Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1899-08-05
NEW DEWEY STORY.
fhe Famous Admiral Nearly Started
Another War with Mexico,

me famouS Admiral Nearly Started
Another War with Mexico.
"In May, 1915, Admiral Dewey was
commander Of the old Narragansett"
said Lieutenant WinsloW, "and he was
detailed to surveying the Gnlf Of Cali.
Sornia and the shores OF the coast or
The peninsula. 1t was not long after
the NirginuS affair Mt Santiago, and
the feeling toward the Mcxicans and
Cubans was none too cordial. The
Narragansett reached La paz near the
southern end Of the peninsula. and we
| no sooner got ashore than we heard
tnat an American mining engineer and
| some Englishmen who owned the mine
were prisoners in their mining shan.
ties, forty miles back of la Paz in
the mountains The American had re-
sented an insult, quarrel followed,
and the American killed two MeXicans.
The friends of the latter swore they'd
Kill the Yankee and the Englshmen.
too, and the latter were soon obliged
to barricade themselves This siege
nad been on for several days when we
dropped anchor.
LAS soon as Commander Dewey
heard of it he was very much inter
ested. The next day he sent mes
senger to the Mexican colonel in La
Paz. who had n garrison of GOO sol
1iers there. asking him what he was
going to do to give the American "A
| trial before he was shot.
Oh, he got into the trouble let him
| get out said the Mexican.
Commander Dewey didn't like this
reply, and the more he thought about
t the angrier he got The next fore
/ aeon he sent note to the Mexican
colonel telling him that an American
citizens life was in danger. and that
the man was entitled to fair trial.
/ he told the colonel that he would al
low him just twenty-four hours to res
enc the American and protect the En-
glishmen. If at the end of that time
relief was rot on its way to the little
mining party he would lombard La
| Paz and burn it.
when we heard what Dewey had
done we were all frightened
docs he mean it, we asked one
another.
"As for myself, was soon satisfied
| that he meant every word of it, | was
IN command of the guns. We had only
two old howitZers on the Narragansett,
The larger guns having been left tenn
! porarily at the Mare Island navy yard.
Get those howitZers ready for to-
morrow morning and inspect all the
small arms ana ammunition said
Dewey to me. Then he called the men
to quarters and estimated that of the
crew of about 100 we could land ninety
able armed men rs a stormng force
We drilled the men all that afternoon
and far into the night That night. on
Commander Dewey order, we steam.
ed to point commanding the princi-
pal streets c. La raz and trained the
lowitzers on the town. BY next morn
ng we were all ready to begin a sec
ond war against Mexico.
at daybreak a MeXic1n corporal
came on board with Il message from
his colonel saying that the Narragan-
! sett commanders request would be
complied with. Early that morning
we watched 300 armed Mexican sol
Hers start for the mining camp, and
we kept the old howitzers trained on
La Paz till the soldiers returned with
TIE American engineer When Dewey
, reported to Washington on the matter
! ne minmized the importance of it, and
It was passed over as a mere incident.
! Lieutenants Harris and Wright were
On the Nara gansett then, and Harris,
at least, was with the fleet at Manila.
1t Is somewhat singular that at that
! time, when we were expecting dec
laration of war against Spain on ac-
count of the Nirginius affair. Com
nander Dewey had his plans all made
% sail the Narragansett to Manila"
New York Tribune.