The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1898-05-28
A Jack Tar Describes the Battle
Of CardGnaS.
SCENES ON THE WINsLOW
Kissing Shells Came Thick and Fast
1t Was a Miracle that any Of the
Crew EsCaped-A Bloody
Scene ON Deck.

scene on Deck
Key West, Fla, May 24.-For an
hour before the passenger steamer Key
West left her dock for Tampa man
wearing the uniform of a naval seaman
sat YEARLY against great bale of
Cordage, looking out past the harbor
and the distant keys toward the gulf.
He was William O'Hearn of Brooklyn,
and one Of the survivors of the torpedo
boat Winslow's crew, which passed
through the terrible storm of shot and
shell that poured into her from the
Spanish boats in the bay of Cardenas.
He was going home on forlough for
rest. Beside him, in bright tin cage,
was the "Winslows parrot" which
made himself famous on the day of the
battle by shrieking and chattering like
a demon during the whole engagement.
BY degrees and after much question
ing, O'Hearn told the whole story of
the battle, and no doubt his account of
the engagement is the most correct in
detail of any given yet.
From the very beginning" he said,
81 think every man on the boat believ-
ed that we could not escape being sunk
aud that is what would have happened
had it not been for the bravery of the
boys on the Hudson, why worked for
over an hour under the most terrific
fire to get us out of range"
"Were you ordered to go in there? p
he was asked.
Yes, just before we were fired upon
the order was given from the Wilm.
ington."
"Was it signal order?"
mo; we were close enough to the
Wilmington so that they shouted it td
us from the deck through the mega.
phone"
DO you remember the words of the
command and who gave them ?"
II don't know who shouted the order
but the words, as 1 remember them
were: Mr.. Bagley, go in there and see
what gunboats those are We started
at once to make the Cardenas dock anC
the tireing began afterward."
What was the first you saw of thu
firiDg?"
"a ShFieking HelIr'
"The first | saw was a shot fired from
window or door of the SECOND story O
the storehouse just back of the docl
where the Spanish gunboats were ly
ing. l saw the flash and the smoke
and the same instant a shell went hiss
ing over our heads, Then the firing be
gan from the gunboats and the shore
II don't think any man can forget TIL
sound and effect of she'll and heavy shO
the first time he is under fire. 1t i
something terrible. When a shell passe
close by you, you can feel it, something
J like the effect of lightning when /
strikes nearby. You feel as though i
: had taken your head off. First, yo
hear that awful buzzing or whiZzing-
J it is hard to describe, and then some
thing seems to strike you in the fac
, and head. noticed that day when tn
, shells first began to fly about the boa
J that the boys threw there hands t
= their heads every time a shell wen
over. But they soon came so fast an
so close that it was roaring, shriekinI
+ crashing hell. l can describe it n
! other way"
"What was your position? ?"
y 81 am the water tender" he SAT-
: and my place was below, but ever,
9 body went on deck when the battle b.
S gan. John Varvares, the oiler; job
a Donief and John Meek, the fremer
i were both on watch with me, and ha
= they remained below they would pro-
:. ably not have been killed. After tt
5 firing began l went below again to a
g tend to the boilers and a few uinutt
f later solid shot came crashing throug
j. the side of the boat and into the boile
:. where it exploded and destroyed seye