Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-10-24

| AS for the "ketch," it was renamed
the Intrepid and was assigned the
duly of carrying the Americans who
were to undertake the destruction OF
the Philadelphia. The enterprise was
one of the most daring, the most dra-
matte Efforts in the annals of sea
fighting There were no submarines,
no torpedo boats nor destroyers, no
submerged mines--not even steam!
I he seventy-fOur men who Volun-
teered for service with Decatur could
not hope to speed the engines and
run away from disaster. They must
needs rely upon the benignity Of the
wind and the compOSure of The SAIL
ors i'm the hour of greatest danger.
A sudden calm, a sudden gale such as
the harbor of Tripoli knows only too
we'll, would mean the snufting out of
all their lives or the worse alterna-
tive of long captivity at hard labor,
such as they feared Bainbridge and
/ his 800 men were even then suffering.
They had not yet hearu of the friend
| ly offices of the Danish Consul Nissen,
who interceded in behalf Of the cap
tives with such vigor that they were
not thrown into actual slavery, but
were treated rather as prisoners of
war.
The Siren, under Lieutenant Stew
art, was ordered to escort the Intrepid
as far as was deemed safe, and this
doughty little vessel was repainted
and rigged to look as much like a
Maltese merchantmen as possible. AS
for the Intrepid ITSELF 1t was a typical
Tripolitan freighter. with ample cabin
space, and the Turks in the harbor
had not yet learned of the Mastico's 8
capture and the fate of her fair cargo.
The place the ladies had occupied was
filled with explosives and shells, for
there was a double purpose in the
minds Of Preble and Decatur. There
was no such thing then as a torpedo
but the fireship or internal" as 1T
was commonly called. was sometimes
employed. 1t was Decatur's idea that
If his expedition should prove a fail
ure he could at least blow up his
own ship and thereby wreck the Phil
adelphia. 1t would mean the almost
certain death of every man on board;
but that cost had been counted as a
normal part of the desperately glor-
ious game.
It was 10 o'clock on the evening of
the 10th of February, 1904, when the
Intrepid. having left the Siren about
three miles behind, lifted her drags
and sailed boldly into the narrow
channel between the rocks and shoals
that protect the treacherous harbor
of Tripoli half-grown moon hung
in the clear sky and a stiff breeze
against the beam set the sails in a
beautiful swell of canvas. AS the dar-
ing vessel advanced the breeze gradu-
ally died down until the motion was
scarcely perceptible. Slowly the ketch
stole along until there arose out of the
mist before her the shadowy outline
of a great ship. Her fOremaSt had
not yet been raised and she was bare
of rigging as she rocked at anchor,
right abreast of the town. Between
her and the shore lay two of the in
famous corSairS, five gunboats and a
host of smaller craft. Directly at her
back loomed the fort with its murder
Gus batteries, ghostly in the pale
moonlight. 1t was with difficulty the
Americans represSed a shout of de-
light.
On the open deck Of the Intrepid
not more than a dozen men were to
be seen, the others lying in the shad-
! owS of the bulwarkS or concealed by
the masts and rigging. Decatur stood
close to a Sicilian named Catalano,
as he steered for the frigate's bow,
where the ketch would be out of
reach of those American guns that
the Turk would have employed only
too gladly, for the destruction Of
American patriots When only about
100 yards interviewed between the
two vessels the lookout on the Phila-
! ldelphia became aware of the near APP
proach of ship and challenge was
issued. Catalano called back that he
had come on a trading voyage from
Malta, that he had encountered terri
fic storms and had lost his anchor.
He begged the privilege of riding by
the ship until morning, since he could
mot make his vessel fast and dared
not proceed into the midst of the for
est of ships in the inner harbor. A
crowd had gathered on the deck of
the Philadelphia, and many rude
joke was hurled across the water, as
the pilot was compelled to enumerate
the items of his imaginary cargo.
While this conversation was going on
the wind changed suddenly, hurling
the Intrepid in the direction of the
frigate's stern. There, in full range
of the guns that might have shatter-
ed her in less time than is required
for the telling, she lay in a suddenly
tranquil sea, absolutely becalmed.
In another moment the sailors on
board the Philadelphia manned a
boat and came to the rescue with
line that was passed to the ketch as
a boat from the ketch rowed up to
to her forechain. Cautiously the men
on the Intrepid drew in the line until
the daring boat lay alongside her
victim. In that tense moment the
Turks nearest the rail caught sight
of sturdy pair Of anchors, and
sharp cry. "Americanos" was raised.
Even at that the crew, lying in the
shadows on the nearby deck. did not
move. There was no evidence of
treachery save the telltale anchors,
and the suspicion died almost at
its birth.
A moment later those same be-
llwildered Turks beheld the 1.-THE body
of man leaping catlike for the Phil
adelphia's chain-plate. The man was
Decatur, and as he clambered up the
side of the frigate he gave orders that
transformed the tranquil deck of the
merchantmen into what appeared like
an ant hill suddenly aroused. Long
before the men on the Philadelphia
began to understand the meaning of
those forms that appeared to grow,
muShroomlike out of the Shadowy
deck they We're confronted by heads
and bodies that emerged from the
ports and swarmed over the rail. 1t
was like the mystic spell of some
weird magician, materialiZing human
beings out of empt! pace, and in an
other moment tie terrified Turks
rushed, panic stricken, to the star
board side of the ship. AS the Amer
leans dashed after them they flung
themselves overheard and began to
swim for shore. With their wits
Iabout them they might have given
the alarm to the waiting gunboats
or flashed a signal to the men behind
the cannon in the fortress. On the
gundeck there was a sharp hand-to-
hand fight. which left as its memento
the bodies of several helpless Turks.
The others vaulted over the rail as
fast as they could shake off their as
sailants. 1t all happened so swiftly
that in ten minutes Stephen Decatur
stood upon the quarterback in un-
disputed possession.
His men had their work so care
fully cut out for them that already
the crews had darted toward the
cockpit the storerooms, the after
matches and the steerage, carrying
the combustibles that were to make
certain the destruction of the frigate.
From the quarterback Decatur sent