THE BOMBARDMENT.

299 New York, the two battleships, and the two monitors. As the big ships ran up and down alongthe sea front,the smokeof theirgunshung heavily around them, and this,with the steady rolling of the swell, made accurate practice by no means easy. The Spaniards were not shootingbadly. Althoughthe range wasconsiderable, their shells were hurtling close overhead, or churningup the waterround the armouredships, and every now and then there wasa crash and a loudexplosion as a shell from the shore burst on the armouredside,or went smashing through the gear overhead. One seaman waskilled and two badly woundedby a shell that burst on the deck of theflagship. Three men were wounded by another shell that burst and blew a boat to pieces near the forward bridge of the Iowa.

Admiral Sampson had gone on board the battleship to confer withCaptain Evans,and the two officers were talking together on the bridge when the shell burst. Several of the fragments whistled close around them, and one of these broke the rail of the bridge. Altogether the Iowa was hit eight times, but the only serious damage was a broken steam-pipe. Two killed and seven wounded was the total loss of the squadron during the three hours' fight, and of the dead, one, a gunner of the monitor Amphitrite, lost his life, not from the Spanish fire, but from heat stroke.

expended, but not a single Spanish gun had been silenced. The Terror, the last ship in the line, either misunderstood or disregarded the signal, and, as she slowly drew off, exchanged distant shotswithMorro. Themonitors were so slow that the other ships often towed them, and as the fleet retired one of them was helped along by a tow-line from alight cruiser.

This was the origin of the Spanish report that one of the " Yankees" had been so disabled that she had to be towed out of action. But even after discounting this imaginary success, General Machias had good reason to be proud of the day's work. He had held his own for three hours against the American fleet. His works and batteries were practically intact. A few buildings in the town were damaged. An English merchant steamer and the French cruiser Rigault de Genouilly, lying in the bay, had been slightly damaged by long-ranging shells. This was all. No wonder the Spanish general claimed a victory, and the news was received with enthusiasm in Madrid. It was one more confirmation of the view that wellconstructed forts have little to fear even from a powerful fleet.

Throughout the war the Spaniards never showed any want of courage, but in this sight at San Juan one of their signallers showed an example ofcool daring that excited the admiration of the attacking fleet. He was posted on the highest tower of the Morro Castle,standing all alone by his signal staff in a most exposed position. Throughout the bombardment he neverseemed to pay the least attention to the shells that hurtled past him or burst around the tower. He worked his signals, cool, selfpossessed,and to the delight of even his opponents, all unharmed.

The American fire was not much more effective. Four killed and several wounded was the loss reported by Machias. The first reports in the United States newspapers declared that the three hours' bombardmenthad silenced the forts and ruined the city, and that the white flag was hoisted on Morro; so that Sampson might have taken possession of the place if he had had a landing force with him to garrison it. But the detailed matter-offact statements of correspondents who watched the fight showed that this story of victory was a mere fabrication. One of them, dating his despatch from on board the Iowa, wrote:"No traces of the bombardment were discernible on the forts except small fires, which were apparently extinguished before the fleet left" ; and another, dating his despatch from the press-boat Dauntless, said: "At the close of the engagement the fortifications had a very dilapidated appearance, but the guns were as active as ever."

At the close of the fight the American wounded were sent on board the naval hospital ship for conveyance to Key West. Thisship, a big liner,fitted up as a floating ambulance and hospital, and renamed the Solace, was a new feature innaval warfare. She waspainted white in order to distinguish her from the fighting ships, and although theGeneva Convention does not directly apply to naval war, she flew the Red Crossflag. It was a new departure, which will doubtless be followed by other navies. It is curious to note that this arrangement for naval hospitals in war was first proposed a few years ago by a Spanish writer. At a quarter to eight the Admiralsignalled, first, "Cease fire," and then "Retire." An immense quantity of ammunition had been Swift upon the tidings from Puerto Rico came further news,that seemed at first to augur