Omaha daily bee., 1898-08-14
TROPHIES OF THE TRIUMPH
Recovering the Spanish War Ships Sunk
Near Santiago,
WORKING WITH AIR BAGS AND DERRlcKS
lieutenant Hobson's Plans for Rails
Ing the Colon and the Marie Teresa
some of the Difficulties to
he Overcome.

That friendly hand OF fate which revealed
90 Richmond Pearson Hobson, naval con-
s%tructor, U. S. N, the road to undying
glory by means OF the MerTimac, had still
another need Of fame in store for him.
This young man, the personifcation OF
naval skill and intelligence, has pitted him
self against a board Of older officers, who
decided in their wisdom that the Cristobal
Colon, late of Admiral Cervera's squadron,
could not be raised from its bed on the
shoals of the southern Cuban coast.
When Mr.. Hobson, after a personal in
e%pection Of the wrecked ships, told Ad-
miral Sampson that, in his opinion, both
the Colon and the Maria Teresa could be
saved, he was sent north at once to lay
his views before the authorities at Washing
ton. He talked so convincingly that it was
not many hours before he was In consulta-
ton with a certain wrecking company,
whose Offices, In one Of the older buildings
on Wall street, are known to governments
ond magnates of steamship lines and mil
1ionairos whose within is to sail the seas
in floating palaces.
In a corner of one OF these Office rooms
sits a quiet American citizen. From his
desk go forth many invisible lines leading
TO all parts of the coast. At the end of
these lines are peculiar tugs and floats and
giant cranes and a small army Of men to
work them. One Of these lines led to an
unfortunate battleship whose bones still lie
in Havana harbor. And another line is
even now leading down to a stretch of
beach on the south coast of Cuba, where
six Spanish war vessels are groveling and
grinding and beating as il anxious to es-
cape from the vengeance of an outraged
people. 1t is to save two of these craft
that the wrecker has marshaled his forces
at Constructor Hobson's invitation.
That the task will be difficult is well
known to those who understand the ways
of the weather during these hurricane
months around Cuba, but Hobson, by his
intelligence and bravery, has earned the
confidence of the government and he is to
be given a free hand in the matter.
There is another reason why the govern
ment is anxious to float these ships-one out
lined in a remark made by a high official in
the Navy department during the discussion
of the question. 1--WE must not fail to fly
old grory over at least one of the ships OF
Cervera's former fleet, even If it means
double the cost Of the vessel he said. The
dastardly attempt on the part of the Span
ish crews to cheat us out of them by open
ing the sea valves after the white flag of
surrender was flying, shall not succeed"
Difficulties of the Task. ,
To those who are familiar with the sea
and its ways, the task confronting the
wrecking company in the case of the Girls
tobal Colon and Maria Teresa is stupen-
dous. The latter lying on an even keel in
shallow water, presents fewer difficulties,
but the crack ship of Cervera's squadron,
the fleet Colon, is situated about as badly as
can be imagined. She lies on her beam
ends on a slop,ng part of the Cuban coast,
some forty eight miles from Santiago. Il
will be necessary to right her and then,
supported by pontoons, to tow the hull to
Santiago.
Soundings already taken show that hel
position is such that a sudden storm from
the south would have a tendency to drive
her further upon the beach, a contingency
that will render the work Of wrecking hel
almost if not quite impossible. There are
able men engaged on the task, however
men who have confronted such problems
beforehand at the present time of writing
the odds are even that the Cristobal Color
will sail under the American flag in due
course of time.
The plan formulated by Naval Constructor
Hobson, and heartily approved by the wreck,
ing company holding the contract, calls fol
the use of p%ontoons of great lifting capacity
and a number of air pags. The latter are
to be placed empty within the hull and ther
inflated. The air bag idea is comparatively
new, but the use of pontoons is an old story
The outfit now at work on the Spanish war,
shops includes a number of strongly bull