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THE "VIRGINIUS" MASSACRE.

reparation. The incident which came so near precipitating a great conflict was the seizure of the "Virginius" and execution of her crew, at Santiago de Cuba, in November of that year. The circumstances connected with this Spanish outrage may thus briefly be related:

The "Virginius" was a wooden vessel of 1,500 tons, which for a while was a blockade-runner, carrying arms and supplies to the Cuban insurgents, but later she was sold and engaged in a legitimate coasting trade, chiefly in the Caribbean Sea. She was American register, carried the United States flag, and was commanded by Joseph Fry, of Louisiana. At the time of her seizure she carried a crew of thirty men, and had 130 passengers, nearly all of the latter having gone on board at Kingston, Jamaica, for New York, to which port the "Virginius" was bound. The vessel was for a long while under suspicion and after her departure from Kingston she was pursued and seized on the high sea by the Spanish man-of-war "Torpedo," and upon being taken into Santiago the captain and crew were brought before a summary court-martial on a charge of piracy. No defence was permitted and

Court Martial and Execution of Captain Fry.

a sentence to death was passed upon the arrested men two days after their apprehension. Execution was ordered forthwith, before word could be conveyed to the United States authorities by the American Consul at that point. Accordingly, on November 7 Captain Fry and his crew were shot by a squad detailed for the purpose, after which the bodies were subjected to the most horrible indignities, Spanish officers riding over the dead, and the remains were also multilated in other ways. In celebration of this savage crime the Spanish officers gave a great ball in Santiago, attended by the aristocracy of the city, which was a carnival of exultation only one degree below that of a cannibal feast. On the following day-November 8-sixteen of the passengers were shot, but further executions were prevented by the arrival of the British warship "Niobe" in Santiago harbor, the commander of which threatened to bombard the city in case another one of the unfortunates were shot before the matter could be referred to the home authorities.

When the slaughter of the "Virginius" crew and several of her passengers was reported, and all its horribly brutal details became known in

The Nation Clamorous for

Revenge.

the United States, the country was aroused to a pitch of frenzied excitement and more than 100,000 volunteers offered their services to the government to punish Spain. For a while it appeared that war was inevitable, that nothing but blood could atone the savage outrage, but this result was averted by Spain disavowing the acts of the officers at Santiago and by a

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DEWEY'S VICTORY IN MANILA BAY.

Before the "Baltimore" reopened the cannonading we could hear the sound of church bells in Manila softly floating across the water. The peaceful calm of the scene seemed real and the battle a dream. The "Baltimore" is not a beautiful ship. She is not even armored, but she has the lines of a battleship and she looked magnificent as she went straight at the enemy, with every gun trained forward. She had been ordered to silence the most active of the forts on the mainland-that at Canacao Point.

The second engagement continued two hours and ten minutes, the Spaniards fighting with unabated courage, but only one of their shells penetrated an American ship, the "Baltimore," striking on the starboard breast and passing through, but was deflected by a steel stanchion and made to retrace its course. It was this shot that caused practically all the damage that any of our ships sustained in the action, and which by striking and exploding two 6-inch shells wounded seven seamen, but none seriously. These were the only casualties to the American forces. The last Spanish fort at Canacao Point signaled at 12.30, by international code flags, "We surrender."

The havoc done by the guns of the American fleet had been even more terrible than was first reported. Spanish officials were reticent as to their casualties, but there was evidence that the number of killed was at least 321, and that more than 700 were wounded. This is the most accurate estimate that could be obtained by Admiral Dewey two weeks after the battle, nor have the losses been accurately ascertained since the conclusion of the war.

Engagement.

As to the ships destroyed, the wrecks of all of Montojo's ships were lying in the shallow water about Cavite, silent witnesses to the terrible bombardment. The "Reina Cristina," the one which suffered so great Results of the a loss of life, was a first-class cruiser of 3,520 tons displacement. She carried six 16-centimetre breech-loading rifles, three 6-pounder rapid-fire, two 3-inch rapid-fire, two 9-pounder rapidfire and six 37-millimetre Hotchkiss revolving cannon. She had five torpedo tubes on board, and was a first-rate fighting ship of her class. She is still lying in four fathoms of water with only her upper works showing. She was completely gutted by fire before she sank, and masts and spars were charred to cinders. Her guns are above water, but they were ruined by the intense heat. All of her plates were bent and twisted and there were three holes in her two funnels, made by shells from 6-pounders.

The "Castilla" was a first-class unprotected cruiser of 3,260 tons, built of wood. She was not in good trim, and all her fighting was done from the bay west of Cavite, where she was moored fore and aft with her starboard

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DEWEY'S VICTORY IN MANILA BAY.

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Commodore Dewey leaned over the bridge to tell one of his aides, who was on the deck below, to go through the ship and give orders personally to the captain of each gun crew to concentrate his fire upon the "Reina Christina."

A Duel Between the Flagships.

Admiral Montojo, like Commodore Dewey, stood on his bridge, unprotected, with his two sons as aides. The next time our fleet passed the line the Spanish admiral again steamed out toward the "Olympia." Again all the guns of our flagship were concentrated on her. It was a duel between two flagships. A shot from one of the "Olympia's" 5-inch guns tore away one end of the bridge on which Admiral Montojo stood. Undismayed, he stepped to the other end and continued to direct the fire of his gun crews.

This time the two flagships approached to within less than 2,000 yards of each other before the "Reina Cristina" tried to turn back. As she swung round to retire under the protection of the guns at Cavite an 8-inch shell from one of the "Olympia's " forward guns struck the "Reina Cristina" squarely on the stern, under the protective deck, and ploughed through until it almost reached the ship's bow, blowing up the main forward magazine in its course. The flagship was wrecked by this one shot. Her sides were riddled and her crew practically annihilated by the flying missiles from the exploded shell. Admiral Dewey learned from the British Consul the next day that 130 people were killed in the "Reina Cristina," including the captain commanding, and ninety were wounded by this single shot, which number represented 75 per cent of the ship's complement.

Admiral Dewey, at 7.30, after three hours of incessant battle, signaled the fleet to withdraw and report casualties. Thereupon the flagship halyards blossomed with fluttering signals. Small boats were lowered from our ships, and we saw the commanding officer of each being rowed toward the "Olympia." Captain Hodgdon was away not more than thirty minutes, but it.seemed an age to us. Finally we saw him returning in his gig with a smile on his face, but we were not prepared for the almost unbelievable statement which he made as he ascended the companionway. Captain Hodgdon said:

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"There was not a single man killed in our entire fleet, nor one seri. ously wounded. Our ships have suffered no damage worth reporting. The battle will go on as soon as the men have had breakfast."

Stop Firing Until Breakfast is Served.

At 10.30 o'clock, after two hours and forty minutes' rest, the fleet again formed in line of battle, this time the "Baltimore" leading toward Cavite. The dispatch boat "McCulloch" was lying about three miles from the town of Manila, which presented a scene of perfect quiet and almost matchless beauty.

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Position on the

DEWEY'S VICTORY IN MANILA BAY.

The Commodore's orders were so well understood that there was no interchange of signals. Dewey himself stood on the forward bridge of the "Olympia," at its most exposed place, toward the forts and Dewey Takes His the Spanish fleets. When the flagship was within 4,500 Forward Bridge. yards of Cavite the fort opened fire. Dewey paid no attention, but waited to see how quickly the Spanish gunners would get his range. His intention was to destroy the Spanish fleet first, then the forts at and near Cavite, and finally the forts at Manila, further up the bay. The Spanish flagship "Reina Cristina," lying nearly a mile up the bay, beyond Cavite, inaugurated the naval combat by opening fire on the "Olympia" at 4,000 yards range, to which challenge, however, Commodore Dewey did not reply. The squadron moved steadily on, the "Olympia" far in the lead, the sole target for both the Spanish ships and the forts. The flagship had proceeded unscathed more than half a mile further, and shots were falling all about her, when Commodore Dewey turned to Captain Grigsby and said:

"Now, Grigsby, you can begin firing."

The "Olympia" slowly swung around, presenting her port side to the enemy's guns. As she did so, her two 8-inch guns were discharged almost simultaneously. Before the echoes of the "Olympia's" guns ceased to reverberate, the "Baltimore," following in her wake, joined the attack with her 8 and 6-inch guns. Each ship manœuvered exactly like the "Olympia," with slow deliberation, absolute precision and in perfect order.

The Battle
Begins.

The "McCulloch" stood in behind the line of battleships, but close at hand with heavy hawsers stretched across her quarter-deck, ready to dart in and tow out of range any of our vessels which should become disabled. Four Spanish land forts and six warships lying in the harbor at Cavite were belching incessant torrents of flame, notwithstanding which, after the squadron had passed in line before the enemy, using all the port guns, it turned deliberately and repassed the forts and the fleet, this time using the starboard guns. And so while there was no diminution of the broadsides, the gunners who worked the starboard batteries had ten minutes of rest while the port batteries were in action, and then, when the ships turned again, the starboard batteries were again brought into action and the port batteries were at rest. Five times our squadron paraded thus in battle line before the enemy's fleet and forts, within a range of 2,000 yards.

During the third passage the Spanish Admiral, Patritro Particio Montojo y Pasaron, on his flagship "Reina Cristina," a modern steel cruiser of high power, quick-firing guns, steamed slowly out to meet the "Olympia."

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DEWEY'S VICTORY IN MANILA BAY.

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The flagship steamed stealthily on and at midnight was directly in the line of fire between the two forts. Not a sound was heard. I stood on the forecastle deck of the "McCulloch" watching with breathless suspense the dark lines of Corregidor and of the main- Stealing by Corregidor at Night. land which guarded the narrows. While the flagship was close to the narrows the smokestack of the "McCulloch " suddenly belched tongues of flaine. The soot of the soft coal had taken fire under the intense heat of the furnaces, which were storing up energy for the coming battle. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light from the mainland. A shot sped across the water just forward of us. Then the "Raleigh," the next ship in line ahead of us, instantly answered the challenge with a shot from one of her heavy guns. The "McCulloch" followed with three 6-pounders whizzing toward the flash of light ashore. Concealment we now thought... useless. The forts answered twice, and the "Boston" closed the short, sharp duel with a long shot from her heavy 8-inch after gun, which it was afterwards ascertained actually hit the fort.

munication with Manila.

The ships were soon out of range. There is no telegraphic communication between the entrance to the bay and the fort at Cavite and the City of Manila. It seems incredible, but No Spanish Comit is proof of the utter inefficiency of the Spanish preparations for defence, that no provision was made to notify the sleeping city and the Spanish fleet of the arrival of the American squadron, and so our appearance was a genuine surprise. From Corregidor to Manila is nearly seventeen miles, and as Commodore Dewey did not want to begin battle until it was light enough for his gunners to see the enemy, he signaled with the red and white lights to proceed in double column formation at a speed of four knots an hour.

The Commodore next signaled orders for the men to rest. The gunners lay down on the decks-anywhere they could find room. As there was a possibility of the battle opening at any moment everything was in readiness, every gun loaded, every furnace blazing at full power, every watertight compartment closed below deck, magazines opened, ammunition hoists filled, gun crews stripped naked to the waist-and then the men were told to lie down at their posts and get some sleep, so that their nerves might be steady for the great battle in the morning. Officers moved about inspecting every point on the ships over and over again, and conversing in low tones, so as not to disturb the sleepers between whose legs they were obliged to walk. A few moments before 5 a. m., as the sky was lighting with the dawn, the spires of Manila appeared, dimly outlined on the horizon and below them the round domes of the public buildings.

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