the Suwanee. The Texas brought to, facing the fort at Caimanera, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon of June 15th, and opened fire with twelve-inch guns at a range of 2,400 yards. The other ships soon joined in, and after two or three shots that fell short, almost every one landed in the fort or the town. In reply the Spaniards fired three ineffectual shots and then fled. The fort was destroyed.

A remarkable incident in this little expedition up the bay was the discovery that the channel was mined. The engineer on watch in the engine-room of the Texas observed that one propeller had fouled something. An examination showed that it had picked up a harbor mine and jammed it. against the sternpost. It was taken up on deck, where it was found to be of the kind designed to explode by contact. It was loaded and primed, but the barnacles had grown so thick on the contact plungers that they had failed to work. Two other torpedoes of the kind were knocked from their moorings by the Marblehead, and a dozen or so were taken up altogether later on.

With the destruction of the Spanish station in the woods and the Spanish fort at Caimanera the troubles of the marines came practically to an end. The Spaniards had had enough. But the marines remained as a guard over our naval base until the end of the war, living on

shore constantly, and subject to all the vicissitudes of climate that the army had to endure before Santiago. However, the story they had to tell of life in Cuba was very different from

that told by the soldiers. Our marines had their fight and their losses in battle, but they never had to complain of lack of food or medical supplies, or any other needful thing.

"Since the battalion left for Cuba," said one

of the officers of the Marine Corps, "it has not lost a man through sickness. The number of sick has at no time been more than two and one-half per cent.

"The marines landed at Guantanamo, only a few miles distant from Santiago, occupied the same soil, fought in trenches, and endured almost, if not quite, as many hardships as the soldiers. The marines have not complained of anything, and apparently have had no cause for complaint, as they were provided for in the best manner possible: Their health was carefully watched and the result speaks for itself.

"The officers had nearly all had experience in tropical countries, and they carefully watched the diet of the soldiers, the drinking-water, and everything that conduced to their comfort and welfare. When the tents were pitched the floors were put together and placed on rocks, a rock at each of the four corners, raising the floor slightly from the ground. This prevented the soldiers from coming into personal contact with the soil, and permitted proper drainage and ventilation of the tents."

To the honor of commanding our first armed force to make and maintain a landing in Cuba, Colonel Huntington added that of taking care of his men in a way unsurpassed in the history of the war.

"From the establishment of the Marine

Corps to the present time, it has constituted an integral part of the navy, has been identified with it in all of its achievements, ashore and afloat, and has continued to receive from its most distinguished commanders the expression of their appreciation of its effectiveness as a part of the Navy."-Report of House Committee on Naval Affairs, 39th Congress, 2d Session.

CHAPTER XVI

AUXILIARIES AND NAVAL MILITIA

THE SPOOK FLEET AND ITS EFFECT ON THE MOVEMENT OF THE
ARMY-LANDING AT BAIQUIRI-KILLED BY A SHELL ON THE
TEXAS-TWO GOOD FIGHTS AGAINST ODDS OFF SAN JUAN DE
PORTO RICO-THE ST. PAUL AND THE YOSEMITE WITH THEIR
UNTRAINED CREWS WERE A CREDIT TO THE NAVAL OFFICERS
IN CHARGE OF THEM-FIRST AMERICAN FLAG RAISED
CUBAN SOIL-GOOD WORK ALONGSHORE.

OVER

ON June 20th came the army under General Shafter to land near Santiago, and, by capturing that city, compel the surrender or destruction of the Spanish squadron in the harbor. The naval opportunity of destroying the squadron as they lay in the mouth of the harbor in sight of the sea had' been lost. The narrow and tortuous channel (remember it was but three hundred and fifty feet wide) had been filled with mines. The land works guarding the channel had been strengthened by landing guns from Cervera's ships. A dash into the harbor was now absolutely out of the question. But the army had been preparing for an invasion for weeks. The President's call for volunteers