The herald., 1898-10-30

HAVANA, Oct. l0-(Special Correspond
ence to The Herald.) In my last letter
wrote of how the American correspondents
y captured Havana after peace had been dc
i. clared. With the chvalry that always
characterizes American newspaper men, the
correspondents here say their achievements
were nothing compared to the dnre,devi
feat OF Phil Robinson of the Pail Mall Ga
zette, which at the time attracted world
wide attention The full story has never
been told before. had the good fortune tins
other day to secure copy OF q MS whlcf
Robinson had written for an Ehgiisr Jour
nal, detailing his adventure Here Is, there
fore, Phil Robinson's own story:
On the 9th of May started for Cuba via
Key West, stopping en- route at washington
to obtain my passport from SIR Julian
Pauncefote and an introduction to the iieei
from Secretary Long, and to buy some eheaI
Outft--thinking it discreet in case elthcl
Spaniard or insurgent made prize of wal
of me, to give my captors as worthless loot
at possible. | reached Tampa on the 18TH
where found every officer grumblng, as Ii
the duty of every officer at the commences
ment of q campaign to do, at the miserable
muddle" that headquarters were making oi
everything by not giving everybody all they
wanted and free hand and next day lett
by the Mascotte for Key West, my objective
point being Havana, which was about tc
be bombarded at once
Immediately on arrival at Key West
presented to the chief at the naval base the
letters of introduction which Secretary
Long of the navy department had most cour-
and to Admiral Sampson. In these the sec
letary said: "The bearer, Mr.. Phil Rob
inson, wishes to be landed in Cuba, and this
department will be pleased if. you can give
him any assistance to enable him to attain
his end" But the commodore declared that
Il. h,
assist me, but only said the naval depart
ment would be pleased ii he did, and that,
therefore, he could not taken any responsi.
bility, and not only refused me any sort OF
help whatever, but let it be so plainly under
stood that | was not to be allowed to go to
Cuba that the local papers spoke OF me joe
ularly as a prisoner" OF the same com
sponsibility'' | cannot give Il better illustra-
tion than this: "A fellow w-correspondent
had an order from Secretary Long permit
ting him to ''embark Oh the So-and-So for
Havana" This, out of courtesy, he showed
TO the commodore, who, having read it, said
blandly: Yes, sir; this gives you leave to
embark on the So-and-So for Havana, but
you will notice that it does not say anything
about your being allowed to land in Ha-
vana! When the applicant had recovered
from his astonishment at this amazing read
ing OF the permit, he asked the commodore
what he had better do. you had better,
SAID he, get another order from the secre.
tary OF the navy authorizing you to land. y
And he had actually to do so.
Meanwhile, | had come to the conclusion
that. as was evidently not to be allowed
to go leglt!mately, had better arrange to es-
cape as best | could. therefore made ar
rangements Tor buying a two-masted
idle In dock, boat with an English
charter and entitled to fly the British flag,
and IN her | was going to sail down the
crescent OF Keys dotted line of coral
islands which on our maps nearly connect
Florida with Cuba-and when | reached
Salt Key, the last Of the series, proposed
to wait for a strong breeze and slip across
the intervening twenty miles of open water
INTO Cardenas, taking my chances of being
intercepted by one of the so-called 'block-
aiding fleet" That l should have succeeded
have no doubt, for the blockade was vir-
tually non-existent at that time. One tug,
which the Spaniards ii they had had any
spirit for the initiative, ought to have
blown off the sea, used TO parade up and
down the coast and officially represent, not
only the blockade of Cardenas, but of Matan-
zas as WELL
But as events proved had no need to buy
my schooner after all, for there came into
Key West from New York via Nassau a
yacht with English charter, the property
OF the Associated Press, upon which and
Mr.. Whigham representing when in Cuba
the StandardD were offered passages. We
gladly accepted the offer, and Mr. Whig-
ham having already purchased rowing
boat, 1t was put on board and after dark
we, with our luggage, only ii parcel apiece,
went on board ourselves. An hour later we
were out of the port beyond the pale of the
commodore's dispiriting influence, and Il
glorious night, all in our favor, we had
delightful n tho canadian Tb;c
gallant looking fieet-seventeen vessels of all
sorts and condtions-was known as "the
blockading squadron" but as it employed it.
self in chivying that will-o' he-wisp, the in
visible Spaniard, up and down the Gulf
stream, every now and again stopping for
gun practice. at Spanish fort or battery,
the actual duties of blockading were rele-
gated to the Leyden and Foote.
AT .nightfall we started again, leaving the
squadron glittering with night signals like
gigantic Jewels and headed for Cardenas.
The moon had set, the night, though fine,
was dark, when suddenly out from the gloom
came Il flash, followed by the boom of
gun. A blank cartridge, so we knew that
it was friend, though very inconvenient
and inopportune one, that had, in the phrase
current here among pressmen, picked us
up" As we stopped the usual exchange of
question and answer followed, and afIC, be-
ing scolded for showing light and told to
be more careful, our captors steamed away
in the direction of the squadron, and,
after discreet pause to let it get
well out of sight, we steamed away
The gray of the morning found us in sight
OF the Cuban coast, and with engines slowed
down we crept nearer and nearer, moment
arily expecting to sight some unwecome
blockader But fortune favored u.s. Moth
ing came in sight and at last we saw the
lighthouse at the mouth of Matanzas harbor
and the headland opDosite with the battery
on 1t that Sampson had fired his non-explo.