Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-04-24

been blowing for forty-eight hours
and the seas running high. Some mid
shipmen were sent over the mast
head. They were all seasick. 1t was
thought it would help them out to give
them a little exercise and they were
sent over the masthead. They did
not think to give them a warning not
70 come down on the lee side, which
you should never do In a gale of
WIND: You ought to go up on the
weather side and come down ON the
weather side. But the order was
given for the midshipmen to go over
the masthead and they promptly did
So and half Of them had not got over
the crosstree when one Of them-a
nephew OF Admiral Schley. classmate
OF mlne-fell and struck the top of
the yard and went overheard.
All Eeager to Risk Lives
heavy sea was running. Prompt
ly the lifeboat was called for and the
crew responded. They had not been
more than half lowered before the
sea, which was running very heavy,
swamped the boat. 1t was not believ-
ed the boat co@ld live in that sea.
They called away the other lifeboat's s
crew and they went back as cheerily
as though 1t were a dead calm and
they went out in that lifeboat to see
II they could save any of those who
were overheard. / have seen seamen
the plain seamen, go overheard and try
TO save a comrade and the officer OF
the deck had to order no more to go
overheard - superfiuity exposing
thelr own lives to save a comrade.
This was my first introduction to
the spirit Of this plain private. And
remember. gentlemen, they are moth
ing but boys. The average age in the
fleet that Is off the coast of Mexico to-
day Is 21 years.
Perhaps l ought to give another
personal tribute to this private. A
question came up-a little incident-a
little expedition In my day. Being a
naval constructor. knowing how to
build ships, / naturally knew how to
sink ships. The question of sinking
ships came up and naturally I wanted
| to be associated with 1t. Seven men
were wanted, and Admiral Sampson
issued call for seven men. The call
was Issued from the flagship and more
than thousand responded
THE main trouble had from thai
time To the time we started in was In
refusing the personal appeals of men
| who had been my old shipmates,
pleading with me on personal grounds
and on all other grounds to let them
go in.
Yes. Poinsett and his comrades
make me think of the time when, with
those seven men gathered on the deck,
we were slowly sinking. Only two tor
pedoes went off. We had ten. but the
wiring and the batteries connected
with the others had been broken and
cut away and crushed before the time
came and only two went off. We went
down slowly.
All Remained Until the Last
THE original plan was that II the
lifeboat would survive we would get
away from the ship and get out Of 1t,
and the men expected to get away.
But the lifeboat was shot away, and
I therefore changed my plans en-
tirely. but ] did not explain II to them.
can remember these seven men, too.
Shell after shell would come In. and
with every shell II would look to us
as though the next one surely would
get us. They would tear and cut
everything below and the men would
say. Now can we be OFF, I would
say. No / said. No man can move
until further orders When the boil
er went up they said. Can we go?'
/ said, No man will move until further
orders
"At last the ship gave a lurch. tust
before she was going down. and heav-
ed as though she would turn over on
us, and we heard the gurgling and
rushing sound of the whirlpool and
they said. Can we get OFF, and | said,
No, stay with me- and they STAYED
with me. gentlemen. every last one of
them.
Now I have another little after
math thought of II. BY II o'clock
that day we were In the Moro. All
the men were In one cefl-seven men
in one dark cell. I knew It was a
question of their health and called
upon the commandant to let one of
them come to me for instructions
about taking care of their health.
They sent Surratt in, and after he got
his instructions he put his heels to-
gether and saluted md said Sir. the
men asked me to bring you a mes
sage 1t looked as If they we're get
ting ready to execute me. Everything
looked that way. There was that one
chance to send me a message. What
do you suppose that message was?
IT will not say how long a time we
stayed in the water when they were
closing In on us with their launches.
and how the men thought they would
kill us II they caught us. did not
tell them for hours what the orders
were, but just told them tc stand by
me, and you would think IL a man got
clear of a thing like that he would NOT
want to go into 1t again. The mes
sage they sent to me was this-I re-
member Surratt. with his heels TO-
gether, said
"'Sir the men asked me to tell Won
that they would go in with You again