Ceredo advance. [volume], October 30, 1901, Image 3

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SCHLEY ON THE STAND
—
The Admiral Testifies as to the
Tart He Took in the Bat
tle of Santiago.
NARRATION OF A HISTORICAL EVENT.
Interesting Account of the Eujraife
iueut From the Time of Its Be
ffiuuiu? Until the End.
Scene. Before Clenfuego. Depleted and
the Situation on III. Arrival Off
Santiago Narrated by the Dis
tinguished WltnrM.
Washington. Oct. 25. — Adm. Schley
Thursday took the stand in hi* own be
half at the court of inquiry, which is In
vestigating his conduct as commander
in-chief ot the tlyuig squadron during the
6antiago campaign. He was summoned
a few mlruite* after the court convened
at 2 o’clock for the afternoon session, and
when the court adjourned at 4 o’clock, he
apparently had gotten well under way In
his testimony.
The admiral then In answer to his coun
sel proceeded to give a careful and de
tailed narrative of all the events of the
campaign up to the battle of Santiago.
He had not reached the stage of his tes
timony where he will tell of the buttle,
when the court adjourned for the day.
w lien the court adjourned for the day
many of the spectators pressed forward
ami shook the admiral's hand. ‘
"I was a commodore,” the admiral be
?;an in response to Mr. Rayner's request
or a narrative of the campaign, "and
was ordered to command the Hying squad
ron on the 2Mh of March, lvw. and served
until the Sail day of June, of the same
year. In tha’ capacity.”
He had taken t onmuind of the squad
ron at Hampton Roads, Va.. hoisting his
flag on tlie cruiser Brooklyn. After re
luting th<- organization of tlie squadron
at the Virginia port, lie said that iie had
kcalled the emmandlng oiiicers of the
tVesH. :* e.instituting that squadron to
gether ami then added:
"The plan of the campaign was thresh
ed out. I put the squadron immediately
upon a war footing, established pickets
and patrols and also the masking of
lights.”
"During this time I explained to all the
commanding officers that as it would he
Impossible to contrive a plan of battle
that would meet unforeseen contingen
cies. the general plan of the squadron
would lie to crui-o- In line of battle and
Its gen r a l principle would he to attack
th<' lead and leading vessels, concentrat
ing the fire upon them in order, first, to
obtain the moral effect, and second, to
throw them into confusion, making a vic
tory over them probably very much more
successful and complete. I did thnt for
the reason that the older plans of battle
had nil been to attack centers and rear,
resulting in the escape usually of a part
of each squadron. I felt that the attack
of tlie head of a squadron, which was to
» >me extent new. would Involve the de
struction of the whole fleet, and that was
the general plan of action as explained
to them on that occasion.”
On May 12 or 13 he received orders from
the secretary of the navy to proceed to
Charleston, S. C. The squadron arrived
there on the liJth and found orders from
the secretary dlrc*ctlng him to proceed to
Key West and report to Commodore Re
mey for further instructions. He went to
the Florida port at a 12 knot speed, that
being the highest all the vessels of the
squadron could make. The squadron at
the time consisted of the Brooklyn, Mas
sachusetts. Texas. Scorpion and Sterling,
the latter being a collier. The admiral
said the Sterling was lost sight of the
Hrnt night out and he never saw her
again until he met her oft the south side
of Cuba. The Hying squadron arrived at
Key West on the 17th. the admiral
thought, and on the next day h>« went
ashore to pay his respects to Commo
dore Remey, after having saluted his
flag Continuing his narrative, the ad
miral said:
’H hilst there the commodore showed
me a telegraphic order from the honora
ble secretary of the navy directing me to
proceed with all dispatch to the block
ade of Havana. He also showed me a
number of other dispatches, the purport
of which, I remember, but the contents
I do not. I hastened off on my way to
the ship in the afternoon. 1 thought I
eaw the New York approaching. At all
events, when I got on board, determining
to go at once oft Santiago, the flagship
had arrived and salutes were exchanged.
1 went on board to pay my respects and
Blsi to talk over the situation with Adm
Sampson. I found that the admiral was
very much worn and necessarily so, be
cause his responsibility had been very
great.
"He showed me a number of orders.
Among them was one which stated that
a division of the two squadrons had been
decided upon, one for the north and the
other for the south coast of Cuba. In
which he was given the preference of
command. The order, if I remember cor
, rectly. stated that under any circum
stances I was to remain with my com
mand. and I asked him which of the two
stations he would fake, and he said he
proposed to hold the Havana or north
one. He also told me that whichever
side I went on to remember that they
were very heavily fortified and that his
confidential Instructions, 'which he deliv
ered to me verbally, were that we were
not to risk our battleships against the
fortified places of the coast until after
the Spanish squadron had been disposed
of My recollection now Is that he told
Hie it was at Curacoa. The Impression
left on my mind was that It was some
where in the Venezuelan gulf and that If
was supplied with ammunition and stores
destined to Havana, and that was un
doubtedly the point It was to reach. He
said his information was that the orders
of the Spanish fleet to reach Havana or
sotn« point iti railroad communication
with it were imperative and that he be
lieved and thought that f’lenfuegos would
be th« point, as that came under the ac
ceptation of the order m«*re directly. We
looked over maps, und 1 must say 1
•(freed with him.
"I told him that I had been ordered to
report for duty to Adm. Itcmey and that
I Imagined necessarily meant himself, and
that l wanted to assure him at the out
set that 1 should he loyal, absolutely and
unreservedly, to the cause we were b oh
representing. rapt. Chadwick, who w as
prerent I do not remcmlw r whether all
the time or not—said: ‘Of course, com
fnodor*, any one who has known your
character, would know that It would l»«
Impossible for you to b<- otherwise than
loyal.' 1 asked the admiral If there had
been mtnblished any means of communi
cation with the insurgents, whether there
Were any pilots or whether any locality
was known where they were to be found.
He told me that he did not know*, but
that when he got the situation lietter In
band ho would communicate with me,
but that he thought If would be better
for me to start as early as we could get
away and blockade Clenfuegos. I then
went aboard my own flagship In order
to hasten the operations of coaling.
Whilst there, the Algonquin came out,
bearing an order from the secretary of
the navy, through Commodore Remey,
directing me to go rtff Havana. I sig
nalled to the admiral to know whether
or not he understotal my orders were to
go off Havana. He replied by signal that
he understood that his coming to Key
West modified my orders and that f
should t>e prepared to carry otit the or
ders we had agreed upon in the after
noon I do not remember whether that
was on that afternoon or In the morn
ing, but it was before I left for Clen
f llegOS."
The next move of the present squadron
was from Key West to Clenfuegos. Citna,
• qd the admiral told how. as the ootn
mander-in-chlef of that squadron, he had
the vessels coaled. *«> that at 7 o'clock or
8 o'clock on the morning of May 1$ all
the si’.ps of the fleet turned thejr backs
upon American soil. This was d me under
the order of the rommander-in-ehlef,
Adm Sampson At this point the witness
quoted Adm. Sampson's order No. &, not
falling to point out as he went along,
<hat in this order the admiral had twtJd:
*'I have the situation wall in Aural and
I will writs you and give you any In- !
formation that suggests Itself." The first !
of note on the voyage toward Clen
fuegos occurred. Adm Sc hley said, after 1
he had been out from Key West three or 1
four hours. It was then that he had met i
Capt. Me'alia In charge of the sub
squadron with the Marblehead at its
head, which had been doing duty on the
(uba>. coast near Clcnfuegos. whither
the commodore with his flying squadron
was bound McCalla had sent the Eagle ;
»n communicate with the flying squadron.
Adm. Schley also mentioned that the '
Scorpion had been sent to intercept the
Kagle for the purpose of securing what- I
eve. information she might bring. "After
a little." he said, "the Scorpion returned ,
.renortcd through the megaphone. 1 ;
think, identically as Is reported in his '
log. which was all the information he
gave us. The Kagle afterward pas«*d
close enough to the Brooklyn to hail her
by the megaphone and repeated that
there was no news. I was on the quar- I
ter deck. The thing seemed to be almost
burned into my mind, but after what I
have heard. 1 begin to think that may be
I was mistaken."
Adm. Schley placed his arrival off Clen
Tuegos at near midnight of May 21. He
told of hearing guns early that evening
while still 30 or to miles distant from the
Cuban port. "The fact of hearing these
undoubted, so much so thut
the officer of the deck spoke of It. I hap- '
pened to be there at the time.”
He said that the fleet stopped for the
night ten or twelve miles off shore off
♦lenfuegos and that he had sent the
Scorpion ahead of the fleet as a patrol
and that toward daylight on the follow
! morning. May 27. ail the ships had
i in Close to the harbor entrance. |
My recollection now Is." he said, "thut
J'*’ within a mile and looked at the
i harbor, but owing to trees and other ob
I structlons it was impossible to sec into
. e .aar^'r' 1 never saw any smoke
; !‘,a(‘|l!i and I whs a very close watcher
on deck, generally from 8 o'clock in the
' ,lI,°rntnK until 12 or 1 o'cl.K'k at night.
I here was scarcely a circumstance of any
; kind that escaped me.”
The admiral said that after this In
spection of the harbor he had taken a po
sition with the fleet three or four miles
I out.
At li o'clock of the evening of tin* 22d
the torpedo boat Dupont arrived with
adlvces from Adm. Sampson. The dls
paf( li referred to was the "Dear Schley"
letter. Referring to this dispatch the
| witness said:
"I dlil not remember the fact until
within the past few months Ixtuusc there
was duplicates of that letter, but I now
I recall from the lact that I sent the Scor
pion to the eastward in obedience to the
injunction contained in that letter to com
municate witli tile scouts about w llO.Hti
presence off Santiago I was very uncer
tain, as I think the admiral was on ac
count of orders having been sent direct
ing them to proceed in the direction of
the Spanish main to look for the squad
ron. The admiral was not certain wheth
er th< y hud got back, nor was l. There
fore. I sent the Scorpion eust and that
i tact flxed the receipt of that letter.”
Doming to the blockade off i Mi nim gos
[the admiral explained tin* formation of1
I his fleet there, saying that the steaming
I which hud been mentioned in the logs
was for the purpose of overcoming the
effect of a current which set directly Into
tin* bight. He said the ships were con
stantly setting into the breuch and were
obliged almost every hour to steam for
a mile or two. "And that.” lie said, "ac
counts for a good deal of what Is stated
in the logs about steaming. We were
closer at night, and that'” he said em
phatically, was tile rule of the sgnudron
always; we were closer at night at both
< 'lenfuegos and Santiago. The idea of
keeping the squadron In formation dur
ing the night or in line of battle ready
for any emergency was never abandoned."
At this point Adm. Schley digressed for
a moment to refer to the conversation
he had had with Adm. Sampson before
leaving Key West, widen hi* said hud in
duced tin- belief that the Spanish squad
ron's objective was Clenfuegos.
The admiral then related the particu
lars of the visit of Ideut. Wood, of the
Inipont, to him. on board the Brooklyn
when the Dupont arrived off (Meiifuegos.
He said that Ideut. Wood was In u pitia
ble condition of exhaustion because of
his arduous duties on u torpedo boat.
The admiral related how Ideut. Wood
had handed him the dispatch and added:
"I think he did me injustice when he
spoke of my speaking disrespectfully of
Adm Sampson as Capt. Sampson. I used
no such term. There was no reason why
1 should have done so."
i he* admiral said that the Hawk ar
rived about 8 o'clock on the morning of
May 13. This vessel, he said, hail brought
the dispatch from,Adm, Sampson, whieh
is designated as No. 8. This Is th* dis
patch In which the commander-in-chief
notified the commander of the flying
squadron that the Spanish fleet probably
was at Santiago, and directed him. "If
satisfbd that they are not at Ctenfuegoa
t*» proceed with all dispatch to Santiago.”
The witness said he had received dupli
cate copies of dispatch No. 8, and said
he identified the copy brought by the
Hawk as the first received by marginal
notes which had been made on the citpy
The admiral referred to a memorandum
from the Dolphin published In Ihe appen
dix to the report of the chief of the bu
reau of navigation as follows:
"The Hawk has just reported from Ci
enfuegos with dispatches from Schley.
11oo*| says a good number of the officers
don't believe the Spaniards are there at
all, although they can only surmise."
"That." remarked the admlrai, "would
go to Indicate that Mr. Hood was not
very certain In his own mind, or ‘f he
had brought any verbal instructions to
me, that he failed to report the fart to
the commander-in-chief. Mr. Hood got
Into the anchorage I think s*»m** time
about 8 o'clock. The Adula did not get
Into the anchorage at f'ienfueg.,* before
I or 11 o'clock. Mem. Hood did not
! board that ship In my presence. She had
; already been boarded. If he boarded the
i Adula and got this news and failed to
deliver It to me. then he committed an
Indiscretion, for I was the senior officer
and he *11*1 not know what I was going
to do with her, and I should have been
very glad to have had his Information.”
Adm. Schley said that on the night *.f
the 2-M he had seen three horizontal lights
to th*- eastward and to the westward of
the harbor of Clenfuego*. "The one to
the eastward," he said, "was In the moun
tains and I should say t*n miles from the
coast and certainly Mi feet up The oth
ers to th*- westward wer* about five nr
six miles in on the beach but back of It
on the highland."
lie said that w-hlle the squadron lay
off (ienftjegog the winds wer*- fr<--h and
th -re was quite a rolling awe'1 to th f .
In this connection Adm. H* hl* y referred
i to the fact that he had not le-en Inform* d
lhaf there was any system of signals for
* communicating with the Insurg nts and
be raid that he *11*1 not know that there
wore any Insurgents to th*' westward of
tienfuegos. Continuing *>n the subj< * t
of coaling Adm. Slchley adds:
"After we got hold of colliers wo wer*
I very much better fitted to resist sho* k
as well as to deliver this eoal rapidly
Perhaps, with th*- Inter experience of tin
war. I might bar. coaled on dav v. 1 • h
worse weather. We had a good many
accidents about which no mention has
been made because they cam*- after th«
period <>f time. One of the roll!-re had
to go to New York absolutely smash* *1
; In.
Adm. Schley testified that he heart) for
J the first time the rode of signals ar
ranged for communicating with tin- Cu
bans on the morning of May 24. He sent
Capt. MrCallfi ashore on the 2»th II*
<ame bark and reported that he thought
t the enemy was not at Clcnfuegos An
hour or two had then, the witness said,
been consumed In the preparation of dis
patches Including a dispatch to be sent
to the secretary of the navy, and about
8 o'clock the *<|tiadrnn steamed to the
south. "I think," he said, "that we fi
nally got under way between 7 and 8
o'clock on a course of about southeast."
St leaking of the weather conditions on
the night of the 21th. after the squadron
had got under way, the admiral said that
he remembered that the night was a
; dark one and the sky lowering It was
ralnv squalls, he said
Schley spoke of the weather on *he 2f»th
as rough for the smaller ships
j t’ormng to the 2*th. Adt i. S< hley said
that the weather was still rough, and he
| related the incident of ei ling Comman
der Southerland away » h the Kagls.
"He did not.’ the admtrai said, "Insist
| upon eon ling his ship because It would
j have been absurd. Impossible."
"We continued pn Van easterly eourse,
I as my orders contem'dated, approaching
I cautiously, ana %t :k>y ziso conveyed to
me the )rformation that probably that
^ksn / <cft t' enf ieg, 4 the enemy would
• leave Santiago, I laid such a course as I
; thought would give me horizon
and If he did leave I could not Imagine
he would try to pees Inside of me. I es
timated. of course, he would pass to the
southward. My coufw as projected would
have of course gone to China If there had
been no Islands In the way.**
The admiral then told how upon reach
ing a point southward from Santiago
about « or 5 o'clock In the afternoon of
May '->* he had encountered the scout
boats.
At this point the admiral entered upon
another defense of his course by saying:
**I was on the south side of Cuba, of
course. Invested. I thought, with entire
responsibility. I was not In communica
tion by telegraph. 1 did not know that
we had secret agents In Havana. I did
not know that there were any means of
communication with the Insurgents. If
that were known I would have known
also, because I was acting In an entirely
Independent capacity. 1 may almost say.
1 could not Ik* reached by telegrams, and
a good deal I did had to bo left to guess
ing. Some times I guessed right and I
some times 1 guessed wrong, and I sup
pose. In the light of recent events, we are
liable to do that.**
The admiral then referred to the Inci
dent of Capt. Sigaby coming uboard the
Brooklyn from the scoutboat St. l*aul
He said:
**I do not believe that he Is capable of
stating what Is not true. In this In
stance his recollection is at fault and not
his veracity. 1 said to him: ‘Captain,
have you got the dons here?* He said to i
me: 'No. they are not In here. 1 have i
been In very close.* I do not know but
what he -aid ‘sketching.’ but he certain
ly said. ‘They are not here, they are only
reported here.' I said to him. 'Have any
of the other vessels seen them, the Yale
or the Minneapolis?’ He said. ‘No, they
have not. They have assured me so.' ’*
Adm. Schley explained his retrograde
movement, so-called, to the westward,
saying that he hud not considered the
economical aspect of this step, as Un
economical features could never he ta
ken Into consideration In military move
ment* He had. he said, made careful
Inquiry as to the coal supply of the vari
ous ships and had turned over In his
mind the question of their endurance In
battle "I was," he said, "thlnlii—a over
in my mind that a squacUo*?! in its coal
ing endurance, or at least in Its speeding
endurance was equal only to Its weakest
member. Just as the speed of a fleet de
pends upon its slowest vessel; that It
would be necessary to equalize as nearly
ns we could th** standards of steam In
order to Is* of effective use ns a unit, and
that determined the westward move*
mint."
Adm. Schley again referred to the un
nuinng.nl>,, condition of the collier Mer
1 rlniac. saying that no prudent comman
der would have sent a ship alongside of
m r. "It was a risk that would have
been too great and a danger that would
have been too imminent," he said. "1
felt that my Judgment was better than
that of any one else, because 1 was on
the spot looking at the scene and charged
with that responsibility which makes one
usually conservative. Therefore I did
■ not do it, and I coaled at the earliest mo
ment when it was practicable."
Referring to the arrival of the Harvard,
tlie witness spoke of the discrepancy In
'the report of the information which Uap
tain. now Rear Admiral, Cotton, of that
vessel, had brought aboard the Brook
lyn. He said that the dispatch that Capt.
Cotton had brought aboard had said that
tile department's advices Indicated that
tlie Spanish fleet was at Santiago.
"Capt Cotton said he delivered a dis
patch to me from Adtn. Sampson stat
! Ing that they were there. That dispatch
! never Touched me. 1 never saw it. I
i never heard of it until the other day.
Discussing again his dispatch to the de
partment concerning the department's or
ders. the admiral said: "If my reply to
tlie telegram of the secretary of the navy
is not on record. 1 would like to put It
1 he re In the terms I sent it, because I
wrote it In English, gave It to Capt. Cot
ton. asked him to turn it Into cipher und
confirmed it afterwards in a letter to
the department, which was received. The
dispatch Is here and 1ms been in the de
partment for nearly three years. f do
not believe for one moment that in the
translation of It there was any Intention
to mutilate it. but I think In the choice
of words which were not exactly of the
same meaning the dispatch did not get
to the department entirely as I intended
it should. Upon this dispatch is based
the charge of disobedience of orders. I
contend that there was no disobedience
of orders There would have been diso
bedience of orders if I had abandoned
my station, but having returned to the
station without other dlreetlon and hav
ing found that the department's Informa
tion was correct, 1 hold that I did not
disobey orders and I think that dispatch,
read and interpreted as sent will relieve
that charge.”
Washington. Oct. 2fi—When the Schley
court of inquiry adjourned Friday Adtn.
Schley had not completed his testimony
in chief. He took the stand about 11:30
o'clock, after former witnesses had been
recalled for the purpose of making cor
rections in and additions to their testi
mony. and continued Ids statement until
the court adjourned at 3:40 p. m. until
Monday. This adjournment. 30 minutes
In advance of the usual time, was due
to the fact that the admiral's throat
has become somewhat sensitive as a re
sult of his continuous talking Thursduy
and Friday
Aflm, Schley began his description of
the battle of July 3 at 2:30 o’clock.
"On the morning of July 3 the day broke
beautifully. The skies were fleeced with
white clouds and the breeze continued
a little bit longer off the land that morn
ing than usual. After 1 had eaten break
fast I came up to take a survey of the
situation with glasses. We were lying
at that time possibly three miles or
a little hit over from the land, and I
wondered very much why they had per
mitted us to remain so close.' it was a
matter of constant Inquiry and discus
sion on board, and especially why the bat
teries did not tire on us. At a quarter
ot 9 my orderly reported to me that sig
nal had been made from the flagship
to disregard her movements and that
she had gone eastward. I did not, of
course, know she had gone.
"I came on deck with my glasses, after
having gone below for a little while, and
whilst I was sitting abaft on a hatchway,
I heard a rail frorn the forward brldg..
1 ‘tell the commodore that the ile.-t is com
| Ing out ’ That was some time after the
men had been *; lied to quarters, about
** 25 o'clock. The ship at that moment
i w.*s lying with her bead In toward the
land In the direction of Cabanas, which
was a little cove to the westward, and
one of the marking points we used In
I maintaining our positions f looked over
, the starboard side and saw the enemy
e-.mlng out of the entrance of the har
bor | them looked eastward to see the
order of the ships, and I saw the Texas
apparently a point or rnor* abaft the
I starboard beam My own rpcolloc'lon now,
as mar a - I ran state It. Is that th<>
■ hip's head was near nor-norwost The
Texas appeared to me to be heading on
some of the easterly courses. To the left
of her was th* low a Bhe whs, of course
to th*- eastward of the Texas. Th- Or
c m was to the »h« eastward of the Iowa
1 The Indiana was eastward of tha» po
sition, >nd the Gloucester was lying In
under the land, I thought. In the neigh
borhood of Aguidores The N*w York
v/as out of sight of signal distance
with glasses. I looker) at that In order to
, determine what my position In the ae
tion was to Ik If th- vessel had no
been out of “Ight. I *hotild not hav*- made
a signal. Th*- moment I saw' that, I
went forward onto a little platform. I
had constructed upon the battle tower
as my position In th- battle In order
to be verv ejn-w to «'•**.t Cook. I had
only been there a mom* nt or two «h.-u
f’apt. t'ook bdnod me. fn the meantime
Mr. ffodsnn, who va« on the upper
I bridge, sang out something *o the cap
tain about bdnjr connected up and all
ready, and he it the same time said to
me, 'f’ommodore. they are coming right
at ns.'
" 'Well,' I said, ‘go right for them '
The helm was put nport. The ship was
started ahead, first at perhap« half
spe«d. T do not recollect. Rh»- took her
wav very quickly, and when we headed
around. | said to Capt. fook, 'Go ahead,
full speed, and hoisted signal to -Icar ship
for teflon. We generally made ehaf sig
nal because there wns around the quart -r
deck and the forecastle of most of these
ships a little temporary railing composed
ittttalh’ of oars and rope to keep people
from failin'? overboard. Generally an
awning of Some sort was up. Thar signal
was followed bv 'Close up for close ac
tion ‘ Th« flrooklvn. as well as the other
vc«“«1s of the squadron, charged Imme
dla’*ly Into *he entrance In accordance
with *he original plan of seeking the
enemy's “hips In the entrance or driving
them ushor We continued directly for
the head nt the enemy's column, the idea
uppermost In my min.I being that If w*j
meld arrest them long enough for the
battleships to close in and knock them
to pieces that would be our best point
to att «ck They continued on this course,
porting and starboarding to meet the
movement of the leading ship, which 1
assumed to he the flagship with 11 (tag
on her masthead. 1 suppose from the
time we started we Wfre ten to LI minutes
turning, first with port helm and then ad
vanctng direct to the enemy. 1 saw the
ships to the eastward and west
ward. closing In. I said to Capt.
Cook. ’Close action or close up naa
bee*i hoisted, mid It means to k<v|i
Inside of a thousand yards, out of *hetr
effective torpedo range.’ Capt. Cook was
standing alongside me and said. 'Yes. we
wjll soon be within the crossfire of these
shins ' I said. *Yas.‘ and 1 then saw we
had advanecd without firing. The first
gun I think was fired by Ideut. Simpson
almost directly over the forecastle of the
ship I saw the leading shin, which ap
parently had started with the Intention
of ramming, take a turn ahead to the
westward, leaving a gap between her and
the ship following, which subsequently
proved to be the Vtscaya. We were ad
vancing In the direction of the Vlscaya.
when she also seemed to have given up
the Intention to ram and turned to the
westward, following the direction of the
leading ship. It then became apparent,
as we were steering on diametrically op
posite courses, that the original plan
had failed, and that the Spanish fleet.
In order, and apparently at distance, hud
suece«*ded In passing the battleship line.
'A new feature of the fight became Im
mediately apparent. CujU Cook gave the
order to port helm. I did not. I should
have done It In a second. 1 saw the ship's
hend swinging very rapidly, and I asked
h!n» whether his helm was hard a port,
and he replied that It was. either upon
or hard aport. 1 think he said hard a port.
1 never saw the ship turn more rapidly
than “he did ut this time. Her turn was
absolutely continuous. There was no
easing of her helm T never saw the
starboard side of the Texas at all. Wo
were never across her hows. I never
was at her port side, and she never ap
proached any position that was within
t**' yards of the Hrooklyn. 8ho never
entered Into my head at all as a menace
or danger. Wh passed completely uround
the circle. The lease range that was
given was 1.1ft* yards, and the fact of tho
nearness of that ship (the second Span
ish ship) Impressed Itself upon my mind
and will never be forgotten, because 1
could see with the naked eye men run
ning over tho turrets to her superstructure
dock, and I observed the daylight between
their legs as they ran. We turned very
rapidly, and 1 had been for a long time
under the Impression that our startamrd
engine was hacked, from the fact that
i was standing upon the starboard, nnd
in looking astern I saw an unusual
amount of churned water. It looked to
me very much as If that engine hud been
backing. Though the mutter was not
<mu> of record, as I found out subsequent
ly. I had always been under the Impres
sion that that engine had backed. I Mir
ing the turn Mr. Hodgson very properly
made some allusion to the lookout, per
haps for the Texas. 1 do not recall what
It was. hut there was never any col
loquy of any character between Mr.
Hodgson and myself, l-'trst. lie was too
good an officer to have transgressed one
of the plainest duties of an officer at
such a time, and, second. If he had un
dertaken it I would not have permitted
It for a second. That Is fiction; there
was no colloquy.
•‘Before wo turned, the leading ship
was abeam or a little abaft the beam,
and when we turned about she was ahead
of us. that Is. on the starboard bow, and
all four ships and the forts were firing
at the same time, and from that moment
the following 10 or 15 minutes were th"
most furious part of this entire combat.
I remember very distinctly seeing, from
time to time, as my attention was at
tracted for a moment, the Jots of water
ahead and astern and over and short.
The roar of the projectiles was one of the
things that cun be hoard only once In
a life time and then never forgotten.
It appeared at that moment that all
four of those ships were at work upon
the Brooklyn, and up to the moment
of turning, so far ns we could perceive,
there was not the slightest evidence that
they had ever !>ccn Injured. The thought
passed through my mind that after all
our precaution and wnlting those fellows
would get away. At that moment I felt
and I thought J remarked to (’apt. Cook
that we were alone and would pcrhnps
have most of the tight upon ourselves,
because I did not know then that the
battleships could possibly keep up their
speed. But I said to him wc must stay
with this crowd. I had no idea that w*•
would escape. Of course. If they could
have shot as well as our people did.
they certainly would have got us.
“When we had completely turned
around on a westerly course the ships
appeared to have been broken up a little,
although still In some semblance of
formation, and Just at that moment I
saw the Oregon breaking through this
cloud. She broke through on to the star
board quarter of the flagship. I had
hoisted the signal of ‘clone lip' and then
'Follow the flag.' feeling that a new «Vh
posltlon was necessary. That signal was
replied to, and I saw It repealed. Cupt.
Clarke knew very well It was not In
tended for him, because he wus following
the flag, so he repeated It to the other
ships. In a very few moments after the
Oregon broke through this cloud of smoko
she was perhaps four or five hundred
yards dlstnnt. Thene two ships, the
Brooklyn and the Oregon, were tiring In a
manner I had never Keen before. I never
before realised what rapid-gun tire
meant. Both ships were at that time
a sheet of flame. Boon after that I saw
that the leading ship was evidently bat
tered hard She lagged astern. I saw
smoke coming out of her ports and out
of her hatches, and the fact that Im
pressed Itself upon me was that the col
umns were going straight up In the air.
I said to Capt. Cook, who was constant
ly at my side anil always In my confi
dence, 'W'e havn got on*. Keep the hoys
below Informed of nil th** movements.
'They can not see and they ought to
know,* and h«* did so throughout the ac
tion. Every few moments messages were
s**nt below to fho men that were answered
oftentimes with cheers, which we could
hear through the ventilator
"It appeared to be a very short Interval
of time after that that I saw a second
ship on tire, which proved to be the
Oquendo. Hho evidently had suffered
severely, and started Immediately In
shore, leaving the Vlseaya and th** onion.
The Vlseaya Immediately took a ' . .i*ttn«r
position *»n »h*> bow. and I thought for
a lit 11** while that she would out roof us.
Th** Colon worked Inshore, and th** tlnu*
b«*tween th* dropping out of action of
t ho * two ships until the Vlseaya turned
In* bore was a period of perhaps 30 min
utes. during which she was abreast of the
Brooklyn and th*> Oregon. I looked to
the eastward and got occasional glimpses
**f the Indiana and th** Oloucestcr. I
could not see very well what th* y w**r.*
doing, owing to th** clouds of amok*,
i though I knew that both w< r*> doing
admirable work. I felt *ha? the moment
tho > vessels ran Into *hc leach ih** com
manding officer* of the ship* which could
n< t keep Up the pace with th«* two lead
ers would take cnr«* of th** prisoners and
save th«*m from the Insurgent* as w**l|
ns from their own fire. About 3<> minute*,
ns m*ar as I can r«*memt>'*r. was the
length of time from th<* turning In or
the wounding of those two first ve**ej*
until the Vlseaya wen* ashore. Hh»* was
i little forward of th** tv am *>f th* Brook
lyn. and f do not think u» nnv time over
2.300 or 2.bit* yards away, Ah<* was Iri
mis' excellent target range, and I r**
memlM-r that a marine stationer! in tin
top reported that he did not see any
>f th«- -'hots *>f th*' two ships, th** Brook
lyn and the Oregon, hitting the water. Bo
I Imagin'd from that they were striking
the shift.
"It was on the trip outward, after the
turn. I w.i« very anxious about the
rang***, because I did not want the VI*
eava and the Colon to got out of go»*l
fighting rang.* Bills, who was an ex
pert with the sf.arllmetcr, constantly k**pt
that Instrument on these vessel*., and
knowing exactly their heights, reported
to me that fb*y were maintaining the
same range, bu* I thought m\ eye was a
little more sensitive, and I said. No. they
are evidently gaining ' If* went from
m«* the second time and that was the Inst
I «aw of him anv<s. In performing this
magnificent duty he lost his life He was
struck about f< n feet from where I whs
standing. IBs brain* and Mood wore
thrown over a great many people and
»om< of ft reached me.
I "Blent. McCauley and I*r I>'v
alln got down, nr rather they
were Mnndlrg. between me nnd the tower
They idcked up the body and carried it o
the side. I Ju*t happened to see fh«*m
through this opening, and calling out to
( them not to throw that body overboard;
that I thought one who had fallen *n gal
lantly deserved to he burled a* a Chris
tian.
"Just before th# Vlseaya turned to run
ashore she put her helm nstarboard. ap
parently starting out for the Brooklyn
or the Oregon. T do not rem-mber which,
and evidently at that moment got a very
severe wound, for 1 saw quite ar. cxplo
ftton under her bow. and In a moment
afterward she pul helm hard sport. turn
ins Inshore, smoko coming from nil of ner
hatches.
"I thought she was going to capslxe.
she had such s tremendous list to port
Just then. I saw a shell strike her that
appeared to me to rake her fore and att.
and 1 thought to myself she would sink
In deep water, r . I told the signal ottloer
to signal to the Texas to look out for her
men. and to save them, but the Texas
was too far astern to receive the mes
sage. 1 made the remark at the time,
however. 'Philip Is alwavs sensible; he
needs no Instructions about such things '
During this part of the tight I noticed
that all of the signal halyards of my
ship wero cut. I think possibly, with one
exception. One of the speed cone* we had
hoisted was cut and came very near
striking me. After the Vtscaya had turn
ed In with eolor down, the Colon edged
Inshore and appeared to be following
the contour of the coast, and I thought
at the time, looking astern and observing
what had happened to her consorts, that
she whs staking the best place she sould
find In order to end the matter at once.
1 said to Capt. Cook, ‘Cease firing,* and
to make the signal I also told Capt.
Cook to let his men come out of the tur
rets Into the cooler air and get something
to eat and to hurry up his men below.
“I sang out to the men below that we
had got nil of them except one, and
that T thought they could W depended
upon to eaten that other vessel. I heard
a good deal of merriment and rejoicing
I went back to the bridge and soon real
ised that they were doing their best.
There was a Jingle to the rails and a vi
bration to the vessel, but I perceived that
the motions of the ships were sluggish.
I augmented to Capt. Cook that we j*os
; Rlbly had some compartments lilted. He
sent the carpenter down, and It developed
that one of the after compartments had
filled with water, which we thought was
due to the fact that we had received
some injury below the water line. The
carpenter, as well as the captain, thought
It unwise to examine the compartment
until we could get Into smoother water,
where we could possibly handle It much
more readily. That course was decided
upon. The ship's speed, of course, « ante
up with some rapidity, and toward 1J
o'clock It was apparent that wo were
gaining upon the chase. I said to Capt.
Cook several times during the action,
'\\ ould it not be a good Idea to edge In
so that we could tlnlsh those fellows
quicker?’ nnd he replied that we had
them In the most excellent tnrget rang*,
I and that the guns of the two ships seem
ed to he doing most admirable work. Wo
j were pointing at that time for Tarqulno
j Point, under Cape <*rux. at the point
i extending to the southward. Mv Idea was
that In steering that course. If' the Colon
I kept up her course she would bo obliged
to come out.
i men said I would get up a lot of
extra ammunition so that when she enruo
out Into close quarters It would be a
question of but a few minutes before wo
knocked her out. As >ve w<re going out
to head her off there were various signals
between the Oregon and myself, of a
pleasing character. Some worn official. I
gave the order to Capt. Clarke to open
lire with his 13-Inch guns. Capt. Clarke
has testified that he «11 not receive it,
and 1 always had boon under the Impres
sion until I heard him say otherwise
that the order had been transmitted.
However, we continued to advance, the
Oregon and the Ilrooklyn. 1 don't think
the Oregon was further astern than MOO
yards. I do not believe the prolongation
**! her course at any time could have
pasned within 500 yards or the Itrooklyn.
W <• were prnctienitv and relatively at th<>
same distance; perhaps the Hrooklvn was
a little nearer at times, and then the Ore
gon a little nearet. We continued In this
position until about 12:40. when we real
ized that we with hi range of this vessel,
and we trled tin* l.'l-inch and S-tuch guns
on her. Severn I of them fell short, nut
I remember that one of the Oregon's 13
• nch halls passed entirely over the Colon
and that one of the 8-lnrh of the Itrook
l>n passed over her also. I saw with
mv own eves the Jut of water beyond. I
thought at llrst It had gone through her.
but It appears that It did not strike her.
"" he position of the Colon being di
rectly under the fire of ihe two ships,
there was no question In the mind of the
captain of the Colon that It would be
fatal. I think that he did exac'ly right.
A sacrifice of life would have been uti
neccessary. so he fired the gun to lee
ward and hauled his flag downward and
ran Into the liar nt tin- mouth of Rio
Tarqulno. I signaled at once to cease
firing, that the enemy had surrendered.
We hauled up nnd immediately passed
Into position. We had some difficulty
In getting out a boat, the stenm being
• dr and the cranes having been struck.
Thcv w’ore more or less Jammed. We
steamed into a position of 1,000 yards.
I remember distinctly Capt. Cook ask
ing If wo should slow up. I said, ‘No
continue In.' (apt. Cook changed hlii
course. We were all In fighting rig We
arrived In the vlelnity of the Col m,
certainly at J :20. At the time she haul 'd
her colors down I did not think she was
over four miles from us. We were
running then In the neighborhood of 15
knots. When this surrender took place
f naturally felt Interested In the vessels
fhit were following. I was then on the
bridge, and with glasses I saw three ves
sels astern. I could see the masts of two.
I could onlv see the smoke of the thl*d
one. We lowered the boat and Cap!
Cook went aboard, lfe said to me, ‘Com
modore, what are the terms of surren
der?’
“1 said to him. Tncondltlonal. Those are
matters that the commander-ln-r hlef
must arrange. We can only receive an
uncr.ndlt 1'iri.i| surrender.’
‘‘At 2:2o o’clock the New York (Com
modore Hampson’s flag ship) came up
1 had made signals to her. I think she
was quite half tin hour In answering one
of them. When she came up I made the
signal to her that It was a glorious clay
for our country and as soon as I could
I went on hoard to pay my respects In
flu- meantime Capt. Cook, who had been
detained some little time, started off to
muk*' his report and wen* on board the
! flagship. When ho returned, I took the
j boat and went on board rnvself. There
I I reported substantially what had >r
I curred, the incidents nr.*l events nf th»
I battle. In a hurtled wav.
’’Chaplain Royre, of the New York,
j * am*- up atid said. ’Commodore, your
work is pot over vet. The Resolute has
Just arrived. Capt Katon report* that
• here Is a Spanish battleship on the
coast, and the admiral wants to see you.'
i *venr over mm there round rapt. Clarke
j In the presence of ihe commundcr-ln
i chief. I in ide some suggestion to him
nbf.ut hoisting the flag on the Colon, and
I said I was prepared. If he had not coini
up, to have sent a force of BO of BO men
on I oard to take possession, to avoid
; anything like mv Impression Is that
,1 used the words 'monkeying with her *
I sold that bemuse they were throwing
something overboard. which after
proved proved to be breech blocks
I •id I thought that there must
I be some possibility of Injuring her
j piping below, Wounding her and mi on.
■ ‘Ah soon as he mentioned to me to fake
tb< Oregon an I go eastward and meet
: thll! ship, which had been seen by th.
( Resolute. I must say 1 felt some little
d dlghl because I thought that after t|e
• admirable work of il,«. •>uu.idron on lh.it
i day and Ihe part that the Krooklyn arid
o- gf.n had In It there was nothing that
carried Hpnnlsh colors that we should
| li iv< he»lt»f/’d to m« ef
''Tin admiral told of the pursuit of the
J ft range vessel, h< w he had nut the n
land h< i n Informed It war the battleship
Relay', and how when It was ultimately
| rim down. It proved to Iw th.* Austrian
cnilser Marla Teresa, which was bound
for M.inttigo to carry ewav neutral suh
I Jects If the city wa« attacked by th*'
American for< -*s Returning from |M«
chase Adm Bob ley fold of passing th**
l"wa. when he wns hailed hv Cip» Kvnus.
1 who Informed him that Adm. Cervera
was on hoard and would like eery much
to see him. Adm. Behley said that he
j then went on ooard the fowa. having
! In fhe meantime, directed his men not to
j cheer, as he did not think It would l»e
i proner to exult over a foe who had fought
j a.of behaved no gallantly.
“I found th# Bpanlrh admiral greatlv
dejected. I said to him I knew he had
lost everything, clothing as well ns
j money, and Informed him that my ward
robe wen a# my nurse, -»x far ns that
i would go. was at his service.
“Adm. Cervera, (he witness said, thank
ed him for his courtesy, saving he ha*!
i never met a sailor who was not a gen
: tleman. but declined the proffer, only n<k
! In* 'o he allowed to «end a dispatch to
, his government announcing the fate of
j hl>* apuadron. I told him there would
1 t>e no objection fo that whatever.
“ ‘And that,' the admiral said, closing
hls narrative impressively -ended tha
i rmttlc of the .VI day of July, irg '
I wish to add. he continued, that I
| was very much Impressed or, that day
I with the fact that the officers and th*
{ men who were enrs'd In *hat s-urgl.,
, fulfilled in the vify higher- ,,n'‘ ;r tb*
| very nobP #t degrao the traJitlo- , ' f tha
I AJUeilcgu HiAVV.’-f
LIFE IS SACRIFICED
.Nineteen Persons Dead as the Re
sult of a Fire in Philadelphia.
Police anil rirrmrii Are Delving I r -
to the HmIum nail It la Kearrd
That Other. Hava l.ont
Their Llvea.
Philadelphia, Oct. 28. — Nineteen
known dead nml property loss amount
ing to upward of $500,000 ia the awful
renutt of n tire which occurred Fri
day in the business aection of the
city. The number of injured ia not
known definitely, but fully a score
of victims were treated at various
hospitals. Police and firemen were
Friday night delving into the ruins
in search of bodies sup|H>scd to have
been buried beneath the debris, as it
is feared that others besides the
known dead may have lost their lives
in the tinmen. The buildings destroy
ed were the eight story structure. 1210
and 1221 Market street, tvccupied by
Hunt, \\ ilkinson A Co., upholsterers
and furniture dealers, and three three
story buildings occupied by small
merchant men. The big furniture
building extended buck a half block
to Commerce street, and was owned
by Henry I*. I,on.
I lie blaze broke forth in the build
ing occupied by Hunt, Wilkinson &
Co. and one hour later the horrible
sacrifice of life bad been made and
the immense loss of property had
been accomplished. The origin of the
death dealing conflagration is un
known. It is saiil that an explosion
of naphtha or gasoline in the base
ment was tlie cause, hut this is de
nied by Mr. Wilkinson, who snys there
never was a su flic lent quantity of
either explosive n bout the building to
lie responsible for the terrible disas
ter. Humor lias it also that on eleva
tor constructor at work in the base
ment permitted the flames of his lan
tern to communicate with some of
the gaseous liquids stored in tin* base
ment and that this was the cause of
flic conflagration.
Sueh a disastrous Arc attended with
so great u loss of life in such a brief
period was never before known in
this city. Men and women died a lin
gering, agonizing death iu the pres
ence of thousands of spectators who
were unable to lift a hand to their
assistance. The rear of Hunt, Wilkin
son &. ( o.’s building faces on Com
merce street, a small thoroughfare.
On the fire escapes at this building
two men and one woman were fairly
roasted to death while tin* horror
stricken throng on the street below
turned sick at the sight. In the front
on Market street a woman, driven to
desperation, leaped from a window
on the top floor mid wns dashed to
dentil on the pavement. These are
but a few of the heart-rending scenes
attending the conflagration. Fire
men claim to have seen men ami wom
en, unable to reach the windows or
fire escapes, burned to death in the
interior of the building. If this is so,
little or nothing remains of these vic
tims, and it is doubtful if any por
tion of their bodies will be recov
ered.
Shortly before midnight nnother
body which wns very badly burned
was taken from the ruins. This makes
the number known dead 19.
FIVE WERE KILLED.
Terrific Kxplosloa In a l'rnn«rlvanl«i
Mine—Benlilna the (lend \lnr |*rr
*«»*»• Were Injured.
Wilkeslnirrc, I’a., Oct. 20.—A ter
rific explosion of gas occurred iri the
Muttonwood mine of the Parrish Coal
f o.. situated one mile south of this
city, which canned the death of five
men and the Injury of nine others
Directly after the explosion occur
red a number of rescuers, at the rink
of tlislr liven, entered the mine filled
with dangerous after damp and
brought out the bodies of the dead
and Injured.
Ho far ns can be learned the explo
sion was caused by the rnrrl<*M*ncnn
of one of the Hungarian laborers,
who was injured. He opened his safe
ty lamp while at work, in his cham
ber. Thin caused a small body of gns
to explode, which, however, did not
injure the men or cause any damage.
I he explosion wan heard, however, hy
the foreman and hin assistants, who
rushed into the chamber only to en
counter another larger body of gas
which had accumulated from the first
explosion. The second explosion was
of such force that it hurled the men
in all directions. I he iKiilirs of the
dead were badly mangled.
Kx-f’rrnlUcnt Cleveland Invited.
Lincoln, Neb., Oct. 20. \t a meeting
of flu- senior elasn of the University
of Nebraska, to whom is given the
right to choose its orator, it was de
eidrd to extend an Invitation to for
mer President (Hover ( leveland to de
liver the commencement day address
next dune.
Shot Thransh the Head.
New York. Oct. 2ft. - Daniel Dodge,
an 11-year-old l»oy, who was shot, in
the head by his companion, Willie
Weston, while they were playing
‘■William Tell ami the Apple," at Far
Iloekowa^, died at St. John’s hospital
from hin injuries.
Heavy I'nllnrr,
Ncvv York. Oct. 2ft.—Thomas I*.
.Tones. William (’. Palmer and Tbon.
J. lifitemnn. wholesale denier* is gro
ceries and oofTcc, assigned Friday.
| The fit in was rated at from
to $2W,U00.