ips had begun the blockade. The Spaniards
were building new forts at Matanzas, a port about sixty miles east of
Havana. With the exception of Havana, Matanzas has the finest harbor
on the northern coast of Cuba. The city itself lies between two small
rivers and contains many beautiful homes. The houses are often
decorated with colored tiles, and with their luxuriant gardens make a
charming picture against the background of hills that rise beyond the
beautiful valley of the Yumurri, which is one of the loveliest spots
in Cuba. In times of peace the exports of sugar and molasses from
Matanzas have been very large, but the Cuban army burned many of the
finest plantations in the district.

The ships that engaged the new forts that the Spaniards were adding to
the castle of San Severino and other defences of Matanzas, were the
flagship New York, the monitor Puritan, and the cruiser Cincinnati.
The Spaniards fired the first gun, and then the New York took up a
position between two batteries and delivered broadsides right and
left. Then the Puritan's big guns came into play, and then the
Cincinnati poured a stream of shells into the forts. It did not take
long to knock the Spanish defences into sand-heaps--only about half an
hour--and then the American ships stood out to sea. As they were doing
so, the Spaniards fired one more shot. The Puritan had the range and
sent a twelve-inch shell in reply. It was one of the best shots of the
war. It struck the Spanish gun fairly, dismounted it, and then burst,
throwing the sand high in the air. The Spanish account of the
engagement stated that no damage whatever was done, except the killing
of one mule!

Great excitement and great anxiety were caused by the news that a
large and powerful fleet was coming from Spain. Our Government could
not tell whether these ships would come to a Spanish port in the West
Indies, or whether they would attack one of our large cities on the
Atlantic coast. We had not ships enough to protect all our ports as
well as to blockade Cuba, so much care was needed to make good plans,
and our naval officers were kept busy. It was most important to watch
for the Spanish ships.

[Illustration: The "Cape Verde" Fleet.]

The "Cape Verde" fleet, as the Spanish ships were called, troubled the
Navy Department of the United States day and night. They knew that it
sailed from the Cape Verde Islands in the latter part of April, but
that was about all they did know rega