The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-10-26
SCHLEY TELLS OY
 FIGHT OF <jULY 3.
In Plain Words He lives Graphic Account of the Destruction of
 the Spanish Fleet.

! Lemly asked hinl to get 1t and he 1 promised to do so.
 In Response to Mir. Raynor the witness | said that the Vixen was constantly going | on errands and that record was made of | comparatively few of these in the boats | log.
 | Captain Clark was also recalled for the purpose of correcting his previous state | ments, but no questions were asked him 1 and he was soon excused.
 Schley Goes on Stand. | Admiral Schiey then took the stand and
 resumed his story.
 | With the courts permission he said he | would go back to Cienfuegos in order | that his narrative might be clear. Re- garding the McCalla memorandum he said he received but one copy. If there had | been another, he said, 1t should be in l the papers which were returned to the Navy Department on January or Februa- ry. 1899. He said he had not bombarded | the earthworks at Cienfuegos because he | was convinced that such bombardment
 would be unavailing. Subsequent ex- perience in the war. he thought, bore out | his opinion.
 Admiral schley was proceeding to say
 that a dispatch. No. 10. concerning which | Lieutenant Marsh had testified (the dis | patch containing positive evidence that | the Spanish fleet was in Santiago), was | not received by him until June 10th, when
 the judge advocate objected.
 Judge Lemly: 'If the court please l l regret very much to be compelled to
 make objection to this character of tesu- l mony. but I understand from the court itself that it wants facts
 Admiral Schley (sotto voice: We'll
 these are facts."
 Captain Lemly: "I do not understand this witness is here for the purpose or
 making an argument, and do not tlllnA this character of evidence from witness
 on the stand, even on his own behalf, Is
 a matter of testimony.
 | MT Raynor contended that Admiral
 Schley was not giving opinion; that ne
 was simply testifying to facts within ms
 knowledge.
 Alter some further sparring. the mem-
 hers of the court held a brief consulta-
 tion without leaving the courtroom, and
 Admiral Dewey announced its decision as
 follows:
 "The court is of the opinion that 1t Is
 eminentiy proper for the witness to make
 the statement that the dispatch was dated May 27. and not received until June It, then drop it. Just give the facts. l To this Admiral Schley responded that l this was all that he had intended to do. Thirteen days had elapsed before he re- 3 cefved the dispatch.
 ) Proceeding. Admiral Schley testified that he believed Captain Cotton's state f ment regarding the offer of Lieutenant 9 Field to go ashore at Santiago to learn
 positively whether the Spanish fleet was in Santiago was somewhat faulty, and he ? detailed some facts relating to F1eld offer which fixed his own impression or it in his mind. On May 3l, after the
 bombardment of the Colon, and atter Captain Cotton had gone for Mole st. , Nicholas with a report to the department upon that subject Admiral Schley test- fled that he sent Nunez. the pilot, west ward to communicate with the insurgents
 Nunez landed near Ascerrederos, fifteen or
 eighteen miles west of Santiago and' joining some of the Cuban insurgents went into the interior.
 He returned June 1st or 2d with detailed information of the location of the Span ish ships In the harbor.
 , Schley Informed Sampson. q sent him." added Admiral Schley, "to the Chief with that in- formation"
 The witness then returned to the retro grade movement saying:
 'Touching the question of retrograde movement after the Merrimac had brok- en down. the movement was not made to the westward until toward o'clock, the Yale having had considerable difficulty
 in getting a hawser to her. That hawser parted about Il o'clock that night, when I was signalled by Captain Wise Of the Yale, that it would take some four hours to break out a steel hawser The ship at
 that time was absolutely unmanageable. She was not capable of turning propel- Ter I do not think we got under way again until 4 o'clock of the afternoon of
 the 27th, and not long after she was taken
 in tow. steaming to the westward.
 We went a little further than l had in- tended on account of the difficulty in get l bo Vale tO
 We were obliged to go four or five miles further on that account. h. 'In my judgment, it was not possible to have coaled, as said yesterday, That was one of the conditions which I watched es- pecially and was a better judge of that , than any other officer of the fleet, because was more interested in it. I signalled to Captain Philip asking him if he could
 coal and I think his signal indicates pre- t cisely that he was uneasy about it for . he signaled back to me I can try The { impression left on my mind was at that |, time that even he was uncertain"
 Continuing. he said that even as late = as the following morning Captain Philip r had signaled that both the Texas and n the Merrimac had sprung a leak. s Heat Was Terrific. , The Admiral also referred to the ex- s trerne heat saying it was so great that f the men were exhausted and the doctors
 had recommended that on this account V coaltng operations be suspended. s Here Admiral Schley brought his mar e rative up to Santiago and said in that
 connection that he had regarded the or n ders of the department concerning the
 nrobabIe presence of the Spanish fleet at t santiago as more of suggestion than a . mandatory order. He considered that 1t = would take only little while to get back
 in any event He reported that the prop 3 CT military manoeuver would be to pro- . ceed westward toward the bases at Ha-
 vana and Key West.
 9 He arrived with the squadron on San Q tiago about ' o'clock p. m, May x, he Q said, and took up his position hVe or six Q miles out. afterwards holding the fleet l in formation day and night. on that { first night he sent the Marblehead closer f in with instructions to keep close watch l. on the mouth of the harbor. That night ] he noticed the signals on the shore
 known as blinkers, and also observed
 lights on lower plane which he had
 since become convinced were from the
 Colon lying in the harbor. I Schley Discovered Ships
 The next day he discovered the pres t ence of the Spanish vessels there' as he
 had also that of the other enemys war
 vessels He said that when he had thus n secured irrefutable proof of the fact that . 1 the vessels were there and told Captain n | Sigsbee of the fact, that officer expressed