The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-06-06
her Bottom, aud with his seven mon.
Only two ofwhom had been Injured took

her bottom, and with his seven men.
Only two ofwhom had been Injured took
to o boat. ~ y n l' a ~
s All that is known OF that heroic dash
beyond these bare facts comes from
Admiral Ccrvera himself. The Spanish
commando sent word TO Admiral
sampson, nndeta nag OF truce, OF the
capture OF the elght American dare;
devils, He calamity praised their herr
olsrn, and offered 70 arrange an ex-.
Ichang6 10: Spanish prisoners now IN
the. hands OF. the United States. I'll
Z From the boat tbearlng tiic f,ag o.
truce II was learned that the Merlrmac
was frequently hit While stenming up
the harrow channel, bith none OF tho
shots disabled her. machinery, vi
More thanl1o0 proJectiles struck near
her. over a dozen struck home, and two
OF her Intrepid men were bruised by
spllnters. from her woodwork. n 4
When Hobson left the ship In the
boat he; made an effort to row out OF
the harhor and regain the American
fleet, but he had gone too far up tho
channel, md llc soon saw that the
effort to pnss. all the aroused batteries
In the then daylight would mean tho
sacrifice OF his crew. So he turned
andtrowed straight. for the Spanish
squadron. n Il, y IN
Some shots were stlll sent for the
boat. but before long the spnninrds
saw that EHobson evidently Intended TO
give himself UP. and ceased firing. The
American lieutenant rowcd straight TO
the Almirantes oauendo, and surrender.
cd to Admiral Cervera. who received
the prisoners courteously, and Streated
them with respect due to gallant men
who were prisoners of war. n "a
It was undoubtedly his admiration for
the heroism! displayed In the dash Of
the MerrInao which led him to send
out the flag Of truce and an honorable
exchange The Spaniards on the truce
boat declared that Hobson and his men
were given a cheer as they came up 10.
the Spanish ships, the sailors .recog
nizlng the bravery of the deed. '
In the fleet It Is said that Hobson was
selected because OF his GOODNESS In time
OF danger, and his knowledge ot,the eS-
plosves which ne was to use In send
Ing his ship 10 the bottom: The ,explo-
sive used was n dynamite bomb. Top.
Grated by electricity. The bomb was
placed we'll forward, and the electrical
apparatus for exploding It was lacat-
ed on deck at the stern. In this way
1t was possible to blow a hole In the
collier and then take to the boats be-
fore the big vessel went down. In the
fleet nothing Is talked OF beside the
wondrous exploit Of the eight heroes.
and he.c1ample has had such On eff
feet on the men that nothing could
be proposed so hazardous as to deter
them from volunteering to accomplish
IL. s.ts
Some time after the collier had been
sunk two boats put out from the. harbor
TO the place where the masts showed
above the water. 1t was suspected that
the .spaniards were endeavoring to dy-.
namitt the wreck and clear the cham
mel. A few long range shots drove the
two boats away. The truce boat took
back to NHobson and his men clothes
and money. Captain Ovideo. officer.
vera's stafr. cheerfully agreeing to de-.
liver anything the Americans might de-
sire to send. Ovldeo reported that
Hobson was not hurt In any way, and
that the two men wounded BY splinters
were not seriously injured.