The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-11-04
AS HIS WIFE SEES HIM.

band, the admiral, of his cOnSid-
GRAFTON for every membe of the fleet,
from the officers to the humblest blue
jacket.
Captain Sampson" as she invariably
calls her husband. lis the most con-
s!derate man for those about him: he
is always looking out for the young en-
signs, and wants to be certain that
they have had enough rest, and are
not overworked. He is particularly
consulate of young people,"
Mrs. Sampson then went on to say
that she had received a telegram from
her husband Tuesday last, telling her
of the withdrawal of the Spanish fleet.
II slept that night for the first time
in weeks said Mrs. Sampson. II knew
it must have been a great d%isappoint-
ment of the other officers, and for hteir
sakes l was a little bit sorry; but new
ertheless it was the first time l slept.
l have been fighting that battle over
and over again night after night, ever
since the fleet was first ordered away.
! 1T is curious, the way l have pre-
monitions. Some time ago, l sent a
telegram to Captain Sampson: Signal
success to the fleet 1t arrived stimuli
~taneously with the order from WASH
ington, ordering the fleet from Key
West. They took it as a good omen.
II was never more surprised in my
life when l got a letter from Captain
Sampson, a few days later, telling me
that my message had arrived stimuli
taneously with their sailing orders. He
asked me Where I had learned to time
and word my kilograms to suit war
orders"
The reporter told Mrs. Sampson that
the World would be glad to send her
news from the squadron as soon as it
was received by cable. After express
ing her thanks very heartily, she CON-
mented on the Worlds great beat re-
garding the Dewey victory.
1T is wonderful, the enterprise o.
modern newspapers. To think the
World being able to furnish the gov
m with the first news of victory.
In regard to the Worlds proposition to
send me news of the fleet as soon as it
is received, 1 must make one proviso
that they must not send it unless the
news is good news"
And for the first time Mrs. SIMPSONS
face clouded. She is an ideal sailors
wife, however, and if she remains
awake at night fighting the battles Of
the Atlantic squadron, she does not
wear her heart on her sleeve for the
chance conner to read of her fears and
apprehensions.
In these days of waiting she turns to
the humane side Of her husbands char
acter more than to his record as a
fighter. She told the Sunday World re-
porter the story of the young Spanish
lieutenant who was brought from one Of
the prize ships and taken aboard Adj
miral SIMPSONS flagship just as she
had it from her husband in one of his
letters.
1.-The young Spanish officer was cap
tured and brought to Admiral Samp-
sons flagship to avail orders. At dim
ner he was treated with the utmost
consideration. In fact he was regarded
as a guest of honor, rather than a pris-
Oner Of war. The best of everything
was put before him-the finest wines.
the choicest brands Of cigars. The
young lieutenant accepted the situation
with dignity. He thought that the
Americans were going to treat him as
he had seen prisoners of wal treated.
The dinner and the choice cigars were
merely the preface of war amenities,
and while the young fellow had the
pride to treat the situation with abso-
lue dignity, it was evident that he
was indulging in considerable specula-
ton in regard to his fate.
After dinner the young %Spaniard be-
gan to tell them of himself until they
had his story bit by bit. 1t seems that
HI had a young wife in Matanzas and
a month-old son whom he had never
seen. When he began to talk o
these two people he had some difficulty
in living up to the dignity Of his situa-
ton as a prisoner of war. A day or
two later Admiral SIMPSONS flagship
landed the young lieutenant at Matan-
zas and he left to see the month-old
boy and his mother with nothing but
gratitude for the Americans
Mrs. Sampson, like the good mother
she is, does not let the anxiety she
feels about her husband interfere with
her home life in the least. The W.
little boys, Ralph and Harold, aged
respectively II and 8, are, of course
more than interested in the war news.
Apart from the fact that they are
both the most patriotic little chaps they
have a personal interest in every move
made by the United States at the pres
ent crisis, particularly the Atlantic
squadron.
To this end Mrs. Sampson has COM
piled two scrap-books Of the war which
the boys are to study now, but not
have in their own possession till they
grow up. One of them will be a his
tory of the war, compiled from the
leading daily papers,. The other deals
directly with the war record of their
father and his squadron. They both are
tremendously interested in the scheme,
and nave sharp eyes for pictures and
sharp noses for news that will add to
their unique history.
The idea is certainly clever, and it
could be carried out with advantage
by every mother in the country
whether she has some near and dear
one at the front or not.