The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1899-10-07
Most Wonderful Marine Display
Ever Witnessed on Western
Waters, If Anywhere.
NEW YORK HARBOR A JAM OF VESSELS.
A DisSolVinE View of Grent benu'S-
sInuouz Marine MOnster-Millions
of spcctntors-ATh Threatened storm
Passes By-SRIuted Grants Tomb
The Review and Return.

ture, water pageant with so little OF
incident compared with its great size
that il appealed to the eye as a paint
ing rather than a drama.
A DissOIVing View Picture.
The vast gathering of water craft
maintained a speed of eight knots
but so magnificent was its area that
the impression was one of exceedingly
slow and stately movement The pic
ture was continually changing, but it
melted so steadily and in such meats
ured rythm from form roform that the
sense of motion was largely lost, 1t
started under a brilliant sky, passed
at the mouth of the Hudson through
the throat of an ugly storm ana
emerged into rainbow arch that
stretched from shore to shore into a
clear and brilliant sunset at the Grant
tomb.
A Busy Night.
The night had been Il busy one in
the fleet of war ships off TJml kns-
vile. The last details of the days
ceremony were hardly settled before
the day itself broke on scene of
greater activity than the classic an
chorage had ever witnessed before.
Compared with Phillips Armada.
The great vessels of the White squad
ron swung at their anchorage os or
the past two days, but the crowd of
uetghboring craft had seen swelled
past counting. As lar rs could be seen
the water was mass Of moGring
steamers. From Stapleton across the
wide leach of the harbor to the lrie
basin and from the Battery to the
Narrows the water was alive. 1t was
a modern armada against which the
armada launched by Phillip of Spain
would have seemed child's toy. 1t
was a moving, shifting picture of tugs,
police boats, fire boats, torpedo boats,
yachts, launches, tramp steamers and
ocean liners and sailing craft of every
rig, with big ferry ana excursion boats
blowing their way through the ruck
in mysterious paths that opened be-
fore them and closed again behind
them like the ice of an Arctic foe.
The Only Stable Points.
The only stable points in the scene
at that early hour were the war ships.
They lay like a great white grounded
berg about which the pack ice turned
and swirled, without moving them
from their mornings. 1t was morn
ing of depressed excitement on board
the New York and the other ships be-
hind the Olympia. Everything had
been cleaned and FURNISHED from ram
to rudder.
A BnbIe of Steam whistles.
Noon was ushered in with a scream
of whistles that sounded like ten thou
sand craft The serenade lasted five
during which enough steam
was wasted to have run an ocean liner
to the Azores.
The last PARKWAY echo had hardly
drifted back from the Staten Island
hills when a sudden impulse seemed 10
seize the far-reaching mass of tugs
and other craft. Instead of drifting
idly round and round the war ships, |
like chips in an eddy, they began to
steam away to the south in parallel |
lines as though the same currents |
W ere bearing them out to sea. But as
Narrows there were hundreds more |
that swept down from up the harbor.
Then there was scurrying home Of |
the white-hooded steam cutters of the |
war ships. The great boat cranes |
reached down their Crap
,ling hooks and whisked the pinnaces
aboard.
The MeGaphone Commands.
Megaphone commands flung across
the water brought the torpedo boats
to keel, like the greyhounds they
we're, at the Olympia's quarter. The
code flags blossomed like
lowers on the Olympia from bridge TO
1t was the order to form in
column. The Brooklyn's pennant
snapped aye, aye" from the signal
passed the order to the Indiana,
whence it was flung from ship to ship
Town the squadron.
The Olympia Under Way.
The black speed cones of the Olym-
climbed slowly to her yards as the big
,ruser got under way. The other yes
;els slowly turned like a troop of cav
dry, squadron front, toward the Mar
'ows, and then fetching a graceful
sweep, headed back up the harbor to
ward the Battery, the Olympia, escort
ID by the mayors boat, the Sandy
Hook, in the lead.
Back of her. at 4O0-yard interval,
,ame the New York, the powerful In
Llama and Massachusetts,, the fleet
Dotted Brooklyn, the STURDY old Texas,
he raliish yacht-like Dolphin, the old
relicof another naval age;
he powerful Chicago, and finally the
title Marietta, the rear guard of the
lighting craft.
Behind stretched the troops and
urther still, almost lost in the dis
"h'S' INC N'NutH anu ihl9celldHeouS
raft hull down the horizon.
DSwey's Magnificent Squadron.
The evolution began at one D clock,
md in IS minutes the fighting line
vas Strengthened out up the harbor.
admiral Dewey was going TO his own
t the head of a squadron that would
ave won, at need, three battles of Ma
lila bay without stopping for break
asst.
The head of the column was a broad
rrow. Six torpedo boats spread out
$ the barb, three on side from the
'lympia's quarter. Outside of them
Lr-inrr ,,.nh,rn &c r,nIinn ,,ntrnl Inntr