Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-08-28
AROUND THE WORLD
With The DEWEY.
Interesting Story Of a Remarkable
Naval Achievement.
SCENES AND INCIDENTS BY The WAY.
Extracts From Letters of Paymaster
Dobson Of YorkvilIs, Written to His
Father During His Long Trip From
Boston to Olonsapo.

Dobson Of Yorkville, Written to His
Father During His Long Trip From
Boston to Olongapo.
The towing CT the big dry dock
Dewey more than half way around the
world from Boston to Cayite, Philip
pine Islands, a distance Of more than
thirteen thousand miles was probably
the most remarkable naval feat of
modern times, and the fact that Mr.. B.
M. Dobson of Yorkville. assistant pay
master in the navy, was member OF
the carefully selected official stan that
so successfully accomplished this
strenuous undertaking, gives the whole
affair a peculiar local interest
The Dewey left the Boston navy yard
on December 80. 1906, and was anchor
ed in the harbor at Cavite, Philippine
Islands on July 10th, proximo, being
enroute six months and eleven days.
The route from Boston was in south
easterly direction to and by the Ber-
muda Islands, thence almost directly
across the Atlantic to the Canary Islands
on the coast Of Africa; thence through
the strait of Gibraltar, through the
Mediterranean sea, the Suez canal, the
Red sea, the Indian ocean by way OF
the island Of Ceylon, the strait Of Ma
lacca, Singapore and the China sea to
the Philippines.
The Dewey is tremendous steel
shell, slightly over 500 feet long. about
eighty feet wide, and close to sixty feet
deep. In q general way 1t is shaped
like the hull of a ship. 1t Is intended
to receive entire ships within Its sides
in order that they may be cleaned and
worked on. This is accomplished by
sinking the dry dock in the water,
opening an end, floating the ship In,
closing the end and then pumping out
the water. Dry and afioat 1t rises out
of the water something like sixty feet,
and when one takes into consideration
the extensive surface its broadside
would present to stiff ocean breeze
much less a real strong wind, 1t Is easy
to gather an idea Of some OF the DIM
culties that are liable to be encountered
IN the attempt to tow 1t over such
tremendous distance as 1t had to travel
between Boston and the Philippine Is
lands.
During the trip, Paymaster Dobson'
of course, wrote numerous letters to his
father, Mr.. T. M. Dobson Of Yorkville'
and at our request Mr.. Dobson, mas
kindly allowed US access to these let
ters In order that we might compile
for the readers Of The Enquirer an ac-
count Of the trip. These letters, OF
course, were not written with any
thought Of publication; but were in
tended solely for the near and dear
ones at home They therefore contain
much that would not be Of public In
terest. Each and every one OF them
however, has more or less extended ref
erence to various conditions and oc-
currences during the progress OF the
trip, and it is these references that we
have sought to Gull out for the benefit
Of the general reader.
The feet accompanying the Dewey
Included the cruiser Glacier, Capt.
Hosley, the colliers Caesar and Brutus
and the little tug, Potomac. The for
nation was always tandem, the Gla-
cier usually in front, then the 9TH
er three vessels between 1t and the
Dewey and all connected by immense
wire hawsers. Under the most favora-
BILE circumstances the speed was only
about one hundred miles day ana
often 1t was much less than that.
Sometimes 1t was forty or fifty miles
q day back in the wrong direction.
Letters could only be mailed on pass
ing steamers and often there were IN
tervals Of several weeks before the
people of the Glacier could get the op-
portunity to send messages toward
home, and the routes Of these mes
sages before their final arrival at New
York was a matter Of chance, depend
ent upon the direction Of the steam
ers. Under the circumstances Mr..
Dobson's letters were more or less un-
satisfactory as giving continued
story Of the trip; but still there is
quite enough to give an idea OF how
the men of the feet Jared throughout
the long voyage. The first letter Is
dated "On Bermuda, January g." and
reads in part as follows:
I'VE got along very nicely until
within the past two days, since then
we have been facing a strong vino
from the southwest. The dock has
practically made no progress for
day and a half; but with the towing
colliers steering right into the wind
we have had all we could do to hold
our own. The wind shifted to the
northwest early this morning and
suppose we will do better today. Al
about 10 o'clock this morning the
Glacier left the other ships and start
ed full speed for Bermuda to look for
the tug Potomac. She left us day be-
fore Yesterday to take mail to Ber-
muda and TO coal. We are now In
sight of the islands, which are about
half a mile away. A pilot has advised
us that the Potomac is still coaling
We can see the Bermudas quite plain
ly. They appear to be quite hilly
and on top Of the hills l can see nu-
merous houses. One very large one
looks from this distance like hotel
1t is not our purpose. 1 understand, tc
go in; but merely to overtake the Po-
tomac and send her back to cable fol
another towing machine, to replace
the one on the Caesar, which has
been broken. The towing machine Is
a contrivance so arranged that In
case of a hard pull from the Dewey
behind, cable may be let out instead
of dragging the colliers back and
smashing things. Afterward the slack
is taken up. From the experiences we
are now having, it looks as If all our
towing machines are going to pieces
and 1 fear that we will have to get
more ships to help with the towing
1t is understood that the captain In
tends to hook on with the Glacier
as soon as the sea gets smooth
enough; but this time we will be al
ND yKyil