With the Battle Fleet

Searchlight Drill With Ninety-six Lights-Crews on the Whole Glad to Get Away from Port of Spain Des

Louisiana, U.

iro, Jan

tatement must not be taken as reflecting in the least upon the officials of the place. No greetings to a fleet of foreign warships could have been more

erhaps fifty persons all told came out to visit the ships, the clubs were thrown open to officers and no

aces were on. That meant three days of closing the shops at noon, three days of betting, three days of sharpening wits to contest with three card monte men, roulette men, wheel of fortune men; three days when the most prosperous of the large Hindu population, in all their picturesque garb, women with rings in noses, bracelets on arms and legs, brilliant

htway when it was announced that the races would be held at the same time-well, how can any person attend to two important things at one and the same time? Didn't one of the daily morning

ome delay in coaling and he did not get away until 4 P. M. The night before sailing the fla

the officers and men of the fleet the following extract

en years in Gibraltar, which is a rendezvous of the fleets of the world, has given me some experience of Jack ashore

gratification that the conduct of the men has

very man was ready to vote Gov. Jackson a brick. There was just one comment made throughout the fleet, and it mi

Swettenham about Jack

n said at the beginning of this letter; the offici

considerable hilarity on three occasions-Christmas and the other two-all within two weeks, that such is the normal condition on an American warship. These cele

rk and the smoking lamp was lighted all day. Extra things at dinners were provided. As was general on shore, the new year was welcomed with

s members began to tell stories. Now and then a song would start up, and all would join in. A fruit cake made by a fond mother at home was brough

trong eastern trades were booming up against the port side. Naval Academy songs were shouted. One officer thoughtlessly sat in the barber's chair in the rear of the wardroom. A great rush was made f

d a special New Year's greeting to the Vermont's wardroom, because the officers of that ship had made a Christmas serenading call on all the ships on Christmas night in Trinidad. One of the Vermont's officers is Dr. F. M. Furlong. His mates on Christmas Day had nominated him for p

. vote to Dr. Furlong. Back districts, from the grassy slopes of the Green Mountains to the saccharine depths of th

ck and sang their song softly to see if it was all right. Then they climbed on the upper deck, stepped quietly along the gangway to the forward bridge. They were as silent as Indians. One of them had a great Christmas palm branch fully twelve feet long. One by one they sneaked up the port lad

Year! Happ

appy an

to the

t she lo

a high

cking

Year! Happ

ew Year

gnals, and the officer of the deck growled out something about a lot of wild Indians. A high f

e!" ordered the

nt. The Captain got a good dose of noise, but being a discreet man he said never a word. There was a rumor that he wasn't inside at all and that, knowing wha

e with the stiff trade wind blowing the sound from the megaphoned throats of the singers, happy New

lors were greeted with song. They sat up and cheered. It was fine to have a party of officers come around and wish you a happy New Year. Every mess of the ship received a call. When the warrant officers' mess was reached there was a brill

the bos

ck to

dered

? Didn't the carpenter dance a highland fling? Didn't the scholarly warrant machinist from the Boston Tech. twang a banjo and set the pace for the "Old New York" and the "Dea

Kim!" was

life," was

has sailed the high seas in the United States Navy for a quarter of a century and knows so much about the ships and officers that he wouldn't dare to tell it all and ought to be made an Admiral for his knowledge and his discretion; Kim, who has to salute many a man with a star on his sleeve and some of them with tw

orks but de

'round

pon th

his He

y pays o

y take

works on

ear o

s and the din was terrific. It was a dance all around and some more strictly regulation things to drink. Happy New Year was sung for the 273d time and then came a further inspection of the ship. Wasn't it time for the dinner f

furnace doors in watertight compartments the greeting was sung and the words "Happy New Year" were chalked on furnace doors. Perhaps the engines lost a revolution or two, o

al song and final-well, never mind that-didn't a messenger from the bridge come down with a si

o you, L

ou, our jov

matters which, even if told unofficially, would not look exactly attractive all written out in a signal book, because you can't put much fun in a signal book entry. There must have been a good deal of the happy-go-lucky spirit on some of the ships, for on two or three of them the rollickers got at the siren whistles and blew them. That is something that might prove serious to a fleet sailing as this is,

and reported his division "all present or accounted for"; the members of the crew gave no hint that they had seen any officer roaming about the ship only a few hours before in a free and easy manner violating all ordinary traditions of a naval officer's dignity. And as for the warrant officers, when they saluted and gave

ships, with the supply ships Glacier and Culgoa bringing up the rear midway between the lines. For six days off the upper part o

as these seas would come over the bow and spread their aprons of water over the forward parts of the ships the colors would change from blue to green, with white fringes, and then the sun would arch rainbows over the boiling torrents that would run from the sides as the shi

f machinery and some one on her thought he saw a raft to the eastward with two men clinging to it. Those in charge were evidently new to this coast and did not recall that fishe

ks and began to prepare to make much of the incident. After two hours the Culgoa was back in her place with what seemed to be a sheepish look to those familiar with the situation. She had found two men on a raft-that is to say, on a catamaran-and they were fishing an

l afterward. They relate especially to tactical things, the things that may give information or some hint of information of importance to other nations. All navies have searchlights, however, and what will be

ing. Just as eight bells were struck, when not more than half a dozen lights were visible on each ship of the fleet, a great beam of white shot out across the starboard of the Connectic

space, each light with the sheen of a full moon brought right down within the grasp of a man who turned a cylinder about as he pleased and said to the rays go here and go there. It was like a new world sprung into existence before your

ow fast, now slowly, about each ship. When the rays struck the water, say, about 300 yards away from a ship and each light was turned slowly around the vessel, it was as if so many sprites of the sea were dancing about like children around a May pole. Then a beam would go scampering away as if it had the concentrated velocity of a hundred 12-inch s

ached out and stolen a good share of the strength of the sun-which actually was the case from the standpoint of science-had stored it in their holds and then had sprung it at night, just to show what could be done in the way of robbing the powers

ort of tuning up process, no more to be compared with the real thing tha

sailing along a sea as smooth as Long Island Sound in the summer time, with only regulation lights showing, distances kept perfectly

th the squadron that Admiral Evans was leading, burst into a blaze of light. In two minutes the entire fleet was stopped. Boats were lowered from the Missouri, the Illinois and Kearsarge following. The searchlights were thrown upon the water and upon the boats, showing the men at work rowing about and searching for the lost man. It made a brilliant scene in the dead of night. Carefully and systematically the b

ilor's nightmare. No one was found missing at roll call the next mo

h. Probably the man on watch had gone to sleep. He suddenly awoke and before the officer of the deck on the Louisiana could recover from his amazement he headed straight for that vessel, the fourth ship in the squadron. It was soon plain that the barkentine would clear the

ce in his life. Clearing the first squadron he came into full view of another over to the east. There he was, all mixed up in a fleet of warships going at the rate of ten knots an hour. He beca

ia reel at sea by boats," said one o

a kind Providence usually watch over a drunken man on shor

art. No skipper would have dared take such chances in the daytime and in full control of his craft. The officers of the fleet breathed a sigh of

there came the journey along the coast, the entrance into the magnificent harbor, the splash of the mud hooks and the feeling that one-third of th