The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-11-09

DIAukNs VI NAlC " AoA 0AS WI So -
for If not to fight and attack the enemy
when their country goes to war; II when
a war comes they are all TO be laid up it
would be better to give up altogether this
pretense Of a navy, which seems to be only
used in peace time, when there is no real
work for it to do. No doubt if one of our
frigates falls in with the euemy's squadron
it will be captured; but English frigates
do not always sail in squadrons any more
than our own, and if one of us meets one
of them alone at sea we shall be able to
give good account of ourselves Let the
frigates 90 to sea TO show what they can
do; at the worst they can only be captured,
and the country will be no worse of than
if they were laid up TO rot in idieness"
Such was the language Of these sailors
With the exception OF a grand fotilla Of
gunboats, suited only for river and harbor
service, there were but fourteen vessels
afloat to make good these bold promises.
OF this number six were frigates and the
rest sloops, briggs and schooners. The Brit
ish navy had go line Of battle ships, carry
ing from GO TO 100 guns each, with about
COO vessels of smaller rank.
However. the powers that be wisely de-
cided 10 let the seamen run the navy, aud
how capable Bainbridge was in war AS
well as in council was demonstrated in
his very first encounter with the ruler Of
the wave" Within a few weeks after
orders were given for the little navy 10 put
to sea the courageous captain was placed
in command of a small squadron intended
for cruising in the Pacific ocean. With the
already renowned Constitution under his
own command and the sloop Hornet, under
Capt james Lawrence, of never give up
the ship" fame, he sailed in October. 1872,
for the coast of Brazil, where he was 70
meet the frigate Essex, under Capt. David
Porter Soon after arriving off the South
American coast the Americans found the
British sloop Bonnie Cheyenne in the har-
Dor of San Salvador
AS the Britisher was about an even
match for the Hornet, with the favor
slightly on her side, Capt Lawrence chal
lenged the English captain TO fight with
his ship, giving pledge, which was agreed
to by Commodore cambridge, that the
Constitution should not interfere in the
action between the two sloops- The ideas
of chivalry had not died out in those days,
at least among all seamen. The English
man, however, refused TO engage in the
novel combat for the reason, as he declared,
that the Bonnie Cheyenne would defeat
the Hornet in short order, and that under
those circumstances the American commo-
dore would not remain an idle spectator
and see a ship under his orders go down
unaided He hoped that an opportu-
nifty would soon offer when the Hor-
net and the Bonnie Cheyenne could
meet alone and have it out. But when
Bainbridge sailed away with the Constitu-
ton soon after, leaving the Hornet alone
before the port, the English sloop refused
10 come out and redeem the promise, but
waited inactive in neutral waters until a
British seventy-four hove 10 sight and
chased the little Hornet away.
The Essex, which was expected 20 meet
cambridge and go 10 the Pacific, cruised
for some time off the Brazilian coast,
finally capturing an English ship carrying
jC,0O0 in specie. With this Capt. Porter
started of on the famous cruise Of the
Essex alone.
cambridge was now in the situation he
had predicted in saying 70 his superb -
that the British vessels did not always sail
in squadrons and that meeting vessel for
vessel the American vessels would give a
good account Of themselves. Two or three
days after parting company with the Hor-
net at San Salvador the Constitution sight
ed two vessels in the distance and immedi-
ately stood for them. II was seen that at
least one Was sship-of-war, and cambridge
30 Unanswered the Constitution - 70 draw