The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1898-10-13
OFEARIN THE NAVY.
ADMIRAL SAMPSON TALKS OF THE
COURAGE OF CREWS.


Seem to Court Dauger.
NO" said Rear Admiral Sampson,
with decided emphasis, "the clement
of fear is an imperceptible quantity
among our naval crews when In ac-
tion."
Indeed" he went on to say, In slow,
carefully weighed words, 81 can't tell
whether 1t is braggadocio, or fool
hardness, or plain passion to be al
ways in the thick of it, but the men
OF our crews, all that have ever seen
In action, display an amazing pro-
pensity to hunt for danger unless it
comes naturally their way. For In
stance, when only the starboard gun
ners are engaged the port men will
deliberately seek the exposed decks,
right in the line of shot and shell, in
stead of keeping below behind ar
mored protection. All sense of dan
ger seems to be paralyzed while the
excitement of action is on. 1t per-
vades the entire crew as well as those
engaged at the guns. And this ac-
counts for the fact that, in most cases,
the casualties reported were among
those who had no business to be where
they were at the time; but 1t is al
most impossible, in moments of such
great excitement, to restrain them"
Possibly they might learn some
discretion" suggested the reporter,
"if they ran across gunners who could
bit things better than the Spaniards."
YES" said the Admiral. with
smile, perhaps they might; but 1
wouldn't like to be too sure of 1t,
either. They lose their identity, and
with 1t all sense of personal danger,
in the wild stimulus of battle. But,
let me say right here that a striking
difference can be seen in the conduct
of all crews between the first time
they are under fire and all subsequent
ones. 1t may not be fair to call 1t
of thing in our men; caution, natural
caution, would be better word. In
their first action they show n decided
tendency to enjoy the benefits of all
the protection afforded, but these prin-
clples of self-defense seem to evapo-
rate with the smoke of the enemy's
first fire, and,' from that on, the most
reckless daring takes their place. The
only crews that came personally under
my observation in this recent cam
paign were those of the Iowa and
New York, but this sudden change in
them from common sense caution un-
der fire to the most reckless exposure,
could very plainly be noticed, and I'm
sure other officers have the same ex-
perlence to give on this point. The
zee of battle once broken, so to speak,
the men are total strangers to any
thing resembling fear"
Here the reporter instanced the case
where one of the compartments of
the Texas was hit by Spanish shell
which killed one sailor and wounded
q number more, and asked the Ad-
miral whether such calamity on a
warship would cause any temporary
stampede in a crew.
"Oh, no." he replied. at wouldn't
be human nature for man TO see one
of his comrades torn to tatters by
shell and others badly wounded
around him, without shudder, but no
American sailor would think Of leav-
ing his gun at such a sight 1t is as
tonishing how cool and callous they
become to such spectacles during the
heat Of action. We don't have stam-
pedes in the navy"
"And now that you have disposed
of the American crews, Admiral" the
reporter said, what about the officers
on the bridge In action? Have they
any acquaintance with fearT
"Yes, they have, every man Of
them," he answered, as the care worn
burrows In his brow grew deeper, and
his eyes rested ON the questioner with
unusual force, "but it isn't the fear of
the shells or any of the accidents Of
battle. It's that awful, unspeakable
fear OF running his ship aground or
getting her otherwise in bad position.
This Is the only dread that bothers
the commanding officers. In an open
sea-way there Is none of this danger
to keep their nerves in a tension, but
1t comes with consuming force when
they begin an engagement with shore
batteries, approaching nearer and
nearer to get a more effective range,
and menanced more and more, each
moment, by the oppressive fear Of
striking a shoal or bar'-and the Ad-
mirafs face wore an expression of
positive pain, as II the recollection of
this great fear had come back TO him
vividly like a nightmare, and he was
seeing shoal ripples in the rustlIng of
the trees.
"In the matter Of courage among the
crews" the Admiral was asked, "is
there any marked difference between
our native-born sailors of American
pedigree and those of foreign parent.
ageF
II have not been able to detect any,
he replied very heartily, "for they are
all equally brave."-New York Mail
and Express.
All He Got From Casey.s
MuldOOn-Ah' SO YER fr'lnd Casey