The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-19

ndgSnlp ana saw ner OIL seven OF eight
miles toward Siboney."
Did the Oregon at any time pass be-
tween the Brooklyn and the Spanish
ships?"
Not when they were Offering any
active resistance; she did as the Span
ish. vessels turned to go ashore"
when the oregon changed her di-
rection toward the Brooklyn, had the
Brooklyn completed her turn"
Il am under the impression that she
had; she must have done So"
What was the position of the Ore
gon when she turned with starboard
helm during the battle off Santiago"
She was lying still in the water, and
we turned to head off the Spanish
fleet. We overlook all but the Colon
very quickly"
Schley knew What He Was About.
DR.. Charles NJ. Devalin, medical Of
ficer on the Brooklyn, followed Com
nander Nicholson. He said that he had
observed Commodore Schley during the
entire engagement. His conduct and
bearing" said the witness, was all
that could be expected. He seemed to
krow what he was about and doing all
that he wished to do. He was in per-
feet control of the situation
In response to questions from Capt
LcIlIy OIlG WltH6SS SdlQ lldI ne UdQ
heard Commodore Schley give the or
der helm hard aport," and had heard
no one else give it. He had at that
time heard no colloquy or alteration
with Lieut. Commander Hodgson con-
cerning this order.
Haven't you stated heretofore that
you did hear such a conversation ?"
Il may have so stated, but I do not
now remember and cannot repeat any
conversation of the kind"
The Brooklyn's Engineer.
Capt. John L. Hannum, chief engin-
eer on board the Brooklyn, said that
while the Merrimac, on May 81 and 2S,
was not entirely helpless, her horse
power was reduced one third and that
she was able to hobble along at the
rate of four or five knots an hour.
Were the fires laid ready for light
ing under all boilers not in use by the
Brooklyn July 2nd?. If not, why not? ?"
Il think the furnaces were coaled.
am pretty sure they were ready to
throw a shovelful of coal on them and
start them"
Lieut.. Thomas F. Carter, passed as
sistant engineer who was in charge of
the machinery of the main engines of
the Brooklyn during the Santiago cam
paign, gave statement concerning
the condition of the engines of the
Brooklyn on the morning of the battle
of July 3, saying:
The after main engines were not
used. The forward main engines were
disconnected from the forward ones
and steam was on in three boilers"
In the Engine Room.
Mr.. Rayner: "Can you tell me what
went on in the engine rooms during
the action, with respect to increasing
the speed of the ships ?''
Every effort was made to economize
steam and get the most power out of
it, the most turns of the engines. The
fires were started in the other boilers
as soon as possible. Forced draught
was put on. There was a steady in
crease in the number of the turns of
the engines from the beginning to the
end"
Were the engines at any time stop
ped, reversed or slowed?"
The engines were not at any time
during the battle stopped or reversed.
l have no recollection of their ever
having, been slowed. They certainly
were not stopped, nor reversed"
Mr.. Rayner asked the witness wheth
er he had received any encouraging
messages during the battle and he re-
piled that he had. saying:
They were all of general purport,
informing us, for instance, that a ship
had been sunk, had turned in shore,
or two ships were on fire, etc. OF course
they were all enthusiastically receiv-
ed"
Some of the messages were from
Commodore Schley, others from Capt.
Cook and still others from Assistant
Engineer Ryan.
Condition of the Boilers.
The court asked: when were the
fires laid in the boilers that were not
in use when the battle began on the
morning of July 81"
The two after-boilers had no water
in them. These fires were not laid un-
til after the battle call was sounded,
but the other boilers not in use did
have fires laid. AS to when they were
laid l do not know, but the boilers that
had water in them had their furnaces
charged and those without water were
kept unchanged"
w. p Cronan, an ensign, who served
as signal officer on the Brooklyn dur
ing the Cuban campaign, was called.
Mr.. Rayner asked him whether he re-
membered a message from the Scorpion
to the Brooklyn on May 19 as he was
going from Key West to Cienfuegos
The witness replied:
Inc SCORPIONS MeeSaEe.
Yes, sir. That morning I was on
watch on the after-bridge of the Brook
lyn. We sighted three ships bound for
Key West, one of which was a con-
Jverted yacht. The Scorpion left the col
umn and went over toward this yacht
and communicated with her. The
Scorpion came back and communicated
a megaphone message to the Brooklyn.
The substance of this message was that
the Nashville was returning to Key
West broken down; that the Cincinnati
and Vesuvius were patrolling Yucatan
channel, and that Capt. McCalla re-
ported that he had seen nothing of the
Spaniards at Cienfuegos."
Who received that message?" asked
Mr.. Rayner:
ITO the best of my remembrance, the
Commodore and flag lieutenant were on
the bridge beside myself"
Mr.. Cronan continued his testimony
at the afternoon session, saying that
one of the Spanish ships appeared to
be heading directly toward the Brook
lyn, creating the impression that either
she meant to ram the BROOKLYN. or
the Brooklyn to ram her.
In reply to a question by the court.
Mr.. Cronan said that so far as he
knew neither the Eagle nor the Vixen
had made any signal requesting the
squadron to slow down on the cruise
from Cienfuegos to Santiago.
Enlisted Men Testify.
George H. Warford. carpenter on the
Brooklyn, said that early in the action
at Santiago the order was passed by a
marine orderly, stand by to ram" He
also said that later and during the