The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1899-02-06
BRooKLYN,s NAME AT THE TOP
Heroic Feat of Yankee Tnrs ihAs
ThriIIed the Eearts of a Whoie
ShiI's Crew.

forerunner of the present arnoreu
cruiser; but the old Brooklyn, which
during the civil war gained the name OF
The Butcher Shop had no rssem-
bIance to the floating fortress that
hurled destruction into the fleet OF al
miral Cervera. The old ship bore
great spread of canvas and had put
auxiliary steam power Her ioi'y
masts and creaking yards would seem
singularly out of place to-day, but they
served their purpose in their own ''me'
Her open deck, with double row OF muz-
zle-loading, smooth-bore guns looked
like a scene from medieval drama, and
| when she went to sea the fappiLg OF
the sails and the snap OF the cordage
was not an unwelcome lullaby to those
who slept beneath her cool, whi'e
decks.
This old Brooklyn sailed out one day
from New York bound upon roving
cruise. and came in time to the Azore
islands. whence she sailed for Lisbon
and Gibraltar and passing through 'he
Mediterranean and the Suez canal,
steamed slowly down the scorching heo
sea. A stop at Aren for day or TWO
made her ready for a journey TO the
Persian gulf. but when the Gulf OF
Oman was reached the skipper thought
IN take a look at Muscat, and SC the
course was shaped for the capital OF
the Son of Abraham, whose forefathers
for hundreds. nay thousands OF years
- ~ arf
In all her journey the good ship had
entered not a port where the proud
cross of ST. George could not be seen
from the staff of British man-of-war'
but here at Muscat ii was thought thai
at least our flag would be the only token
of western civilization in evidence. But
il was not so. for. as the Brooklyn
rounded a high promontory that shut in
the little harbor. there, lying at anchor
was seen the British gunboat Sphinx
with her milk-white flag floating above
her
Muscat had much that was strange
and weird to interest the Americans
t1t neither the palace OF the sultan
with lis double wall, between the twt
1.arts of which are kept the tigers who's
duty ii is to guard the palace at night
: nor the imperial harem's grim exterior
nor the gorgeous apparel OF the sultai
= himself. had half the attraction for tn
wes,erners that the grim, sheer face o
y the promontory that shuts in the har
: bor had. For there upon the bleak wa
: of this towering height were painte,
> the names of many ships. and hig
above them all, in a place that SCENE
" inaccessible. were the words: II.
: S. sphinx"
The men Of the Brooklyn stared q
that name day after day. until ii SCENE
burned into their brains. and the spir'
q of emulation grew within them.
l. The night before the Brooklyn was
J. sail for Persian waters there were ev
J. dences of secret movement among tn
crew. and after the night had falle
still and black boat pulled off froi
the vessels side and. with muffied oar
pulled rapidly for the shore. It carrie
many things of various sorts. ar
among them lantern. whose tiny glir
mer those on the ships watched wit
:, bated breath as ii reached the shore ar
,y slowly began the ascent of the promo
,a tory. Now il would disappear and thf
10 glitter again like star of hope al
comfort. and so ii went slowly on, ev
2, up and up the face of the outlined pre'
or pice.
~ The hours dragged slowly by, and
-. was far into the night when tir
=, boats crew clambered slowly over t
-, Brooklyn's side and dropped exhaust
"a into their hammocks for short sic
=, before the call Of "all hands" in t
~ morning.
= The Brooklyn sailed away just as (
| sun began to show above the caste
r. horizon. and as she swung upon b
~ course and stood for the waters OF I
~ open gulf cheer burst from the thro'
"a Of the whole ships company. F
nu there. in great letters of white II
caught the warmth of the rising 81
"a far above the name Of her majest
ne ship Sphinx far above the highest ma
os of all. could be seen the legend ~. S
- Brooklyn"
~ And there to-day, looking down up
su the tiger-guarded palace and the her
'y of the sultan. ever before the Arabs a
me Beloochistanese of the tiny sultana
ms still CLEANS the magic name that Sch
u and Cook have once again made fame
and that shall endure in history WI
ez' Muscat itself shall be forgotten
as Washington Post.
q Steel Water Dam.