The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-08-07
THE FAMOUS LOOP
Of the Brooklyn Explained by Two
WoVal Officers.

Of the Brooklyn Explained by TWt
Noval Officers.
The statement exclusively made to
The Herald by Captain Francis A
Cook, in which he uaequivocally de-
ncunces as outrageously Incorrect the
charges that The Brooklyn, in turning,
ran two miles to the southwark, COZ.
t;nues to sttraot much attention from
naval officers here.
These have rot been slow to recog.
1ize the Importance Of that statement,
for if il csn be proved that the Brook.
Iyn turned SIS quickly as her tactical
diamster would permit, and which heI
commander DO asserts she did, then the
whole fabli, Of accusation assinss Rear
Admiral S,hley fcr ''csisifF fight" dur
ing the battle, must come tumbhng
back upon tie heads of his accuser5.
Moreover, # Captain Cooks claim is
proved, naval eH :er5 here say, it will
reduce to irsignihoaDce the tenth para
graph of Secretary Longs prscept to
the court Of inquiry, the one involving
the colloquy teteeen Resr Admiral
Schley a1d the Brooklyn navigator,
Lieutenant Commander A. G. Hodgson
s1G the Put your hahn to port" order
Of ore, aod the "You mean tc star
bosrG' reply Of the other, will lcse the
importance which hitherto attached to
this alleged conversation.
Captain Cock today refused to am
PLY his statement and said that he
must decline to say anything more on
the subject.
THE ABOVE CONFIRMED.
Lieutenant Commander Hodgson,
who is now stationed he;e, at first posi-.
lively refused to ssy word for pubiics-
ton, but sitter it had been pointed ou5
that his former com mnsn6ipg officer had
made the statement, he consented, al
though with evidepct reluctance, to sp-
pesr in print, an6 subsssn;issed Csp-
tain Cooks statement in positive SEN
telces.
- was on the bridge of the Brook
lyn," be said, and therefore had full
opportunity Of observing all that was
going on.
10 ms ptr:onalknowledge, the helm
vas kept hard aport during the Woole
time OF turning the loop until eased up
to parallel the course Of the Viscaya,
taep about 2 800 yards away or the
star5oard bow. As the Brocklyn's S
tactical diameter is only about 900
yards, she therefore could not have run
further than 900 yards to the south
ward"
As some other witnesses Of the Brook
lyn's manoeu7er have estimated the dis
tance she ran to the southwark all the
way from two to Eve miles, it will be at
once recognized now extremely impor-
taat for Rear Admiral Schley's case is
the recent statement Of Captain Cook
and this supporting testimony Of his
navigating ofioer.
Since the order Of the navy depart
ment establishing the court Of inquiry
was issued every naval officer now here
who was in sry way concerned with the
controversy refuses to discuss any phase
of the affair.
GRAPHIC STORY OF THE "LooP."
But one who was On the Brooklyn
during the battle gave in a personal
conversation this graphic description
of the scene immediately after the YES
sci had completed her famous loop:
las ne straightened out on course
parallel With that Of the enemy" be
said, II noticed that We had three Of
the Spanish ships in lire abreast, the
leading vessel being off our starboard
bow. Ege-y gun Of the Brooklyn's s
starboard battery was blazing, and the
smoke fzon them hid everything astern.
| looked around to see What our other
ships were doing, but could see none Of
them, the rolling clouds OF smoke from
some Of our guns obscuripg everything
astern and to point we'll forward Of
our stsrboard quarter.
Il turned to Captain Cook, who was
standing near, and said: We are pretty
lonesome out here. He glanced back,
and iost then re. both saw Whist first
looked like small tidal waves ridge
Of water with foam boiling about it, As
we stared st the apparition which came
out Of the fog like smoke lying out our
starboard quarter the CREST gray bows
OF battlasnip came into view, and We
knew then that wave which puzzled US
was the bow wave which the Oregon
vas carrying in her WbiclTild rush for
the enemy. The thurder of our own
guns had drowned the crashing bread
| sides Of that splendid bsttIeship, and
| not until then did We know thst the
Oregon was a2yWhsre near Us"