The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-21
Thrilling Tale of the Battle in
Cardenas Harbor.
ESCAPE WAS A MIRACLE
The Men on the winslow Expected Every
Moment to Go to the Bottom
Heroic Work by the Crew
OF the Hudson.

uoth NJ tampa a man WtdfiHS tHc uIh
form Of a ava seaman sat YEARLY
against a great bale Of cordage, look.
ing 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 oat Wins
lows crew which passed through the
terrible storm of shot and shell that
poured into her from the Spanish boats
in the bay off Cardenas. He was GO
ing home on a furlough for rest. Be-
side him, in a tin cage. was the Wins
low parrot" which made himself IA
nous on the day of the battle by
shrieking and chattering like a demon
during the engagement. BY degrees
O'Hearn told the whole story of the
battle. and no doubt his account is the
most correct Of any.
From the very beginning" he said.
iieved we could not escape being sunk.
and that is what would have happened
had IL not been for the bravery Of the
boys IN the Hudson. who worked for
over an hour under the most terrific
fire to get us out of range"
Were you ordered to go in there? ?"
he was asked
Yes. just before we were fired upon
the order was given from the Whining
ton"
WAS it a signal order?"
No; we were near enough to the
Wilmington so that they shouted to us
from the deck through a megaphone."
Id you remember the words of the
command and WIN gave them p'
II don't know who shouted the or
ders, but the words. as L remember
them. were: Mr.. Bagley, &c i'm and
see what gunboats that there are We
started. and the firing began soon aft
erward."
"what was the first you saw of the
fring?"
The first 1 saw was a sho fired
from a window or door of the econd
story of the storehouse, just rack of
the dock where the Spanish gunboats
were lying. i saw the flash and the
smoke, and at the same instant a shell
went spinning yer u heads. Then
the firms began from the ~gunboats and
from the shore. l don't think any man
can forget the sound and effect of shell
and heavy shot the first time he is
under 1t. 1t Is something terrible.
When a shell passes close by you you
feel 1T. something like the effect of
lightning when IL strikes near by. You
feel as though II had X your head
OFF. First you hear that awful buzzing
or whizzing-it is hard to describe
and then something seems to strike you
in the face and head i noticed that
day when the shells first began to fly
about the boa that the boys had their
hands TO their heads every time a shell
went over. But they soon came so fast
and so close that IL was a roaring,
shrieking. crashing hell. 1 cannot de-
scribe 1t in any other way.
Il am the water tender and my place
is below. but everybody was on deck
when the battle began. John Var
wares, the oiler; John Donief and John
Meek. the iremen, were both on watch
with me, and had they remained below
they probably would not have been
killed. After the firing began j went
below again TO attend to he boilers,
and a few minutes later a solid shot
came crashing through the sid of the
boat and into the boiler room, where IL
exploded and destroyed 20 of the boiler
tubes. At first l was stunned. When
the shell struck the boiler II threw both
the furnace doors open and the fuse in
the shell struck my foot. Pieces OF the
shell came out of the door, and i am
taking them home with me as souve-
Mrs of the war. 1t was a terrible
crash and report altogether and the
boiler room was filled with dust and
steam. For several seconds I was ar
TALLY stunned and my ears rang SO
that / could hea nothing. l went up
on deck to report to the captain"
What did you say to him."
Il saw him near the forecastle, with
a bandage sbout his leg. He was shout
ing. and the noise Of all the guns was
like continuous thunder. Captain I
shouted. the forward boiler Is disabled.
A shell has gone through her.
Get out there he said. and turned
to the CUR again. l wen back into the
boiler room, n in a few minutes |
went up on the deck and the fighting
had grown hotter than ever. Several OF
the men were missing and j looked
around. They had fallen In a heap on
the starboard quarter. I saw five of
our men had been stunned by the shell
which struck them. In other places lay
men, grooming or dragging themselves
about covered with blood. The deck
mad blood on II and war strewn with
fragments and splinters. went over
where h FIVE men were lying In a
heap and saw that they were not all
dead. John Meek could speak and n
of his hands moved slightly. i went up
to him and put my face down close to
his. IL I can do anything for you. John,
let me know I said. and he replied. No.
Jack. I am dying He asked me to
grasp his hand.
&C help there he whispered. gsZ-
ing with fixed eyes where Captain Ber-
nandou was still firing the forward gun.
The next minute he was dead. He was
my friend. dead. dead" and there was
a pause In O'Hearn's story.
Ensign Baeley." he continued. after
a little. was lying at the bottom. badly
torn to pieces, and the bodies OF the
other three were on top of his. tn COL
ored cool was lying a little apart from
the others. badly mangled and in a
cramped position. We supposed he was
dead and covered him up the same as
the others. Nearly half an hour after
that we heard him calling n making
a slight movement under the cloth. We
went up 10 him and he said:
"'Oh. boys. for Gods sake. move me.
i am lying over the boiler and burning
up
AT that time the deck was very hot
- III a.-A A.A haan almost rAnSsaI