The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-05-27
THE STORY OF CARDENAS.
Seaman 0'Hearn'a Graphic Re-
oital Of the Battle.
THE HUDS0N'S HEROES
But for Them the Winslow Would
Have Been Sunk by Span 49,.
.e- ~ -. y ish Shells,

But for Them the Window Would
Have Been Sunk by Span 70.
r. = ish Shells.
Key West, Fla, May 2O,-For an hou.
before the passenger steamer Key West
left her dock for Tampa a man wearing
the uniform Of naval seaman sal
YEARLY against great bale of cordage,
looking out past the harbor and the dis.
tant keys toward the gulf. He was VIII,
liam O'Hearn of Brooklyn, and one OF
the survivors of the torpedo-boat Wins.
lows crew which passed through the ter.
rible storm of shot and she'll that poured
in from the Spanish batteries in the bay
of Cardenas. He was going home on a
furlough for rest. Beside him, in bright
tin cage, was the Winslow's parrot
which made itself famous on the day OF
the battle by shrieking and chattering
like demon during the whole engage
ment.
By degrees and after much questioning
O'Hearn told the whole story of the battle
and no doubt his account of the engage
ment Is the most correct in detail of any
given yet.
The Winslow was in Dire Peril.
"From the very beginning" he said,
that we could not escape being sunk, and
that is what would have happened had it
not been for the bravery Of the boys Oh
the Hudson, who worked for an hour
under the, most terrific fire to get us out
of range"
"Were you ordered to go in there?' he
was asked.
"Ies, just before we were fred upon
the order was given from the Whining
TOM
WAS it a signal order?''
NO, we were near enough to the
Wilmington SO that they shouted it to us
phone"
DO you remember the words of the
command and who gave themT
II don't know who shouted the order,
were: Mr.. Bagley, 60 in there and see
what gunboats those are We started at
once toward the Cardenas dock and the
firing began soon after"
What was the first you saw of the
6ring?'
How it Feels to be Under Fire.
"The first thing saw was shot fired
from a window or door In the second
story of the storehouse just back of the
Jocks where the Spanish gunboats were
lying: l saw the fash and the smoke
and the same instant shell went Kissing
ever our heads. Then the firing began
| don't think any man can forget the
sound and the effect of shell and heavy
shot the first time he is under fire. 1t is
something terrible. When a shell passes
close BY you. you feel it. something like
your head off. First you hear that: aw-
full buzzing or whizzing-it is hard to
describe-and then something seems to
strike You in the face and head. l no.
ticed that day when the shells first began
to fly about us that the boys threw their
hands to their heads every time shell
went over. But they soon came so fast
and so close that it was roaring, shrek
ing. crashing hell. I can describe it in nc
other way"
Where was your position?'
Il am the water tender" he said, land
my place was below, but everybody went
on deck when the battle began. John
Varvares, the oiler; John Donief and John
Meek, the fremen, were both OH watch
with me and had they remained below
they would probably not have been killed.
A Shot Through the Boiler.
"After the firing began I went below
again to attend to the boilers and few
minutes later solid shot came crashing
through the side of the boat and into the
boiler, where it destroyed seventy of the
boiler tubes. At first it stunned. the men
When the shell burst in the boiler, it
threw both the, furnace doors open and
the fuse from the shell struck my feet
Two pieces of the shell also came out OF
the door and am taking them home with
me as souvenirs of the war.
1T was a terrible crash and report al
together and the boiler room was filled
with dust and steam. For several sec
onds was partially stunned and my ears
rang so 1 could near nothing. / went W
on the deck to report to Capt. Bernadou.'
What did you say to him?''
II saw him near the forecastle CUR
limping about with towel bound abou
his leg. He was shouting and the noise
of all the guns was like continuous thun
der.
"'Captain, shouted, the forward boil
er is disabled. A shell has gone through
her,"
to the gun again.
Dead Lie in Heap on the Deck.
81 went back into the boiler room AM
in q few minutes I went up on decl
again, and the fighting had grown hottie
than ever. Several of the men were miss
ing, and l looked around. Lying all il
heap on the after deck in the star
board quarter, near the after comm,
had wilted after the shell had strucl
them. In other places we're men lying
groaning or dragging themselves about
wounded and covered with blood. Tn
deck had blood on it, and it was strew1
with fragments and splinters. l wen
over where the five men were lying in
heap and saw that they were not all dead
John Meek could speak and move on
of his hands slightly. l went up to hir
"Can I do anything for you, John
asked. and he replied, NO, Jack, I'r
dying; goodby,' and he asked me to gras
"'Go help there he whispered, gain
with fixed eyes where Capt. BernadO
was still firing the forward gun.
'"The next minute he was dead. II
was my friend"-and there was paus
in O'Hearn's story.
Ensign Baeley a Hero.
Ensign Bagley," he continued, after
little, twas lying at the bottom badl
torn to pieces. and the bodies of the othe
three were on top of him. The colore
cook was lying a little apart from til
others, badly mangled and in a crampe
position. We supposed he was dead, an
covered him up the same as the Others
Nearly half an hour after that we hear
him calling and making slight move
ment under the cloth. We went to hi,
| and he said. oh, boys, for Gods SAX
move me. I'm lying over the boiler an
burning up 1t was time. The deck we
very hot and his flesh had been almo:
roasted. He also complained that his nee
was cramped, but did not seem to feel b
| terrible wounds. We moved him into a
| easier position and gave him some waite
Thank you, SIR he said, and in five SCI
| onds he was dead"
Then O'Hearn told of the brave condut
on the part of the Hudson's crew in re
ting the Winslow out of her perilous stu.
ton. That story was fully told OH the da
after the battle.
O'Hearn is IS years of age and hs
served eight years in the United State
navy. He went on the Winslow last Ja1
nary and had previously served on tt
Puritan, the Katahdin, Texas and 9th,
vessels of tic navy. While on the Pur
tan, in the Brooklyn ma vy-yard, last Jul
he prevented catastrophe by saving Il