Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1901-10-26
GREAT CROWD HEARS
SCHLEY'S ESTIMONY
Courtroom Filled With Eager
Audience.
MANY ARE TURNED AWAY

| Possession, Resumes His Narrative
Regarding His Conduct In the War
Between United States and Spain.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25.-In the Sch1ey
court of inquiry today Admiral Schley
continued the recital of his narrative
regarding his conduct in the Spanish
war. which he had begun yesterday.
When the court adjourned, he had COW
cred most of the points of the campaign
previous to the Santiago blockade, leav-
ing that blockade, the reconnaissance of
May 81, the battle of Santiago and the
famous loop of the Brooklyn yet to be
told of.
The admiral was prompt in his ar
rival at the courtroom, and appeared
fresh and in good condition for the
work before him today. The three
members of the court were prompt as
usual in their entrance to the courtroom
and Admiral Dewey tapped for order as
the ancient timepiece on the courtroom
| wall chimed the hour of IL o'clock.
If the president of the court yester-
day was pleased with what he desig
mated as ''uhe best house of the season,
| he must have been more than gratifed
| by the audience which faced himself
and the other members of the naval
triuvirate when they began proceed
| ings today. The courtroom was crowded
as it never has been before. Almost
from the time that the navy.yard gates
were opened at o'clock this morning
| there were crowds of people anxious to
gain admittance.
Tickets for all the reserved seats mad
| been issued before the court was called
to order today and an hour before that
time there was not an unreserved seat
unoccupied. Persons without tickets
arriving after 10 O'Clock were therefore
either compelled to accept standing room
or to leave the building without hearing
| the proceedings, as many Of them did.
| AS was the case ON yesterday, Admiral
Schley was thoroughly self possessed
and he again spoke clearly and distinct
| ly, so that his words were heard
throughout the hall.
SchIey Resumes Testimony.
After previous witnesses had correct
| ed their testimony Admiral Schley took
the stand. With the courts permission,
he said, he would go back to Cienfuegos
in order that his narrative might be
clear. Regarding the McCalla memo
| randum he said he received but one
copy. If there had been another, he
said it should be in the papers which
were returned to the navy department.
on January or February, 1899 He said
| he had not bonn barded the earthworks
at Oienfuegos because he was convinced
| that such bonn bardmenU would be una
vailing. Subsequent experience in the
| war, he thought, bore out this opinion.
| Admiral Schley testified that ne be-
| lieved Captain Cotton's statement re-
| garding the offer of Lieutenant Field to
go ashore at Santiago to learn positively
whether the Spanish fleet was in San
tiago was somewhat faulty and he de-
tailed some facts relating to Fields
| offer which fixed his own impression of
it in his mind.
| On May 81, after the bombardment of
the Colon, and after Captain Cotton had
gone to Mole St. Nicholas with report
to the department. upon that subject
| Admiral Schley testified that he sent
| Nunez, the pilot, westward TO commu-
nicate with the insurgents. Nunez
| landed near Ascerrderos, 15 or Is miles
west of Santiago, and joining some of
l
terror. He returned June / or 2 with
detailed information of the location of
/ the Spanish ships in the harbor.
II sent him." said Admiral Schley,
''to the commander -in-chief with that
/ information.
The witness then returned to the ret.
rograde movement saying:
Touching the question of the retro
grade movement, after the Merrimac
| had broken down, the movement was
not made to the westward until toward
9 O'Clock, the Yale having had consid-
erable 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 a propeller.
II do not think we got under way un-
til o'clock of the afternoon of May 81
and not long after she was taken in tow,
steaming to the westward. We went
little further than [ had intended on ac-
| count of the difficulty in getting the
Yale to read our signals. We were
obliged to go or miles further on that
account
Not Possible to Coal.
''As soon as the sea calmed down, and
in my judgment it was net possible to
have coaled, as 1 said yesterday that
was one of the conditions which I
watched especially and was better
judge of that than any other officer of
| the fleet, because / was more interested
in it, s1gnalled to Captain Philip ask
ing him if he could coal and think his
signal indicates precisely that he was
uneasy about it, for he signalled back to
me I can try The impression left on
nv mind was at that time even he was
uncertain.
The admiral also referred to the ex-
treme heat, saying it was SO great that
| the men were exhausted and the doctors
had recommended that on this account
coaling operations be suspended.
Here Admiral Schley brought his mar
rative up to Santiago and said in that
connection that he had regarded the or.
1 A~An 4 IA 4 IL.