Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-06-06
FOUR cIENFuEeos VICTIMS
ONE MAN FROM THE WINsLOw IN.
JURED AT CARDENAs.
A Victim of the Bombardment of
Porto .tic0 Also a Passenger ON
the Ambulance Ship-Three
Patients From the
Oregon.

| on board fifty-four wounded and sick, some
| of whom had been transferred from the
| American warships in Cuban waters and
| others taken from the hospitals at Key
| West. ..-...
Her after deck had been tented of with
| canvas and in swinging hammocks lay half
| dozen of the more seriously i'll of the
patients; the convalescing room was the
basaking place Of a score or more of the
| poor fellows who had not given up the fight
without struggle while the privilege of
| of the decks had been accorded all those
| who were able to move about or anxious to
watch the green hills as the good ship
| moved in shoreward. The Solace anchored
OF Tompkinsville. Staten Island, early this
morning where she was boarded by rep
resentative of the Associated Press. She
left Key West on Wednesday afternoon
! last and made the run to New York with
out incident until Saturday night, when the
gale tumbled her about while and made
things to some extent uncomfortable for
the patients she carried. But the sea voy-
age was tonic to the men. They had left
behind the sweltering heat of the tropics;
had exchanged suffocating and exhausting
winds for rereshing breezes, many were
nearing home; all at least were to rest in
the heart of the great country they had
been fighting for.
The Solace-fitly named-with her white
sides and the Red Cross flag flying at her
mast head, brought in many little band
Of heroes, among the fifty-four. They had
gathered together in little groups on the
voyage up many q time and told again the
story of brush with the Spaniards or
the night on watch at the blockade. And
to those who knew. brush with the Span
iards Is hardly to be compared with the
dangerous work Of scouting in gale at
| rfuxy,k until n,,k SoSk <,H %Ia T,,1o
Four of the heroes from the Nashville and
the Marblehead were among the patients
on the solace, Robert Volts, of San Fran
cisco, and Henry Hendricksen, John Davis
and H. w. kuchmeister. Of New York.
They are the wounded Of that gallant band
Of volunteers who cut the cable at Cien-
fuegos. nearly a month ago. It Is q tale
that has been told before, but that noble
effort will live in history side by side with
the Merrimac's journey down into the mar.
rows at Santiago harbor.
Commander McCalla, OF the Marblehead,
called for volunteers to man the boats.
Every hand went up and the men begged
for a call to the place Of danger. Lieuten-
ant Winslow, Lieutenant Anderson and En-
sign Magruder were in charge as the sea-
men swept the boats with easy stroke in
shore. In the rife pits 1000 spaniards had
gathered. Shells from the warships were
directed along the coast line. and then.
with every man at his gun, the MarbIehead,
the story that all knew was inevitable.
The small boats made straight in. A
few hundred yards from shore and the
men were at work. They dragged up the
first cable and hacked through the heavy
strands then they found the second. This
was the Spaniards' signal and they opened
fire. For half an hour the gallant sailors
worked amid rain of bullets. Meanwhile
the American warships were hurting shot
and shell into the enemy, who. nevertheless.
kept up a fierce fire. The men in the boats
kept coolly at their work. Never for a
moment did they falter. Lieutenant "lns-.
low lost three fingers OF his left hand by
the explosion of a SHE'LL but he is still at
Key West. ready for duty again. John
Reagan Of the Marblehead boat, was shot
through the chest. AZ he fell Private Ma
rine Kuchmeister. who was brought here
to-day by the Solace. stopped to assist
him.. At that instant rifle ball struck
Kuchmeister in the jaw and passed out his
mouth. The marine hardly realizing how
badly he was injured bandaged up his jaw
with a handkerchief and tried to stop the
flow Of blood from Reagan's wound, but
poor Reagan died moment later. Gum
ners Mate Davis. Of the Marblehead, was
torn with bullet in his thigh and a mo-
ment after a one-pounder from shore had
sent shot close enough to Craze his arm.
Hendricksen and Voltz. the former from
the Marblehead and the latter from the
Nashville, are the others of the gallant
expedition who will carry the marks Of
heroism to their graves. When the reve-
nue. cutter Window brought Hendricksen
and Voltz to Key West, the hospital sur
geons said that both would die. One had
three bullet wounds; this was Voltz. A
22-cahber bullet had passed through the
skull at the base of the brain and out.
Compared with this the other wounds were
insignificant. He was unconscious for sew
eral days at the barracks hospital at Key
West. but gradually they brought him
around. Now Voltz looks well. To be sure.
he is still thin and haggard and wears the
bandages. He says that his head troubles
him somewhat. but Voltz is hero, like
his three mates, and there are many heroes
in the American navy. Hendricksen was
shot through the abdomen. The bullet
passed completely out. so great is the
velocity of these tiny steel missiles under
the new methods of propulsion. Hendrick-
sen, when seen aboard ship to-day, how
ever. said he would be fighting the Span
iards again before the end of the month, IL
there was fight left in them.
The Winslow sent one man here to re-
mind the people North Of that now famous
torpedo boat and Of the terrible engage
ment at Cardenas, when Ensign Bagley |
was killed-the first officer of the American
navy to fall in this WARMTH four of his |
men He Is Robert T. Grubb. a Iandsman. |
1t was on that memorable occasion that |
Lieutenant Bernadou, in command of the |
Winslow, under orders from Commander |
Todd, of the gunboat Wilmington, attempts |
ed to force Cardenas harbor, for the pur- |
pose Of drawing the fire Of the masked bat |
teries. The fire was hundredfold more |
effective than expected and the first shell |
from shore exploded over the plucky little |
boat, Lieutenant Bernadou being the only |
man wounded. A piece of shell cut a |
nasty cash in his leg, but. tying bandage |
about 1t. he ordered his boat still further |
in. Then came the fourteen pound shell [
that crashed through the boilers and dis |
abled the Winslow and few moments |
later Ensign Bagley and four Of the men |
were stretched dead on the deck. Grubb
was among those aboard at the time and |
with others was rescued by the Hudson.
Lieutenant Bernadou spent SOME days at |
the hospital at Key West, but he is now
again in command Of the Winslow, tiny |
craft. 'daring and audacious even among
those murderous boats. In place of poor
Bagley, J. L. Lattimer Is the Winslow's en-. |
sign. Grubb is the second man to come to |
New York, O'Hearn, a fireman, having been |
sent on furlough from the scene of ac-
ton after the terrible ordeal which he had |
passed with the others.
A victim Of the Porto k.co bombardment
was also brought here on the Solacc,
George Merkle. q slender, pale faced ma |
rine. He was on the Iowa at San Juan and