The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-10-07

was SO dense, could not see anything
and supposed that the New York being
away the Brooklyn was steaming ahead
of the slower vessels He stepped out of
the coming tower and exclaimed to me
What's that off our starboard quarter?'
looked in that direction and saw the
heavy bow of a ship and said, That
must be the Massachusetts He said,
No, it could not be the Massachusetts;
she has gone to Guantanamo 1 said,
1t must be the Oregon and he remark
ed, God bless the Oregon / said, Well,
/ am very glad to see her. The Oregon
was at that time about, 1 should say,
four or five hundred yards off our star
board quarter at full speed. We con-
tinued in that position until the Brook
lyn'S speed began to increase as We got
up steam and probably drew little far
ther ahead from the Oregon. She never
was that close to us again, as / remem-
Der. The Oquendo very shortly fell OUT
and went ashore. The Colon gradually
drew ahead and also went in shore. L
remember very well the time that the
Viscaya blanketed her from fire.
This chase was continued in that direc-
ton until when off Aserraderos the
Viscaya ported her helm and ran in
shore. The Colon at this time had gain
ed speed and was in shore, I suppose,
some seven miles After passing the
Viscaya, we steamed ahead and ceased
firing. The men were allowed to come
out of the turrets, one at a time, to get
a breathing spell, although, of course,
all guns were manned and everything
ready, but the gaining upon the Colon
was very SLOW in fact she gained an
when the Viscaya stood in for Aser-
raderos. The chase was continued then
after the Colon. l knew it must be six
or seven miles away, until we gradual
ly began to gain. I remember keeping
the stadimeter at work on her, although
the $4,000 yards would not register on
the stadlmeter. L remember at one time
telling Commodore Schley that it was
within about 1900 yards and my recol-
lection is he told some one to signal the
Oregon to try one of her railroad
the Oregon fired one of her 13-inch
shells which fell shorts Then we tried
with S-inch shell and they fell short.
The Oregon was signalling to US the fall
of our shot and we signalled to her the
fall of her shot We continued OCCASION
ally to fire, the Oregon her Is and inch
guns and we our eight inch guns.
HOW SCHLEY ACTED.
'I remember of seeing one of the 13-
inch shots of the Oregon fall well
ahead of the Colon and one of our s.
inch shells apparently fell in shore of
the Colon. At that time the Colon por-
ted helm, hard aport. Previously to this
she had ported her helm once or twice
apparently seeking a soft spot on shore.
She fired her lee gun and hauled down
her flag / pulled out my watch 1t
was exactly 1:15. We then ceased firing
and slowed down, and orders were Civ
en- to get out a boat The captain was
ordered to go on board to make terms
with, or tell the terms of the commando
ing officer of the Colon.''
How far was the Oregon from the
Brooklyn?'
From 1000 to 1900 yards on the star
board quarter.
The witness in reply to questions. con-
tinued his report of the battle He said
that at the beginning of the fight he
had given the range at 1,400 yards, but
that after that it was $4,000 or 5000
yards
What was the bearing of COM modore
Schley during this engagement or any
enga cement in which you saw him?''
His bearing and manner, with re-
spect to an officer of his rank and sta
ton in the naval service were natural
ly those of a commander in chief of a
naval force. on that OCCASION
The witness said that the commodore
had held a place on platfrom around
the coming tower during the engage
ment. This, he said, was a position of
danger, as the commodore was there
always in full view of the enemy's
ships.
1T has been stated here" said Mr..
Rayner, that the Brooklyn ran 1000
yards away from the enemy's ships in
making her loop
The witness replied: ANY witness
who made that statement although he
may have stated what he thought had
occurred, was absolutely mistaken
How far did she go from the en-
emy's vessels?''
She must have gone about 500 yards
to the southwark as that is about the
tactical diameter of the Brooklyn at
that speed
Did this turn interfere with the
BroOklyn's ability to keep up her fire?"
1T did not; she continued to fire from
her aft turret."
DIDN'T SEE THE INDIANA.
Did you ever see the Indiana during
the engagement"
Il did not. The smoke was very
dense in the direction of the Indiana
At this point Mr.. Rayner questioned
the witness at length concerning his
reported colloquy with Admiral Schley
during the battle off Santiago, in which
the commodore was reported to have
said "- the Texas"
Mr.. Rayner asked the witness if it
was not Captain Cook who had given
the order to port helm.
The reply was that Captain Cook
might have given the order to the man
at the wheel.
Mr.. Rayner then asked: 'Did Com
modore Schley give the order to port
the helm 2?
He did," was the reply
WAS the helm already aport?"
Il guess so; Captain Cook says so.''
Objection was made by Captain
Lemly to the use of the word guess
by the witness. but Admiral Dewey said
the form of expression was immaterial
and asked that counsel should not in
terruDt
Continuing mis- statement in response
to Mr. Rayner's question, the witness
said that when his converse tion with
Commodore Sch1ey had occurred on the
Brooklyn the commodore was standing
on the platform around the coming
tower and two or three feet from him
self (the witness), and that Captain
Cook a part Of the time stood in the
door of the coming tower, four or five
feet distant. He said that Captain
Cook had taken part in the oonversa-
tion.
Mr.. Rayner then questioned the wit
ness very closely in regard to the Ian
guage in which this colloquy was re-
ported by the newspapers and the Ian
g1age used in his correspondence with
Admiral Schley. He read the newspaper