The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-06-28
 THE DEATH OF SOMERS.


 It was soon after the burning of the Philadelphia that Commodore Preble, in charge of the American ships in the harbor of Tripoli in 1904, figured out scheme for further harassing the ene- my by sending a fire-ship and explod- ing 1t among the shipping The ketch Intrepid, which has served so admira ply in the Philadelphia expedition, was selected for this new service and the sacrifice. She was loaded with 100 bar rels of powder in bulk, 150 fixed shells, and a lot of old iron to be hurled in ev- cry direction among the enemy's ships when the explosion took place. It was the intention to send the ketch in as a blockade runner, and when she had reached the center of the flet of ships in tn harbor have her crew apply the torch to the powder train and make their escape before the explosion came. Two small rowboats were fastened to the ketch to facilitate the escape, and small vessels followed, as Powell did after Hobson, to pick up the crew after their work was done.
 The glory which had fallen to Ste phen Decatur and his men for their burning of the Philadelphia had inspir- ed the entire American fleet with de- sire to do something to share the record for bravery, and when the call came for volunteers to go on the Intrepid there was almost as grerat an embar- rassment of richness as when 4,000 men presented themselves to go on Hob- sons hazardous errand.
 Master Commandant Richard Som- CTS, who was chosen to command the ketch, wanted but ten men, with Mid shipman Henry Wadsworth second in command but just before the start they found a stowaway-M Midshipman Joseph Israel. He was more fortunate or less fortunate-whichev 1t may be than Hobson's stowaway, for he was permitted to go. very man in the crew knew the peril of the venture, and thy all declared they would never be taken alive. Before the departure Som CTS removed from his finger gold ring and breaking it into three pieces gave one to Decatur and another to Master Commandant Charles Stewart. The third piece he kept. The pieces given away were to be preserved as nlemen- tos in case Somers did not return. The men in the crew disposed of their ef
 fects as they would have done had they been going out to be shot.
 It was on the night of September 4, 1904, that the Intrepid and her left the rest of the American fleet and sailed away through the fog towards the Tripolitan gunboats. Three small cruis- ers-the Argus, Vixen, and Nautilus stood over towards the harbor with her in order to cover her retreat should she be assailed before entering. The crews of these vessels silently watched the ketch fade away in the misty gloom. They had taken farewell of the daring band and never saw them more. The last glimpse they had of the ketch before she blew up was as she glided like dark shadow between the Tripolitan gunboats. But unfortunate ly her presence there was discovered by the enemy too soon to make it pos sible for the crew to get away with their lives. A signal was fired from shore, and in an instant almost every gun that could bear on the stealthy intruder was blazing away for all it was worth.
 AL tHaL IHOHieHL LHe crew OL lHe 1Ndu- titus saw a lantern passing along what they supposed was the deck of the In- trepid, doubtless carried by some mem Der of the little boats crew. It paus- ed at the midship hatch, over the spot where the powder was stored, and then dropped out of sight The next in stant there was flash that lit the sky and stream of flame shot up from where the lantern had disappeared. A shock that made every ship in the har- Dor quiver and a roar that startled the astonished Tripolitans into trembling fear told all too plainly what had hap pened on board the ketch While the echoes of the roar were still resound- ing splinters of timber and fragments of shell were, heard dropping into the water in all directions around the spot where the explosion had occurred. All through the night American sail