The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-09-05

Block Island. r. L, September 1.-The
Beacon Hill signal and wireless iele-
graph station, established by the army
in connection with the extensive war
m~anoeuvres. was captured by the fleet
representing the enemy under command
OF Rear Admiral Higginson, tust after
8 O'Clock this morning The station was
abandoned after a COMMANDMENT OF two
hours and a quarter. by n ba~ttleships.
and the guard escaped before a supe-
rior force of marines which had landed
under cover OF the fire from the vessels
at Great Salt Pond harbor. Eight hun
dred marines are now holding the sta
ton and guarding the approach while
the fleet is anchored of shore.
1t was scarcely midnight when the
patrol Of the Block Island Life Saving
station discovered the fleet of the east
ern side OF the island The signal sta
ton at once was warned and the men
considered an attack imminent. They
had four hours leeway. At AIS tho
battleships ran in and opend fire on the
island The range raked the Great Salt
Pond and the Beacon Hill station. The
reverbration shook the island To its
base. The firing was continued until
$50 when a collier and dispatch boat
entered the harbor and landed a force
OF men. Before the attack OF this de-
tachment, the station having been re-
duced by the previous bombardment,
the men at the station made their es-
cape. The landing force OF eight hun
dred was divided and squads We're sta
toned on each side OF the breakwater
and AT other DOinfS along the <hnrH,
while an ample force was sent TO oc-
cupy the Beacon Hill signal station. AS
the fleet lay off shore seventeen vessels
could be counted. including Golfers.
Another Signal station Seized.
Woodshole, Mass, September 1.-The
United States cruiser Olympia dashed
into this port this forenoon, landed a
force and seized all telegraph, telephone
and cable stations, thereby cutting OF
all communication with Marthas Vine
yard and Elizabeth Island.
OF course the seizure and the destruc-
ton of Geographic and cable facilities
were figurative, and it required the de-
cision of an umpire to make plain
whether or not the point attempted by
Admiral Higginson had been Won. AS
the landing was made, the telegraph
and prone offices were entered by suffi-
cient force to have destroyed the prop
erty or at least, the instruments and at
the same time a boats crew had located
the cables with graphing hooks and had
held them a sufficient period to have
allowed for the cutting OF them, there
seemed to have been no question that
the move had been entirely successful.
The Olympia appeared off this port
suddenly early this morning and i'm
mediately two boats put OFF toward
shore. One was a launch and the other
a whaleboat, and in them was a de-
fapbnenf undas. Ifpffpnant l. NJ Ever
hardt. The launch LANDED here. while
the whaleboat lay off shore and at once
began graphing for the cable. The
men under Lieutenant Everhardt rush.
ed to the office of the Martha's Vine
yard Telegraph Cimpany and then TO
the telephone station and carried out
their orders to make the seizure. Hav-
ing accomplished this work they return
ed to their launch, Joined the whaleboat
and returned to their ship.
This move cut off the only communi-
cation with the islands Of Nantucket
and Marthas Vineyard which are very
important observation stations.
Cable Cut.
Vineyard, Mass, September 1.-The
United States cruiser Olympia has land
ed a detachment of men at Gayhead
and the cable from that point to Pasque
Island has been cut in connection with
the wal m~anoeuvres.
MayhOwer Blown Up.
Fishers Island. n. Y, September l.
Fort Wright at 0:20 tonight exchanged
shots with a battleship OF the Indiana
type as she passed Fort Wright going
toward Fort Terry on the Long Island
side. A~fterward the guns Of Fort Ter
ry were heard apparently trained on the
battleship. A message was received n
| short time ago from the signal station
at Fort Mansfield announcing that the
whole fleet was coming this way. An
officer in the fort here is authority
the statement that the Mayfiower was
blown up, theoretically, by a submarine
| mine, while attempting to force an en-
trance at Fort Gut.