The herald., 1898-12-18
WHEN DEWEY BEAT THE BRITISH
He Gave the Men of II. M S. Bellero-
phon a Lesson in Seamanship

In 1865 George Dewey, then lieutenant
commander, was the executive officer OF the
stanch old frigate Colorado. The ship $
writer tells the following story oil a contest
which Dewey had in the Bay of Gibraltar
with her majesty's flagship Bellerophon,
known in song and story as the Billy Ruff
fan. She was cried up to the Yankee tars
by her men as the crack ship of the British
navy. Mr.. Dewey heard of this braggado-
clio in some way and determined to give the
Englishmen run for their money. He
knew we'll the English routine aboard snip,
having been with the Wabash on her Eu-
ropean cruise in 1859, and he knew that the
British seamen prided themselves more than
anything else on the speed with which they
could lower their sails and flag.
At sunset chronometer time, the Ameri-
can flag comes down to the music of drum
and fife: at the same time the word of com
mand is given and the masts and yards leave
their perch and are lowered to the deck.
In the British navy the sunset gun is fired at
actual time, or was SO then, and the flag is
lowered as the spars come down.
Shortly before sunset Mr.. Dewey walked
up to the bridge, aft of the quarter deck,
and took the trumpet from the officer of the
deck Soon after Admiral Goldsborough,
Commodore Steedman and Captain Wyman
Joined him. At the usual time the old flag
huttered for a moment at the graft and then
descended like bird of paradise upon the
after deck. Not a word however, came
from Mr.. Dewey. Every eye was turned
upon the English frigate, waiting for her
signal gun. The men were all at their sta
tions, quivering with suppressed excitement.
Had they been waiting for shotted guns for
the signal to commence life and death
struggle for the mastery of the port there
could have been no greater tension. Sud-
denly the sunset gun doomed out from the
Be,lerophon, and her royal yards swung to
IA perpendicular.
"Away there, you men," came through
the speaking trumpet like a sharp clap OF
thunder.
No one now paid any more attention to
the British ship; the men bent every energy
to the task before them; the topmasts went
up far enough to slip out the unnerpinning
then down, slowly, but surely, came masts
and yards at the same time. This was a
very perilous undertaking. The immense
pieces of timber, eight inches through at
the butt and held in place by stout iron
bands strong enough to bind the big sticks
while perfectly perpendicular but powerless
had the enormous piles tilted to one side.
Each was, however, guided by strong and
steady arms, and down they came with the
yards hanging alongside. A single misstep,
a tilt of the ship, the parting of a strand,
and the ponderous mass might have plunged
through the ships bottom. In less time
than it takes to tell of the feat, the old ship
was stripped, her stumpy-loolzng lower
masts standing alone and making her look
like shapely wreck.
The Yankee sailors now looked for the
first time over to the Engishman and were
amazed. His yards we're not yet on deck,
although his seamen. were working for dear
life. They could not help setting up a cheer.
whats your hurry, Dewey" called
Goldaborough, quizzically. The ponderous
old admiral had been as eager as the rest
to give the '1imejucer" lesson in ship
maneuvering, but he couldn't help playfully
twitbing the executive on this willful waste
of good powder.
"No hurry sir; no hurry at all, y answered