River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1903-08-13
HOSTILE FLEET
LOSES THE GAME
Admiral Barker Captures ENEMY
After an Exciting Chase.
SEVERAL SHOTS WERE FIRED
Fog Played am Important Part I'm the
Maneuyers OF the New England
Coast - Features of the
Mimic Warfare.

Bar Harbor, Me-, Aug. 10.-The hos
tile fleet" in the mimic war has been
captured. The enemy is now in the har-
bor
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 I'm Nick of Time.
The naval search problem, which be-
gan last Wednesday noon when Rear
Admiral Barker 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 a favorable moment
it is thought the enemy would have
eluded those on guard.
AS it 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 I'm Fog.
The Olympia was the furthest to the
eastward of the defending ships and Lad
been occupying a position % 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 all
that the men on Admiral Dewey's old
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 a cry repeated simultaneously from
various parts of the Olympia's super
structure: There they are, sir"
OIympia'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, % 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 had
found herself in a predicament. The
fog which had been of advantage to the
enemy proved of disadvantage to the
Olympia, for when it lifted and Ad-
miral Sands vessels were seen, they
were too close to the defending vessel
for her to escape. Under the rules Of
the maneuvers, she was overpowered
by the superior force and could do
nothing but run up the white flag and
consider herself captured by the hos
tile squadron.