The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-07-14

admirals, who interposed constitu-
tional objections, were told that it
was an outrage that the sovereign
people should not do what it pleased.
The unlucky six we're condemned and
put to death.
This naturally discouraged naval
enterprise. Although the next group
of admirals elected included the able
Konon, none of them dared to take
any active steps. Hence Lysander,
who was now made chief of staff and
in effect commander of the Spartan
fleet, sailed past the Athenians and
captured the town of Lampsakos on
the Hellespont which as Lampsaki on
the Dardanelles has figures in recent
dispatches. This at once not only
threatened the Athenian grain sup
ply, but cut off the revenue from the
tariffs which the Athenians had eX-
acted from ships passing through the
Narrows. So their fleet of $50 YES
sells rowed into the strait and drew
up on shore at the mouth of Goat
Rivers, Just across the Dardanelles
from the spot where the Spartans lay
at anchor. Lysander had the advan-
tage of position, with city at his
back from which he could draw sup
plies. The Athenians had to scatter
up and down the coast every day and
forage for their food.
Every morning Lysander cleared
his ships for action and rowed out
into the strait, which at this point is
less than two miles wide. Whenever
he did this the Athenians hurriedly
drew up ready for action on their
side of the Hellespont, but they were
on the defensive, partly for psyche
logical reasons and partly because a
defeat for them meant ruin, while a
defeat for the Spartans meant only
that they would have to build an
other fleet. So every day, when Ly-
sander withdrew to the beach and
gave up his threat of attack, the
Athenians did likewise and scattered
to get food along the shore.
Athenians Are Trapped.
Lysander. however, kept several
fast scout ships to apprise him of the
exact movements of the Athenians,
| who were now convinced that he had
been trying to surprise them and had
been baked by their vigilance. Alci-
| bades, their former general, who had
castle near by, came down and
pointed out to the fleet commanders
their dangerous position, but natur-
ally they refused to admit that Alci-
bades could tell them anything about
! their business. So the Athenian
fleet remained in its exposed posi-
ton, and after the Spartan fleet had
| come out, drawn up in line, and then
retreated on the fifth morning, the
Athenians again drew their ships up
on shore and scattered along the
coast. This was what Lysander had
waited for.
Upon signal from scout ship his
own fleet, which had not been put
out of fighting trim and was ready
to return at a moments notice, turn
ed about and rowed back across the
Dardane!les. The Athenian ships
were drawn up in rows along the
beach, empty of men. The arms were
in the ships or scattered along the
shore, and the men were everywhere
except at their positions. konon and
one or two other officers, still on the
alert, managed to escape with nine
ships, and, prudently refusing to &C
back to Athens with bad news, made
| their escape to a neutral port ano
| were interned. The rest of the ships
we're seized and their men captured
without a fight. Thereupon severa
of the states allied to Sparta, brought
charges of atrocities against the
Athenians, and Lysander ordered his
men to cut the throats of the three
thousand Athehian citizens among
the prisoners.
All that winter Athens was be
sieged by land and sea, and in Apri
the town surrendered after its people
had began to drop dead in the streets
from starvation. The peace confer,
ence at which the allies deliberateo
on the fate of the nation which hao
tried to master the whole GreeE
world was enlivened by the demands
of Thebes and Corinth, the neares1
neighbors of Athens, that the state
be entirely wiped out, but Sparta
the principal member of the grand
alliance, being at safe distance, de
cided that it would preserve the bal
ance of power to let Athens remain
as weak state dependent on Sparta
And before long the allies were fight
ing among themselves over the spoil:
of war and the hegemony they hao
Wrested from Athens.