The Van Buren press., 1898-11-05
A SUPREME MOMENT.
THIS is the story, never before told,

for which the torpedo boat Porter
would have blown the flagship New
York to bits.
The story is told now by E. w. Nc
Cready, correspondent of the New
York Herald, who was on board the
Porter and who was pledged to Sc
crecy so long as active operations
against the Spanish continued. But
now that the war is over he has been
released from his promise and tells
for the first time the story of an epi-
sode which is still spoken of only In
whispers in naval circles.
The New York and the Porter met
one night during the blockade of Ha-
vana under strange circumstances
which would have justified either in
destroying the other, and for few
seconds the lives of 500 men were In
the hands of one. The torpedo boat
lay SO close under the cruisers side
that one could have tossed biscuit
against it. !
But, inviting death while he waited,
Lieut.. John c. Frem ont, Of the Porter,
hailed once more-a lions voice ring
ing clear above the churning screws
and humming blowers.-and that final
hail averted the catastrophe.
It is memorable that duty scarcely
demanded this last warning.
There are some things about 1t
which have never been explained. 1t
appears that the New York was some
distance from her blockading station.
For the rest the fleet was dspla aying
no lights except an occasional electric
signal. The night was dark. Ger
vera's feet was not accounted for, and
his cruisers and destroyers were ex-
pected at any moment. The Porter
was on scout duty, and, more impor-
tant yet, the usually infallibe night
fignal apparatus of the New York
played Sampson false for once and
brought him and all who sailed with
him nearer to death than they had
been before or since.
1t was the Porter's business to pre-
vent any Spanish vessel from creep
ing up on the blockading squadron un-
awares. The American ships at all
hazards must be apprised of the ap-
proach of an enemy. The Ardois sys-
tenn of signal lights includes signal
which, flashed for a second in the dark
ness, means "enemy's vessel in sight :"
That might be used If the scout were
within signal distance of SIMPSONS
ships when he discovered hostile
craft. But as fog and darkness are
prominently the conditions favorable
for torpedo work, the Porter's busi-
ness was to investigate the character
OF every strange ship, and, if satisfied
that she was Spanish, to blow her up.
On that dark blockade the Ameri-
can ships recognized one another in
two ways-one being the position in
which vessel appeared, which should
be her night blockading station, and
the other being an Ardois signal,
which was changed from night to
night So If, for instance, the New
York, cruising slowly westward, sight
ed another ship running without
lights and not occupying one of the
blockading stations, she would fash,
let us say, two red lights above one
white one. If the stranger answered
properly and promptly, the New York
could go about her business. Other
wise the batteries would be manned,
a signal warning all vessels within sig
nal distance would be set, and the flag
ship would close in and get the stran-
gers range.
"a light on the port bow" the look
out announced.
The lieutenant lcoked at it for a
moment and spoke to the man in the
coming tower. We were going along
gently, making only five knots an
hour.
Flows your head ?" he asked.
"Nor-west by west-half-west," was
the reply.
We cruised westward. Hay down on
deck near a one-pounder-too near.
Lieut.. Fremont went below for a nap.
Ensign Gillis-it was he who picked
up a Spanish torpedo afterward by
springing overheard and unscrewing
its "war nose" so it could be hauled
aboard safely-was in charge of the
Porter for the time. There was quie t
until 2:30 in the morning. Then the
one-pounder beside me woke me as
thoroughly as If it had been 13-inch
gun, and raced to the coming tower
to see what had happened, and saw
what seemed TO be the very biggest
ship in the world looming up on our
port bow, indistinct in the gloom, but
close enough TO sink us without fail
a second after the order to fire.
Lieut.. Fremont stood before the
coming tower. Gillis had made out
the loom OF the stranger when we
were a quarter of mile away and
had awakened his commander. Silent
ly the Porter stole up on the dark
warshlp. When we were but 200 yards
away or less, and so within easy sig
nal distance, the night feet signal was
flashed by the torpedo boat-two
white lights and one red. 1t burned
for a second or so and then II was
turned off.
There was no reply. The stranger,
dark and unheeding, moved slowly
westward. That she had not seen il
was inconeeivable, for there were &c
men looking out for signals on every
American warship at this time and no
one could believe that they had over
looked that well-known signal flashed
clear so close at hand.
The Porter shot close-so close that
every man on her felt that desperate
work was In hand and that now we
were in for II beyond recall. The New
York is perhaps the easiest Of the