The age-herald., 1898-11-06

embarking was done. douDt II
 We could have worked without it. The ship labored more and more heavily rBe- fore l left the bridge she rolled her sponsons under, which should estimate to be thirty degrees, and her pitching was enough to show her rudder propellers ana
 perhaps twelve feet of her keel She Tell into the sea very heavily and shuddered
 as she rose. There was no water aft. The Vulcan did her best to keep our head up throughout the day.
 Slipped the Hawser M Tt was perhaps 5:SO when we reached the Merritt While she was getting In the
 surf boats, the Vulcan slipped the haWser of the Infanta Maria Teresa.
 "The Merritt then returned to ma the wreck but could not do so. The seafch
 continued until 1:30 D. m. the following day when she headed for Charleston. t.5T 'Very respectfully,
 IRA HARRIS, Lieut-Com., O 5. N. It is said lat the navy department that provjsion was made by which the Teresa could have weathered any ordinary storm.
 A rough wooden deck had been nailed over
 her upper works Her hull was then
 sheathed and heavy chains were wound
 around her so as to hold her together. Al
 though not altogether seaworthy, all Una.
 was expected was that the cruiser Woq4d
 he kept afoat until docked. She had been
 stripped of all guns and .yaluables save the the
 big turret 11-inch guns before startlhg' sof
 it is believed that there will be no JOSS on that account. A.f that the government has lost only the amount of the per diem Of SS00 per oay through the sinking Of the Vessei, because the contract appears to have required the delivery by the wreeking company or .he vessel at the navy yard at Norfoik, va; The Teresa was sunk on the 3rd or July, and three days later the contract was signed under which she was raised. Ihe work was attended by greater dif1cultles than had been. anticipated. Divers sent below reported that the hull below the water line was completely uninjnred, so II was supposed that nothing more than the ordinary process of pumping out alter stop ping ports and submerged matches would pc necessary to raise the ship. When the ptinps had drawn a good deal of water. out. i of the ship she began raise and 1t was an nounced that ashe~had-s been hoatsd.s~ Itis- was a mistake A big rock lay below the ship and she was implanted upon It. AS she lifted the water rushed in and she sank
 again. n.
 Troublesome Problem i,
 A troublesome engineering problem was
 presented at this stage of the work for, as
 she lay, the Teresa could not be pulled !
 into shallow water or fioated, being held
 firmly fixed by the driven rock. Finally, !
 after some difficulty a cofferdam was con-
 structed around the rock, the portions
 which held the ship were blasted away and
 she was released and foated to Caimanera.
 At this point work was undertaken to put
 her in shape for her homeward voyage and
 upon the character of this work depended
 the solution of the question as to whether
 she was properly fitted She was patched
 and by liberal use of cement, made water
 tight All of her decks had been burned
 away in the fight, leaving the ron framing
 and sheathing exposed. Temporary plank
 ing was put into place to make the decks
 water tight; living quarters were con
 structed for her crew and the hull thor
 oughlv cleaned inside from the accumulated sea filth.
 This occupied a good deal of time, so
 that when the vessel was raised on sep tember p and the work was prosecuted with vgor, it was not until Octooer So that
 she was able to start away from Caimanera
 under her own steam bound for Norfolk.
 She was accompanied by the repair shlp
 Vulcan, the Merritt and the cruiser Cln-
 cinnati, but the latter met the ships at
 Maysi. The navy was gratif1ed to near m
 a cablegram at this time that the Teresa
 was able to go under her own steam at the
 rate of 6 knots an hour, as It had been
 doubted whether the engines were able to
 work after so long an immersion in salt
 water. A court Of inquiry Will De lhstl-
 tuted.
 Responsibility for the Loss
 The department has option in the case
 of a loss of a vessel under such conditions.
 This court is required to fix the responsi- bility for loss, to examine into consldera- tions which led Commander Harris to choose the easterly course around Cape Maysi and eastward of the Bahamas to that around Cape San Antonio and to the Florida channel It must also determine as near as it can whether the work of pre- pairing the ship for the homeward voyage was properly executed, and also whether the officers and crew were justified in abandoning her.
 Upon the conclusion will depend whether or not a court martial shall be l.eld. Com : mander Harris Is the only officer whom tie department knows to have been attached to the Teresa, although he was doubtless supported by some warrant officers whose names were not reported to the department before the ship sailed. He was in com. mand of the Vulcan throughout the war and was transferred to the Teresa just be- fore she sailed. He bears an enviable reputation for ability in his profession. | As already stated, the navy department l was discouraged by the ill-success of the | most promising venture and the first declar- aton was against a continuance of the at | tempt to raise any of the other vessels. i Moreover the first feeling of discourage l ment gave place in short time to deter | imitation to save at least one of Cervera'sa l squadron as a magnificent trophy of the glorious engagement of July 3. sd is Acting Secretary Allison has already un- der consideration the report of the board | of bureau chiefs who looked into the wrecking operations of Santiago and rec commended the continuance of the work on the Colon only on condition that the con- tractors, Merritt and Chapman, required, payment only in the event of the success of their undertaking. It may be that the loss reported today will strengthen the hands of Constructor Hobson, who is ur- | gently pleading with the department to allot money to enable him to conduct op- erations in wrecking the vessels on his own | acount or it may induce the department | to offer more liberal terms to the con- | tractors, but however that may be | the present disposition of the department | is as already stated. to raise the Colon. to | bring her to the United States to place her under the Arerisln flag and to attach her
 to the United States navy.