The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-12-21
new BATTLE
At TAMP|CO
United States Gunboat Hurried
to Mexican Port Where
Attack is to be
Renewed.
BURNING THE DEAD
Federal Soldiers Capture zapata's Ha,
But His Head Could Not
BE Found in
Il.
4 y
BURNING THE DEAD
[By United Press staff correspond

ent.
VERA CRUZ, Dec. 2o.-Confirm
ing the report that new battle is
impending at Tampico, the gunboat
Wheeling steamed for that port late
tonight and the German battle cruiser
Bremen was under orders to proceed
there. Unless the Wheeling is held
by Rear Admiral Fletchers orders at
Tampico, she will proceed from there
/ to Galveston and New Orleans prob
ably carrying refugees.
The United States government is SO
anxious to preserve absolutely the
correct attitude In Mexican affairs
that Rear Admiral Fletcher, during
the recent battle at Tampico, allowed
a Mexican dock watchman to over
rule him. How the high naval officer
tacitly in command of an internation-
al fleet took orders" from the low
! ly guardian of the quays was related
by refugees from the beliguerged city,
arriving here. Fletcher on going
ashore from his flagship stumbled
iover some scattered boxes of mer.
chandise on the float used as land.
ing stage, used by the battleshir
Tacoma The rear admiral ordered
ri a gang of sailors ashore to pile the
boxes out of the way. The jackies
! had barely touched the first Of the
boxes whensthe dock watchman came
i up.
3 You can just let those boxes alone
r where they are," he said. and wher
the sailors reported to Fletcher, he
rescinded his order.
: Another instance of the same
. careful policy of non-interferenct
I came when the marines on American
, battleships sent word to the fedora
! officers that they would gladly sent
! twenty doctors and nurses ashore t
q help care for the injured.
g please do not land,'' was the re
e ply that came back, and the doctor
d and nurses stayed on ship board.
S A near mutiny threatened aboar
+ the Wheeling off Tampico when th
). sailors learned that two America
= women in the town could not b
a brought aboard the ships because tn
q stork was about to visit them. Th
men were planning a private rescu
party for the two women when dec
$ officers heard of the plot and heade
). Off the sailors by telling them tn
prospective mothers were safe.
DR.. w A. Whittimore of Brooklyn
, who acted as a physician with til
federals at Tampico, said that mo!
of two hundred men wounded in til
'r battle, died in the hospital fro1
blood poisoning because the hospiti
was not equipped with antiseptic
gauze and proper dressings. DR..
: w. Parson and DR.. j. c.. Stubb
:, American physicians, spent s400
: their own money purchasing first a
), necessities.
f Most Of the 400 women who too
an refuge on American ships during Il
r. fight, had children with them, al
NJ the youngsters became great favorit
e. with the sailors. One woman aboa
ey the Rhode Island had six children al
when the sailors learned that tn
ut were all crowded into one small cab
er at night, they used to take the thr
he youngest little ones to their ha
,ir mocks and rock them to sleep, sir
ing sea songs for lullabies.
Sc "I am sorry you say, sir, that t
or red blood in American warriors di
with the confederacy," Mrs. Holdt
superintendent Of the Tampico h
pital, and loyal daughter of the CT
e.] ------ :
no fnon+;n,,S an nooo oN