The Washington times., 1917-01-14
Admiral Gaperton Due at Scene
of Disaster to Start In
quiry Into Causes.
ALL 400 ABOARD ARE SAVED
But Practically All Hope Has
Been Abandoned for MiIwau-
kee, Aground.

Caperton, commanding the Pacific
deet, was due here today aboard the
cruiser San Diego, to assume charge
of efforts to salvage the United States
cruiser Milwaukee, aground in the
surf two miles west of here, and to
start an investigation of the wreck.
Every one of the 400 officers and
crew of the Milwaukee has been saved
but practically all hope has been
abandoned for saving the warship.
Going farther and farther ashore as
each giant wave batters her, the Mil
waukee is now in a desperate con
dition, and few naval experts think
she will ever float again.
Narrow Escape.
One incident OF the rescue work was
the narrow escape of the persons
standing on the beach. The monitor
Cheyenne, in attempting to shoot a
line aboard. fired too high. The line
broke in mid-air, and the detached end
narrowly missed the people crowded
on short.
The coast guard ship McCulloch
from San Francisco assisted the Iro-
quois and the Cheyenne in the rescue
work.
Three Lines Stretched.
From the tip of the cruisers fight
ing top to the beach, stretched three
lines, and over these a breeches buoy
moved back and forth with monoto:
nous regularity. Two men were saved
on each trip.
simultaneously two surf boats op-
Grated by men Of the Humboldt Bay
coast guard ana members of the
stricken warshipis crew, made fire.
quent trips to the vessel, each time
bringing five men. Every trip was
fraught with danger for the rescuers
and rescued, as the huge waves tossed
the surfboats about like corks.
Hours OF Waiting.
The rescue of the crew followed
hours Of waiting on the stranded ves-
sci, while naval and coast guard men
ashore and the crews of the naval
ships Cheyenne and Iroquois, out at
sea, worked at top speed to get line
ashore.
The Milwaukee's wiresless flash
sent at daybreak yesterday, telling
the world OF her danger, set the ma
The word was relayed to Eureka
from here and simultaneously to the
Cheyenne and Iroquois. The Bay
coast guard crew started for the scene
at once with their Lyle gun in tow.
The trip was long, taking the men
around the tip of the peninsula,
through the entrance of Humboldt
Bay and then north and west along
the beach to the desolate spot where
the Milwaukee had struck.
Arriving nthe scene, the coast
guard men were Blocked by the fog
which overhung the scene. For an
hour they waited before the fog rose
and showed the Milwaukee rocking on
the surf about hundred feet distant.
First Effort Fails.
The first effort to- shoot a line
across failed, but the second landed
the line on the ship. A third and
fourth attempt followed, and each
was successful. By noon three lines
had been made fast to the fighting
top of the cruiser.
Lieu William F. Newtor, com
manding the Milwaukee, ordered the
crew first to save the ships big guns
before any rescues could begin. The
huge weapons were rapidly disman-
tied and placed where they would be
safe should the ship survive.
Cheer From Crowd.
At 2:3O the breeches buoy rig shot
out from the fighting top and swung
down to the beach, while a cheer
rose from the crowd. Willing hands
seized the two men it brought.
Phillip Decker, coxswain, fourth d.
vision, was the first man ashore, and
he was followed closely by Junior
Lieutenant Hayslip.
From this time on the rescues went
forward with great rapidity, and the
two surf boats were launched. For
ty-five minutes from the time the first
man stepped on the beach forty-ive
had been rescued.
Fear to Send Men AIoft.
The real situation of the Milwau-
kee was revealed with the arrival of
the crew. When the lines were shot
aboard the ship, they said the Mil
waukee was swaying and plunging
so giddily in the seas that Lieutenant
Newton feared to send his men to the
fighting top to mount the breeches
buoy. His order to open the false
bottom OF the cruiser and flood 1t
were obeyed at once. The Milwaukee
settled quickly in the water and
steadied, making the work of taking
off the men much easier.
Meanwhile. despite this, the batter
ing of the mountainous waves contin-
ued to move the cruiser in shore.
Each hard blow pushed her a trifle'
further up and increased the diff
Guilty of ultimately taking her off.
Ship Leaking Badly. .
Rescued firemen indicated that the
ship was leaking badly, as they de-
cIared that intwo of the four fire
rooms the firemen at noon were stand
ing in water to their waists.
As fast as the men were brought
ashore they were taken in charge by
of the Hammond Lum-
ber Company. which turned over. to
the naval officials the upper floor of
its office building for their comfort.
Lieutenant Adams. of the Eureka
naval reserves, sent to Samoa blank
az the ron1f0rf nj the man