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

been blowing for forty-eight hours
and the seas running high. Some mid
sh1pmen were sent over the mast
mead. They were all seasick. 1t was
thought it would help them out to give
them little exercise and they were
sent over the masthead. They did
not think to give them a warning not
10 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, a classmate
of mine-fell and struck the top of
the yard and went overheard.
All Eeager to Risk Lives
A heavy sea was running. Prompt
~ 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
crew and they went back as cheerily
as though it were dead calm and
they went out in that lifeboat to see
II they could save any of those who
were overheard. I have seen searnen.
the plain seamen, go overheard and try
10 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
Ihls 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 81 years.
Perhaps ! 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. l naturally knew how to
sink ships. The question of sinking
ships came up and naturally l wanted
to be associated with it. 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 l had from that
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
pe6oes 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 it.
and the men expected to get away.
But the lifeboat was shot away, and
| 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 1t 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, / would
say. No I said, No man can move
until further orders When the boil
er went up they said, Can we go?'
orders
"At last the ship gave lurch, Just
before she was going down. and heay-
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 1t. By ii o'clock
that day we were in the Morro All
the men were In one cell-seven men
question of their health and I 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 were 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?
81 will not say how long 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 If they caught us. I did not
tell them for hours what the orders
were, but just told them tC stand nv
me, and you would think if a man pot
clear of thing like that he would not
want to go into it again. The mes
sage they sent to me was this-I re-
Surratt, with his heels TO-
gether, said
Sir, the men asked me to tell Won
that they would go in with you again