The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-10-03

| weather on the cruise from Cienfuegos to Santiago had been ''squally," but 1t
 had not been sufficiently bad to interfere
 with the speed of the Vixen. The vessel
 had not, he said, been in urgent need of coal on May 26
 If had been," he said, land received
 orders to coal. I should have tried to do so, though it would have been an un-
 comfortable job. because the Vixen was
 very small ship"
 | Commander Sharp said that notwith- | standing he had been aboard the Brook | lyn several times, Commodore Schley had never discussed with him the retrograde movement toward Key West. begun on May 26.
 Describing the service of the Vixen dur ing the siege of Santiago under Commo- dore Schley, Commander Sharp said that he had been placed on picket duty at the eastern end of the line on the night of May 8 and had continued this duty afterward. He was about two miles from shore. he said, and probably three miles from the mouth of the harbor. He said that the entire fleet could not be discern ed at night and that the shore line could only be discerned as a black mass in the distance.
 MT. Hanna-Could you have seen 6 vessel undertaking to pass out near the shore under those conditions? Commander Sharp-If she had shown no lights and made no noise, do not be- lieve we could. . Did you at any time suppose yourself to have discovered a torpedo boat at tempting to escapeT' "One night we sighted a light running apparently along the shore with good deal of speed, and signalled that it was torpedo boat escaping. It turned out to be locomotive headlight on the rail- road"
 under those circumstances. could you have seen the train had no headlight been displayed?
 light.'
 Famous Loop Described. Commander Sharp said that the Vixen had carried Commodore Schley from the Brooklyn to the Massachusetts on May a before beginning the bombardment on | the Colon, and that when he had asked what course he should pursue in the ap- preaching action, Lieutenant Sears had replied for the Commodore that the lat l ter had directed that Commander Sharp | keep his craft clear as she was vulner- able and should not assume any risks. He thought the Commodore had after wards spoken to him to the same effect. l MT. Hanna-Passing on to the battle of | July g. QlQ you see any porCtou OL tuo loop made by the Brooklyn?
 'when first saw the Brooklyn, I think she was headed about south and swing | ing very rapidly under her port helm." l Did you at any time have any conver- 1 sation with any person in the presence
 of Commodore Schley with respect to the
 direction in which the Brooklyn turned | on that occasion?"
 '"Yes. sir; I took on board the Brooklyn l af he faIxaY hv IdA1ifAnan
 Harlow, the executive oflcer of the Vixen
 during the engagement. and showed them to Commodore Schley. The Commodore | was seated at his desk as I now remem-
 ber it and at various times different of ficers came into the Commodore's cabin
 Captain Cook was there, I think. at one time. The navigator of the Brooklyn,
 Lieutenant Hodgson, came in also. I think Commander Eaton was in at one time and. if am not mistaken, Captain | Barker was in. I was talking to the Commodore about those notes, and. at one part of the conversation, in the way the helm of the Brooklyn had been put to form the so-called loop. I stated the helm was put to port. Lieutenant Hodg-
 son spoke up and said: No. you are mis- taken; the helm was put to starboard'
 T said, No. no. You put your helm | to port He said, T can prove 1t to you. Hook at this chart. I said, 'T don't want to see the chart. You swung with the
 port helm.'"
 tain Lemly, 'that the helm had been put
 to port to make the turn?'
 T am not positive" was the reply, "but 1t Is my impression that 1t was"
 By whom was the concession nader" ] "I do not remember"
 Were there any instructions at that
 time to the navigator in regard to en- | tries in the log?"
 Not that remember" | Did you see the Texas during the bat
 tie of Santiago?' asked MT. Hanna.
 'T saw the Texas about the first time
 saw the Brooklyn responded the wit
 ness. "She was southward to westward of the Brooklyn. The Texas was then apparently lying dead in the water. l rel marked to some officer standing near: l The ships will never start and those fellows will get away The Brooklyn
 was then swinging around toward the | Spanish heet'
 How near was she to the Texas?"
 'I could not give an estimate of the 1 distance
 The Entries in the Log. | On cross-examination, Commander ! Sharp was questioned in great detail by
 Captain Parker in regard to entries in the | log of the Brooklyn for period covering l lne CuDdn campaign. ne TelciIOu to eiN
 entries concerning the Vixen's firing upon | a locomotive on shore near Santiago, tax | ing 1t for a gunboat. He elicited from the witness the statement that at that
 time the Vixen must have been very near | the shore.
 Captain Parker then questioned Com
 mander Sharp concerning the notes made
 of the battle of July by Lieutenant liar | low on board the Vixen. This report has l occasioned no little controversy, 1t being | claimed by one of Admiral Schleys s
 friends that after a copy of the notes
 were delivered to the Admiral (then Com-
 modore) by Commander Sharp they were
 changed somewhat. The witness said
 that he had taken a carbon copy to the | Commodore after the battle. ] Do these notes state the truth of the
 battle as you saw it?' asked Captain | Parker.
 l These are Lieutenant Harlow's notes" :" | replied the witness. He took them and
 I am not prepared to say yes or no
 whether they are absolutely correct in
 every particular or not"
 Haven't you read them over several
 times?''
 "I have"
 "Now are you not prepared to say to
 the best of your knowledge and belief | they contained a true statement of what Lieutenant Harlow saw" l Icannot tell what Lieutenant Harlow
 saw"
 '.You do not know whether the notes are true or not from having read them | over several times and from your own | Lnoulad0e of the battle?'