Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1925-11-25

time, so l will have to tell the story
mentioned. will say that Capt.
Rivera was made governor and captain
over Castle San ChristobSl and five ad-
ditional batteries in March, 1898.
There were several plans submitted
| in Washington as to the best way OF
| taking Porto Rico, but quite unex-
| pectedly a man arose, fun of enthusi-
| asm, who, exposing his lie hundred
| times, saved his country much blood,
much money, and surely the shame OF
| partial failure. This man was Henry
Fl. Whitney, then a lieutenant of the
| artillery corps.
| The U. S. knew nothing of the mill
tary forces in p r., so it was neces-
| sary to send a capable man to obtain
information. The man selected was
| Whitney On May s. 1898, he sailed
| from Key West on the Indiana, of Ad-
miral SIMPSONS fleet, witnessed the at
| tack on San Juan, May H. arriving at
ST Thomas the same day. The next
| morning he went on board an English
steamer. the Anderose. got position as
| colored cook. signing his name IL ii.
| Elias. name of his great grandfather.
| POtOuSe.
| Thomas. got information of this young
artillery officer, and cabled to San Juan
saving he was on the "Anderose. me
civic guard, the public militia and the
municipal police were ordered to eaten
the spy dead or alive AS soon as the
Anderose LET down anchor in the har
Dor of Ponce. she was searcher from
st ern to bow. A hundred times they
passed by Whitney, down on his hands
and knees, scrubbing the gallery floor
They finally gave up. thinking Potouse
was a victim of nightmare.
I will say that just as the Anderose
lowered her anchor. she struck reef,
disabling her a little. After the UNI
fruitful search, some of the prominent
people of Ponce visited the boat, among
them a young lady niece OF the COM
mander of the military forces at Ponce.
She received her education in the
states and could talk English. She
took notice of this cook, and asked him
the cause of the accident. His reply
convinced her that he was genuine
American She warned him that he
was in great danger. He simply
shrugged his shoulders. Little by lit
tie they became close friends, and he
gained valuable information from her.
Later she was married to a Baltimore
lawyer, and is now living in Boston.
A little later Whitney went out
through the island disguised as ped
dler. clothed in rags, selling kerosene,
enemies of Spain helping him, and at
night he would go out in the harbor of
,,tx inc
good harbor for the U. S. fleet to land
or make harbor. Three times he was
caught and each time he was helped
by this Spanish maid. The third time,
a guard caught him and sent word to
the governor that he had caught the
bird, and the governor sent word back
"bring the bird to me, dead or alive
But before the governors message got
back to the guard, the bird had flown
with the help of the Spanish senorita.
Now there is a lot more to- this-ot
all of the dangers and work OF TINS
officer and of his valor but l haven't
the space to write it. When l come
back to Maine, I will be very glad to
relate it to my friends as l heard it.
Capt. Rivera, in closing, said
ness of Whitney, the protocol of peace
of May IS, 1898, signed by William X.
DAY. secretary of the United states o.
America in behalf of the Z. s., and
Jules Canbon, ambassador eXtraordl-
nary of France, in Washington on be-
half of Spain, transferred the islands OF
Porto Rico and those of Nieques and
Culebra to the sovereignty of the
United States.
The campaign lasted in all nineteen
days-that it, from July 25 to August
49, The casualties of the American
army were three dead and forty
wounded, including three officers.
General Henry H. Whitney was
decorated with the distinguished SER
vice cross in the name of the govern
ment after many years, by General
Hunter Liggett, with the following
citation: For his extraordinary hero
ism in connection with the operations IN
the island of Porto Rico in May, 1898,
while in disguise and amid enemy
forces
I wish you all could have heard
this speech by this Spanish captain
We are now living in a very old
building close to the ocean, at the u 5.
naval station, in an old historic house
used in Spanish days as a naval prison
With best wishes to you all, l must
close.
Laura from Lynn"
p ST. left out something OF lmpor-
lance than on July %, 1899, the
American forces landed at Guanica,
with no other resistance than a lieu
tenant and eleven men, while at
Pajardo, a veteran army. five times as
large as the invading army, was walt
ing in readiness for the hour of bat
tie. This was all through the work OF
H. II. Whitney.
Dear Mutuals:
want to ''hark back" just few
years. When l was living in La
moine, more than forty years ago,
friend sent me Christmas cake. 1t
was a beauty, both for looks and taste.
When l saw her some time afterward l