The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1899-01-05
4 NIGHT ESCAPE.
Az EPISODE oFTHE LATE SPANISH WAR

IT is not the actual fact Of being
under fire and fighting back that gives
the supreme thrill OF war: it is not the
mad outward rush Of a forlOrn hope
that claims the utmost courage, but
rather IL is the moment when yOu
know yourself to he unexpectedly
hemmed and surrounded by an over
whelmipg force Of the enemy, as yet
unperceived. but discovery almost in
evitable. with the sequence of certain
destruction, swift and terrihle-and
you determine 10 get out
Such moment as this entered the
soni of every man Jack aboard the
auxiliary cruiser Yankee on the night
Of Thursday June 9th. and from the
captain to Jack o the Dust. there is
not one Of that ships company whose
memory will let slip single detail oi
! the midnight hour when the Yankee
uasaen and unheard, crppt steaIthIly
/ through the centre Of an unknown
| fleet. and, emerging trIumphantly
! fled ahead to our waiting ships al
Santiago with the warning of the I'm
knOwn's approach.
During the day of June 9th, the
Yankee, named by the New York
Naval Reserves, swung lazjly at an
cb0r in the beautiful Haytien bay
which encases Mole St. Nicholas Sac
awaited cablegram from Washing
ton ir answer to dispatches brought
that morning from Admiral Sampson
at Santiago.
The crew sprawled lszily about the
decks. admiringly criticizing, by turn
the crescent shaped harbUr and ITS
wonderfully blue crystal water, the
ABRUPT mountains, tissured and cleft,
the pathetjcally battered old fort
guarding the entrance al d the little
struggled town along the beach
| which seemed to have been built witt
a view 10 taking It's collective self of
| the mountains at the first warning
note of one of those oftreCurrlng re
volutions which made Hayti 50 sensi
tive to newspaper mention.
A week would have passed easily tC
the New Workers therein that harhor
so different from the one at home, bu
shortly before dusk. the captains gig
came skipping out from the palm
fringed shore. and few minutes lateI
the Yankee was slipping out OF th'
bay.
At the entrance a collier was me
coming in. The collier's captain hail
ed the Yankee, and, after stating tina
he was fresh from New York, anxi
ously inquired if anything had beer
seen of the Spanish feet. Upon ;
negative reply, he continued that al
English tramn steamer had spoken Il
him TIE day before and had reported
the sighting of a supposed Spanisi
fleet of the nOE,aeTG coast Of Sub6
and then the two ships passed ont o
sight and bailing,the collier to her at
chorage in the bay. and the Yankee
toward Santiago aud the fleet
Tue pleas Mt relaxation of the dos
watch came, and the men gave them
selves up to thel~ brief period Of re
creation. The after guards joined
their shipmates on the forecastle, anC
mingling their voices chanted th.
songs the ships poets had put to
gether. reCOuntIng the mnltlfOld ad
| ventures Of the "Geutlemen Jackies.
as the Reserves are playfuliy dubbed
bv their friends the Regulars. Gni
tars and mandoins added to the sweet
deep harmony Of the mems voices
| The officers gathered upon the brIdg,
| to listen. and the scene made hard th'
realization that 1t was wartime, ant
that the ridge of blue on the star
board quarter marked the enemy
country. Surely, never before was I
ships company composed of sncl
material A little group of four
chatting together in the eyes Of the
ship. had made a cruise in these sam'
waters a year before Ing yacht be
longing to the father of one. Ih,
red checked young boatswain's matt
who saluted the officer OF the deck anC
walked forward to execute a harshI,
given order, happened to be that par
ticular officers brotherin-law. Har
ward Yale, Princeton, Columbia
Annapolis, and West Point. all EaC
their q ota in that conglomerat,
crowd, and enough professions wer,
represented to furnish a good sizeI
town in any branch And they wer
all there to work, and to fight. and t,
serve their country to the best 0
their God given bent in any way the,
could.
The dusk deepened with tropica
swiftness into night; at eight bell
''all the port watch" was called, an,
the watch below" devolved itself int,
fragments which drifted to thel
hammocks to get every precious min
ute of the four sleeping hours allow
ed them.
The look0uts were posted; two il
the bow. two at the waist, and tw
aft: there were also three signal mel
on the bridge The guns crew
! dropped on the deck at their post
beside their grim charges, and by hal
past eight the ship had settled itsel
m quietness and darkness for th
nights run up the coast. Not llgh
was shown, not even the twinklini
end of cigar.
Until $40 no incident disturbed tn
monotony of the run; then came cr
from the starboard bow lookout:
Light, Or
Nv here away ?" quickly interrogat
ed the officer of the deck, from th
| bridge
About two points on the starboar,
bow--looks like port light, sir" re
piled the lookout.
Mild confusion reigned on the dec
for an instant, the doing ones rouse
themselves TO speculate on the blink
ing point of light, now plainly Wis
ihle: toe officer of the deck locke
long and steadily at ii through b
night glasses. and turning to the o.
derby. said: Orderly, report to th
captain that We have steamer O
our starboard bow