The National tribune., 1903-07-23


across the bows of the Texas: the Texas
was forced to slow and stop until the
Brooklyn had passed out of the way.
About this time. while the Texas was
| slowed or stopped, the Oregon passed her
on the starbOard side, running between
the Iowa and the Texas and blanketine
the fire of the Texas. This was n little
after 10 o'clock. This manuver on the
part of the Oregon was extremely dan
gerous in the smoke and confusion of the
battle. 1t is said that one of her 6-inch-
gun captains had the lock string of his
opportunity to fire into the Texas at point
blank range. With the Oregon on the
| starbOard bow and the Iowa on the star
board quarter, the Texas was at the fo-
Gus of the enemy'S fire-in n very fair
position to receive the shells of the enemy
directed at these other two vessels. 1t
was at this time that the shells from the
enemy were flying most thickly and rapid
ly over the decks of the Texas. 1t is
probable that the 6-inch shell that struck
and burst just outside the smoke-pipe. i'll
| the air-trunk to the fOrced-draft blowers,
came aboard at this time.
THE NEW YORK ARRIVES.
The New York had gotten under way
from SibOney at the beginning of the fight
At first she could make only eight knots,
having only fraction of her boiler power
in use, but she gradually increased her
speed and was coming up slowly aStern.
The tOrpedO-boat Ericsson bad also gotten
| under way at the beginning of the fight
and ran up in time to overhaul easily all
the ships; she stopped to assist the Iowa
in picking up the men of the NiZcaya af-
ter that ship had been beached. The ac-
tion began at range, for the Texas, of
about 4,50O yards. At 9:45, the range Civ
en- out on the Texas was 5000 yards.
Shortly afterwards, range of $500
yards was given out. This was the last
range given.
The perpendicular distance between the
enemys column and our own column was
about 200 yards; this was because we
were firing at the enemy forward of tile
beam.
The Oregon passed the Texas, and run
ming ahead, engaged the two leading YES
sells of the enemy with the Brooklyn. The
Texas and Iowa devoted themselves to
the last two vessels of the enemy. The de-
stroyers received the concentrated fire of
the secondary batteries of the Texas, Ore
gon, Iowa, Indiana and Gloucester. The
fire directed on these two, the Pluton and
FurOr, was something terrible; the water
around them fairly fOamed from tie rain
of rapid-fire shells that struck near them.
A big shell-whether from one of the
Pinch guns of the Iowa that was fired
at one of the boats or from the after g.
inch gun of the Texas, that was also fired
at one of the boats, no one knows-struck
one of the deStroyerS, cutting her nearly in
two. The other boat was cut to pieces by
shell. The Gloucester followed the de-
stroyers closely, though she was exposed
to the fire of the larger vessels of the enc
my that were in the rear
About 1915 the two leading vessels of
the enemy were about one and a half
miles west of the mouth of Cabanas Bay.
Until 10 O'Clock the order of the enemy's
vessels was as follows: 1st. Maria Te-
resa; I'd, Vizcaya; 3D.. Colon; 4th, Oquendo.
changed. The Vizcaya, keeping her
course, had taken the lead. The Colon,
passing inshOre of the Teresa. followed on
the starboard quarter of the Vizcaya. and
at some time the Oquendo passed the
Teresa. Our ships were enveloped in
smoke and were very hotly engaged with
the enemy about this stage of the fight;
so it is very difficult, if not impossible, to
say with certainty just what happened. At
1915 the position of our ships was this:
The Brooklyn was the farthest OffshOre,
abreast of the leading vessel of the enemy:
the Oregon followed closer inshore and
about on the starboard quarter of the
Brooklyn; the Oregon was 500 yards or
more closer to the enemy than the Brook
lyn, i. e., about 5000 yards from them; the
Texas was just astern of the Oregon and
about 1000 yards behind the Oregon and
about abreast of the third of the enemy's
vessels; the Iowa was on the starboard
quarter of the Texas and about 400 yards
astern of her; the Indiana perhaps a mile
and quarter astern of the Iowa; the
Gloucester about half a mile southeast of
Cabanas Bay, engaging the destrOyers,
which were just off the mouth of the bay.
These hours given are approximately ac-
curate.
The destroyers were the first Of the enc
my's vessels to be knocked out. The ex-
plOsion on the Furor occasioned by a big
shell, most probably from the Iowa, which
was the first visible sign of disaster in the
enemys squadron, took place about 1917;
and the Furor sank in deep water a little
to the west of Cabanas (about one mile).
great cloud of steam and smoke ascend
ed from the Furor as she exploded. She
stopped and sheered in toward the beach.
firing her guns to the last. When the
smoke cleared away. only the Pluton was
to be seen. The PlutOn slowed after
the Furor exploded. Soon after, there
she steered wildly. being apparently I'M
manageable: she did, however. get close
inshorc and was beached in the surf on
the rocks. The destroyers went down
about 1922.
HOTTEST PART OF THE FIGHT.
The action was probably hottest from 10
o'clock until the Teresa and Oquendo
were beached. The enemy's vessels kept
up continuous and very rapid fire.
Numbers of their shells, both large and
small, passed over the Texas. Their fire
was not so rapid as ours, however. Rough
ly, the Brooklyn and the Oregon were en-
gagged with the ViZcaya and the Colon af-
ter 1915; and the Texas and Iowa with
the Oquendo and Maria Teresa. At 10
minutes past 10 the Maria Teresa, the
third of the enemy's vessels in column,
was seen to be steering in towards the
beach; she seemed to be on fire forward
before she headed in. But this smoke
was probably due to an explosion, as it
seemed to clear away soon, after which
she at once headed for the beach. To
those on the American ships astern, it
looked as if she were coming back to aid
the Oquendo, which was now the last ship
in the column, and, because of this po-
sition, had been receiving the concentrated
fire of the Texas and Iowa and probably
also of the Indiana. The Oquendo went
on a short distance past the Teresa and
then herself headed in towards the beach.
These two ships beached in a small cove
called Nima-Nima, about six miles west
of Moro: they went ashore about 500 to
500 yards apart and almost Simultaneous
ly. This was at 1875. The Teresa hoist
ed white flag The Oquendo simply
struck her coOrs.
The Christobal had gained steadily on
the ViZcaya, and about the time that the
first two ships We're beached she passed