The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-04-30
Manila---One Year Ago Tonight


out the gun thar fired the first shot al
Manila Bay, and tell in a superior way 10
any friends who may be just arriving al
they have learned about it. The gun IL
self is an ordinary fve-ineh steel rife,
mounted on the poop-deck, with its long.
| wicked barrel looking seaward from the
starboard side.
Few. however, can point out the gunner
who fired the shot. He is no exception 10
the general class OF jack tars. Sam
Skou is his name, and his locks are equal
~ picturesque He is tall and wiry. with
his face, arms, and chest tanned deep
brown from six years OF exposure al sea.
Talking, ne says, IS not In his line, and
he keeps as far out of sight as possible
when visitors are aboard. He was found.
though, one afternoon. seated on the gun
deck. smoking a pipe with Cockswaln
Barstow and Navigator's Yeoman Young.
This particular part of the ship is known
as "Oil-skin Nook" and IS sacred 20
coterie of veteran salts who gather there
to smoke. sing, and tell stores when on
duty. Barstow was squatted cross-legSed
on deck. while Young sat on pile OF
hammocks, peeling a bucket Of potatoes.
When the reporter interrupted the trio
conversation the cockswaln ana the gun
captain were theoriziRg on how many
potatoes would be coming 10 each man,
treat TO a ships crew just in port from
a long cruise.
After much urging and no little testing
from his pals, Skou consented TO spin a
yarn about how he got IN the first shot
at Manila Barstow with his pipe-stem
traced an imaginary diagram OF Manila
Bay on the decks planking. Young strop-
ped his knife on the leather of his shoe.
and Skou looked straight ahead, punlng
slowly a few moments in silence.
You see he began, twas Saturday,
bout midnight when We reached the har-
Dor entrance, and so dark that l couldn't
see the mugs Of the niger boys IN the
guns crew against the ships side. We
were slipping through the darkness with
everything so quiet and still that the
steady 'chug' Of the engines felt like trip
hammers. 1t looked as II We were goin
in without even the chance Of a shot,
when all of a sudden the Mccullough
smokestack took fire and fared up. She
was usin' bum Welch coal.
"A signal-light flashed next minute
from shore. and was answered back away
up towards Manila. The lads around me
sort of drew long breath, and l says
to myself, says l, It's begun But not
gun from the shore-we was all a-starin'
hard at the darkness. About a minute
passed, and still no sound, and then the
old smOkestack blaZed up again. This
time sure, l thought, but still no shot.
The silence began to get sort o creepy.
and my mind was full O. sunken mines.
torpedoes n such things. The lads o
my crew began to cuss-quite like-the
Spaniards for bein' blockheads, and the
smokestack for givin' US away"
Il sweat more in a minute than I ever
hope to in my whole lIfe," interrupted
irnD =
knife thoughtfully.
Il didn't do nothin. struck in the
stolid Barstow. but I thought darned
hard"
1t wasn't more'n minute or two. but
it seemed an hour, and then. all Of a
sudden like. came the fash of a gun un-
der a big black rock near Corregidor. II
was just off our quarter. l had the old
girls muzzle right on the light fore we
got the word from the bridge to fire, and
say-when the next flash came, she spoke
before the light fickered. Then the lads
on the other ships behind US took 1t up.
but we had passed into Manila Bay before
they all had a chance Then all was
quiet again, and we were sent TO sleep
under our guns, where we lay until day
break. Some slept. but most of them
lay still, an cussed cause they didn't get
q shot. One young lad. 1 know, just lay
face down on deck. kicked. and cried be-
cause his guns crew didn't have chance
to fire. An the only way his mates could
get him quiet was by telIin' him he'd
get his full in the morning. You know
all about the rest, sir. We did get our
full, and we didn't waste one shot"
When you hear talk about fighting this
bloody war for bloomn' humanity"
growled the cockswain, don't believe IL.
1t was for blood, miId you, and we put
each shot where il would count the most
and pay for the crew Of the Maine. Say
if our messmates was blown to death
while asleep, them poor devils Of Monte
jos was shot TO pieces like so many
rats"
Barstow was gun captain aboard the
flagship Olympia and Young was his shell
man. The story of the fight led to a
discussion on the relative merits Of the
Raleigh and the Olympia. This became so
exciting that the jacktars came very near
precipitating another war on the spot. The
potatoes were forgotten, and things look
ed very black for the preservation OF the
peace when the cOckswan produced
brand new plug Of chewing tobacco. The
gathering clouds dispersed as quickly as
they had appeared. and when the reporter
followed Young and his potatoes to the
galley. Skou was helping himself and
sa wing he would have to allow the crew
did have to shovel coal in furnaces al
the way across, SOS to make steam f9s-
ter. n t would leak out Of her old
bilers'
Young was printer before he enlisted,
and when his ship Joined the Asiatic
squadron he conceived the idea Of sail
ors' newsa per which should champion
the interests Of the jacktar. The notices
Er w.H
bulletin-board suggested the scheme. ara
from the printing outfit aboard the flag
ship and his knowledge Of the makeup
Of a country newspaper, The Bounding
Billov'' was the result The Olympus
printing establishment consisted o. AT an
cient Gordon press, operated by 1905
power. and one font Of BREWER type, with
a scattering assortment Of job type. Ac-
cordng 10 MS story Of the paper Young
did the reporting, the editorial Work, ana
the printing himself No one was inter-
ested in the venture enough = nelp nm
at the start. He took up sailors rignts
as his first cry" and went 70 work Al
his odd moments Of duty ard any leisure
time ne found was spent on the Bonding
Rulow." Win only ore font Of type, one
form had 20 be set ~ and uTn,ed az
time. the type then thrown In. IRE second
form made up and printed. and tdis opera
ton repeated until the paper was com
ple;ed.
The press would break down T0u-g
said. and 7 would tie x I'D with rope
warm or prop = with boat-aooks. Il
wasn't encouraging. but the work took
I'd a whole lot OF idle time, and was en-
loved IN thai way The first sf.uo1 Wss
published a. SagssskL Japan, IN 10. and
proved fat fai ure Then ! s'artes i1 %
make s. q newspaper ard advertise t1r
trades repre- scented CT ooard t1s s1-ps =
TIE squadron The second editor care
cut month later. and was ca..e sGcee-z-
fuI 7 charged ten cents cc9r- s1s air.