The Topeka state journal., 1902-02-20
SUSTAINS SAMPSON.
econtinued from First Page.]


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to escape we were ready-ready with
our men, with our guns and with our
engines > 1t was only a few min
utes after we had seen the leader of the
advancing squadron that it became ap-
parent that Cervera'S plan was to run
his ships in column westward in an eff
fort to escape. = Before he had
fairly found himself outside the Moro,
the entire blockading squadron-Indi-
ana, Oregon, Iowa, Brooklyn and Tex
as-waS pumping shell into him at such
a rate as virtually to decide the issue
All our ships had closed in simu1tane-
OuSly Then occurred the incident
which caused me for a moment more
alarm than anything Cervera did that
day. = = Suddenly a whiff of breeze
and lull in the firing lifted the pail,
and there, bearing toward us and across
our bows, turning on her port helm,
with big waves curling over her bows
and great clouds of black smoke pouring
from her tunnels, was the Brooklyn.
She looked as big as half dozen Great
Easterns, and seemed so near that 1t
took our breath away. Back both en-
gines'' went down the tube to the as
toniShed engineer, and, in twinlxllng,
the old ship was racing against herself.
The collision which seemed imminent,
even if il was not. was averteds and as
the big cruiser glided past, all of us on
the bridge gave a sigh of relief. Had
the Brooklyn struck us then, it would
probably have been the end of the Tex
as and her half thousand men AT
ten minutes to 10 (the Spanish ships had
appeared at about $500 the Oregon
and Texas and Iowa were pretty we'll
punched, holding d parallel course west
ward with the Spaniards. The Indiana was
also coming up, we'll inside of all the
others of our squadron, but a little in
the rear, owing to her far eastward po-
SitiOn at starting. : : About a quarter
past 10. the Teresa, which had been in
difficulties from the moment she left the
shelter of the MORO. turned to seek a
Bleaching place. She was on fire and We
knew that she was no longer to be reck-
oned with. Five minutes later, our spec
ial enemy, the Oquendo, also turned in
shore. The Vizcaya kept blazing
away viciously, but the pounding she
got from our four ships, more particu-
larly from the Oregon, was too much for
her. and in half an hour she, too, head
ed for the beach. . : determined to
push on with the Texas. 1t gives
me pleasure to be able to write that, old
ship as she is. and not built for speed,
the Texas held her own and even gain
ed on the Colon in that chase Ad-
miral Sampson was commandments
before, during and after the action.
WHAT CLARK SAID.
Captain Clark's statement is as fol-
lows:
1.-The credit for the blockade which
miral SIMPSONS. The position of the
ships on the morning of the fight in
semi-circle, head on to the harbor, in
consequence of which we were able to
close in at once, was his. In closing in.
that is, in making the first movements,
we were obeying his instructions;
though, as matetr of fact, we would
all have closed in anyway, instructions
or no instructions. When the Spanish
ships came out of the harbor the navi-
gator of my ship saw the New York
to the eastward, but 1 received no sig
nal of any kind from the New York
n si11or fo
enough to signal directly to me until
after the Colon surrendered.
The engagement may be said to have
been divided into three parts: First,
the fight proper, while the Spanish
squadron was coming out of the har-
bor and until it was clear of the dia-
mond shoals and definitely headed west
ward; second the running fight with
the already damaged vessels as they
fled westward until the Teresa, Oquendo
and Vizcaya ran ashore; and, third, the
chase of the Colon, during which there
was practically no fighting.
During the first stage l did not see
the Brooklyn or receive any signals
from her. At the close of this stage.
the Oregon had passed the Iowa and
Texas, and when we burst out of the
smoke 1 saw the four Spanish ships go
ing westward, apparently uninjured, and
followed hard after, at the same time
observing the Brooklyn a little ahead
and off shore. She was brOadSide to
the Spanish vessels and was receiving
the weight of their fire and was return
ing it. The Brooklyn and Oregon there
after occupied substantially these posi-
tions as regards each other, being about
equally distant from the Spanish ships
and we successiVely overlook them, eX-
cept when the Oregon attempted to
close with the Oquendo. The heaviest
firing was at the harbor mouth, and
while the enemy was breaking through
or passing our line. Not long after the
running fight began, the Teresa and
then the Oquendo turned and went
ashore, the Vizcaya continuing for some
distance farther before she also was
beached. Throughout the running fight
the Brooklyn and Oregon ships We're
both hotly engaged, being ahead of any
of our other ships; and we then cOnsti-
tuted the western and what l regard
as the then fighting division of our
fleet.
II considered Commodore SchIey in
responsible command during this run
ming fight and chase, SO far as 1 was
concerned and acknowledged and re-
peated a signal he had flying for close
action or something of the kind. As.
however, the problem was perfectly
simple, namely, TO pursue the Spanish
ships, as I had been doing before 1 saw
the Brooklyn, he did not as matter
movement or action of the Oregon, nor
did l perform any action of any kind
whatever in obedience to any order
from the Brooklyn, neither as to my
course nor as to my speed, nor as to my
gun-ffrc, during the fight or chase.
THE Oregon always had fires under
all boilers In spite of the speed shown
by the Oregon in this fight, she had
not been and is not classed as the fast
est ship; but during all her service. in
order that no scale should form in them,
not one of our boilers was used for con-
densins, though the resulting discom-
fort for all hands was an additional
hardship for her commanding officer.
ADMIRAL. EVANS VIEW.
g The following is Admiral Evans state
ment:
rangement of the ships at the opening of
the fight. and for the first movements for
long to Admiral Sampson, whose orders
we We're putting into effect. When the
fight began, Admiral Sampson's ship, the
New York, was in plain sight / saw her
turning to overtake us Throughout the
fight / considered myself as under his
command, but l received no orders from
!, a1za q