Bisbee daily review., 1911-10-26
THE BATTLE or GUAM
A Gentlemaniy Conflict.

view. writes James F. Smith, former
 Governor General of the Philippines.
 describing the first expedition tc rne
 islands. following the victory of Man
 ila Bay. when Captain Glass of the
 convoy opened his sealed orders and
 with fine irony. enlOining secrecy, pub
 lished the welcome information that i the expedition was fo stop by on the
 wey and capture Guam. Whether Guam was a city. an island or a man Of var was d subject of much debate.
 All were agreed. however, that. the
 intention 10 benovelently asslmf1ate
 il was a good thing which should be
 withheld from the press and regarded
 as strictly confidential A dot upon
 the charts. supported by the ipse diXit
 or q quartet of master mariners fin-
 sS.y conFipced the donbting that
 Guam was bit of land entirely sur
 rounded by water And, so, on June
 twentieth at daybreak. cruiser and
 transports by virtue Of sacred com pact and a lack Of wireless. steal upon it unhearalded and unannounced.
 With riging and every vantage point crowded with men whose pulses beat time to their excitement. the trans ports take their place five or six
 miles of shore. and await the coming conflict. In plain view the Charles
 ton is creeping alcng the line of reefs and there from a hidden cove, with d bone between her teeth. q great Span ish cruiser. ghostly ln her haze. comes out 10 meet her. And then. just when everybody is on the tiptoe Of ex.
 peca3oa the .haze lAfts and
 whooping fighting craft of high degree
 mehs into . poor little Iapanese fishing schooner gently bobbing to
 her anchor.
 What disappointment, But jrist
 beyond the cove is the headland that
 marks the entrance to the port of San Juan de Apra. The old broken back book. dug out of the captain g locker by searchers hungry for infor- nation, declares that this, the safest anchorage Of Guam. (which wasn't saving much considering the fate oil Yosemitej is protected by fort upon the bluffs and by a fortified island in
 the center Of the hasboT. Surely there win be something doing when the Charleston seeks to enter there. And now the cruiser. dull as a misty morning in her clothes of somber gray swings 10 port and slips into the mar row channel. directly under where the told-faced type said the fort is sure to be--and-not a shot is fired. The garrison must be asleep, or may be t Is permitting entrance of the yes sel to make her destruction certain, or maybe this or maybe that any thing toNkeep alive the hope that the colosseum of half-circled transports may not be denied the nerve tingling Bang Nine times bang so the guns Of the Charleston 4 hush of expect alton. and then 8 great stiffness.
 What has happened? Why Hoth.ug except that a dinby little row boat has put of from shore with the Span ish colors gaily flying from the stern Not a bit of white is fluttering from it anywhere. and every gunner is eager 10 pot-shot ir as # meanders through the coral reefs. Captain Glass won't have it that way, however. and per mits the flagship of Guam 10 come alongside without objection With great deliberation a boy in size but a man in dignity and years, giittering with the gold lace of a Spanish ma jor, mounts the lower ladder for his reception. gravely touches his cap to the commanding officer, and then, through an interpreter, presents his thanks for the salute just rendered, and expresses regret that he couldn't return it for the lack of powder. Now what do you think of thaI2 A afH sN .l cumjacent sailormen his was too much for the big, kind hearted Cap tain Glass. who takes the good major to the seclusion of his quarters and there very gently explains that Spain and the United States have been at war for more than sixty days. The major. who receives his daily paper as cfJen as twice a year, is properly sorry that such a think should be. and rising. solomenly announces that under the circumstances he must re- tire and prepare him for the fray.
 Why, my dear man" said the cap tain, you can't do that Don't you see that you are my prisoner and ! that ! must ask you to surrender al once the island and ali your forces? ?- I
 The major argues earnestly that he is victim of deceit and that he has been induced to come On board un- der false pretenses. or course the de- ! ceit and false pretenses have not been ! planned. prepared and perpetrated by . an abandoned and malignant heart, with mice aforethOugbt, but none the less deceived and fooled he has been and that fact no eaballero. that Is no worthy caballero. such as the captain . might could, would or should take ad- . vantage. That word 'caballero' did tae . business. The major was permitted to depart with the warning that sur render must be made by five o'clock. D. m. of that day or the island would be surrounded by one of the trans ports, besieged, bombarded, under mined, sunk carried by assault, and otherwise wasted, demolished and de stroyed with all that was in. around, over or under it.
 Would you believe it-that little ma. jor said he would think it over and left the ship with the full intention of putting uD a light? And from that intention not a budge did he budge until the pleadings Of his doctor that he give a chance for fife 10 A very aiI.