The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-04-16
Walf Of the Sea
Story Of the lf1est Remarkable
TiIibasterino Ship on Record.

New York, April 15.-The strange ship
Scipio, about which there has been SO
much mystery and speculation, and which
has been in the "'boneyard' at the Brook
Ign navy yard since the early part of the
war with Spain, is to be sold. The Sclplo'
which. like many other things of mystery,
is under an assumed name, was one of the
! greatest marvels of war times. According
! to authentic history she was found by the
| cruiser Columbia afioat off Cape Henry
and Charles without a soul on board.
There were fires under her boilers and
/ everything about her was shipshape.
! In her hold was a full cargo of the lat
est English guns, raptd-fire and otherwise,
such as this government needed 50 badly
at that time, but which could not be ndd
from abroad because of the neutrality
laws. There was ammunition, too, in
plenty, and the vessel was loaded with
just such material as would be wanted
to fit out one of Uncle Sans cruisers.
Eventually all this ammunition of war
found its way on board the cruiser New
Orleans, which had been obliged to SAL
from England without supplies because
she was not allowed TO buy them. When
the ship was found the government pre-
tended to be innocent in the matter, and
it was given out as a fact that the ship
had jusb been found floating on the ocean,
and that was all there was about it. Peo-
pie wondered then, but some facts have
come to the surface since she was so
strangely discovered that would appear
to unraVel the mystery to some extent.
The report now is that some American
women abroad were heartIbroken to see
the New Orleans start to the war with
ouc hardly a pound of powder TO protect
her. The matter troubled them so that
they determined it should not be. 1t is
said that among these patriots was the
Duchess of Marlborough, formerly Miss
Consuelo Vanderbilt. A fund was quickly
raised and a trusted agent secured both
the ammunition and the ship.
One day the Ravenna, of the Oriental and
Occidental line to the East Indies, sailed
from London, ostensibly in ballast. She
was cleared for her regular port but she
never reached IL Instead, she went to
Antwerp. where she took on more bal
last" and then she cleared for port in
Canada.
She never made her port, and it was
really the Rayenna and not the Ccipio that
was picked up so oddly off the capes. The
painters were at work on her at once and
that is how she came TO be the Ccipio. No
one but the crews of the Columbia and
the New Orleans saw the JOB done, bat
somewhere in the ocean the cargo of the
new Scipio must have been transferred.
At any rate when the New Orleans ap-
peared with SIMPSONS fleet, she had all OF
the supplies of war that she needed, and il
was noted that in the effective work she
did off Santiago she was the only one Of
the feet that had smokeless powder.
After the Scipio had done her perfect
work she speeded toward New York and
vas met outside by TWO powerful tugs.
When she came up the bay she was dis
guised as a collier. She went into the
navy yard. where. as no outsider vas then
allowed 20 penetrate, she was safe from
ooss srva-ion. Since the yard has again been
thrown open ard mere las been a chance
10 investigate the famous derelict. il was
discovered shat she was The Ravenna. for
the outer coat OF paint has Amos, w3ra
OF and beneath II IS dimiy 70 be seen the
old name OF the chip.
Il was declared In shipping circles AZ the
time the boat was found" nat there Eas
no such ship, and the wonder OF il was
where in the world had she coma from, as
though OUT OF the very depths Of the ocean +
itself. No one claimed her. although she
received plenty % publicity. and puzzle a. s
the sharps would, they could make nothing 4
Of IT, u is said nov thar TIE cd owners (
would Ike 20 have her hack and next the 4