The record-union., 1898-08-31

over an eighth of a mile, the line being
five deep. They passed up one side
of the broad granite steps, around in
side and then out at the opposite side.
This, of course. after the parade.
AS the fleet arrived off Tompkins-
vile the Texas, which spick and span
from the navy yard. lay in waiting,
saluted the Admirals and was saluted
in turn, the pennant Of Commodore
Philip having been run up. The fort
at Governors 5 Island then returned the
ships salute and after wait of two
hours spent in receiving visits from
civil functionaries, the fleet started on
its now memorable trip up the Hudson,
the last cruise with the scars of bat
tie still IN evidence
The ships all flew their battle flags,
which for size and disreputable appear
ance were magnificent They bore no
other decorations and they needed none.
The Whitehead sailors crowded the
decks of each vessel, and set-off to
advantage the somber leaden hue that
had replaced the familiar white. On the
Brooklyn Admiral Schley appeared on
the quarter deck with a number of his
officers, and he was quite generally
recognized Admiral Sampson was al
SO on deck, but his identity was not
SO often established. None of the
Captains We're recognized even by those
of the closest excursion boats.
The Massachusetts was continually
suffering from a case of mistaken iden-
tity, she being cheered for the Oregon
all along the route. She was selected
from among the battleShips as being
the most war-worn, and the people
seemed to think that her appearance
betokened the war machine whose
splendid record has aStonished the
world. AS for actual scars of battle,
they were practically not visible on
any of the ships A careful searcher
would have seen the hole in the Brook
lyn'S smolze-stack, but that was all.
The Texas had her rents all patched uI'
and showed no signs of her hard ser
vice in tropic seas. The remaining ves-
sells, Iowa, Indiana, New York and Ore
gon, showed no outward indications OIL
the steel pelting theiy had received
and therefore the crowd expressed more
or less disappointment.
Then there was another feature the
crowd found disappointing, and l now
refer to the brevity with which the
proceedings were conducted. The pa
geant left the Battery at about 1851
and arrived back there at L O'Clock,
while the general idea prevailed that
the fleet would stop off Grants monu-
ment for an hour or SO and reach the
anchorage late in the afternoon. Many
| of the people, those from out OF town
| in particular, timed their movements
! in accordance with this notion, ana Ior
an hour or so after the procession hao
passed out of sight thousands OF them
kept pouring into Riverside Park from
every station on the IL road along lts
| length. Those fortunate enough to pc
| on time seemed to think that Admiral
| Sampson ought to have been in less
of a hurry, for they hardly had time
| to collect their thoughts and impress
sions before the causes thereof steamed
| out of sight down the river. The Ad-
miral, moreover, appreciated the degree
| of eagernesS felt by his men to set toot
once more on terra firma, and no doubt
/ considered their wishes before those OF
outsiders as a good Admiral should
PRESTON JONES.