The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-07-13
DEWEY'S WAY.

[FrOm the New York Irlbune.J
Lieutenant F. WinslOw, U. s. N, re-
tired cousin of the famous cOmman-
der of the Kearsarge is at the Abe
marie, and told a reporter q new story
- May, 1875, Admiral Dewey was
commander of the old Nara gansett,"
said Lieutenant Winslow, land he was
detailed to surveying the Gulf of Call
fornia and the shores of the coast OF the
peninsula. 1t was not long after the
VirginiuS affair at Santiago, and the
feeling toward Mexicans and CubanS
was none too cordial. The Narragan-
sett reached La Paz, near the southern
end of the peninsula, and we no sooner
got ashore than we heard that an
American mining engineer and some
Englishmen who owned the mine were
prisoners in their mining shanttes, 40
miles back of La Paz in the mountains.
The American had resented an insult
a quarrel followed, and the American
killed two AexicanS. Friends of the latter
swore they'd kill the Yankee and the
Englishmen too and the latter were
soon obliged to barricade themselves
This siege had been on for several days
when we dropped anchor
LAS soon as Commander Dewey heard
of it he was very much interested The
next day he sent a messenger to the
Mexican colonel in La Paz who had a
garrison of 600 soldiers there, asking
him what he was going to do to give
the American a trial before ne was shot.
g oh, he got into the trOuble-let him
get outl' said the Mexican.
Commander Dewey didn't like this
reply and the more he thought about it
the angrier he got. The next forenoon he
sent note to the Mexican colonel tell
ing him that an American citizens life
was in danger, and that the man was
entitled to>a fair trial. He told the col
Onel that he would allow him just "a
hours to rescue the American and pro-
tect the Englishmen. If at the end of
that time relief was not on its way to
the little mining party he would bonn
bard La Paz and burn it.
when we heard what Dewey had
done we were all frightened.
Does he mean it," we asked one an
other.
LAS for myself. was soon satisfied
that he meant every word of it. I 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 and ammunition said Dew
ey to me- Then he called the men to
quarters and estimated that of the crew
Of about 120 we could land 80 able,
armed men as a storning force. We
drilled the men all that afternoon and
far into the night That night. on
Commander Dewey's order, we steamed
to a point commanding the principal
streets of La PaZ and trained the how
tiers on the town By next morning
we were all ready to begin a second war
against Mexico.
.sAt daybreak a Mexican corporal
came on board with a message from
the colonel saying that the Narragan
sett's commanders request would be
complied with. Early that morning we
watched 300 armed Mexican soldiers
start for the mining camp. and we kept
the old howitzers trained on La Paz
till the soldiers returned with the
American engineer. When Dewey re-
ported to Washington on the matter he
minimized the Importance of it, and it
was passed over a mere incident.
Iieutenants Harris and Wright were
on the Narrangansett then and Harris,
at least, was with the fleet at Manila
It is somewhat singular that at that
time when We were expecting a. decla-
ration of war against Spain on account
of the Virginius affair, Commander
Dewey had his plans all made to sail
the Narragansett to Manila