Sistersville oil review. [volume], July 13, 1898, Image 1

About Sistersville oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1896-1901

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?#Mii
J H. McCOY, Editor and Proprietor
Terms? $1.00 Per Year, n Advance
VOL. XIV.
SISTERSVILLE, TYLER COUNTY, W. VA., WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 1898.
NO. 28
FIRING ON SANTIAGO
Bv Sampson's Fleet Began
Yesterday Morning
AT NINE O'CLOCK
Many of the Shots Fell Harm
less.
In the Bay Before fha ('Uj-Oae Kiiell,
However, Struck n Lnr^e Church in
Which Was Mlornl Ainmnnit toil. anil
Treniewlou* Expltnioaw Followed.
Off Santiago de Cuba, via Playa
del Este, July n. ? At half past 9
this morning, alter several range
finding shots over the ridge protect
ing Santiago Irom the sea, the
United States cruiser Newark
opened fire into the city with her
Slight-inch guns.
The sigual corps stationed on
the top of the ridge reported the ef
fects of the shots.
The New York, Brooklyn and
Indiana participated in firing at in
tervals of five minutes.
The bombardment lasted for two
hours, when General Shafter re
ported that the shells were mostly
falling intD the bay and doing but
little damage. The last shot, how
ever, struck a prominent church in
the heart of the city which was
heavily stored with powder and
ammunition, causing a tremendous
explosion. The extent of the dam
age is not known.
When the warships ceased firing
\ and before General Shafter had be
a land attack a flag of truce
was seen coming from the city.
The object of this was not known
at noon today when the correspon
dent of the Associated Press left
the front.
EARLY ADVICES
from the Sent of.W.tr Say Xothiug
About n Roaih triliiiPiii? Crtn?te of
KlintKr* I>c l:iy.
Washington, D. C., July n. ?
General Sliafter's report from Si
boney, sent just before midnight
last night, caused ofB:ia!s in the
f war department to wait all day
k with the expectation of hearing
I that the bombardment of Santiago
ft had begun. Xo word to that effect
came, however, up to the time the
department closed, and though
there is little reason to doubt that
the general carried out the pro
gram of which he had noticed the
department, it was regarded as pos
sible that he had consented to a
further extension under the flag of
truce in view of certain signs of
weakening on the part of the
Spanish commander.
General Miles, with additional
reinforcements, arrived off Santia
go today, and if a surrender has no:
been secured it is believed that the
assault upon the town proper will
be prosecuted at once with the
greatest energy and determination.
Tests made recently of the naval
ordnance gave very unsatisfactorv
T-esults when it was attempted to
project shells over the high hills
n the open sea into Santiago
1 Possibly better results may be at
tained tomorrow if they attack is
resumed then, bnt there is more
likelihood that the main reliance
. will be upon such of lighter draft
* vessels of Admiral Sampsons fleet
' as may succeed in getting closer to
the shore and in " better position
than the heavy battleships.
CAUSE OF SHAFTER'S DELAY.
The officials here are satisfied
that what appears to be delay on
the part of General Shafter, was
really caused by his efforts to car
ry oat strictly the president's in- i
junction to prevent the Spanish
army from escaping from Santiago.
He might have attacked the town
several days ago with the result,
that if the Spaniards were over
Hiram: "There's the darnedest mistake I ever seen in a high clas?
newspaper."
Mandy: "What is it. Hi?"
Hiram: "Why. it sez, 'She's a man-of-war' instid of sayin 'She's a wo
man of war' or 'He's a man of war!' "
come tbey would have retreated
without obstruction to the north
west beyond the reach of our sol
diers to follow. His dispatch writ
ten late last night indicates clearly
that he has teen trying to com
plete his line of investment so as lo
prevent such an escape, and as he
appears to feel satisfied that he has
accomplished this, the final assault
will not be delayed much longer.
General Shafter is disposed to save
every life possibie in the war, prob
ably having in miud the particular
ly. lajrge proportion uf killed,
wounded and missing compared to
the total strength of his army in
the battle of Caney, which the of
ficials figures promulgated today
shows was exceptional in modern
warfare. It is to save our troops
that he desires to make a free use
of artillery before the assault
proper begins, and also to secure
the co operation of the navy in the
attack.
MORE SERIOUS THAN SUPPOSED.
The little artillery duel of yes
terday 3ppears to have been more
i serious iu it^ results than was at
j first supposed by General Shafier
! himself, for during the afternoon
he was obliged to report as one re
sult the death of Captain Charles
: VV. Rowell, second infantry, one of
j the most gallant and popular ofn -
.cersofthe regular establishment.
'Captain Rowell was born in Xerv
York and appointed to the military
academy in 1870. He became a
secoud lieutenant in 1874, a first
lieutenant in 'Si and was placed in
'command of the company which he
i led to his death in 1S96. His death
caused deep grief among the officers
of the department, who respected
him for his soldierly qualities as
manifested in his hard service in
1 the west.
The cable communication be
tween Washington and General
j Shafter's headquarters has now
been gotten in excellent condition
| so that it has been possible to re
jceive at the department a message
in twenty minutes after it had been
; dispatched by General Shafter.
Colonel Allen who is in charge at
General Shafter's end of the line,
has reported to the department that
he is now engaged in laying a cable
;from Guantanaino to Playa del
Este, which will still further reduce
: the time required for the exchange
of communication.
A Friend to Hip KeM-xie.
; Little Blanche Barnhart, who was
arrested a few evenings ago in a
, "coon dive" down the railroad, was
rescued yesterday by a relative
i from Doddridge county, who took
| her home with him.
The parties with whom she had
b?en staying offered to pay her
fine, but the mayor refused to al
low her to return. She was very
pleasant and promised to reform. 1
GEN. MILES ARRIVES.
A. Snntlftffo Br,y Ye.lerrt?y [?< Noun.
He Confer* With Admiral KhimP"*"
nTJ,l?eneral Hhafier-wm So. Snper
cede the I.aKcr.
Washington, D. C., July |
Gen. Nelson A. Miles, command
ing the United States array, ar
rived off Santiago bay shortly after
noon today. Upon the arrival of
the auxilary crusier \ ale, on which
Gen. Miles was a passenger, com
munication was opened with Ad
dmiral Sampson and the two
commanders were soon in confer
ence.
During the early afternoon Gen.
Miles landed at Play a del Este and
communicated with Gen. Shafter,
commanding the American forces
[before Santiago, by telephone.
What the nature and result of the
two consultations were is not dis
closed at the war department but
General Miles doubtless was placed
iu possession of all salient points of
, the situation from the view point
1 of both the navy and the army.
It is understood to have
! General Miles' purpose to proceed
I immediately to General Shafter s
i headquarters at Sibonev and alter
' discussing with Sha'ter the la'.'.or s
plan of campaign, to make a per
sonal examination o; the American
position. It is not to be understood
that General Miles is to supersede
General Shafter in command of the
United States forces before Santia
j go. General Sha'ter is operating
there under written instructions
from the secretary of war, approved
by the President, and as long as he
is physically able to direct the
trooDS. he will retain his command.
A prominent official of the ^ir
1 department said late tonight that
I neither the department nor General
Miles had any desire to detract an
iota trom the credit due to General
Shafter for the plans by which be
hopes to achieve a victory at Santi
^The notably fast run made by the
cruiser Vale trom Charleston to
Santiago, is particularly pleasing
to the naval officials. S?ie left
Charleston Saturday morning at 2
?o'clock, making the run in a tnfle
less than two days and a half, one
had on board the Sixth Massachu
setts. one of the regiments of Gen
eral Garretson's brigade- Tne Co
lumbia, which left Charleston Plas
tically simultaneously with the
Vale, carried one battalion of tue
Sixth Illinois, also a part ot Garret
1 -on's brieade. So far as can be
learned at' this writing, the Co! um -
; bia has not arrived off Santiago.
For forty years Dr. Fowler s Ex
tract of Wild Strawberry has been
curing summer comprint, dysen
tery, diarrhoea, bloody flux, pam in ,
the stomach, and it has - e*
failed to do everything claimea lor
it.
Washington, July 7. ? There was
a cont)miation of peace talk today,
and otter evidences in this line than
those of yesterday are coming to
the surface. Such, for instance,
was the confirmation by the state
department of the report that the
Cadiz fleet was returning to Spain.
Since it is scarcely conceivable that
the Spanish government would
doom this fast remnant of their
fleet to destruction at the hands of
Watson's squadron, which, in all
probability, could head it before it
reached Cadiz, its home port, there
fore, the assumption is that the
Spanish government calculates that
at least an armistice precedent to
peace will be obtained before the
ships reach Spain.
An unusually definite report was
in circulation that the United States
had been sounded in the interest of
peace by the British ambassador,
but when it was brought to Am
bassador Julian Pauucefote's atten
tion, 9^ authorized an explicit de
nial, and said that he had not com
municated with the government in
any way regarding the termination
of the war.
Conditions at Santiago also are
regarded as favorable just now, ac
cording to General Shatter's dis
patch received during! he forenoon.
Nothing came from him during the
day, but the impression prevails
that the Spaniards are in a desper
ate plight within the lines of the
city, and General Shafter's action
in allowing Linares to communicate
freely with Madrid is an implication
that there is at least a reasonable
j hope that the Spanish general con
; templates a surrender.
' PREPARING FOR THE LAST STROKE.
However that may be, every
preparation is making for a great 1
engagement, the final one at San- 1
tiago, it is hoped, which may begin j
even as early as tomorrow if Shaf-j
tier's reinfoi cements are on hand.;
The department has not heard so
far of the arrival of these soldiers,
but believes they have reached
Shafter. The greatest difficulty
that has been encountered is in the
landing of the troops and supplies.
This being the hurricane season,
and the wind setting straight on
the southern coast, the masters of
the transports have become alarmed
and taken their ships many miles
out to sea, necessitating long jour
neys by the ship's boats, which
make their landing through the
surf with the greatest difficulty and
danger. So slow and tedious has
been the service that Secretary Al
1 ger has ordered General Shafter to
seize the transports, one and all,
and place them as near the coast as
he chooses, without regard to the
; fears of their masters. Ten days
1 ago lighters were started down from
r Mobile and Tampa but so far Gen ? j
eral Shatter has received only one. j
These lighters have been a night- 1
mare to the department ever since.
The captains tie up in creeks at the
slightest sign of bad weather,
while the charter rate of $100 a!
day runs on. Orders have been
sent forward to terminate this state
of things, even if it is necessary to ;
lose a few lighters in the effort to
reach Shafter.
THE DISPOSITION OK CERYERA.
The government has not yet de
cided how to dispose of Admiral.
Are Not Out of Line With Some
of the Surface Indications.
CAMARAS FLEET RETURN
I
And is Very Suggestive of
in's Preparation to Save j
m
II* rr*ctnr<xl Iluuor. Wh'cli in Abonl j
Ail ithnN litfi lo ArimluisK-r l'p??n? |
The Hpnnlih An* in n D^prrnfe
lit Hnntin^u.
$
Cervera. A feeling of the highest
admiration prevails here at the gal
lantry displayed by the old warrior
and the noble spirit exhibited by
him under misfortune. The dispo
sition is to treat him with as great
liberality as the conditions will
permit. It has been proposed that
he be released on parole, not to
engage in hostilities against the
United States until the end of the
war, but it has not been decided
whether to do this, or to continue
the admiral technically within the
limits of the naval academy reser
vation at Annapolis. All the other
captured Spanish officials will be
allowed to remain with the enlisted
men at the prison station, at Seavey
Island, Portsmouth harbor, New
Hampshire. The St. Louis is due
here tonight or tomorrow with the
first lot of prisoners, while the Har
vard is just about to start from off
Santiago with the remainder.
The report of the appearance of
a Spanish receiver off the coast of
British Coluumbia, which appears
to have created such commotion
on the northwestern coast, came
from one of the governmont agents
in that section of the world. More
over, the same person said that two
vessels were taking on coal at a
British Columbian port, which, it
was presumed, was intended for the
Spanish fleet should it have made
its way into the Pacific ocean
through the Snez canal.
The failure of Congress to act on
the naval advancement special acts
may after all be beneficial as ena
bling the President to arrange with
more deliberation and justice a
scale of rewards for meritorious
officers.
(?one lo War.
Geo. Conners, W. F. Bill, Ed
win O'Hara, and Frank Conley left
this morning for Camp Atkinson,
W.Va., where they will join the
Fairmont company, which is mob
ilised there. This makes near 40
Sistersvillians, who are now in that
company.
FRED SMALL
Llnrmitn fur the Carter Oil Company,
I>lt*? of Fetfr.
Fred Small, late of Titusville,
died last evening of typhoid fever.
He was employed as lineman for the
Carter Oil company and had just
moved to this city tsvo weeks ago.
He was taken sick the day after he
arrived here. He leaves a wife to
mouru his loss. The deceased was
about 35 years of age.
Money is being raised by popu
lar subscription tor the purpose of
building an iron fence around the
Baptist church. Two-thirds of the
amount of money necessary has
been subscribed, and it is believed
that very little trouble will be ex
perienced in procuring the requisite
amount. It should be enclosed by
all means, thereby breaking up the
practice of a set of loafers, who con
tinually make the church steps
their loitering grounds.
Mr*. Kcllrj
Mrs. W. A. Kelley, wife of the
genial manager of the depot eating
house, died at a Parkersburg hos
pital yesterday.
The deceased has beeu suffering
of paralysis for some time, and was
being treated in the hospital at the
time of her death.
Her home is in New York City,
and her remains will be ta*en there
for interment,
Tnkrn to Tltnuvllle.
The remains of Fred Small were
sent to Titusville this afternoon for
interment. They were accompan
ied by his wife and a few immedi
ate friends.
This is a good picture of the Rocking Chair whioh we are
It i-s strongly made of hard wood and is finished in either
Antique or Mahogany.
SifiTH & Boeshar!