a rare sagacity, he had
foreseen that, in the event of war with Spain, the far East would be the
scene of operations of the first importance. He thereupon applied for
the command of the Asiatic squadron, and his application was granted.
Dewey proceeded immediately to Hong Kong, and began to concentrate his
forces there and to get them into first-class condition. He spent much
of his time studying the charts of the Pacific, and his officers noticed
that the maps of the Philippine Islands soon became worn and marked. On
Tuesday, April 26, came the explanation of all this in a cablegram
stating that war had been declared between the United States and Spain,
and ordering Dewey to proceed at once to the Philippine Islands and
capture or destroy the Spanish fleet which was stationed there.

Early the next afternoon, the squadron started on its six hundred mile
journey. What lay at the end of it, no one on the fleet knew. Of the
Spanish force, Dewey knew only that twenty-three Spanish war vessels
were somewhere in the Philippines; he knew, too, that they were probably
at Manila, and that the defenses of the harbor were of the strongest
description. But he remembered one of Farragut's sayings, "The closer
you get to your enemy, the harder you can strike," and he lost no time
in getting under way.

[Illustration: DEWEY]

Dewey's squadron consisted of seven vessels, of which one was a revenue
cutter, and two colliers. He was many thousands of miles from the
nearest base of supplies and to fail would mean that he would have to
surrender. So, on that momentous voyage, he drilled and drilled his men,
until their discipline was perfect. On April 30, land was sighted, and
precautions were redoubled, since the enemy might be encountered at any
moment. Careful search failed to reveal the Spaniards in Subig Bay, and
at six o'clock in the evening, Dewey announced to his officers that he
had determined to force Manila Bay that night. At nine o'clock the fleet
was off the bay, all lights were extinguished save one at the stern of
each ship to serve as a guide for the one following, and even that
light was carefully screened on both sides so that it could not be seen
from the shore. Then the fleet headed for the harbor mouth.

What the defenses of the channel were, no one knew. It was reported to
be full of torpedoes. But perhaps Dewey remembered Farragut at Mobile
Bay. At any rate, he did not hesitate, but kept straight on, and the
fle