The age-herald., 1901-11-10
SPANIARD TELLS WHAT
 SCHLEY DID TO HIM

fired against said vessel with cannons of 15 en-, and IF from the battery of 12 en-, 10 per cent of the shots taking effect upon the Brooklyn. From that moment l saw that neither the Brooklyn nor the Oregon that undertook the chase could overtake me the first named vessel being the more rapid. I continued near the coast, taking the road to Cape Cross.
 At 1 o'clock in the afternoon the pres sure of the boilers were lower, diminish ing the revolutions from 85 to 80; begin ming. therefore the Oregon to gain upon me it shortly afterward opened with it's chase cannons of heavy calibre which could only answer with cannon of battery Number ?. These shots took effect causing my ship to steer wildly which shortened the distance. In view of this and the absolute certainty of being cap tured by the enemy, and deeming that to divert an officer from presence in the bottel to repair the damages would be an unnecessary waste of time and. in order that we might continue the firing until the last moment and to avoid that the ship should fall into the hands of the enemy, we resolved to run it aground and lose the vessel rather than sacrifice bar renly the lives of those who had fought
 with such heroic valor, discipline and serenity that your excellency could only yourself appreciate. Therefore, In con- sequence of the agreement with your ex
 cellency, we turned the prov toward the
 Tarquino river, where I ran aground
 with velocity of thirteen miles an hour
 at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The ship
 being stranded, the officers manifested their conformity with the act, realizing that to prosecute the struggle even for few moments longer would cause immi-
 nent danger of failing into the power of the enemy and become a trophy of war, which was necessary to avoid at all hazards.
 Shortly afterwards we were prisoners of war of the Brooklyn, whose Command
 ant presented himself aboard.
 During the combat have had one kill ed and twenty-five wounded Gan account of which I send to your excellency) by the shells of the enemy, although only a few reached my vessel and did no dam- age to the protected part of the ship. This is all that I have to advise your excellency, expressing at the same time my conviction that each one has per formed his duty in the difficult circum-
 stances under which the exit from the harbor of Santiago was effected, the
 disadvantages of the combat on account
 of the superiority of the enemy's fleet
 and the great deficiencies in the means
 of attack of my vessel.
 For my part 1t only remains for me to
 express to your illustrious excellency. that in the mIust of our pain at the loss of your vessel and the worthy and he-
 roic crew, belongs the satisfaction of
 knowing that all have complied with their
 sacred duty to defend the flag and their country demonstrating once more that | the Spanish navy may succumb, but never with dishonor.
 All aboard the Colon were worthy imi- tators of their forefathers; 1t is impJssi- ble to recommend any of them especially; | they all excelled in heroism
 God guard your excelency many years. (SigneD JOSE DE PARADES. At sea, aboard the St. Louis, July 6, | 1S9S