The Washington herald., 1913-06-22
Victor Blue Relates Thrilling Cuban Experiences
Acting Admiral and Chief Of the Bureau Of Navigation Gives
First Account Of Campaign Which Caused
Him to Be Advanced IN Rank for
Extraordinary Heroism.
BY JAMES b. MORROW.

Washington. June 2L-The bold and ro-
mantle adventures of Victor Blue are
now to be related for the only time. That
he climbed the dangerous hills Of San
tiago while the army and navy paused.
and saw Cervera's warships in the har-
Dor below, Is curt detail Of history
already known. He was advanced five
numbers in rank for extraordinary
heroism and his captain and his admiral
praise him in writing for his gallantry,
His thrilling experiences, however, have
gone untold.
Now, at the age Of forty-seven. Victor
Blue, a commander of the line, has be-
come an admiral temporarily. He has
been called in from sea and made chief
of the great bureau of navigation. The
officers and men of the navy thus come
within his jurisdiction. Since his gradu-
alton from Annapolis. in 1887, he has
lived mostly on shipboard. Until further
notice he is to have a desk in Washing
ton.
The Blues are battling men and have
been officers in the British navy, the
American revolution, the war Of 1872 and
the Confederacy of 1861. Rupert Blue.
the brother of Victor. now surgeon gen.
eraI of the United States Public Health
and Marine Hospital Service, fought the
yellow fever in New Orleans and the
bubonic plague in San Francisco.
When war with Spain seemed sure,
Lieut.. Blue, then thirty-two years old,
tall, dark-complexioned and black haired,
was ordered TO the Suwanee, an auXili-
airy gunboat. Commander Delehanty was
his captain. They were hurried away TO
Cuban waters. There. of the northern
coast, west of Havana, Lieut.. Blue en-
gagged in his first hazardous enterprise
against the Spaniards. Communication
was wanted with Gen. Gomez, command
ing the army of the Cuban insurgents
Lieut.. Blue, twelve picked men, Senior
Jova-a Cuban commissioner-and a ma
tive pilot, pulled away from the Suwanee
in a ships cutter a little before sun
down on the last day Of May.
Hundreds of small islands, called Gays
by the Cubans, fringe the coast TO with
in a short distance OF havana Between
the Islands and the mainland is the
wide, deep-water Bay of Buenavista. The
islands in ancient times gave safe refuge
to savage crews OF Spanish pirates.
Shoal water between the Gays prevented
the Suwanee from entering the bay, even
if such a proceeding had been desira bic.
Spanish gunboats were waiting IN the
bay. Spanish patrols were on guard
among the islands.
The crew of the Suwanee gave their
comrades three cheers wnen the cutter.
sails up and twelve men at the oars,
started away on its perilous expedition.
Soon it was lost to sight among the Gays.
The moon came up in tropical spIendor.
After a sail of four hours, the cutter
entered the Bay of BuenavIsta- The
coast of Cuba was fifteen miles distant.
No patrol boats had been seen. The
journey across the bay was mace with
out adventure. At 1:20 O'Clock that night,
after many signals back and forth OF
recognition. Lieut.. Blue sprang ashore
and planted the first American flag on
the mainland of Cuba. Sailors and SOL
diers. standing around camp tres burn
ing in the woods, waved their hats and
cheered an event that was to become
memorable. And so Gomez got his mes
sage.
The crew of the cutter, with news for
the American army and navy, started
back across the bay inside or thirty
minutes. When day broke they must be
hidden. Lieut.. Blue said, among the is
lands from the sight or watching gun
boats. They had been sailing an hour
when a man forward in the cutter turned
his head and whispered: "A hight over
the port bow, SIR. Inc next moment
4 Spanish gunboat was seen almost In
the cutters path. Capture meant death
to the Cuban pilot and commissioner ana
Imprisonment for Blue ana his sailors.
Blue Captures Two Spanish Prixes.
Blue could have turned and gone
back to Gomez, but that would have
delayed the important information he
was carrying to the blockading feet
from the insurgents. He changed his
course a few points. therefore, and
kept straight ahead. Fortunately. the
moon had gone down, and the night
was black. In time the cutter was
lost among the Gays. Still it was thir-
ty miles away from safety and the
Suwanee. The breeze had gone down
and the sails were empty. Worse than
all. the cutters crew were nearly ex-
hausted. and the sun beat upon them
with equatorial fury.
Occasionally a Spanish fisherman
would catch sight of u.s. Admiral Blue
said to me, and hurry away, as /
supposed, to notify the enemy. Six
miles from our ship / looked through
the trees of an island and saw two
sails behind the leaves and branches.
took in the situation instantly. Two
schooner yachts, which / knew-pa-
trolls to watch our movements off the
coast-were at anchor. We rounded
the island opened with our rifles, and
captured both in less than ten min
utes When the Spaniards saw and
heard us they jumped into small boats, |
and, reaching the island, vanished |
among the trees and underbrush. They |
didn't fire a shot. A fat man, left be- |
hind. fairly walked on the wafer in |
his hurry to get ashore. We tried to |
hit him, but missed because of our
laughter"
The captured yachts. now manned
by Americans, fell in behind the cut
ter. Again the crew of the Suwanee !
cheered, and then once more when they |
realized that the yachts were prizes.
One of the yachts was given to the
Cuban insurgents. The other was
stripped of its heliograph signal out
ft and sunk in the ocean Blue got
the swords of the two Spanish officers.
One he kept and one he gave to Dele
hanty, his captain. Thus ended his
first adventure. He was ready for the
second, which, in thrills and perils, is
rarely matched in ancient or modern
warfare. ....
Why Shnftcr Had to Wait.
Gen. Shafter." he said, was about to
sail from Tampa with his army of in
vasion. One of our gunboats. while in
the old Bahama Channel sighted two
arge ships and several small ones and
took them to be part of Cervera's fleet,
he movements of which had been some
hing of a mystry. Word was at once
AIKEN to Key West and Shafter was or
Tered TO wait. Our battleships were
olockading Santiago. where, as we knew,
'ome of Cerveras feet were at anchor.
4 would have been unsafe. however, to
END Skaters army of 1900 men to sea