Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-25

the ofhcer on the deck Of Kearsarge was
Lieutenant Ray Stone. with Midshipman
William Diiworth Puleston az the Junior
ohacer in command. In contrast to others,
the morning was clear and bright. On
the bridge a dozen jackies stood upon the
lookout. One Of these was Daniel staehle.
an apprentice OF the hrst-class. He stood
wen forward, peering on the lee side. The
flagship was Just falling down into a trough
when he notified the ensign at his side
that he could see the enemy. The ofcer
OF the deck called Flag Lieutenant Evans
and Flag Secretary Bristol, and it was
but the work Of a moment TO inform Ad-
miral Higginson OF the probability that
the time for decisive action was at.hand.
All is Quickly over.
It was real war then. General quarters
we're sounded. there wac a quick rush OF
many feet, the manning Of a hundred posts,
the elank Of the anchor chains, the ring
Ing Of bells, the giving Of orders and q
general clearing for action. Not many
moments passed before the flagship was
under way, steaming at fourteen knots,
with Alabama and Massachusetts, many
lengths In the rear. Some distance back
was Barney, rapidly overhauIing the
others.
At $40 the ships. aided by Scorpion,
which was in time to be in at the finish.
and Barney, which had o%vertaken the feet.
formed a horseshoe about the White
squadron. The citation among the men
on the Blue squadron ran high. but there
was something pathetic in the picture
when Commander P%iiisbury signa1ed his
surrender, passed in his barge from Prai-
Fie, walked up the gangway Of Kearsarge
and offered HIS sword to Admiral Higgin-
son.
Keep your sword, sir" said the Sc
NOR oficer, his voice quavering a bit in
spite OF himself. II would not accept the
sword from so gallant a foe"
And I, SIR" responded Pnlsbury, with
dignity. could not surrender to a nobler
or better ohicer. sir"
This exchange OF words ended the ac-
tual surrender. and at the invitation of
Admiral Higginson Commander Pilsbury
stepped down to the cabin Of Kearsarge,
and here the two officers discussed in pri-
vacy the incidents Of the days since the
declaration OF hostilities" on Wednes-
day.
After the Battle.
At the conclusion Of the conference
Commander Pilisbury was returned to his
nagship, and 1t was not long afterward
that Prairie headed down the coast. A
little later signals we're given for the Blue
squadron to return to Rockport. Later.
by the same system Of. communication es-
tablished and maintained so successfully
since Wednesday, messages were dis
patched to all points from Portland to
Provincetown, ordering all the warships
Of the defending squadron to return to
Rockport for further Instructions and at
the same time to collect on the way to
this harbor all signal men who had been
detailed at both island and mainland sta
lions along the coast.
In an Interview on board his flagship
ADMIRAL Higginson expressed his pleasure
~ the zeal =o-E wh.sh had been dom,
during the week. He commended Staehle.
the apprentice boy. who was the first to
report the presence Of Commander Pills.
bupY's squadron. He said to some he be-
lieved the maneuvers had taught the navy
Its points of weakness and strength dur
ing q time Of real action, and he believed
much good would come from the war
game"
Look for PIIIsbury's Reason.
The naval experts are discussing the rea-
son Tor Pillsbury's vancouver in
steaming finally to the northward and COM
Ing TO anchor as he did at a point of Mag
nolia and near Gloucester harbor. espe-
cially in the light Of the information that
he had Intended to anchor in Salem. II is
believed that the admiral of the White
squadron had seen that he was discovered
ana meant to surrender, or to try at a
moment unseen by Admiral Higginson, to
get into Salem harbor. The theme of dis
cussion In Rockport tonight among the
seafaTing people who know the Massachu-
sets coast as we'll as they know their own
housesr was the apparent rejection Of all
strategic movements by Commander Pills
bury. He had not tried to land officers or
marines ashore to learn Of the enemy's
movement and he had sailed almost to the
base OF the defense just before daylight
when capture SCENE inevitable.
HiEginsOn Points the Lesson.
To an Associated Press correspondent Ad-
miral Higginson spoke very freely Of the
signal service. He laid emphasis on tho
enective work OF the men detailed to signal
duty and said he intended to issue a
commendatory letter to all the men Of his
command. He scored the telephone service
and said 1t appeared very a%ntiquated. He
emphasized the necessity of the wireless
telegraphy and Illustrated the benefits ~
ships OF the navy were fitted with this
new invention.
There would have been no need for
the torpedo scouts he said, "for 1
would have known at all times the exact
location OF my ships. We need this service
badly, We are three years behind our
foreign friends in this respect and | hope
the system viii be installed on the ships
Of the navy soon"
P~IIlabury's Story.
~comnander Pillsbary was asked regarding
movements and stated that when he left
last Tuesday his feet steamed
directly to sea, running OF some 400 miles
about southeast Of Cape Cod. His plan was
10 lay on there until Saturday night and
then 70 try for Salem harbor. Coming on
The coast last night he had first thought OF
q feint with one OF his ships in the
of Portland. hoping TO draw on
Admiral H~igginson and the big ships OF his
command, but a heavy sea was running and
ships slow. he decided not TO do this
and made his run directly for Salem harbor.
The only ship OF Admiral Higginson's feet
seen during the entire trip was the torpedo
boat Barney. which he discovered about the
time staehle discovered him.
Too Much Light.
VINEYARDS HAVEN. Aug. 2L-United
States steamship Panther, commander ]. @.
"a