Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 72, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 May 1898 — UNDER FIERCE FIRE. [ARTICLE]

UNDER FIERCE FIRE.

American Marines Given a Chance to Show Their Pluck. CUT CABLE Al CIESFUEGOS HARBOR. Spanish Batteries and Soldiers Pouf Shot and Shell Into Their Midst, But They Complete Their Mission -Two Killed, Several Wounded. Key West, Fla., May 16. —Amid a perfect storm of shot from Spanish rifles and batteries the American forces cut the cables at Cienfuegos Wednesday morning. Four determined boat crews under command of Lieut. Winslow and Ensign Magruder, from the cruiser Marblehead and the gunboat Nashville, put out from the ships, the coast having previously been shelled. The work of the volunteers was perilous. The cruiser Marblehead, the gunboat Nash-

ville and the auxiliary cruiser Windom drew up a thousand yards from shore with their guns manned for desperate duty. One cable had already been cut and the work was in progress on the other when the Spaniards in rifle pits and a battery in an old lighthouse standing out in the bay opened fire. The warships poured in a thunderous voHey, their great guns belching forth massive shells into the swarms of the enemy. The crews of the boats calmly proceeded with their desperate work, notwithstanding the fact that a number had fallen, and finished it, returning to the ships through a blinding smoke and a heavy fire. One man in a Marblehead boat was killed and six were seriouslywounded, one of whom, Robert .Boltz, is now at Key West and is expected to die, a bullet having passed through the base of his brain. Harry Hendrickson,

■who also may die, was shot through the abdomen. More than a thousand Infantry on shore ktpt up a continuous fire and the bullets from the machine gun* struck the warships a hundred times, but did no great damage. Commanaer Maynard, of the gunboat Nashville, was slightly wounded by o rifle bullet that before striking him passed through the arm of an ensign whose name Is unknown. ' Lieut. Winslow was shot in the band making three officers wounded in all. After the Spaniards had been driven from the rifle pits many of them took refuge in the lighthouse fortress, upon which the Are of the warships had been centered. A four-inch shell from the Windom tore this structure to pieces,

* killing many and burying others in the ruins. The Spanish loss is known to have been heavy, the warships firing hundreds of shot and shell right into their midst. One of the Wounded Dies. Ernest Suntzenech, one of the American seamen wounded at Cienfuegos last Wednesday, died at the' Marine hospital Saturday night and was buried Sunday. He was a first-class seaman apprentice and belonged to the'United States cruiser Marblehead. He was shot through the left leg, in a boat, while assisting in cutting the cable off Cienfuegos. He died after his limb had been amputated. Could Not Be Trapped. On Board the Dispatch Boat Kate Spencer, Off Havana, May 14, Eight p. m., via Key West, Fla., Maj; 16, five a. m. —Capt. Gen. Blanco, two hours before sundown Saturday night, attempted to execute a ruse which if successful would have cleared the front of Havana of six ships on the blockading station. Unable to come out to do battle, he adopted the tactics of the spider and cunningly planned to draw the prej’

nto his net, but, though a clever and pretty scheme as an original proposition, it was practically a repetition of the trick by which the gunboat Vicksburg and the little converted revenue cutter Morrill were last week decoyed by a fishing smack under the big Krupp gtins of the Santa Clara batteries. Laie Saturaaj’ afternoon the ships on the Havana station were dumbfounded to see two ships steam out of Havana harbor and head east. Dense smoke was streaming like black ribbons from their stacks, and a glance showed that they were under a full head of steam. By add of glasses Commander Lilly, of the Mayflower, which was flying the pennant, made out the larger vessel of the two, which was about 200 feet long and about 4,500 tons displacement, to be the cruiser Alphonso XII.. and the smaller one to be the gunboat Legezpi, both of which were known to be bottled up in

Havana harbor. At first he supposed they were taking advantage of the absence of the heavy fighting ships and were making a bona fide run for the open sea. As superior officer, he immediately signalled the other ships on the station, the Vicksburg, Annapolis, Wasp, Tecumseh and Osceola, which were moving in, to form a column and eu echelou, with gunboats on the right flank. The little squadron moved in obliquity toward the fleeing Spaniards, keeping up a running fire as they went. The Alphonso and her consort circled in-shore about five miles below Havana, and after running in for half a mile headed back for Morro Castle. Our gunboats and their skinned vessels of the mosquito fleet did not follow them

in. Commander Lilly saw tnat rue. wily Spanish ruse was to draw them in under the guns of the heavy batteries, where the Spanish artillery officers could plot out the exact range with their telameters and pot them. Soothe return .was made in line ahead parallel with the shore. Commander Lilly had not been mistaken. As his ships came ; abreast of the Santa Clara battery the big guns opened and fired 13 shots at a distance of about five miles. The range ■ was badly judged, as more than half the shells overshot the mark and others fell short, some as much as a mile. A Spanish Report. Madrid, May IC.—A dispatch from Havana says: “Three American warships have rebombarded Cardenas with shell and have destroyed the British consulate. The Americans attempted to land men and ammunition when the cannonade was the hottest. The Spaniards, drawn up on shore, replied hotly to the American fire, inflicting severe loss on the enemy. Seven Spaniards were wounded.” Reforms for the Philippines. London, May 16.—The Madrid corresnnnrlont a£ -2—a Sta;i savs the troyu •* *8

ernment has wired Capt. Gen. Augusti at Manila authorizing him to grant such reforms in the Philippines as are compatible with the national sovereignty. London, May 16. —The Madrid correspondent of the Daily Telegraph says: His prompt action in offering concessions to the Philippine insurgents is considered the best move SenorSagasta has yet made. Capt. Gen. Augusti wires that “Admiral Dewey ‘appears to anticipate the cooperation of the natives within the next few days, but no new insurgent move is noticeable.” London, May 16.—The Berlin correspondent of the .Standard says: “It is rumored that the Phillipines will form the nucleus of a republic under American protection and gradually be increased by the addition of other Pacific islands. They Don’t Like It. .London, May 16.—Mr. Chamberlain’s Birmingham speech in favor of an Anglo-American alliance causes much bitterness at Madrid and excites talkconcerning a general European conflagration. ,