ng and aggressive man could
be found on board, thought it wise to obey, so he crouched behind the
gun-mount and compressed himself so as to be out of range. From this
position he had only to reach out one hand to train the gun, which was
his special duty. Meanwhile, he continually urged "Hay" to keep on
firing.

"Doesn't make any difference whether you can see or not," he exclaimed.
"Shoot anyway. Give it to the beggars! That's the ticket, old chap. Now
another. Whoop! did you see that land? Ah-h-h! we are the people."

As the novelty of the scene gradually wore off we began to enjoy it
hugely. We pumped away at the guns, commenting freely on the enemy's
marksmanship. We felt more like a party watching a fireworks display
than the crew of a warship engaged in bombarding a number of forts.

The two lines were steaming back and forth in front of the batteries,
firing as the guns would bear. At first, Morro Castle and the smaller
forts maintained a spirited fire, but finally their response to our
fusillade slackened considerably, and it became evident that they had
been driven from their guns.

The difference in aim between the Spanish gunners and ours was very
perceptible. Their shells invariably passed over the ships or landed
short, and at no time during the engagement were any of the American
vessels in imminent danger. This was not due to length of range either,
as the lines were maintained at from two to four thousand yards. As Bill
put it, "Any Dago that can't hit a flock of barn doors like this fleet,
had better go back home and hoe onions."

The ships of our fleet also made better targets than did the batteries
ashore. It was certainly easy to distinguish the position of each
vessel, but as the Spanish batteries were nearly all situated a short
distance back from the crest of the ridge with a background little
different in color from that of the battery, we found it difficult to
locate them at times. Our elevation had to be perfect, as with an inch
or two below or above, the projectile would either vanish in the
distance or take effect on the cliffs below the batteries.

We of Number Eight gun, when the "Yankee" was steaming with the
starboard broadside bearing, managed to slip across the deck and watch
the firing from the ports and deadlights. It was really beautiful to see
the landing of the great shells upon the forts and surrounding earth.
Some battered into the soft spots on the cliffs, sending huge mas