The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1899-03-20
A CORRESPONDENTS STORY
OF the WOundiBg and Death of
Admiral Nillamils
off Santiago.

VII
New York. Marc. IS. The sensational
indln OF the body Of Admiral vnlamn. Of
the Spanish navy. sitting in an arm
chair ON the Cuban coast about four
miles west Of the entrance to Santiago
harbor calls forth q statement from tho
correspondent who witnessed the destruc-
tion of Cervera's fleet IN July last from
the yacht Wanda a dispatch boat in the
service Of tie Associated Press. Admi-
raj Vnlamil was an officer of considerable
renown in the Spanish service and he was
in command OF the torpedo ffotira which
accompanied the larger vessels Of Adml-
raj Cervera's heet from the Cape Verde
Islands to Martinique and thence to Dura-
Goa and Santiago last spring He was
badly wounded abraud the destroyer Plu-
ton in the engagement between thaAmeri-
can and Spanish fleets nesr Santiago on
July 3 last but maraged to reach the
shore and the American sailors aid not
find ,am. As he never appeared iu Sautl-
ago and as his brother officers on the Pu-
ton knew that he had peen desperately
wounded, having lost an arm and a leg
his death was never doubted But the
llNiliE NA MS NhNt ii To- GUAM atlIta lln
positive Identification 10y means of his
uniform and papers found In his pockets
Is the first absolute proof of his death.
The mere finding of the body is not such
a remarkable fact but that &c should be
found seated in an arm chair on that
rocky coast several miles away from any
habitation calls forth the statement from
the correspondent referred to- who ac-
counts for the presence Oh the chair which
for more than eight months past has been
the strange tomb of the Spanish commau-
der. The first report IRON Santiago about
the finding of the body. which was roceiv-
ed here on Friday. March ioth. stated
! that lt was believed to be that Of the Cap
taln Of lle Pluton. The statement OF the
J correspondent shows that this could not
/ be correct. for by apecular chain of cir-
! cumstances. connected very closely with
the presence OF the chair on the Cuban
! shore he was obliged TO have an inter-
view with the Captain Of the Pluton
aboard the auxiliary gunboat converted
yeachD Gloucester an hour or more aft
er the Pluton had been sent to her de-
! strucuou.
CORRESPONDENT $ STORY.
! The correspondent says: During the
sea- fight OF the coast Of Cuba on July
| Q. last was ON the yacht Wanda, the
| commander OF which was Captain T.
! c. Miller We came upon the Spanish
/ torpedo boat destroyer Furor Just as she
was sinking, and the destroyer Pluton
which had been cut in two by shells from
the Gloucester and was pounding TO piec.
gs ON the rock along the shore. This was
at a point about three OF four miles west
Of Morror, at the entrance to Santiago
harbor, and about one mile east OF tht
| point where the Marie Theresa and tho
Almiranta Oquendo were driven ashore
| The Gloucester was standing by" a hall
mile or more to the Westward. From
the deck on the Wanda we could easily
see a score Of men on shore near tho
wreck of the pluton, but we could not
tell whether they were Americans, Span
iards or Cubans. 1 tool, one Of the Wan
da's small boats with quartermastel
and one or two sailors with me and wen
ashore to the place where the men wer
for the purpose of getting their STORY
of the destruction Of the Furor and tn
Pluton. / found that most OF the mel
were Spanish sailors, belonging TO tn
Plutou. They were being guarded by
small squad Of sailors from the Glouces
ter who were waiting to take then
aboard the Gloucester as prisoners o
war one of the American sailors toll
me that an officer of the Gloucester wa
up on the bluff OF rocks overlooking tn
wreck OF the Pluton a few hundred yard
away and he also told me that there
was wounded sailor from the Plutor
there with him. He asked ms IL l coult
not get a litter or something from tn
Wanda so that they could get this wound
ed man off TO the Gloucester. l sent IN
boats crew back TO the Wanda with Tn
instructions to report the circumstance
to Captain Miller and see II he could d
anything TO help the wounded man.
then climbed over the rocks In search o
the Gloucester officer and after a grea
deal OF difficulty found Inn near th
wreck of the Pluton with a navy rifle
his hand standing guard over an oftce
of the Pluton. who was almost naked an
had his feet ed up I'm bur lap to proteG
them from the sharp rocks. I have foI
gotten the name Of the American office
but he was a young Ensign OF Naval ca
det. The Spanish officer was very plet
SAINT fellow but he was a most piiab
specimen, had evidently concluded that }
mad been "up against it, sufficiently an
ne could not surrender quickly enoug
An that ne wanted then was "a boat 20 g
him out OF the Gloucester as prisone
lie could speak little English and wi
my mongrcl Spanish we could understaI
each other worry we'll I'm the next II
minutes i did some very rapid fire" into
viewing with both the American and Sp
nlsh officer Then I asked the Gloucest
officer about the wounded man, but
had lost him for the time being and Z
three of us commenced n search for hi
There was no shade nor Vegetation OF ~
kind where we We're II was blum ca
cred with rocks, so hot from the score
ing sun that they blistered the feet
walking over them and here and th'
were depressions in which a few incl
Of stagnaut water remained from the d
rainfall We wandered over these roc
for fully fifteen minutes searching for
wounded man. The heat was almost
tolerable and an Of Us We're nearly ia
ished from thirst The Spanish Off
gave mp the search and sank on the ro
a exhausted The Gloucester officer
20 myself finally came upon the woun
.