The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 30, 1901, Page 5

THE SUNDAY CALL. FIRST FOURTH 1898 Battle of Santiago de Cuba From a Descripticn Writ=- Z| tem by DCennis E. Smith, ¥ with the flaz- amed away for nd then came the watchfulness On the ot ard ship. hts of he Santiago blockace we iled as gu noon that cay smoke was si d! ance order from were d rted and, by the the Oregon immed:ately gave rder forced draft until she over- what we all felt sure was a prize, oved to be only a newspaper boat g for Mole St. Nicholas with all speed to transmit nmews to the Often afterward the mer Captain Clark rang out on t ng out when the chase after ths he's off for the for Oregon on her tug, “There goes Clark; Things are too Good-by slow him here The sinking of the Merrimac was the Afst exciting event until the 6th of June, sounded went n every- when after breakfast the buglers ship for action,” the to their stations and in readiness for firing. American ships steamed within range e forts and opened a fierce cannon- which was ref with almost the shore batteries. Now “Cle Siowly ned for the first time we were in the midst fiving shells. Our big guns belched forth their ponderous projectiles and the forts returned the fire; but with poor marksmanship. Battery after battery on chore was sflenced by The Americans hout the least damage from the but with a positive assurance hat the enemy had been greatly aged, though they were at a loss to find t the exact results the American gun- ners finally tharew en- fire dam- June 10 we were at Guantanamo for and on that day forty marines he Oregon, with twe rines from the cruiser Marblehead. were sent ashore 1 thus forming ths landing of armed troops u When had finishel ng the big guns were turned upsn the town of Caimanera, a distance of 5% ds, and several shelis the town, dolog great damage, f the inhabitants aste. From this on until the first of July we e came routine before San- setting monotonous and wa ve actic rg of the Ist of J call nanned we from in company ma- er arms we were rown any deserting the city in t was under but no firing was done and the shore batteries, on n withdrew after invit- of the Spanish. They would »pen fire on us though we were with- y range of their guns. On the aft- f that same day the flagship New York and Oregon threw shells over the s into the city of Santiago. The firing lasted r about two hours, after which they returned to their respective positions on the blockade. ¥ on the morning of the 2d we wera again called to general quarters and bom- rded the fortifications for over two hours. Old Morro, which thus far had spared, was fired on and pierced by merous shells, which exploded with ter= rific force and rent asunder her mortared sides. Great clouds of dirt and rubbish wkich at times partislly obscured the ancient, picturesque build= ing, which, like a lonely seemed to have watched the movements of the American fieet since the first day of its arrival there. The ensign of Spain, which for ce waved over Morro, was shot dcwn at 6:51 a. m. by a projectile from cne cf the Oregon’'s big guns. When the clouds of dust cleared away and it was seen that the flag of Spain was down cheers echoed fronf every ship of the blockade. The Oregon then steamed to within 700 yards of Morro and to the very entrance of the harbor and fired upon and silenced the Punta Gorda battery—a battery which until this time had remained in- tact. Sunday morning, July 3, dawned beautiful and bright. The waters before Santiago harbor were as calm and beau- tiful 2s the moonlit waters of a mountain lake. The decks were was £00d old navy style and officers and men were attired In their neatest and clean- est sults of white. It was the first Sun- day of the month, and every one was Jdn readiness to attend general muster and give an attentive ear to the reading of the articles of war, a customary rule in the navy on the first Sunday of every month. First call for quarters had sounded and the men were assembling in thelr respective divisions when sud- denly the gongs clang and we hear that the Spanish fleet are coming out at last to battle —7ith us. A man's first battle in es ernoon o were thrown up sentinel vries SO SoatA: on sea is something to remember to the grave. Scarcely had the first ship cleared the harbor entrance before a shot from one of the Oregon's Slx-pounders, menned by marines, sounded sharp and clear, and the battle of the century was on. The American ships closed in, and the Spanish orered with & volley, which was imme- diately returned. At this juncture the tcrpedo boats had cleared the entrance and were heading for our ships at full speed with a view of torpedoing them. Wcrd was passed to man the starboard gutis. The secondary batteries of all Lhe ships within gun range were immediatély traired upon the torpedo boats, but it a well-directed shot from the after inch starboard gun of the Oregon that struck one of the torpedo boats amid- ships and seemed to part her in two, after which she headed for the shore, bare able to reach it. The other “torpedo b was sunk by the secondary batteries of all the ships. Great shells from the Spanish ships were passing over us, and their mad rush through the air told their destructive powers. The Oregon was a sheet of flame from the firing of other guns and dense columns of smoke partially ob- scured our view of the enemy. The men below deck were heaving coal Into the <+ 71.U.S.BATTLESHIP OREGON _/_ g"’ il 2“%; “‘7S vawning furnaces. The thunderous roar of the big guns was deafening and the saltpeter from the powder smarted our eyes. Suddenly some one shouted “She’s on fire,” and the cheers rang loud. Present- ly another vessel is ofl fire and the sweat- ing, battle-frenzied men again cheer mad- ly. The Maria Teresa is on the beach a mass bf flames, her crew in distress, her flag lowered and the Oquendo is likewise heading shoreward meeting a similar fate, but fighting and doing the best she can. By this time the Colon and Viscaya have steamed well ahead and are nearly out of range. The Oregon is rushing mad- Iy on, shelling the Oquendo as she passes. The Oregon continues to gain, firing upon the Viscaya. The other Ameri- ifcan ships are far behind, save the Brooklyn, which is on our port bow and well out. The Viscaya, too, is on fire and we are rapldly gaining and continuing a fierce fire with all the guns that can be brought to bear upon her. Soon she is hit in the quarter by a big shell which seems to raise her stern out of the water and she is headed full speed for the shore. She lowers her flag and the Oregon steams on, leaving the Viscaya to the American ships coming rapidly astern. . Now there is but one left, the flesing Colon, far ahead. The Oregon and the Brooklyn steam within close proximity of the Colon with guns trained on her. A boat from the Brooklyn is sent to re- celve the surrender. Our men cheer Cap- tain Clark again and again. In a broken voice he begs them to cheer themselves. “It was you who did it, not I, men,” he says. That night we remained in the vicinity of the sunken Colon. - When the morning of the Fourth broke we steamed back over the scenes of our triumph and viewed with deepest curiosity the deeds of cruel war. ) We arrived among the fleet and took our usual station. At noon we fired a national salute in honor of the Fourth. We had three wounded prisoners from the Colon on board, and when the salute was fired they became frightened and feared another battle was on. After resuming our station Commodore ‘Watson transferred his broad pennant to the Oregon and sald he would have given his right leg to have been aboard the Oregon during ,the fight. We pray God that the Oregon may know many other happy Fourths—but we who lived throuzh it feel that she can never know a more glorious, memorable Fourth of July than that of '88 with Santiago and the Spanish fleet her own. PLURIBUS UNUM _ SECOND FOURTH 1899 Manila Bay From the Log of W. K. Morris, Ship’s Writer, Oregon. — . The second Fourth of July was not such a stirring one for the Oregon as that never-to-be-forgotten Fourth at Santiago. The Oregen had been in the Lingayen Gulf, where she had cone some fighting and: had rescued the Paragua, which had run aground and was surrounded by in- surgents, who fired on her from block- houses. Provisions were short on all the gunboaty, and the . Oregon’s plentiful stock wés sadly dejleted through sharing .more than the danger to our lives. the larder. The men were on extremely short rations, and when the order eame to go to Manila everybody was happy, for square meals were in sight. We ar- rived at Manila on the Fourth, but too late to take on supplies. The other ships in Manila Bay were dressed in gala attire, bands playing, flags waving and happy voices calling across the water. Hunger was gnawing too hard for our hearts to beat very high. But it was the dear old Fourth, and with the comforting thought that on the morrow our larder would be replenished, we man- aged to be cheerful and even join in the national songs as the music of the bands was wafted our way. So, cheered by the promise of the fat days to follow the lean ones, we watched the Fourth go out on Manila Bay to the boom of salutes’and the blare of the bands. THIRD FOURTH 1900 On the Rocks in the Gulf of Pechili From the Log of E. T. Ben- nett, Ship’s Writer, Oregon. Who would ever have predicted that the stanch Oregon would spend her third Fourth of July listed on the rocks at Howky Light Straits, in the Gulf of Pechili? No one knew at- what moment our beloved Oregon would be swallowed by lashing waters. For days and days she had been on the rocks there, with but a dim hope of ultimate safety. We on board were prepared to jump for the al- ready lowered lifeboats at the first sign that the ship could no longer hold own. But the fact that our lives were comparatively safe did little to lessen our sorrowful fears lest the Oregon should come to harm. “The Fourth will be the fatal day,” we said all along, as the tug- ging and straining to get her off proved unsuccessful. We made up our minds that she would slide off or sink on the Fourth of July. We had left Hongkong on June 23, and on the 28th a beavy fog and strong cur- rents carried us out of our course, and we struck the rocks. Collision sounded and the men went to their sta- tions to close the water tank doors. Then we stood by to abandon ship. We loved the Oregon, every one of us, and the thought of her going down unnerved us When she gave evidence of holding her own for a while at least Captain Wilde gave or- ders for the men to go to work. Night and day those men worked as men only work when their hearts are in accord with their hands. If they could save the Oregon they didn’t care whether they ate or slept. The diver reported that the hole was eighteen feet wide and twenty-four feet long and she was to the starboard within two grees of keeling over. The lish wrecking company from other side of the island sent large -crew and a Steam launch and two ten-inch pumps. Through heroic a: sistance of the men of iMé Oregon they managed to cork up the hole with can- vas, sacks or any available stuff. The Ruesian, English, Japanese and Chinese cruisers dld everything in their power to help us. But she broke nine-inch hausers and could mot move off the rocks. All around us lay the hulls of vessels that had gone to their doom in that treacher- ous strait. So far the weather had been perfect, but we knew a storm meant sure dlsaster—a heavy swell would have dashed her to pleces. On the afternoon of the 3d of July we commenced to dress the ship for the mor- row. If she went down, we meant that she shauld meet old Neptune in Fourth of July attire. All day long on the Fourth they tried to tow her off, but they couldn’t budge her. We had pinned our faith to that day of days, and when night fell like a pall over her, still fast to the rocks, we almost lost hope. But on the morning of the 5th, of her own free will, at high tide, the majestic Oregon floated off the rocks. She struck a second reef, but again floated off that, and on July 17 we were safely at Kure, the Japanese naval station, whers she was repaired. We had dressed the Oregon in flags, not knowing whether they would be her shrcud or the symbols of new life. It was s though the doughty ship herself, stirred by those emblems of the country she had served so well, made one last mighty effort to escape the rocks that gored her. Still flaunting her Fourth of July attire, the Oregon floated off to the sea and safety. quarters Since 1815 the Rothschild family has raised for Great Britain alone more than $1,000,000,000; for Austria, $250,000,000; for Prussia, $200,000,000; for France, $400,000,000; for Ttaly, $300,900,000; for Russia, $125,000,- 000; for Brazil, $70,000,000. In 1595 they took $15,000,000 of the February loan of the United States through the Belmont-Mor- gan syndicate. The underground telegraph cable which the postal authorities have just com- pleted between London and Birmingham in place of the overhead wires Is the long- est subterranean cable In the world. It is 117% miles long. oy T WASHINGT < i Momr o * jrackson LINCORN GRANT FARR.