Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-08-11
BARKER CAPTURES
HOSTILE FLEET
Exciting Chase Ends in Splendid
Victory for the Defending
Squadron.
SHOTS ARE FIRED TO BRING
THE ENEMY TO SURRENDER
stirring Features of Mimic Warfare
Maneuyers on the Coast of Maine
Fog Lifts Just in Time to Pre-
vent the Enemy's Ships Gaining
the Harbor.

tile feet" In the mimic war has been
captured. The enemy is now in the har-
Dor.
The hostile fleet were sighted for the
second time during the night at three a.
m. by the Olympia, which signaled the
flagship Kearsarge. The Kearsarge,
with the Illinois and the Alabama, put
after the enemy, who surrendered after
shots had been fired by the Kearsarge.
Caught in Nick of Time.
The naval search problem, which be-
gan last Wednesday noon when Rear
Admiral Parker took up the plan of de-
Tending the Maine coast from hostile"
fleet which put to sea on Monday under
Rear Admiral Sands, ended early Satur-
day when the Olympia, the flagship OF
the defending fleet, discovered and inter-
copied the white squadron" of the enc
my, headed at full speed for Winter
harbor. The hostile vessels were run
ming In close order formation and had
not the fog lifted at favorable moment
it is thought the enemy would have
; eluded those on guard.
AS 1t turned out, before her consorts
could reach the scene in answer to her
signals the Olympia had been forced to
fly the white flag and consider herself
captured or destroyed by the hostile
commander.
Long Vigil In Fog.
The Olympia was the furthest to the
eastward of the defending ships and had
been occupying a position Is miles out
side Bakers island for the greater part
of three days. On board of her every
man and officer was keenly alive to the
fact that Saturday morning of all since
the search problem commenced was the
most favorable to the plans of the at.
lacking force. A thick fog bank, which
rolled in from the sea after midnight
made it impossible to cover the ordinary
cruising radius of the Olympia and al
that the men on Admiral Dewey's ole
flagship could do was to depend on their
ears and wait.
Fog Clears, Enemy Sighted.
Shortly after four o'clock the fog
bank began to roll out to sea and as the
atmosphere cleared every man and Of
ficer on the deck of the battleship
searched the constantly enlarging field
of vision with anxiety. Suddenly, there
was cry repeated simultaneously from
various parts of the Olympia's super
structure: There they are, sir.
Olympia's Predicnment.
In an instant bugle notes rang out on
the Olympia, men rushed to quarters
and the operator in the wireless tele-
graph room was signaling for the
Kearsarge to announce the discovery OF
the fleet to Rear Admiral Barker. The
flagship, Is miles away, off Mount Des-
ert rock, caught the sound waves and
answered in a few moments WORD
came by the wireless that the Kear.
sarge was on her way to aid the Olym,
pia.'
Meanwhile the latter vessel hat
found herself in predfcament. Tht
fog which had been of advantage to thu
enemy proved of disadvantage to thu
Olympia, for when It lifted and Ad
miral Sands vessels were seen, the!
were too close to the defending vesse
for her to escape. Under the rules o
the maneuvers, she was overpoweret
by the superior force and could d.
nothing but run up the white flag ant
consider herself captured by the hos
tile squadron.
wireless Message Saves the Day.
The conditions at this point, had 4
not been for the Olympia's wireless:
telegraph equipment, indicated tina,
Rear Admiral Sands might have
reached an anchorage in Winter har-
Dor.
It was about 4:30 o'clock when the
Olympia's wireless message was re-
ceived on the Kearsarge. General quar-
tiers were sounded and in remarkably
short time the Kearsarge was under
way, followed In turn by the Alabama
and the Illinois. A number of torpedo
boat destroyers and tugs fell in benin,
the battleships as they rushed on t,
meet the hostile vessels. In an hou
the Kearsarge and her consorts were II
sight OF the enemy.
President Declines Invitation.