The Portland daily press., 1898-07-14
JUST FROM CuBa.
Mr.. James Robinson Tells His Expert
ences.

encess
Mr.. James Robinson has just got back
from Cuba and he brought a number of
souvenirs which he showed at the ship
ping commissioner office yesterday.
One was an old fashioned smooth bore
canister. 1t is an iron shell filled with
small ball about an inch in diameter.
The balls are imbeded in what looks like
solidified sulphur and there are probably
40 of them. Theirs seems to be some doubt
as to whether there is an explosive in the
canister or whether the shot merely fly
in all direction when the canister strikes
it's object. It is supposed to be fired from
smooth bore gun and, as 1t was captured
by the Americans from the Spanish it Is
eyed with suspicion and everyone was
careful yesterday morning not to drop it.
1t was taken at Guantanamo.
MI. Robinson has been through some
experiences lately which are interesting
at this time. 10 began with it becomes
necessary to go back to the big ocean tug
G. W. Morse which was chartered By the
New York World and Herald as dispatch
boat. Captain William Lewis formerly of
the flibusterer Three Friends, was put
in as master and he sailed to the scene of
strife of Cubas shores.
james Robinson went on her as deck
hand. The Morse had some warm adj
ventures but, it is understood she was
hardly fast enough for dispatch boat, SO
she came home and is now at Bath.
There she will tow the schooners Charles
E. Balch and B. w. Morse to Santiago.
The schooners are loaded with ice for the
troops Mr.. Robinson found out that the
as newspaper boat and, as he did not
care to go towing on her, he left and
came to Portland, where he now is.
He says the tug is the boat that we
dropped Knight, the London Times CORE"
spondent, from. We lowered him over in
running. There wasn't sailor on board
who would have undertaken to go ashore
that way, but Knight did not lack nerve.
When almost ashore his skiff overturned
and her WAS thrown into the sea. He
lost all his passports and valuable papers.
The papers told you the rest. You re-
member of his arrest, imprisonment in
Moro and final release after much con
troversy between England and Spanish
officials
We had some star newspaper men with
us, tell you. I remember Sylvester
oJc y1oo NJ
to Key West. tell you Scovell is very
neryy chap, as many know who have read
of some of his exploits.
We went to the south of the island and
arrived at Guantanamo about eight hours
after the marines had landed. After we
had been off shore about two hours, we
saw this beautiful Texas rounding the
point at full speed. We saw her signal the
Marblehead and together they opened fire
on the batteries. They kept it up for
about an hour and half and we saw the
whole thing. Every time she'll from
fly. Clouds of dust and mortar arose and
walls crum bled. Every time the ships hit
any thing important, how the men would
cheer. The Marblehead lowered launch
overheard and put one pound rapid fire
gun in its bow and started her out with
picked crew to skirmish around the
shore. The Spanish infantry fired on
| them from bushes and. behind rocks but
they couldn't hit barn. The one pound
er finally kicked itself overheard and
carried man with it, but they pulled
him in. The Suwanee then came to the
rescue and covered the return of the
launch to the Marblehead.
We went to Port Antonio to send out
dispatches and when we returned, we
brought 300 lunches of bananas for the
fleet present from the Boston Fruit
company. A little over three weeks ago
we landed Scov ell and Stephen Crane
about seven miles west of Santiago in an
insurgent camp and / expect they are
finding plenty to write about.