The San Francisco call. [volume], September 28, 1899, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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VOLUME LXXXVI-NO. 120.
SHIPS OF THE ATLANTIC SQUADRONS
SEND FORTH THUNDEROUS SALUTES
Admiral Bevvey, on the Bridge of the Olympia,
Steams Past the Line of Men-of-War and
Receives the OfHciaf Greeting of Comrades
in the Navy.
NEW YORK, Sept 27.— Through
frolicking whitecaps ' the Olym
pia moved majestically up the
lower bay to-day and passed
through the picturesque strait, j
; guarded by Forts Wausworth and
(Hamilton; amid the bromine of great
1 guns, and there inside the city gates
\ Admiral rvwoy 'and his gallant tars
> received the glorious, thunderous wel
• come of the steel-^valled men-of-war,
as their stately ship glidrd up to her
position at the head of the. column,
•there to remain until the great naval
pageant tart on Friday
Never, perhaps, did a triumphant
warrior returning from a victorious
campaign receive a mere impressive
welcome. Although thousands upon
thousands witnessed it from shore, bal
cony, window or housetop, and the !
man-of-war anchorage at Tompkins : j
\ille, where the fleet lay. fairly j
swarmed v;ith lu^s, yachts. and steam- 1
ers'and every serf of harbor craft, all ,
jet black with wild, cha'srlnj. exulting j
people, and the towering white walls j
of the city b:yor.d were brava with a j
irilwcn welcoming lags, to-day's greet
ing to Dewey was the greeting of his
comrades cf the navy. And it was j
eminently nttirg that his comrades in
arms chould hrxve the first chance at
him whom the millions are waiting to j
honor. The r.ccr'e will begin to get at t
him en Friday ar.d Saturday.
To outv. am appearances tne- welcome j
he received from the fleet was strictly j
professional. One ran find the salutes, j
the trumpet flourishes, the Irurnruffles, J
the parading of the marine guard and
a!! the re^st of the ceremonies done in
hr SOtfSTTra-oayj neSSrfh&CtHfi the naval '
regulation*: or due to one of his rank.
But that only in-pressed the mind the
more because even naval regulations, i
rigorous and inc-!a?tir as they are,
could not restrain the pent-up enthu- j
fiasm when it broke forth as it did !
occasionally, in rounds of cheers, any i
more than it could the' bell cords of |
the skippers and the ... -mad people !
aboard the excursion boats. Cheering !
is not permitted by the naval regula
tions abc-ard men-of-war, but no re
proof followed to-day's breaches of dis
cipline
It was a perfect day, though drifting
rlouds, driven by a strong land breeze,
obscured the sun during the morning
and the waves of the lower bay were
capped with white foam. In the after
noon the flying clouds disappeared, the
breeze died away and the sum bathed
the sea in brilliance.
Very early in the morning, before j
Dewey left his anchorage inside Sandy
Hook, Rear Admiral Howison, com
mander of the South Atlantic squadron, !
aboard his flagship, the Chicago, which
arrived outside last night, travel
stained and weather-beaten after her
Journey 01 21.000 miles around South
Africa, foamed in past the Hook, ex
pecting to .in the North Atlantic
squadron in receiving Dewey upon his
arrival. As Howison rounded the spit,
where right under his eye lay the
Olympia, the surprise on the face of
every man on board could be discerned
without th.- aid of glasses. Bui sur
prise is not an emotion men In the navy
indulge in loner, and Dewey's flagship
was no sooner 'recognized than pre- !
parations were made to give him the
loudest and most energetic welcome
they could give. The shells were
manned, the marine guards were pa
raded and seventeen roaring guns were
loosed in honor of Dewey.
The Chicago's Jackies cheered wildly
as she steamed past. The Olympia re
f-ponded with thirteen guns, and the
two admirals, come together from two
ends of the earth, waved a welcome to
each other from the bridge of their re
spective vessels. The Chicago con
tinued on to the upper bay, and upon
arriving there was saluted by the New
York. Only the flagship of a squad
ron salutes upon the appearance of . a
r^ar-admlraJ.. The remainder of the
IV-et gave only a silent welcome to the
voyager.
Long lines of crazy quilting, the uni
versal language of the sea, fluttered
from the signal halyards of the New
York. Rear Admiral Sampson's flag
ehlp. and the Chicago, after a good
deal of wigwagging from the bridges ;
of both ships, dropped her anchor, at j
the foot of the column, close under the
lee of Staten Island.
Rear Admiral Sampson's blue flag
came down as soon as the Chicago i
found her berth. Rear Admiral Howi
son Is his senior, and to the main truck
was hauled up the two-starred red i
pennant, which denoted that he was
outranked. It was explained subse- j
quently that the Chicago did not get to
the head of the column, the place to ,
which she was entitled, because the !
place had been reserved for the Olym
pia, and to have gone there would j
have forced Dewey's flagship beyond j
the edge of the main ship channel.
Rear Admiral Sampson's gig was Im- I
mediately lowered and he went aboard ,
the Chicago to pay his official respects j
to his senior. The captains of the •
other ships, the Indiana. Massachu- i
setts, Brooklyn. Texas and Lancaster,
followed suit, for naval etiquette is
both prompt and exacting. -
Meantime the beautiful white- yacht
The San Francisco Call.
Dolphin, with Assistant Secretary Al
len aboard, had hurried down to the
Olympia. The Dolphin flew a white
Gag containing four stars with a
fouled anchor in the field, the flag of
the Assistant Secretary, and Mr. Al
len personally was conveying to Ad
miral Dewey the greetings and compli
ments of President .McKinley. He
went aboard in a launch and was re
ceived on the gangway by the admiral
himself.
The marine guard, at present arms,
was mustered aft, and as Mr. Allen
came over the side drum ruffles and
bugle flourishes were sounded in his!
honor. When the Assistant Secretary
of the Navy goes aboard a warship the |
regulations prescribe that his flag be
hoisted to the main top. Up went the
flag, but as soon as the greetings had
been exchanged at Mr. Allen's request
it was hauled down and Mr. Allen re
mained as the guest of Admiral Dewey.
It was the desire of the Navy Depart
ment not to detract in any way from
the honors to be accorded D^wey.
An officer from Fort Hancock shortly
after came on board to convey to the
admiral the welcome of the army, and
then, a few minutes after 9, just as the |
tide turned flood, the Olympia weighed |
anchor and began her journey up the
bay. The tugs and harbor craft which
had been hovering about since day
light tooting and shrieking their salu
tations at every opportunity, fell into
her wake and puffed proudly up be
hind her. Every vessel she passed
gave her a vaporous salute, and as the
shipping increased the noisy demon
strations became, almost continuous.
Th^ flrurr of h^ror of the^a&j WAS
in full relief against the sky as he stood
up on the bridge chatting with Assist
ant Secretary Allen and the group of
officers. He occasionally turned and!
smiled and bowed to th( noisy escort.
The Olympia was very stately as she
car.-. • on; her white hull with high free
board seemed frail, but the ugly look
ing gun/ frowning from turrets showed
ivh< re lay the power thai had destroyed
Spain's sea power on the other side of
the world. A long pennant of smoke,
white as bleached linen, stood away |
beautifully toward the shore, the loose
strands at the end disappearing as they
were torn to shreds by the land breeze.
The Olympiads superstructure is all
painted white and only the yellow
stacks and red mouthed funnels gave j
a touch of color to the oncoming
cruiser. The admiral's flag stood out
jauntily at the main mast and the na- j
tional colors floated over the taffrail.
She did not seem to be disturbing the
water as she glided along. There was
little foam at her beak and no combers
at her stern. There was hardly a sus
picion of the turning of the screws
pushing 6000 tons of steel through the |
waves. The. grassy heights of both
Wadsworth and Hamilton were tinged
with spectators as she approached the
Narrows. Subsequently a tongue of
red flame leaped from the granite side
of Fort Wadsworth and like the recoil
came a stroke of fire from the granite
wall on the opposite side. Alter
nately from each side came the deaf
ening roar of an admiral's salute of
seventeen guns.
Slowly and majestically the Olympia
passed the smoke-wreathed forts, an
swering the salute gun for gun until
she became so enveloped in her own
SOME REMINDERS OF DEWEY
On Saturday Admiral Pewey will
be presented with a magnificent
golden loving cup by Mayor Van
Wyrk In behalf of the people of
New York. The sword represented
in the picture is copied from a pho
tograph of the magnificent gold
mounted weapon voted by Cos)*
gresß to the Hero of Manila, and
which is to be presented to him
by President McKinh>y in Wash
ington next week. The Narragan
sett Is the gunboat whlrh Dewey
commanded on this coast in the
years 1572-75. She was a fourth
class gunboat, built in Boston Just
before the war.
smoke that it seemed she might have
broken her steam chest. Then she
pushed through the smoke curtain and
stood revealed before the admiring gaze
of the whole Atlantic squadron, waiting
at anchor off Tompkinsvllle to receive j
her. Every, bit fit brasa and gilt pa.
SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1899.
every ship in the receiving column had /
been burnished; every spot of the white ]j
hulls painted over and every marine J
and sailor knew he was expected to
look his best. Along the railing of the ,
ships the Jackies stood elbow to elbow C
and aft were the marines, drawn up to "*
i salute. A few of the tars ran up to the
i fighting top. Every officer had donned
1 his most £bx>wy uniform, and splendid
ADMIRAL DEWEY AND HIS CAPTAINS.
they looked with their gold epaulets
and belts and clanking swords, gather
ed in the ways of the ship as the Olym
pia approached.
From the New York barked the sig
nal gun, a six-pounder in the starboard
bow, and immediately every ship in the
squadron belched ■ smoke and flarrie.
Louder and louder thundered the guns
as the Olympia came on. She replied
with the thirteen guns to- which Bear
Admiral Howison's rank entitles him.
On board the Olympia the sides were
manned and the band and the marine
guard were paraded.
As the Olympia came abreast of the
Chicago the guard presented arms, the
drums gave four ruffles, the trumpets
four flourishes and the band played,
"Home, Sweet Home," dwelling with
swelling cadence upon the minor bars.
The officers raised their gold bound
beavers and the sailors cheered.
Ship after ship took its turn in doing
honor to the admiral, as the Olympia
sailed grandly up the line of floating
fortresses and the flood of sentiment
swelled up in their hearts. Admiral
Dewey, from the bridge, acknowledged
each salute with a wave of his cap.
He alone of all the officers of the fleet
was in fatigue uniform.
As the Olympia swept by the New
York, the last ship in the column, the
full marine band aboard the Olympia
played Sousa's "El Oapitan" march,
and the spectators on the excursion
fleet cheered. The skippers turned
loose their whistles and sirens. Every
thing that could make a noise in the
harbor joined. Farther than ears could
hear the steam Jets of the whistles on
craft lying at the Battery and up the
North and East rivers could be seen as
they roared their welcome.. It was
such a soul-maddening concert of
steam whistles as American steam
boat men are famous for.
In a few moments the sharp rattle of
the anchor chain was heard as the
Olympiads anchor catted from its bed
into the water. Then came the ad
mirals and captains from all the ships
trooping in their swift wuter carriages
to pay their respects to the nation's
hero. First Rear Admirai Howison
with his aids, splendid in gold braid,
arrived. As they came aboard they
were given the honors due their rank.
Admiral Dewey was still in fatigue
uniform when he received his old class
mate at the gangway. There was a
cordial smile and a hearty handshake
with a "How are you, Howison?" that
thrilled the spectators. The official
visit to the Olympia lasted for over an
Never Did a Triumphant War
rior Returning From a Vic
torious Campaign Receive a
More Impressive Welcome.
hour. Meantime scores of rowboats.
tugs, launches and yachts formed about
her, many with relatives or sweethearts
or relatives of friends aboard.
Almost the first to make the gang
way was the Narkett, with Admiral
Dewey's relatives. The party was
given a warm greeting and taken to the
cabin. One officer was so overjoyed at
the sight of the wife he had not seen
for twenty-three months that he rushed
down the gangway and kissed her in
the presence of 10,000 people. Some of
thr> visitors had flowers for the ad
miral, and more had good things for
the crew. One man presented the crew
with a rowboat load of watermelons.
As soon as Admiral Dewey could de
tach hirtsrlf from those who were so
eager to see him, he returned the offi
cial visits which the etiquette of the oc
casion required. He first called upon
Rear Admiral Sampson, whose ship lay
next to his. and then /upon Rear Ad
miral Howison, at the othtr end of the
line. For this ceremony the admiral
himself donned the full uniform of his
rank. There was a pretty ceremony
as he went aboard the New York and
the Chicago, and as the little launch
in which he sat passed each ship of the
squadron the sides were manned, the
drums were rolled, the bugles blown
and the officers at the ways saluted.
Upon the return of the launch to the
Olympia, the jackstaff from which his
flag fluttered was taken down by Ad
miral Dewey's orders, and these formal
ceremonies were thus omitted — another
proof of the admiral's Innate modesty.
Then there were other .official visits
between officers of the fleet, and these
continued without interruption for two
hours. One of the admiral's first acts
was to dispatch Flag Lieutenant
Brumby with his compliments to the
Mayor ..f New York and to apprise him
officially of the admiral's arrival.
Rear Admiral Howison's appearance
in the harbor will in no way interfere
with the programme for Friday. It
will be carried out as arranged, except
that his flagship, if it should join the
parade, will follow the Olympia instead
of Rear Admiral Sampson's flagship
New York. But it is not certain that
Admiral Howison will take part. He
is reported to have said this afternoon
that he and his crew were just in after
their long journey and preferred to rest
and clean up their travel-stained ship.
If he should ride in the laud parade on
PKICE FIVE CEXTS.
NEW YORK. Sept 27.— Four *
hundred vessels will steam in '
the wake of the Olympia. the -
-hip of the conqueror, in the ■
naval parade up North River. -
Fifteen of the vessels leading the -
line, save for the police and fire- -
beats, which will clear the way, •
will be war vessels of different -
types, th-- 1 present day battle- *
Bhips showing with the anti- «
quated craft of the old navy. -
After the destroyers, in double *
column, will follow nearly one -
hundred of the finest steam -
yacht! in the world, a whole di- -
vision in themselves, under com- ■
mand of J. Pier;, mt Morgan.
, Big passenger steamboats and ■
excursion steamers with official ■
committees and delegations on -
board will form part of the es- -
cort, while astern of them w-.1l ■
come barges and propellers and ■
tugs of all sizes and degrees un- ■
til those watching from shore -
the passing show will wonder •
that there are su many vessels -
afloat.
Saturday, before Sampson's senior, he
will precede the commander of the
North Atlantic squadron.
At sunset the ersigns came fluttering
down from all the ships, the crews and
officers faced the flag and the national
airs sounded over the waters. The twi
light faded and strings of signal Hght3
twinkled on the flagship as orders were
sent danointr down the line. The fleet
lay all shining in light. The excursion
boats with their crowds of sightseers
continued to circle around the Olympia
until the bugle sounded taps and the
lights went out.
MOST BRILLIANT
ILLUMINATION OF
THE NARROWS
NEW YORK, Sept. 27.— Viewed from
the shore skirting Staten Island or Bay
Ridge, the Narrows took on the ap
pearance to-night of a big water fete,
a Venetian carnival which might have
been taken for a great canal formed by
revenue cutters and warships, begin
ing with the Olympia at St. George and
ending with the Onondaga lying off the
quarantine. Between this line of beau
tifully lighted warships and Staten Isl
and shore darted brilliantly illuminated
launches carrying prettily gowned
women and occasionally a party of
naval officers resplendent in gold braid
ed dress uniforms. The searchlights of
the ships chased many of these elusive
water greyhounds, as they scurried
thither and hither in and out among
the warships, Estopping at the gangway
of one ship and then hurrying to an
other, the ladies hogging at each to be
permitted to p> on hoard, and laughing
ly protesting when the obdurate officer
of the watch talked of iron naval rules
which forbade visitors on the ships af
ter 4 o'clock.
The Olympia was the center of at
traction. The varl-colored lights used
for signaling were kept constantly
flashing from ship to ship, and at
stated intervals a long succession of
colored lights would flash out like a
sudden display of fireworks, when a
number of the vessels would simultan
eously send messages to the guardship.
The most unique illumination along the
shores of the harbor was the effective
display at quarantine boarding station
above the Narrows. It consisted of
the words. "Welcome Home," in white
electric lights, with a border of blue
and white and an immense American
fliig, 14 feet by 25 feet, set in an illum
inated frame of hundreds of white elec
tric bulbs. This display was visible all
over the bay and attracted the atten
tion of all the ships, besides an im
mense concourse of Staten Islanders
and visitors who invaded the quarantine
grounds. Another unique illumination
was that placed on the slope overlook
ing the quarantine and consisting of
a string of alternate American flags
and pennants suspended from a center
pole bearing three large arc light? cov
ered with red. white and blue globes.
Very little r?A fire was burned to
night, the residents preferring to wait
until Friday night, when the general il
lumination of the coast will take place.
PROGRAMME FOR
FRIDAY'S GREAT
NAVAL PARADE
NEW YORK, Sept. 27.— The naval
committee to-night gave out the fol
lowing programme for the naval
parade, a list of the vessels which will
participate in it and their positions:
The parade will start from Quarantine
on Friday at 1 p. m. The police boat
Patrol will be in the lead, with the fire
boats New York and Van Wyek. Tha
Olympia, flagship of Admiral Dewey, and
the steamer Sandy Hook, having on board
Mayor Van. Wyck and represeutailvss at