Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1898-10-26
A NARROW ESCAPE.
AN EPISODE OF THE SEA FIGHT
WITH CERvERA'S FLEET.

When The Indiana Was struck a DonI
Was Placed in Her Forward Starbonrd
Bow-The Impact Was Tremendous,
the Escape Marvellous.
The battleship Indiana disclosed a
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 shell 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 Com
mender and his aids on the bridge
for one on ensconced himself in the
coming tower during that spectacular
sea-fight.
It made us all finch" remarked an
officer who was there, dropping his
shoulder and cooking his knees and
shrinking into as small a 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 off blow with a club; and
there was 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
| the ear.
"TEen followed an immeasurable roar
"a roar, shocking, benumbing, blind
ing explosion and a prodigious founda-
tion 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 to
stern as If she had run against stone
| wall.
Capt Taylor insta ntly ordered men
into the forward hold, feeling sure that
bigger projectilc than the navy had
ever dreamed of Eao pierced-perhaps
crushed in-the side of his magnificent
vessel. They hurried below with Ian
terms, slid down the steep iron ladders,
dropped through round hatchways,
crept about and beneath the machinery
4 explored the gloomy recesses Of the
depths of the structure, but could find
nothing wrong. The great engines
throbbed on, the furnaces famed and
roared, No water gurgled ominously or
burst up to flood them out-everythins
was tight and dry, and the ship kept
rushing on, and the guns maintained
their terrific oannonade."
"What had happened"
1--WE We're never quite sure till we
could examine her bottom here In tn
dry lock Then we found an elongated
trough-like dent, perhaps two incaes
deep, in the plates of the starboard bow
about four feet below the water hue;
: and we became sure of what we hat
previously suspected, namely that
grea. she'll, falling short at the end o
l curved trajectory, lad struck, glance'
and hurst. The impact was tremendcu
; the escape simply marvellous.
"Supposing your ship had been
hundred feet to the right Of her actua
position at that nlonient-what then?
"God knows! Some sub-lieutenan
! = would have brought the Indiana bac
!, to New York II he had had anythin
Q left to bring back!"