The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-10-02

involving regulations. 1t has been stated
by Commodore Schley in an official letter
to the United States Senate that ex-
pressed a certain BELIEF. Now il has been
made a public matter. l think that either
the court or the defense should allow me
TO express under oath what L really said.
Whether / expressed that belief or not. in
may be technically right TO interfere with
me, but according to the ethics OF the naval
service l think the defense ought TO permit
me to answer that question"
W have no objection TO that" said Mr..
Raynor.
Z have given an answer to hat question.
L have said nothing about my belief"
Mr.. Hanna-The portion OF the question
TO which L should like to have you give an
explicit answer is whether you assured
commodore Schley that you believed the
Spanish fleet was not in santiago:
4 did not say that L believed il was not
there. | said L had not seen it,
DC you give him any assurance which
would point in that direction"
- made known first my orders from the
Navy Department which stated that the
Spanish fleet was reported to have arrived
there"
Mr.. Hanna then read a letter which Cap
tain Sigsbee had on May 26 written to Com
modore Schley reporting the taking of the
pilot NuneZ aboard from the Jasper and
the capture of the British steamer Restor-
mel as a prize. He said in that letter:
No news here. | have seen absolutely
nothing OF the Spanish fleet"
He reported also that the Restormel had
24O tons of coal aboard, and had said that
the commanding officer had said he was
CbAAd - N
Mr.. Hanna also read a number of letters,
among them being one from Captain Sigs-
bee to Commodore Schley, written from
Mole st. Nicholas, May y, In which he said
TO the commodore: ID as you are doing
and you will do light"
He also informed him that there were a
number of kilograms at the Mole for him,
but that none of them was urgent. He told
the commodore that the department ex-
pected him to exercise great efforts to keep
in coal.
WHAT HE MEAN
Mr.. Hanna: 81 wish to ask your atten-
ton to the clause: DO as you are doing and
you will do right What was the flying
squadron doing at the time you wrote that
letter."
That was based on the tenor of the
cipher kilograms found at the mole from
the commander-in-chief and from the Navy
Department, urging that the Spanish
squadron be held, and that every effort be
made to coal ship. At that time the fly
ing squadron was off Santiago with the
intention, so far as L knew, of staying,
and L also believed it was the intention
of Commodore Schley to coal his ships off
that port. L left Santiago on the morning
OF the day on which that letter was writ
ten. At that time the weather was very
fine, and L had twice urged on Commodore
Schley the Importance OF taking advant-
age of that particular kind of weather,
stating that it was better than anything we
had had during my stay off the port"
Captain Sigsbee also said that when he
had boarded the Brooklyn on May 20 Com
modore Schley had told him that he was
bound for Key West for coal.
Did he ask you if you believed the Span
ish feet was in the harbor at SantiagO?"
Il don't remember his putting a question
The witness recalled a signal from the
flagship at that time asking him to lin
form Sampson that one-half of this squad
ron is out of coal"
Mr.. Raynor then questioned the witness,
bringing out the statement that the pur-
pose of his ship being sent to the vicinity
of Santiago was, if possible, to locate the
Spanish fleet. He said that he had first
seen the Spanish vessels in the harbor at
Santiago, but that when he reported the
fact he found the squadron had already
made the discovery.
Mr.. Raynor read an extract from a re-
port made by Captain Sigsbee, saying:
In this report off Santiago de Cuba, made
at 10 a. m. May % you say: We were then
steaming at full speed from Mole st.
Nicholas, Hayti,' and well in toward the
coast, after chasing some vessels. i saw
the smoke of a number of vessels to the
westward ano at once made for the Santa
go entrance, believing 1t possible that the
strangers We're the Spanish squadron APP
preaching that port"
All | want to ask is this: When you saw
the smoke after chasing a number of YES
sells to the westward, and when you made
for the Santiago entrance on the morning
OF the 18th, you thought that this was a
Spanish squadron approaching the port? -
mo. L thought ii might be the Spanish
squadron. did not say they were APP
preaching the port"
Eyes, you say approaching that port "
You must remember L had no definite
whatever"
Did you ever m~egaphone the press boat
Summers n. Smith that the Spanish fleet
was not in the harbor at Santiago?"
A DIFFERENT BOTTLE.
Never. One of the press boats hailed
me, saying that Schley had the Spaniards
bottled up at Cienfuegos. l replied that we
had had them bottled up at Santiago for a
week.
Mr.. Raynor attempted to quote a state
ment from Admiral Sampson to the effect
that Captain Sigsbee had said that on May
20 the flying squadron was blockading San
tiago twenty-five miles out at sea, but OBJ
lection was made TO ringing Admiral
sampson in and Mr.. Raynor asked Captain
Sigsbee whether he had made that report
TO any one at that date. The witness re-
piled In the negative. In reply TO a ques-
ton as to the condition or the weather at
the time he was at Santiago, Captain Sigs-
bee said:
During the oath. 18th and 18th of May
the weather was unsettled. There was
more or less rain and moderately heaVy
sea on these three days"
The court asked a number of questions
of Captain Sigsbee. These, with the re-
plies. were as follows:
what was the state of sea on the after
| noon and evening of May 70, when you
communicated with the flying squadron to
the southwark of the port of Santiago?'
"The sea was heavy for boats, but ii was
mOderating; that is TO say, more moderate
than it had been on two days before.
l should, say, however, 1T would have been
a very difficult job TO have coaled from
ships alongside that night
did Captain Wise communicate to you a
dispatch from the Navy Department stat
ing that the Spanish squadron was at San
tiago?"
4 remember no dispatch or communica-
ton from Captain Wise to that effect, eX-
cepting that which / received from the
Navy Department through him as senior
officer, at Port Haytian, on May 20, the
dispatch on which L proceeded ultimately
TO Santiago"
BY the Court: did you receive a dis
patch from Secretary Long, dated May 20,
stating: The Spanish fleet arrived at San
tiagO on May 49,?
Il am not certain, but my recollection is
that it stated that 1t arrived on the 18th
or 21st. | received the communication just
as | | have stated. 1t came from the secretary
of the navy. 1t was signed Long but
whether / got a copy of IL from Captain
Wise or got the original | cannot now re-
l. call. l think / got the original
BY the Conrt: Did you show this dis
patch to Commodore Schley on May 26?"
Il already have said / cannot recollect
the act of showing II 10 him. l presume l
did: but that | informed him, | remember"
Captain Sigsbee was then excused and
Chief Woman GustaVe +. Becker. who
served as a clerk 10 Admiral Sampson on
board the flagship New York during the
Spanish war. was called. He identified the
/ poaDooranG1rn from Cant McC9lIa avipp