Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1897-02-14
THE NIGHT WAS PROP|T|OUS
And the Vesuvius Went Through
the Lines.
WITH STARTLING EASE
Officers on the Batteships Claim II Was Not a
Fair Test-Search Lights Prove
Absolutely Worthless.

Charleston, S. c., Feb. 13.-They say
down at Admiral Bunce's fleet today that
it was neither a. fair nor an official test,
but the fact still remains that the Vesu-
vius ran the blockade into the harbor
last night with an ease that startled the
squadron. The run was made early in
the evening, the cruiser crossing the
dead-line and whistling a notice of her
success at 1882 o'clock.
Statements have been made to the eff
feet that the Vesuvius also ran the block
ade on the first night that she Joined the
fleet, but these are absolutely incorrect.
An officer from one of the Warships who
saw the dy1iamiter come in is the author
ity for this statement. Everybody is, OF
course excited over the event of last
night. The officers of the blockading line,
of course, make very little of the achieve
ment of the cruiser, but the men of the
Vesuvius look at it in different light.
The orders for the ships to fall into the
blockading line were signalled from the
flagship bit earlier than usual. The
four ships then on duty, the battleship
Maine, flagship New York, battleship In
diana and cruiser Columbia steamed to
the southwark, taking positions at in
tervals of 5000 yards. Shortly after 6
o'clock the Vesuvius drew away to the
south also and was soon lost in the fog.
The weather had been bad for several
days, and as night came on fog settled
down upon the face of the water that
kept every fog bell out beyond Sumter
ringing, At o'clock the test was we'll
begun. The blockading ships brought
their searchlights into play, and 1t was
then for the first time that they began
to realize how small was their chance
for detecting the Vesuvius. The lights,
which usually throw a path of brilliant
radiance for 5000 yards over the water,
proved utterly inadequate to the task of
penetrating the fog. Objects 300 yards
away could hardly be distinguished with
the aid of the most powerful of the search
lights. and when it is remembered that
the ships were 5000 yards apart 1t Will
be readily imagined that the Vesuvius
had pretty much everything her own
way. She had gone several miles to sea
and then returned. AS she approached
the blockading line all of her lights were
shrouded and orders were given in hushed
tones
The little cruiser can under favorable
circumstances, make q. little better
than enty-two knots, but she did not
tax her capacity last night. Her engines
were brought down to a normal speed
and heading in between two of the fleet,
she Fan straight into the harbor without
an iota of trouble. All the precautions
which she had taken to escape detection
were useless for in that fog she could
have come in just as well with all her
The matter was made very light of on
the fleet today, and it was claimed that
the test could not be counted as fair
one.
1t Is little difficult, however to grasp
the cogency of this reasoning. 1t is true
that only four ships were on duty, the
Amphitrite and Marblehead both being
in port, and it Is likewise true that the
night was favorable to the blockade rum
ner; but 1t might be observed that were
the Vesuvius a real blockader she would
probably have selected just such weather
Tor her expedition and Admiral Bunce
knew he did not have but four of his
ships in line when he gave the Vesuvius
her orders. The Vesuvius seems to have
demonstrated fairly well on the whole
that four of Uncle Sans best warships
would not be able to keep blockader
out of Charleston harbor. An she would
have to do would be to wait for heavy
fog and then run in between the lines.
The result of The attempt to be made to-
night will be waited with interest. The
battleshp Massachusetts, Joined the fleet
today and the Amphitrite has resumed
her place in the line: the attempt conse-
quently will be made with six ships in
action
The weather Is clear and conditions are
far more propitious for the fleet.