Part 22 (1/2)
To do this she must travel through fourteen thousand miles of stormy sea, through the dangerous pa.s.sage around Cape Horn and then up the eastern sh.o.r.e of South America.
On the 14th of March, commanded by Captain Clark, she sailed from San Francisco, entering the straits of Magellan on the 17th of April. On the same day that Admiral Dewey reached the Philippines, the _Oregon_ arrived at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Every American was full of anxiety for the great battles.h.i.+p. Surely Admiral Cervera would arrive in the West Indian waters before the _Oregon_ could pa.s.s through them. But swiftly and steadily the great s.h.i.+p came on.
Finally, on the 24th of May, the _Oregon_ sighted the harbor lights of Key West, and soon reached a safe port. The very next day, Captain Clark reported her ready for duty. She had steamed the length of two oceans and not a valve was broken nor a repair needed.
Much praise is due to Captain Clark for bringing his vessel such a distance in desperate haste in order to help fight the nation's battles.
But we must not forget that it was the chief engineer, Robert W.
Milligen, and his seventy men, who made this possible. In spite of the terrible heat in the engine rooms, these brave fellows worked untiringly to keep the great s.h.i.+p moving steadily day and night around the continent.
[Ill.u.s.tration: MAP OF HARBOR OF SANTIAGO DE CUBA.]
Meanwhile, on the 11th of May, an unfortunate affair had occurred in the harbor of Cardenas, on the northern coast of Cuba. Three of the American vessels blockading this harbor had been ordered to explore the bay.
Suddenly the Spanish batteries on the sh.o.r.e opened fire. The torpedo boat _Winslow_, being nearest the sh.o.r.e, received most of the enemy's sh.e.l.ls. Although bravely returning the fire, the little boat was soon disabled. Five men were wounded, and Ensign Worth Bagley and four other men were killed. These were the first Americans to lose their lives in this war.
On the following day, the Americans heard that the Spanish fleet had arrived at Martinique, a small French Island near the coast of Venezuela. This being known, Commodore Schley sailed from Hampton Roads for the West Indies.
On the 19th of May, Admiral Cervera sailed into the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, on the southern coast of Cuba, and was there several days before the Americans found it out. Commodore Schley hastened at once to the mouth of the harbor so as to cut off all hope of escape for the Spanish admiral. Admiral Sampson soon arrived with the main squadron, and the entire fleet kept watch, frequently bombarding the forts at the harbor's mouth.
The Americans did not attempt to pa.s.s into the harbor, as the entrance was strongly protected by torpedoes; so they waited for a land force to arrive, and attack the enemy from the rear.
VII.--LIEUTENANT HOBSON AND THE MERRIMAC.
Soon after Admiral Sampson arrived off Santiago, there came to him a young lieutenant, Richmond Pearson Hobson. He had a plan which he wished to propose. He said:
”There is the collier _Merrimac_. Let a volunteer crew just large enough to navigate her be selected. Then, after stripping the old s.h.i.+p of everything valuable, let this crew run her, after dark, into the narrowest part of the channel leading to the harbor; and there let them sink her by exploding torpedoes under her. In this way we can block the harbor so that Admiral Cervera cannot in any way bring out his fleet.”
[Ill.u.s.tration: LIEUTENANT HOBSON.]
He explained that the crew of the _Merrimac_ would jump overboard as she sank, and, if possible, be picked up by a torpedo-boat or a steam launch, which should be stationed near-by for that purpose. Lieutenant Hobson himself, bravely offered to lead this expedition.
Admiral Sampson determined to carry out this plan, and called for a single volunteer from each s.h.i.+p. In spite of the danger of the undertaking, almost the entire crew of each vessel, not only offered to go, but begged to be accepted. Finally, eight men were chosen, with Lieutenant Hobson as their leader. At half-past two o'clock in the morning of June 3d, the _Merrimac_ was headed straight for the channel.
Lieutenant Hobson stood on the bridge dressed in full uniform. The other men were at their posts dressed in tights, ready to swim a long distance, if necessary.
The crew of the steam launch, which was following closely behind, saw the _Merrimac_ swing across the channel and then heard the explosions.
At the same time, the air was filled with the flash and roar of the guns of the Spanish forts and s.h.i.+ps.
In the face of all this fire, and without even a cry of distress to guide them, the crew of the launch began their search for the heroes of the _Merrimac_, never giving it up until daylight. Then, seeing nothing but the tops of the masts of the collier, they returned to the admiral's flags.h.i.+p.
Of what had happened to his men in the meantime, Lieutenant Hobson himself told afterward:
”When the boat began to sink, and the Spanish shot to fall about us, I told the men to lie flat on the deck. It was due to their splendid discipline, that we were not killed. The minutes seemed hours, but I said that we must lie there until daylight. Now and then one of the men would say, 'Hadn't we better drop off now, sir?' But I said, 'Wait until daylight.' I hoped that by that time we might be recognized and saved.
”The old _Merrimac_ kept sinking. It was splendid the way the men behaved. The fire from the batteries and s.h.i.+ps was dreadful. As the water came up on the decks, we caught hold of the edges of the raft which was tied to the boom, and hung on, our heads only being above water.
”A Spanish launch then came toward the _Merrimac_. As she drew near, the men saw us, and a half-dozen marines pointed their rifles at our heads.
'Is there any officer in that boat to receive a surrender of prisoners of war?' I shouted. An old man leaned out of the launch and waved his hand. It was Admiral Cervera. The marines lowered their rifles and we were helped into the launch.”