CARDENAS BAY. THE ACTION IN 287 had suffered serious loss. Her commander,Lieutenant Bernadou, had already been wounded, but not so seriously as to actually disablehim. Her second in command, Ensign Worth Bagley, a young officer who was engaged in his first battle, was working the forward quick-firer, assisted by a crew of four men. Suddenly a Spanish shell burst in the midst of the group and flung them bleeding on the deck. Bagley was killed on the spot. The four others were killed or wounded. One of them rolled down the steel curve at the edge of the narrowdeck, and as he slipped overboard caught a rail, and cried out in a piteous voice to his comrades to savehim. A couple ofmendashedacross to his assistance and pulled him on board,but he was deadas they laidhim on the deck.

buildings in the town were damaged by shells, amongst them the British Consulate. The fires caused by the bombardment were all extinguishedby the fire brigade. He stated that the largest ship of the attacking squadronkept at a range of sevenmiles, thelighter vessels coming in closer. This confirmed a conjecture that the Spaniards had taken the Wilmington for a larger class of warship than she really represented, and thusoverestimated the range. She was in action at between four and five miles, and all the Spanish shells passed harmlesslyoverher.

On thesame day Cienfuegos was bombarded, andan attempt wasmade to cut the cable that runs from thatport to Santiago, this being one of the lines by which Blanco communicated withMadrid. The Spaniards thought the boats engaged in looking for the shore end of the cable were attempting to land troops, and they concentrated such a heavy fire on them that they had to withdraw without accomplishing their purpose.

The Wilmington covered the retreat of the disabled Winslow and the Hudson by pouring a heavy fire on the pier and the front of the town.

As she turned to steam out of the bay, fires had broken out in the warehouses on thesea front, and the Spanish guns were nearly silent. Then the gunboat led the wav out through the reefs. The same night the Hudson started for Key West, conveying the dead and woundedback to Florida. The news of the action caused adeep impression throughout the United States. It was a first failure, though on a small scale. It showedthe battle with Spain was not to be the mere military parade that so many had anticipated, and it was felt that these first deaths were only the smallest part of the heavy toll that would have to be paid for victory.

Nor was this the only action of that busyday. The cruisers Vicksburg andMorrill, which werelyingoffHavana,cameinto a rangeofunder five miles andengaged the Santa Clara batteries. But the gunners at Santa Clara had beenhaving some long-range practice at the blockading squadron, and their shooting had become very good. A few days before they hadnearly blown the gunboat Tccumsch out of the water by exploding a couple of heavy shells within twentyyards of her, at a range of five miles. In the short skirmish with the two cruisers they wreckedthe Morrill's deckhouse withone shell, and brought down a lot e>t the Vieksburg's rigging withanother. After this,Sampson gave orders that the blockading fleet wasnot to waste ammunition and improve Spanish gunnery by any moreof these useless demonstrations. The shore batteries were only to be engaged when something serious was intended. Desultory firing was forbidden.

When the Winslow wa.s examined at Key West, wdiere she was taken for repairs, it was found that she had had a very narrow escape fromcomplete destruction. Her forward torpedo wasin its tube on deck, and a Spanish shell of smallcalibre had passed through the guncotton charge without bursting or exploding it. Her starboard cylinder had been hit and badly damaged, her boilers were penetrated in more than one place, her conning-tower was pitted with shot holes, and her plates scored and marked all over her deck. The marvel is that she kept afloat. General Blanco, in his official report,stated thelosses of the Cardenas garrison at five men wounded. He said that the gunboats were hit several times, and some of the So far the results of these little engagements were to encourage the Spaniards, and to convince even the most sanguine of the Americans that Blanco would make a good fight for Havana, and that the conquest of Cuba was likely to provea serious piece ol work.