Young Peoples History of the War with Spain | Page 9

good one for the Spanish
fleet--the port of Cienfuegos. So our ships continued the blockade of
Havana and Matanzas, and now Commodore Schley was sent with
several vessels to watch Cienfuegos.
The city of Cienfuegos is situated some distance back from the sea, in a
harbor which winds and twists about between high hills, completely
obscuring it from ships a little distance from the shore. The word
Cienfuegos means "a hundred fires." Close by the water's edge there
stood a cable-house, where one end of a submarine cable, which
reached to Santiago, some three hundred miles to the eastward, was
secured. On one side of the cable-house was an old fort or lookout,
such as the Spaniards used to have all along the coast. On the other side
was a light-house. The Americans wished to destroy communication
between Cienfuegos and Santiago, so they sent an expedition to cut the
cable and destroy anything that would be of use to the Spaniards.
The ships that were sent to do this work were the Marblehead, the
Nashville and the Windom. You will remember that the Nashville fired
the first gun in the war with Spain. She is not a pretty boat at all. She is
built differently from other vessels of her class, and her two tall funnels,
or smokestacks, give her an ungainly appearance. Her commander was
a splendid officer, though, and her crew were the bravest of the brave. I
must tell you a little of her work after she captured the first prize of the
war.
One day, while in company with the Marblehead and the Eagle, she
saw a big Spanish mail steamer leave the harbor of Cienfuegos and put
to sea, followed by nine Spanish gunboats. The Nashville started in
pursuit of the big steamer, leaving the other American ships to attend to
the gunboats. She soon overhauled the steamer, which proved to be the

Argonata, and took possession of her. Her cargo was a very rich one,
and among the passengers were twenty-nine Spanish soldiers and
officers. These were taken on board the Nashville. Meanwhile, the
Marblehead and the Eagle had disposed of the gunboats. It only took
them half an hour to drive them back into the harbor, with their
smokestacks shot off, and several of them in a sinking condition. The
Nashville then turned over her prize to the Marblehead and started for
Havana.
On her way she discovered a big gunboat, and, as the two ships drew
near, the Spanish officers, who had been allowed on deck, saw that she
was not an American vessel, and danced for joy. An instant later they
were shoved down a hatchway and placed in the hold. As the stranger
came closer it was plainly seen that she was nearly twice as large as the
Nashville and more heavily armed, but the commander of the American
vessel did not hesitate an instant. He cleared his ship for action and
trained his guns on her. Just then she hoisted English colors and dipped
them in salute to the stars and stripes that were floating above the
Nashville. She proved to be the Talbot, an English ship cruising in
those waters. The whole affair was a splendid display of courage on the
part of the Nashville in clearing ship and showing fight to the big
English gunboat. Every man on the American ship knew that if the
stranger proved to be a Spanish war vessel the chances were ten to one
against the Nashville; but none of them stopped to think of that, but
made ready to fight her. Now we will return to Cienfuegos and see how
our splendid seamen cut the Spanish cables in the very face of death.
Volunteers from the Marblehead and the Nashville manned the boats
that were sent into the shallow waters to grapple for the cable. Each
ship furnished a cutter and a launch, under the command of a lieutenant.
The men who were to do the work were in the cutters, and each of the
launches carried a small rapid-fire gun to protect the workers as much
as possible. The Nashville shelled the shore and then the boats were
ordered in. They went within one hundred yards of the shore and then
began to grapple for the cable. As calmly as though they were fishing,
the men worked with their hooks. At last the cable was caught, and
soon it was brought to view. It proved not to be the Santiago cable, but

about a hundred feet of its length were cut out of it, and the brave
fellows grappled for another. They found it, hauled it up, and, with
what tools they had, hacked it in two.
They were not unmolested, however, for Spaniards began to show
themselves on the shore, and