"I went to where the five men were lying, and saw that all were not dead. John Meek could speak and move one hand slightly. I put my face down close to his.
"'Can I do anything for you, John?' I asked, and he replied, 'No, Jack, I am dying; good-bye,' and he asked me to grasp his hand. 'Go help the rest,' he whispered, gazing with fixed eyes toward where Captain Bernadou was still firing the forward gun. The next minute he was dead.
"Ensign Bagley was lying on the deck nearly torn to pieces, and the bodies of the other three were on top of him. The coloured cook was a little apart from the others, mangled, and in a cramped position. We supposed he was dead, and covered him up the same as the others. Nearly half an hour after that we heard him calling, and saw that he was making a slight movement under the clothes. I went up to him, and he said:
"'Oh, boys, for God's sake move me. I am lying over the boiler and burning up.'
"The deck was very hot, and his flesh had been almost roasted. He complained that his neck was cramped, but did not seem to feel his terrible wound. We moved him into an easier position, and gave him some water.
"'Thank you, sir,' he said, and in five seconds he was dead."
Ensign Bagley had been fearfully wounded by a shot, which practically tore through his body. He sank over the rail, and was grasped by one of the enlisted men, named Reagan, who lifted him up and placed him on the deck.
The young officer, realising that the wound was fatal, and that he had only a short time to live, allowed no murmur of complaint or cry of pain to escape him, but opened his eyes, stared at the sailor, and simply said:
_May 12._ The forts of San Juan, the capital of Porto Rico, were bombarded by a portion of Rear-Admiral Sampson's fleet on Thursday morning, May 12th. The vessels taking part in the action were the battle-ships _New York_, _Iowa_, _Indiana_, the cruisers _Detroit_ and _Montgomery_, and the monitors _Terror_ and _Amphitrite_.
The engagement began at 5.15 and ended at 8.15 A. M., resulting in a loss to the Americans of one killed and seven wounded, and the death of one from prostration by heat. The Spanish loss, as reported by cable to Madrid, was five killed and forty-three wounded.