Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-04-26

the commandant of the fort. he protested
hotly, and urged that his protest be con-
sldercd. 1t was not until the command
had been reiterated both from London
and Ott<~a, that he accepted the situa-
ton, and with bowed head prepared to
leave his post. All night preparations
ior evacuation went on, and during the
next morning the garrison left tho fort.
and established itself far enough away
to preclude danger from the explosion of
mine, but near enough to be available
IN case of necessity.
during this morning there arrived in
the offing another syndicate vessel. This
mad started from northern part of the
United States, before the repellers and
the crabs, and it had been engaged in
laying private submarine cable. which
should put the Office of the syndicate in
New York in direct communication with
Its naval forces engaged with the enemy.
lelegraphic connection between the
cable boat and Repeller No. / having
been established, the syndicate soon re-
celved from its director-in-c full and
comprehensive accounts of what had
been done, and what it was proposed to
do. Great was the satisfaction among
the members of the syndicate when
these direct and official reports came in
Up to this time they had been obliged to
depend upon very unsatisfactory intelli-
gence communicated from Europe,
which had been supplemented by wild
statements and rumors Struggled across
! the Canadian border.
TO counterfeit the effect of these full
report was Immediately made by the
syndicate to the government OF the
United States, and a bulletin distinctly
describing what had happened was is
sued to the people of the country. These
reports, which received world wide
circulation in the newspapers, created a
popular elation in the United States, and
gave rise 10 serious apprehersions and
concern in many other countries. But
under both elation and concern there
was certain doubtfulness. So far the
syndicate had been successful, but its
style of warfare was decidedly expert
mental, and its forces, in numerical
strength at least, were weak. What
would happen when the great naval
power of Great Britain should be
brought to bear upon the syndicate, was
a question whose probable answer was
likely to cause apprehension and concern
in the United States and elaton in many
other countries.
The commencement of active hostil.
tiles had been precipitated by this syndi-
cate. In England preparations were
making by day and by night to send
upon the coast lines of the United States,
a fleet which, in numbers and power,
would be greater than that of any naval
expedition in the history of the world.
1t is no wonder that many people OF
sober Judgment in America looked upon
the affair of the crabs and the repellers
as but an incident in the beginning of a
great and disastrous war.
On the morning of the destruction of
Fort Pitcher the syndicates vessels
moved toward the port, and the steel net
was taken up by the two crabs, and
moved nearer the mouth of the harbor,
at point from which the fort, now in
process of evacuation, was in full view.
When this had been done, Repeller No.
took up her position at moderate dis
/ lance behind the net, and the other YES
/ sells stationed themselves near by.
| The protection of the net was consid
cred necessary, for although there could
be no reasonable doubt that all the tor
pedoes in the harbor and river had been
exploded, others might be sent out
against the syndicate's vessels, and 4
! torpedo under a crab or repeller. was
the enemy most feared by the syndicate.
About 3 O'Clock the signals between
the repellers became very frequent, and
soon afterwards truce boat went out
from Repeller No. l. This was rowed
with great rapidity, but it was obliged to
go much farther up the harbor than on
previous occasions, in order to deliver its
message to an officer of the garrison.
This was to the effect that the evacna-
| ton of the fort had been observed from
the svndicatc's vessels, and although it
! had been apparently complete, one of
the scientific corps, with a powerful
glass, had discovered a man in one of the
outer redoubts, whose presence there
was probably unknown to the officers of
the garrison. 1t was, therefore, earn
estly urged that this man might be in
stantly removed, and in order that this
might be done, the discharge of the mo-
tor bomb would be postponed half an
hour.
The officer received this message and
was disposed to look upon it as a new
trick, but as no time was to be lost he
sent corporal's guard to the fort, and
there discovered an Irish sergeant by the
namc of Kilsey, who had sworn an oath
that if every other man In the fort ran
away like lot Of addle pated sheep he
would not run with them; he would
stand to his post to the last, and when
the couple OF ships outside had got
through bombarding the stout walls OF
the fort, the world would see that there
was at least one British soldier who was
not afraid of bomb, be it little or big.
Therefore he had managed to elude on-
servation, and to remain behind.
The sergeant was so hot headed in his