The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-09-25
Witness Whose Words % Have an Important Bearing on
Sampson-Schley Co., rsy Appears Before
the Trial .ard.
Absence Of Judge Wilson, Who Died Yesterday, From
Room Where Trial Is in Progress Attracts
General Attention.

when was a further signal received
by the indicator and what was the sig
nal?'
"Within the first hour of the engage
ment the direction was changed to full
speed astern."
"Can you not give an estimate of the
time when the signal was given for full
speed astern and how long after the
beginning of the action?"
1 should say within the Grst hour"
"Was there any other signal given
during that watch within your knOwl-
edge for the port engines to reverse?"
There was none, to my knowledge"
Mr.. Claxton was not questioned by
Mr.. Raynor.
Rear Admiral Cotton. now command
ant Of the Norfolk navy yard, who COM
manded the auxiliary cruiser Harvard
during the Spanish war, was the next
witness.
He told of meeting the flying squadron,
under Commodore Schley, off Santiago,
May u, 1898, and said that on that
date he had delivered dispatches to the
commodore from Admiral Sampson and
the navy department.
He had. he said. boarded the Brooklyn
about 1880 o'clock. The weather was
then moderate and he had had no dif.
fculty in going aboard the Brooklyn
from his boat. He had worn his sword.
Talk With Schley.
What conversation took place between
you and Admiral Schley?" asked Captain
Lemly.
1T will be impossible for me to state
the entire conversation the witness
replied. Il was on board, generally
speaking, from about 10:30 to about noon.
The conversation naturally covered
very wide range, the most important part
OF which was, Of course, relative to the
dispatches l had delivered
What was said about the dispa tches?"
Il delivered to Commodore Schley
the original cipher in which the dis
patches had been received by me at St.
Nicholas Mole. together with the trans
lation of those dispatches made by Lieu
tenant Beall, of the Harvard.
Il handed them personally to him in
his cabin in order Of their date. He
received them, read them and comment
ed in general way upon their support:
spoke of the difficulty he had in getting
coal on board his ships while at Cien-
fuegos and subsequently to the date of
which l am speaking, May 81, and said
it had been an almost impossibility to
weather.
He questioned me relative to the prac-
ticablity of coaling ships at ST. Nicholas
Mole and Gonaivs Channel AS to ST.
Nicholas Mole. l said: There is no
question the small ships can coal. AS
to GOnaivs Channel, know of no reason
why they should not be able to coal
there
THE commodore made some remarks
on my statements, the language of which
l do not recall, but he asked me How
about coalng big ships at ST. Nicholas
Mole?'
II said, You cannot coal your big
ships there l had reference in my re-
ply to the battleships and protected
cruisers of the Brooklyn and New York
class.
II said, thinking Of the fact that my
own ship had been there and was Of
some II 900 tons displacement and nearly
600 feet in length, possibly, under fav-
orable conditions. you might be able to
coal the large ships there. one at time.'
Not Practicable to Coal.
But the area Of deep water for an.
chorage of large ships is SO little there
it is not practicable to coal at the very
utmost more than one large ship at q
time there, and in case the weather be-
came bad. she would Immediately have
to go to sea. AS l remember l recollect
no qualifications as to Gonaivs Cham
nell"
WAS anything said about going to
Key West for coal?"
Returning to what l said with refer
ence to the difficulty which Commodore
Schley stated to me he had had in get
ting coal on board of any of the ships
at Cienfuegos. he said he was very anX-
ious.