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I The Battle of Manila. |
• 3° - q\
§ one of the Greatest Naval Battles of gj
1° Modern Times. gi
4^ I
< O U U u
It was 4:25 p. m. Saturday. April 20.
when the American fleet passed Sublg
bay. which is on the China sea. and
around Marlveles peninsula from Ma
nila and Manila bay. and steered di
rectly for the entrance to the mouth
of the latter.
Ah It drew near the entrance the
fleet slackened speed, for it was then
near sundown. All the ships were
dark, the decks cleared for action and
the sharpest outlook kept In all direc
tions. The entrance to the harbor was
thought by the Spaniards to be well
defended and It would be so considered
against anything but a flee* such as
came there from Hongkong. On the
left-hand side entering there are two
batteries, one on Point Marlveles and
a smaller one further up the bay. Or*
the right hand side there are also two
batteries, one at Limbones point and
another at ftestingo. These last are
on the Cavite side of the bay. In the
middle of the entrance are three is
lands. the largest of which is Carre
ciuldeo, which was to have been forti
fied. but the Spaniards did not have
land urmament to spare. It was un
derstood that the entrance to th» bay,
as well as the bay Itself, was loaded
with electric mines and torpedoes, but
If this waa the case, they did not >x
plode, for the American fleet sailed
over sad through them unharmed. As
the fleet approached the entrance in the
dark the progress became slower, and
one officer of the Olympia suggested to
Commodore Dewey the danger of be
Ing blown up. To this Dewey Is said
to have replied grimly: “It's a case of
Mobile Pay now," which was interpret
ed to mean. In Farragut's words:
‘•D_—.n the torpedoes! flo ahead."
AH this time the vessels proceeded
almost noiselessly on their way. When
the fleet had rejoined, inside of the
bay. Commodore Dewey reformed his
line in the following order:
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a g ^
■L .. ., s. ^ .
s
el
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The 1 re-formation of the fleet took
Home little time, but so soon as this
was accomplished the flotilla proceed,
od with full steam on as though it were
sailing In broad daylight In American
waters. It was still dark at this time,
but presently the dawn began to break,
and the sun arose In all its oriental
splepdor.
The weather wag calm and sultry and
over the waters of Manila )>ay a 'hick
has*, so common to early morning In
those parts, hung like a curtain,
through which the rays of the coming
day'penetrated with dull hut beautiful
hues. Gradually, however, this lifted,
andjthe dim outlines of the hills In the
neighborhood of Cavite were discern
ible^ Nothing whatever could be seen
of tie Spanish fleet, but the Americans
knew they were but a few minute
away from the greatest naval battle ol
modern times. The nerves of the oflt
eersi and men on Dewey's fleet wen
keyed up to the strongest tension. Ev
ery officer was at his post and ever!
gunner behind his weapon, which h<
had watched for hours. The word hai
gone around, not by word of mouth
hut by some subtle psychology:
"Remember the Maine! Remembe
the Maine." and into drawn faces then
came that look which one sees onl:
when man. stirred by strong and prim
ltlve emotions, determines to meet an*
fight his enemy to the death.
The breeie freshened up from ol
Cavite and at 4:30 the enemy was I
sight, ships as well as laud Uatteriei
As near as could be determined at thH
time eight Spanish ships were lu fu
view, but their identity was not *■
, ^ .^ .
w ww:
t wvfVTV'r'
course known to the Yankee fleet. It
was goon apparent, however, that two
more Spanish cruisers were close at
hand and there was other whipping, not
clearly distinguished, near by.
It was plain that the Spanish ad
miral was taken entirely by surprise.
His fleet waa ready, hut he did not ex
pect the Americans to enter the bay.
Admiral Montejo had fully expected
the American fleet to remain In the
vicinity of Subig bay and that he would
have to go out to the open water to
meet It. He thought Commodore Dew
ey would try to force an entrance past
the batteries of Subig bay and make a
landing there and the governor general
had a force of 8.500 men there to pre
vent a Junction between the insurgents
and the Americans. That the latter
would huve the temerity to enter the
mine-sowed bay and give him battle
in front of Manila never entered his
head.
With the rapidity for which he Is
noted Admiral Montejo formed hto line.
It I:; not known yet what his exact for
mation was. It Is a mistake, however,
to say that the Castilla wag part of the
formation. That cruiser ran aground •
Friday morning and could not be dis
lodged. She was therefore Improvised I
as part of the land batteries, although
a good portion of her armament, com
prising the movable guns, waa remov
ed to shore Saturday. Later she waa
riddled with American shells, some of
which set her on fire, and who burned
nearly to the water's edge.
The American floet forced the fight
ing from the first. Captain Wildes of
the Boston waa ordered to run out
ahead and his ship had the honor of
firing the first shot. The effect was
not noticed, for the battle began almost
immediately afterward on both Bides,
the fire of the Spanish fleet being aug
mented by that of the Cavite batteries.
I Under orders the American boats de
ployed to the right end left until or- ]
dered back for the formation and ad
vanre which finally destroyed the
Spanish fleet. Admiral M ntejo direct
ed the movement of his fleet from the
deck of the Reina Marla rhristina dur
ing the early part of the fight, and
Commodore Dewey never left the
Olympia until it was all over.
The Boston and Baltimore were In
advance of the American line and the
roar of their guns was Incessant. But
presently the commodore’s flagship
came up as though envious of the part
the others were playing. Her main
battery of eight-inch guns was soon
thundering away, while the cannon of
the Concord and Raleigh were making
it Interesting for the remainder of the
Spanish boats. The Petrel was not
Idle, nor was the McCulloch, which
dodged in and out among the fleet,
doing its work of dispatch boat. The
noise of the bombardment was deafen
ing on both sides, and the firing, con
sidering the dense smoke which aoou
arose and obscured the fleets from each
other, was well nigh continuous, al
though every shot was Intended to
conn'. The noise was plainly heard at
Manila, each shot being easily noted,
although, of course, the result was not.
known.
Suddenly a Spanish ship, which
proved afterward to be the Don Juau
do Austria, ran down the Spanish line
i under a mistaken signal from the ad
l rnlral. it was struck at least three
, times by the American shells, one of
Which was plainly seen to hit one of its
guns, disabling It. It fired as it went,
• but a shot from an eight-pounder on
r the Olympia struck the Spanish boat
near the waterline. Watchers saw the
1 Don Juan quiver as a horse does when
shot in battle. Then In a sudden ces
1 sat ion of firing on both sides, which
i secm“d almost for the purpose ol
watching what followed, the Spunlsh
t cruiser exploded with a noise which
1 made all the cannonading that hat
i , gone before sound like the popping o
so many corks. The tearing of steel,
the splitting of timbers, even the
shrieks of the wounded could bn plain
ly heard following this awful noise.
Dead bodies of men were seen flying
through the air, while the survivors
were noticed jumping from the decks.
The Don Juan careened over to port,
righted again and dipped once more
and began to alnk rapidly. Hardly a
second's time elapsed between the
striking of the fatal shot and the ex
plosion, but It seemed to the watchers
that It was five minutes.
The shot undoubtedly penetrated
and exploded the Don Juan’s maga
zines. The Americans had an oppor
tunity to see this, for at that moment
the dense clouds of smoke had settled
In the direction of the Spanish line,
while the American ships were com
paratively free. The vice consul’s re
port says: "The notoriously bad
marksmanship of the Spaniards was
apparent from the start. The fleet was
manage’d with daring and sklH, but al
though numerically stronger than Its
enemy, it was no match for It In gun
nery. The latter was splendid, and
much regret Is expressed that our naval
representatives were not given a better
opportunity to take note of an engage
ment which must mark an epoch In
naval warfare.” As a matter of fact,
the Raleigh, Boston and Baltimore
were reported to have been struck by
Spanish shells and several men killed
and wounded, hut the victims, having
been landed at a distant point upon
the shore, the names could not be as
certained at the time the Spanish au
thorities cut the cable or at least stop
ped Its use at Manila.
When the Don Juan blew up a cheer
arose from each of the American flee*
and again the cry went up, “Remem
ber the Maine. The Maine Is avenged.”
From his post Commodore Dewey gave
out his orders and these commands
were to keep maneuvering. It was this
order which rendered the shots from
the Spanish gunners so Ineffective.
SPAIN'S ASIATIC SQUADRON. ANNIHILATED HY AMERICAN FLEET,
UNDER CAPT. DEWEY IN MANILLA HARBOR. SUNDAY, MAY 1.
They and their commanding officers !
seemed unable to locate any of the 1
American ships in time to deliver the j
broai.^ides where they intended. No ;
sooner would a gun he sighted than j
the whole American squadron would
have seemed to change position, and
the .Spanish shots simply churned the
water in the bay, Those shells which
did take effect did so almost without
exception merely by chance, and it Is
quite likely that some of thpm came
from the fand batteries. When the
Spaniards heard the explosion of the
Don Juan they gave shouts of Joy,
thinking It was one of the American
fleet, but when the dull yellow smoke
lifted and they saw their cruiser a total
wreck and the bay In its vicinity full
of dead and wounded Spanish officers
they shrieked with agony and Montejo
| Is said to have lost his head and to
! have run up and down the deck al
ternately cursing the Yankees and the
Dou Juan's captain for his reckless
naa*.
The explosion unnerved the whole
mm » n%v.u n.«
M AMI ATI* Mjl Al*H<iM t»»* «0*\IN *SI» IIIK1 MIKIMMIM t««nK l*l \C« «l \I*A> MOHMMI MW X
THE CRUISBK OLYMIMA. ('APT. DEWEY'S FLAGSHIP.
Spanish fleet, and it may be aaid to
have determined the whole battle, for
It proved the turning point. Montejo
had no time for vain regrets for bis
own flagship was soon struck twice by
•hells. The attack of the American
fleet was recommenced almost Imme
diately after the explosion, and some
of the hardest knocks were directed at
the Ilelna Marla Christina. Her cap
tain. Cardoso, ami eight gunners were
kilted by a shell, snd almost In the
•ante instant a full broadside from two
American ships struck the Spanish
boat, killing two officers and a largo
number of men. Just then the Marla
r'hrlstlna was discovered to be on lire
and sinking. The crew broke from all
discipline and rushed to the sides.
Jumping over, officers and man, pre
ferring to trust to their powers as
•wimmers. rather than suffer the fa»e
of their companions of the Don Juan.
Several other shots struck her. but the
Americans, seeing that it would be it
waste of powder, turned their attention
to the other boats.
The Marla Christina began to sink
rapidly and Admiral Montejo and a
few officer* had barely time to untangle
a boat and pull off In It before hl» flag
dlllp. the flneat Spanish boat In Asiatic
waters, sank in the bay. He tried to
reach the Relna Mercedes, but she was
In so hot a corner that he had to go on
board thp nearest boat, which proved to
be the Isla <ie Cuba, a small and In
ferior cruiser. It Is said that a ma
jority of the Relna Christina's crew
were killed or drowned, but some of
the men were nicked up by the Spanish
fleet and the ship's exact loss In men
cannot now be ascertained. The flag
ship burned fiercely during the rest of
the fight, but sank before any explosion
could occur. She Is u total wreck. All
this had taken place within sixty min
utes. There was not a gun on board
the American fleet which had not been
used, and most of them had done exe
cution. The Spanish cruiser Reina
Mercedes wu* engaged by the Balti
more and Concord, the shells of which
did frightful damage to her. and she
was obliged to retire behind the Span
ish line. The Boston nnd Raleigh did
splendid work along with their sister
ships.
The battery which had been rigged
up on the sunken Castilla tired a few
shot* at the enemy, but was quickly
disabled by the American guns. The
t'avlte battery kept up a steady can
nonadlng upon the American fleet, but
many of It* shots fell short and sonto
• ante wafer to the Spanish boat* than
to the Americana. After the battle
bad raged for an hoar the American
fleet i ei I red by two* to the Nashan and
ZaAro. whrie they recoaled, the re
mainder of the fleet keeping up the
nght. None of tVmmtMlore ia**f't
fleet (bowed any appan nt Injury to the
Spanish tint. They maneuvered with
a* much ease a* though they were
merely going through a squadron •»«
lotion in rgitn waters Nearly all the
Spanish fleet showed Had Injuries, situ
the loss «f life among their sailors §**
to great that 'he comm indent moved
the ships with difficulty. The transfer
ut Muntepi * flag m *h» lei* d* t’ltiu
' was not noticed for e**m* time In the
confusion and wrmh of the Spanish
fleet and It wn* nearly Hfiyen minute*
before he mad* hi# lumts understand
i snare tltetr admiral was and whnl ha
wanted them to do Than there was *
'rwatistt el really h* *1 lighting fur
atuiMi twenty mtnuts* when ih« Ant t
Ivan fleet re Homed Me 1 Me and begai
nn*e mure This ttm* the I u de Min
iltng- a <*>n»e>ted vfw t-e * eel tb*
mm Ahtunha d* »»“• »•** «
disabled that they retired slowly and
look no further part in the fight.
Again the guns at Cavite roared out
a steady bans ehorus to the water tight,
and the gunners appeared to have se
cured better range upon the American
fleet, for Itewey ordered a general
change of hose and the flghtlug was
forced In the direction of Manila. Mon
tejo had by this time recovered bln
presence of mind and reassembled his
shattered line, presenting a hold but
battered front to the enemy. Me en
deavored to put heart Into hi* men,
but the light had been taken out of the
Spaniards and they seemed to feel that
there was not the slightest chance of
their winning. Montejo's officers and
most of his men behaved splendidly for
the first hour and stood by their gun*
with desperate bravery, but it was clear
to the foreign warships In Manila har
bor that they were outclassed as gun
ners ss their commanders were as sea
men. The last half hour of fighting
had no heart In it so far as the Span
iards were concerned, and the latzon,
Velasco and Cub* were the only ships
which really made any show of stand
ing up to the Americans. At It o’clock
the work of the American fleet was
shown to be more effective than was at
first supposed, for In the bay toward
Manila three other sunken Spanish
ships were seen. The names could not
he ascertained. The Spanish govern
ment officials claimed that these ves
sels were sunk by Admiral Montejo to
keep them from falling Into the ene
my’s hands, but the Americans deny
this and say that they were sunk by
shots from Dewey’s fleet. The Cebu, a
Spanish transport loaded with eoal and
ammunition, was set on Are by Ameri
can shells and sank off Cavite. The
Cavite batteries continued the Aght for
some time after the Are of the Spanish
ships slackened, hut they, too. became
silent about 9:30. A 3panlsh lieuten
ant, who was badly wounded on the
Relna Mercedes and was landed near
Cavite with a load of other victims,
many of them dead or dying, said:
"The greatest naval battle of the world
occurred today. We were defeated, but
no wonder when one considers the
heavy armament of the Yankee ships.
The Spanish navy was Ignorant of the
power of the Aeet against which it was
pitted. Our boats, many as they were,
were no match for the enemy, but the
honor of Spain Is Intact.”
When Commodore Dewey found he
had his adversary at such a disad
vantage he detached the Baltimore,
Concord and Boston to a nolnt nearly
opposite Cavite point with orders to
shell the batteries there. Knowing
the danger of risking his boats even
at this advanced stage of victory too
near the stationary guns of the land
battery, he Instructed them to use the
greatest caution In the undertaking,
for they had not only to face the Cavite
guns, but those of Mount Manila, Par
anque and I.as Pinas, on the inland
shore of Bakor bay, which overlooked
that body of water as well as the Ca
vite peninsula, and commanded a wide
sweep of Manila bay itself. He did
not know the strength of those batter
ies, but he had the seaman’s caution of
risking a tight with a land fortification,
•He had at the same time to beware of
the still stronger fortifications farther
up the shore, the particular defenses of
Manila. The Baltimore and Concord
stood down the bay for a mile or two
nnd began a heavy cannonading upon
the Cavite baiterles, lasting twenty
seven minutes.
Their work was effective from the
start and the Spanish reply was short
and Ineffective. The cruisers ran In
quite done to the shore and the work
of their gunners dismounted several
Spanish cannon and killed a large num
ber of men. The position of the Amer
ican ships prevented the forts on the
! hills behind Bakor bay from keeping
* up anything but a desultory flr«k and
1 even sonic of this was so badly man
aged that It dropped Into the Cavite
battery. From the very first shot nl
the battle Mautla was in a panic
The slimm of people who began u
i leave last week turned Into a river and
| that river Into a Hood, and when tht
foreign tit, e here laat heard all wai
confusion in the city and Ita suburbs
I Also thera was word that the laaur
gents had moved up to within Ofteet
miles af the western gates.
•IW sad ..
"I bought a iialm." said iha returner
Ktondiker, where the nugget* wan
said to ba as pl ullf'il as blarkltt fries
And thsy weia not'’ 'Well, yea
they were. but. you see. there are at
tie k her tie* la that region Ulueirwt
I ed Istndun News
A IshmI t mIs a> Iss
Junior Fattest I Hi you think th
Haw oft a toy la trustworthy*” tklls
1 Fallu«* ”1 Ml *Wt# o# F I ts hutks
that when he base t nevthsg to d*» a
asset pretends tu l»e busy Push.
The majority vf the world a Idol
will be sheltered a| I be creek of tires
A CHEERFUL WOMAN.
From The Democrat, Bruitl.
Every woman cannot t« twauttfnl but a
cheerful face often supplies dj«clanc^
But no oneean becheerful and bring Joy_to
others unless they have perfect health, h or
lunately, scion, o has placod this priceless
boon within the reach of every worn an as
the following incident proves: _
Mrs. Amanda liobinson. wife of William
Robinson, farmer and stockman, near
Howesville, Clay County, Ind., is thirty
two years old and hod for several year* been
in declining health and despondent, ror
thrno mouths .he was not only unab.o to
attaud to her domestic duties but too feeble
to bo tip and about. To-day site is in good
health and able to attend to her household
nlT-alr*. Mio relates her experience as fol
*°”l won afflicted with female troubles and
was in n delicate slate of health. J lost my
appetite, grew thin nnd was greatly de
pressed. After taking various remedies
without I icing lsmc!lte<l I was:induced by A
friend to try l)r. \\ illiamn’ Fink 1 ills.
“Karly in -wer-— -
tho suinroor
of IW 1 pro
cured (1 v o f
boxo-iof tbem /
and before . '
Mulshing the r
second box 1^
tiegun to im
provo and by
tlie time 1 had '
taken the live t
(sixes 1 waa
able to go
us'l'ial* w o"i £ A PrlrtUu Boon.
ami stopped taking the pills.
“Our daughter Anna, twelve years old,
wasnlso afflicted witii decline and debility.
Mho lost Mesh, seemed to lie bloodless anil
had no ambition. Hit* look two boxes of the
p lis and they restored her appetite, aided
digestion and brought color to her cheeks.
Mho Is bow In the l*»»t of health. 1 think
l>r. William*' i’iuk Pills for Pale People the
best medicine we ever had In our family and
(command them to all needing a remedy
for toning up and rebuilding a shattered
system ”
No .litcovery of modern times has proved
such a blessing to women a* Dr. Williams’
Pink Pills for I’ale People. They restore
strength and health to exhausted women
when every effort of the physician proves
unavailing. These vegetable pit's ere
everywhere rorugnized u# a »pwlu<' fordU*
eaftti* of tbu blood and nerve*.
New York's Italny Day Society has
delivered Its ultimatum about wom
an’s wear. Us president officially
says: "A woman Is a bifurcated ani
mal and I cannot for my life see why
woman's legs should he In one bag
and man’s In two.
War with Sp«:u.
As war with Spain has broken out
the officials seem to think that all
that will he needed Is warships, tor
pedo boats and other Instruments of
destruction. But really what wilt be
needed more than anything else Is a
good supply of DROPS” (manufac
tured by the Swanson Rheumatic Cure
Co,. 167 Dearborn street, Chicago 111.),
to knock out the Rheumatism which la
sure to grip our soldiers and sailors In .
the miasmatic climate of Cuba and
the surrounding islands, where the
war will be waged. The truth Is that
something to heal and trure is precise
ly what is needed right now In the
desolated “Queen of the Antilles.”
Those 200,000 reconcentrados repdrted
sick and dying by hundreds need pro
visions, It Is true, but they need good
medicines fully as much. If Miss Bar
ton. the good lady who has charge of
the Red Cross relief work, was sup
plied with "6 DROPS” she could, by
tbclr agency, save many a sick Cu
ban. These miraculous “5 DROPS”
conquer many of the worst diseases
that afflict ailing humanity, such as
Rheumatism, Neuralgia, the excruciat
ing Sciatica and the other diseases for
which It is recommended. The War
Department should see that there is
an abundant supply of “& DROPS” la
the medicine chests.
The Delaware Iron Works at New
castle, Pa., have been put In opera
tion, giving employment to atiopt !>00
hands. These works bad been Idle for
several months.
No-To-llar fur Fifty Cent*.
Uuaram-r.U tobacco habit cure, makes weak
men hlronj, cloud pure. SO: tl. Alldrugglsts.
American shipments of lumber In
Mexico are increasing rapidly, one
Texas firm having lately received a
single order for 12,000.000 feet trf ties
and bridge timber.
A Clergyman's Story.
Rev. J. B. Wade, Morrison. Colo.. write*:
"1 am astonished at the mildness and yet
the eBtcioncy of L)r. Kav's Renovator Iu
moving cnstlpated bowels, and in produc
ing a regular natural daily dhetaurge I
have beau afflicted with coustipatiou for
tweuty-dve years."
We kuu« Hr Kay's Renovator newer
has hail an equal us a S| r.ug Medicine. or
for dyspepsia or any stomach trouble,
constipation, liver or kidney diseases.
Why not give us a chance to prove It to
you' Send address for our Mi page Irnok
of recipes aud prescriptions. Several
lie's said it is worth live and ten did
Isrs Druggists sell l)r. Kav's Renovator
at ii&c. an t *1, or six it r fo but if tliey do
uot have it. do not take any substitute
Kiev may mv is "just us good' for it hn<
no tv.r, d If they do not have it, you can
get it from us by leturu mail l>r. II J.
Kay Medical t 'o Omaha, Noli.
The fellows who hold bond* or
other evidences of Culm's half a till -
llun dt-ldt may tie excused Tor pemplr
Ing qtittc roploiuly thi sc day*.
The average duration of humau life
In Kurt-iicun cottntrlea Is greatest |n
Sweden and Not way, and the lowest
In Italy and Austria.
i ndnnim.... ..
||| Try Grain-0!
Try Grain-01 i!
j . < >
j , , Aik JN*«I U « ' f U**\ny In ikir« jfdii < 1
, jj apw ka midl.RvlA l». the (row toad 1 i
. | i i dunk that takes the pie a of coffer. J |
, ! [ . T he' C hin a ay Jonh U *i< b>ail <»
i ' ' injury as veil a* !*»#* adult. A<l who X
* ! ! try l», ilk# It. tiUUN o has that { |
[ rich asw) b«owa of M-wha o« J4»a, '
> hat it is tw “la f'-•«* pur* ,r »,»• and ' I
! the tana* deln-a a e nwwk (wawtsea t ] j
\ [ Wtth-iwt -I * rest } thepr.m. f .<4«v, > '
‘{i| IA *M» »» l .'isattpsl p* Ims j !
* ‘ | I Hol t hy ail (>.«•(, ( i
* \ ; l«l*» lih# Coffee
j | looCt like Caffe*
111 I tassu tsannwtgieiiefgieaeyamiaia a |
t ; | As* *!*-•*. latest.
