Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-08
BUFFALO BACK FROM MANILA
Cruiser Made the Trip Across in Forty -Four
Days.
Many Officers and Men Aboard Who
Took Part in the Manila
Bay Fight.

The second big batch of Dewey's fighters
to reach this port arrived yesterday on the
United States cruiser Buffalo, after an ex-
ceedingly quick run Of forty-four and a
half days. The cruiser brought back $50
men in all from our fleet in the Philippines,
including 215 who took part in the great
naval battle of Manila Bay. These COM
prise 40 men from the Olympia, 80 from the
Boston, 55 from the Baltimore, IA from the
Petrol and I from the Concord. They are
nearly all 1ong-term men whose time of en-
hstment has expired, and after being land
ed at the navy yard today they will be dis
charged. Among them are 80 officers and
AZ marines.
Some of the officers are: Paymaster John
4. Maetin, Captain Dutton and Lieutenant
3 ). RobnsoH of the marine corps all of
the Boston; Lieutenant A G.. Rogers of
the Monadnock, Surgeon F. Rogers of the
monterey, Ensign 7. s. Wilson of the Mo-
nocacy, Ensign Stephen Douglas of the Mo-
nadnock, Ensign Lang of the Manila, one
OF the captured Spanish gunboats, and DR..
X. 5. Brakeman of the Boston. The fol-
lowing, who are naval cadets, are coming
home for their examinations: D. S. Ma
honey of the Monterey, W. r. White of the
Olympia, W. R. Sexton of the Monadnock
and ], F. Lanies of the Olympia.
Bravery of Cadet White.
Cadet White, at the taking of Manila,
was put in charge of the tugboat Marcelo,
for the purpose of carrying messages to
and fro among the fleet. The gunboat
Caiiao was ordered close to shore to shell
a fort, and White ran the Marcelo close
up beside her and Joined in the lombard
ment. Dewey was greatly pleased with
the young fellows pluck, though he acted
without orders, and recommended him for
promotion. White would not talk about
this affair yesterday. His comrades, how
ever, told the reporters of 1t, while White
blushed like a school girl
n -lr L
bravery is aboard the Buffalo-Sea man Will
liam Ohlfors of the Boston. After Manila
had been captured he was put on board
the Manila, a captured Spanish gunboat,
Whfch one day was sent to shell villages
along the shore. Navigator Williams called
for volunteers TO go ashore with him and
pull down the Filipino flag that was float
ing on a little fort. surrounded by trenches
Ohlfors and another man volunteered, and,
with Williams in the lead, the three ad-
vanced boldly on the fort, not knowing
whether it contained garrison or not.
Fortunately for them it was deserted and
they brought back the nag in safety The
colors were sent to Dewey, who highly
complfmented the men.
The admiral is the idol of all these men,
though they say he is a terribly strict dis
ciplnarian, and many of the boys complain
that fines have eaten up nearly all the
charges for overtime they have against
Uncle Sam. Capt. HemphlIl of the Buffalo
says Dewey is by no means failing in
health. He is as lively as a cricket, and
can get up ships ladder as quickly as
any officer in his fleet. He gets up every
morning at . o'clock, and between that hour
and breakfast time o'clock, transacts
big part of the days business. Every
place at which the Buffalo stopped on her
way home the people wanted to know
when Dewey was coming.
The men are glad to get back to Amer
lea. and, as If to express the intensity of
their JOY. the Buffalo flies a "homeward-
bound" pennant which is 2sG feet long.
An UreXcttine Trip.
There was no exciting incident of the trip.
The men experienced considerable discom-
fort from the heat while passing through
the Red Sea and Suez canal. which they
said was worse than any they had felt in
the Philippines. While crossing the At
lantic the ship encountered one southwest
gale. The Buffalo is without much cargo,
and rolled to an extent which at times
equaled ~ degrees, the men assert. Ninety
of the men say they are in New York har-
Dor through a misunderstanding which
they knew nothing Of until they were sew
eral days out from Manila.
These men shipped from the Pacific coast
and expected to be paid off and mustered
out when they reached Mare Island. They
say that means of getting home are few
from Manila and that when they asked If
they could take passage on the Buffalo
and be sent home from New York, they re-
ceiVed assurances that they might. Just
before they sailed from Cavite the Solace
ana tnGN IedTntu she was gong 10
take other men direct TO San Francisco. 1t
was too late, however, to change their
plans They say that when they were sew
eral days out papers were presented to
them for signature by the officers on the
ship, and these turn out to be waivers OF
their transportation TO San Francisco. They
say this means that they will be dismissed
at the Brooklyn navy yard and from New
York must pay their way home.
Before coming into port the men drew up
a letter setting forth these statements,
and asking that they be shipped to their
point of embarkation. The men say there
are two reasons why they want to be sent
home before being paid off. They admit
that If they get their money in New York
many of them will have to tramp or
freight it across the country. The other
reason is that they will save money by
having the government send them home.
They think they are entitled to this. Many
of the men now reaching home have been
serving extra time. In some cases their
expired before Dewey sailed for
Manila, but they remained in the navy be-
cause the outlook was for war.
These men went through the battle and
the hard service which followed 1t, al
ago as fourteen months. Other men are
only three months overtime, but a con-
siderable number remained for the chance
of battle after their terms had expired
Among the Pacific coast men some who
say they have not been in the United
States for four and six years, having been
afloat on foreign stations throughout their
enlistments.
The boys are rich In mascots. which In
clude goats, monkeys, pigs, etc. Appren-
tice Earl Summerville of Boston brings a
monkey, which he has named Aguinaldo
The monk" was rescued by Summerville
in a small boat from the wreck of the Don
Juan de Austria.
goat on board, called Buffalo Bill, went
through the Cuban campaign on the gum
boat Newport. Captain Hemphill got too
familiar with Bill one day, and the goat
butted him so hard in the stomach that the
captain was doubled up like jackknife,
the boys declare.
The Buffalo brings a lot of war relics
from Manila. Among them are two g.
inch guns, which once belonged to the
Reina Christina, Montojo's flagship. They
are for the Smithsonian Institution. Their
breach blocks were ruined by the Span
iards. She also brings ten cd brass cannon,
made in ITO, and five torDedoes from the
Spanish arsenal at Cavite. The wheel of
the Rena Christina and the bell of the Isla
de Cuba are also among the relics.
Capt. Hemphill is proud of the Buff
falos fast run from Manila. Her actual
steaming days numbered only thfrty-seven.
and her average speed was 1874 knots She
left Manila on March 3D. and spent three
days in Singapore having her bottom
scraped. She left here on December Z.
taking men to fill the vacancies in Dewey's