The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-10-22
INA, TUESDAY MORNING. OCTOBER 22. 1901.
Loads all North Carolina Daes i'm News and Circulation

same time admitting the possibility or
the receipt of another copy.
Asked when he had first seen the dis
patch introduced by Capt Cotton, the
witness said he did not remember to have
ever seen it. This is the dispatch sent
to the Harvard. saying that the Spaniards
were probably at Santiago, and the one
which Capt. Cotton said he had delivered
10 Commodore Schley May q. In this
connection Mr.. Hanna said that he had
not been able to find the original of this
dispatch among Admiral Schley's papers.
He also remarked incidentally that there
we're others of Admiral Schley's papers
missing.
Mr. Hanna questioned Lieut. Wells
closely about Admiral Schley's papers,
but he repeated that since he had boxed
them up and turned them over to Admiral
Schley in 1898, he had not seen them until
he saw them recently at the Navy De-
partment.
81 saw them very much spread about at
the Department since l have been here" :"
he said.
Under what circumstances did you ex-
anime them at the Department"
81 examined them to make copies of
certain papers. applied to different
Offices They were handed to me. l made
such copies as / desired and turned the
papers over to the responsible persons
concerned
Lieut.. Wells said that he had never had
any conversation with Commodore Schley
concerning the retrograde movement
my own idea was that we were heading
11at.o "A
discussions as to the possibility of going
to Gonaives Bay to coal, but his recollec-
tion was that it was only to be done in
certain contingencies.
Mr.. Hanna questioned the witness about
the bombardment of the Colon on May
81 He asked: What was the purpose
of Commodore Schley in regard to the
Colon on May 31?''
The witness replied: His idea was to
go in and fire on her with the larger
guns, hoping to get a shot into her at
that range to disable her perhaps. The
range was 1000 or $500 yards. That was
the distance from the MORO. The Colon
appeared to be close to the entrance.
Her log, however, showed her to be a
mile or 1000 yards inside the MORO. We
thought she was near the entrance"
Mr.. Hanna asked a number of questions
concerning the "Ardois signals used in
leaving Cienfuegos and he stated, in re-
ply to an interruption from Mr.. Rayner,
that his purpose was to show that not
withstanding the Instructions to get away
quietly there had been an exhibition of
these signals. Il suppose that was the
object in making them" remarked Capt
Parker, to which Captain Lemly respond
ed Let that go on the record, but don't
answer IT.
In reply to questions by Mr.. Hanna the
witness said that while he could not
repeat actual conversations with Commo-
dore Schley concerning the retrograde
movement he was sure that the move
ment wes made because of the Commo
dbres anxiety about the coal supply of
the vessels of the fleet. He knew, said
the witness. that the Spanish fleet was in
the vicinity and felt that it was not de-
sirable to meet it without an adequate
fuel supply. In reply to a question by
Capt. Lemly, Lieut.. Wells said that with
the Brooklyn headed as she was and with
the harbor trending as it does, it was
natural that the Spanish vessels coming
out of the harbor should face the Brook
lyn.
Court adjourned.