The Monmouth inquirer., 1898-12-01
A NARROW ESCAPE.
AN EPISODE or THE SEA fight
WITH cERvERA'S FLEET.

When the Indiana Was Struck Dsnt
Was Placed in Her Forward starboard
Bow-The Impact Was Tremendous,
the Escape Marvellous.
The battleship Indiana disclosed
very interesting relic of her experience
in helping demolish Admiral Cerveras
fleet off Santiago, when her hull was
exposed IN view in the dry-dock at the
Brooklyn navy yard the other day.
This was a great dent in her forward
starboard bow. almost beneath the
bridge. Its history is this:
In the thick Of the fight, when shot
and she'll were churning up the water
and whizzing through the air all about
the ship, and she was replying in re-
peated broadsides from every gun that
could be brought to bear, there sud-
denly came through the roar and hurt
ling of swiftly increasing superemin-
ent who-o-ish and harsh scream that
seemed headed straight for the Conn
mander and his aids on the bridge
for one on ensconced himself in the
coming tower during that spectacular
sea-fight.
1t made us all finch" remarked an
officer who was there, dropping his
shoulder and cooking his knees and
shrinking into as small space as his
bulk allowed, in illustration of what
he meant Everybody did it-instinc-
| lively, irresistibly turned their heads
away, and lifted the right elbow as if
/ to ward OF blow with club; and
there was a second or two of awful
waiting, while the roar and scream
seemed to still all the rest of the
battle-roar and to come straight TO
1.-THE ear.
Then followed an immeasurable roar
la roar, shocking, benumbing, blind
/ ing explosion and a prodigious founda-
i ton of water burst up beside the bow
and deluged the forward deck. while
the ponderous ship. tearing its way
Through the water with gigantic weight
and momentum, seemed to stop sud-
denly and was Jared from stem 10
stern as If she had run against stone
wall
1 Capt Taylor instantly ordered men
/ into the forward hold, feeling sure that
a bigger projeetile than the navy had
lever dreamed of Eau pierced perhaps
lcrushed in-the side of his magnificent
vessel. They hurried below with LAM
Eterns, slid down the steep iron ladders,
dropped through round hatchways.
lcrept a out and beneath the machinery,
explored the gloomy reeesses of the
+ depths of the structure, but could ind
nothing wrong. The great engines
throbbed on. the furnaces famed and
roared, No water gurgied ominously or
burst up to food them out--everythins
was tight and dry. and the ship kept
rushing on, and the guns maintained
their terrific cannouade."
"What had Eappened?''
ave were never quite sure till we
could examine her bottom here in the
ary lock Then we found an elongated
trough like dent. perhaps two inches
deep. in the plates OF the starboard box
about four feet below the water line.
and we became sure Of what we had
previously suspected. namely that a
grsa. shell, falling short at the end OF
sa curved trajectory, had struck, glanced
ana hurst. The impact was tremendous
the escape simply marvellous.
"Supposing your ship had been
hundred feet to the right Of her actual
position at that n,oment- them"
..God knows. Some sub-lieutenant
would have brought the Indiana back
Ito New York If he had had anything
left to bring back.