The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1903-08-13
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
Maneuvers on the Coast Of Maine
Fog Lifts Just In Time to Pre-
vent the Enemy's Ships Gaining
the HarDOr.
Bar Harbor, Me-, Aug. 10-The hos.
tile fleet" 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 rum
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 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 had
oeen occupying position Is miles out
side Bakers island for the greater part
If three days. On board of her every
man and officer was keenly alive to the
,act 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
fcer on the deck of the battleship
searched the constantly charging 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 Predica.aent.
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, rs miles away, of 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.
wireless Message Saves the Day.
The conditions at this point, had 1t
not been for the Olympia's wireless
telegraph equipment, indicated that
Rear Admiral Sands might have
reached an anchorage in Winter har-
Dor.
It was about 1870 o'clock when the
Olympia's wireless message was re-
ceived on the Kearsarge. General quar-
.ers 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 behind
the battleships as they rushed on to
meet the hostile vessels. In an hour
the Kearsarge and her consorts we're in
sight of the enemy.
President Declines Invitation.
Cheyenne, Wyo., Aug. 10.-A telegram
has been received by Secretary Richard
son, of the Frontier association, from
Secretary Loeb, stating that President
Roosevelt would be unable to accept the