After a time the negro came back, and, to Cushing's joy, reported the Albemarle sunk. At last the intrepid officer found a boat and paddled for eight hours until he reached the Union squadron. After hailing one of the vessels, he fell into the bottom of the boat, utterly exhausted by hunger, cold, fatigue, and excitement. Lieutenant Cushing, to whose intrepidity and skill the country was indebted for this and many other bold exploits, was engaged in thirty-five naval combats during the war. What a record for a young man of twenty-three! He died at thirty-two, the youngest officer of his rank in the United States Navy. One of our finest torpedo boats, which did good service during the Spanish-American war, is well named "The Cushing." CHAPTER XXVI. THE WAR WITH SPAIN IN 1898. =346. The Downfall of Spain on this Continent.=--For half a century or more after the time of Columbus, Spain was the greatest military and political power in the world. Her ships and her sailors carried the proud banner of Castile to every shore and clime then known. The vast domain claimed by Spain on this continent by right of discovery and exploration comprised the fertile islands of the West Indies, the greater portion of Central and South America, and all that part of our own country west of the Mississippi. In territory, in wealth, in power, the sovereignty of Spain became the mightiest in the world. How are the mighty fallen! The once powerful empire has crumbled into dust. The year 1898 saw its overthrow on this side of the Atlantic and in the Philippines. =347. Spain's Cruel Policy towards her Colonies.=--For the most part Spain ruled her colonies with shocking oppression. Her policy was to extort all possible gain from them to her own selfish profit. She retained to the last the barbarous methods of less civilized centuries. Finally, after long years of oppression, the South American colonies began to cut loose from her tyrannical sway. In a few years Spain was stripped of all her possessions in America, excepting only her islands in the West Indies. =348. Cuba rebels against Spanish Oppression.=--One would naturally suppose that these disastrous losses would have taught Spain to govern her only remaining American colonies, Cuba and Porto Rico, with more wisdom. But not so; she kept right on as before, growing worse, if possible, still clinging to the old policy of cruel oppression and merciless extortion. Some thirty years ago a rebellion began in Cuba which lasted ten years. In vain Spain spent millions of money and sent thousands of soldiers to subdue it. Hundreds of Cubans were cast into prison to die of fever and starvation, and their property was confiscated. =349. Cuba again rebels against Spain in 1895.=--In 1895 the long-suffering Cubans rose in rebellion again. Their army was larger, better furnished, and they gained possession of a much more extensive portion of the island.