Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-09-27
scaLEY INQUIRY.
CONTINUED from page ~


any information at any time?" Moth
Ing"
The witness said he was sure that
! on May 26 when he hailed the Texas,
he had not passed within mailing dis
| lance Of the brooklyn, being ~ mics
| distant
| Mr.. Rayner read from report made
on May 20 by Admiral Sampson in
which he stated that Captain Wise
/ had told him that he believed Santa
so harbor to be strongly fortified. rs
that true?" Mr.. Rayner asked.
| 1T is was the reply.
| Captain Wise said in reply to uues-
| tons by Captain Parker that he would
~ any time when off Santiago have
been able a. signal any information he
: might have had in regard to the situa-
! ton. He had seen the masts Of YES
sci and thought it TO be a small mill
! tary vessel. He had gone near enough
to observe the land batteries.
| In reply to an inquiry from the court
! the witness said that the land batter
! les did not fire upon the Yale while
! that vessel was reCOnnoitering the
| harbor. Though he had been the senior
! officer while off Santiago prior to the
arrival of Captain Cotton, he had not
! commanded Captain Sigsbee to give
| Commodore Schley the information
which he (Wise) had given to Sigsbee.
Admiral Cotton was recalled to make
verbal corrections in his previous tes-
timony. He said that on the morning
of May 81. after arriving from Kings
! ton. he had gone aboard the Brooklyn
with licnotehaS fnr AIp,iral 60
Regarding his converse ton with Ad-
niral Schley on that visit he said: He
informed me that it had been ascer-
| tanned that some at least of the ships
| Of Admiral Cervera's squadron were
| within the harbor of Santiago: that
! they had been seen and were in sight.
and as a matter of fact one of them
| VAS then in sight at the entrance t.
! the harbor. In the language as nearly
! as ! can remember he said: After din
| ner | am going to hoist my flag on
| board the Massachusettse and take her
| and the Iowa and go in and have a
| pot shot at these fellows.
William c. Gray. chief machinst on
the Texas. testified that during the July
| I'd battle he had been on duty at the
| throttle of the starboard engine. When he
| went to the engine room the vessel was
going ahead The next signal he said.
was to stop and minute afterward to
reverse The engines were then revers-
| ed.
The reversal was very brief. and IL
| heard afterwards that il was because
| they We're passing the Brooklyn
| Lieut.. Spencer S. Wood. who command
| cd the dispatch boat Dupont. told of his
| mission a dispatch carrier from Ad-
| miral Sampson at Key West to Admiral
| Schley. who was off Cienfuegos. He had
| left Key West on May 10Th and reached
| CienfueSos several hours in advance OF
the Iowa which carried dispatches.
| "On my arrival, the witness said. II
went aboard and personally delivered the
| dispatches which | carried from Admiral
| Sampson to Commodore SChley. lie
| asked me Admiral SIMPSONS idea about
| where the Spanish squadron was. told
| him that did not know; he asked me Of
| Admiral Simpsons intentions. told
him did not know them. He told me he
thought the Spanish squadron was there.
He had heard firing and was almost con-
| vinced that they were there. The con-
vcrsation was on the line to endcavor t.
| sons plans were. could give him no
| Information.
THE commodore hesitated some about
| giving me coal. He did not think II,
could spare coal at first | said il was
absolutely necessary; that we Were al
most out Of coal. having made the rui.
| from Key West.
He said YER well. go below and will
think il over.
II was afterwards informed that they
/ would give me no coal. The admiral i'm
pressed me as being very nervous. He
| would get up and walk around. come
| back and sit down, and a number of
questions he asked me about Admiral
SIMPSONS intentions I WAS unable to an
| swcr
Admiral Sampson did not tell me that
in the dispatch. He simply told me they
were duplicate dispatches he was send
ing by the Iowa. These duplicates HI
| said ell gave to me because he thought
the Dupont could make better speed"
Lieut.. Wood was then asked: During
this interview with Admiral Schley in
which you made some statements with
| respect to the admiral's manner, had h.
read the dispatches? Did he read them
in your presence"
| ''Oh, yes
Did he advise you of their contents
thcn?"
He did not tell me positively what they
We're. | gathered while | was aboard the
flagship what they contained. | never
saw their contents and Admiral Sampson
never told me what they were"
II wish to ascertain exactly the part.c-
ulars of this interview
"Al! the dispa tches seemed to be of an
important character judging from the adj
mirals manner upon receiving them. As
| | stated, he was very nervous"
| When asked by Mr.. Rayner if Admiral
Sampson or anyone else had informed
him before he left Key West for Cienfue-
4 gos that code of signals had been
agreed upon between the American forces
and the Cuban insurgents, Lieut.. Wood
replied in the negative. He had not. he
said, received such information officially
but he added that it was current talk al
Key West that the Marblehead on a pre-
vious trip had established communica.
ton with the Cubans. If. however q
code had been arranged he did not know
! of the fact