The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1900-05-08

teries, the Intrepid, in which Decatur
had recaptured and destroyed the
Philadelphia, was being rapidly pre-
pared as freship. The plan was to
load her with a hundred barrels Of
powder in bulk, with bags OF grape.
and solid shot, and, under cover OF
the night, explode her in the midst OF
the Tripolitan war vessels. Somers,
who had been frequently in the har.
Dor Of Tripoli, aud knew its reefs and.
rocks so we'll that he could readily,
thread his way through the narrow
channels, asked for the command.
1t was an honor that half dozen
other men sought, and not until the
old Commodore had weighed the
chances fully did he at last agree to
let Somers go. Before consenting,
Preble repeatedly warned the young;
officer OF the desperate character OF
the work, and told him that on accouns
of the Napoleonic wars the Tripoll-
tans were short OF ammunition, and
that so much powder must not fall
into the hands of the enemy. But
Somers needed no warning. 4 day
or two afterward, when the prepara-
tions were nearly completed, Preble
and some other officers were trying
fuse in the cabin of the Constitution;
one of the officers, watch in hand,
ventured the opinion that it burned
too long, and might enable the enemy
to put it out before it exploded the
magazine. Hearing this, Somers said
quietly:
81 ask no fuse at all. T."
When volunteers were called for,
the desperateness of the enterprise
was fully explained, but the crew Of
the Nautilus, Somers's own vessel,
stepped forward to a man. Midship-
man Henry Wadsworth ian uncle OF
the poet Longfellow) was chosen as
second in command. Midshipman
Joseph Israel, having vainly pleaded
with Somers to be allowed to go, at
the last moment smuggled himself
aboard the Intrepid, and, when dis.
covered, Somers had not the heart to
send him back.
As soon as the night fell, the In.
trepid cast off her lines and went
slowly up toward the harbor. The
Argus, Vixen aud the Nautilus fol-
lowed her, and shortly afterward
Stewart, on the Siren, became so anx-
ious that he followed, too. A haze
that had come up VI the sun went
down hung heavily over the water,
and soon the lines of the freship be-
came mere gray blur against the
dark coast-line beyond.
Midshipman Ridgley, on the Nauti.
lus, by the aid of powerful night
glass aloft, managed to follow her ua-
til she got we'll within the harbor, and
then she vanished. The suspense
soon became almost unbearable, for
not shot had been fired, and not a
sound came from the direction in
which she nst7s' g0nre: ~k05uv ntaA
o'clock half-dozen cannon shots
could be plainly heard, and even the
knowledge that she had been discov-
cred and was being fred on was re.
lief from the awful silence. About
ten o'clock Stewart was standing at
the gangway of the Siren with Lieuten-
ant Carol, when the latter, craning
his neck out into the night, suddenly
exclaimed, "Look! See the iight!'
Away up the harbor Stewart saw a
speck of light as from lantern which
moved rapidly as though it were be-
inc carried by some one running along
deck. Then it paused and disap.
peared from view In second tre.
mendous flame shot up hundreds Of
feet into the air, and the glare of it
was so intense that it seemed close
aboard. The flash and shock were so
stupendous that the guardships,
though far out to sea, trembled and
shivered.
That was all. The officers and the
men looked at one another in mute
horror. Could anything have lived in
the area OF that dreadful explosion? ?
The tension upon the men of the little
fleet was almost at the breaking point.
The vessels beat to and fro between
the harbor entrances, firing rockets
and guns for the guidance of possible
fugitives. All night the fleet kept
vigil, but not shot, voice or even
a splash came out from the harbor
With the first streaks of dawn the
Americans were aloft with their
glasses. On the rocks at the northern
entrance through which the Intrepid
had passed they saw mast and frag-
ments of vessels. One of the enemy's
largest gunboats had disappeared and
two others were so badly shattered
that they lay upon the shore for re-
pairs.
The details of the occurrence were
never actually known, but it is
thought that Somers, being laid
aboard by three gunboats before actu.
ally in the midst OF the shipping, and
feeling himself overpowered, fred his
magazine and destroyed himself and
bis own men in his avowed purpose
not to be taken by the enemy.
THUS died Richard Somers, Henry
Wadsworth, the Mldshipman, Joseph
Israel and ten American seamen, whose
names have been inscribed on the
Navy's roll of fame.-Saturday Even
ing Post.
rI,a p,u o,J .I,a cyc,;st