The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-28

Il want to ask you whether in this
conversation with Commodore Schley
upon this occasion, he did not tell you
that Admiral Sampson had instructed
before he left for Santiago to satisfy
himself that the Spanish fleet was not
at Cienfuegos?"
Il gathered from this conversation
that he had information in some of
the dispatches which were written pre-
viously to the dispatch carried him,
which was of a considerably later date.
and therefore of course, annulled all
the Others" replied the witness.
But this dispatch you carried gave
him that discretion"
THAT was not the latest dispatch,
whose contents / knew"
Capt. McCalIa's Code of Signals.
Capt. Bowman H. McCalla, who
commanded the Marblehead during the
Spanish war, was called. Witness had
first come into contact with the flying
squadron on May 10, 1898, when he was
proceeding from the south coast of
Cuba to Key West. He met the squad
ron on it's way to Cuba. Witness said
he had not been asked to come aboard
the Brooklyn for the purpose of max
ing a report on conditions in Cuba. but
had made a full report to Capt. Chad
wick, Admiral SIMPSONS chief of staff.
point, he said:
I'm addition to written reports on
dispatches which / carried, explain
ed to the chief of staff the secret
code which l had established with the
Cubans near Cienfuegos. That was not
done until / heard that Commodore
Schley was proceeding to Cienfuegos.'
What was that secret code, brief1y?"
"On the 18th and 10Th of May, 1898,
| had been in communication with
three Cuban officers and two privates
on the Marblehead, and had arranged
with Lieut.. Lavarez, who spoke Eng
lish very well, system of signals in
case they wished to communicate with
the Marblehead or my force. There
were to be three horizontal lights at
night and three horses in line on the
beach by day"
ITO whom. according to the best of
your recollection, did you communi-
cate that secret code of signals?"
"Only to Capt. Chadwick, chief of
staff"
did you make any written report
respecting those signals?'
Never 1t was a secret code ar
ranged by myself and l did not wish
any publicity to be given this code,
because the Cubans might be betray-
ed by any publicity which would reach
Tie CDllliSl government III havana.
Capt. McCalla next told of his return
to Cienfuegos on the oath of May with
dispatches for Admiral Schley. He
said: ut had been reported authorita-
lively in Key West on the 18th of May
and when / sailed on the afternoon of
May 21, that the Spanish squadron was
still at Santiago"
"And you communicated that infor-
nation to Commodore Schley verb
ally?"
McCaIIa solved the Problem.
Commodore SchleS told me he
thought the Spanish squadron was in
| Cierifuegos; that he had received news
papers from the steamer Adula some
days previous; that one Of the newspa-
pers contained dispatch from Santi-
ago and he gathered that the Spanish
force under Admiral Cervera might
have sailed from Santiago in time to
reach Cienfuegos just before the ar
rival of the force under his command.
/ said that l had brought arms, am
munition and dynamite for the Cuban
camp to the westward and that If he
would let me go l would find out at
once whether they were in Cienfuegos.
He Immediately assented. ! asked him
if he had seen any lights on the beach.
He said he had. / asked If he saw
three. He said ne had l then said the
lights were from Cubans trying to
communicate. l may have asked him
If he saw three horses in line on the
beach by day."
Capt. McCalla then related how he
had gone ashore near Cienfuegos and
found the Cubans drawn up in line. He
gave them food and ammunition. 1--WE
found" he added, that Cervera was
not inside in the harbor and that in
fact the situation in Cienguegos was
exactly as 1t was when left it on the
10Th of the same MONTH"
Capt. McCalla said he sent the in
formation obtained to Admiral Schley
by the Eagle, signalling that vessel to
proceed at full speed and to report to
the Brooklyn that Cervera was not in
Cienfuegoes. He then followed in the
Marblehead.
Ibid you go on board the Brooklyn"
Asked McCalIa's Advice.
"I steamed under the quarter Qf the
Brooklyn, and after some conversation
with Commodore Schley l asked IL he
would like me to go on board. He said
that he would. l went on board and,
of course, confirmed the fact that Ad-
miral Cervera's fleet was not in Glen
fuegos. i saw then for the first time
the set of Instructions for Commodore
Commodore asked me to read the In,
structions and after I had read them
he asked me what l thought he had
better do. Previous to this he had said
that he could not coal off Santiago,
that the English had demonstrated
that ships could not coal at sea. He
also said that IL he returned to Key
West he would be courtmartialed. 1t
was after this that he handed me the
orders which / read After reading
them said: Commodore, / think you
must return to Santiago even If you
do not stay there"
WAS anything further said on the
subject of going to SantiagoY
II do not remember that anything
was said then in reply to my sugges-
ton. Shortly afterwards the admiral
said This is a matter / shall have
to decide myself, and you may return
to your ship"
Did Not Proceed with Dispatch.
In reply to further questions, Capt.
McCalla said that no effort had been
made while he was with the flying
squadron off Cienfuegos to prevent the
Spaniards from continuing the con-
struction of earthworks, which he had
been. ordered to do. He said the Mar
biehead could have gone within range
of those works, and that he had been
told by a Cuban pilot that the water
was deep under the bluffs. Capt.
McCalla said that the squadron had not
proceeded with all dispatch to San
tiago."
The witness was asked IL the Mar
blehead could have coaled on the after