Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-04-21


one who had . tug or lau nch ct his disposal At
once put ont to get better view Of what was
Transporting.
When tie tug that had TIE STAR CORE
spondent on board reached the first Of the
carsvels she was couple Of miles beyond
the point in the direction of the open ocean.
On board the Infanta Isabel and her tow
everything had been put in first rate shipshape
for their trium plant journey up the roads On
board the ca ravel were . number Of Spanish
sailors and their officers. They were In the
uniform Of the modern Spanish navy and did
not seem in place on the deck Of that old-time
craft They ought to have lookeda little like the
figures on Mr. Wanamaker's Columbian postal
stamps.
From the masts of the Pinta fioated four old
Spanish flags OF the time of Ferdinando and
Isabelle; on the stern was painted the name OF
the caravel in old Spanish characters that could
hardly have been made out had not one known
what the name was. On the stern Of the Santa
Maria there was no name to be seen, but in its
place there was o large sized painting Of the
Virgin and Child.
The Columbus caravels are all about the same
in the matter of coloring. Below the decks
they are black, their upper works Of brownish
green, with the trimmings Of q drab. Alto
gether they are the most interesting objects in
the feet, and the great modern men-of-war,
with all their big guns, have sunk into insignif-
canoe today compared with these relics Of
bygone age.
THE NEWSPAPER. CORRESPONDENT
Fort Monroe is full Of newspaper men just
now, and it would seem as though almost every
leading newspaper in the country had its special
correspondent here. Some of them have char
tered special tugs and naphtha launches for the
week Of the rendezvous, and these little news
gstherers go fitting about from ship to ship
across the pleasant waters Of Hampton Roads,
and everywhere they are heated with the ut
most courtesy. As Admiral Gherardi says, real
news is pretty scarce now that the majority Of
the feet are here and in line, but all that there
is is freely given. As rule, the officers of the
different ships seem to be pleased to have their
ships written abou. and take genuine interest
In showing visitors, newspaper men especially,
every courtesy while they are on board. This
is true OF officers on board foreign ships as
well as the ships OF the white squadron. On
every side one hears only words Of praise for
the hospitality that is accorded to every one
who takes advantage Of the chance to 60 out on
one of the lively little launches to pay q visit to
the feet
The American officers seem at times even to
feel that they are doing a wise and profitable
work in popularizing the navy. This at least
they have succeeded in doing. People who
have hitherto taken no interest in the naval
resources Of the country or have been actually
opposed to it have become warmly interested
in IL since they have seen what a really good
showing We are able to make on an occasion Of
this character.
In truth it may be said that the Americans
have carried off the honors Of the rendezvous.
This, too, with all courtesy and consideration
FOR our foreign visitors. The white ships, from
a merely esthetic standpoint. are much more
pleasing than any OF the other vessels in the
feet. True. they are by no means awe-in-
spring a. the Blake and the Kaissrin Augusta,
and while one is in spirit Of self graduation
and patriotic pride it Is perhaps well to stop
and remember that none Of the other countries
have sent their best and largest men-of-war to
participate in the review. Still, with all proper
allowances made. the showing Of the new Amer
lean navy is \ most satisfactory and gratifying
one. In point of looks, too, the American Of
fcers have proved themselves perfectly able to
hold their own against all corners, while in point
OF courtesy and hospitality to the visitors they
have left nothing to be wished for. In affair
like this which comes near to being strictly
social gathering this is a matter by no means
as inconsiderable as one Is at first likely to
think.
THE VOYAGE OF THE ETNA
The Etna, the flagship of the Italian squad
ron, which came to anchor in the roads yester-
DAY morning, as already stated in The STAR,
sailed from Spezzia nearly a month ago. On
her way here she stopped at Gibraltar, the
Azores and finally at Bermuda. She had
rather trying passage across the Atlantic, &C.
cording to the statements Of her officers, and
upon her arrival here she still showed some
signs of her rough experiences with wind and
water. She left the ship yards in February,
having gone thither for rearmsment, but when
abe dropped anchor opposite Fort Monroe
yesterday her sides looked dull and blistered,
and a new coat of paint and much diligent
scrubbing will be needed before abe once
more has her customary look Of dazzling
brillancy. Her cousort, the Giovanni Bausan,
has been here long enough now to have had
thorough overhauling, and she looks much the
better for it.
In appearance the Etna is almost the coun-
terpsrt of her sister ship. though her tonnage
is about 400 greater. Both stand high out Of
water for cruisers Of their class and are heavily
built up smidships. At either end she is cut
away to give play to her great lO-inch stem and
stern chasers, which are the principal guns on
these most formidable Of iiSh, tonnage cruisers.
The stacks and upper decks Of both are painted
dull yellow. They are fitted with military
mssts of about tho same dimensions. These
are not awkward and top-hesvy in appearance
like those Of the Jean Bart. but are fairly
graceful as substitutes for the attractive SAIL
bearing masts Of an older generation.
This Italian flagship was built in 1888 and
was afterward laid up for awhile and disarmed
When the country which gave Columbus to the
world accepted the invitation Of this nation TO
participate in the naval review in honoI Of the
man, desiring to send here one Of her repre-
sentative ships of the lighter service order, the
Etna was taken out OF dock at SpeZZia and
specially fitted for this cruise of international
courtesy. Her two ten-inch guns, with those
Of the Bauson, are the only ones Of the size
IN the fleet, SURPRISING in caliber those on the
Blake by almost an inch and exceeding by two
inches the most formidable guns carried by
any ships in the American squadron. The
Miantonomah, which il not expected in Hamp-
ton Roads, is tho only American ship which
will be able to show q gun equal in range and
power to the great fore and aft chasersf Of tho
Etna.
The two Italian ships lie at anchor almost
opposite to the U. s. s. Charleston, and this
gives naval critics an excellent opportunity to
compare the different styles of vessels - car
ried out in the widely separated shipyards of
Italy and California. This chance for . COM
parison Of varying ideas in naval architecture,
extending as it does so as to include all the
ships now lying SO close together, Ia by no
means the least interesting and valuable OF the
many features in connection with this most re-
markable gathering of men-of-war. Here lie
many ships representing many different ma
lions. They are themselves as varied in style
and purpose as are the languages spoken upon
their decks. They range from the old style
Dutch ship, Van Speyk, down to the Vesuvius,
the feet, one might almost say fn-de-siecle,
dynamite cruiser.
The opportunity to study and compare is
much better here, where the ships are lying at
| anchor for such length of time, than it will
be in New York, and naval men and others who
| are interested in navy matters are not slow to
avail themselves o. this unusual chance