The San Francisco call., 1899-09-30


attention throughout the journey I
everything which transpired on boar'
the vessel. By his direction the ensigl
was courtesied to vessels which saluted
Several times he ordered the crew t.
stand by TO cheer in some eXtraOrdinar.
demonstration. The guns of the Olym
pia spoke but once until Grants toni
was reached. This was when the,
barked in answer TO the deep baying q
the guns Of old Fort William, on Gov
ernors Island. Before the Battery was
reached hundreds of tugs and excursion
boats had crowded in behind the patrol
boats and stretched away rank upon
rank 20 either shore from the quarter OF
the Olympia. Their whistles were go
ing continuously throughout the jour
ney The untold thousands who
thronged the wharves and piers, who
leaned from the windows and balconies
and locked down from the dizzy
heights of the skyscrapers, must have
impressed the admiral greatly, but his
modesty would not permit him to view
it all as a personal ovation.
Astonishing, astonishing" he re-
peated several times to Colonel Bart
lett, but he said nothing of himself. AS
he looked behind him the steam from
the whistles and the smoke from the
stacks blowing across the river, blend
ing with the gray atmosphere, softened
the scene and made the dim vistas
through which the on-coming ships lay
seem as if they stretched out forever
The waving Of hundreds of thou
sands of handkerchiefs and flags
along the shore could be distinct
" seen from the deck of the Olympia,
but only occasionally were the sounds
of cheers waited from the crowds
ashore. AS a rule, perhaps. they were
too much interested in the spectacle 10
venture vociferous applause. besides
they were too far away to be heard by
the admiral or the men on the cruls-
ers even if the terrific din of the craft
in the river had not been kept up al
most without intermissiOn. The shrek
ing whistles were forever going, and
when the fleet swept around the stake
boat above Grants tomb, on Riverside
drive, and each ship had let go It's
booming salute, the Concert that fol-
lowed was soul-maddening-a mad,
fantastic, nerve-destroying roar that
continued for almost ten minutes. SO
much steam was wasted that the boats
themselves We're lost in their own va
por.
The parade at this point began to be-
come disorganized. many pleasure craft
leaving the line below and croWding so
fercely about the Olympia that she was
naneuvered with great difficulty. The
excursion boats, loaded to the guards
with people, were almost criminally
reckless as they passed along, many Of
them listing so far that one wheel was
buried deep, while the other scarcely
rolched the water. The admiral was
sometimes annoyed by the crowding of
these craft, but he retained his equan-
unity through it ALL bowling and remov-
ing his cap to the exulting and cheering
crowds.
It was not until all the warships had
passed in review before the Olympia at
anchor below the beautiful floats rep
resenting PEACE and Victory that the
one incident of the day occurred which
showed that with all his geniality the
hero of Manila could also be a very
stern sailor. In less than a minute af-
ter the Chicago had passed the Olyrn-
pia, by the admiraPs order, a stream
of signal flags ordered the vessels of
the fleet to dress ship and the crews of
the men ran up rainbows of sig
nal flags from stem to sern over their
tOpmasts. The order was beautifully
executed except aboard the flagship,
where the fouling of the line in the
oF Of +ta
Admiral Dewey instantly roared out
a command for some one to ease the
line. 1t fouled again and a nirnble sailor
was sent aloft to clear 1t. 1t was per-
haps two minutes before the flags were
in their proper place. The admiral was
plainly displeased. He sent for the
officer under whose direction the order
was executed and called him upon the
bridge.
Il am ashamed of this" he said. in
the tone Of a sailor giving command
in a roaring gale. "and I am ashamed
of you"
Several times when the excursion
boats cheered as they passed close to
the Olympia the admiral called upon
the crew to stand by and cheer. Each
tlHie the sdItOIS ledpeu upon the steel
bulwarks, and, with swinging caps,
to the command with throat
splitting cheers. When the crowd of
vessels about the flagship became so
dense that the progress of the rest of
the parade was impeded the admiral
ordered the police patrol boats to clear
the way Of the ships that had left the
line and had spread themselves about
the Olympia like flock of wild fowl
He did not leave the bridge until the
approaching darkness turned the ships
in the demoralized tail of the process
sion back to their piers.
DA77I INC THE