Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1921-06-16
Mystery of Lost Cyclops
Probably Cleared at Last

utter the trip was uneventful except
for an occasional white sail on the
horizon and an incident one night.
"At the end of the thirteenth day
we put into Bahia and dropped off a
few Of our 300 army passengers. We
had gobs, diplomats and marine off,
GERS on board. Then we put to sea
again for Rio.
I'VE arrived at Rio four days later,
and when we entered the harbor the
o. s. s. Pittsburgh, with the adj
miral's flag flying, ordered us to take
anchorage 1000 yards astern Of her.
We lowered away one of our motor
boats and sent to the Pittsburgh,
among other passengers, Captain Har-
rington Of the marine corps, who had
been assigned to the Pittsburgh for
duty.
Reports to Admiral caperton.
AN hour later semaphore message
from the Pittsburgh read: Captain
Hays will repair on board Pittsburgh
Immediately and report to the force
commander
"a boat called alongside and 1
showed off for the Pittsburgh. Upon
arriving on board her l went to Adj
miral Caperton's cabin and was greet
ed by him very kindly. He asked me
to tell him about the Orion's Journey
southwark and particularly about tho
objects we had sighted off Barbados.
Captain Harrington had told him in
chat about the incidents.
I'm reciting them to the admiral /
made 1t clear to him that In both
cases the Orion's captain ordered me
not to stop.
"This relieved me Of all response
bility. and as left the Pittsburgh
Captain Bosch was ordered on board
the flagship. He came back to the
Orion some time later, apparently up
set as a result Of his talk with the
ADMIRAL and he called me into his
stateroom.
Captain Boesch ain Trouble"
He told me 1t looked as though
we were In trouble. He said almost
every one on the Orion had seen the
Franklin buoy, but as far as he knew
only the two of US had seen the life
raft. He asked me in a subtle way IL
was sure 1t was a life-raft. 1 an
swered that it might have been phos-
phorous spot in the water.
1.-THE captain called in his yoeman
and dictated letter to this effect {:
After careful consideration ] have
come to the conclusion that the OBJ.
ject reported as life-rqft was not
life-raft but PHOSPHORUS spot in
the water caused by small seas
II heard nothing more about the
matter. I thought several times,
though, Of Amphitrite, beloved Of sail
ors, who dances under ships prov.
From Rio we went to Montevideo.
On our way home we stopped at San
tos, Brazil, to take on a cargo Of 49,
GOO tons Of coffee. We were glad It
was not manganese. We stopped at
Rio again to pick up travel passengers
for the States.
A Dread Prophecy.
"While in Bahia the paymaster of
the Orion and / went to the cruiser
Raleigh one evening to have dinner.
During the course Of the meal we
were told that as the Raleigh's off,
GERS stood on deck watching the Cy-
clops put to sea on her homeward
Journey they bet each other the Cy-
clops would never get back to the
States.
II have often stood on the fore
castle of the Orion looking aft and
watched her deck give in calm sea.
The cause Of this is that the twin
screw Golfers are so long that when
both engines happen to thrust to-
gether the longitudinal strain is so
great there is a give to the framing
Of the ship. Outlines during that Vi
bration have looked up at the bridge
and watched the foremost bend like
carriage whip.
The Raleigh's officers, even from a
distance, had seen the Cyclops' deck
give under the strain.
Tho cyeIops' Cargo.
II went ashore at Bahia to see the
dockmen who had loaded the Cyclops.
On the dock where the cargo was
slowed. the foreman, named Martins,
explained to me as best he could re-
member just how the loading was
done.
HE pointed out two cranes set
about 300 feet apart on the dock and
told me the cranes had lowered the
cargo into the Cyclops's holds. asked
him If the cranes had been moved
during the course of the loading, and
he said No He also said the Cy-
clops had not shifted either forward
or aft along the dock.
"This implied that one-half the car
so had been loaded into one or two
forward matches and one-half into one
or two After matches.
with GOLFERS 12,OOO-ton cargo
of coal all the matches are filed to
the covers. Manganese ore is so much
heavier than coal that 1900 tons Of
1t spread evenly over big ships bot
tom would be only few feet deep.
Il have given these facts as l found
them. Think them over. Then de-