The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-11
SPANISH SIREN TO SALUTE LEE
4LMIRANTE OQUENDO'S WHISTLE
WILL GIVE HIM PARTING BLAST.

The siren OF the SnOt-hludied Span
ish Cruiser Now on the TuEboat
Cnmbria-Was Taken From the
Spaniard by the Crew of the Dis
patch boat Cynthia History of
the Last Hostile Shot Fired in Gu
ban Waters-HOw The Government
Tug Potomac Let GO Couple OF
3-inch Shells at the Cynthia.
When Gen. Lee leaves Savannah to-day
on the Panama he win receive a
salute from the siren of the Span
ish cruiser Almirante Oquendo, taken
from the shot riddled wreck off Santiago
by the crew of the dispatch boat Cynthia
IT, and now on the tug Cambria
Mr.. e. R. Johnstone of the Minneapolis
Times. in an interesting story of the last
hostile shot fired in the American Spanish
naval set-to off Cuba tells incidentally
how the siren which win salute the com
mander of the Seventh Army Corps on his
departure for Cuba came to be on a Sa-
vannal tugboat.
Mr.. tombstone was the Associated Press
correspondent on the Cynthia II, which
is now moored opposite the city repairing
after her recent mishap with the United
States transport Chester. Capt. Van B.
Avery who commanded the dispatch boat
during her Cuban service, is known TO
every steamboat man along the coast. and
Harry Brown, chief of the New York
Herald war staff, who figures in the story
as the champion of the Cynthia was a
reporter on the Morning News ten or
twelve years ago. The story which Mr..
tombstone tells, he says for the first
time, was briefly told by Capt Avery in
the Morning News on the return of the
Cynthia II to Savannah. Mr.. Johnstone's
narrative is in his own style
When was the last hostile shot fired
in the Cuban naval operations" asked a
lieutenant of the U. S. S. Columbia of a
group of newspaper men seated in the ho-
tel portico overlooking the exquisite Dan
ish harbor of st. Thomas, one beautiful
July morning.
AT the Associated Press boat Cynthia"
answered Harry Brown, chief of the New
York Herald war staff
"Oh, get outr' said the sailor. "You
newspaper fellows were not the whole
thing, quite"
Now, don't get cocky," said Brown,
ton to any extent. 1t wasn't your fault.
l meant what 1 said and I'll bet you a
breakfast 1 can prove 1t"
Done" said the lieutenant, whereup
Brown turned to me, with the terse sug-
gestion:
Let him have it,"
The Columbia finished coaling and sailed
away before another breakfast time came
round but the lieutenant acknowledged
hal IA had hat 10
due. This is the story
First a word or two about the Cynthia,
which has returned to her wonted vocation
of towing big vessels in and out of the
Savannah river, with an occasional jaunt
for many leagues, north or south, to an
Atlantic port. The man who first owned
the boat was very fond of his wife, and.
in his shipping career, having ordered
three ocean-going tugs, he named each
Cynthia" (his wifes first nance, the only
distinctive title being by number. Gym
thia No. l is at Galveston, Tex: No. 8 is
on the Delaware or the Patapsco, and No.
is the Savannah boat. The latter was
one of the feet of dispatch boats hired by
the Associated Press for service during
the war.
1t was the 18th of July, the day after
the surrender of Santiago, and, for won
der, the sea was calm, what breeze there
was being from the land. The crew of the
Cynthia was very anxious to get the big
steam siren of the Vizcaya Che siren of
the Oquendo having been secured and
mounted some time befOre), and as there
vas nothing to do, of moment, until after
noon, permission was given to steam to
the wreck. stop was made near the
Brooklyn, standing to off Moro, and sun
dry jokes exchanged every Yankee at sea
was feeling jolly those days. An hour
and half was consumed in reaching the
grim monument to Uncle Sans gunnery
and another hour in getting the siren.
The camp of Ruiz, Cuban general, was
In plain view, and 1 remember 1t took
some angry noes" TO keep a boat load
of hungry soldiers from boarding the Gym
thia and, for all we knew, leaving an as
sortment of fever germs on board as
souvenirs.
1t was hard work to get the Cynthia's
crew to abandon the mass of twisted steel,
with its huge holes where sharp bows had
been, and its CHASTITY maze of guns, beams,
ppes, engines, human bodies, scales of
bistered paint, burned uniforms-the resi-
dunn of ruthless Notwithstanding, horri-
tying bewildering. But in time we got
away and started westward toward San
uago, where could be seen the smoke from
the few men-of-war still lazily patroling
or the harbors mouth. AS we gathered
way we noted, for the first time, an unfa-
mbliar craft 20 the southwark, distant
about two and a half knots. 1t was a
trife hazy. but we could make out the
stars and Stripes plainly enough, and soon
decided that The boat was a large gov
eminent tug. We paid no more attention
TO 1t then. Government tugs were not
novel addenda to the Caribbean sea-scape.
When distant about mile from the Viz
caya, we heard cannon shot. II seemed
10 come from the shore 1--WE found out
later the echo from the mountains had de-
ceived us). and we wondered Idly what
the firing was about-but no thought of
anything more dangerous than target
practice crossed our minds. Least of all
did we imagine that the Cynthia was the
target.
j. p Dunning, my fellow correspondent,
was aft on the fantail, and Capt. Avery
commanding the Cynthia) and myself
We're forward by the pilot house, when
Bang! Bang!"
This time we knew the shots were not