The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-10-01

that the Spanish feet was mot at C1en-
fuegos-"
his conversation that he had that In
formation In some OF the Dispatches
which We're written previously TO the
dispatch I carried him, which was n
considerably later date and therefore
OF course. annulled all the others"
But this dispatch you carried gave
him that discretion"
Tina was not the latest dispatch
whose contents I Knew"
CAPTAIN M'CALLA ON THE STAND
Captain Bowman II. MccaIla, who
commanded the Marblehead, during
h Spanish war was called.
The witness had first come into con-
tact with the flying squadron On May
19, 1895, when he was proceeding from
n south OF Cuba to Key West.
He met h squadron on its way TO
Cuba He said he had not been asked
TO come aboard the Brooklyn for the
purpose OF making a report on condi-
tons in Cuba, but had made 4 full re-
port to Captain Chadwick. Admiral
SIMPSONS chief OF STAFF. when he ar
rived at Key West On this point. he
said: In addition to written reports
on dispatches which / received I ex-
planned TO the chief OF stan the secret
code which ! had established with the
SobCAAS AlCdL 4haL 49, LoN
lone until / heard hat Commodore
Schley was proceeding to Cienfuegos."
What was the secret code, briefly?"
"On the 18th n 18th OF Nav 1895. /
had been in communication with three
Cuban officers and two privates on the
Marblehead, and / had arranged with
Lieutenant Lavarese, who spoke Eng
lish very We'll, a system of signals in
case they wished to communiclt ate with
h Marblehead or my force. There
were to be three horizontal l;rhts at
night and three horses in Linz on the
beach by day"
ITO whom, according t the best of
your recollection, did you Commune
cate that secret code of signals"
only to Captain Chadwick, chief Of
staff.
Did you make n writtea report
respecting those signals?"
Never. 1t was a secret code arrang-
ed by myself and 1 did not wish any
publicity to be given this code. because
the Cubans might be betrayed by any
publicity which would reach the Span
ish government in Havana"
Captain Mccall next told Of his re-
turn to Cienfuegos on the oath of May
with dispatches for Admiral Schley.
He said: 1T had been repo tee au-
thoritatively in Key West on the 10Th
Of May and when I sailed on the af-
ternoon of the 21st of May, that the
Spanish squadron was still at San
tiago."
"And you communicated that infor-
nation to Commodore Schley verb
ally?"
Commodore Schley told me that he
thought the Spanish squadron was in
C~ienfuegos: hat he had received news
papers from the steamer Adula some
days previous; that n Of the newspa-
pers contained a cable dispatch from.
Santiago and from that he gathered
that the Spanish force under Admiral
Cervera might have sailed from Santi-
6 in time to reach Cienfuegoes Just
before the arrival of the force under his
command. 1 said that 1 had brought
arms. ammunition and dynamite for the
Cuban camp to the westward and that
If he would let me go 1 would find out
at once whether they were in Cienfue-
goes. He Immediately assented. / ask
ed him if he had seen any lights on the
beach. He said he lar I asked if he
saw three. He said he had. / then said
the lights We're from Cubans trying to
communicate. L may have asked him If
he saw three horses in line on the beach
by day."
Captain McCalla then related how he
a gone ashore near Cienfuegoes and
found the Cubans drawn up line. He
gave them food and ammunition. I'VE
found" he added, that Cervera was in
side the harbor and that in fact the sit
uation in Cienfuegos was exactly as it
was when 1 left it on the 18th of the
same month"
Captain McCalla said he sent the in
formation obtained tt Admiral Schley
by the Eagle, signalling that vessel to
proceed at full speed and report to the
Brooklyn that Cervera was not in Glen
fuegos. He then followed in the Mar
blehead.
Did you go on board the Brooklyn
Il steamed under the quarter of the
Brooklyn, and after some conversation
with Commodore Schley / asked If he
would like me to go on board. He said
that he would. Z went on board and of
course confirmed the fac that Admiral
Cervera'S fleet was net in Cienfuegos.
l saw then for the first time the set of
instructions for Commodore Schley.
During the conversation the commodore
asked me to read the Instructions and
after I had read them he asked me what
1 thought he a better do. Previous
to this he had said hat he could not
coal off Santiago; that the English had
demonstrated that ships could not Goa!
at sea. He also said that If he r~eturneo
to Key West he would be court-mar-
tailed. It was after this that he handed
me the orders which I read. After read
ing them I said: Commodore, 1 think
o must return to Santiago v il you
do not stay there"
WAS anything further a on the
subject Of going to Santiago?"
81 do not remember that anything was
said then in reply to my suggestion
Shortly afterwards the admiral said:
This Is q matter I shall have to decide
myself and you NAV return to youI
Ship"
In reply to further questions Captain
McCalla said that no effort had been
mad while he was with the flying
squadron off Cienfuegos to prevent the
Spaniards from continuing the construc-
ton of earthworks. which he had been
ordered to do. He said the Marblehead
could have gone within range Of these
works. IN that he had been told by a
Cuban pilot that the water was deer
under the bluffs Captain McCalIa said
that the squadron had not proceeded
with all dispatch to Santiago"
The witness was asked IL the Marble
head could have coaled on the after
Dol n the evening Of May 18th. when
the flying squadron arrived of Santa
go. He replied in the affirmative. but