They had three rings, two platforms, a lot of tight-ropes and trapezes and other things all going at the same time.
Before I had been in the place three minutes I was wishing for a hundred eyes.

And that is the way I felt at Santiago." What we saw of the bombardment was limited to the range of our gun port, but that little was worth all the hardships and toil and discomforts of the whole cruise.

The spectacle of the fleet itself was almost enough.
To see the great ships ploughing through the water, each enveloped in a shroud of smoke, shot here and there with tinges of ruddy flame; to see that mighty line swinging and swaying in front of the enemy; to see the shells land and explode in fort and battery; to see the great gaps torn in cliff and earthworks; to see the geyser-like fountains of water spout up here and there as the Spanish shells struck the surface of the bay--to see all this, and to hear the accompanying thunder and booming of the guns, was payment in full for coal handling and standing watch and "Government straight." Not one of the "Yankee" boys would have missed the spectacle for anything earth could offer.
[Illustration: ON THE GUN DECK DURING THE BOMBARDMENT] During the second hour of the attack we were enabled to observe the work being done by other vessels of the fleet.

Near us was the gallant "New Orleans," the ship purchased from Brazil.

Her foreign build made it easy to distinguish her, and, as she was the only craft using smokeless powder, she presented a prominent mark.