The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-19
CAPT. MCCARTHY.
What He Would Have said to the Adj
miraI IL He Had known.
From the Chicago Journal.

Admiral George Dewey had TWO narrow
l escapes during his trip down the drainage
canal The presence of mind of one man
saved him and his party from being swept
over the bear-trap dam at Lockport. A
few minutes later he just missed being
called to terms by plain old Capt. J. p.
| Mccarthy of the good yacht Kinda.
With due respect 0 the AdmirGls name
and fame, tine master of the Kinda says
! he was not taking orders from Dewey that
| day. When a short distance from the big
dam Chief Eng .neer Randolph gave the
signal 10 open the trap. Only Capt. Nc
Carlhy with his hands on the wheel knew
| that the stanch little vessel was being
| drawn by the terrific current resulting
from the lifting of the gates.
He pushed an electric button, signalling
the engineer to reverse the engines, and
then put the wheel over hard. 1t was a
perilolrs moment.
The boat was heading down stream in
the midst of that mighty rush of water,
but finally responded and steamed out Of
harms way. Admiral Dewey did not
know how Capt McCarthy's heart had
been humping against his ribs nor how
near the Hinda had been to tumbling ig-
ANONYMOUSLY over the dam. SO he said:
THE man in charge of this boat doesn't
know how to run one. 1 feel in more dan
ger of my life now than l did in Manila
bay two years ago."
The Hindas master makes his head
quarters a Randolph street and the river
when not sailing the blue lake or escorting
parties down the great channel. He is a
small man with determined way ABOUT
him. His clothing Is that of the ordinary
civilian, except that he wears a blue vest
with brass buttons. When he talks about
'sailin' craft" 1t becomes apparent that
ha h0C
long record. He is well-known in Chi
cago.
Il didn't know the Admiral said 1t until
they told me about il Friday" said Capt
Mccarthy. 81 wouldn't a believed it of
him. l wish I'd a heard 1t. I'd a given
him good calling down"
Il have been sailin' up and down these
fakes for good many years now. I've
been master of good boats and bad boats,
but there amt an accident agin me. When
l was harbor master az Chicago saved
eleven drowning persons by jumpin' off the
bridges and swimmin' after them. Why,
they got so they called me Steve Brodie.
1 never sought no notoriety and 1 never
got medal, but l amt goin' to take a
back seat for any man that ever walked
or swan, Admiral or no Admiral
You see, l give everybody TO under
stand before we left McCook that day
that was captain of that boat, and was
takin orders from only one man, and that
was Mr.. Randolph. We got along all
right until we struck a point just above
the dam, and then everything began TO
happen at once. I'll bet there was a
thousand children began to sing on that
dam. l was leanin' on the wheel watch
in Dewey. We was on the bridge He
was on my right and Mayor Harrison
was on my left, with Mr.. Randolph Just
behind him. Those kids began TO sing
wa toll
Chief
The Admiral saluted. He had only sa-
luted that way once before on the whole
trip, and that was Nto an old Irish lady
who was dancin' a hornpipe on the bank
of the canal down near Romeo, her skirts
in one hand and an American flag in the
other.
when the Admiral saw her he said: IF
it wouldn't be for stoppin' you, Cap'n, I'd
say stop just so could yet off an shake
hands with that OF Irish woman
But the singin' made the biggest hit
Dewey says, 'Aint that greatr and he
took off his hat. He asked ALI the men 10
take off their hats, too. Then he says to
me: 'Capn, head her over that way so
we can hear better I wasn't goin' to
break the rule, even for the Admiral 1
looked at Mr.. Randolph, and he looked
at me with sort of grin and said: Yes,
Cap'n, head her over
I'VE were goin' down stream with the
children singin' and the crowds cheerin',
and in minutesthe battery on the other
side began 10 fire the salute. In the midst
of it all Mr.. Randolph gave the signal to
open the gates, and then the fun COM
| menced. l could see that the darned
beartrap would get US all in a minute if
| something wasn't done. 1 put the wheel
over and signaled the engineer to reverse.
| She finally came around, but those fell
lows didn't know how near they came TO
goin' over. The Admiral must ave
| thought he was on the Olympia. He
ought to know that you can't handle a
| boat like you can a wheelbarrow. He
wasn't any closer TO his last port that
morning two years ago in Manila bay
than he was In Windage basin. Lock-
port, on Thursday. He was right about
| that I'd a told him so, too, If I'd a.
| heard what he said about how / run the
| boat
at was all on account of my not bein'
| prepared for havin the dam open that
way Mr.. Randolph didn't tell me he was
| going 10 have 1t done. But I'm surprised
at the Admiral. I could see from his ac-
lions that he was a good sailor.
when he first came on the boat he
| complimented me. We ran up the Ad-
mirals flag and fired a salute. The Adj
miral says to me: When was you down
| below?' and I says, I never sailed salt
water craft in my life' Where did you
learn etiquette them he says, and ]
says: I studied 1t out of books When
| Commissioner Jones and Boldenweck, the
fat fellow, an some of the others were
tryin' TO all give me orders at once
Dewey says: Let the Capn alone; he
| knows how to get her around. But just
the same, he'd a-got a good turnin' down
| If I'd a-known he said afterward that ]
| didn't know how to sail a boat"
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