The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-06-17

1&@.~~&@:
Forward there will be man on deck,
and around his waist will be line, the
the bridge on which I win stand. By
that mans side will be an axe. When I
stop the engine shall jerk this cord and
he will thus get the signal to cut the lash
ing which will be holding the forward
anchor. He will then jump. overheard
and swim to the four.oared dingy which.
life buoys and is unsuitable. In it are
rifles. 1t is to be held by two ropes, one
made fast at her bow and one. at her
stern. The first man to reach her will
haul in the tow line and pull the dingy
out to starboard. The next to leave the
ship will be the rest of the crew. The
until after having put it hard aport and
dashed it so; he will then jump overheard.
Down below the man at the reversing
gear will stop the engines, scramble upon
deck and get over the side as quickly as
possible Ssh ::
.ae aei % fw b Wth ,d Sed
the water. This last step insnres the
sinking of the Merrimac, whether the
torpedoes work or not.
Hobson to "Push the Button,
by this time, I calculate the six men
will be in the dingy and the Merrimac
will have swung athwart the channel. to
the full length of her 300 yards of cable,
which will have been paid out before the
anchors were cut loose. Then all that is
left for me is to touch the button I shall
stand on the starboard side of the bridge.
on her starboard side. Nothing on this
side Of New York city will be able to raise
her after that" ,s..s<. = u ~ #
i. And you expect to come out of this
alive asked q comp anton of the lieuten-
ant. I, SIS. !. 1.
lieutenant. zz44s:t:- ejz45
/ He was so interested in the mechanical
details OF the. scheme that he scarcely
stopped to talk of life and death. But,
In reply to frequent questions, Hobson
said: Il suppose the Estrella battery will
fire down upon us bit, but the ships will
throw their searchlights in the gunners'
faces and they won't see much of us.
Even if we are torpedoed we should then
be able to make the desired position in the
channel. It won't be So easy to hit us,
swim to the dingy. l may jump before l
am blown up. But don't see that it
makes much difference what do. have
fair chance of life either way. If our
dingy gets shot to pieces we shall then
try to swim for the beach right under
Moro Castle. We shall keep together at
all hazards. Then we may be able to
back to the ship. We shall fight the SEN
tries or squad until the last and we
shall only surrender to overwhelming
numbers, and our surrender will only take
place as last and as a most uncontem-
plated emergency"
= Cool as a Cucumber.
Lieut. Hobson might have been lcctur-
ing to class Of cadets on the theory Of
how to build ships. so deliberate was his
manner. He was lately at Annapolis in
charge of the postgraduate course in ma
val construction and is accounted one of
the most able naval constructors in the
service, being entirely wrapped up in his
profession. ~ -. 49, 3
The preliminary work of his desperate
undertaking was strain upon the Off
GERS and men. On Wednesday morning,
directly after RearAdmiral Simpsons
arrival and as soon as he was certain
the Spanish feet was in the harbor, the
preparations to scuttle the Merrimac in
the channel was commenced. All day
long crews from the New York and
Brooklyn were on board the collier, never
resting in their efforts to prepare her.
She lay alongside the Massachusetts, dis
charging coal when the work was first
begun. ~ IL. ~ +. T.. =, =. -
The news of the intended expedition
travelled quickly through the fleet and it
soon became known that volunteers were
needed for a. desperate undertaking.
From the Iowa's signal yard quickly hut-
tered the announcement that she had lao
volunteers and the other ships were not
far behind. On the New York the enthu-
siasln was intense. Over 200 Of the crew
volunteered to go into the narrow harbor
and face death. The Junior officers liter
ally jumped over each other in their
eagerness to get their names on the vol
unteer list. !. 7s - $500. .jjff.. ., rs E
Commander Miller, who has charge of
the Merrimac, pleaded with the admiral
to let him go, but the latter thought he
had better not.
When it was learned that only six men
and Lieut.. Hobson were to go there was
and when the New York's contingent
went over the side late on Wednesday
night some of those who were left were
almost ready, brave and strong as they
were, to sit down and cry. 5 $t 5s.
All Wednesday, night the crews worked
aboard the Merrimac, which then lay
close to the New York, and the other
ships as they passed the collier before
shutdown cheered her with the same
spirit that the British men-of .warsmen
chcered the American sailors heroism at
Samoa. 5zs 81
Ernest Wishes for His Success.
# Lieut. Hobson paid short visit to tho
flagship shortly before midnight and then
returned to the Merrimac, on board Of
which craft he had been all day. AS he
started down the sea ladder there were
many hands stretched out to grasp his
and many Quiet-spokcn, earnest wishes
for his success, as it was thought then
that Hobson would takc the Merrimac
early in yesterday.
At 3 o'clock the admiral and Flag
Lieut.. Stanton got into the launch to
make an inspection of the Merrimac.
The working gangs were still on board
of her, and on board the New York the
officers Of the flagship stood on the quar-
ter-deck, their glasses focused on the
big, black hull that was. to form an i'm
passable obstacle for SPANS best ships.
The minutes slipped BY; the crews had
not completed their work on the Merri-
mac, but ct last q boatload Of men, black
Last Of NIL, at q 80, came the adinirnl.
He bad been DELAYED By q break downof
Dawn was breaking over Santiago al.
.tbA and nearly every body thought III
5Niss too late for tho nttcmpt 10 be made
her SOMEBODY cried shes soins
s ss