Evening star., 1899-03-11
How the Dispatch Boat Evaded the
Neutrality Laws.
SHRFWD WORK At CRITICAL JUNCrURE
Capt. McLean's Trips Aboard the
Dispatch Boat Zafiro.
WINKING THE OTHER EYE

How Admiral Dewey's fleet was supplied
with fresh provisions during trying period
| Is told~very Interestingly in a letter from
Professor s. A. Knapp, the confidential
agent of the Department of Agriculture
PROFESSOR Knapp Is now at st. Charles, La,
having returned a few days ago to the
United States after tour of Japan, China
and the Philippine Islands. He was ac-
compan1ed on his homeward trip as far
as san francisco by Captain Walter Nc
Lean, chief Of Admiral Dewey's war staff
at Manila.
captain Mclean was in command of the
| little merchant vessel Zafiro, which Admiral
Dewey bought from the English and which
ne converted into dispatch boat. 1t sue
ceeded the cutter McCulloch as the carrier
OF dispatches from Manila to Hong Kong
The McCulloch made the first trip after
the battle had been fought and won; the
Aailro made all others until the cable was
captured.
dispatches were not the only thing the
Aafro carried" writes Professor Knapp.
mclean turned smuggler when he got
hoid OF the Zafiro and went cruising in
chinese waters. He smuggled more tons
Of fresh things to eat into Manila bav than
you have hairs on your head He became
the most proficient falsifier of manifests
the east ever saw. Did Dewey know about
was going on?
Important Interview.
The day Mclean was made commander
or the Zafiro Admiral Dewey called him I'D
| on the quarterback of the flagship, where
there We're lot Of dyspeptic looking Off
GERS and men standing around and said:
Mclean, you will take these dispatches
down to Hong Kong on the Zafiro and
cable them to Washington
Yes, SIR answered Mclean
:. ana remember continued the admiral
IN solemn voice. that this is a time of
strife; that Great Britain has issued a neu-
trality proclamation, and there is such
thing as contraband of war. Do not allow
| any contraband article aboard your ship
Mclean looked around on the hungry
men of the fleet, and then he looked into
| the eye of Admiral Dewey. He thought he
saw sort of faint CULVER of the eye, for
| he touched his cap smartly and retired
When Mclean got ready to start for
Hong Kong he found Col. Smith, the pay
| master of the fleet. aboard the Zafiro
" Pay, asked Mclean Everybody in the
| fleet calls Col Smith Pay-'Pay, where are
| you going?
| " I need a little fresh air. answered Col
Smith, and L thought 1 would like to run
| down 20 Hong Kong and see if they've got
any for sale. l brought my money along
| You see, it was a put-up job between
| Mclean and Pay, but they had to make
pretense. so the crew would not under
| stand. When the Zafiro got to Hong Kong
Mclean called Capt. Whitten up to the
| deck and said:
| Capt. Whitten. am going ashore with
| Col Smith. l won't be back until the last
| moment before sailing. Remember, that
| this is a time of strife-that Great Britain
| has issued a neutrality proclamation, and
| that there is such a thing as contraband
| of war
| Yes, sir answered Capt Whtten
| saluting. And say, Whitten, continued Nc
Lean, lowering his voice, if We get caught
| ut he.~ h1 tLA lA,,
| "'Yes, sir
! So, if any little packages come aboard
| be quick about it,
Mysterious Packages.
| We'll, Mclean and Col. Smith hadn't any
| more than got out of sight than Capt
| Whitten weighed anchor and sailed around
| the corner. He hadn't been there very long
before the little packages began to arrive
| Some of them came in coal lighters and
| others in boxes and barrels and crates. 1t
| didn't take very long u stow them away
| however, and pretty soon the Zatiro drop
ped anchor in the harbor again. Mclean
| and Col Smith came aboard.
| Sir said Capt. Whitten to Mclean,
| those little packages
"'D Don't bother me, sir, thundered Nc
| Lean in rage I'm in great hurry to
| get back to Admiral Dewey with impor-
| tant cablegrams.'
so they sailed away. When they reach
| ed Manila, Mclean called Capt. Whitten
| flagship and report to the admiral When l
return 1 shall inspect your cargo. If /
| find anything in it contraband of war
| shall order you into irons.
| We'll, Mclean didn't get back until the
! next morning, and when he went over the
| cargo he found nothing contraband In
the meantime every officer and man in the
| squadron had had square meal. That
| was the first of many trips. On one of the
| trips Mclean came pretty near getting into
| serious trouble. The Spanish consul at
1 -;,,I tln 1tCrt,+
| the boxes and crates, and just before the
| Zafiro made ready to leave the harbor he
complained to Mr.. Black. the English gov
| ernOr of the city, that she was laden with
| contraband of war.
| Never Batted an Eye.
| Gov Black, who had seen Col. Smith
buy two loaded coliers in the harbor and
sail them away without even batting his
| eye had to take cognizance of the COM
| paint, so he sent a revenue cutter out to the
| Zafiro and confiscated about forty tons of
| green groceries, coffee, sugar, condensed
| milk and clothing. The stuff was taken
| ashore and Mclean was ordered before the
| governor to explain its presence on his
| ship That was where Mclean proved
| strong That was where he showed that
| he was not only a sailor, but an interna-
tional lawyer as we'll He fshed around
| in the coltraband goods until he had
| bought for his own use. He held one of
the shirts up before the governors eyes
| and said:
| Your honor, the neutrality laws provide
| that nothing shall be taken aboard ves-
| sci belonging to either of the belligerent
parties for the maintenance of the fleet. 1
ask you, SIR is this undershirt calculated
| to aid in the maintenance of the fleet? Most
| assurediy not. Why? Because, sir, l can
| go back to Manila and kill spaniards just
as well without an undershirt, sir, l
can with one. The undershirt. sir. is
| luxury. and as such is exempt from the
operation of the law. So are these cab
bages and these quarters of Ibeeves; they
are all Iuxuries and come in the same
class
Governor Black looked wise and an
nounced-for the benefit of the Spanish
| consul who was present-that he would
| have to take the matter under advisement.
That night he sent word to Mclean to get
| the stuff on board and out of the harbor as
quickly as possible, for, although he had
| ordered it released, he had cabled his de-
cision to the home government and was
afraid it would be reversed.
Mclean worked until o'clock in the
morning and then sailed. The result was
! that the men in the fleet were rescued from
salt horse for another week"