The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-02-26
A SPANISH OFFICERS VIEW
SOME INTERESTING FACTS ON THE
 FIGHT OFF SANTIAGO.

"Dead Angle" Most of the Time Credit Given the Iowa for Disabling ] the Maria Teresa.
 l Washington, Feb. 25.-The bureau of
 naval intelligence has issued a fresh volume of it's "war-note series" and probably the last of them, which will bear on the battle of Santiago harbor. | The present publication is translation from the Spanish of Captain Victor N. Concas y Palau, formerly com- | mander of the cruiser Infanta Marie Teresa and chief of staff of Admiral
 Cervera in the battle of July 3. Like number of previous articles from off, ficers of the Spanish squadron bearing
 on the sume subject, Captain Concas
 devoted considerable space to the lack
 of naval preparation in Spain prior to
 the war and also to condemning the
 political party in Spain which was re-
 sponsible for offering up the crippled
 squadron as a sacrifice on the altar of
 an historic ideal All this has been cov-
 cred more fully in Admiral Cervera's s
 published defense.
 The vital section of the narrative be-
 gins with the exodus of the devoted
 squadron from Santiago harbor. Cap-
 tain Concas says in accordance with
 previous instructions the Teresa was
 headed toward the Brooklyn, hoping
 to ram her. This was frustrated by
 the Broollyn's frequently discussed
 Hoop" to starboard, which Concas says
 brought the Texas and the Iowa be-
 tween her and the Teresa" A foot note
 inserted in the narrative at this point
 reads: "The turn was made to star
 board, though it would seem reasonable
 for it to have been made to port"
 There is nothing in the bureaus publi-
 cation to indicate whether this foot
 note is by Captain Concas or not.
 Continuing his story, Captain Con- cas tells of the successive sinking of the
 Teresa and the other vessels of the squadron. He dwells strongly on point which he declares all other critics have overlooked, namely, that owing to the narrow and tortuous channel past the Moro the Spanish vessels had to come out so far apart that they were each attacked by the combined force 
 ed in detail, making it practically a series of combats, Zach time single ship against squadron. He calls at- tention also to the probability that the American estimate of three per cent. hits out of the shots aimed at Cevera's fleet is too low. He says the most hor rible mortality in every case was in the upper works, where the shots left no marks except those wiped out by fire. He says six per cent. of the hits would not be too high.
 In defense of the Spanish gunnery the writer says that Cervera's shops fought either bow or stern-on nearly through | out the battle. This reduced the num- | Der of guns they could bring to bear. | He points out that the Brooklyn which | was the only vessel keeping up paral- | Tel broadside fight for any length of | time was struck forty-one times. As she was under fire only of the Vizcaya, the Teresa and for a short time of the best guns of the Colon, Captain Con- cas says the Spaniards gave very good | proof of their ability as marksmen. He credits the Iowa with landing the two twelve and thirteen inch shells, which burst the Teresa's main steam pipe and | put her out of action when her com mander though she had fair chance to escape These shots, he says, have been claimed both by the Oregon and the Indiana, but he adduces consider able evidence that they came from the Iowa.
 Another peculiar incident brought put in the narrative, and a striking example of Yankee luck was that the Oregon in her pursuit of the Colon re- ,ained unconsciously in the dead an gle" between the only guns on the Colon powerful enough to reach her. The Colon, it will be remembered, did not have her big thirty-ton guns, and n the long stern chase the Oregon hap oened always to keep just in the spot where the upper deck guns could not be rained on her and the Colon could not ire without heaving to and losing val lable time.
 The author indignantly denies that he Colon was wrecked by her crew af- CT she had been surrendered. He avs she was run ashore and her sea- -alves opened before her flag was haul 1 d down. Regarding this incident, the i writer says:
 "The Christobal Colon was less for ] unate than any of the others for al- hough going at a speed of thirteen ,nots, she ran ashore on sand, and if Admiral Sampson, with more seaman ike spirit, had ordered the divers to lose the valves, he could most certain v have saved the cruiser, but with fev- 1 rish impatience he lowed her off with I is own flagship, the New York. Hard , V had the ship been f1oated when she / egan to list, at which moment, with 6 reat dexterity, he pushed the Colon f ack again with the ram of his ship g oward the sandy shoals, but it was too I lte and turning over, that noble crus- r went to the bottom of the sea for yer The few Americans and Span ,rds who were still on board hastily aved themselves" Speaking of the nature of the wounds |, lfiicted by modern naval shell-fire !, aptain Concas declares them more :, orrible than can be described. A boat- \ \ vain of the Teresa had fourteen ounds. None of the men injured at Il escaped with less than two. Many 2 says were blown into unrecognizable agments Captain Larzaza of the ouendo was killed, his executive off e ,r Lola, cut 1t two with a shell, the V ,ird officer Mates and the three lieu t paptS payt in rank all killed heSide d