The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1912-03-23

Il pointing STEWARD. stood out saunt
q ana iiYid In the red cloud that
# shtouded the burning battieship
l. Saving perhaps, the daring geeias
n lef Il Turner no painter weald pres
h isume % llnn on canvas I've mrid
flat Of such a SCENE
iini sranHli authority had ar
lready asserted Itself Al The iron
I eatss Of the Maehina sentineis we're
i Frosted Marines from the Navy yard
I aud leiail Ut the orlen pnhlico,
, Aavanss admirable military police,
had stretched vnrden shutting orc
I laii ACCESS "a the water 'front.' where
a fleet az the little harhor pleasure
boats could usually be commanders
"a FOR service At any reasonable
honf at tho day or night by persons
Properly accredited.
stopped by Officials
The New York men took In the
Situation al glance. Those in the
vehicle which had slightly eutstrin-
lped the others In the race tumbied
tout, only to he confronted BY an
armed guard under orders to bar all |
sccesR to the hatbor except to mon |
fn authority The newspaper cores
iBondehts had no moment of doubt
where their duty lay They belonged
somewhere out there Ia that zone Of
fire where things were happening
taat were likely 10 write new pages
IF history. It was their business to
act there and that speedily. One OF
The most awful Of world disasters
had occurred and The night was wan
ing There was time neither for
barley nor deliberate thought.
they pressed forward through
the ciamorous mob that snrged
against the military lines and then,
IN instant response 10 the Spanish
of sergeant. one of tbs
most quick witted Of the New York
assuming an air OF au-
bority mingled with an expression
of distress, responded
Officers de la Mainei"
Recognizing the clever ruse, each
Of the correspondents braced his
shoulders and tried to assume an
Annapolis chest The Spanish oft
Ger glanced at the group. not in |
doubt. but in evident sympathy and |
respect. He knew as well as any 9TH
er man In the service that naval Of |
ficers when ashore dress in civilian |
clothes unless on duty. The Spaniard
Strengthened himself and came to
the salute. Then he cried in voice
clearly heard above the din from
the dying ship;
Pass officers Of the Mainei'
Too keen upon the work that lay
before them to give second
thought to their ruse, beyond that
fact that it had succeeded, the cor
respondents rushed to the edge oil
the quay. dropped into boat and
soon were headed for the front"
They had one more picket to pass
Patrolling the water between the
shore line and the sinking hulk Of
J the American war ship. the sailors
tof the Spanish cruiser Alfonso XII.
we're doing what they could to pick |
up such poor mangled blueiackets as
came to the surface within reach of |
their boats, A Spanish officer from |
one Of the cutters challenged the ap-
preaching newsmen Again the an
swering cry, Officers of the
Mainel" suffieed to pass them thru
the Gordon of boats and the Spanish
officer touched his cap eourteously
as he went on about his task.
Story Spread Quickly.
Thus it was that the story spread
; abroad and Havana heard alike
from the police line at Machina
wharf and also from the men of the
Alfonso XII. the same plausible
= report that a considerable party of
officers of the Maine, who had ar
rived at the Machina in hard driven
> volantes. had been treated with the
utmost courtesy and consideration
( and boatload of them had been
passed through the naval Gordon in
t the harbor and permitted to go on
directly to their stricken ship, a
: considerable time after the first ex-
s plosion had occurred.
!. Little of the story remains to tell
: except that the men who in a mo-
: ment of dire emergency presumed
o TO masquerade as American naval
: officers reached the wreck in time
! to gather the essential facts which
u a Mortified world read the next
d morning 1t was their privilege also
to be of some service to Captain
e Sigsbee and his surviving comrades.
!. After this sorrowful remnant had
Y gathered in the cabin Of the Ward
r line vessel the City of Washington,
Ii whose men had been among the
q first to the rescue, Captain Sigsbee
n hurriedly wrote his cable message
d to the American people, cautionins
/. a suspension of judgment until after
l. fun investigation.
3. That message, scrawled on the