The Penn's Grove record., 1905-09-01
WARSH|P RAMS SCHOONER
Battleship Kearsarge Knocks Hole
in the n. S. BaIIut.
HELD VESSEL WITH CRANES


Divers Went Over the Side of the War.
boat and Repaired the Damage Done,
Enabling the Injured Vessel to Sail
Within an Hours Time Discipline
of the Crew.
Newport, r. Had it not been for
the perfect discipline on the battleship
Kearsarge five men, the crew of the
two-masted schooner, N. S. Ballut,
would have bene drowned when, in a
dense fog, the warship ripped a big
hole in the side Of the smaller craft.
AS it was, the men were all rescued
from the water five miles east of Point
Judith, and the schooner, which ordin-
arily would have sunk, was held on the
surface while the carpenters and divers
from the Kearsarge repaired her so
thoroughly that she was able within a
few hours to proceed on her way. 1t
was II of the most unusual marine
accidents ever recorded.
The K~earsarge, one of the battleship
fleet of the North Atlantic Squadron,
commanded by Rear-Admiral Evans,
had taken a short practice spin at sea,
and when the weather became bad the
signal to run for Newport Harbor was
given. The fleet proceeded under full
steam until the fog suddenly descend
ed, when the boats reduced to half
speed.
The big horns and whistles Of the
Kearsarge were kept at work, but the
fog was so thick that Captain John
Andrews, of the Ballut, who, with his
son and three men, had been on a fish
ing cruise. could not locate the battle
ship. Captain Raymond Rodgers. of
the Kearsarge, as soon as he saw the
schooner ahead, gave the order to re-
verse. A moment later the steel PROV
of the battleship cut through the port
side of the Ballut.
Captain Rodgers gave the command
at once to lower away all boats. The
warShip's crew fairly few to the small
boats and had them over the side be-
fore they stopped to see what had hap
pened. They found the Ballut quickly
filling, listed badly to one side and in
imminent danger of sinking. Captain
Andrews and his son had been thrown
into the sea and the three other men
were struggling near them. The small
boats picked them up within a few mo-
ments and carried them back to the
KearSarge.
Captain Rodgers then ran his ship
alongside the sinking schooner and
swung his big steel cranes into action.
They were capable of lifting a dozen
times the weight of the schooner, and
when chains were passed under the
Ballut she was safe.
The divers and mechanics from the
warship then set to work. The latter
boarded the damaged vessel while she
hung suspended from the monster
cranes, and after the hold was pumped
out began to patch up the big hole
stove~in the schooner's side by the bat
tleship's steel prov. The divers
worked from the outside, and in about
an hour the Ballut was ready to pro-
coed on her way.
In the meantime the rest of the bat.
tleship fleet had proceeded to this city
to report the accident. The fog pre-.
vented Captain Rodgers from using
his wireless apparatus. The racing
ClcW VI the NedfSdFSe udQ Deen plIJe0
to row a ~twelve-oared race with the
Hibernian Boat Club, of Newport, the
stake being $1,000 q side. Captain
Rodgers was anxious for his men tc
reach Newport for the race. Without
a word, however, the men went at tho
work Of standing by and repairing the
Ballut while the cranes held her I'D
and there was rot a murmur about the
purse which might have been for
feited.
When Admiral Evans reached here
with his other ships, $4,000 persons
lined the shores to see the cutter race
and the local crew was ready for thu
contest. When informed of the acct
dent, however, they gladly agreed t.
the postponement of the race until thu
next morning.
When the Kearsarge's divers report
ed her in good shape, Captain Andrew:
and his crew returned to the Ballu-
and set sail for Portmouth, R. L.