Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1898-10-22

rose so that l thought 1t must have
rung through the strange ship. But
the crew of the strange ship were
rushing to their guns.
"Stop those blowers!" Fremont said.
he was calm, even deliberate. His
eyes swept forward and then aft.
"Are the guns trained on herP" he
asked.
"Aye, aye, sir" came from both one
Founders. The torpedo, too, was
ready. It had been tested for pressure
but few hours earlier. At each gun
a jackie stood like statue, his shoul-
der bent against the rest, his eye on
the enemy. In such moments the eye
notices queer details. I remember
wondering that the jackie at the bow
gun could stand there so quietly, ready
to fight that great ship which lowered
above us with that absurd one
FOUNDER.
AS jackie answered: "Aye, aye, sir"
his commanders voice rang out again.
This time he was hailing and the inflec-
tion rising:
"What-ship-is-thatP"
No answer.
"Fire across her bowl"
Bang! went our bow gun, and the
metal ratified as the men showed an
other shell home and trained the piece
again.
"Show the night feet signal" FIRE.
mont said, and it flashed again-two
white lights above a red one. We
la We &c,
now, close aboard. For one of us there
was no escape. AT that range tor
pedo must destroy the big ship in
evitably.
A second after our signal burned the
strangers signal mast blazed and
there hung an answering signal, but
not the right one. Instead of two
white lights and red one there
burned two red ones and white one.
For a moment it flashed through Ere
mont's mind that an enemy might be
attempting to use the American sig
mails. There was no time to think
about it.
There was a flash from the stran-
gers forward fighting top and she'll
whistled over us. Some man in the
top had fred without orders, it seems,
but of that we knew nothing. We saw
only the flash of the gun and believed
that rifles and machine guns would be
riddling us a second later. The big
guns could not be depressed enough to
bear on us, so close were we.
Fremont had been hailing at the
moment and his face had been turned
away from that top from which the
gun was fired.
Ibid that shot come from her?" he
shouted.
"Yes, SIR" said jackie and in the
same breath.
For a second perhaps Lieut.. Fre-
mont stood still and silent and his men
and those on the decks high above US
held their aim and their breath, and
waited for a word which would turn
loose torpedo from the Porter and
hail of fire from the flagship.
In that long second Fremont, hold
ing the great cruiser at his mercy,
even more than the cruiser held us at
hers, weighed the chances and gave
them one more chance. 1t was to be
their last. I read it in the sudden
Strengthening of his form and the
menacing hail which I hear yet:
at-ship-is-that?" ?"
On the heels of that hail came an an
swer from the cruiser, and at the first
English word our men let go the
breath they had been holding in one
great sigh of relief, for the answer
rang clear and loud:
"This is the New York"
On the cruisers deck there was q
sound as of men shifting their feet,
and a confused murmur as they fell
away from their guns.
The Porter's commander spoke
again and this time there was no
menace in his voice, but wonder only:
as that Capt. Chadwick"
"Yes," answered the New York's
captain. "Is that the Porter?"
"Yes, SIR"
"Wby didn't you show the night fleet
signal?"
1--WE did, sir, twice. There was no
answer the first time. The second
played the wrong signal"
Capt. Chadwick thought that could
not be so, but everyone on the torpedo
boat knew it was, and after some more
explanation the Porter swung away
from the flagship and glided off into
the night.
AS was customary, several captains
met the admiral's cabin on the flag.
ship in the morning, and 1 was told
afterward that the night encounter
was the subject of considerable talk.
1t appears that Admiral Sampson him
self had been awake, and was in
formed that when some one said to
Lieut.. Fremont that the Porter should
have been more careful about the
night feet signal the admiral said,
gravely:
81 saw the Porter's signal displayed
and there was no answer from this
vessel"