Morris tribune., 1905-04-29


carried away under the top, and the
wreck fell into the sea-fortunately on
the lee side, the little body Of men in
the top going to a sudden death with
the rest.
The decks were slippery with blood
and plowed with plunging shot, which
the superior height of the Yarmouth
permitted to be fired with depressed
guns from an elevation. Solid shot
from the heavy main deck batteries
swept through and through the devot-
ed frigate; half the Randolph's guns
were useless because of the lack of
men to serve them the cockpit over
flowed with the wounded; the surgeon
and his mates, covered with blood,
worked like butchers in the steerage
and finally in the ward room; dead and
dying men lay where they fell; there
were no hands to spare to take them
below, no place in which they could
lie with safety, no immunity from the
searching hail which drove through
every part of the doomed ship. Still
the men, cheered and encouraged by
| tAclI OluCclS, SLUOu W ullS anu
fought on. Presently the fore top
mast went by the board also as the
| long moments dragged along. Seymour
was now lying on the quarter deck, a
| bullet having broken his leg, another
| having made flesh wound in his arm.
He had refused to go below to have
his wounds dressed, and one Of the
midshipmen was kneeling by his side,
| applying such unskillful bandages as
he might to the two bleeding wounds.
Mason had been sent for and was in
charge under Seymour's direction. That
young man, all his nervousness gone
was most ably seconding his dauntless
captain.
The two ships were covered with
smoke. It was impossible to tell on
one what was happening on the other,
but the steady persistence with which
the Randolph clung to her big enemy
had it's effect on the Yarmouth also,
and the well delivered fire did not al
low that vessel any immunity. In fact,
while nothing like that on the frigate,
the damage was so great and so many
men had fallen that Captain Vincent
determined to end the conflict at once
by boarding the frigate. The neces-
sary orders were given, and strong
party of boarders was called away and
mustered on the forecastle, headed by
Beauchamp and HollinS
Taking advantage of the smoke and
Of the weather gauge, the Yarmouth
was suddenly headed for the Randolph.
AS the enormous bows of the line of
battle ship came slowly showing out Of
the smoke, towering above them, cover
ed with men, cutlass or boarding pike in
hand, Seymour discerned at once the
purpose of the maneuver Raising
himself upon his elbow to better di-
rect the movement
Cali hands repel boardersr' he shout
ed, his voice echoing through the ship
as powerfully as ever.
This was an unusual command, as
it completely deprived the guns Of
their crews, but he rightly judged that
it would take all the men they could
muster to repel the coming attack, and
none but the main deck guns of the
Yarmouth would or could be fired, for
fear of hitting their own men in the
melee on the deck. The Randolph was
wreck below at best, but while any
thing held together above her plank
shears she would be fought. The men
had reached that desperate condition
when they ceased to think of odds, and
slyN %a - Il
and swore in the frenzy of the COM
bat The thrice decimated crew sprang
aft, rallying in the gangway to meet
the shock, Mason at their head. fol
lowed close by old Bentley, still un-
wounded. AS the bow Of the Var
mouth struck the Randolph with a
crash, one or two wounded men, un
able to take part in repelling the board
ers, but still able to move, who had re-
mained beside the guns eXerted the
strength they possessed to
such of the pieces as bore, in |
long raking shots, through the bow of
the liner; it was the last sound from
their hot muZzles.
The Yarmouth struck the Randolph
just forward of the mainmast. The
men, Swarming in dense masses on the
rail and hanging over the bowsprit
ready to leap, dropped on her deck at
once with loud cheers. A sharp yolley
from the few marines left on the frig
ate checked them for a moment, but
they gathered themselves together at
once and, CALAMITY led, sprang aft,
handling their pistols and pixies and
waving their cutlasses Mason was
shot in a moment by Hollins' pistol,
was cut in two by a tre-
sweep of the arm of the
mighty Bentley, and the combat be-
came at once general. Slowly, but
surely, the Americans were pressed
back, the gangways were cleared, the
quarter deck was gained. One by one
the brave defenders had fallen. The
battle was about over when Seymour
noticed a man running out in the fore
yard of the Yarmouth with a hand
grenade. He raised his pistol and
foH lN,,4 !