The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-09-27
Leads all North Carolina Dailies i'm News and Circulation

The witness said he was sure that on
May 26th when he hailed the Texas, he
had passed within hailing distance OF the
Brooklyn, being one and half miles dis
tant.
THOUGHT IT STRONGLY FORTIFIED.
Mr. Rayner read from report made
on May 30th by Admiral Sampson in
which he stated that Captain Wise had
told him that he believed Santiago har-
Dor to be strongly fortified. us that
true? Mr.. Rayner asked.
1T is, was the response.
Captain Wise said in reply to questions
by Captain Parker that he would at any
time when off Santiago have been able
to signal any information he might have
had in regard to the situation He had
seen the masts of vessel and thought it
to be small military vessel. He had
gone near enough to observe the land
| batteries.
Captain Wise was questioned by the
court.
did the batteries at or near Santiago
| fire upon the Yale while she was re-
| connoiterng?"
mot at ALL"
"Who was the senior officer off San
| tago prior to the arrival of the flying
| squadron"
Il was senior officer until Captain
| Cotton came on the 23rd. He was there
| until the oath and l was senior officer
| on the 25th and the squadron came there
| on the 26th."
| Ibid you not direct Captain Sigsbee to
! give to Commodore Schley the nforma-
tion that you had received from the Navy
| Department with regard to the where
abouts of the Spanish squadron"
Il did not
1 ADMIRAL COTTON RECALLED.
| At this point Captain Wise was excus-
ed and Admiral Cotton was recalled to
make verbal corrections in the testi-
mony previously given by him.
Admiral Cotton was questioned con-
/ corning some points of the Santiago cam
paign. He said that on the morning of
May 31st, after arriving from Kingston he
| had gone aboard the Brooklyn with dis
patches for Admiral Schley. Asked by
Captain Lcmly to relate his conversation
with Admiral Schley on the occasion of
that visit he said
''He informed me that it had been as
! certained that some. at least, of the ships
|
| in the harbor of Santiago; that they had
been seen and were in sight and as a
matter of fact one of them was then in
! sight at the entrance TO the harbor. In
language as nearly as can remember, he
said.
After dinner | am going TO hoist my
| flag on board the Massachusetts and
take her and the Iowa and go in and
Al f~lV VNx
TEXAS MACHINIST TEsTIFIEs.
William c. Gray, who was chief ma
chinist on the Texas, during the battle
off Santiago on July 5rd testified that
on that date ne had been on duty at the
| throttle of the starboard engine of the
/ battleship He said that when he went
to the engine room the vessel was going
ahead '.The next signal he said, was
| to stop minute afterward, to reverse.
| The engines were then reversed.
The witness said that the reversal was
very brief, the revolutions not exceeding
100 and the time being short. He had,
he said. heard afterward that the revor-
sal was because they were passing the
BROOKLYN.
LIEUT. WOOD ON THE STAND.
Lieutenant Spencer S. Wood, who COM
manded the dispatch boat Dupont during
the Spanish War was the next witness.
Lieutenant Wood related the particu-
lars of his mission as a dispatch car
rier from Admiral Sampson, lying at
Key West to Admiral Schley, who was
off Cienfuegos. He had left Key West
on May Goth carrying dispatches of
which the Iowa carried duplicates, and
had reached Cienfuegos several hours i'll
advance of the Iowa.
ION my arrival the witness said, 81
went aboard and personally delivered the
dispatches which l carried from Admiral
Sampson to Commodore Schley in his
cabin, at 9 o'clock. He asked me Ad-
miral SIMPSONS idea about where the
Spanish squadron was. | told him | did
not know; he asked me of Admiral
SIMPSONS intentions. l told him l did
not know them. He told me he thought
the Spanish squadron was there. He had
heard firing and was almost convinced
that they were there. The conversation
was on the line to qndeavor to find out
from me what Admiral SIMPSONS plans
were. l could give him no information. .
How long were you on board the flag
ship"
Until just before luncheon
Have you anything further to state
with respect to this interview which will
bear upon the subject of this inquiry?''
THOUGHT SCHLEY NERVOUS
1.-THE commodore hesitated some about
giving me coal He did not think he
could spare coal at first. l said it was
absolutely necessary, that we were al
most out of COAL having made the rur
from Key West He said, Very well, &C
below and l will think it over / went
below to the ward room, and was after
ward called up and informed that they
would give me coal l had never before
met the Admiral. He impressed me as
being very nervous. He would get up anf
walk around. come back and sit down
and number of questions he asked m.
about Admiral Simpsons intentions
was unable to answer.
: "If l understand you clearly, you had
no knowledge of the contents of the dis
patches which you delivered?"
admiral Sampson did not tell me what
was in them. He simply told me these
were duplicates of the dispatches he was
sending by the Iowa. These duplicates