor and stood for the open sea.
on the shore there was strange com
motion as she went. II came from
! Spanish loyalists. who had fed her
crew and officers for years and sup
| piled the vessel with material. ana
| their emotion was vivid. for l.icutcn-
amt lose Raqucro Y OrdoncZ Of the
navy of his majesty of Spain had omit
ted the formality of paying the bills
Lieutenant Or,lnncZ had things more
weighty than mere bills To consider
/ After long reflection he had decided on
Il stroke thar would end an impcriSh-
able glory for him and his or annihila-
tion lie had decided to run the fierce
blockade ana enter Havana: to force
| his way through the enormous steel
tlcct of the enemy. Ia defy battl"ships
and torpedo boats and cruisers and TO
do deed that would reccho in Spain
lie did not aspire to the empty glory
of sinking Il Yankee ship. aud. incidcn-
tally being sunk himself The Lieu
tenant Or,ioncz would have dared that.
too for il would have been Il chival-
rouS thing To do. and he lived for chiv-
airy. But that ripe reflection 10 which
he had become a prey taught him
that if we were sunk. the Yankee pigs
never would give credit To him and his
crew for their glorious blow for Span
iSh arms.
And, then. where would he all the
good effect of his enterprise as far MS
| the fame of Spain WAS concerned? No!
! The Lieutenant ordoncZ saw clearly
| that he could nerve the Spanish arm
and force the worlds acclaim for the
valor of his land best by entering la
vana and flashing the news around the
globe that a Spanish warShip had hrok-
en the boaStcd blockade. "On. then.
my brave ones" cried he. Fear not,
Honor ana cigarettes aud Senoras'
smiles await us. And if YOU see a
| Yankee pig boat. do not hesitate to let
me know in ample season" He look
ed enthusiastically on his crew. a crew
amy commander might bc proud 10
have all old. white haired men. who
had served in the Spanish navy for
many, many years
lntrcpidity that WAS the Inheritance
of the Lieutenant Or,lonc2 did not in.
tcrf"rr with his sound judgment Care
| fully. though bravely. he Strcrcd along
! the coast. and NJ every sign of smoke
or sail on the horizon he felt his re-
| sponsibility for the care of his shin ana
men kccnly enough to suppress his
natural desire for battle and To lie
hidden In snug Earbor till night
made II safe to venture on again.
And 50 making port wherever a de
serted bayou or flay WAS to hc found
the little gunboat San Iago worked
her way along the north coast of cuba
night after night. giving wide berth
to larhorS like Sagua Ia Grandr ana
/ tardcraS, where the enemy might he
in force. till at last. ON the midnight
of the seventh day after vcnturing out
of their port. the brave Spaniar,lS crcpt
in sight Of their goal.
Now there was intense excitement
on the It'll" ship. The men lay down
/ 10y their guns and whispered what
officers crowded to@, thrr :lnd strained
their eyes through the gloom for the
dusky shapes Of the American ships
thai must Ice within y few miles ut
the most And softly the engines
worked and every moncnt the coast
l""m"d more plainly Stll there was
II" sign of fo"nan M pencil of wav-
cring. gropin. liGh, WAS to bc seen
anywhcr" on the rolling SEA To hctray
an American ship with her prying
Scarchlighi
/ II seemed almost too good To hp true
and thr Lieutenant ordunrZ aud his
men began to SuSp"ci u trap They
trduuhlcd their watchfulncSS and
more than one sailor muticrcd a hur-
riri prayer in Wise provision for n
possible emergency when he NIGH,
not have time to commend his soul To
his patron saint lsui Still there waS
80 sign of au cncmy'> raft and finally
the ship opcucd M tn" entrance To
Havana harhnr without having met a
single uhSiaclc.
Then IN involuntary exclamation of
surprise caElr f.om tie watching men.
Havana was daZzIin. with llumina
lions The waters Of thc bay were
bright rs d#y with tn" flashes of cleo
tric lights. and from all parts Of the
1t. rCcSets and Roman candles aud
other aerial fireworks were rising in
shcafS of flame. For awhile the Span
lar,lS gaZcd ~ the scene IN mute aston
iShncnt Then the Lieutenant Or,lonc2
raised his voice and shouted: Vic
tory. NicoIry, Echold. This it is
why there Is no blockade, The Yankee
pigs have been wiped from lh" sea that
they So polluted, 10y 10y. 1t is a
glorious day for Spanish arms
Loudly the crew chcrlcd 1T the
words and the guntoat san .Iago sped
by the dark ANA silent Morru and w
the bay Quickly the gig was lowered
and the lieutenant with his officers
went ashore with fctcriSil impaticnc,
to learn the news.
Ai the pier Il great croWl stood, as il
awaiting them Eut when the Scamcr
landed there were no chvcgS rs they
had expected Instead. they found
themselves regarded cu,iou>ly. and
there was considerable io>tlng and
some laughlci
Angrly tho lieutenant turned To =
tall stout individual in n rather odd
uniform of blue cloth with many brass
buttons. Him lie asked in Spanish fni
the latest news. hut the fellow onl.
stared.
The lieutenant repeated his request
pcremptorily. and still there was II,
answer
I.ut the official turned To one Of III,
byStandcrS and hcckoncd To him. II,
approached and in turn stared and
shook his head
Others cam" and listened tO the qucS
tion which the lieutenant WAS repeat
ng. but each looked as n"upluScd rs
the rest
Finally an old old man appeared an,
nodded undcrstanln@lN rurnin. I,