The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1900-12-14
U.S. CRUISER YOSEMITE
History of the Vessel Lost In a
Typhoon at Guam.
FORMERLY Ell SUD, MORGAN LINER

FORMERLY Ell SUD, MORGAN LINER
Splendid Record Of the Old Mer-
chairman During Her Brief serv.
Ices In Fighting Observation-Disclosures
guished Herself 1t San Juan BY
Beating Four Spanish warships n
. Fierce Battle.
The United States cruiser Yosemite.
which was sunk in a typhoon off the is
land Of Guam. had been recently the
station ship there. She made frequent
trips to Manila and was the only regu.
lar means of communication between
our little Ladrone colony, with its
small American force. and the rest of
the world, says the New York Journal.
After her last trip she left Manila for
Guam on Aug. %.
The Yosemite was n of the feet of
merchant ships that this government
impressed into service for the wal
with Spain. equipping them with coats
or gray paint, as many machine guns
as their crews could handle and plucky
sailor men who would have fought as
long as they had a deck under them.
The Yosemite was originally the
Morgan liner Ell Sud. She ran from
New York to New Orleans with freight
for G.. P. Huntington's Southern Pa
cifc railroad. She was of 6,179 tons
burden, and her engines could drive
her at Is knots an hour If the sea didn't
get too much in her way. She changed
her name and from a freightship be-
came an auxiliary cruiser" She was
then fitted out and became one Of the
large squadron Ct tugs, ferryboats,
lighthouse tenders. ocean greyhounds
and steam Golfers that went out SO in
trepidly to do battle with the superb
fighting machines of the Spanish dons.
She carried ten 6 inch quick fire rifles
and a crew that included the naval re-
serves Of Michigan. She was a sister
ship. in point of size, equipment and
crew. of the cruiser Yankee, Command
er Brownson, which carried the New
York naval reserves and which steam
ed into the Cuban harbor of Guanta-
cruiser there and leveled a blockhouse
on the top of a hill so that it would not
be in the way Of Colonel Huntington's
and Captain McCalla's marines and
their big American flag.
On the Yosemite were many Detroit
dudes" There were. for instance.
young Pingree, son Of the potato"
governor. who swabbed decks and pol
ished brasswork with a relish that
showed he liked it; a young man nam
ed Davis. Lieutenant Wilkes. Streath.
ern Hendrick and Lieutenant Lathrop.
a leader of cotillons in the west. The
auxiliary cruiser. with her crew of
dude" firemen and deck swabs. made
better time than she ever had done
while bringing cotton and California
wines from New Orleans to Manhat-
tan. She shifted the Spanish feet in
the ofing. On June %. 1898. she ar
rived at st. Juan. Porto Rico. where
she went to relieve Captain Sigsbee's
st. Paul.
Now that the war Is over and the ill.,
formation canno help the Spaniards, 1t
is safe to admit that the Yosemite.
navally considered. was as rank a tub
could be sent into action. Any prop
erly equipped warship should have
been able to handle her with it's Sec
ondary batteries. Yet the Yosemite,
making a magnificent bluff" showed
her teeth when & small Spanish squad.
ron tried to drive her from her position
Of commanding San Juan harbor. There
were four Spanish ships. the Antonio
Lopez, Isabel II. Alfonso XIII and tho
Concho. They steamed gayly up to the
alleged cruiser. TO the surprise Of the
the Yosemite. instead Of
making her escape. manned her guns,
filed them with shell and blazed away. |
Spain of course had one Of her many |
MORO Castles close at hand, and this
and the Porto Rican squadron returned
the fire. But the Yosemite was shoot
Ing to hit, and she drove the Antonio
Lopez ashore and chased the other
three back into San Juan harbor.
where they were glad t. find a refuge.
Yosemite was in charge of Lieu
Commander w. H. Emory.
The cruiser did all sorts of blockade
duty on the south side Of Cuba and as
at the incidents around Guanta-
nalno. in which Captain McCalla Of the
M~arblehead plucked SO many laurels.
the Spanish war the Yosemite
was fitted out for service not often
performed by an American, ship. We
had acquired the island of Guam
among the Ladrone islands, where the
Yosemite was lost. These islands are
1859 miles southwest of San Francisco
and LOO miles from Manila. Captain
Richard p. Leary of the United States
navy was appointed governor general
Guam, and the Yosemite was fitted
as his floating executive mansion.
She carried to Guam. besides her
crew Of 8 men. q force of 125 ma.