Adams County news. [volume] (Ritzville, Wash.) 1898-1906, 1902-09-03
ARMY against THE NAVY
THE MIMIC WAR STARTED.
The Fleet Under Admiral Higginson
Made sudden Attack and Captured
Island and All Telegraph Lines
Army Was ROuted-The Olympia
in the Action.

Rock Island. Sept. 2.-The Beacon Hill
signal and wireless telegraph station, es-
tablished by the army in connection with
the extensive war maneuvers, was cap
tured by the fleet representing the enemy
under command of Rear Admiral Hig-
ginson just after o'clock Monday morn
ing. The station was abandoned after a
bombarament of two hours and a quar-
ter by the battleships. and the guard es-
capped before a superior force of marines.
Ing vessels at Great Salt Pond harbor.
Eight hundred marines are now holding
the station and guarding the approaches,
while the fleet Is anchored of shore.
1t was scarcely midnight when the pa
troll of the Block Island life saving sta
ton discovered the fleet off the eastern
side of the island. The signal station
was at once warned and the men consid-
cred an attack imminent. They had four
hours leeway. At AIS the battleships
ran In and opened fire on the island The
range raked the great salt pond and the
Beacon Hill station. The reverberations
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 at
tack of this detachment. having been re-
duced by the previous bombardment the
men at the station made their escape.
Tba ~ fuia al nd
squads were stationed on each side of
the breakwater and at other points along
the shore, while an ample force was sent
to occupy the Beacon Hill station. As
the fleet lay off shore II vessels could be
counted, including the colliers.
Surprised by the Olympia.
Woods Hole, Mass. Sept. 2.-The Unit
ed States eruiser Olympia dashed into
this port Monday forenoon. landed
force and seized all telegraph. telephone
and cable stations. thereby cutting off
all communication with Marthas Vine
yard and Elizabeth island.
OF course the seizure and the destruc-
ton of telegraphic and cable facilities
were figurative. and II required the de-
cision of an umpire to make plain wheth-
er or not the point attempted by Admiral
Higginson had been won. AS the land
ing was made the telegraph and tele-
phone offices were entered by sufficient
force to have destroyed the property. or
at least the instruments, at the same
TINA a boat's crew had located the "a HE
with graphing hooks and held 1t a suf-
ficient period to have allowed for the
cutting of them, there seemed to have
been no question but that the move had
been entirely successful. The Olympia
appeared off this port suddenly Mon
day morning and Immediately two boats
put off toward shore. One was a launch
and the other a whaleboat. and in them
was a detachment under Lieutenant L.
NJ. Everhardt. The launch landed here
wnIie the wfnaleboat lay off shore and at
once began graphing for the cable. The
men under Lieutenant Everhardt rushed
to the Office of the Marthas Vineyard
Telegraph company and then to the tele-
phone station and carried out their Or
ders to make the seizure. Having ac-
complished this work. they returned to
their launches. Joined the whaleboat and
returned to their ship. This move cut
on the only communication with the ISL
ands OF Nantucket and Marthas Vine
yard which are very important observa-
ton stations.