The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-24
From The New York Sun.

vera's flagship, after the battle of July 3. |
From the New York Sun.
The United States steamship Vulcan on !
returning from her recent expedition to in
spect the wreck of the Maria Teresa,
brought to the United States a Spanish |
prisoner that has seen more trouble in |
proportion TO his size than any individual |
engaged in the late war, from Admiral
down to coal passer He is the cat Ger
vera, VINO belonged to the crew of the |
Cristobal Colon. Cervera is a black and
white animal of medium size, fierce of as
pect, but to his friends gentle in manner.
He has exceeding dignity and no less APP
petite and power.
When. admiral Cervera's squadron de-
parted from the coast of Spain last sum-
mer, this cat received a volunteer commits
sion as rat destroyer and mascot of the
Colon. He served faithfully and well in
both capacities it is to be presumed, until
the morning of July 3, when his sphere of
usefulness became much diminished by
the desertion of the prophetic rodents
from the Inflated ship. In the absence
of the rats, he turned his undivided atten-
ton to the mascot business, but not with
the most satisfactory results. In fact, he
proved a dismal failure, though through
no fault of his own. Whether terror at
the sound of the American guns, which
is improbable, or lack of confidence in the
efficiency of his superior officers deprived
him of his influence with the fates is not
known. Possibly he did not know the
charm which enables Old World pride
and Incompetence to triumph over Yankee
valor, and it may be that Yankee gunnery
is too much for any mascot however cap
able, to contend with. At any rate, on
that morning so fatal to the hopes of the
Spanish navy, misfortune folded not her
grimy pinions until securely perched upon
the Colon's signal yard whence the an
carnations and occult opera lions of
Tomas Cervera awaited naught to dslodge
her. From the moment the winches be-
gan to creak in the preparation for the
final dash out of the Santiago bottle, Ger
vera's services appeared more i'm the ma
ture of rank Jonahism than anything
else.
THE events of that day need not be re-
counted. 1t will never be forgotten that
out past Smith Cay. the sunken Merri-
mac, the frowning Moro, and into the
hell that awaited it outside the harbor,
sailed the Spanish squadron. Westward
along the Cuban coast steamed the Girls
tobal Colon at highest speed, running the
gauntlet of the American guns i'm a vain
effort 10 escape destruction. After
chase of sixty miles, finally defeated by
the superior skill of the Yankees, she
turned her bow toward the shore Pierced
through and through by the shells from
the American ships, disabled beyond hope,
she was grounded a short distance from
the beach. Every being aboard who was
able to do so plunged into the sea with the
hope of escaping the dreaded vengeance
excepting Cervera, the cat. He alone re-
manned, hidden to avoid capture
When a vessel belonging to the Merritt
& Chapman Wrecking Company visited the
Colon on July %, twenty-six days later
he was still there and was taken in charge
by the crew as a prisoner of war after
such spirited resistance as he was able to
make. Neither tooth nor claw was dull
ed, as his captors can testify, nor did his
eye shine with diminished lustre. What
the animal subsisted upon during the
twenty-six days he was with the hulk It
is perhaps best not to inquire AS dead
men tell no tales, il is not possible to learn
with certainty the nature of his diet. Ger
vera was cared for until Oct q by the
wrecking company's crew, with whom he
became great favorite In honor of his
bravery, they gave him the name he now
bears.
In the meantime Lieut. Hobson. lie
Columbus at the court of Spain. had cub
n1llttu his piOJttl 10 the powers ana lad
received permission to bring the Maria
Teresa to the United States as a trophy
of victory. He applied himself to the
work with such effect that on Oct q she
was ready for her Northern voyage Tenn
porary repairs We're made in her hull
leaks were sufficiently stopped, rough
superstructures were erected 10 take the
place of those which were destroyed by
fire the day she was beached, and the
disa hled engines were made to revOlve
again. Hobsons triumph was complete,
though brief. 1t was an unfortunate cir
! cumstance that part of the work of pre-
pairing the Teresa for the sea was placed
| in the hands of irresponsible Cubans, a
| fact which, some naval officers say, PROB
| ably contributed something toward her
ultimate loss.
Upon her departure from Cuba The cat
| was transferred to the Teresa TO be
brought to the United States. Misfortune
| whose services were no longer required
| on the Cristoba Colon, now little mo-e
useful than a scrap-heap of steel and iron
! followed Cervera over the gangplank and
again cast the shadow of her wings over
that unhappy tomcat. On Nov. /, the
| second day Of the Teresa's voyage, as she
was being towed nortward by the Vulcan
and the tug s. J. Merritt, a hurricane
broke over the consorts. CerVeras vo-
cal powers were again challenged, this
time by the raging elements. The bowling
~ The tempest awoke the demon within
him. and he gave voice TO such a series
of means, howls and shrieks as only a
| dend-possessed he-cat - capable Of pro
ducing. He rent the air with remon-
STRANGE and protestatiou, but the fury of
th., gale abated not. In tones as awful
to human ears as they were ineompre-