and took refuge on the merchant ships in the harbor and thanked heaven
when they bore them away. Many others fled from the city, but the
majority stayed, grimly determined to be in at the death and accept
whatever fate was in store for them.

The distance between Hong Kong and Manila is 630 miles, and it needed
only a little figuring on the part of the inhabitants to decide that the
dreaded squadron would be due on the following Saturday evening or early
the next morning, which would be the first of May. The self-confidence
of Admiral Montojo and his officers was almost sublime. All they asked
was a fair chance at the "American pigs." They hoped that nothing would
occur to prevent the coming of the fleet, for the Spaniards would never
cease to mourn if the golden opportunity were allowed to slip from their
grasp. They were not disappointed in that respect.

It is proper to give at this point the respective strength of the
American and Spanish fleets. The squadron under the command of
Commodore Dewey was as follows:

_Olympia_--Protected cruiser (flagship), 5,500 tons. Speed, 21.7 knots.
Complement, 450. Armor, protected deck, 2 inches to 4-3/4 inches. Guns,
main battery, four 8-inch, ten 5-inch, rapid-fire; secondary battery,
rapid-fire, fourteen 6-pound, seven 1-pound, four Gatlings, one field
gun and five torpedo tubes. Captain Charles V. Gridley.

_Baltimore_--Protected cruiser, 4,400 tons. Speed, 20.1 knots.
Complement, 386. Armor, 2-1/2 inches to 4 inches. Guns, main battery,
four 8-inch, six 6-inch, slow-fire; secondary battery, rapid-fire, four
6-pound, two 3-pound, two 1-pound, four 37 MM. Hotchkiss, two Colts, one
field gun and five torpedo tubes. Captain N.M. Dyer.