The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 5, 1898, Page 1

e e o AN AR [ i s Paper net taken from - the Library.¢+«e«s Call IME LXXXIV.—NO. 5. SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 1898—THIRTY-TWO PAGES. PRICE FIVE CENTS. FEAT OF VALOR THAT : ASTONISHED THE WORLD CERVERA IS NOW BEYOND ALL HOPE American Siege Guns Will Batter His Ships to Pieces. 2 CALL OFFICE, RIGGS HOUSE, 2 @ WASHINGTON, JUNE 4. £ The brave deed of Constructor Hobson & * - and seven men of the Merrimac is the talk & L of Washington to-night. Naval officers de- i % clare that this feat will rank as one of the £ < most daring and brilliant episodes in naval 2 & history. Admiral Sampson’s cablegram | cleared or will sail within a few | Con- | hours, for it was understood that | they would go together. War | Department officials decline to give any information or even to hazard a guess as to the time of | their arrival at the point of de- | barkation, but the general opin- | ion is that the troops will be landed some time on Wednesday next, and it is expected by the end of next week news will come that our troops have taken the town of Santiago. ve the name of wctor Hobson, but it is as- med that the o the regular crew of the ers may have mac. soon as the names are re- red, together with fuller de- a resolu- 1 vill authorize ruck by the Phil- t in recognition of bravery of each of the eight men. It Admiral Cervera is now be-| |yond all hope. No naval battle | is expected now, for while the| | Merrimac's wreck prevents the | | egress of the Spanish vessels, it will, of course, obstruct the en-| | trance of our own vessels. is understood that Rep- resentative Boutelle, chairman of the House Naval Affairs Com- e, will present the resolu- 1 -on Monday, if by that time fuller details have been received Y RICHMOND P. HOBSON, U. S. N. DARING OF HOBSON AND HIS MEN ;Honors for Heroes 'Who Proved Themselves “Corkers.” Copyrighted, 153, by James Gordon Bennett. CAPE HAYTIEN, June 4.—More particulars were received here to-day about the sinking of | the collier Merrimac in addition to those I cabled | you last night. The Merrimac entered the harbor ' of Santiago de Cuba early in the morning and was sunk by her own crew. Naval Constructor Hob- son, who was in charge of her, exploded a tor- pedo and she went down almost instantly. The eight men who were on her jumped on a raft and were made prisoners. Great admiration was expressed by the Span- |ish officers at the daring deed. Admiral Cervera i communicated with the American squadron and offered to exchange the prisoners, but the result |of the negotiations is not known here. ! While the American fieet was bombarding the Lfortifications the insurgents began to attack the | city from the rear, but, according to Spanish re- |ports, were easily repulsed after they had sus- !tained severe losses. | The city of Santiago de Cuba is in a state of | panic and food is becoming scarcer every day- LATER—I have received the following advices | : ) = i — — — | from Santiago de Cuba: Yesterday morning from cross in less-than ten days. By | Assistant Secretary of War half past 10 to half past 1l the American fleet this time all will be over, and | Meiklejohn stated to-day that the | 2 Z E operations will probably have | second expedition to the Philip-| reopened fire on the batteries. Details are lack- commenced at San Juan, Porto | pines will sail not later than next | ing. from an official source. . : | : £ Siege guns will batter Cer-|President McKinley to-day re- '\'?ra's lshipi to pieces from the | ceived reliable information that high hills and he will not be able | the so-called “reserve squadron” to reply. Neither can he expect | of Spain was still anchored at Admiral Sampson’s brief cable the flag of truce was sent by Cervera in reports stated that recognition of the bravery of the | : ! | any relief from other quarters, for | Cadiz. eight men. It is certain, thenfi It could not possibly | Rico. }\\'erlnesday. American ships could be % Yesterday twenty that although they are held as | prisoners of war, they are in no | danger. The request of Admiral | Sampson that they be exchanged | for the Spanish prisoners of war at Atlanta, was, it is believed, | based on an understanding of this kind between the truce parties. In the absence of detailed in- | formation it is impossible for ex- perts to form a correct idea of the efficacy of the blockade formed by the Merrimac’s wreck. They \_l.jere this afternoon without defi- nite information as to the where- | abouts of the wreck. The hydro- | graphic charts published by the Navy Department show the nar- rowest as well as shallowest point to be between Estrella and Can- ones Points, where the navigable channel seems to be less than a sixteenth of a mile in width, while | there are but five fathoms (thirty feet) of water. If the land batteries have been reduced by this time our war-| »s will be able to harass the | i should they attempt to clear away the debris, but if, as stated in press dispatches re- écived to-day, the forts have not all been silenced, it may be possi- | ble for the Spaniards to blow up | the wreck and clear the channel. | - It is assumed that the vessel’s cargo of coal had been removed and iron and stone substituted. In this case, War Department engineers say the work of clear- irig the channel will be almost im- possible. At any rate it would consume several days, in the face 6f the fire from our squadron. By that time it is believed the forts will have been demolished. ."The news that our transports conveying troops from Mobile ‘are under way indicates that the entire expedition has either i (i @ T LIl e PRESENTATION ON BEHALF of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce of a Stand of Colors to the Gallant Seventh California Regiment at: lts'Qld ‘Camp--Site -at’' the Presidio. - seen cruising in front of | Santiago de Cuba. Four |ironclads could be dis- tinctly made out among (them. To-day only sev- |enteen ships are to be |seen. Three are missing, {and are believed to have {gone to fetch arms and {ammunition. ! ON BOARD THE ASSO- CIATED PRESS DISPATCH | BOAT DAUNTLESS, OFE ;S;\A\'TI,\(}(), via Kingston, Ja- - maica, June 4.—Rear Admiral Sampson, during Friday morn- | ing, decided to close the narrow harbor entrance to Santiago de | Cuba by sinking the collier Mer- | rimac, loaded with coal, in the channel. - He called for volun- |teers to' go to almost certain death, and 4000 men offered themselves. Lieutenant Hobson and seven men were chosen, and at 3 a. m. Friday morning the Merrimac, under her own steam, entered the channel under a ter- rible Spanish fire. | The vessel was riddled with pro- | jectiles, but she anchored and swung around. Lieutenant Hob- son then set off an internal tor- | pedo with an electric attachment. There was an explosion, the Mer- rimac sank and the channel was closed, and, apparently, Admiral Cervera will be unable to escape. KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 4. —Hobson and the hero crew of the Merrimac were saved in the following manner: Unable, after the sinking of their vessel, to make their way back through the |storm of shot and shell, they Spanish flagship and were taken on board unharmed. The Span- ish Admiral, under a flag of truce, rowed into the harbor ‘to the *