The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-25


finished the bugler sounded pipe down.
A salute, three times repeated was fred
by sixteen men of the marine guard.
The voyage down the coast was utilized
in making good men-o'-wars men of the
Yankees crew. Capt. Brownson be- |
Ieves thoroughly in the efficacy of drill |
and he lost no time in living up to his be-
lief. When all the circumstances are ia
ken into consideration, the task allotted
to the captain of the Yankee by the
fortunes of war, was both peculiar and
difficult
On his return from Europe where he had
been sent to select vessels for The impro-
vised navy, he was ordered by the naval
department at Washington to take com
mand of the auxiliary cruiser Yankee. This
meant that he was 60 assume charge of a
ship hastily converted from an ordinary
merchant steamer, and to fight the battles
of his country with a crew composed of
youths and men whose whole life and
training had hitherto followed totally diff
forent lines
1t was a licking of raw material into
shape" with a vengeance.
When the Chesapeake sailed forth to
fight her disastrous battle with the British
ship Shannon, her crew was made up of
men unframed in the art of war. The re-
suit was the most humilating naval de-
The same fate threatened Capt. Brownson.
There was this difference in the case, how
ever. The Chesapeake had Httfe time for
drilling, and the Yankee was fully six
weeks in commission before her first shot
was fired in action. Every minute of those
six weeks was utilized.
During the trip down the coast from New
York general quarters were held each day
and target practice whenever the weather
permitted In addition 10 these drills the
crew was exercised in man and arm boats
abandon ship, fire drill, catiass drill, and
the many exercises provided by the naval
regulations. Before the Yankee had been
in the Gulf stream two days, the various
guns crews were almost letter-perfect at
battery work. AS it happened, the value of
good drifting was soon to be demonstrate
ed
AS we neared Cuba. the theater Of our
hopes and expectations, we were scarce
ly able to control ourselves. The bare pos
sibllity of seeing real war within a few
days made every man the victim of con-
Stunning Impotence Runors of every des-
crlption were rife and the many weird and
impossible tales invented by the ships cook
and the captains steward-the memo
war oracles--would have laRat-geven Baron
Munchausen TO the blush.
The rumor committee, otherwise known
as the "scuttle-butt navigator to which
every man on board was elected as life
member the moment he promulgated ru-
NOR was soon actively engaged, and II
was definitely settled the Yankee was TO
become the flagship of the whole feet, our
captain made Lord High Admiral, and the
whole Spanish nation swept off the face
of the globe, in about thirteen and half
seconds by the ehronometer
1t was while we were settling these ques-
lions to our own satisfaction on the morn
ing of June 2. that a hail came from the
lookout in the GRO nest forward.
Land or he shouted, waving his cap.
Murray! it's Cuba"
The navigator, whose rightful surname
had been converted by the facetious ma
val reservites into "Cullets'' for reasons
of their own, lost no time in rebuking the
too enthusiastic lookout.
"Aloft, there, you measiy lubberl What
in thunder do you mean? Have you sighted
Eand?"
"Ye-es, slr-r." quavered the lookout.
"Then why don't you say so without add
ing any conjectures of your own" COM
mented the irascible Lieutenant Outlets"
severely.
The rest of the crew were too deeply in
terested in the vague streak Of color on
the horizon to pay any attention to the
"wigging'' of the man In the GRO nest.
We knew that the dun-hued streak rising
from the blue shadows of the ocean was
Cuba, and we could think or talk OF moth
Ing else.
Somewhere beyond that towering noun
tain was Santiago, the port In which the
fea-like squadron of Admiral Cervera was
bottled up, and there was deadly fear
in our hearts that the willy Spaniard
would sally forth to battle before we could
join our fleet.
We pictured to ourselves the gray noun
tain massed high about the narrow en-
trance of Santiago Bay the picturesque
Moro Castle, squatting like grim giant
above the strait, and outside, tossing and
bobbing upon the swell of a restless sea,
the mighty semi-crcle Of drab ships wait
ing, yearning for the outcoming of the
Dons We of the Yankee, 1 repeat, were
in an agony Of dread that we would ar
rive too late.
Cape Maysi, the scene OF many an adj
venturous filibustering expedition, was
passed at high noon and at eight bells in
the evening the anchor was dropped off
Mole st. Nicholas, a convenient port in
the Island of Hayti. As we steamed into
the harbor we passed close to the auXil-
larry cruiser st. Louis.
The anchor was scarcely on the bottom
when the gig was called away. We await
ed the return of Capt. Brownson with i'm
patience The news he brought was reas-
suring however. Nothing Of moment had
occurred since our departure from New
York. Within an hour we were again out
al sea, this time en- route to Santiago.
There was little sleep on board that
night and when morning dawned every
man who could escape from below, was
on deck watching, waiting for the first
glimpse Of Admiral SIMPSONS fleet. Short
ly after daylight the squadron was sight
ed. The scene was picturesque In the ex-
IRENE.
The gray Of early dawn was just giving
way before the first rays Of a tropical sun.
Almost hidden in the mist lowering about
the coast was a number of vague spots
seemingly arranged In a semi-circle, the
base of which was the green-covered
mountain range fronting Santiago. The
spots were tossing idly upon restless
sea, and, as the sun rose higher, each
gradually assumed the shape of a ma
rine engine of war. Beyond them was a
stretch of sandy, surf-beaten coast, and
directly fronting the center ship could be
seen a narrow cleft in the mountain-the
gate way leading to the ancient city OF
Santiago de Cuba.
As we steamed In closer to the feet
we saw indications that something Of inn
portance had occurred or was about TO oc-
10