The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-03-20
FIRED On THE THE FLAG,
A SPANISH INSULT TO AN AMERICAN
SHIP.

SHIP.
?che .Allianca, From Colon to New York
Chased OF Cub:. by a.Spanish Warship p,
and Repeatedly Fired Upon--!Aw Inter
national Comp1cation.
New YORK, Mare. 1s.-T!1e mail
steamer Allianca of the New York and
Colon line, which arrived Yesterday,
was fred upon and chased by a-Span-
.ish gunboat when off the east end OF
Cuba on March S. The. affair is likely
TO lead to international complications.
! The owners of the line are very in
dignant at the insult, and say they
will demand g, reason for the attempt
to stop an american steamshtp:en the
high seas in times of peace: The fol
lowing letter has been semitic Secreta-
~ Gresham:
To the Hon. Walter 9. Gresham, Sec.
retary of State: - *
Sir: The American mail steamship
Alliance, under my command, while
on her homeward. bound voyage from
Colon, r. c., to New York, was on
the morning of March s off the east
end of Cuba At $50 o'clock q bark
entine-rigged steamships was sighted
under the land bearing directly for
US. At us she set her colors. prov
ing to be Spanish gunboat. Iimme-
diately ordered the American ensign
hoisted on the Alliance and saluted
the Spaniard, which salute was duly
returned by her. Ithen. saluted once
more and supposed it was at an end.
But about five minutes later the
Spaniard fired. blank cartridge and
a few minutes later another one, fol-
lowed shortly afterward by three solid
shots, all Of which fell short of the
Alliance. but showing conclusively
that the Spaniard was firing at us. I
being fully six miles off shore and on
the high seas paid no further attention
to the Spaniard, but kept upon. my
course. The Spaniard kept up the
chase; although gradually dropping
astern, fully twenty-five miles.
desire to know if the SpaEfard had
any right to fire on my ship, with the
probable chance of endangering the
lives of the passengers and crew under
my charge, and conpelme to heaye to
as he probably intended:
/. IT respectfully ask, for information
on that subject as I did not and. do
not propose to heaTe to;thereby losing
time on my voyage to.oblige Spaniard
gunboats or any Others, except in cases
of distress. Respectfully, -
JAMEs 4. CROssMAN,
| =" Commander"
The story told by the ships. officers,
is that. at daylight last Friday morn
ing at about $50 o'clock, while going
through:the Windward' Passage from
the Caribbean Sea to the Atlantic, q
ship was seen coming out.from under
the:land of Cape Maysi, the eastern
point of Cuba: fEheI: stranger laid her
course with the evident object of in
tercepting the. A1lianca and>at T. O'clock
she hoisted the orange and esi1nson
collors, which, taken with her BUILD
and general appearance lett no doubt
In the milds Of those aboard the, All
.anca that she was a Spanish map:of-
war. No sooner were She gunboat's
colors seen at her nrffzzen peak. than
Captain Gresham of the Alliance pr
dered the stars and stripes: TO. be hoist
ed on the jack staf:orer the taf:rai
and dipped three times.sn salute. The
marine courtesy was returned in kind
hv the warship and the Allanca en-.
sign was uHbent from its halyards
and slowed away. Hardly had this
been accomplished than the Spana.rc
again displayed his eolors, and, as a
mark of extra pohteness, Captain
Crossnfan ordered the Alianea's flag
to be run upsand.tdiqped. again: and
then left flying A.gain was the salute
acknowledged and gnen, to. the. utter
amaazemeht OF those. aboard tle amer4
lean steamer, a blank shot was fred
from one Of the ,syar vessels forward
THE shutwas probably ileant.a as an
invitation to the Alliance. to heave
to, but GaotainaC CrossMan had no in
tention of obeyiug the suhfmons. He
| remarked oSeeead. Officer Russell,
who was on.duty on the bridge: The
Spanisrd.seeuS to be. firing shot, }"
AID then calmly: kept to his course.
Soon another. blank Shot was fred,
Which the captain greeted by saying:
'.kil right; let him shoot" A third.
shot wassfreds but this tinre.:it was
| Shot in earnest. It was solid shot
and not a harmless blank cartridge
(which the ,gunhoat next charged her
port bow rife, and She yawed from
her course that. the gun might be ann
ed at the Yankee merchantmen The
course of the shot could be seen where
it richochetted along the water before
finally going to the bottom, a full
quarter of mile short of..lts mark.
tStill Captain Crossnan kept his course
and waited for the gunboat to over
take. him if it could. The black smoke
began to pour from the gunboat's fup-
mel apd., the water around her bow TO
heap up in way that showed that her
fires. We're being vigorously stocked and
steam forced up to its highest limit.
The gunboat fired again, ten minntes
later; and still again after another
equal interval Of. time. But observa-
ton. through the glass. Showed that
she was gradually, falling azern. and
after chase. lasting fully: twenty-five
miles; she gave it up and laid away On
her course. -..s.....,
Captain Crossman was very, ipdig:
nant over the occurrence when his ship
was tied up'this afternoon. He said:
I'VE We're from SIX to,eight miles Off
shore when the occurrence tooksplace,
and not in Spanish jurisdiction at. all:
We were to the southwark Of; Cuba
when he first sighted the warship and
far away from Guantanamo, where |
understand they have been havingtrou-
bic in that;;countEy5 4;had : Is seen S IN the
%, before sailed from Colon, dis
| -, +ol f,o,,, bor;l, which .coi6 1bof S6.