The Florence tribune., 1898-05-14

l patriotic, and incorruptible, but some ] how or other legal representatives of [ the Spanish government managed to 7 block the way, and Spanish diplomacy, } then as now, was plausible and re- l sourceful.
 "Whatever the cause, the naval dis play at Key West was feeble and inef-
 fective. Our flagship, at least, like } the British flagship, should have gone , to Havana. As matter of fact, Ad- , miral Scott had to make an excuse and : get express authority to send over dispatch boat, and was dependent on the newspaper correspondents, or one , of them, for news of what was going , on his immediate front.
 : The race between the correspond ents for news was very hot. Every man as the representative of his news
 paper was on his mettle and enterprise was at premium. When we learned that the Virginius was to be surren- dered we all realized that the event would end the campaign. The point then was to be in at the death and to l'obtain the best if not the exclusive
 story Of the ceremony and attendant
 circumstances. The lips of the gov
 ernment officials were sealed as to the time and place appointed. In fact, the
 program was arranged at Washington ] by the Secretary of State and the Span- } ish minister and communicated conf } dentially to Admiral Scott. However, l managed to get to the secret, and
 thus armed, "stowed away" on the
 Dispatch, which was the vessel ap-
 pointed to receive the surrender. Cap- tain Rodgers commanded the Dispatch, but the receiving officer was Captain I Whiting. The fleet captain and the
 other officers of the detail were Lieu
 tenant Adolf Mark, Master George A.
 Calhoun and Assistant Engineer N. A. Lambdin. With them were thirty-nine sailor men from the Pawnee, who were VI AAADA VlC CA bNScGA e~S o
 prize crew. All of these people except Captain Whiting were ignorant of [ their instructions, not even knowing their destination, and the pilot taken aboard before leaving Key West had sealed orders.
 7 "We left Key West on a Sunday ] night at 10 o'clock. We were in the open sea before I ventured to make ] my appearance on deck, present my self to the officers, declare myself 3
 stowaway and vertify my information as to their mission. The next morn
 ing at 10 o'clock the blue hills of shs
 Cuban coast rose above the horizon : and the bow of the Dispatch was di- , reeted toward Bahia Honda, the ob-
 scure little port selected for the func- tion.
 Ut was about noon when we passed . 4a oia IoIS called Mariiio, command :. ing the entrance to the harbor. - Speed was then slackened, and the F vessel crept cautiously along the :. narrow, but clearly marked channel j. which leads to the smooth water 0 where the virginius was supposed to c be lying.
 "As soon as the Dispatch was sight . ed from the shore, the Spanish flag, > bearing the crown, notwithstanding '- the Republic abolishing that mon- l. archial emblem, was flung to the n breeze. We discovered black side e wheel steamship lying about mile s beyond the fort. It was the Virginius
 No other craft, except two or three IS coasting steamers, or fishing smacks l. was then visible, and it was not until le we were about to come to anchor that y we discerned Spanish sloop-of-waI 1t lying close under the shore about two i'd and half miles away.
 'e "Very soon boat from the Span T. ish man-of-war was alongside of tht k- Virginius, and immediately the star IS and stripes were raised by Spanisi ID hands, and again foated over th' U vessel which carried Ryan and hi y unfortunate comrades to their death of At the same moment we saw, by tn E aid of field glasses, another boat le l. down from the Spanish vessel. l Of proved to be the Captains gig, am T. brought to the Dispatch a naval off 3. cer in full uniform, who proved to b ra senor de h Camera of the spanisl y sloop-ot-war, Favorita, He steppe g briskly forward, and was met at sh
 gangway by Captain Rodgers an
 Captain Whiting. After an exchang
 of courteous salutations, Commar
 der de Ia Camera remarked that b
 had received copy of the protocs
 providing for the surrender of th
 Virginius, and the surrender migf
 now be considered to have taken plac,
 Captain Whiting replied that ande
 his instructions the following day ws
 named for the surrender, and that
 could not receive 1t until that tim,
 Meanwhile he would thank the Spanis