destroyers, received their fire, and detained them until an ironclad came up. It will be observed that the Spanish squadron did not have to contend with the whole of the American fleet, but that, on the contrary, the forces engaged were, on paper, much more nearly equal than is generally understood. The Americans had the first-class battleships “Oregon” and “Iowa,” the second-class battleship “Texas,” the protected cruiser “Brooklyn,” and the converted yacht “Gloucester.” The Spaniards, on their part, had one armored cruiser, three protected cruisers, and two torpedo-boat destroyers. It is certainly a remarkable fact, and one almost without a parallel in naval annals, if we except Dewey’s achievement at Manila, that not a single one of the Spanish vessels should have managed to escape. The honor of the almost unique victory at Santiago belongs, beyond a doubt, to Commodore Schley, for, at the beginning of the action, Admiral Sampson, in his flagship, the “New York,” was out of sight, and he remained out of signal distance until almost the end. Almost immediately after these incidents an expedition under command of General Miles proceeded to Porto Rico, where, on the southwest coast, at the little village of Guanica, a landing was effected on July 25. Twenty-four hours later, the Spanish Government, through M. Jules Cambon, the French Embassador at Washington, made a formal proposal for ending the war and arranging terms of peace. As a basis for peace negotiations it was stipulated that Spain should first relinquish her sovereignty over any part of the Western Hemisphere, that the Spanish forces in Porto Rico and Cuba should be withdrawn unassisted by the United States, and that Manila should be surrendered to the American forces. The aggressive operations of the American forces in Porto Rico and in the Philippines hastened the acceptance of these terms by Spain. The severest engagement of the campaign in Porto Rico was fought at Coamo on August 9. Here the Spanish commanding officer, Major Rafael M. Yllesca, was killed, after having defended his critical position with great bravery. From all sides the Americans now advanced upon San Juan de Porto Rico, the most important stronghold of the island. In the Philippines, likewise, events were nearing a crisis. On August 7 Captain-General Augustin was served with a joint note from Admiral Dewey and General Merritt, commanding the American forces around Manila, advising him to remove all non-combatants in anticipation of attack. General Augustin refused to accept the responsibility of either defending or surrendering Manila, and accordingly resigned his command. General Fernain Jaudenes, who succeeded him, declined to remove his non-combatants in view of the threatening attitude of the Filipinos around Manila, and resolutely prepared for the worst.