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AN ADMIRAL'S LOG 
 
 Being Continued ^eco/Iections 
 of Naval Life 
 
 By 
 
 ROBLEY D. EVANS 
 
 Rear- Admiral, U. S. N., Author of 
 " A Sailor's Log " 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 New York and London 
 
 D. Appleton and Company 
 
 1910 
 
e:\s2 
 
 Copyright, 1910, by 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 
 Copyright, 1908. 1909. I'y Be"J- B. Hampton 
 
 PuUisJicd March, 1910 
 
 (g;n! A^f^^l407 
 
J3^ 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 When " A Sailor's Log " was published, I felt 
 that I had written enough about myself. Some people 
 even went so far as to say that I had written too much. 
 Now that I am retired and have plenty of time on my 
 hands, I have concluded, at the earnest request of my 
 publishers and many other friends, to write a sequel to 
 " A Sailor's Log," " An Admiral's Log," and in it re- 
 late such incidents as may be of interest to the general 
 public. With this in view, I will take up the story of 
 my life after the Spanish War and complete it up to 
 the date of my retirement from active service at the age 
 of sixty-two years. 
 
 RoBLEY D. Evans. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTEK , PAGE 
 
 I. — The Sampson-Schley controversy . . . . i 
 The court of inquiry — The opinion of the court — Action of 
 Secretary of the Navy — An unfortunate controversy. 
 
 II. — Ordered to the Island of Samoa .... 8 
 On court-martial duty — Pago Pago — ^The natives of Samoa 
 — A war dance — The court-martial. 
 
 III. — Collecting information at Honolulu ... 19 
 Labour conditions — Pearl Harbour — Report to the Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 IV. — The visit of Prince Henry of Prussia ... 26 
 
 Arranging for Prince's visit — A special-service squadron — 
 Arrival of Prince Henry — Reception by German societies 
 — The Prince at Washington — Launching of the Meteor — 
 Visits and receptions in New York. 
 
 V. — Prince Henry in the West 41 
 
 On the Prince's train — Arrival at St. Louis — At Chattanooga 
 — Southern hospitality — In Chicago — Passing the danger 
 point — The ball at Chicago — Reception at Milwaukee. 
 
 VI. — Prince Henry at Niagara Falls . . . -57 
 Visit to power house — A Canadian welcome. 
 
 VII. — Prince Henry in Boston 60 
 
 At Harvard — Reception at the State House — A Boston ban- 
 quet — An American hostess. 
 
 VIII. — Prince Henry bids farewell to America . . 66 
 Entertainment at New York — At the University Club — With 
 the Captains of Industry — A New York private dinner — In 
 Philadelphia — At Annapolis — At West Point — Results of 
 Prince Henry's visit — Prince Henry's farewell. 
 
 vii 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 IX. — Ordered to the Asiatic fleet 80 
 
 Chairman of Lighthouse Board — Conditions in the East — 
 On the way to Japan — An English passenger ship — The 
 English Naval Reserve — Lunch with Prince David — 
 Hawaiian fruits — A commodore of the old days — A good 
 swimmer. 
 
 X. — In Japan 99 
 
 Arrival at Yokohama — Coast defences — Assume command 
 — The Emperor of Japan — The Empress of Japan — Lunch- 
 eon with Baron Yamamoto — The President's instructions. 
 
 XI. — The German naval station in China . . 113 
 
 Naval bases in China — Germany's concession — The Ger- 
 mans at Tsingtao — German naval methods. 
 
 XII. — Target practice at Chefoo 123 
 
 Target practice — In the old way — Early torpedo practice — 
 Smokeless powder — The ping-pong machine — Results of 
 firing — Captain Sah — A wonderful shot. 
 
 XIII. — Summer headquarters in China .... 140 
 
 The Kentucky at Chefoo — China Inland Mission School — 
 Medical examinations — Instructions for target practice. 
 
 XrV. — An inspection tour 153 
 
 Newchwang — Inspecting the Monocacy — Telescope Sights 
 —At Port Arthur — Russian opinion of Japan — A visionary 
 scheme. 
 
 XV. — In Northern Asia 163 
 
 The Emperor of Korea — An imperial luncheon — Through 
 the Straits of Korea — At Vladivostock — Dinner with the 
 Russian admiral — Japanese preparations for war — Jap- 
 anese thoroughness. 
 
 XVI.— Up the Yangtze River 178 
 
 At Wusung — On the Yangtze — ^The Mississippi of the 
 East — At Wuchang — Viceroy Cheng-Chi-Tung — At Nan- 
 king — American-China Development Co. — The Canton- 
 Hankow railway. 
 
 XVII. — In command of the Asutic station . . .195 
 Order for torpedo practice — Order for dinner uniform — 
 Island of Formosa — At Canton — From Hong Kong to 
 Manila — With Governor Taft — Tactical work. 
 
 viii 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTZS PAGE 
 
 XVIII. — Practice drills at Subig Ba\ 210 
 
 Mines and countermines — Fleet movements — Torpedo- 
 boat tests — Coast siurvey — Trouble with Moros — Distrust 
 of the Filipinos — Dislike of Americans. 
 
 XIX. — The southern islands of the Philippines . . 224 
 Annoyances from customs people — The Philippine mango 
 — At Malabang — At Fort Vickars — The Moro problem — 
 In the Sulu country — Tawi-Tawi Islands. 
 
 XX. — From Singapore to Tientsin 239 
 
 In British North Borneo — A Russian squadron in Japan — 
 At Singapore — A visit to Kioto — Off the Taku bar — At 
 Tientsin — German troops in China. 
 
 XXI. — Audience with the Empress Dowager . . -252 
 Visit to Pekin — During the siege of Pekin — The looting at 
 Pekin — ^The Empress Dowager of China — Interview with 
 Empress Dowager — A dinner at Pekin — New treaty ports 
 — Evacuation of Chinese ports. 
 
 XXII.— A SUMMER AT ChEFOO 268 
 
 Defences of Port Arthur — OfBcers' wives — A typhoon — 
 Gifts from the Empress Dowager — Trouble at Poyang 
 Lake — Authority for action — German consideration — Un- 
 expected orders — Hunting ducks in Japan — A royal feast. 
 
 XXIII.— Ordered to Honolulu 286 
 
 A heavy sea — Difficulty with the collector — Immigration 
 commissioner interferes — Return to Manila — Wakes 
 Island — Inhabitants of Guam. 
 
 XXIV.— From Hong Kong to New York . . . -299 
 Importance of Olongapo — Russian activities at New- 
 chwang — Japan begins war — Homeward bound — In 
 Ceylon — Arrival at Naples — A visit from the King of 
 Italy — ^Home again. 
 
 XXV. — In command of North Atlantic Squadron . . 316 
 Another sea command — Arrival at Pensacola — An un- 
 satisfactory station — New gun sights — Departure from 
 Pensacola — Question of ship repairs — At Culebra — 
 Christmas in the West Indies — Small-arm target prac- 
 tice — Seeking a new target range — An excellent range — 
 The Guantanamo reservation — Culebra and Guantanamo. 
 
 ix 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XXVI. — The summer work of the North Atlantic 
 
 Squadron 342 
 
 Discouraging work — Enlistment in the navy — Cape Cod 
 Bay — Recreation on Sunday — Over-zealous Christians — 
 Escorting squadron from France — ^Two admirals' flags — 
 An international entertainment — Prince Louis in New 
 York — The Battenberg cup. 
 
 XXVII.— In the West Indies 363 
 
 A very successful regatta — Earthquake at Kingston — 
 Admiral Davis in Jamaica — Governor Swettenham — Im- 
 provement in target practice — A deplorable accident. 
 
 XXVIII. — At the Jamestown Exposition . . . .375 
 At Cape Cod Bay — The President's visit — President 
 dines with crew — The Jamestown Exposition — Arrival 
 of foreign ships — The opening — Continuous entertain- 
 ments — Duke of Abruzzi's reception — A welcome relief. 
 
 XXIX. — Preparing for the Pacific cruise . . . 392 
 Mr. Metcalf 's announcement — Oyster Bay conference — 
 Preparations for the Pacific — ^Target practice described 
 — Fire control — Navy-yard conditions — The food ques- 
 tion — Supplies for the ships — The repair ship. 
 
 XXX. — ^The departure for the Pacific . . . .411 
 The President's good-bye — The start for the Pacific — 
 Christmas at Port-of-Spain — Crossing the "Line" — 
 King Neptune on board — The firemen of the fleet — 
 Foolish stories. 
 
 XXXI. — Around South America 427 
 
 Arrival at Rio de Janeiro — Arrangements for shore 
 leave — Departure from Rio — Greetings from the Ar- 
 gentine fleet — In the Straits of Magellan — At Punta 
 Arenas — On the Pacific — Reviewed by President of 
 Chile— At Callao, Peru. 
 
 XXXII. — On the Pacific Coast 441 
 
 At Magdalena Bay — Arrangement for San Francisco — 
 In Southern California — In San Francisco. 
 
 XXXIII. — On the retired list 450 
 
 The President's congratulations — The enthusiasm of 
 the West — ^Trade problems of the Pacific — August 18, 
 1909. 
 
 X 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 Rear- Admiral Robley D. Evans Frontispiece 
 
 Prince Henry of Prussia with Admiral Evans, on his tour through 
 
 the United States 48 
 
 Commodore C. P. Sah, Imperial Chinese Navy .... 136 
 
 At Ichang, China 184 
 
 Party attending funeral ceremonies of Lui-Kun-Yu, Viceroy of 
 
 the Province of Nanking 190 
 
 United States Fleet at Honolulu 292 
 
 Commanders of the Pacific Fleet with President Roosevelt . 412 
 
 The Pacific Fleet entering the harbour of San Francisco . 448 
 
AN ADMIRAL'S LOG 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE SAMPSON-SCHLEY CONTROVERSY 
 
 After the Spanish War, when the North Atlantic 
 Squadron went to New York and was reviewed in the 
 harbour there, the press and the people of the country- 
 seemed well pleased with what we had done, and gave 
 us unstinted praise. Great courtesy was shown both 
 officers and men whenever they went on shore; but 
 after a short time this condition began to change and 
 soon there was a bitter paper war raging all over the 
 country, as to whether Sampson or Schley was entitled 
 to the credit for winning the battle fought off Santiago, 
 July 3, 1898. The officers and men of the navy were 
 practically a unit in favour of Sampson; but a majority 
 of the newspapers favoured Schley. The discussion was 
 carried into the halls of Congress when the President 
 asked promotion for certain officers of the fleet, and, 
 once there, it soon developed a political phase which 
 eventually prevented any advancement for either of 
 the flag officers interested. The captains, executive 
 officers, and chief engineers of the ships engaged were 
 advanced a few numbers, and there the matter rested 
 for a time. 
 
 Mr. Maclay, a writer on naval history who has 
 
 I 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 prepared several text-books for the Naval Academy, 
 wrote an account of the battle of Santiago in which he 
 used most violent and abusive language regarding 
 Schley. Muck-raking and mud-slinging had been 
 pretty general in the press all over the country, and 
 every officer and man in the fight had been more or less 
 bespattered by one side or the other; but this attack on 
 Schley was more personal and vicious than anything 
 that had preceded it, and there was little surprise when 
 the commodore made it the ground of official com- 
 plaint, and demanded that a court of his brother offi- 
 cers be ordered to inquire into his conduct during the 
 campaign in the West Indies. 
 
 A court of inquiry was accordingly ordered to meet 
 at the Washington Navy Yard, and, after two officers 
 had been relieved at the request of Commodore Schley, 
 was composed as follows : Admiral Dewey, Admiral 
 Bentham, and Admiral Ramsay, with Captain S. C. 
 Lemly, Judge-Advocate General of the Navy, as re- 
 corder. Commodore Schley was defended by counsel 
 of recognised legal ability. The sessions of the court 
 were held in a large room in one of the shops of the 
 navy yard, were open to the public, and as a rule were 
 attended by crowds of people, mostly women and news- 
 paper correspondents. Every officer and man who 
 could throw any light on the subject before the court, 
 was summoned, examined, and cross-examined. The 
 daily papers were filled with the evidence and the com- 
 ments of those who were interested in making it appear 
 to the advantage of one side or the other, until every 
 one was thoroughly sick, I think, of the mud-slinging 
 affair. 
 
 2 
 
The Opinion of the Court 
 
 My sympathies were well known to be on the side 
 of Admiral Sampson, for I made no effort to conceal 
 them; but I was often surprised at the way I was 
 abused in the newspapers for the things I had not said 
 or done, as well as for those I had ; and I am sure that 
 my experience was exactly that of many other officers. 
 It was a washing of navy linen in public, the like of 
 which had never before been seen, certainly not in my 
 time. 
 
 After sitting several months and hearing much evi- 
 dence, the inquiry was concluded. The opinion of the 
 court was as follows : 
 
 Opinion 
 
 " Commodore Schley, in command of the Flying 
 Squadron, should have proceeded with utmost de- 
 spatch off Cienfuegos, and should have maintained a 
 :lose blockade of that port. 
 
 " He should have endeavoured on May 23d, at Cien- 
 fuegos, to obtain information regarding the Spanish 
 squadron by communicating with the insurgents at the 
 place designated in the memorandum delivered to him 
 at 8.15 A.M. of that date. 
 
 " He should have proceeded from Cienfuegos to 
 Santiago de Cuba with all despatch, and should have 
 disposed his vessels with a view of intercepting the 
 enemy in any attempt to pass the Flying Squadron. 
 
 " He should not have delayed the squadron for the 
 Eagle. 
 
 " He should not have made the retrograde turn 
 westward with his squadron. 
 
 " He should have promptly obeyed the Navy De- 
 partment's order of May 25th. 
 
 " He should have endeavoured to capture or destroy 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 the Spanish vessels at anchor near the entrance of San- 
 tiago Harbour on May 29th and 30th. 
 
 " He did not do his utmost with the force under 
 his command to capture or destroy the Colon and 
 other vessels of the enemy which he attacked on May 
 31st. 
 
 " By commencing the engagement on July 3d with 
 the port battery and turning the Brooklyn around with 
 port helm, Commodore Schley caused her to lose dis- 
 tance and position with the Spanish vessels, especially 
 with the Vizcaya and Colon, 
 
 ** The turn of the Brooklyn to starboard was made 
 to avoid getting her into dangerous proximity to the 
 Spanish vessels. The turn was made toward the Texas, 
 and caused that vessel to stop and to back her engines 
 to avoid possible collision. 
 
 " Admiral Schley did injustice to Lieutenant-Com- 
 mander A. C. Hodgson in publishing only a portion of 
 the correspondence which passed between them. 
 
 " Commodore Schley's conduct in connection with 
 the events of the Santiago campaign prior to June i, 
 1898, was characterised by vacillation, dilatoriness, and 
 lack of enterprise. 
 
 " His official reports regarding the coal supply and 
 the coaling facilities of the Flying Squadron were inac- 
 curate and misleading. 
 
 " His conduct during the battle of July 3d was self- 
 possessed, and he encouraged, in his own person, his 
 subordinate officers and men to fight courageously." 
 
 To this opinion of the court Admiral Dewey added 
 his own opinion, as follows: 
 
 " Commodore Schley was the senior officer of our 
 squadron off Santiago when the Spanish squadron 
 attempted to escape on the morning of July 3, 1898. 
 He was in absolute command, and is entitled to the 
 
Action of Secretary of the Navy 
 
 credit due to such commanding officer for the glorious 
 victory which resulted in the total destruction of the 
 Spanish ships." 
 
 Recommendation 
 
 " In view of the length of time which has elapsed 
 since the occurrence of the events of the Santiago cam- 
 paign, the court recommends no further proceedings be 
 had in the premises." 
 
 The Secretary of the Navy, in approving the find- 
 ings of fact and opinion of the full court, remarks as 
 follows : 
 
 "As to the points on which the presiding member 
 differs from the opinion of the majority of the court, 
 the opinion of the majority is approved. 
 
 " As to the further expression of his views by the 
 same member, with regard to the questions of com- 
 mand on the morning of July 3, 1898, and of the title 
 to credit for the ensuing victory, the conduct of the court 
 in making no finding and rendering no opinion on those 
 questions is approved — indeed, it could with propriety 
 take no other course, evidence on these questions dur- 
 ing the inquiry having been excluded by the court." 
 
 This opinion of the Secretary of the Navy — indeed, 
 the whole finding of the court — met with the approval 
 of the officers of the navy as a body. Commodore 
 Schley and his legal adviser did all in their power to 
 induce the President to place his disapproval on these 
 proceedings; but they failed completely, and he finally 
 approved them. The press of the country for many 
 months continued its abuse of the one side or the other, 
 and Congress failed to do anything for the promotion 
 
 3 5 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 of either of the flag officers interested. Admiral Samp- 
 son died without the least recognition or reward from 
 the country for the splendid campaign he had fought. 
 In common with those of us who stood by him, he 
 received unstinted abuse from many newspapers, whose 
 editors showed their courage by abusing officers by 
 name without disclosing their own identity. But the 
 newspapers were not the only offenders. One has only 
 to read the debates in Congress to see how senators and 
 representatives showed their gallantry by attacking offi- 
 cers by name, knowing full well that these same offi- 
 cers could not in any way reply to them. 
 
 Worse even than these thrusts from Congress and 
 the press were the letters of creatures calling themselves 
 men, dirty blackguards who wrote to Mrs. Sampson 
 even after the death of her gallant husband to tell her 
 in vile terms what they thought of him. Great num- 
 bers of these letters came to me and other friends, and 
 upon us men they made no impression except that of 
 disgust for their writers; but when we learned the num- 
 ber and character of those sent to that lady, we were 
 shocked and disappointed that that number of Ameri- 
 can men could so disgrace their manhood. 
 
 As a direct result of this unfortunate controversy, 
 the service at large suffered greatly. The position of 
 vice-admiral, to which Admiral Sampson was entitled, 
 and to which President McKinley asked Congress to 
 advance him, has remained vacant to this day. Cer- 
 tainly the navy, as a service, was entitled to this recog- 
 nition, and if Sampson was not the man for it, then 
 some other deserving flag officer should have been 
 selected and promoted. The corresponding rank in the 
 
 6 
 
An Unfortunate Controversy 
 
 army was promptly filled, and many officers of that 
 service have been retired with the rank of lieutenant- 
 general, which corresponds with vice-admiral in the 
 navy. It cannot be justly claimed that officers of the 
 army did more brilliant or valuable service during the 
 Spanish War than did those of the navy, and, if their 
 promotion be placed on the ground of service in the 
 Civil War, I think we may fairly claim that Sampson, 
 Schley, Philip, Higginson, and many others were quite 
 as prominent in that war as were the officers of the 
 army who have been advanced to the grade of lieuten- 
 ant-general and retired with that rank. The only ex- 
 planation which seems to explain is that the army is 
 more fortunate in its congressional committees than is 
 the navy. We congratulate our brother officers of the 
 army on their well-deserved promotions; but we feel 
 at the same time that we have not been justly treated, 
 and all because of a newspaper war inaugurated and 
 fought out as a matter of spite against one of the ablest 
 officers the navy has ever produced. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 ORDERED TO THE ISLAND OF SAMOA 
 
 One day in the month of October, 1901, I was or- 
 dered to report in person to the Secretary of the Navy, 
 as he wished to see me on a matter of importance. 
 Upon presenting myself, I was informed that I was to 
 proceed to the island of Samoa as president of a gen- 
 eral court-martial to try the governor of the island on 
 very serious charges of misconduct. Samoa and Guam, 
 two of our island possessions, were then, and still are, 
 controlled by the Navy Department through a gov- 
 ernor, a naval officer, appointed by the Secretary of the 
 Navy. 
 
 The charges against the governor were not shown 
 to me at the time; but the general tenor of them was 
 explained. If the government could establish its case 
 there could be little doubt of what the finding of the 
 court would be ; but it seemed to me that the list of wit- 
 nesses disclosed did not promise a conviction, and I so 
 expressed myself. At the same time I warned the 
 chief of the Bureau of Navigation that the government 
 must be prepared to establish the fact of the misconduct 
 of the governor beyond any reasonable doubt, as he was 
 an officer of excellent reputation, and I felt sure the 
 court, which was composed of high ranking officers, 
 would require the most positive evidence before finding 
 
 8 
 
On Court -Martial Duty 
 
 him guilty. It was a matter of very considerable ex- 
 pense to send so large a court so long a distance, and, 
 unless the governor was actually guilty, it seemed a 
 waste of money to do so. 
 
 I asked a number of questions about the case, and 
 soon became satisfied that there was something peculiar 
 about the way the charges had been prepared; but the 
 only real information I could get was that I was ask- 
 ing too many questions, that the Navy Department had 
 drawn the charges to suit itself, and that I was to pro- 
 ceed as president of the court and try the case in obedi- 
 ence to my orders, which were there and then handed 
 to me. 
 
 Upon leaving the Department I was much sur- 
 prised to meet the governor himself face to face. He 
 was one whom I had known for many years, and was 
 at the time on leave from his station at Samoa. He 
 informed me in a few words of his trouble, and that he 
 had no idea who had reported him or the nature of the 
 charges. When I informed him that I had been or- 
 dered on the court to try him, of course, he said noth- 
 ing more about his case, and I did not see him again 
 until he was arraigned before the court at Samoa. 
 
 The day following my orders to this unpleasant 
 duty, the President sent for me to come to the White 
 House and there detailed to me certain information he 
 required about matters in Honolulu. He directed me 
 to stop over a couple of weeks at the Sandwich Islands 
 on my way back from Samoa, and on my return to 
 Washington to report to him fully on the points he 
 indicated, and also to collect for him, while in Hono- 
 lulu, the information he desired. He felt, and I agreed 
 
 9 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 with him, that as a naval officer on important court- 
 martial duty I could do what he wanted done without 
 causing comment or excitement. It was only necessary 
 to use ordinary common sense and to keep my eyes 
 open, and I felt competent to do both. Honolulu was 
 a long way from Washington, and it seemed most diffi- 
 cult for the President to get the facts he wanted un- 
 coloured by party prejudice. 
 
 In order that we might reach our destination with 
 some degree of comfort, the Navy Department ordered 
 the naval transport Solace to be in readiness in San 
 Francisco to receive the court. She was about making 
 one of her regular trips to Manila, and after landing us 
 at Samoa she was to continue on her way, leaving us 
 to make our way back as best we could. The impor- 
 tant thing in the eyes of the Department was the trial 
 and conviction of the governor of Samoa, and after 
 they had done that the court could wander about the 
 South Sea Islands endlessly, as far as any transporta- 
 tion home by the Navy Department was indicated. 
 
 When the court reported on board the Solace at 
 San Francisco, it was apparent to all that the case was 
 considered a most important one, as was shown by 
 the number of high ranking officers composing the 
 court. Our luggage was soon stowed, and we were 
 promptly off to sea. All possible care was taken for 
 our comfort, and after a pleasant run of seven days, 
 during which time the Solace showed us what real roll- 
 ing meant, we arrived at Honolulu. Here we remained 
 two days discharging freight and fighting mosquitoes, 
 and then willingly went on our way. 
 
 The run down to Samoa was uneventful, the 
 
 ID 
 
Pago Pago 
 
 weather fine, and the sea Hke an inland lake. As we 
 approached the island, the rain set in and continued 
 with little intermission until we were again clear of the 
 land on our way back to Honolulu. The entrance to 
 the harbour of Pago Pago is very beautiful, entirely 
 tropical in appearance, and well suited for defensive bat- 
 teries, which one would expect to find, as the harbour 
 contains an expensive coaling station on which the Navy 
 Department places a high value. Some distance from 
 the land is found the usual atoll, or coral reef, so com- 
 mon in the South Seas, and through this by a wide 
 opening one reaches the channel, leading in between 
 bold headlands to the port. The harbour is made by the 
 crater of an extinct volcano, is small, perfectly pro- 
 tected, and very beautiful. The high lands, or moun- 
 tains, surrounding the harbour are very bold and abrupt, 
 and densely covered with tropical vegetation. Only 
 one or two trails pass over them, and there are no roads 
 fit for wheeled vehicles of any sort, which is not impor- 
 tant, as there are no such things. All travelling is on 
 foot, and usually the feet are bare, as any kind of foot- 
 gear would stand little chance in the stiff, sticky mud 
 which always covers the ground. In the rainy season 
 it rains all the time, and in the dry season only four or 
 five times a day. The Rainmaker, one of the bold, 
 rugged mountains in front of the village, always gives 
 warning of a coming shower. At such times a mist, 
 more or less dense, always covers the top of the moun- 
 tain; hence, its name. 
 
 When we arrived we found the admiral, com- 
 mander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet, in port on board 
 his flagship, the battleship Wisconsin. The court was 
 
 II 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 promptly organised, and received from the admiral the 
 charges prepared by tlie Navy Department, to which he 
 had, as directed, added one or two. As president of the 
 court, I took the liberty of suggesting to him, as I 
 had the right to do, that he withdraw the charges he 
 had himself prepared, as I was satisfied after reading 
 them that there was no evidence to sustain them. He 
 declined to do this, and they were presented to the court 
 exactly as they had been drawn. The court adjourned 
 for three days to allow the defence time to prepare their 
 case, and the members took advantage of this time to 
 see what they could of this far-away possession of ours 
 and its inhabitants. 
 
 I found the people without exception the handsom- 
 est physical specimens I had ever seen. Owing to 
 their isolated geographical position, they had escaped 
 entirely the loathsome diseases that are so common in 
 most seaports. Their skins were of a beautiful bronze 
 colour, and their muscular development wonderfully 
 perfect. They had no scars or blemishes, except now 
 and then the mark of a bolo cut or thrust, and they 
 moved with the graceful motion common to highly 
 trained athletes. They were, indeed, veritable living 
 bronze statues, and very much alive at that. 
 
 The only practicable means of communication be- 
 tween the different villages on the island, of which there 
 were a dozen or more, was by boats, and the people, 
 men, women, and children, were, as a rule, good sailors, 
 and their boats were well fitted for the hard weather 
 they had to encounter. A few trails led about over the 
 mountains ; but on account of the mud these were only 
 used when a water route was impracticable. A plan 
 
 12 
 
The Natives of Samoa 
 
 had been completed by the governor and his staff for a 
 road along the seashore, more, I imagine, to give a 
 place for exercise than for any practical use. 
 
 When we assumed charge of these people, or it may 
 be a short time before, the idea of clothing them prop- 
 erly, according to the notions of the missionaries, was 
 advanced, and soon bore its legitimate fruit. In the 
 climate in which they lived their own clothing, which 
 consisted of a good coat of palm oil and a waist-clout, 
 was an admirable protection, but this could not be tol- 
 erated for a moment in the face of our civilised habits, 
 and the poor natives were clapped into woven dresses 
 for the women and cheap shop clothes for the men. 
 These clothes, wet always from force of surrounding 
 weather conditions, soon brought pneumonia and kin- 
 dred diseases, and many lives were sacrificed. I was 
 amused to watch the people who came down to the 
 dock every day for a swim. They came in great num- 
 bers, and all properly dressed, but when they reached 
 the dock they would carefully take off their wet, gaudy- 
 looking clothes, dive into the water, swim about like 
 fishes, and then climb out onto the dock and, having 
 replaced their wet clothing, go quietly about their busi- 
 ness. It seemed to me that we had not done much real 
 good to these excellent people by forcing upon them 
 our ideas as to dress. Many thousands had died from 
 eruptive diseases, principally measles and small-pox, 
 and it was pathetic to see their dread of these disorders. 
 Vaccination had, in a measure, removed one danger; 
 but the other was a constant terror to these simple 
 people. 
 
 For food they relied on tropical fruits and such fish 
 
 13 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 as they could secure. Meat was practically out of 
 their diet list. Yams and sweet potatoes were in 
 plenty, and yams and bananas were always at hand. 
 Pineapples, the finest I have ever seen anywhere in the 
 world, grew wild all over the island. Some were sent 
 me that weighed twenty-five pounds each, and the fla- 
 vour was equal to the best pine grown in Singapore. 
 The water supply was ample and its quality excellent, 
 so there was no good reason why any one should be 
 sick. 
 
 On one of our off days, Hunger, the head chief, 
 gave us a reception, which I am sure was thoroughly 
 enjoyed by every member of the court. The natives of 
 the nearby villages had been invited to come in to see 
 the distinguished Americans, and they came to the 
 number of 800 or 1,000. We were assembled on the 
 porch of one of the small government frame houses, 
 out of the reach of the rain, which fell at times in tor- 
 rents, and as the natives passed they deposited their 
 simple gifts at our feet. Some gave a few eggs, others 
 gave a live chicken, but most of them gave fruit or 
 cocoanuts. Soon many hundreds of cocoanuts just off 
 the trees were piled up; and it was most interesting 
 to see the young men with their heavy, wicked-looking 
 knives make three cuts at a cocoanut and then hand it 
 to one to drink. In every case the three cuts were so 
 accurately made that a small triangular piece of the 
 shell was taken out, so that one could drink the milk 
 without the least trouble or inconvenience. This milk 
 was cool and most refreshing and wholesome. 
 
 Some of the native women had, in the meantime, 
 prepared for us a native drink which was known as 
 
 14 
 
A War Dance 
 
 cava cava. Formerly this drink was prepared by 
 young women, who chewed strips of the root of the 
 cava plant and deposited the macerated pulp in a 
 wooden bowl, known as a cava bowl, where it was 
 allowed to ferment for a certain time. Then the juice, 
 which was more or less intoxicating-, was ready for 
 use. In our case, the chewing part of the preparation 
 was dispensed with, and the beverage was produced by 
 rubbing the cava roots in a bowl and adding water. 
 When tasted, it proved to be an acrid, bitter-tasting 
 drink, nothing like as pleasant as the cocoanut milk. 
 As to its alcoholic properties, none of us drank enough 
 to be able to give an opinion. 
 
 When all the natives were assembled, the chief gave 
 us an exhibition of a war dance or drill, and it was 
 exceedingly interesting. The warriors were in their 
 native attire of palm oil and armed with very heavy, 
 businesslike-looking knives; but in no case were fire- 
 arms of any kind used. Various movements were exe- 
 cuted, in every case accompanied by the beating of 
 many drums, and finally a charge was ordered in which 
 the warriors, plainly under a very strong excitement, 
 indicated how the heads of their enemies would be 
 made to part company with their bodies. When this 
 show was ended, we were treated to a native dance, 
 and then a very unusual and unlooked-for thing hap- 
 pened. 
 
 The governor who was about to be tried was very 
 popular with the natives, who looked upon him as their 
 " White Father." Since our arrival he had, of course, 
 been under arrest, and could not be seen by any one. 
 Somehow the impression had got abroad that we were 
 
 15 
 
An Admirars Log* 
 
 going to take him away from them. This did not in 
 the least meet with their approval. When the native 
 dance was finished, the chief and half a dozen of his 
 finest men approached us with knives in their hands 
 and scowls on their faces and demanded to know why 
 their White Father was not among us. They said that 
 all the people were unhappy and full of sorrow because 
 of his absence, and they wanted to know what to say 
 to them on the subject. For a few minutes it looked 
 as if we might have serious trouble; but the com- 
 mander-in-chief was entirely capable of handling the 
 situation, and in a few well-chosen words sent the 
 people on their way, satisfied that their beloved gov- 
 ernor would receive kind and fair treatment. 
 
 I had a chance a few days later to inspect some of 
 the native houses, and was struck with the ingenuity 
 displayed in their construction. No nails or ironwork 
 of any kind were used. The native hardwood, after 
 being properly seasoned, was used for all purposes — 
 posts, rafters, and flooring, where the latter was desir- 
 able. The roofing was thatch, which in this climate 
 of constant rains had to be quite perfect. All upright 
 and cross beams were pinned together and then lashed, 
 and so well was this done that the buildings withstood 
 the fearful hurricanes which were common about these 
 islands. 
 
 The Navy Department had authorised the enlist- 
 ment of one company of marines and one boat crew 
 from the natives of the island, and I am perfectly safe 
 in saying that I never saw a finer looking body of men 
 or a better drilled lot. Their work as soldiers would 
 compare most favourably with that of the best among 
 
 i6 
 
The Court -Martial 
 
 our regular troops, and the marine sergeant who had 
 charge of them was entitled to great credit for his 
 work. If our government ever resorts to colonial 
 troops to do some of the serious work we have ahead 
 of us in the tropics, I am sure a regiment, or maybe 
 two, could be quickly raised in Samoa. The advan- 
 tage of using them among our " little brown brothers " 
 is apparent — they could use a rifle with effect and then 
 show an aptitude in the jungle with a bolo quite equal 
 to that of the natives of any of the Philippine Islands. 
 
 In due course of time the court met, the governor 
 was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and the trial began. 
 The government produced three witnesses only, and of 
 these two testified in favour of the accused, and the 
 third, a medical expert, could not swear positively 
 whether the accused was under the influence of an 
 intoxicant or overcome by the heat. This closed the 
 case of the prosecution, and the defence opened. The 
 counsel for the defence submitted a list of some- 
 thing like one hundred witnesses they wanted to 
 have called, and asked that a steamer be sent to 
 some of the adjoining islands for those who could 
 give important testimony bearing on the case. When 
 we had heard fifteen or twenty of the most im- 
 portant witnesses, the court concluded the case by 
 declaring the governor not guilty and most hon- 
 ourably acquitting him of the charges prepared. In 
 all my experience with courts-martial I have never 
 known a case so weak as this one was, nor one where 
 there was so little ground for charges. Upon my re- 
 turn to Washington I ascertained how the whole matter 
 came about. The general impression was that the 
 
 17 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 charges, or the complaint on which the charges were 
 based, had in some way come from the missionaries, 
 but this was not the case. A letter in a woman's hand- 
 writing was received by the Secretary of the Navy 
 reciting certain bad conduct on the part of the gov- 
 ernor. The Secretary cut off the name of the writer 
 and then sent the letter to the proper officers of the 
 Department, with an order to prepare the charges. 
 Thus, practically on an anonymous letter, the expense 
 of sending this court so many thousands of miles was 
 incurred, not to mention the injury to the reputation 
 and feelings of the officer, who up to that time had 
 enjoyed a fine reputation. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 COLLECTING INFORMATION AT HONOLULU 
 
 The quefjtion of getting back to Honolulu became 
 an important one when the court had concluded its 
 labours. Thee commander-in-chief thought of putting us 
 ashore to wait two weeks for the steamer which would 
 touch at Samoa on her return trip from Australia; but 
 this species' of marooning was abandoned when we 
 insisted on proper quarters on shore to protect us 
 against the! weather, because there were no such quar- 
 ters. Then it was proposed to transfer all of us to the 
 flagship and let her take us back; but here again the 
 question of quarters had to be considered, and this plan 
 was also abandoned. In the end, it was found that the 
 Solace could touch at Honolulu and land us without 
 seriously interfering with her trip to Manila, and this 
 was done. Our return trip was tedious but comfort- 
 able. Upon arrival at Honolulu we all took rooms at 
 a beautiful new hotel to wait ten days or two weeks for 
 the next steamer to San Francisco, and I began at once 
 to collect the information the President required. 
 
 By spending a part of each day and night at clubs 
 and other places where the business men of the city 
 congregated, keeping eyes and ears open, and occa- 
 sionally leading the conversation into the proper chan- 
 nels by a few cautious words, I was enabled to learn 
 
 19 
 
An Admiral's Log' 
 
 much that the President wanted to know\ It was most 
 important, of course, that I should get the information 
 without any one suspecting my purpose, a'nd this I think 
 I succeeded in doing. Many leading mi' en said after- 
 wards that they had no idea how the President could 
 know so much of what was going on so* far away. I 
 am sure that some of those deeply intere;sted in what 
 took place on the island immediately after my return 
 will know for the first time, if they read tnis book, that 
 I had any hand in it. \ 
 
 One of the most important questions t|o be looked 
 into was that of labour for the cane fields. Many kinds 
 of labour had been tried. The Asiatic seemed to be the 
 best, but the employment of this labour was not so 
 simple as some people might think. The law permitted 
 a certain number of males to land, but only one female 
 could land for each half dozen or seven males, so that 
 in many cases I found a woman with five or six so- 
 called husbands. No families being possible under such 
 conditions, there were no children to grow up on the 
 plantations to take the places of those who died or 
 returned to their native land. I visited many native 
 women, who talked with me very freely and gave me 
 much interesting information. I asked the same ques- 
 tion of a number of them : " What kind of a man do 
 you prefer for a husband, and why?" Practically all 
 of them gave the same answer. First, " A Chinese, be- 
 cause he is economical, never gets drunk and beats his 
 wife and kills his children." Next, " A Japanese," for 
 the same reasons somewhat modified. Next, " An 
 American, because he is generally good to his wife; he 
 never kills the children when he is drunk." And last, 
 
 20 
 
Labour Conditions 
 
 " A native Hawaiian, who does all the things the others 
 do not do." 
 
 On one of the plantations I found the following 
 conditions existing. A party of Asiatics, half Jap- 
 anese and half Chinese, were put at the same kind of 
 labour in the cane fields. At the end of three months 
 not a Japanese was left. They were all with the 
 machinery in the mills and pumping stations, or else 
 bosses or head men about the barracks. All the Chi- 
 nese were just where they had been put, patiently weed- 
 ing the cane regardless of the stifling, sweltering heat 
 in which they were working — and there they will 
 remain until they have saved enough from their scanty 
 wages to take them back to their native land. Nothing, 
 to my mind, could be more characteristic of the two 
 peoples, Japanese and Chinese, than what I have stated 
 above. One or two plantations tried negro labour from 
 our southern states, but it was unsatisfactory for the 
 reason that the man would stop work when he had done 
 a certain amount, and nothing in reason would induce 
 him to do more. After he had received his wages he 
 wanted to rest until he had spent them — the experience 
 of our own planters over again. A few plantations had 
 tried imported Porto Rico labour, and, while it was 
 better than our negro labour, it was not up to the 
 standard of the Asiatics. 
 
 I found the whole labour question in a most unsatis- 
 factory condition, and, as far as I know, it is the same 
 to-day. The native of the islands will mix to a limited 
 extent with the whites, but does not furnish satisfac- 
 tory labour, and is dying off. The Japanese are a very 
 ambitious, warlike race, and likely to give trouble in 
 
 3 21 
 
An Admirars Log 
 
 time. Those who go to Honolulu, as a rule, are men 
 who have been in the army or navy at home, and have 
 served their time with the colours. They are patriotic 
 and loyal to a degree, and when ordered home by the 
 Emperor go without a word, no matter what personal 
 sacrifice their going may entail. They do not mix with 
 the white race and do not become citizens of the coun- 
 try. Therefore, it seems to me that their presence in 
 large numbers is not desirable. The people of Cali- 
 fornia and other western states tried Chinese labour, 
 gave it up because it was too cheap and too good, 
 turned to the Japanese, and are to-day bitterly regret- 
 ting the change. 
 
 Sugar making is the leading industry of Hawaii 
 and apparently always will remain so. Many of the 
 plantations and mills have been capitalised at a figure 
 that necessitates small dividends to the shareholders. 
 To produce even these dividends, the strictest economy 
 has to be practised, and the price of labour is naturally 
 an important consideration. The cultivation of the 
 cane fields on scientific principles by the use of steam 
 ploughs and the best mechanical cultivators and labour- 
 saving devices will, in the end, settle this troublesome 
 question. The constant and urgent demands for more 
 dividends mean a struggle that will result in the sur- 
 vival of the fittest, not only among machines and man- 
 agers, but also with respect to labour. 
 
 During the two weeks we were detained at Hono- 
 lulu we had a fair chance to study the habits of the 
 mosquito. These pests had only been known in the 
 islands about thirty years, and the way they came was 
 interesting, A whaler from New Bedford on arriving 
 
 22 
 
Pearl Harbour 
 
 at Honolulu sent his water casks on shore to be refilled, 
 and unfortunately one of them contained not only a 
 small quantity of water, but a large quantity of mosqui- 
 toes. When this water was poured out preparatory to 
 refilling, the mosquitoes escaped, and soon infested the 
 whole island. Although we used the very best mos- 
 quito bars, we were made most uncomfortable, partic- 
 ularly during the night when sleep was almost impos- 
 sible. 
 
 Our steamer came in time, and we left the beautiful 
 island with regret. We had come to know many of the 
 warm-hearted, hospitable people, with whom it was a 
 pleasure to associate, and I for one would have gladly 
 prolonged my visit. 
 
 Before leaving I inspected Pearl Harbour, the site 
 selected for our naval station, and found it in some 
 respects ideal for the purpose. The sheet of water is 
 ample and well located for such a station, but the ques- 
 tion of defending it after it was built presented serious 
 difficulties. The absence of high land, on which to 
 locate suitable batteries to command the sea and keep 
 an enemy's fleet at a safe distance, was the hardest one 
 to overcome. But this whole question of the defence 
 of these islands is a most difficult one, and I am puzzled 
 to understand how any one, particularly a professional 
 man, can consider them anything but a source of weak- 
 ness to us in case of war with any naval power in the 
 Pacific. Honolulu is fed once a week by a steamer 
 from San Francisco. Enough rice can possibly be 
 grown on the island to meet the demands of those who 
 eat rice, and the same may be said of fruit, but in 
 other respects the islands are not self-sustaining. In 
 
 23 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 case of war it will require 50,000 men at least for a 
 proper defence, and all these, with others visiting here, 
 must be fed from the California coast. This would 
 require a large fleet of store ships, and they, in turn, 
 would require a naval force strong enough to protect 
 them over the 2,200 miles they would have to sail. 
 With a determined enemy, this would mean all the 
 ships we could assemble in the Pacific. Some so-called 
 experts contend that these islands in the hands of an 
 enemy would be a source of danger to the Pacific 
 coast. I wonder if they would hold that an island two 
 hundred miles off the coast of England would be a 
 threat to our eastern coast? The distance for the 
 enemy to reach us would be exactly the same. 
 
 Let us grant that Honolulu and Pearl Harbour have 
 some value as coaling and repair stations, how can we 
 defend the acquisition and retention of Samoa? What 
 possible value has the place now, or can it have in the 
 future? We maintain a certain small quantity of coal 
 at Pago Pago which, being undefended by a single 
 gun, could be captured by an enemy at his pleasure. 
 
 The craze for securing coaling stations in all sorts 
 of out-of-the-way places which at one time seemed to 
 possess the Navy Department led us into many costly 
 errors, I think. Other nations did the same, and many 
 of them are only now awake to the fact that coal for 
 naval purposes must be carried with the fleet, or else 
 be so perfectly protected that an enemy cannot hope to 
 capture it. 
 
 Upon my return to Washington, about the middle 
 of December, I reported to the President, and, as he 
 was too busy to hear my report at that time, he invited 
 
 24 
 
Report to the President 
 
 me to dine with him and the members of his Cabinet 
 when he would have more leisure. Accordingly, at the 
 time appointed I presented myself, and after the dinner 
 was over the company retired to a smoking room 
 where, cigars having been served, I was invited to 
 make my report. This I did briefly, but at the same 
 time stating all the important facts of which I had 
 knowledge. 
 
 A few days later one of the leading men of Hono- 
 lulu, a graduate of Yale, I think, and a descendant of 
 one of the old missionary families of the islands, whose 
 father had represented Hawaii for many years in 
 Washington, was summoned to the White House. I 
 met him when he arrived in the city, and was amused 
 at his anxiety to know why he had been sent for. He 
 was immediately appointed governor of the islands, and 
 served many years in that capacity, much to the benefit 
 of all concerned except himself. His law business nec- 
 essarily suffered severely, but then he had the satisfac- 
 tion of doing his duty to his country, which is all many 
 of us have to show after a lifetime spent in the service. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE VISIT OF PRINCE HENRY OF PRUSSIA 
 
 In January, 1902, it was announced that Prince 
 Henry of Prussia, brother of his Imperial Majesty 
 Emperor William, would visit the United States to wit- 
 ness the launching of a sailing yacht which was "being 
 built for him at Shelter Island, near New York city. 
 A few days later I was informed by the Secretary of 
 the Navy that I was detailed as a personal escort on 
 the staff of the Prince, and that this detail was at the 
 request of the Emperor conveyed through the German 
 ambassador. Naturally I was much pleased at the 
 compliment, and felt that it was the result of my visit 
 to Kiel, in command of the New York, on the occasion 
 of the opening of the Kiel Canal. 
 
 The President directed that a board of officers be 
 assembled to take the whole matter of the reception and 
 entertainment of the Prince in hand. This board con- 
 sisted of the Assistant Secretary of State, Dr. Hill, 
 General Corbin and Colonel Bingham of the army, 
 Captain Cowles, brother-in-law to the President, and 
 myself. With the assistance of the German ambassa- 
 dor, who was very nervous over the whole matter, we 
 determined the places the Prince could visit. He 
 wanted to see the whole country, but we could only 
 arrange for him a trip that would consume all the time 
 
 26 
 
Arranging for Prince's Visit 
 
 at his disposal to the best advantage. When we had 
 held one meeting, it was plain that many people would 
 be disappointed, for we were flooded with letters and 
 telegrams from all parts of the country, and these were 
 reinforced by personal applications from senators and 
 representatives in Congress, which was at that time in 
 session. 
 
 Mr. Boyd, the able representative of the Pennsylva- 
 nia Railroad, was called in after the bid of his road 
 had been accepted, and the details for the train were 
 worked out. A train of nine cars was decided upon as 
 necessary for the care and comfort of the party, and I 
 am safe in saying that it was the finest train ever seen 
 on this continent or, I believe, anywhere in the world. 
 Many of the German officers composing the suite of 
 the Prince so expressed themselves. For all the com- 
 fort and luxury of the trip we were indebted to Mr. 
 Boyd, whose absolute knowledge of his business en- 
 abled him to run the train on time to a second, and to 
 feed us in a way that would shame many first-class 
 hotels in New York. We were never one second late 
 at any point, and we never failed of an excellent meal 
 at the minute set for it. Add to this that our baggage 
 — and there was a lot of it — was always in our rooms 
 at the hotels when we arrived, and one can form some 
 idea of what Mr. Boyd had to do. If I can judge of 
 the Prince's feelings by what he said and the presents 
 he gave, I am confident he appreciated this fine speci- 
 men of our railroad men. 
 
 The President was anxious above all things for the 
 personal safety of Prince Henry, and to ensure it he 
 put me in touch with Chief Wilkie of the Secret Serv- 
 
 27 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 ice of the Treasury Department, who had the means, 
 if any one in the world had, to properly guard our royal 
 guest. The German ambassador was most anxious at 
 all times, but I did not share this anxiety, for I saw no 
 reason for it. I did not believe that any considerable 
 number of people wanted to mjure or offend a guest 
 of the United States. However, it was not a question 
 of what I, or any one else, thought. It was to carry out 
 the orders of the President and leave nothing undone, 
 in order that the Prince should be protected from injury 
 or insult. 
 
 Chief Wilkie worked with energy and perfect sys- 
 tem, and before many days had passed every anarchist 
 of much importance was under observation. Each one 
 had a friend w^ho observed him carefully; in some 
 special cases these friends even went so far as to dine 
 with the objectionable people and then accompany them 
 to the theatre or some other place of amusement. In 
 this way we very soon knew what the most prominent 
 anarchists were doing, saying, and thinking. So com- 
 plete was the system by which all this was done that 
 Wilkie felt confident that he would know in advance if 
 any mischief was contemplated ; and yet I am sure only 
 three men knew what was going on. 
 
 The only case that really threatened to give serious 
 trouble was that of a doctor in New York who had 
 prepared and printed a most villainous attack on the 
 Prince. The pamphlet containing this attack was a 
 very innocent-looking document with a flattering 
 notice of the Prince on the cover which would have 
 caused one to read the contents. Wilkie secured one 
 of the advance copies, and the entire edition of 25,000 
 
 28 
 
A Special-Service Squadron 
 
 copies was burned before the ink was dry. The author 
 was not at liberty to do harm in any other direction 
 until the royal guest and his party had left the United 
 States. Many of the more violent among the an- 
 a^rchists were locked up, and found habeas corpus pro- 
 ceedings so slow that they only regained their liberty 
 when it was too late for them to do any harm. I was 
 very near Prince Henry night and day during the 
 entire time he was in the country, and if anything had 
 been done to offend or annoy him I am sure I should 
 have heard or seen it ; but nothing of the kind occurred. 
 I am sure Chief Wilkie and his able assistants, who 
 were constantly with us, would testify to the same 
 effect. Men and women were, as a rule, deferential, 
 polite, and respectful, but the irrepressible American 
 gamin could not always be controlled, and he some- 
 times called out, " Hello, Henry, come out and have 
 a beer! " or amused himself in the middle of the night 
 by rattling the side of the sleeper with a stick. 
 
 Prince Henry was a man with sufficient experience 
 to give these demonstrations their correct value, and 
 he must have felt from the first how completely the 
 people of the United States were with him in feeling. 
 If he ever felt the least annoyance over any incident of 
 his visit, I am sure I should have known it, for my 
 relations with him were of the most intimate and confi- 
 dential nature. 
 
 Before the arrival of Prince Henry, the Navy De- 
 partment ordered a special-service squadron of three 
 cruisers and a battleship to assemble off Tompkins- 
 ville, under my command, to extend proper courtesies 
 to him when he came. The battleship Illinois was as- 
 
 29 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 signed as my flagship. Captain Converse, who has 
 since died as a rear-admiral after a most distinguished 
 and useful career, commanded the Illinois, and had his 
 ship in most perfect condition, and later on it was a 
 source of great pleasure to show the Prince and his 
 officers every part of her, from double bottoms to mili- 
 tary tops. 
 
 About one week before the Prince was due, the 
 Emperor's yacht, the Hohenzollern, in command of 
 Captain Count Baudissin of the Imperial German Navy, 
 arrived in New York harbour and was berthed in a con- 
 venient slip in the North river. Owing to the small 
 amount of coal she could carry, she had been com- 
 pelled to come by way of the Azores and St. Thomas. 
 Once in her berth, she furnished, as it was intended 
 she should do, royal quarters for the Prince and his 
 officers, where they could entertain as much or as 
 little as he should choose and at the same time be 
 absolutely free from intrusion. A picked lot of 
 policemen and detectives had full charge of the 
 neighbourhood and kept a sharp eye on all suspicious 
 persons. 
 
 When the ocean liner bearing Prince Henry finally 
 arrived, I hurried on board with my staff to welcome 
 him. We managed to board her in the lower bay 
 and go up to the city with him. It was a beau- 
 tiful, sharp February morning and the crisp air was 
 entirely free from smoke. A light fall of snow of 
 the night before remained, and covered the ground 
 and shrubbery so that they appeared to the best 
 advantage. As we passed the special-service squad- 
 ron, they saluted his Royal Highness with twenty-one 
 
 30 
 
Arrival of Prince Henry 
 
 g^ins. All the vessels in the harbour owning steam 
 whistles pulled them wide open, and the din was deaf- 
 ening. 
 
 There is always something more or less formal 
 about naval special full-dress uniform; it is intended 
 for occasions of special ceremony, and a welcome in 
 this dress must be formal. When I addressed Prince 
 Henry and welcomed him to the United States on the 
 part of the Navy, it was charming to see the ease with 
 which he banished all formality. 
 
 " I thank you and your brother officers, Admiral, for 
 your welcome." And then, quick as a flash : " My 
 dear Evans, it is such a pleasure to be welcomed first 
 by an old friend." After this, all informality disap- 
 peared and was replaced by the strictest official courtesy 
 and etiquette. 
 
 As the Kronprinz steamed up the harbour Prince 
 Henry observed everything minutely. I stood on the 
 bridge with him and pointed out to him the different 
 objects of interest. New York lower bay, in setting of 
 snow, was almost beautiful, certainly it was attractive, 
 but the city itself when it finally came into view was 
 ugly beyond words to describe. The straggling masses 
 of skyscrapers, no two of them the same shape or size 
 and surrounded by low, ugly, squalid buildings, did not 
 impress any one even with a sense of grandeur. The 
 Prince gave us to understand that, while he was inter- 
 ested in the subject of architecture, the real object of 
 his visit was to see the American people, and during his 
 entire visit this was never lost sight of — to see the 
 American people and as much of them as possible in 
 the time at his disposal. 
 
 31 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 As the great ocean liner approached her dock, six 
 tugs put their noses against her starboard side and 
 quickly turned her against the strong current of the 
 river and slipped her into her berth without so much 
 as scratching the paint on her side. Prince Henry- 
 watched this work with the interest natural to one of 
 his professional attainments. He knew what he was 
 looking at, and he also knew how well it was being 
 done, and, further, that it could not be so well done 
 anywhere else in the world. When the ship had been 
 docked and the gangplank, covered with American and 
 German flags, lowered into place, I passed out with my 
 staff and formed line on the dock near the Hohenzol- 
 lern. As his Royal Highness came down, we stood at 
 salute, and I said to him : 
 
 " Prince Henry, I beg to welcome you to American 
 soil." 
 
 To which he replied with a smile : 
 
 " It is a great pleasure to know that it is an old 
 friend who welcomes me first." Then he passed over 
 the side of the Hohenzollern and the reception, so far 
 as I was concerned, was at an end. 
 
 The customary visits of courtesy followed at once. 
 Calls were made by the German ambassador; the offi- 
 cers representing our government, headed by the 
 Assistant Secretary of State; Admiral Barker, Com- 
 mandant of the Navy Yard; General Brooks, com- 
 manding the Department of the East; and, finally, by 
 Mr. Seth Low, mayor of the city of New York. It 
 was late in the afternoon when all these visits had 
 been returned, but the Prince insisted that dinner could 
 wait until he had the pleasure of visiting my flagship. 
 
 32 
 
Reception by German Societies 
 
 A tug conveyed us to Tompkinsville, where he in- 
 spected the Ilhnois very thoroughly, and expressed him- 
 self as highly pleased with her condition and every- 
 thing about her. Then we returned to the royal yacht, 
 where dinner was served and the officers prepared for 
 the first night in America. 
 
 That night Prince Henry had his first glimpse of 
 German America. He visited the Deutsche Verein, and 
 there heard for the first time in America the German 
 singing which was to be a feature of his whole trip. 
 The song commemorating the sinking of a German tor- 
 pedo boat at sea, off the coast of China, was superbly 
 rendered by a chorus of more than one hundred male 
 voices, and was repeated at the request of the Prince. 
 Then he reviewed a torchlight procession of German 
 societies from one of the balconies on the fifth story of 
 the club-house. It was a scene long to be remembered 
 by those who witnessed it. Park Avenue, as far as the 
 eye could reach, was a dense mass of Germans, with a 
 blaze of light through the middle of the street. As each 
 club or society came before the balcony its members 
 cheered and saluted the Prince. One of his aides stood 
 by, watch in hand, timing the men as they marched 
 past, and after twenty-five or thirty counts this officer 
 reported that they were passing at the rate of two hun- 
 dred a minute, and that the end of the procession would 
 pass at a certain time, which it did within half a minute. 
 When the end of the procession approached, I said to 
 Prince Henry : 
 
 " Will you kindly step to the end of the balcony 
 when the procession has passed? The people would 
 like to have a look at you." Every available space 
 
 33 
 
An Admirars Log 
 
 was jammed with people, and as he appeared there 
 arose a German-American roar that can never be for- 
 gotten. 
 
 Our German population was naturally a source of 
 much interest to Prince Henry. He wanted to know 
 and to hear what they thought of many things, but he 
 also wanted to know what we Americans thought of 
 them, and he was immensely pleased when we com- 
 mended them as good citizens. In every speech to 
 them he said that they could best show their love for 
 the Fatherland by being loyal to their adopted country, 
 America. Though holding himself well in hand and 
 under perfect control, the Prince was as emotional and 
 sensitive as a girl, and whenever he saw the German 
 veterans of the Franco-Prussian War the tears were 
 very near the surface. Later on, in Milwaukee, several 
 hundred of the soldiers of 'yo-yi were drawn up for 
 his inspection. Both he and the distinguished officers 
 of his party stopped and spoke to the old men, and the 
 greeting was most cordial and striking. 
 
 The day following the landing in New York the 
 Prince and his party proceeded to Washington to meet 
 the President and deliver the messages of his Majesty, 
 the Emperor. In the evening he dined with President 
 Roosevelt, and to meet him some of the most distin- 
 guished men of the nation had been asked to the White 
 House. During his personal interviews no one was 
 allowed to be present, and what was said by either 
 Prince or President must remain a secret until one or 
 the other may choose to speak. It was plain from their 
 faces afterwards, however, that nothing unpleasant had 
 taken place. After the interview they both seemed to 
 
 34 
 
The Prince and Congress 
 
 enjoy a long horseback ride across country, though 
 they came back from it drenched to the skin. 
 
 On February 24th it was arranged that Prince 
 Henry should have a look at the Congress of the 
 United States, which was then in session. We drove 
 to the Capitol and were given seats in the diplomatic 
 gallery of the House of Representatives, where we sat 
 for half an hour and listened to the talk of some mem- 
 ber who left on our minds only one impression — how 
 frequently he could murder the King's English. The 
 plan for us after this was to proceed to the diplomatic 
 gallery of the Senate, but this was only partially carried 
 out. The members of the staff were shown into that 
 gallery, but the Prince and his personal aides were 
 shown into the Vice-President's room. Senators Mor- 
 gan, Frye, and Lodge then conducted us onto the floor 
 of the Senate. The Vice-President invited his Royal 
 Highness to take the seat of the presiding officer, which 
 he declined, but accepted a seat by his side, and the 
 Senate went on with its work. This unusual courtesy 
 was perfectly understood by the Prince and fully ap- 
 preciated by him. It brought home to him in the 
 strongest way the feeling of friendship entertained for 
 him by the people of this country. Mr. Bailey, senator 
 from Texas, was speaking at the time of our visit, and 
 Prince Henry was impressed, as I was, with the 
 strength of his argument. He was claiming that it was 
 doubtful if the Senate had the right to suspend a sen- 
 ator — that it had the right to dismiss a member, and in 
 that case another could be provided to fill the place, 
 but in the case of suspension the state would be without 
 proper representation. 
 
 35 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 On February 25th a distinguished party assembled 
 to witness the launching of the Emperor's yacht, the 
 Meteor. A special train conveyed the President and 
 his friends to Jersey City, and a second train carried 
 Prince Henry and his party. The two trains were 
 housed in the depot at the same time, and from them 
 the whole party was taken on board a special Pennsyl- 
 vania ferryboat to the shipyard at Shelter Island to 
 witness the launching. The ferryboat was decorated 
 with flags, as became the occasion, the President's flag 
 at one side. Prince Henry's standard on the other, and 
 the American flag above all. The weather was foggy 
 and very cold, but even this could not prevent the 
 enthusiastic crowds from making themselves heard. 
 
 The launching of the Meteor and her christening 
 by Miss Alice Roosevelt were in every way successful 
 and perfect. There are always people wishing to make 
 trouble, and on this occasion some one raised the point 
 that the vessel should be launched flying the German 
 flag, and immediately some one else claimed that she 
 should fly the American flag. This caused some feel- 
 ing, and it looked as if there might be trouble over so 
 simple a thing. Of course, it was not a question for me 
 to settle; in fact, it was none of my business, and I 
 would not have said a word about it if one of the Ger- 
 man officers who was to take the yacht home had not 
 asked me to do so. I asked him if the Meteor had been 
 paid for, and he replied that she had not. Then, I said, 
 as she belonged to the people who built her, it would 
 seem proper that she should fly their flag until her con- 
 dition changed. When she had been paid for, cleared 
 for a German port, under command of a German cap- 
 
 36 
 
Launching of the Meteor 
 
 tain, it would be proper and fitting for her to fly the 
 German flag, and not before. This seemed so simple a 
 solution of the question that every one accepted it, and 
 the matter was never heard of again. 
 
 After the launching, a beautiful luncheon was 
 served, the usual number of speeches were made, and 
 the party returned to New York city to dine on board 
 the Hohenzollern. The caterer who furnished and 
 served the luncheon was the victim of a peculiar Amer- 
 ican custom. All his table furniture was stolen and 
 carried off as souvenirs. Years afterwards he ap- 
 pealed to me to help him in some way, if I could, to 
 recover the value of his property. I was very sorry for 
 the man, but could do nothing to help him. When I 
 had told him of some of our experiences on board ves- 
 sels of the navy, where we had lost practically every- 
 thing we owned, he seemed to feel his losses less keenly. 
 In later years we were all made to blush by these same 
 souvenir thieves when they stole from the officers of an 
 Italian cruiser, who had given a reception, all their 
 jewelry and personal belongings. 
 
 After luncheon on the Hohenzollern, and when the 
 President and his party left for Washington, Prince 
 Henry started for the City Hall to receive the freedom 
 of the city of New York. The weather was very bad ; 
 it was blowing a northeast gale, with rain and occa- 
 sional snow, and to make the trip as easily as possible 
 I took him on a navy-yard tug as far as the Battery, 
 where carriages were in waiting. At this point oc- 
 curred one of those incidents which had much to do 
 in shaping American sentiment toward him. As the 
 tug drew up to the landing, Prince Henry noticed that 
 
 4 37 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 our carriages were closed, and at the same time he saw 
 the dripping multitude, facing the northeast storm, 
 waiting to welcome him. Turning to me, he said : 
 
 " Evans, please have the carriages opened. If the 
 people can stand in the rain to see me, I can surely sit 
 in the rain to see them ! " 
 
 As the first carriage was opened and the crowd un- 
 derstood what was being done, the cheers began, and 
 soon the streets were filled with a wet mass of cheering 
 humanity. And so we rode to the City Hall, all of us 
 thoroughly soaked, our special full-dress uniforms drip- 
 ping wet and the icy water trickling down our backs, 
 but in no way worse off than the honest Americans 
 who were welcoming the Prince. 
 
 It was a pleasure at this time to watch the crowds 
 and observe the changing expressions of the faces. 
 Most of them were serious at first, and when they 
 caught sight of Prince Henry's face this quickly 
 changed into smiles, and then came handclapping and 
 cheers. It was one of the most striking things I ever 
 saw. Repeated elsewhere and often afterwards, it 
 showed me that it was the personality of the man that 
 was winning him friends, and not any idle curiosity 
 about a Prince. He captured them all, men and 
 women, big and little, young and old, as soon as they 
 had one look at his smiling face. 
 
 At the City Hall we were met by the mayor and 
 members of the city government. The freedom of the 
 city was presented to his Royal Highness in a beautiful 
 silver casket by Mayor Seth Low in a short, eloquent 
 address. I have heard many addresses of various kinds 
 in my life, under all kinds of conditions, but never be- 
 
 38 
 
The Prince's Escort 
 
 fore or since have I heard anything finer than this one 
 from Mayor Low. As Prince Henry said of it after- 
 wards, " it was poHshed and brilHant in every phrase." 
 
 When the ceremony was over we drove back to the 
 Hohenzollern through the city. The streets were 
 crowded with people, and the pelting rain and driving 
 snow treated us all impartially, wetting us to the skin, 
 or rather keeping us wet to the skin, for we had been 
 in that condition for several hours. 
 
 Every hour of Prince Henry's time while in New 
 York had been covered by a programme which was 
 made up, generally speaking, of public receptions. The 
 night after he had received the freedom of the city and 
 such a thorough wetting, he was to appear at the Metro- 
 politan Opera, where a special performance was to be 
 given in his honour. As soon as we had changed our 
 clothing and eaten a hasty dinner we started. The 
 weather by this time had become very cold and the 
 streets were a sheet of ice. In addition to the guard of 
 mounted police, Squadron A, the crack New York cav- 
 alry organisation, had asked to be allowed the honour 
 of escorting the Prince, and this request was granted. 
 We were a little late in starting from the Hohenzollern, 
 and in order to make up the time we had to drive at 
 rather a rapid pace, considering the condition of the 
 streets. 
 
 We had gone a few blocks only when one of the 
 cavalrymen received what looked like a very ugly fall. 
 The horse slipped on the icy street and went down, 
 landing apparently on top of the rider. In a moment 
 the young man was up and, before we could see what 
 damage had been done, quickly remounted the animal 
 
 39 
 
'An Admirars Log 
 
 and darted back to his place. Prince Henry called a 
 mounted policeman and asked that this soldier be sent 
 back to report to him, as he had something to say to 
 him. I watched the incident with interest, as I felt 
 pretty sure of what would happen. 
 
 The soldier wheeled his horse and reported smartly 
 to the Prince, who complimented him on his horseman- 
 ship, hoped he was not hurt, and shook hands with him. 
 Then the horses began falling rapidly. There was 
 quite a string of them coming back to be complimented 
 and to shake hands with his Royal Highness, and, 
 while the condition of the streets may have accounted 
 for many of the falls, I have always felt that some of 
 them could not be accounted for in this way. On our 
 return trip that night to the Hohenzollern we drove 
 through the middle of the street at a walk, and the 
 cavalry escort rode on the sidewalks, thus preventing 
 accidents. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 PRINCE HENRY IN THE WEST 
 
 When we started on our western trip, one of the 
 first requests made by Prince Henry was that he be al- 
 lowed to ride on a locomotive. He was fond of driving 
 a torpedo boat at top speed,' and, being many kinds of 
 an engineer, wished to see what an American locomotive 
 could do. The conditions at the time were not the very 
 best for safety, as it had been raining hard for many 
 days, causing several washouts on the road ahead of us. 
 In addition to this, the German ambassador, who ac- 
 companied the party, objected to his doing it. How- 
 ever, it was finally arranged that he should have his 
 ride, and accordingly at Summit he mounted the 120- 
 ton locomotive that drew our train. Mr. Boyd, of the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad, went with him, and after going 
 about one hundred miles he came back to his car as 
 black as a chimney sweep, but vowing that he had had a 
 splendid trip. His manner to the men on the locomo- 
 tive and those working about it was so democratic and 
 natural, and withal so knowing, that they were all his 
 devoted admirers. And the same may be said of about 
 ninety-nine per cent of the people with whom he came 
 in contact during his visit to this country. Since his 
 return to Germany, Prince Henry has been one of the 
 
 41 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 leading men there in developing- the fastest motor cars 
 and the best balloons and aeroplanes. 
 
 When the train was fairly started on our western 
 trip, we soon settled down into real comfort. The car 
 occupied by the Prince was at the rear of the train, so 
 that he could conveniently show himself when occasion 
 demanded, and this was really at every town or city 
 through which we passed. The rear end of the car was 
 used for dining and observation purposes. The rest of 
 it was taken up with state-rooms, in which were berthed 
 Prince Henry, Commodore Seckendorf, the chief of his 
 household, his personal servant, and myself. Other 
 cars on the train held the rest of the party, and they all 
 took their meals in one or two dining cars. When 
 the Prince had completed his toilet in the morning, 
 usually about seven o'clock, the chief of his household 
 and the adjutant for the day were summoned and trans- 
 acted such business as was necessary. Among other 
 things, they prepared the invitations for dinner for 
 those who were to dine with him in addition to the 
 regular party. Each day found the division superin- 
 tendent of the road on which we were riding on 
 board the train, and he was always invited. Then 
 one or two members of his own party and as many 
 of the committee completed the group around the table. 
 The German ambassador and Admiral von Tirpitz, 
 Secretary of the German Navy, dined with us every 
 day. 
 
 The cars were supplied with every luxury in the 
 way of meat and drink, the service was excellent, and 
 our meals a time of pleasure and enjoyment. The Ger- 
 man officers were all experts in their several lines, spoke 
 
 42 
 
On the Prince's Train 
 
 English well, and never hesitated to say just what they 
 thought about any professional subject that happened 
 to be under discussion. So we came, before the end of 
 the trip, to know the German side of many questions that 
 had been as a sealed book to us before. After break- 
 fast had been served, we gave our time to observing the 
 country through which we were passing. Many times 
 Chief Wilkie joined the party and amused us all with 
 his witty and wonderful stories. Dinner was the 
 formal meal of the day, but only formal as compared 
 with our breakfast and luncheon. The Prince was 
 always democratic and most entertaining, seemed never 
 to be playing the part of a Prince, but no one in the 
 party ever forgot that he was one, and a jolly good one 
 at that. 
 
 When Prince Henry had retired, which was usually 
 at one or two o'clock in the morning, one of my most 
 important duties had to be attended to. Wilkie would 
 come in with the mass of telegrams from stations ahead 
 of us, and these had to be carefully read and disposed 
 of. They came generally from police authorities, but 
 sometimes from all manner of people. We had quite a 
 number like this : 
 
 " Turn back your train at once. The Prince will be 
 shot at one p.m. to-morrow! " 
 
 Of course these went quickly into the paper basket, 
 for we knew that if any one was going to shoot him 
 we would not be told in advance. When all the mes- 
 sages had been gone over carefully, Wilkie would turn 
 in, but always left one of his men on duty in the car. 
 
 43 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Then Mr. Boyd would come in for a few minutes and 
 chat about matters connected with the train, after which 
 I could consider my day's work completed and retire to 
 my bed. 
 
 The reception of the royal party at St. Louis was 
 magnificent, as was to be expected from a city which 
 claimed as German one-half of its population. Gov- 
 ernor Francis, one of the most dignified and polished 
 gentlemen this country has ever produced, was at the 
 head of the reception committee, and that meant that 
 everything would be done in a dignified and proper 
 w^ay. The railroad station was surrounded by a surg- 
 ing mass of enthusiastic, orderly people, all anxious for 
 a sight of the distinguished visitor. A large number of 
 police were on duty, and a fine mounted escort w^as in 
 readiness. 
 
 When we had left the depot we found the streets 
 thronged with people, all of them keeping to the side- 
 walks and no effort being made to crowd the carriage. 
 Prince Henry and Governor Francis sat on the after 
 seat and, of course, Wilkie and I on the other, with a 
 Secret Service officer on the box with the driver. As we 
 passed through the principal streets of the city the peo- 
 ple showed great enthusiasm; particularly was this the 
 case with the women. This led to a very amusing inci- 
 dent. Wilkie, who had been watching everything in a 
 keen, businesslike way, turned to Prince Henry and 
 Governor Francis and said : 
 
 " Some of the most noted pickpockets of the coun- 
 try are here to-day, and I have been w^atching them 
 reap a rich harvest." 
 
 We were all attention at once, and he pointed out 
 44 
 
Arrival at St. Louis 
 
 to us how the game was being played. The women 
 were crowded out close to the curbing of the sidewalk, 
 and as we approached they raised both hands to wave a 
 welcome to the Prince, which many of them did with 
 red, hysterical faces. This was the chance for the 
 " crooks," who would dodge in front of them and with 
 some sharp instrument quickly relieve them of the 
 small bags hanging about their waists, which usually 
 contained their valuables and money. It was amusing, 
 as well as instructive, to see how quickly and completely 
 this could be done, and how soon the offender was 
 safely hidden in the crowd. They disappeared like rats 
 running into a hole. If this part was amusing, it cer- 
 tainly was pathetic to see the faces of the women 
 and hear their screams when they discovered their loss. 
 I am sure that we saw at least half a dozen of the most 
 noted pickpockets in the United States actually plying 
 their trade — a novel experience, and one not likely to be 
 repeated. 
 
 During the whole of our ride I was anxiously 
 watching the crowd for some indication of unfriendly 
 feeling toward our guest. I was sure that if such feel- 
 ing were ever shown, it would be in some city with 
 a large German or Polish population. 
 
 A short time after we started from the railroad sta- 
 tion I noticed a large, rough-looking man, apparently 
 about twenty-five years of age, who was following our 
 carriage. He ran along in the rear of the crowd, in the 
 open space between the crowd and the fronts of the 
 houses, and as he loped along he kept his eyes con- 
 stantly on us. After watching him for ten or fifteen 
 minutes, I called Wilkie's attention to him, and he, in 
 
 45 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 turn, spoke a few words in an undertone to the detec- 
 tive on the box, who said quietly : 
 
 " All right ; been watching him ; has no gun ! " 
 
 Wilkie then told me that he had had his eyes on this 
 man from the moment he first started after us, and was 
 satisfied that there was no harm in him. It was inter- 
 esting, as well as very assuring, to see how well these 
 efiicient Secret Service officers knew their business. 
 
 We had a long, rapid ride through the beautiful 
 streets of St. Louis, then a splendid banquet, and after- 
 wards a quiet night on our train, where we discussed 
 the events of the day and viewed the presents that had 
 been sent to the Prince. As I recall it now, the most 
 amusing event of the day was the inability of the chief 
 of police to ride a spirited charger that had been pro- 
 vided for the purpose. The chief was a very large, fat 
 man, who did not look like one given to much horse- 
 back exercise. However, he made several desperate 
 efforts, and only gave up after a bad fall. The horse, 
 a fine specimen, behaved as if he had never before 
 heard a military band. He certainly did tricks enough 
 to put him in the Wild West Show, where he would 
 have done himself credit. 
 
 When we were passing through the manufacturing 
 part of the city a workman leaned out of a window in 
 the tenth or twelfth story and, using a long megaphone, 
 called out : " Hello, Henry, how are you, and how 
 is your brother William?" Many times people on the 
 streets called out, " How are you. Prince Henry ? " and 
 he always smiled and answered, " Very well, thank 
 you. How are you?" It was this complete under- 
 standing of the democratic manners of our middle 
 
 46 
 
At Chattanooea 
 
 &' 
 
 classes that made the Prince so popular with the com- 
 mon people. Of course, he never heard such things 
 from those who understood what was due to royalty. 
 
 At Chattanooga we were joined by General Boyn- 
 ton and a local committee, who conducted us to Look- 
 out Mountain and explained in detail to the German 
 officers the great battle fought at this point during the 
 Civil War. While the general gave his description the 
 officers stood about him in a picturesque group and 
 listened, as only real military men can listen, to the 
 story of one of the greatest battles of history. General 
 von Plessen, the chief of staff of the German army, 
 was one of the party, and it was only necessary to hear 
 a few of his questions to know that he had made a 
 searching and deep study of this particular campaign. 
 As the historian of so many of the great battles of the 
 war. General Boynton was able to point out exactly 
 how each brigade and division was manoeuvred in this 
 contest. At times one could almost see the men in blue 
 uniform driving back their gallant enemies far above 
 the clouds. I watched with interest the faces of the 
 German officers while they listened to the brilliant de- 
 scription, and it was plain to see from the way their 
 colour came and went, and from the flashing of their 
 eyes, that war was the thing, and the only thing, that 
 really stirred them through and through. 
 
 It was necessary for me to return to the train before 
 the rest of the party, and while I was looking after 
 some matters of detail a telegram came from a city in 
 Kentucky, asking if the Prince would stop there for a 
 few minutes to be greeted by his friends and receive a 
 present from them. I answered " Yes," and then ar- 
 
 47 
 
Lea 
 
 An Admiral's Log 
 
 ranged with Boyd to stop the train for just two min- 
 utes, and no more. When we had said good-bye to our 
 kind-hearted friends at Chattanooga and were fairly 
 on our way, I explained to Prince Henry what I had 
 done and what he might expect. Several of the rank- 
 ing officers were assembled in our car, in the obser- 
 vation end of it, while I told them of some of the 
 peculiarities of the Kentucky people. 
 
 After recounting some of the most noted and 
 bloody feuds in which there had been great loss of life, 
 I described the habit of carrying concealed weapons by 
 the male population, and explained how this practice 
 had resulted in leaving the country without many 
 whole men, most of them being maimed or marked in 
 some way, either by gun or knife. All the Germans 
 exclaimed at such a barbarous custom, but at the same 
 time there was not a man among them who did not 
 show scars on his face, received in his college-day 
 duels. They had fought often, but the practice was 
 mere fun compared with that of the Kentucky methods. 
 Both methods have their advocates. 
 
 When we arrived at the town from which the tele- 
 gram had come, and the train had been stopped with- 
 out killing any of the enthusiastic thousands who 
 crowded the tracks, the usual committee of three came 
 on board. The chairman came first, a young, clean-cut 
 gentleman, perfectly dressed, and in every way pre- 
 pared to do with credit what devolved upon him. As 
 he began, in his soft, southern voice, " Yo' Royal High- 
 ness," we saw that he had one defective eye! As he 
 finished his few polished words of welcome he pre- 
 sented his two fellow-members of the committee, and 
 
 48 
 
Prince Henry of Prussia with Admiral Evans, on his tour through 
 the United States. 
 
Southern Hospitality 
 
 one of them was lame in one leg! Then came three 
 coloured men, each bearing a box or case, and when 
 these had been deposited the party withdrew and we 
 went on our way. During the short presentation speech 
 we were all doing our best to suppress our laughter. 
 The committee must have thought us a good-humoured 
 party, for every man had a broad grin on his face, the 
 cause of which was, of course, unknown to our kind- 
 hearted friends. 
 
 As the train pulled out of the station and the shouts 
 of laughter, provoked by the number of lame or 
 maimed people we had seen, had subsided, Prince 
 Henry asked : 
 
 " Evans, what do you think is in those boxes ? " 
 
 I replied that one probably contained very old and 
 fine Bourbon whiskey, one apple brandy, and the other 
 peach brandy. This statement proved to be correct 
 when the cases were opened. His Royal Highness 
 tested them all in one dose, and pronounced them good, 
 though different from anything he ever drank before. 
 I mixed a fair-sized drink of whiskey, a little apple 
 brandy with it, and just a dash of peach brandy on top 
 to give it the proper flavour. Before I had time to add 
 any water the Prince took the glass and, instead of sip- 
 ping the fluid, swallowed the whole poisonous mess 
 and, with a rather startled look on his face, asked : 
 
 " What do you call that drink? " 
 
 " A torchlight procession, your Royal Highness ! " 
 was my reply. 
 
 The boxes were repacked, and afterward found 
 their way to the Palace at Kiel. The next morning, if 
 I had known the story then, I would have told Prince 
 
 49 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Henry of the Kentucky gentleman who, on being 
 asked, early in the morning, how he felt, replied, " How 
 do I feel, sah? I feel as every gentleman should feel 
 in the morning, sah ! I feel like hell, sail ! " 
 
 The reception accorded to the royal party at Chi- 
 cago was just what one would expect from Chicago. 
 The population of this great city turned out by hun- 
 dreds of thousands to welcome its guests, and words 
 fail to describe what the great sea of humanity looked 
 like. In every direction the streets were blocked with 
 people, but the police kept perfect order without the 
 assistance of any military force. Some of the streets 
 were roped off to keep the crowds within bounds, but 
 as a rule this was not done. Orders were published 
 requiring the people to remain on the sidewalks, and 
 the police enforced the order. As an exhibition of 
 police authority it was certainly most striking. Chi- 
 cago had learned her lesson in the days of the Haymar- 
 ket trouble, and later in the labour strikes, and she had 
 learned it well. 
 
 After leaving the train we proceeded, with a strong 
 mounted police patrol ahead of us, to the Auditorium 
 Hotel, where fine accommodations had been secured. 
 On our way we had to pass a house where the anarchist 
 newspaper of the city was published, and, notwithstand- 
 ing that all possible precautions had been taken, both 
 Chief Wilkie and I feared some unfriendly demonstra- 
 tion at this point. As we approached the corner on 
 which the printing office stood, I noticed that the build- 
 ings on the opposite side of the street had a number of 
 policemen on the roofs in such position that they could 
 command all the windows. One glance at Wilkie 
 
 50 
 
Passing the Danger Point 
 
 showed that he was just a trifle pale, but, with his right 
 hand in his left breast pocket, he was ready for action 
 in a second or less. Both of us thought that Prince 
 Henry, who sat on the back seat conversing with the 
 mayor, was ignorant of the conditions, but we were 
 undeceived a few minutes later when he leaned for- 
 ward, smiling, and said, " Wilkie, is your heart beating 
 very fast ? You know the danger point is passed ! " 
 We never learned who told him of the danger, and 
 nothing in his appearance indicated that he apprehended 
 any. 
 
 The weather during our visit to Chicago was bit- 
 terly cold, compelling us to wear our heaviest service 
 overcoats. When we reached the hotel I stepped out 
 of the carriage to assist the Prince, who passed at once 
 into the lobby, closely followed by six or eight of the 
 finest -looking detective officers I ever saw, who pre- 
 vented the crowd from following too closely. It was 
 their business to look to the safety and comfort of the 
 foreign guests, and they did it most efficiently. We 
 common American officers were supposed to take care 
 of ourselves, but it was a difficult job in the surging 
 mass of humanity that packed the streets and sur- 
 rounded our carriages after we stopped. As I followed 
 Prince Henry and the mayor from the carriage to the 
 hotel entrance, I was conscious that I was being pretty 
 roughly crowded and jostled, but it was only for a 
 moment, and I paid no attention to those about me. 
 All were cheering and seemed in the best of humour. 
 On entering my room my servant asked me how I had 
 torn my overcoat, a new one of heavy blue service 
 cloth, I replied that I had not torn it, so far as I 
 
 51 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 knew ; that I was unconscious of having; done so. 
 When I had removed it, however, I found a clean cut, 
 quite ten inches long, across the back, just over 
 the hip pocket in my trousers, made no doubt by 
 some expert pickpocket with a razor or some other 
 very sharp instrument in order to reach my pocket- 
 book. When he put his hand into the opening, if 
 he went that far, he felt a revolver, and not a pocket- 
 book, and, as he was probably well supplied with 
 weapons of that kind, he left it alone. The police were 
 undoubtedly expert and efficient. So were the pick- 
 pockets ! 
 
 When we had changed our uniforms. Prince Henry 
 proceeded to place a wreath on the tomb of Abraham 
 Lincoln. He was accompanied by Mr. Robert T. Lin- 
 coln, Mayor Harrison, Chief Wilkie, and myself. 
 Other carriages carried the rest of the party, including 
 the German ambassador and the German consul, to 
 Chicago. As soon as the wreath had been placed. 
 Prince Henry took a spade and planted a tree near the 
 tomb, and the ceremony was complete. Mr. Lincoln 
 seemed particularly touched by this tribute to the mem- 
 ory of his father when informed that it was at the 
 command of the Emperor of Germany. 
 
 The programme of entertainments during our stay 
 in the city was so full and complete that it was almost 
 more than human flesh could stand to carry it out. 
 First came a great reception and ball, over which the 
 " four hundred " had many discussions as to rank and 
 precedence. The lady who drew the Prince was, of 
 course, satisfied, and she seemed to be the only one that 
 was. I was fortunate in having a charming woman for 
 
 52 
 
The Ball at Chicago 
 
 my companion during the grand march into the ball- 
 room, which was, of itself, a wonderful performance 
 and very long drawn out. When the dancing began I 
 introduced her to a German lieutenant, and that was 
 the last I saw of her. She never came back, and she 
 was considerate enough not to put any one in her 
 place, so that I was able, after waiting a proper time 
 for her return, to retire to a quiet corner and enjoy my 
 cigar. 
 
 This ball and reception disclosed a curious condi- 
 tion, which was a complete surprise to many of us. 
 Immediately after our arrival I noticed a number of 
 very military-looking men in plain clothes speaking to 
 Prince Henry. They all stood at attention with their 
 heels together, and all spoke German. Wilkie soon 
 knew all about them, and informed me that they were 
 German army officers on leave, travelling in the United 
 States, where they were seeing what they could see and 
 preparing reports on various subjects for his Majesty, 
 the Emperor, I was much surprised to find so many 
 of them. They could not wear their uniforms without 
 permission of his Majesty, and to appear in plain dress 
 at the ball was distasteful, so either the Prince or the 
 ambassador, or maybe both of them, wired for the 
 necessary permission, and it came in time for them to 
 attend the ball and the banquet in military dress. I do 
 not believe there were more than three people in Chi- 
 cago who knew of the presence of those officers in and 
 about the city. We may, however, be quite sure that 
 those courteous, quick-eyed men gave the Emperor all 
 the information he wanted about the great city and its 
 
 doings. 
 
 53 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Entertainments of various kinds followed each other 
 in rapid succession, but none of them supplied what 
 Prince Henry wanted. He was very desirous of seeing 
 something of the great industries of this unique city. 
 The music he heard was excellent, but he could hear 
 better in Germany. The ladies were, some of them, 
 beautiful, and the display of necks, shoulders, and dia- 
 monds great, but all these could also be seen in other 
 places. What could not be seen anywhere else in the 
 world was the wonderful packing houses and kindred 
 industries, and these he was most anxious to inspect; 
 but his wishes could not be complied with. Both Wil- 
 kie and I argued the case with the ambassador and 
 begged him to allow us to arrange a trip through the 
 cattle yards, but he would not for a moment consent, or 
 even listen to it. All the detective officers were confi- 
 dent that no harm would come from such a trip, but the 
 mayor said, when we appealed to him, that he regretted 
 to have to say that he could not guarantee the safety of 
 his distinguished guest if he undertook it — a hard ad- 
 mission for the head of a great city government to have 
 to make. 
 
 Many, if not all, of the great packing houses em- 
 ployed Poles in the work of dressing and cutting the 
 animals to be packed, and, of course, these Polaks hated 
 everything German. This the German ambassador 
 knew, and it was for fear of some bodily harm to his 
 Royal Highness that he objected so strongly. The in- 
 formation I had from the detectives satisfied me that the 
 proposed trip would be a perfectly safe one. The Polaks 
 might throw some blood on us, which was a playful 
 trick they enjoyed, but this could not hurt any one 
 
 54 
 
Reception at Milwaukee 
 
 seriously, and the blood could be easily washed off. I 
 doubted if they would do even so much. 
 
 However, the ambassador was the one to decide 
 the question, and he did it. The Prince was willing to 
 go in mufti, but I was unwilling to take that chance 
 against the opinion of the mayor and the ambassador, 
 and so Prince Henry missed seeing the one thing above 
 all others he wanted to see in the United States. 
 Many of his officers saw not only the packing houses 
 and stock yards, but many other things not always 
 shown, without danger or inconvenience. 
 
 From Chicago we ran to Milwaukee, a city which 
 claims more than two-thirds of its population as Ger- 
 man or of German descent, and here we had one of the 
 pleasantest receptions of the whole trip. Mayor Rose 
 and the city officials had arranged a programme, which 
 occupied all our time, but also gave us a few hours for 
 rest. When the train arrived we were taken for quite 
 a long drive about the city, beautifully located on a high 
 bluff overlooking the lake, and the strong, cold lake 
 breeze blowing at the time gave colour to everything, 
 but particularly to the cheeks of the women. Prince 
 Henry was struck, as I was, with the number of beau- 
 tiful women we saw. They were at their best because 
 of the cool, crisp air and the beautiful clothes they 
 wore. The city, people, and all were in gala attire. 
 Many times Prince Henry said to me in an undertone, 
 " Evans, look quick at that charming face," and then it 
 would be my turn to call his attention to one on my 
 side of the carriage. Finally we agreed that each 
 should look at those on his own side only. Otherwise 
 we would become cross-eyed ! 
 
 55 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 At the time of our visit there was a great gathering 
 of German societies in the city, and they gave the 
 Prince much music, singing, and speech-making. Dur- 
 ing the night there was a turnout of the whole city fire 
 department, and the firemen gave us a fine exhibition of 
 what they could do in case of necessity. The horses 
 ran well and the men rode the long hook-and-ladder 
 wagons without falling off, and turned the corners with 
 the accuracy of a modern battleship under full steam. 
 
 The great breweries for which Milwaukee is famous 
 were inspected, and afforded several hours of interest 
 to the Prince and his party. Before we left, our car 
 was fairly loaded with export blue-label beer, which 
 the German officers liked, much to my surprise. I 
 could understand why they liked American champagne. 
 It was not French and was sweet — two very good rea- 
 sons for their preference, for they like sweet wine, as 
 a rule, and they do not like anything French. But the 
 beer question was a puzzle to me. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 PRINCE HENRY AT NIAGARA FALLS 
 
 As we moved along from Milwaukee back to the 
 eastward again, and passed through the oil fields of 
 Ohio, Prince Henry was thoroughly interested, and 
 wanted the train stopped while he examined some of 
 the wells and the method of handling the product. 
 And so it was when we passed through the vast grape 
 district about Erie, where they cultivate over two hun- 
 dred varieties of grapes. In the one case he was deeply 
 interested because there is no petroleum in Germany, and 
 in the other because there they grow grapes in enor- 
 mous quantities and supply the best wine to a large 
 part of the world, and he wanted to compare methods. 
 With all the fun we were having on the train, he was 
 absorbing a great amount of information for future 
 use or reference. 
 
 On our arrival at Niagara Falls we found, for the 
 first time, defective police arrangements. We were 
 much delayed in our movements by the curious crowd 
 which surrounded us and stared in our faces. My Chi- 
 cago experience, I suppose, had rendered me sensitive 
 to the touch of strange hands about my clothing, and 
 w^hen I found some one trying to get his hand into my 
 hip pocket, under my military cloak, I was provoked 
 and angered beyond reason. Without much effort I 
 
 57 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 caught the wrist of the would-be thief and held it 
 firmly, and then, in an instant, the thought flashed 
 through my mind that if I called for the arrest of the 
 person I should have to remain over to appear against 
 him. The young man, not over twenty, I am sure, was 
 doing his best to get away from me. So, with a sharp 
 upper cut with my right on the point of his chin, I let 
 him go. The crowd was dense at the time, and, seeing 
 the condition of things, handled the young chap rather 
 roughly. When I saw him last he was being well ham- 
 mered by four or five youngsters of his own age. 
 
 Niagara was one of the points of greatest interest 
 to Prince Henry and his party. Aside from the natural 
 beauties of the wonderful place, they were deeply inter- 
 ested in the scheme, then just completed, of generating 
 electric power from the water of the falls and trans- 
 mitting the same to Buffalo and other nearby cities. 
 The officers of the power company were most courteous 
 and obliging, and gave the Prince and his officers every 
 chance to see and inspect in detail their magnificent 
 plant, capable of generating and transmitting 250,000 
 horse power to a distance of sixty or seventy miles. 
 My impression at the time was that this was the most 
 interesting incident of the trip. 
 
 After the examination of the power house came a 
 delightful visit down the gorge to witness the tumble 
 of the waters, which appealed to the sensitive, poetical 
 nature of Prince Henry and filled his music-loving soul 
 with joy. For nearly an hour he sat watching the 
 surging mass of tumbling water, silent and enrapt. 
 Occasionally he would look up and ask about some 
 daring attempt to swim the falls, and then relapse into 
 
 58 
 
A Canadian Welcome 
 
 silent watching of the wonderful scene before him. It 
 was an hour of pure joy for us all. 
 
 Later we crossed the bridge, in the biting cold, for 
 a nearer view of the falls. In the middle of the bridge 
 our carriages were stopped and we had to spend pre- 
 cious time listening to a Canadian address of welcome. 
 Then the Prince had to respond and later send a wire 
 to his uncle announcing his arrival on English soil, all 
 of which was necessary under the strict rules of eti- 
 quette; but it took valuable time, and we had none to 
 spare. If all the speech-making could have been cut 
 out of the trip. Prince Henry could have seen much of 
 our splendid machinery, in which he was so much inter- 
 ested. An effort was constantly made to make this 
 speech-making appear as a purely American custom. 
 But I had to maintain that it was the custom of every 
 country I had ever visited. Certainly it was so at the 
 opening of the Kiel Canal, and I afterwards found it 
 flourishing in China and Japan. We may be the only 
 nation that carries it to such a painful extent, but all 
 other nations have the disease, and it will, no doubt, 
 grow with them, as it has with us, until one cannot 
 visit a deaf-and-dumb institution without delivering a 
 so-called address, and listening to one, or more, in 
 reply. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 PRINCE HENRY IN BOSTON 
 
 From Niagara our itinerary took us to Boston, 
 where, of course, everything was properly done. Aside 
 from a desire to see one of the oldest and most historic 
 of American cities, the Prince held a special commis- 
 sion from the Emperor to deliver to Harvard Univer- 
 sity presents of considerable value. Incidentally, he 
 was to receive a degree himself, which gave him great 
 pleasure. 
 
 The reception at Cambridge was delightful and dig- 
 nified. The president and professors spoke well, the 
 students cheered well, and everything was as it should 
 be, with one exception. When Prince Henry had re- 
 ceived his degree and, at a convenient moment, stood 
 reading it carefully, I saw a puzzled and troubled look 
 on his face. After a few moments of study he said 
 to me : 
 
 " Evans, I don't know what to do. Can you assist 
 me? They have made a mistake and have given me the 
 wrong rank in this degree." 
 
 Of course, it must be changed, corrected rather, and 
 it was a delicate thing to suggest to the faculty of 
 Harvard University that they had made a mistake! I 
 knew that President Eliot had said, " Even the young- 
 
 60 
 
At Harvard 
 
 est undergraduate may make a mistake ! " But this 
 was not the case of an undergraduate — of some one 
 much higher, close up to President EHot himself — and 
 it had to be corrected — and it was. 
 
 Prince Henry wished to see how the students at 
 Harvard lived. He wished always to see what he could 
 of our home life; but this was, as a rule, impossible. 
 He was shown some of the student rooms, but I was 
 impressed with the fact that they were rooms of young 
 men of means, as he was, and this did not interest him. 
 At Annapolis and West Point he saw what he was 
 looking for — all the rooms exactly the same, rich and 
 poor alike. 
 
 The official reception was held at the residence of 
 Professor Miinsterberg, and it was an occasion long to 
 be remembered. Those assembled represented the 
 brains, the culture, and the wealth of Boston society. 
 It was a wonderful gathering, worthy of the occasion. 
 Prince Henry presented the beautiful casts sent by the 
 Emperor in a very graceful, short address, and they 
 were appropriately accepted. An hour was given to 
 social festivities, and we returned to our hotel to pre- 
 pare for a reception at the State House. Some of the 
 social lights were amused during this reception to see 
 the manceuvring of some of their best-known members. 
 They were recognised leaders in society matters, and 
 had evidently made up their minds that on this occasion 
 they would play a leading part — be the observed of all 
 observers. But how small a thing may change such 
 social ambitions! I am not sure that the Prince knew 
 just what was being arranged, but, whether he did or 
 not. he certainly spoiled it all most completely. 
 
 6i 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 When the Prince entered the room he took a posi- 
 tion quite away from the one he was expected to 
 occupy, and when it was suggested that he change it 
 he rephed that he was very comfortable where he was, 
 and there he remained. From the look on his face, and 
 one or two words to me later, I felt sure that Prince 
 Henry understood what was going on and did not pro- 
 pose to allow himself to be used in that way. 
 
 At the State House the Prince was formally wel- 
 comed by the governor and state officials and received 
 by a handsome escort of state troops. After inspecting 
 the much-discussed building and the beautiful Shaw 
 memorial tablet in front of it, we returned to our hotel 
 to make ready for the inevitable banquet that was to 
 take place that evening. Up to this point everything in 
 connection with our visit had been all that one could 
 ask, even of Boston. 
 
 During the early hours of the banquet Prince 
 Henry referred to what he called our " speech-making 
 habit." We certainly had been bored almost to death 
 by the speeches that had been made to us, or at us, but 
 in what country would it have been different ? He said 
 to me: 
 
 " What an extraordinary way of entertaining one's 
 guest — sit him down and make speeches to him ! There 
 is no chance for conversation. I find myself seated be- 
 tween two charming gentlemen, but I am unable to get 
 anything more than * Yes ' or * No ' out of them until 
 after they have made speeches. Then they turn out to 
 be entertaining, watty, full of knowledge and character, 
 and I realise that before that they couldn't talk to me 
 because they were conning their speeches ! " 
 
 62 
 
A Boston Banquet 
 
 This was, of course, perfectly true and, in some 
 ways, much to be regretted ; but in what country is it 
 different? I have attended many banquets in my life, 
 in almost every country of the world, and I have found 
 it the same everywhere. Sometimes the victims were 
 not made unhappy by being told beforehand what was 
 expected of them, but for important occasions it is a 
 doubtful experiment to ask any, except a few recog- 
 nised experts like Mr. Seth Low, Mr. Chauncey De- 
 pew, and General Horace Porter, to respond to a toast 
 without a chance for preparation. It has often been my 
 fortune at banquets to sit next one or more of the 
 speakers, and I have looked with pity at their perspiring 
 faces while they took advantage of every spare moment 
 to glance over and study the typewritten copy of what 
 they were later to say, or rather what the morning 
 papers would declare they had said. The remedy for 
 this system of punishment, which really causes many 
 able men to shun banquets, is not in sight. 
 
 At this particular Boston banquet the speeches, as a 
 rule, were unusually fine. They lacked the brusque 
 Americanism which we had heard in the west, and 
 which always brought more or less applause, but they 
 were classical, finished, and witty, a little too much 
 given to statistics, but generally fine. As each of the 
 able speakers completed his task and resumed his seat 
 the social air around the tables improved, and we were 
 in a fair way to comfort and real enjoyment when we 
 received a rude shock. A very distinguished man 
 began his response to a toast. Everybody gave him 
 close attention for half an hour or so, when interest 
 seemed to flag. His voice was not as pleasant as it 
 
 63 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 might have been, and as time went on the long list of 
 statistics lost their charm, and the whole company was 
 in perfect sympathy against the man. We were simply 
 bored to death, but no way of escape was open, and 
 we had to sit still and bear it. It was one of the regular 
 thirdly - fourthly - fifthly - in conclusion - and - one - 
 word-more orations. The Prince caught Wilkie's eye 
 and, with a twinkle in his own, slipped his hand into his 
 breast coat pocket, where he knew the chief carried his 
 gun. It was a suggestion to draw and shoot, and if 
 Wilkie had been " up " on royal etiquette and had taken 
 the royal wish for a command there would have been 
 some decided democratic approval of justifiable homi- 
 cide! All things must end, however, and eventually 
 this banquet did. We were glad when the end came, 
 because we were to attend a reception before the train 
 left at two o'clock a.m. for New York. 
 
 Prince Henry was naturally anxious to see some- 
 thing of American home life, but up to this time he had 
 not been able to visit a single private house. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Montgomery Sears, of Boston, had kindly thrown 
 open their beautiful home and tendered a reception to 
 the Prince and his party. It was here that we spent 
 the evening, or rather what remained of it, after the 
 banquet. The change from the bustling hotel banquet 
 room to the quiet luxury of this exquisite house was 
 most striking. Everything was done in the former that 
 could add to our comfort and that of the five or six 
 hundred guests assembled, but here was all that wealth, 
 culture, taste, and a long line of descent could produce. 
 It was perfect, and we Americans of the party watched 
 the Germans with interest while they inspected the rare 
 
 64 
 
An American Hostess 
 
 old books, manuscripts, and furniture in what must be 
 considered a type of the best houses anywhere in our 
 country. Later there was a reception for men, and then 
 a delicate repast at which only four ladies appeared. It 
 was here that the beautiful hostess appeared at her best, 
 and made us all proud of the example of American 
 womanhood. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 PRINCE HENRY BIDS FAREWELL TO AMERICA 
 
 Once more in New York, we found that the quar- 
 ters on the Hohenzollern had to be vacated, as several 
 cases of scarlet fever had broken out among the crew. 
 This was most disconcerting and in many ways unpleas- 
 ant, but there was no help for it. So we moved, bag 
 and baggage, to the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, where we 
 were made most comfortable. We sadly missed the 
 privacy and dignity of the royal yacht, and had to 
 resort to all sorts of tricks to keep the public from 
 swamping us with their kindly meant hospitality. 
 Cranks of all kinds infested the hotel corridors, and the 
 force of detectives had to be largely increased to keep 
 them from actually forcing their way into tlie private 
 quarters of the Prince. One particular woman crank — 
 and they are the worst, though not the most dangerous 
 — kept us dodging in the most ridiculous way for more 
 than two days ! She had some kind of invention which 
 she carried about with her, as well as a description in 
 verse of the same, and she was determined that Prince 
 Henry should listen while she described the invention 
 and read the verses. I tried hard to have her expend 
 her energy on me, but I was not the game she was 
 after; did not carry guns enough. For two days and 
 nights Prince Henry and I moved lively, so to speak, 
 
 66 
 
At the University Club 
 
 to find a new elevator each time we entered the hotel, 
 for the lady always knew the last one we had used and 
 was watching it to waylay us. A kind-hearted detec- 
 tive finally induced her to give up her quest, and was 
 soundly abused for brutality in so doing. The good 
 woman actually on one occasion sat all night in the cor- 
 ridor waiting for us. Many people could not under- 
 stand why we could not give her the time she wanted. 
 She was only a sample of many hundreds who haunted 
 the halls and doorways of the Waldorf-Astoria, and the 
 days were not long enough for us to gratify them all. 
 Of the many entertainments extended to Prince 
 Henry in New York, he probably enjoyed the dinner at 
 the University Club more than any other. The de- 
 mands on the committee and the influence brought to 
 bear upon them by the persons wishing to extend such 
 courtesy were most surprising and hard to meet. The 
 Prince expressed a desire to dine with the University 
 Club, which had then just occupied its wonderful new 
 club-house on Fifty- fourth Street, and the dinner was 
 one to be remembered. The food was most delicate, 
 the wines rare, and the company select. There was no 
 speech-making, only a short address of welcome, no 
 newspaper correspondents, but some of the finest music 
 heard during the entire trip. Among other singers, we 
 listened to Mr. Burleigh, a coloured man, who sang 
 old southern melodies, to the intense delight of the 
 Prince and his suite. The meal extended far into the 
 night, and was followed by a short reception for the 
 large number of club members who could not attend 
 the dinner. It was after this entertainment that one of 
 the distinguished German officers said something to me 
 
 67 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 that has caused me much thought many times since. 
 Admiral von Tirpitz, Minister of Marine, was observ- 
 ing the men as they passed, when he suddenly turned to 
 me and said, with considerable excitement : 
 
 " Why, you have developed a new type of men in 
 this country. I do not see German faces here, nor 
 Spanish, nor French faces. You have developed a new 
 type of men. Your university men are a new class 
 entirely ! " 
 
 Since then I have thought that I could recognise the 
 back of an American university man, even though I saw 
 him in the wilds of Africa or the jungles of the Philip- 
 pines. 
 
 Admiral von Tirpitz and I, naturally, had many 
 professional talks, and the memory of them is a delight 
 to me to this day. At that time the German navy was 
 doing nothing about submarine boats, and when I 
 asked him why he replied : 
 
 " We can't afford it. We can afford the money, 
 but not the brains. We think we can utilise our mental 
 energy to better advantage in developing fighting ships 
 for the supremacy of the sea." 
 
 Could any but a profound thinker have given utter- 
 ance to such a sentiment? It was in striking contrast 
 to our methods, for when we began the building of 
 our new navy, we first designed and built a despatch 
 boat which almost wrecked the administration in power 
 before we could accept her! 
 
 One of the most notable entertainments given 
 Prince Henry during his stay in New York was by the 
 Captains of Industry, as they were called — the million- 
 aires or men of great wealth. The banquet was served 
 
 68 
 
With the Captains of Industry 
 
 in the Metropolitan Club, and everything that money 
 and good taste could do was done to make it success- 
 ful, and it certainly was most brilliantly so. A tele- 
 gram was sent to Kiel in the morning, asking the name 
 of the Prince's favourite flower, which proved to be the 
 gardenia, and when we entered the banquet room and 
 were seated there was a large bunch of these beautiful 
 flowers at his place, and boutonnicres of the same for 
 all the guests. Later, when the ladies entered and occu- 
 pied the galleries, each one wore gardenias. When the 
 coffee had been served, much to our surprise, we found 
 that there was to be no speech-making, but instead the 
 room was filled with the sound of most interesting con- 
 versation. Men of leading, even commanding, posi- 
 tion, such as J. P. Morgan and Charles M. Schwab, 
 the latter then president of the United States Steel 
 Company, were in turn presented to his Royal High- 
 ness, and he pumped them to his heart's content. It 
 was a most enjoyable evening, and gave him the oppor- 
 tunity he had sought for serious conversation with men 
 who could answer the questions he put to them. The 
 perfume of the flowers prevailed above the smoke of 
 several hundred cigars, and the Prince several times 
 smilingly acknowledged the compliment of the gar- 
 denias. From this date until he sailed gardenias were 
 in great demand in New York at a most ridiculous 
 price. I recall buying one of these plants in Japan once. 
 It had over two hundred flowers or buds, and cost me 
 one dollar and thirty cents ! 
 
 The Press Club entertained Prince Henry at a ban- 
 quet given in the Waldorf-Astoria, where twelve hun- 
 dred men were seated at the tables. During the even- 
 6 69 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 ing ladies were admitted to the galleries, so that the 
 room contained at one time nearly two thousand per- 
 sons. It was a notable event, and brought together 
 many distinguished men, Carl Schurz being one of 
 them. Many speeches were, of course, made, and they 
 were, as a rule, well worth the time given to them. 
 Mr. Seth Low was by general consent the ablest, and 
 certainly the most polished, orator of the evening. 
 Prince Henry made a great impression by the wit and 
 humour of his response, which was greatly applauded. 
 Up to this time few people knew how perfectly he read 
 and spoke the English language. 
 
 One of the first requests made of me when the 
 Prince arrived in America was that I would, if possible, 
 give him an opportunity to hear some of our old south- 
 ern melodies — not the new " rag-time " horror, which 
 he detested, as most musicians do, but the real thing, 
 sung by native negroes. In order to meet his wishes 
 as far as possible, I wrote to Booker T. Washington 
 and the authorities at the Hampton Institute, and was 
 fortunate enough to secure the services of the Hamp- 
 ton singers as a body. They came to New York and, on 
 an evening set aside for the purpose, sang for the Prince 
 and those who had been invited to join him. The music 
 was beyond criticism, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the 
 evening, but particularly was this the case with Prince 
 Henry and his officers, nearly all of whom were trained 
 musicians. 
 
 During an interval in the singing his Royal High- 
 ness asked me to present Dr. Washington to him, which 
 I very gladly did, and the two were engaged in an 
 interesting conversation for more than ten minutes. 
 
 70 
 
A New York Private Dinner 
 
 The man who had demonstrated to the world the value 
 of education for the masses — real education, industrial 
 education — was evidently of much interest to this stu- 
 dent of economic questions and master of his profes- 
 sion as a naval officer. Several of New York's leading 
 men of affairs watched the meeting between the two, 
 and when it was over expressed some surprise at the 
 ease with which the coloured man bore himself. It was 
 more readily understood, I think, when I reminded 
 them that Booker T. Washington had been presented at 
 more courts and had dined with more crowned heads 
 than any other American then living. 
 
 Before the singers withdrew, a young Sioux Indian, 
 in whom the Prince was much interested, gave us a 
 song in his native tongue. It was curious, but lacked 
 the melody which made the negro songs so touching. 
 
 As Prince Henry had visited one private house in 
 Boston, it seemed only right that he should also visit 
 one in New York. The committee had difficulty in 
 finding the necessary time, but finally succeeded by 
 doubling up two entertainments and giving them both 
 in the same evening. Of the many invitations pressing 
 upon him, the Prince accepted that of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., for whom he expressed great 
 admiration, particularly for Mrs. Vanderbilt, who, as 
 he expressed it, " had helped her husband to be some- 
 thing besides a millionaire." The weather on the day 
 of the luncheon was simply " poisonous," as an English 
 friend of mine called it, but the good cheer and hospi- 
 tality of the beautiful home soon made us forget all 
 unpleasant things, and we thoroughly enjoyed the de- 
 lightful repast prepared for us. Many of the ladies were 
 
 71 
 
An Admirals Log 
 
 disappointed because they could not have German offi- 
 cers as escorts, but they had to console themselves with 
 the fact that they had at least lunched with Royalty, 
 which was more than could be said by many of their 
 less fortunate friends. Mrs. Vanderbilt was the charm- 
 ing hostess she always is, and the refined air of her table 
 was in striking contrast to that of many of the ban- 
 quets we had attended. The spirit of hospitality was, 
 of course, the same in all of them, and was thoroughly 
 appreciated — it was the difference between an Ameri- 
 can home of wealth and the wealth of American hotels 
 or clubs. 
 
 Prince Henry's visit to Philadelphia was somewhat 
 marred by the fact that only a few hours could be spent 
 in that city. We had a long ride to the shipyard of 
 the Cramps' shipbuilding company, where the well- 
 known hospitality and courtesy of that company made 
 us feel at home. The Prince was much interested in 
 the Russian cruiser Retvizan, just then nearing comple- 
 tion, which was to play such an ineffective part later 
 on in the war between Japan and Russia. A short visit 
 to the old State House, or Independence Hall, where 
 his Royal Highness reviewed a number of the German 
 veterans of the Franco-Prussian War, and a short 
 luncheon at the Union League Club, marked the con- 
 clusion of the trip, and we returned to our comfortable 
 quarters at the Waldorf-Astoria. 
 
 From a professional standpoint, the two most inter- 
 esting trips were probably those to Annapolis and West 
 Point. These two national universities were naturally 
 objects of deep interest to the visitors. They were 
 glad to see how the midshipmen and cadets were fed, 
 
 72 
 
At Annapolis 
 
 clothed, housed, and discipHned, but far beyond all this 
 was the matter of education and training. These mat- 
 ters received the most careful attention, and every one, 
 from the Prince down, was enthusiastic about Annapo- 
 lis, and probably also about West Point, though I per- 
 sonally heard no criticism of the latter institution. 
 Such would probably have been made to officers of the 
 army, if at all. At Annapolis the weather was very 
 bad during the visit, and the mud shoe-top deep and 
 soft, but the midshipmen were paraded, and every nook 
 and corner of the academy received the careful scrutiny 
 of the keen-eyed German experts. Our system of edu- 
 cating young officers as shown at Annapolis differs rad- 
 ically from that of other countries, and particularly 
 from that of Germany. It was not to be expected that 
 Prince Henry and his officers would give unqualified 
 approval to our system — indeed, many officers of our 
 own service think it could be improved. For one thing, 
 the Germans could not understand how officers so edu- 
 cated could control enlisted men on board ship, when 
 such control was not practically a part of their educa- 
 tion during their four-year term at the academy. I tried 
 to explain this to them as well as I could, but I fear 
 made little impression, because the kind of men to be 
 controlled differs so widely in the two services that no 
 common ground could be found on which we could 
 stand. Many, if not the majority, of foreign officers 
 believe that our discipline is not what it should be. 
 This is because of their want of knowledge of our sys- 
 tem, and particularly of the character of our enlisted 
 men. We, on the other hand, feel that the absolute and 
 unthinking obedience of their men, which is the result, 
 
 73 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 in great part, of class distinctions, would be entirely 
 out of place with us, even if we felt that it would pro- 
 duce efficiency. I have watched and studied this ques- 
 tion with deep interest for more than forty years in our 
 own service and others, and I am satisfied that for us, 
 with our form of government and the character of men 
 now composing our enlisted force, we have the best sys- 
 tem in the world. For others I can see that it might not 
 succeed. I recall vividly my experience one Fourth of 
 July in the harbour of Tsingtao, China, when we were 
 entertaining the officers and men of the German fleet. 
 All day we had races and athletic games, managed by 
 the men of the four ships composing our squadron of 
 which I was the commander-in-chief. In the evening 
 the men took charge of the boats, which were beauti- 
 fully illuminated, and, while the German officers were 
 dining with our officers, proceeded, with bands of music 
 and much song and cheering, to serenade the German 
 ships, one after another. As the column of boats, filled 
 with happy, contented, well-behaved men, passed my 
 flagship the German admiral asked me how many offi- 
 cers I had in the boat, and when I replied that there 
 was not a single one a curious look came into his face, 
 and he said, " I don't think we could do that with our 
 men." It was always my custom when in command to 
 give the men just this kind of liberty, and then hold 
 them responsible for good conduct. In other words, 
 our effort is to make our men self-respecting and obedi- 
 ent for their own sakes, and not because of the presence 
 of their officers. 
 
 At West Point we had snow and piercing cold 
 weather instead of the rain and mud of Annapolis. The 
 
 74 
 
At West Point 
 
 drill plain was covered with a beautiful blanket of 
 untracked snow about eight inches deep. In the centre 
 of this had been placed a broad platform, on which we 
 were to stand while the cadets passed in review, and as 
 we approached it, our feet heavy with the clinging 
 snow, Prince Henry stopped suddenly, turned to me 
 and said : 
 
 " Please have those things removed. I object seri- 
 ously to them ! " 
 
 The camera habit, one of the most annoying nui- 
 sances of modern times, had followed us through the 
 west, but we had not expected to find it at West Point. 
 Of course, I conveyed the Prince's wishes to the com- 
 manding officer immediately, but unfortunately he had 
 granted permission to place the instruments in position, 
 and we stood in the snow for some time while the 
 matter was being adjusted. Finally some officer of 
 robust physique bundled the whole gang out of the 
 way, and we took position for the review. Despite the 
 snow and the heavy overcoats, the cadets marched by in 
 the perfect manner so characteristic of the splendid 
 corps. After a charming reception at the house of the 
 superintendent, the German officers inspected the cadet 
 quarters, mess hall, and recitation rooms, and then wit- 
 nessed horseback riding and athletic exercises in the 
 gymnasium. The military officers of the Prince's party 
 found much to admire at West Point, but in a general 
 way thought their own military methods better suited 
 to their purposes. Here, again, as in the case of 
 Annapolis, racial differences and conditions must be 
 considered before passing judgment. 
 
 The royal yacht Hohenzollern, by reason of the 
 
 75 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 fever on board, was no longer of use, and took her 
 departure for Kiel, via St. Thomas. Her officers and 
 crew had made many warm friends in New York on 
 account of their uniformly good conduct, and when she 
 left, the docks were crowded with people to wish her a 
 safe and pleasant homeward voyage. 
 
 The last days of Prince Henry's visit were dread- 
 fully crowded; but he, nevertheless, found time to dis- 
 tribute the many handsome presents he had brought 
 with him. So careful and thoughtful was he in this 
 matter that every person who attended him, even to the 
 porters who served him on his car, received some sou- 
 venir of his visit. As the time came for him to sail, on 
 the Deutschland, of the Hamburg-American Line, his 
 staff had to work night and day to pack and ship the 
 large collection of things he had received. But so com- 
 plete was the organisation of the party, and so able the 
 individual units, that nothing was neglected, nothing 
 forgotten. 
 
 My opportunity to give Prince Henry a personal 
 entertainment of some sort came at last, when I had 
 about given up all hope of such a pleasure. The com- 
 mittee somehow managed to find time for a luncheon, 
 and I gave it at my club, the University, on Fifty- 
 fourth Street. Covers were laid for forty, and the 
 party included the Prince and all his people, a fair rep- 
 resentation from each branch of our committee, and a 
 selected number of personal friends from the club. The 
 chef was at his best, and after our coffee Prince Henry 
 expressed himself in words of praise for the club, 
 which, he declared, met his ideas perfectly of a " Uni- 
 versity Club.'* For the luncheon, he was good enough 
 
 76 
 
Prince Henry's Visit 
 
 to say that it was one of the most enjoyable of all the 
 entertainments he had had in our country, particularly 
 because it had been given by an old personal friend. 
 
 I have often been asked the question, " Why did 
 Prince Henry visit this country, and what were his 
 impressions of it and of our people?" In answering 
 this I can only give my own personal views, as I never 
 heard any official expression on the subject. Friendli- 
 ness was the key to the spirit and significance of the 
 whole visit. The launching of the yacht built in this 
 country for the Emperor was the opportunity for show- 
 ing it. It may be that the very unpleasant sentiment 
 aroused in this country by the action of the German 
 naval force in Manila Bay during the Spanish-American 
 War, and the feeling that Germany was determined on 
 securing a coaling station somewhere in the West India 
 Islands, had produced an effect which it was necessary 
 and desirable to remove. The feeling on the part of 
 our people, which was well known, had naturally pro- 
 duced a feeling of irritation on the other side far from 
 friendly, and, as I have said, a desire to remove this 
 and re-establish the cordial relations which had existed, 
 and which were most natural between the two coun- 
 tries, may have had its influence. If this be true, it 
 certainly was a most happy move on the part of the 
 Emperor, judging by the results. 
 
 Another reason for the visit, certainly a most nat- 
 ural and laudable one, was a desire on the part of his 
 Imperial Majesty to know more of the home life of the 
 country that was drawing so heavily for its population 
 on the Fatherland. How could he learn this in any 
 other way so well as by sending his able, alert, and 
 
 77 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 accomplished brother to look the land over and then to 
 give him his personal impressions ? And, in order that 
 his impressions might have full weight, he selected and 
 sent with his brother a body of men the like of which 
 has never come to us from any other country. Of the 
 impressions produced on this body of able and distin- 
 guished men by their visit to our country and their 
 intercourse with our people I can only give my personal 
 opinion, backed by their very frank expressions. They 
 seemed greatly pleased with most of the things they 
 saw and heard, and deeply interested in others. Per- 
 sonally they expressed themselves, as of course they 
 would, as overcome by the greatness and vastness of 
 our country, and most grateful for the courtesies ex- 
 tended to them on all sides. What they reported offi- 
 cially to his Majesty on their return may never be 
 known. If it ever is, I feel confident that the spirit of 
 the report will not differ materially from their words 
 to us. 
 
 It goes without saying that the Emperor of Ger- 
 many and all the people of his great country must have 
 felt pride and satisfaction over the treatment accorded 
 their representatives by the people of the United States 
 from the moment when the Meteor took the water, in 
 the presence of the President and christened by his 
 daughter, to the day they left our shores, followed by 
 the good wishes of cheering thousands. Such a wel- 
 come from the masses of our population, as well as 
 from the leader, had never before been given to any 
 foreign representative, and the people of Germany, all 
 over the world, must have felt the significance of it. 
 A friendly visit conceived in a spirit of real interna- 
 
 78 
 
Prince Henry's Farewell 
 
 tional friendliness had produced the happiest results, 
 and we were all heartily glad that it was so. 
 
 Before sailing, Prince Henry gave a farewell dinner 
 on board the Deutschland. All those who had accom- 
 panied him on his trip were present, and enjoyed an 
 hour of familiar conversation, where true feeling found 
 its way to the surface. Each one was toasted by his 
 Royal Highness, and then, in a few heartfelt words, 
 he expressed his warm personal thanks for the service 
 we had done him. There was real sentiment in what 
 he said, and we all felt it. As the representative of the 
 navy, I said in reply when he toasted our service : 
 
 " Prince Henry and brother officers of the German 
 service: representing the navy of the United States, 
 I say to you that we are glad you came, we are 
 sorry you are going, and we hope you will come again. 
 It gives me pleasure to grasp the friendly hand so cour- 
 teously extended to us across the North Atlantic." 
 
 The grasp that I received across the table convinced 
 me that there was strength of muscle as well as friend- 
 ship behind it. 
 
 Good-bye to you, Prince Henry, and all your gal- 
 lant comrades. Good luck and happiness to you all. If 
 you should unhappily be involved in war with some 
 other country, I miss my guess if your enemy doesn't 
 find the German navy a hard nut to crack. 
 
 When the Deutschland sailed I returned to my 
 home in Washington, weary and short of sleep. I 
 found my own bed so much more comfortable than the 
 one in the sleeping car that I remained in it, insensible 
 to the outside world, for forty-eight hours ! 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 ORDERED TO THE ASIATIC FLEET 
 
 After the close of the Spanish-American War, I 
 had been fortunate enough to secure duty on the Light- 
 house Board and had been elected its chairman, a posi- 
 tion of dignity and responsibility. In former years I 
 had served in every position an officer could fill under 
 the board — inspector of a district, twice naval secre- 
 tary of the board, and twice as a member of the board. 
 Now that I was elected its chairman, I felt that I could 
 render good service because of my experience in these 
 various positions. 
 
 Aside from going to sea, in command either of a 
 ship or a fleet, duty on the Lighthouse Board is the 
 most desirable that a naval officer can have. It is 
 independent, pleasant duty of the most responsible and 
 important character, and, while more or less confining, 
 it leaves time for an officer so inclined to enjoy life in 
 the open air. Above all, it enables one to acquire a 
 knowledge of our coast and inland waterways second 
 only to that of the best pilots, and this may result in 
 time of war to the great benefit of the country, as well 
 as to the officer concerned. There is no position in 
 which an officer can acquire more knowledge which 
 may be of great value to him, than as inspector of one 
 of the sixteen districts into which our coast and inland 
 
 80 
 
Chairman of Lighthouse Board 
 
 waters are divided. As chairman of the board, it became 
 a part of my duty to inspect all these districts and make 
 suggestions for the improvement so necessary for the 
 greatest efficiency, and I enjoyed it most thoroughly. 
 It was often my good fortune to have the President 
 and other high officials of the government accompany 
 me on my inspection trips, and it was a great pleasure 
 to point out to them the good work being done. I re- 
 call one trip when I had the President and the Secretary 
 of the Treasury with me. The Lighthouse Board was 
 then a part of the Treasury Department, but the Secre- 
 tary, I think, was not aware of the fact until after we 
 had started! During the trip we experienced some 
 very bad weather, and our work was done with diffi- 
 culty and some danger, but done, all the same, without 
 a word of complaint from the men. Afterwards I 
 heard the President say to the Secretary. " This is a 
 branch of the government service in which I think the 
 people get one hundred cents' worth for every dollar 
 expended ! " He was exactly right in his estimate. 
 After a hard struggle, we had succeeded in entirely 
 eliminating politics from the service, and, as its affairs 
 were administered by selected officers of the navy and 
 engineer corps of the army, it was only reasonable to 
 expect that high state of efficiency and honest adminis- 
 tration which those officers always exact. 
 
 Two years of this most agreeable duty was, how- 
 ever, all that I could reasonably expect under the circum- 
 stances. There was a feeling throughout the country, 
 particularly in the navy, that our flag officers were not 
 doing as much work as they should; in fact, that they 
 arrived at flag rank at such an advanced age that they 
 
 8i 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 could only do a year or two of service before they had 
 to pass on to the retired list. How much truth there 
 was in this idea I do not care to discuss here. Later 
 on I may take it up. In my own case there was no 
 room for question as to my duty, and certainly none 
 as to my inclination. I had been favoured by unusual 
 advancement, so that I reached flag rank at an age 
 when I had seven years still to serve before retirement, 
 and it was clearly my duty to spend those years at sea, 
 if the Navy Department thought me worthy and would 
 allow me to do so. My personal preference was always 
 for duty afloat. The Secretary of the Navy was good 
 enough to grant my request for detail to command the 
 cruiser division of the Asiatic Fleet. The necessary 
 orders were issued, making me second in command 
 under my old friend Rear-Admiral Frederick Rodgers, 
 then our commander-in-chief in the East. These or- 
 ders were received before the visit of Prince Henry, 
 and as soon as he left us my command of the special- 
 service squadron, organised for his reception, ceased, 
 and I prepared for more serious work. 
 
 That the success of any commander depends very 
 largely upon the conduct and support of his assistants, 
 those who execute his orders and give him advice when 
 asked, is a fact not always acknowledged, but a fact of 
 vital importance all the same. This is true of the 
 smallest command, and equally true but of greater im- 
 portance as the size of the command increases, because 
 of the greater range and value of the work of the larger 
 command. There are, of course, instances where a 
 strong man, a genius, let us say, has succeeded, despite 
 the half-hearted support, or even opposition, of those 
 
 82 
 
Conditions in the East 
 
 under him, his subordinates; but history records few 
 such cases, and even in these we can only surmise how 
 much greater the success might have been had the 
 support been more loyal. It seems to me clear, with- 
 out any argument on the subject, that the commander- 
 in-chief of a large naval force cannot expect the success 
 his country has a right to demand of him unless he has, 
 in the first place, proper and able men in his staff, and, 
 in the second place, unless these men give him loyal and 
 efficient support and advice when such advice is asked. 
 The best results can be secured only when every officer 
 and man gives to the efforts of the commander-in-chief 
 his loyal and hearty support, his life, if need be, and 
 the work of his staff must go a long way toward secur- 
 ing for him the feeling in the fleet which ensures this 
 condition. Without a long search we can find many 
 dismal failures for the want of such support. 
 
 Conditions in the East were such that it seemed 
 probable that we might, at very short notice, be called 
 upon for hard service, and this was, of itsel-f, a strong 
 attraction for work in that part of the world. To 
 thinking men it was clear that war between Russia and 
 Japan was only a question of time, possibly a very 
 short time, and the position we should have to assume 
 when the struggle came and how seriously we might 
 become involved were most interesting questions. Our 
 great Secretary of State, Mr. John Hay, had, with the 
 consent of the President and the approval of the people 
 of the United States, taken a position with reference to 
 the question of an " open door " for our trade rights in 
 China that might, at any moment, bring us into actual 
 collision with Russia. Indeed, it was only a few 
 
 83 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 months later that a Russian officer of rank said to me, 
 referring to a note that Mr. Hay had just addressed to 
 the Russian government on the Manchurian question, 
 " Such a note from any country, except America, to 
 my country would bring an instant declaration of war," 
 I chose to regard this as a compliment to our diplomacy, 
 but I felt quite sure it was otherwise intended. 
 
 Having in mind my own comfort and reputation, as 
 wtII as the interests of the service, I looked about me 
 among the officers available for those to serve on my 
 staff. I was fortunate in securing the detail of the fol- 
 lowing : Lieutenant F. L. Chapin, an ordnance expert 
 and an officer of recognised ability and standing, as flag 
 lieutenant; Lieutenant Thomas Washington, an officer 
 well versed in law and the department routine, as well as 
 an " all-round man " of hard common sense, as my flag 
 secretary; and Lieutenant F. T, Evans, a fine, athletic, 
 ambitious young officer, whose knowledge of seaman- 
 ship, boats, and handling men was remarkable for one 
 of his age, as aide and signal officer. Thus equipped 
 with assistants, I felt that I could look forward to a 
 fair measure of success in my new field of work. 
 
 There are periods in a man's life when luck seems 
 to run his way, and this was the time that I could fairly 
 claim that it was coming my way. The long, trying 
 separations from my family which had necessarily fol- 
 lowed my extended sea service had been a great hardship 
 in my service afloat. The idea of two or three years' 
 more of absence from them was anything but attractive, 
 and fortunately for me was not to be experienced. My 
 luck had turned and good fortune came my way. One 
 of my daughters was married to a naval officer who was 
 
 84 
 
On the Way to Japan 
 
 on duty as naval attache to the legation at Tokio, and 
 I should be able to see her occasionally. My wife and 
 younger daughter consented to go out with me, pro- 
 vided they could be located in the city with the daugh- 
 ter and sister, and this was arranged. Then my son 
 and his wife joined the party, so that later we were able 
 to have a Christmas dinner in the Japanese capital 
 where every member of my immediate family was 
 seated at the table. Modern means of transportation 
 have greatly relieved the hardships of naval life in one 
 respect, at least — an officer can now have the comfort 
 of seeing his family occasionally without too great dis- 
 comfort or expense for them in the journey. Formerly 
 this was not possible, and many officers spent one- 
 third or more of their time away from their growing 
 families. 
 
 When all our plans had been arranged, transporta- 
 tion secured, and trunks checked, we left Washington 
 on April I, 1902, a merry party, bound to Yokohama 
 by way of San Francisco. I must not fail to mention 
 here that my faithful servant, George Duff, who had 
 been with me in the New York at Kiel, was with me, 
 and that his loyal and faithful service was to help me 
 through many trying hours in the years to come. 
 
 The ease and comfort with which we crossed the 
 continent were truly wonderful. At Chicago we 
 changed, left the Pennsylvania Railroad, and, after din- 
 ing at the Auditorium Hotel, took our seats in one of 
 the fine cars of the well-equipped Santa Fe Railroad, 
 and never left it, except sometimes for our meals, which 
 were supplied by the Harvey system, which for comfort 
 and luxury is not known on any other railroad in the 
 7 85 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 world. It certainly was a great surprise to pull into 
 an artistically designed station in the Arizona desert, 
 where the eye could not detect a spray of anything 
 green, where the sun fairly baked the brains in one's 
 head, and to find oneself served with a delightful meal. 
 This was our experience on many occasions; indeed, 
 I may say it was always the case as long as we were 
 in the hands of the courteous officials of the Santa Fe 
 Railroad. 
 
 The Palace Hotel was our home in San Francisco 
 for the few days we remained there, and here again we 
 were most comfortable and courteously looked after. 
 The old house is gone now, tumbled down by the great 
 earthquake, and the remains destroyed by the fire which 
 later swept over the city. New and gorgeous hotels 
 have been built at great expense, such as the Fairview, 
 and a new Palace Hotel occupies the site of the old 
 one; but none of them can ever have the traditions 
 of the old place. New San Francisco will no doubt be 
 a wonderfully beautiful city, and its hotels and clubs 
 far ahead of the old ones, yet they can never hope to be 
 as attractive to those of us who have known both. 
 This will be of little importance, however, for in a few 
 years there will remain only those who know the new. 
 The fine new steamers of the Northern Pacific road 
 had not been completed at the time, so we had to 
 cross the Pacific in a ship flying the English flag, 
 which was not to the liking of a party so entirely 
 American, but there was no help for it. We must 
 either go in the Gaelic of the O. & O. Company, or sub- 
 mit to a long delay and then go to sea in a ship that 
 we knew would not be as comfortable for us. So we 
 
 86 
 
An English Passenger Ship 
 
 embarked in the good ship GaeHc, commanded by Cap- 
 tain Finch, as cheery a skipper as ever sailed under the 
 blue ensign of Great Britain, which flew because the 
 ship was commanded by an officer of the English Naval 
 Reserve. That he was most capable and efficient, in 
 every way qualified to care for the safety and comfort 
 of his passengers, all those who have sailed with him 
 will be glad to state. Our own flag having been prac- 
 tically driven from the Pacific by our archaic and unjust 
 navigation laws and the sharp competition of subsi- 
 dised foreign lines of steamers, we were compelled, as 
 I have stated above, to sail under the English flag. 
 This gave me the opportunity I had long desired to 
 study the system under which these subsidised steamers 
 were run and the service on them of officers of the 
 Naval Reserve, the latter being the matter of greatest 
 interest from a professional standpoint. 
 
 The Gaelic was manned by a Chinese crew, most of 
 whom never left her for a moment, except in a Chinese 
 port where they had family or friends. Their food was 
 essentially Chinese and prepared by Chinese cooks. 
 Each man was allowed a certain quantity of opium to 
 smoke if he wished it, not in any case enough to injure 
 him, and all were allowed to gamble, after the Chinese 
 national fashion, during certain hours of the day. 
 Everything was done, in other words, to keep these 
 men in the condition in which they would ordinarily 
 find themselves when employed on the coasting lines or 
 in the large ports of their own country. The result was 
 a happy, contented crew, who liked their ship better 
 than the shore, regarded her as their home, and re- 
 mained in her from year to year, gradually working up 
 
 87 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 to higher places, and ahvays having in mind the inter- 
 est of those who employed them. The sight of a " fan- 
 tan " outfit spread on the decks of this ship during the 
 meal hour, and a dozen or more Chinese sailors gam- 
 bling for cash, seemed perfectly natural to me, for I 
 knew from experience what it meant to those who were 
 doing it and what would result from any attempt to 
 stop it. Such amusement on a ship under the American 
 flag would be impossible, no matter how good the re- 
 sults obtained might be. Our " reformers " would 
 have fits even at the suggestion of such a thing, and, 
 rather than have it actually tried, they would go to the 
 same extent they went in the matter of the canteen for 
 army posts — injure the men involved to a lamentable 
 degree in order to uphold a theoretical fad of their own 
 against the vote of over ninety per cent of those who, 
 from long experience, knew what they were talking 
 about. 
 
 Most of the officers of the Gaelic were officers of 
 the English Naval Reserve, and were liable to be called 
 to the colours for service in time of war. They were a 
 fine lot of well-educated men, and I have never known 
 a ship better disciplined or better kept. It was a real 
 pleasure to go to sea under such conditions. My only 
 regret was that the ship, and many more like her, could 
 not fly the American flag. 
 
 In order that these officers of the Naval Reserve 
 may keep themselves in proper training, they are al- 
 lowed certain privileges. In the first place, the ship 
 commanded by one of them is allowed to fly the Eng- 
 lish blue ensign, which naturally attracts passengers 
 and freight, for it is a guarantee that the ship is well 
 
 88 
 
The English Naval Reserve 
 
 commanded. It also carried other advantages which 
 need not be mentioned here. While anchored in any 
 port where there is an English man-of-war present, 
 these Reserve officers may, if time permits, present 
 themselves to the commanding officers of such ship and 
 take their tour of drill and duty. They must receive at 
 least thirty days' drill in each year. If they receive 
 only a few days at one port, this is credited to them on 
 their papers over the signature of the captain who di- 
 rects the drill, and when they have thus received the 
 necessary thirty days they can draw their pay for the 
 year. The same rule applies to enlisted men. The 
 whole scheme, the result of many years' experience, 
 gives to England a splendid body of reserve officers and 
 men to be called on in time of war. As far as I know, 
 it is the best of all the schemes now being tried for the 
 same purpose. When we are older as a nation and, 
 maybe, have been roughly handled in one or two naval 
 engagements, we may come to this or some similar 
 plan. It does seem unfortunate that we should have to 
 wait for this experience when we could avoid it by fol- 
 lowing either the example of others or taking the 
 advice of able officers of our own service. 
 
 Our run from San Francisco to the Hawaiian 
 Islands was pleasant but uneventful. We ate our four 
 meals per day, took the usual amount of exercise on 
 deck, sympathised with those who were sick, and 
 greatly enjoyed the luxury of hot salt-water baths in 
 large marble bath tubs. There was also a large canvas 
 tank provided on the upper deck under the forward 
 bridge, where those so disposed could have a real swim. 
 We arrived off the bar at Honolulu early in the morn- 
 
 89 
 
\ 
 
 An Admiral's Log 
 
 ing, but the customs officer could not be disturbed 
 before eight o'clock, so we rolled about until that hour 
 arrived, notwithstanding the fact that we had a large 
 mail and fifty or sixty passengers for the place. Cap- 
 tain Finch took the matter more coolly than some of his 
 passengers, and when I asked him why he did so, re- 
 plied that if he made any protest about it the collector 
 would manage to keep him waiting three hours instead 
 of two! Feeling that the department in Washington 
 would not approve of the leisurely methods of the col- 
 lector, which held passengers and United States mail 
 waiting while he finished his breakfast, after eight 
 o'clock A.M., I sent in an official letter detailing the 
 occurrence and protesting against what I considered an 
 outrage. Some months afterwards I received a reply, 
 written by a clerk in the Treasury Department, for- 
 warding the reply of the collector. It was a short but 
 very characteristic letter and, I must say, amusing. 
 The collector assumed in his reply that " the gallant old 
 admiral " had eaten something that disturbed his diges- 
 tion, and advised that he be requested to confine his 
 attention to naval matters, and not to comment on 
 things that were no business of his! It is astonishing 
 how soon a certain class of our paid servants assume 
 to be our bosses, and act accordingly. 
 
 Upon landing in Honolulu our party was taken in 
 hand by a number of kind friends, who gave us a most 
 delightful day. We were driven through the charming 
 little city out to the Pali for the view — certainly one of 
 the most remarkable and fascinating in the world. If our 
 travelling rich class knew of the beauties of the Sand- 
 wich Islands, I am sure many of them would cruise on 
 
 90 
 
Lunch with Prince David 
 
 the Pacific two thousand miles to Honolulu rather than 
 the same distance across the Atlantic. After visiting 
 some of the most noted viewpoints and one or two of 
 the sugar estates, we lunched with Prince David and 
 his beautiful Princess, and were introduced to some of 
 the native dishes, which we found delicate and savoury. 
 The manner of eating these dishes was, however, a 
 matter of surprise. One of the favourite breakfast or 
 luncheon dishes is poi, a sort of porridge, or sticky- 
 mush. It is prepared from the bulb of a species of lily 
 grown on the island, and is considered a healthful arti- 
 cle of diet. It is known as " two " or " three finger 
 po'i," according to whether it is thick enough to be 
 eaten with two or requires the use of three fingers of 
 the hand instead of a spoon or fork. The natives never 
 use anything except their fingers. No one can deny 
 that the sight of a pretty woman eating poi with two 
 delicately shaped white fingers, which she knows well 
 how to use, is an attractive sight, but the same cannot 
 be said for the man with large, brown, muscular fin- 
 gers. It is even worse when a stranger to the custom 
 attempts this mode of feeding, for he (or she) invari- 
 ably smears his entire hand and a portion of his cloth- 
 ing with the sticky mass. As to the flavour of the poi, 
 when I first ate it, it seemed to me about the same as 
 that of some paste I once tasted which was being used 
 by workmen who were papering a room. After some lit- 
 tle practice, I found it quite possible as an article of food. 
 I can recall, even at this late date, the first time I ever 
 ate clams at a clambake — somehow I managed to fill 
 my mouth with sand and the stringy skin that seemed 
 to enclose the clam. When a pretty, refined young 
 
 91 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 woman prepared the clams and dropped them into my 
 mouth I found them exceedmgly good. So it was with 
 poi ! 
 
 Fish prepared by a native Hawaiian cook is one of 
 the most dehcate dishes ever put on a table. The favour- 
 ite is a mullet which abounds in the waters about the 
 island. It is rolled up in a large, savoury loaf, and then 
 baked and served hot. I found it perfectly delicious, 
 but before I had eaten half as much as I wanted I 
 found my hands covered with grease up to my wrists, 
 and I had to resort to soap and water before I could 
 complete my meal, which I did with a fork, much to the 
 amusement of my native friends. Of all the meat 
 dishes, roast pig, or pork, is the favourite. It is roasted 
 or baked in a pit dug in the ground, filled with wood 
 and stones, after the fashion of our eastern clambake, 
 and fired. After the ashes and most of the stones are 
 removed, the whole pig is substituted. The pit is then 
 covered carefully, and the heat in the ground cooks the 
 flesh. The natives eat astonishing quantities of this 
 most savoury food, and with it consume many very hot, 
 fresh red peppers, which they gather from the pepper 
 tree, always in evidence in every part of the islands. 
 There are traditions that dog was once much liked pre- 
 pared in the same way. While I make it a rule always 
 to taste the foods of the various countries I visit, I 
 think I should draw the line at dog. The memory of 
 faithful old hunting companions would make it seem 
 too much like cannibalism. 
 
 The fruits of the Hawaiian Islands are, of course, 
 tropical, but of great variety and abundant in quan- 
 tity. We were fortunate in finding them in great pro- 
 
 92 
 
Hawaiian Fruits 
 
 fusion and enjoyed them, not only during the time of 
 our stay on shore, but for many days after saihng. The 
 papaya, a fruit resembHng a melon, is the one most 
 used. It grows on a tree and is in season all the year, 
 one part of the tree blooming while on other parts the 
 fruit is ripening. In colour it is golden yellow when 
 ripe, is about the size of a large cantaloupe, and con- 
 tains more pepsin than any other fruit or vegetable 
 known ; hence it is a favourite breakfast fruit. With the 
 possible exception of the Philippine mango, which has 
 not been introduced into Honolulu, it has no superior 
 among the tropical fruits. " Alligator pears " grow in 
 abundance, but are not equal to some of the varieties 
 grown in the West Indies. Guavas grow wild all over 
 the islands, but, curiously enough, we never found 
 guava jelly, the natives preferring to use the fruit while 
 fresh. 
 
 In the evening, when the Gaelic was ready for sea, 
 we had an opportunity to observe a custom — I may say 
 a beautiful custom — not known elsewhere in the world. 
 The native women or girls prepare from the highly col- 
 oured and scented flowers of the island ropes or gar- 
 lands of flowers, and with these they decorate their 
 friends before they embark, stringing the beautiful 
 things about their necks and shoulders and around their 
 waists. When we reached the deck of the ship the 
 members of our party looked as if they had taken first 
 prizes in a flower show, covered as they were w^ith 
 " laais," as they call these strands of flowers. In our 
 state-rooms we found quantities of carnations and other 
 sweet-scented flowers. They were, however, all com- 
 mitted to the deep a few hours later, when the ship 
 
 93 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 began to roll and the air ports had to be closed. The 
 air in all the cabins soon became oppressive with what 
 had been, a few hours before, a delicate and delightful 
 perfume; now it was offensive to those unfortunates 
 who suffer from seasickness. I have often noticed that 
 those who were afflicted with this unpleasant and 
 peculiar complaint object seriously to anything that 
 smells of the land — most of them, in fact, object to 
 everything in the nature of odours. 
 
 The people of the Hawaiian Islands, and particu- 
 larly those of the city of Honolulu, have always been 
 noted for their hospitality to our officers and men. In 
 the old days, when we policed the Pacific, Honolulu 
 was the favourite port for giving liberty to the men and 
 replenishing the supply of fresh water and vegetables. 
 Generally speaking, a ship could run out to the islands 
 with a fair wind and, after spending a few months, 
 during which time there were balls, dinners, picnics, 
 and shooting parties for one to enjoy, could return 
 under the same favourable weather conditions. The 
 weather, comparatively speaking, was always good 
 after you were once clear of the Pacific coast, and you 
 could rely on these conditions until you again ap- 
 proached it on your return. Many of the old people of 
 Honolulu and a few naval officers still living and on 
 the retired list will recount to you by the hour the 
 doings of the dear old days before steam and modern 
 guns took all the poetry out of our profession, when 
 the officers flirted, danced, and drank to their hearts' 
 content without fear that the Navy Department would 
 know of their performance. There was in those days 
 no cable nor wireless system by w^hich people in Wash- 
 
 94 
 
A Commodore of the Old Days 
 
 ington could tell every hour of the day just what those 
 in other parts of the world were doing. One of the 
 stories often told, especially by some of the surviving 
 officers, though I have heard it from an old resident of 
 Honolulu, is of one of our officers, a commodore, who 
 never failed to visit the islands when he could find the 
 least excuse for doing so. He was fond of good din- 
 ners, and particularly of good wine. On one of his 
 visits he and all the officers who could be spared from 
 duty were entertained at a splendid banquet. One of the 
 peculiarities of this commodore was that he always car- 
 ried a large blue umbrella when visiting the shore. In 
 the small hours of the morning, after much eating and 
 drinking, the old man took his departure, followed by 
 his officers. Oh the way to his boat he had to pass 
 through a public square in which a very large fountain 
 was playing all the time, and, passing too near it, felt 
 its falling spray. He immediately stopped, hoisted his 
 umbrella, and stood still in his tracks, and, when his 
 officers came up, hailed them. " Pretty sharp shower, 
 gentlemen. Heave to until it blows over! " Of course 
 they " hove to " clear of the spray, where they re- 
 mained until one of them persuaded the commodore 
 that the shower was local, and that if he would haul by 
 the wind on the port tack he would soon pull out of it. 
 This he did, and the umbrella came down. A book 
 could be written of such stories, but this one will suffice 
 here. 
 
 The Hawaiians are, I believe, loyal to the new flag 
 that flies over their land and still have for the navy 
 much of the affection which they showed for it in the 
 old days, notwithstanding the fact that our officers and 
 
 95 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 men were landed, on a very doubtful pretext, at the 
 request of an ambitious minister, and took part by force 
 of arms in a revolution which was still unborn. Such 
 conduct on our part might have led to the bitter feeling 
 shown for us by the Cubans and Filipinos, in whose 
 behalf we made so many sacrifices. That it did not so 
 result is a fortunate fact which a wiser head than mine 
 may account for. 
 
 During one of my visits to Honolulu I was invited 
 to a hunting party to shoot plover. We found the 
 birds in almost incredible numbers, very fat, and of fine 
 flavour when served. They were at once recognised as 
 the " beetle " plover, or black-headed plover, a migrat- 
 ing game bird often found in considerable numbers 
 on the Pacific coast and sometimes on the Atlantic 
 coast of the United States. Upon studying the matter 
 more closely, I found that they left our coast some- 
 where to the north of San Francisco, and in one flight 
 — there was no resting place for them en route — made 
 the Sandwich Islands, a distance, as the crow flies, of 
 about twenty-three hundred miles. They always started 
 with a northeast or northerly gale, and thus secured 
 a fair wind most of the way. After remaining on the 
 meadows of the islands for about three months, where 
 they became very fat, they started on the return trip, 
 waiting always for a strong southerly wind to help 
 them on their way. The " beetle " plover is a strong, 
 rapid flyer, about the size of a blue rock pigeon, but 
 without my experience at Honolulu and subsequent 
 study I would not have believed that he was capable of 
 such a protracted flight. 
 
 Our trip from Honolulu to Yokohama was pleas- 
 96 
 
A Good Swimmer 
 
 ant in every way, but dreadfully lonesome. The sur- 
 face of the Pacific was like the proverbial mill pond 
 most of the way, until we approached the coast of 
 Japan, when it was rough enough to suit the oldest 
 " salt " on the ship. During all this long run we did 
 not sight a single vessel of any kind or description, 
 which made the story of one of our soldiers who fell 
 overboard from a transport the more remarkable. The 
 transport was conveying troops from San Francisco to 
 Manila, when the man fell overboard at night and was 
 not missed for several hours. When his absence was 
 discovered, the ship was stopped and search made, but 
 of course the man, being then many miles astern, was 
 not found. Being a good swimmer, the soldier, on 
 finding himself in the water and the ship disappearing 
 in the distance, made up his mind to swim as long as he 
 could before giving up hope. After keeping himself 
 afloat for some time, he found a piece of driftwood 
 which was large enough to sustain his weight, and on 
 this he rested. Some time during the following day he 
 was picked up by a Japanese fishing schooner, probably 
 the only vessel within a radius of many thousand 
 miles. The transport went on her way and reported 
 the loss of the man, who was later landed by the 
 schooner at Nagasaki, where he caught a steamer for 
 Manila, and in due time reported to his regiment. Of 
 course, I don't vouch for this story, but this is the way 
 it was told to me. If ever a man was justified in buy- 
 ing lottery tickets, certainly this soldier was the man, 
 for, with his luck, he could not invest his spare change 
 in any other way and hope for so large a return ! 
 
 Captain Finch made a fine landfall, or, in other 
 
 97 
 
An Admirals Log ^'^ 
 
 words, was accurate in his navigation, and we entered 
 the beautiful bay of Yokohama on the day and at the 
 hour scheduled before leaving San Francisco. We had 
 enjoyed eating fresh meat, fresh fruit, and fresh oys- 
 ters every day of our trip, and in the cold-storage 
 rooms of the Gaelic were enough fresh oysters remain- 
 ing to last to Manila and then back to San Francisco. 
 
 We made the trip from Washington, D. C, to the 
 entrance to the harbour of Yokohama between April ist 
 and April 27th, with two days' delay at San Francisco 
 and one at Honolulu, and had never had one ration of 
 salt food offered us except by request. The quantity 
 of pure, fresh water furnished us was without limit, and 
 clear, crystal ice was always ready when called for. All 
 this was a great surprise to me, for on my former 
 cruises I had lived generally out of " tins " and drunk 
 water that was frequently red with iron rust and ropy 
 with sediment. Instead of ice water, we were glad to 
 cool the allowance served out to us in a clay jar, called 
 a " monkey," which was porous and when hung in the 
 wind cooled the water it contained by evaporation. 
 Of course, we always had the navy ration of pork and 
 beans and salt beef, or " salt horse," as it was called, 
 but these did not seem attractive when compared in 
 memory with the fine cuts of fresh beef and mutton 
 supplied on the Gaelic. The wonderful improvements 
 in the comforts of sea life by the introduction of cold- 
 storage processes was clearly shown on this cruise, and 
 I have no doubt that in a few years the luxury of ship 
 life will be so great that it will be impossible to make 
 people believe the true story of Hfe in the old days. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 IN JAPAN 
 
 ' During the afternoon of April 27th we entered the 
 beautiful bay of Yokohama, but we saw little that was 
 attractive because of the weather — it was raining in a 
 steady downpour, with more or less of fog. It was clear 
 enough, however, for one to see the great changes that 
 had taken place in the defences of the channel. Where 
 formerly a few old smooth-bore guns were in position to 
 dispute the passage of an enemy's fleet, modern high- 
 powered twelve-inch rifles in great numbers now 
 frowned down on us. Battery after battery of these 
 guns could be seen, and we knew that many others, per- 
 haps even stronger, were concealed. It did not look 
 like anything in the nature of a picnic or holiday per- 
 formance to take a fleet past them unless the Japanese 
 were willing to have one do so. After passing the 
 outer batteries I was looking about, trying to locate the 
 position of the wreck of the United States sloop-of-war 
 Oneida, which had been sunk in this vicinity about 
 thirty-five years before. She was run down by the 
 British merchant steamer Bombay and carried to the 
 bottom, with over two hundred officers and men. 
 While thus engaged I sighted what at first appeared to 
 be two islands, one on either side of the channel and 
 not far from it. I knew, of course, that there were no 
 
 99 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 islands there — at least none when last I passed out of the 
 bay many years before. A close inspection as we ran 
 by them showed that they really were artificial islands, 
 and on each was a fort of great defensive power. I 
 had read of these forts, and was interested to see what 
 they amounted to. They proved to be of stone and 
 concrete construction, and commanded the channel so 
 perfectly that it would be practically impossible for a 
 fleet to pass until they had been destroyed or silenced. 
 
 The question of how these batteries had been con- 
 structed was particularly interesting to navy men, for the 
 reason that we had urged that the same kind of defence 
 should be adopted for the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, 
 between Capes Charles and Henry. Our engineer offi- 
 cers had always decided against the scheme, and gave 
 many reasons for so doing, the principal objection being 
 the depth of water in which the foundations would have 
 to be laid. In our case this depth is something less than 
 forty-two feet. In the case of the Japanese forts it was 
 one hundred and fourteen. Judging from what I after- 
 wards saw of the Japanese engineers, I feel sure they 
 would have built the fort in four hundred feet of water 
 if it had been desirable to do so. That the officers of our 
 engineer corps are as able as those of any other coun- 
 try in the world every one who has had dealings with 
 them will gladly admit. If they have fallen behind the 
 Japanese in the matter of harbour-defence works, we 
 may be sure there is some good reason for it, and it 
 might be that the manner of supplying funds and actu- 
 ally doing the work will furnish this reason. When 
 the Emperor of Japan is satisfied by the advice of his 
 officers that a fort should be built to defend a certain 
 
 lOO 
 
Our Coast Defences 
 
 point, or that a number of battleships should be con- 
 structed, he gives the order to have it done. Parlia- 
 ment finds the money as it is required, and the w^ork 
 progresses rapidly to completion. Labour and material 
 are much cheaper in Japan than they are with us, and 
 the patriotism of the people is such that they would 
 even supply both without compensation were it nec- 
 essary. Who ever heard of " shoddy " clothing or de- 
 fective ammunition in the Japanese army or navy dur- 
 ing the late war between that country and Russia? 
 And who has not heard of these same disgraceful things 
 in the wars of other nations? Any one who will take 
 the trouble to look into the matter will find that the lack 
 of proper coast defences in the United States cannot be 
 charged either to the President or the officers of the 
 corps of engineers. 
 
 After hundreds of reports had been made pointing 
 out the necessity for such work, and many plans sub- 
 mitted showing how and why it should be done, Con- 
 gress finally appointed a committee to consider and 
 look into the matter. After years of looking and con- 
 sidering, they reported, practically adopting the plans 
 which had been before them all the time. Then, after 
 a few years' more consideration, enough money was 
 appropriated to begin work on a few forts, which, as a 
 rule, were located near the cities large enough and 
 strong enough politically to force compliance with the 
 demands of their representatives. The small amount 
 of money thus appropriated was soon expended, the 
 work stopped, and the machinery used in construction 
 left unemployed until another appropriation, when it was 
 found that it required a considerable sum to again put it 
 8 lOI 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 in working order. Each year the Secretary of War 
 submits an estimate for funds, carefully prepared by 
 the chief of engineers, and one or two committees of 
 Congress take charge of it. Sometimes they refuse to 
 make any appropriation, at other times they cut the 
 estimate in half, and so the work drags slowly along 
 from year to year. It is scarcely necessary to remind 
 the reader of the results of the patriotic and persistent 
 effort of the late President of the United States in the 
 matter of new battleships. It may be that Japanese 
 methods would not suit us. Be that as it may, she has 
 complete and efficient coast defence, and we have quite 
 the reverse. If our enemies had dared to attack us in 
 the past as hers did Japan, I have no doubt our condi- 
 tion in this respect would be far different from what 
 it is. 
 
 The first thing that struck me on entering the har- 
 bour of Yokohama was the wonderful change that had 
 taken place there since I last visited the city. Even 
 through the drizzling rain and fog it looked new and 
 much improved. The large amount of money which 
 had been returned to them by the United States had 
 been used by the Japanese in constructing a fine break- 
 water, which makes the port one of the safest and 
 most comfortable for shipping of any on the coast. In 
 former years a hard gale of wind would play havoc 
 with all vessels, large and small, anchored here, because 
 of the heavy sea that came rolling in from Yeddo Bay. 
 Now it was entirely different. The breakwater, cres- 
 cent shaped, enclosed a large area, and behind it the 
 water was always smooth and safe. No matter how 
 hard the blow, or how bad the sea outside, behind 
 
 1 02 
 
Arrival at Yokohama 
 
 this protection all vessels and boats were safe. Only 
 merchant ships were allowed to use the inner anchor- 
 age, because of its limited area, and at the time 
 of our arrival it was so crowded that there was hardly 
 room for another vessel. All men-of-war were com- 
 pelled to anchor outside the breakwater, which was no 
 hardship, as they were always under steam and ready 
 to take care of themselves in case of danger. When a 
 ship was under repairs, however, this rule was not en- 
 forced. 
 
 It had been my good fortune, during a former 
 cruise in the East, to be in Yokohama harbour when the 
 first steam vessel ever owned by the Japanese govern- 
 ment came in and anchored. Now I was to see how 
 much advance had been made, and how many beautiful 
 ships were owned, not only by the government, but by 
 merchants as well. As a result of the liberal subsidy 
 granted by the government, the Japanese flag flew over 
 one of the finest fleets of merchant, freight, and passen- 
 ger ships in the world. They were all built and owned 
 under specifications which permitted of their use by the 
 government if necessary in case of war, and this wise 
 provision was to have a thorough, practical test before 
 many years had passed. 
 
 Upon inquiry I found that first-class passenger 
 ships plied between Yokohama and the Pacific ports of 
 Canada and the United States, commanded by Japanese 
 officers and manned by Japanese sailors, and that well- 
 conducted lines of first-class ships ran to all the Euro- 
 pean and Mediterranean ports, officered and manned in 
 the same way. To my great surprise, I found that the 
 best ships for both freight and passenger lines were 
 
 103 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 being built in Japan by native labour and of native mate- 
 rial. The cost of their construction was so slight that 
 outside competition was impossible, either in building 
 the ships or conducting the lines afterwards. The re- 
 sult was that every port in China and Japan, in fact, in 
 the entire East, had its line of Japanese merchant ships, 
 all heavily subsidised by the government. It certainly 
 was a marvellous change from what I had seen in this 
 country thirty-five years before; and when we consider 
 that in other branches the growth and improvement had 
 been even greater than in shipping and water trans- 
 portation, we are forced to admit that the wonderful 
 progress of this nation has no parallel in history. 
 
 In less than forty years they completely changed 
 their form of government; established a sound financial 
 system; organised an army and a navy second to none 
 in the world in courage and efficiency; established dip- 
 lomatic relations with all the world ; and sent their mer- 
 chant vessels to every important port on the globe. 
 What other people ever did so much in so short a 
 time? 
 
 When the ladies of my family had been landed and 
 comfortably housed, I went at once on board my flag- 
 ship, with my stafif, and on the following day, April 
 28th, assumed command of the northern division of 
 the Asiatic Fleet, afterwards known as the cruiser 
 division. My old and valued friend Rear-Admiral 
 Frederick Rodgers, the commander-in-chief of the sta- 
 tion, was in the Philippines in his flagship, the cruiser 
 New York, doing what he could to help the army in 
 their efforts to reduce the Filipinos to a proper state of 
 respect for the authority of the United States. He had 
 
 104 
 
Assume Command 
 
 made ample provision for my comfort before sailing by 
 detailing for my flagship the fine new battleship Ken- 
 tucky, commanded by Captain Stockton, an officer of 
 exceptional ability, who afterwards served as my chief 
 of staff. My order assuming command was published 
 a few hours after I arrived on board, and then I found 
 the days too short for the work I had to do. One who 
 has never been through the mill can scarcely realise the 
 vast amount of detail work an officer has to face under 
 such circumstances. As time goes on and he gets the 
 run of things and has a chance to study the history of 
 what has been done and get in touch with the thousand 
 and one things requiring his attention, the duty becomes 
 easier and less exacting, until finally it is pure pleasure 
 to perform it. 
 
 The etiquette between officers of the navy and our 
 civil representatives abroad is strict and punctiliously 
 observed. Because of trouble in the past on this 
 score many regulations have been framed, and they are 
 carefully observed. Within twenty-four hours of as- 
 suming command I called, with my staff, in full-dress 
 uniform, on our minister in Tokio, informed him of my 
 orders, paid my respects to him and his family, and 
 requested that he take the proper steps to have me pre- 
 sented to the Emperor and the officers of the cabinet, 
 all of which he afterwards did with great courtesy. Then 
 we went through the form of calling on the members 
 of the imperial family by leaving cards at their houses. 
 Then the same was done for all the foreign ambassa- 
 dors. This consumed the entire day, and I returned to 
 my flagship to wait for notice as to when I would be 
 received by his Majesty the Emperor. I took advan- 
 
 105 
 
An Admirars Log 
 
 tage of this waiting time to inform the minister to 
 China and Korea officially of having assumed com- 
 mand, and then did the same for the admiral or officer 
 in command of each foreign naval force in the station. 
 This, with the detail work of my own command, made 
 me wish that the days were forty-eight hours long in- 
 stead of twenty- four! 
 
 On May 2d his Excellency, Count d'Arco Valley, 
 the German minister to Japan, on behalf of himself 
 and the German residents of Tokio and Yokohama, 
 tendered me a reception at the Germania Club, in Yoko- 
 hama. The various diplomatic and consular represent- 
 atives accredited to Japan, many Japanese officials, and 
 leading foreigners of Tokio and Yokohama were pres- 
 ent. All the American officers who could be spared 
 from duty were present to show their appreciation of 
 the unusual courtesy shown us by Count d'Arco Valley, 
 which, though extended to me by name, was, of course, 
 intended as a compliment to my country. The finest 
 supper that Yokohama could furnish was served at mid- 
 night, and when I left at 3 a.m., dancing was still in 
 progress. This reception was the first echo of Prince 
 Henry's visit to America and my service on his staff. 
 It was repeated on every occasion during my tour on 
 the station whenever I fell in with officers of the Ger- 
 man government, either civil or military. Their cour- 
 tesy to me was constant and unfailing, and extended to 
 every officer and man under my command. I conceived 
 for Count d'Arco Valley not only a feeling of great 
 respect, but also of warm friendship. He represented 
 his country with great dignity and force without, as 
 far as I ever heard, giving offence or injuring the feel- 
 
 106 
 
The Emperor of Japan 
 
 ings of any one. He was a kindly soul, filled only with 
 charity and love for his fellow-men. 
 
 Our minister, Mr. Buck, having informed me that 
 their imperial Majesties would receive me in audience 
 on May 3d, I proceeded to Tokio with my staff on the 
 morning of that day and at the hour appointed, and was 
 received by the Emperor, and half an hour later by the 
 Empress. All receptions at the Japanese court are most 
 formal, and every point of etiquette carefully observed; 
 but the grand master of ceremonies is so tactful and 
 courteous that we passed through the ordeal most pleas- 
 antly and without embarrassment. When I was pre- 
 sented to his Majesty he extended his hand very cor- 
 dially, and showed every sign of great friendship for 
 the country I had the honour of representing. He was 
 dressed in the full uniform of a field marshal of France 
 — red trousers and blue coat, both heavily trimmed with 
 gold braid, and his breast well covered with decorations. 
 His clothes fitted him so badly that I was impelled to 
 mention it afterwards, when I was informed that the 
 reason for it was that his tailor when measuring him 
 was not allowed to look at him, but had to get his 
 dimensions by feeling for them, while his eyes re- 
 mained fixed on the floor. This explanation would ex- 
 plain the misfit, but I doubt the accuracy of it, because I 
 believe his Majesty has too much good common sense 
 to put up with anything so foolish. But it is quite 
 possible that the aw^e and reverence felt for this won- 
 derful monarch might prevent his tailor from using his 
 skill and handicraft to the best advantage. 
 
 After the ordinary assurances that one always re- 
 ceives and gives on such occasions, " high esteem in 
 
 107 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 which his and your country are held," etc., etc., the 
 Emperor said through his interpreter : 
 
 " I understand. Admiral, that you were in Japan 
 years ago. Do you find many changes? " 
 
 " Yes, your Majesty," I replied, " I was here years 
 ago, and I find everything changed except Fujiyama! " 
 
 Fujiyama is the beautiful mountain, almost sacred 
 to the Japanese, which stands in plain sight of Yoko- 
 hama and Tokio. My reply seemed to interest as well 
 as amuse him, and led to a pretty sharp cross-examina- 
 tion. He wanted to know how I found things so 
 changed, and I told him, beginning with himself as an 
 illustration. I said : 
 
 *' You will recall, your Majesty, that at the time of 
 my former visit you were a youth, confined generally to 
 a temple and regarded as a sacred being. Now you are 
 Emperor of a great country, a constitutional monarchy, 
 held in respect by all the world ; then Japan had a navy 
 composed of a few old sailing ships, to-day her battle- 
 ships are second to none in the world; then her army 
 was divided into sections, or cliques, each one owing 
 allegiance to some Daimio or Baron, and all dressed in 
 grass clothing and armed with swords or pikes, while 
 to-day she has one of the best-organised armies in the 
 world, up to date in every detail, and wonderful in effi- 
 ciency; then there was not a foot of railroad or a yard 
 of telegraph or electric-light wire in all the land, while 
 to-day your country is gridironed with railroads, gir- 
 dled with telegraph lines, and your cities beautifully 
 lighted by electricity ! " 
 
 As I went on, his face was a study. Always a 
 strong, rather hard face, it softened as he listened to 
 
 1 08 
 
The Empress of Japan 
 
 me, his eyes flashed, and he smiled with satisfaction at 
 my description. My audience lasted about fifteen min- 
 utes, and when it was over and I had backed out of the 
 royal presence I felt sure that I had been talking with 
 one of the greatest and strongest men I had ever met. 
 At the time of which I speak he was deeply concerned 
 over the relations of his country with Russia, which 
 grew more and more strained each day. It was re- 
 ported and believed that he worked eighteen hours out 
 of every twenty- four, and I have no reason to doubt the 
 statement. 
 
 The officers of my staff having all been presented 
 to the Emperor, we withdrew and were conducted to 
 the apartments of the Empress, where we were most 
 graciously received by her Majesty. The hand-kissing 
 custom of so many foreign courts was not favoured or 
 practised in Japan ; instead, I received a handshake 
 from a very shapely and beautiful hand. I found the 
 Empress a woman of great refinement, perfect ease of 
 manner, so delicate in appearance and small of figure 
 as to remind one of some fine piece of Dresden china, 
 attired in a Paris gown of heliotrope brocade. The few 
 words she exchanged with me gave me the impression 
 that she had the same friendly feeling for us as had 
 been so graciously expressed by his Majesty the Em- 
 peror. The ill fit of the beautiful Paris gown worn by 
 the Empress was accounted for in the same way as the 
 baggy trousers of the Emperor. After a year in Japan 
 I was satisfied that it was due to the fact that a tailor 
 would not touch the person of either of their Majesties; 
 that they looked at them, and then guessed at what the 
 measurement should be! 
 
 109 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 After being presented at court, calls had to be made 
 on each member of the cabinet. These were all most 
 interesting, as they gave me a chance to see the men 
 who were to play such prominent parts in the struggle 
 with Russia, that was now rapidly approaching the 
 point of diplomatic rupture between the two countries. 
 At the war office I had the pleasure of meeting General 
 Oyama, who later led the armies in the field. The 
 Minister of Marine, Vice-Admiral Baron Yamamoto, 
 had appointed an hour for my call, and after half an 
 hour with him in his private ofiice he invited me to 
 luncheon, where I found a number of the most promi- 
 nent officers of the Japanese navy assembled to meet 
 me, Admiral Togo being one of them. The conversa- 
 tion during the time we were at table was of a general 
 character, with very friendly references to Commodore 
 Perry's expedition and its influence on Japan. After 
 luncheon I had another short talk with Baron Yama- 
 moto, in which he made it very plain to me that the 
 course of aggression then being followed by Russia 
 toward his country would, if persisted in, inevitably 
 lead to war. He was very earnest, but, like all of the 
 men of his nation, his face was absolutely without ex- 
 pression, except now and then his eyes would blaze 
 like a coal of fire. In every word and gesture he 
 showed the spirit that afterwards resulted in the won- 
 derful victories of the Japanese navy under his admin- 
 istration. 
 
 While all this official calling was being done — and 
 it is astonishing how much time it takes — I was busy 
 in my leisure moments arranging for a trip around the 
 station to see by personal inspection just what the con- 
 
 IIO 
 
The President's Instructions 
 
 ditions were and how to better them. The Kentucky 
 required docking, and, as the United States did not 
 own a dock in the East that would take anything larger 
 than a small gunboat, we had to rely on the good-will 
 of others for our docking facilities. There was one 
 private dock at Hong Kong, China, that would receive 
 the Kentucky, but the bubonic plague was raging at 
 that port, and I did not care to take the chance of infec- 
 tion from that complaint if it could be avoided. A 
 request was sent to our minister at Tokio that he obtain 
 permission from the government to dock the flagship 
 at the navy yard at Yokosuka when convenient for 
 the Japanese officers to do so. The request was 
 promptly granted, the ship docked, cleaned, and painted, 
 and such repairs as were necessary made, the charges 
 for the work being the same as they would have been 
 for a Japanese ship. 
 
 From the moment I took command of the squadron 
 I had constantly in mind the last words spoken to me 
 by President Roosevelt before leaving Washington. I 
 had called on him to say good-bye, and, having in mind 
 the conditions in the East, I asked if he had any special 
 instructions for me. 
 
 " Yes, sir," he replied. " Be sure every night when 
 you turn in that your command is in better shape for a 
 fight than it was when you turned out in the morning ! " 
 
 Very simple and straight from the shoulder, surely, 
 and from the look of his chin and the way his teeth 
 came together I understood that he meant what he said. 
 During all my command of that force and, later, a 
 much larger one, I endeavoured to carry out these or- 
 ders — the spirit of them at least. 
 
 Ill 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 The policy of scattering our ships about over the 
 station never seemed to me a good one, except in the 
 case of small gunboats for river service. At times, 
 however, it was necessary to do so because of the de- 
 mands of our diplomats, our missionaries, and Ameri- 
 can interests generally. As a rule, I felt that it was 
 most important, from every point of view, that the 
 squadron should be kept together. There is no greater 
 incentive to efficiency than the emulation that comes 
 between officers and crews when several ships are in 
 company, and, to my mind, if one ship can make a 
 good impression, a squadron will make a much better 
 and more lasting one. I was assured at the Navy De- 
 partment, before leaving Washington, that this was the 
 view entertained there, and that they wished it carried 
 out as far as possible. 
 
 The Kentucky was reported ready for sea, and on 
 May 19th we left Yokohama and ran down to Kobe for 
 three days, and then through the beautiful inland sea 
 by way of the straits of Shimoniseki to Nagasaki, 
 where we found the New Orleans, a sloop-of-war, or, 
 more properly speaking, an unarmoured cruiser, pur- 
 chased in England at the breaking out of the war with 
 Spain. She was under command of Captain C, S. 
 Sperry, and in excellent condition. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE GERMAN NAVAL STATION IN CHINA 
 
 It had been my intention to spend a week or ten 
 days at Nagasaki, but on my arrival I found Asiatic 
 cholera of a very virulent nature among the natives on 
 the water front, which determined me to go on at once 
 to the new German naval station at Tsingtao, in the 
 province of Kiaochao. There was much interest in the 
 Navy Department as to what was being done at this 
 point, and I felt sure that the German authorities would 
 give me any information that I could reasonably ask of 
 them. 
 
 We arrived at Tsingtao on the 30th of May, after 
 spending two days at sea manoeuvring the Kentucky 
 and New Orleans in preliminary fleet work. Our re- 
 ception was most cordial, and every one, from the gov- 
 ernor down to the private soldiers, did all that was pos- 
 sible to make us comfortable and to show their friendly 
 feeling for us and our country. The German fleet was 
 in port, and we had an excellent opportunity to witness 
 some of their most interesting work. The admiral in 
 command and the governor each detailed an officer of 
 rank to conduct me over the entire reservation, show 
 me what had been done, and to explain to me the plans 
 for the completion of this great commercial port and 
 harbour of refuge. They also permitted our intelli- 
 
 113 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 gence officers to go out on the railroad, which had 
 been completed something over one hundred miles, and 
 which would, later on, tap the valuable coal deposits 
 and bring the fuel to Tsingtao. 
 
 A short account of this German colony may prove 
 of interest. During the. early nineties a German mis- 
 sionary was foully murdered somewhere in the province 
 of Kiaochao, on the Shantung Peninsula. Germany, of 
 course, demanded immediate satisfaction, and Prince 
 Henry was sent out there in command of a German 
 squadron to explain just what kind of satisfaction 
 would be accepted. After much diplomatic correspond- 
 ence, backed on one side by a strong naval force, com- 
 manded by a determined officer, who ranked the diplo- 
 mats by reason of his relationship to his Majesty the 
 Emperor, the negotiations were concluded, and the out- 
 side world awoke to the fact that Germany had secured 
 the lease of one of the best harbours in China for 
 ninety-nine years. Human life is a valuable thing, and 
 every government has the right to place such valuation 
 on the lives of its subjects as may seem necessary to 
 protect them. This they always do after the person is 
 dead. It would seem, at first thought, that it would be 
 a fairer proposition to state beforehand just what com- 
 pensation would be exacted for each life taken. The 
 other plan, determining what the compensation shall be 
 after the death of the subject, has very decided advan- 
 tages, however, for one side at least, and this was never 
 more clearly shown than in the case of this unfortunate 
 missionary. History, I think, does not reveal to us the 
 life of any other man which was held at such a high 
 figure ! It is quite possible that the killing of the poor 
 
 114 
 
Naval Bases in China 
 
 missionary was not so serious a matter as was the 
 insult to his government, and in such cases the compen- 
 sation demanded depends largely upon the needs of the 
 insulted government in that particular locality. What 
 was the thing most necessary to German interests in 
 that part of the world ? 
 
 England, as is well known, has two very important 
 stations, or, in military parlance, bases, in China, and 
 because of her vast commercial interests it was gener- 
 ally conceded that she was entitled to have them. Hong 
 Kong she owned outright and had fortified so exten- 
 sively that it was considered the Gibraltar of the East. 
 Then she held Wei-hei-wei, a Chinese port a short dis- 
 tance south of Tsingtao, under a lease from the Chi- 
 nese government, and used it as a naval base. It was 
 not easily fortified — that is to say, the surrounding land 
 was not advantageous for forts to defend the entrance. 
 The English officers, one school of them at least, did 
 not regard it as of much military importance. 
 
 Russia owned one fine base in the far north, 
 Vladivostock, but because of the heavy ice in the 
 winter it was not of real practical value. For opera- 
 tions in China it was absolutely of no value unless 
 Russia were on friendly terms with Japan, because 
 the latter controlled the intervening waters. Imme- 
 diately after the war between China and Japan, and 
 when the latter had clearly won Port Arthur and 
 was entitled to hold it permanently, England, Ger- 
 many, and Russia combined to prevent her doing so, 
 and Russia got possession of the valuable and coveted 
 port only because one of her torpedo boats proved more 
 speedy than an English cruiser. Both were racing for 
 
 115 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 the port with orders to hoist the flag- and take posses- 
 sion, but the torpedo boat arrived first, and when the 
 cruiser anchored the Russian flag was flying over the 
 place. 
 
 Once in actual occupation, Russian engineers hur- 
 riedly fortified the place, both on the land and water 
 sides. Vast sums of money were spent in constructing 
 forts which, viewed from the outside, seemed to war- 
 rant the assumption that it was impregnable, but when 
 the Japanese army, under the gallant Nogi, later on 
 undertook its reduction this assumption was not borne 
 out. Dalny, a port near Port Arthur, of which I shall 
 write later on, was constructed at great cost, and would 
 have proved of great value to Russian interests; but it 
 fell with Port Arthur, and Russia again found herself 
 without the ice-free port for which she had struggled so 
 long. When and where she will make her next effort 
 no one can say, but that present conditions, in that 
 respect, are almost intolerable all must concede. If any 
 nation, other than China, is to hold Port Arthur and 
 Dalny, all fair-minded men will admit that Japan is 
 the one because of the price in blood she has paid for it. 
 Likewise, I think the historian of the future will claim 
 that Russia was fairly entitled to Constantinople after 
 her magnificent campaign over the Balkans against the 
 Turks. If England had not interfered to prevent it, 
 Russia would have settled down in her ice-free port on 
 the Bosphorus, all the world would have been benefited, 
 and the trouble that came afterwards over Manchuria 
 might have been avoided. 
 
 It was plain to all thinking men that Germany 
 needed two things — a navy strong enough to protect 
 
 ii6 
 
Germany's Concession 
 
 her rapidly growing merchant marine, and fortified 
 bases abroad from which she could operate effectively 
 in case of necessity. A finely organised navy league 
 promised to supply the first in the course of time, and 
 the death of the missionary, or rather the manner of 
 his death, was the entering wedge for the other. 
 Whether this wedge will be driven home to its full ex- 
 tent may depend somewhat upon the interests of other 
 nations in the East. The Emperor recognised his op- 
 portunity, and, as usual with him, acted at once by 
 sending, as before stated, a strong naval force, com- 
 manded by his brother, Prince Henry of Prussia, to 
 demand ifrom the Dowager Empress of China the one 
 thing he most desired — a naval station on the coast of 
 China. The demand was eventually granted, the navy 
 took possession, and then began the developments of 
 the port of Tsingtao. 
 
 The concession thus obtained was a most valuable 
 one. Besides containing one of the finest and most 
 capacious harbours in China, it included a large amount 
 of territory, extending back nearly one hundred miles 
 in the direction of valuable coal mines. Once in actual 
 possession, the German authorities went to work in 
 their usual thorough manner. Prince Henry and the 
 Princess Irene established themselves in a temple in the 
 Chinese village, where they lived for many months 
 while the work of building forts, barracks, and officers' 
 quarters went on. As these were completed, they were 
 occupied by troops from Germany, and the place soon 
 had the aspect of a fortified military camp. Heavy 
 guns were mounted in forts at commanding points, and 
 barracks of the most modern construction were com- 
 9 117 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 pleted capable of housing a large number of troops. 
 While all this was being done the commercial features 
 of the port were not neglected. Complete plans were 
 prepared which provided for harbour facilities equal to 
 any to be found east of Suez. A large stone break- 
 water was projected and work on it begun. This was 
 to enclose a large area of the inner harbour and render 
 the landing of passengers and freight both comfortable 
 and safe in any kind of weather. At the time of my 
 visit this work and that on the docks was approaching 
 completion, and I never saw finer construction any- 
 where in the world. 
 
 During the progress of these improvements friction 
 developed between the soldiers and the natives, which 
 led in the end to a conflict in which some of the soldiers 
 were wounded and a number of the Chinese killed. 
 This clearly showed that the boundaries of the conces- 
 sion were too contracted — in other words, there was 
 not room enough for both parties; more land must be 
 conceded at once. This was granted, and the lines ex- 
 tended in every direction except, of course, toward 
 the water. The valuable coal mines mentioned above 
 were included in the newly ceded territory and became 
 the property of the German government. A finely con- 
 structed railroad was at once built to these mines, and 
 fuel from them was soon being delivered at Tslngtao. 
 
 To show how complete the work of the new occu- 
 pants was, I will give an example. The Chinese town 
 of Tslngtao was located on the water front, as is the 
 case with most fishing towns all over the world. The 
 land thus held was wanted for the proper development 
 of the new city, and It must, therefore, be cleared of the 
 
 ii8 
 
The Germans at Tsingtao 
 
 native houses, which were declared to be, and undoubt- 
 edly were, unsanitary and a threat to the health of the 
 entire community. A new site was selected for the 
 Chinese town, about four or five miles away, excellent 
 sanitary houses were built, a fine water supply was fur- 
 nished, and a good road made to the port. Then the 
 Chinese people, bag and baggage, were moved to their 
 new homes and the old city razed to the ground. A 
 few buildings, such as the temple in which Prince 
 Henry had lived, were left standing, but all the rest 
 were torn down, the debris removed, and a fine public 
 park took the place of the once filthy Chinese town. A 
 portion of the park was given up to a beautiful garden, 
 in which, among other things, over one hundred thou- 
 sand young trees of various kinds were planted. In 
 addition, much of the land on the surrounding hills 
 was utilised, until over one million trees had been 
 planted. This part of China is devoid of anything like 
 shade trees, but the thoroughgoing Germans intended 
 to see to it that this condition was changed, and I wish 
 them every success. 
 
 In laying out their new city those in charge showed 
 wonderful sense and judgment. Near the steamboat 
 wharves ample space was left for warehouses and the 
 like; then came the business portion for native mer- 
 chants, and here great care was shown in the construc- 
 tion of the houses, built by the government and leased 
 to the tenants. Each one was designed to give plenty of 
 light and fresh air and permit thorough inspection at 
 any time ; then followed the business quarter for foreign 
 merchants, where any one, under certain reasonable re- 
 strictions, could build his store and conduct his business. 
 
 119 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Farther along still came the residence district, and 
 then on the water front, overlooking the most beautiful 
 sand beach in China, came the site for hotels. Owing 
 to its geographical position and fine climate, Tsingtao 
 will attract a great many people from places south of it, 
 such as Hong Kong and Singapore, in the summer and 
 from places north of it in winter. It has, therefore, a 
 fine prospect of becoming the greatest seaside resort in 
 all the East. Its value as a naval base cannot be over- 
 estimated ; its possession simply puts Germany in a bet- 
 ter position for military operations than any other na- 
 tion, with the single exception of Japan. The money 
 spent at Tsingtao has caused much unfavourable com- 
 ment from those politically opposed to his Majesty the 
 Emperor, but, unless all leading professional minds are 
 very wrong, the day will come when it will be plain to 
 all that the indemnity exacted for the death of the 
 missionary, and the subsequent development of Tsing- 
 tao, was one of the greatest plays ever made by this 
 giant among rulers, the Emperor of Germany. 
 
 During our stay at Tsingtao we were allowed to 
 inspect the rifle ranges on shore, where the troops were 
 constantly at practice from daylight until sundown. 
 Our ordnance officers obtained much valuable informa- 
 tion in this way, but nothing bearing on their method 
 of naval practice could be learned. They kept that a 
 profound secret, and, of course, we could not ask them 
 to give it away. We saw their great gun targets, how- 
 ever, when they were towed in at night, and learned 
 that all their firing was done at sea. The targets we 
 had a chance to inspect did not show very severe pun- 
 ishment, which was accounted for by the fact that only 
 
 120 
 
German Naval Methods 
 
 newly arrived recruits had been firing at them. As to 
 how the range of the target was obtained, or the kind 
 of sights in use, we could get no hint, which seemed 
 curious to us, particularly in reference to the sights, as 
 we kept ours on the guns, as a rule, where any one 
 wishing to do so could examine them. They were so 
 bad that we would have been glad to have any other 
 navy adopt them ! Later, when this condition had been 
 changed, we were as careful to conceal them as the 
 German officers were to hide theirs. 
 
 In the important matter of changing the crews, re- 
 lieving the men whose term of service had expired, the 
 admiral was kind enough to give me full details, and I 
 found them of such interest that I reported them to the 
 Navy Department. On leaving home, the crews of the 
 German ships for the Asiatic station were so arranged 
 that the time of half of each ship's company expired at 
 practically the same time. A transport from home, 
 each year, brought out the new men ; the fleet was 
 assembled at Tsingtao; the transfer was made in one 
 day, and the old men sent home. Thus each ship found 
 herself with one-half her men absolutely without ship 
 training, as they had come from barracks on shore, 
 where they were mustered for their turn of compulsory 
 military duty. Each new man, after reaching his ship, 
 was placed in charge of his mate, or comrade, who 
 proceeded at once to teach him the duties of his station. 
 It was astonishing to see how' short a time was neces- 
 sary under this system to bring a ship's company to an 
 efficient state of drill. In our own service we have no 
 such system — nothing to compare with it. In the English 
 service the crew of a ship on the Asiatic station serves 
 
 121 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 three years, and is then required to scrape and repaint 
 the ship and put her in first-class condition, when they 
 are reHeved and a new lot takes charge. With us we 
 simply discharge men, day by day, as their term expires, 
 and send them home by mail steamer or transport. 
 When the crew has thus been reduced, sometimes to a 
 dangerous extent, the Navy Department, if it has the 
 men to spare, sends out a draft, and the recruits are 
 distributed among the ships most needing them. If the 
 department happens to be short of men, which is gener- 
 ally the case for foreign service, the captain struggles 
 on with his short crew as best he can. Extra work is, 
 of course, required from those on board, and this causes 
 much dissatisfaction and growling. This may properly 
 be called not a system, but a want of one, and compares 
 most unfavourably with that of our German friends. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 TARGET PRACTICE AT CHEFOO 
 
 We celebrated the Fourth of July at Tsingtao, the 
 military and naval authorities joining heartily with us 
 in doing so, and on the morning of the 5th sailed for 
 Chefoo, China, where we arrived the following day. 
 The French fleet was in port, and I found the Japanese 
 residents in a state of excitement because the French 
 flag was flying over one of the islands at the entrance 
 of the harbour. Relations between Russia and Japan 
 were growing more and more strained every day, and 
 the sight of this flag indicated to the Japanese mind 
 that the island was occupied in order to give assistance 
 to Russia in some way. Captain Sah, of the Chinese 
 navy, was in port in a fine cruiser, and he also saw 
 some deep-laid scheme concealed under this flag. He 
 called on me immediately, recited his fears, and asked 
 me what action I was going to take in the matter, I 
 told him that it was none of my business, and that I 
 did not propose to take any action toward having the 
 flag removed, but that I would find out what it all 
 meant. So, when I called on the admiral, he explained 
 that a few years before the body of a French sailor had 
 been buried on the island, and that this was the reason 
 for showing the flag, which was hauled down a few 
 days later and a small one substituted at the head of 
 
 123 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 the grave. A trifling incident in times of excitement 
 may cause serious trouble. 
 
 Chefoo harbour, by reason of its location and facili- 
 ties, had long been a favourite place for target practice, 
 and many foreign fleets had used it for that purpose. 
 There was no reasonable objection to this so long as 
 the firing was done on the outlying islands, but when 
 the targets were placed in the harbour it was quite an- 
 other thing. At the time of our visit the French ships 
 were firing from their anchorages, making the passage 
 to and from the shore dangerous, and the Chinese au- 
 thorities were unable to prevent it. As I was on my 
 way to make an official call, the bullets flew over and 
 about my boat in such numbers that I was compelled to 
 change my course to avoid an accident. This, of 
 course, brought a strong protest to the admiral, which 
 caused the ranges to be changed, but the change was 
 only temporary, for a valuable young officer was actu- 
 ally killed on the bridge of one of our ships in this har- 
 bour, a few years later, by a bullet from a French war- 
 ship at target practice. This unfortunate accident will 
 probably stop such practice in the future. 
 
 The necessary authority to occupy one of these 
 islands having been secured through the eff'orts of our 
 consul, preparation was made for small-arm practice 
 on a scale not before undertaken. Regulation targets 
 were landed and ranges laid out for firing at distances 
 up to one thousand yards, and all connected with the 
 firing points by telephone. Tents were also landed and 
 a camp established, so that men could remain on shore 
 until their practice w^as completed, thus saving much 
 valuable time. Both officers and men took the great- 
 
 124 
 
Target Practice 
 
 est interest in the work, and I think I may fairly say 
 that this was the beginning that led eventually to our 
 sailors beating all other arms of the service — marines, 
 cavalry, infantry, artillery, and militia — with rifles and 
 winning the national trophy, of which they are justly 
 so proud. I had always been very fond of target shoot- 
 ing myself with every kind of firearm, from a revolver 
 to a tw^elve-inch rifle, and, once in a position of com- 
 mand where I could do so, I determined to create the 
 same interest in the officers and men if I could. 
 
 At the close of the Spanish War it was evident that 
 the hitting power of our guns was not what it should 
 be, and I determined that, if the chance ever came my 
 way, I would improve it, at least I w^ould make an hon- 
 est effort to do so. The opportunity had now come, 
 and I took advantage of it. How I did this I will try 
 to make plain, but before doing so I wish to state that 
 whatever success I achieved was due to the efforts of 
 the able ofiicers on my staff and the hard-working ord- 
 nance officers of the fleet rather than to anything I did. 
 Without them I should undoubtedly have met with a 
 miserable failure. Other commanders-in-chief who 
 preceded me no doubt felt, as I did, the importance of 
 such work, but the favourable conditions prevailing in 
 my time were not so common in theirs. They worked 
 hard and no good ranges were then available. 
 
 After the close of the Civil War, in 1865, target 
 practice in the navy gradually ran down until it came 
 to be regarded as of little importance. The regulations 
 required that we should have it so many times each 
 year, and that we should follow certain prescribed 
 forms in the firing and afterwards in reporting results. 
 
 125 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 There was no real interest in the work. The usual cus- 
 tom was to throw overboard a barrel or raft showing a 
 red flag, then steam around it and fire the allowance 
 of ammunition, after which we went on our way, glad 
 the practice was over. 
 
 Most captains and all executive officers looked on it 
 as a necessary evil, as it blackened the decks and the 
 paintwork, broke more or less chinaware, and was gen- 
 erally a nuisance. For other officers it was a time of 
 discomfort; and they saw no real good in it. They 
 were using the same old smooth-bore, muzzle-loading 
 guns with which we had fought out the Civil War, and 
 nobody took much interest in finding out how well or 
 how badly they could shoot. A few Parrott cast-iron 
 rifles were afloat, but so many of them had burst dur- 
 ing the war, and so many good men had been killed by 
 these accidents, that we had neither confidence in the 
 guns nor affection for them. We were always glad 
 when the last shot had been fired from one of them and 
 nobody had been hurt. 
 
 The sights in use at that time were the same open 
 bar sights that we had always used, and in this respect 
 we were no worse than the navies of the rest of the 
 world. While the guns were being fired, an officer, sta- 
 tioned at some convenient point on the ship, observed the 
 fall of each projectile, and reported to the men at the 
 gun whether it was good or bad. Sometimes it was " a 
 good line shot, a little over " ; or " a good line shot, a 
 little short " ; or " elevation good, a little to the right " 
 or " a little to the left." How much to the right, left, 
 short, or over was a matter of pure guesswork on the 
 part of the observer. 
 
 126 
 
In the Old Way 
 
 The gun pointers were drilled to aim in the old way 
 — that is to say, the gun was so trained that the sights 
 would come on the target as the ship came to the top of 
 the sea and began to roll toward the target. Firing 
 on the " weather roll " it was called, and it was good 
 practice in those days, because it ensured the shot a 
 chance to hit the target on ricochet if it missed it direct. 
 The gun was never pointed directly at the target except 
 in a dead calm or when the wind was directly from or 
 toward it; at other times it was pointed to the left or 
 right of the target, according to the direction and force 
 of the wind; the allowance to be made was a question 
 for the gun captain to decide for himself. One often 
 heard the division officer say, " Lay your gun about the 
 length of a handspike to the right," or " Leave your 
 sights open to the right." 
 
 It was surprising to see how well men could point 
 guns under such crude conditions and to note the num- 
 ber of shots that went neither to the right nor left, but 
 in line with the target, a few of them over and many of 
 them short. Sometimes the target was struck, but gen- 
 erally it escaped. The number of hits was about equal 
 to the number of misses to-day. 
 
 As the ordnance people began to give us new gims, 
 the sights were somewhat improved, but it was a long 
 time before we had anything that would to-day be 
 called a moderately accurate sight. 
 
 When some of the eleven-inch cast-iron guns had 
 been lined with steel and converted into eight-inch 
 rifles, and a few small breech-loading guns had been 
 supplied, the rules for target practice were changed, 
 more interest was taken in the work, but results were 
 
 127 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 still unsatisfactory, because the system was wrong. 
 The target used was triangular, and the shots were 
 plotted by the use of what is known as the T-square. 
 Only the shots that actually struck the target could be 
 accurately known, the T-square being too rough an 
 instrument for fine work. Every shot that seemed to 
 pass through what the target would have been had it 
 been square instead of triangular was marked as a hit, 
 and I am quite safe in stating that more than half the 
 shots so marked were really misses, and should have 
 been so marked. 
 
 By following this very imperfect system of prac- 
 tice our officers and men were deceived into believing 
 that they could shoot fairly well ; and so they could, as 
 compared with men of other navies who used the same 
 kind of practice and shot at the same kind of targets in 
 the same way. In reality all our shooting was very 
 poor and inaccurate. But as new ships were built and 
 commissioned, and more modern guns were supplied, 
 things began to look brighter in this respect. 
 
 When, finally, a few battleships became available, 
 the accuracy of the new guns began to be appreciated, 
 but we still held to the triangular target, with all its 
 misleading results. More hits were made, because the 
 guns and powder were better and the trajectory of 
 the shot much flatter, but the shots near the upper part 
 of the target which were supposed to pass through the 
 corners of the square target — if it had been square — 
 were still marked as hits. Even worse than this, how- 
 ever, was the want of interest in officers and men in 
 developing the hitting power of the guns. Target 
 practice was still looked upon with disfavour, because it 
 
 128 
 
Early Torpedo Practice 
 
 soiled the decks and the paintwork and made people 
 uncomfortable. 
 
 During the summers of 1896 and 1897 the late 
 Rear-Admiral Francis M. Bunce, then commanding 
 the North Atlantic Squadron, began a system of target 
 practice which proved of immense value to the service. 
 He still retained the triangular target, but he took great 
 pains to find out which shots really struck it. The 
 whole squadron spent days on the target range, instead 
 of hours, and it was made evident that we would con- 
 tinue this practice until the commander-in-chief was 
 satisfied with our performance. For the first time in 
 our service torpedoes were given a fair trial at sea, and 
 our surprise v^^as great when we saw how many unex- 
 pected things this much-advertised weapon could do 
 and how seldom we could make it strike the obstacle 
 aimed at. We had in former years used the " spar tor- 
 pedo," the " bag of powder on the end of a pole " with 
 which Gushing so gallantly destroyed the Confederate 
 ironclad Albemarle, 
 
 I recall the surprise of a lot of Italian officers dur- 
 ing a former cruise in a Spanish-Mediterranean port 
 when I, as ordnance officer, fired one hundred and 
 twenty pounds of powder from a water breaker, or keg, 
 on the end of our lower boom. Orders were imperative 
 that we must fire these torpedoes at certain stated inter- 
 vals, and our captain enforced the order. On this occa- 
 sion an Italian ironclad was moored next to us and 
 very close. When I received the order I guyed the 
 lower boom as far forward as I could, lowered the end 
 of it well under water, and then touched the key of the 
 battery. There was a tremendous explosion, and a 
 
 129 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 column of water and mud shot up two hundred feet into 
 the air. When the smoke had cleared away, our lower 
 boom was gone and the beautiful ironclad was covered 
 with mud — and very foul mud it was — for more than 
 half pf her length. It was like the old-fashioned Chi- 
 nese throwing of " stink pots." Of course, we apolo- 
 gised promptly, and then spent two days scrubbing the 
 vile stuff from off our rigging. 
 
 Admiral Bunce continued his target practice until 
 a large amount of ammunition had been expended and 
 the men became proficient in handling the guns, if not 
 in hitting the target. To his persistence in this work 
 and the general drill of the fleet I, and many other offi- 
 cers, attribute our success in the Spanish-American 
 War. 
 
 At Santiago we thought our shooting fairly good, 
 but learned later by the testimony of an expert before 
 the Senate Naval Committee that it was disgracefully 
 bad. Whether it was good, bad, or disgraceful, the 
 fact remains that we destroyed the Spanish squadron 
 in record time, and the impression among those en- 
 gaged in the battle was that this complete destruction 
 was the result of our good shooting. 
 
 It is eminently unfair to compare our firing then 
 with what we could do to-day. That it was as good as 
 or better than any other service could have done at the 
 time seems established by the very favourable reports of 
 many foreign critics. 
 
 When the Spanish War had passed into history, 
 many officers of the navy became thoroughly aroused 
 and deeply interested in this most important subject — 
 the hitting power of our guns. Those who came under 
 
 130 
 
Smokeless Powder 
 
 my personal observation I shall mention by name. A 
 great many hard workers in the cause of target practice 
 did not serve under my immediate command, and I can- 
 not, therefore, give them the credit due them, as other- 
 wise I should certainly be glad to do. 
 
 The use of smokeless powder for the navy became 
 general immediately after the Spanish War ; during that 
 conflict we had used it for the smaller gims only, and 
 brown prismatic powder for the larger guns. During 
 the practice which I had ordered as a part of the inspec- 
 tion of the ships of the squadron at Chefoo, full service 
 charges of smokeless powder were to be used with 
 loaded shells, and I believe this was the first time such 
 target practice was held in our navy. The introduction 
 of the new powder had necessitated the resighting of 
 all the guns, and the work had been done by the Ord- 
 nance Department as rapidly as possible. The poor 
 work turned out may have been unavoidable, but to 
 those of us who had to deal practically with the sights 
 it seemed as if they had better never have been made — 
 they were either wrong in principle or defective in 
 manufacture. 
 
 The Kentucky was fortunate in having Lieutenant 
 Carlos B. Brittain as her gunnery officer. He had 
 given much time and thought to the subject of target 
 practice, and was able and enthusiastic in his efforts to 
 carry out the scheme I had outlined. She was also 
 fortunate in having among her division officers Lieu- 
 tenant Ridley McLean, one of the ablest gunnery offi- 
 cers of the navy. These two, co-operating cordially 
 with the officers on my staff, soon made it clear to me 
 that I might expect a large measure of success. 
 
 131 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 The first thing to be done was to install some device 
 by which the men, gun pointers and others as well, 
 would have proper training in pointing a gun, and then 
 to determine where the shot would strike if the gun 
 were fired. This drill, to do any real good, must be 
 had at least twice a day, and to fire the gun so often 
 was out of the question; so a number of small guns 
 called Flobert rifles were bought, with a plentiful sup- 
 ply of ammunition for them. These small rifles were 
 fixed to the turret and broadside guns in such a way 
 that the training of the smaller guns trained the larger 
 ones at the same time and in the same way. Thus, in 
 order to bring the small rifle to bear on the target, the 
 mechanism of the larger gun had to be used for the 
 purpose. I had seen this done years before, and I con- 
 sidered it very effective. 
 
 The next step was to provide a suitable target, and 
 this proved difficult. I requested Lieutenants Brittain, 
 Chapin, and McLean to draw a diagram of a battleship 
 which, when placed a few feet from the muzzle of the 
 big gim, would appear like a battleship at a range of 
 two thousand yards. They gave much time to the 
 work, and when it was finished the target seemed very 
 suitable, but we had to fire only a few shots at it to be 
 convinced that it would not answer the purpose. One 
 shot would destroy the entire end of the small battle- 
 ship, and half a dozen shots completely destroyed the 
 target, so we substituted a miniature great gun target, 
 such as we would use in our regular target practice, and 
 this proved satisfactory. Such a device is now used on 
 all ships of the navy. These targets were then printed 
 on tough brown paper and thousands of them were sent 
 
 132 
 
The Ping-Pong Machine 
 
 to each ship. Copies were also sent to the Navy De- 
 partment. 
 
 Having succeeded in the design, it was then neces- 
 sary to mount the target in front of the gun for ser- 
 vice. This was done by using a small spar, one end so 
 secured that the outer end could move freely up and 
 down and, at the same time, sideways. To impart 
 these motions suitable pulleys were connected with the 
 spar. Then on the outer end was placed the target, 
 and behind this a suitable box to catch the bullets after 
 they had passed through the paper. For want of a 
 better name, we called this " the ping-pong machine," 
 and it bears that name in the service to-day, though per- 
 sistent efforts have been made from time to time to 
 change it to " Morris tube," in imitation of the English 
 device used for the same purpose. A few officers of 
 our navy can see good only in things of English origin. 
 
 It will be seen that by using the ping-pong device de- 
 scribed above, a motion could be given the target which 
 closely resembled the rolling motion of a ship at sea. 
 Then, if the gun could be constantly trained on this 
 target, we would get the same effect as if the real gun 
 were being fired at a floating target. Orders were 
 given that all guns should use the new device, or rather 
 that all gun pointers should use it every day, and the 
 best target made by each one should be forwarded to 
 me the day following the practice. The old system of 
 pointing on the weather roll was abandoned, and a new 
 one, known as the " constant-aim drill," substituted, by 
 which the sights were to be constantly kept on the tar- 
 get, and the gun fired as often as it could be loaded. 
 
 Every ship in the squadron was furnished with a 
 10 133 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 ping-pong machine, and to keep them going I pur- 
 chased all the Flobert ammunition in the East, and 
 directed the merchants selling it to send for more. The 
 Kentucky alone fired five thousand rounds a day. 
 Officers and men were most earnest in their efforts and 
 enthusiastic over the work. Improvement was marked 
 and steady, and all hoped for good results. In order 
 that the Department might be advised of what I was 
 doing, I sent to the proper bureau a large number of 
 paper targets which had been fired at. 
 
 One of the ships of the squadron, the New Orleans, 
 purchased in England before the breaking out of the 
 Spanish- American War, was armed with English guns 
 and supplied with cordite charges. The command- 
 ing officer of this ship. Commander, now Rear-Ad- 
 miral, C. S. Sperry, was noted as an ordnance expert 
 and an officer of great general ability. In addition 
 to giving his men very thorough drill, he had rigged 
 on his ship a machine known as a " dotter," which was, 
 generally speaking, the same as the machine in the 
 English navy used for the same purpose. In this de- 
 vice a pencil point made a mark on the target, and thus 
 took the place of the bullet fired from the Flobert rifle. 
 This was the only one in the squadron and was fitted 
 before I took command. 
 
 Ping-pong machines were afterwards fitted for the 
 New Orleans, as it was found that the gun pointers 
 preferred them to the English machine. They wanted 
 to hear the sound of the gun firing, and see the hole 
 made by the bullet. 
 
 On July 9th the New Orleans was inspected, and a 
 part of her inspection consisted in firing her guns one 
 
 134 
 
Results of Firing 
 
 after another as rapidly as it could safely be done. A 
 regulation size target was carefully whitewashed on the 
 face of a rock, and the ship steamed up and down in 
 front of it at a speed of ten knots, just as is done to- 
 day, and fired until each gun pointer had exhausted his 
 allowance. The accuracy and rapidity of the firing was 
 promising and gave evidence of careful training. 
 
 I remember well how the first shot from a six-inch 
 gun knocked the bull's eye out of the target, and that 
 one of the guns made fifteen consecutive hits. The guns 
 and their mounts functioned well, but the four-and- 
 seven-tenths-inch gims showed a tendency to jamb the 
 breech blocks, which made the firing slow. The recoil 
 of these weapons was very violent and often injured 
 the men firing them. One man had his collar bone 
 broken in this way. 
 
 The Kentucky went on the range July 19th for her 
 firing, and the results were in some respects startling. 
 The five-inch guns did fairly well, somewhat better than 
 the six-inch of the New Orleans, but the turret guns 
 gave such bad results that I stopped the firing of them. 
 The sights and their connections were so faulty from 
 one cause or another that they jarred out of adjustment 
 with each discharge. 
 
 The fact that the gun pointers could shoot accurately 
 and rapidly when supplied with proper sights had been 
 fully established, and this had been done through the 
 efforts of the officers I have named, Chapin, McLean, 
 and Brittain being the leaders. Our success, such as it 
 was, was due to their efforts and the system we had 
 adopted, and was not in any remote degree the result 
 of what had been done in any other navy. 
 
 135 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 I had never heard of the wonderful firing done by 
 that excellent officer, Captain, now Admiral, Sir Percy- 
 Scott, of the British navy, and I doubt if any one of 
 my able assistants ever had. Certainly, if they had, 
 they did not follow his methods, but worked out their 
 own. Yet for all the good work they did, one never 
 hears their names mentioned in connection with naval 
 target practice. Lieutenant William S. Sims, who has 
 since given much assistance and advice as inspector of 
 target practice, was, at the time of which I speak, doing 
 duty as a watch officer on the New York, flagship of the 
 commander-in-chief. 
 
 When the practice at Chefoo had been completed, 
 ping-pong practice was again taken up, and much more 
 time given to it than formerly. I quote the following 
 from a letter received from an officer serving at that 
 time under my command : 
 
 " The principles of fast and straight shooting had 
 been found and applied. Many hundreds of thousands 
 of ping-pong bullets were expended on the Kentucky, 
 and a large number on the New Orleans. As far as I 
 know, there has never been such an era of ping-pong as 
 was that in your fleet from September, 1902, to Feb- 
 ruary, 1903, when all were preparing for the spring, 
 now called the record, practice." 
 
 Much comment and some ill-feeling have since been 
 the result, indirectly, of this practice and one that fol- 
 lowed it in a few months. Of the total number of 
 officers in the navy only a small percentage was on duty 
 in China, and they were about the only ones, outside 
 those on duty in Washington, who knew of the good 
 work we had done. When Lieutenant Sims returned 
 
 136 
 
Commodore C. P. Sah, Imperial Chinese Navy. 
 
Captain Sah 
 
 to the United States in the fall of 1902 he was as- 
 signed to duty in the Navy Department as inspector of 
 target practice. The newspapers were much interested 
 in his fight with the Ordnance Department and gave it 
 much notice, commending him for his good work. He 
 was given credit for everything done in the way of 
 target firing, though up to that time he had had nothing 
 in the world to do with it outside of the particular ship 
 on which he had been serving. The accuracy and rapid- 
 ity of fire, the hitting power, of our guns had been 
 established before he became inspector of target practice, 
 as the records of the Navy Department will show, and 
 he had no hand in it. The work was done by those I 
 have mentioned and others to be mentioned later, and 
 to them belongs the credit which has ignorantly been 
 given to Mr. Sims. That he has done efficient work 
 for the service is true, but he is not the only one; all 
 of them should have the praise they deserve, and I am 
 confident that Mr, Sims would be the last man in the 
 navy to accept the credit for things done by his brother 
 officers. He is not built that way. 
 
 During our stay in Chefoo I came to know Captain 
 Sah, of the Chinese navy, very well, and found him an 
 officer of great tact and ability. He is now in com- 
 mand of the Chinese navy. The cruiser he commanded, 
 the Hai Chi, was the cleanest thing in the shape of a 
 warship that I ever saw. From keel to truck she was 
 in the pink of condition. Her decks were as white as 
 snow, her guns in perfect order, and her crew in neat 
 uniform and excellent discipline. When the Oregon 
 ran on to the rocks between Chefoo and the Taku bar, 
 during the Boxer troubles, the Hai Chi went at once 
 
 137 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 to her assistance, secured alongside of her, and did all 
 in her power to aid her in getting afloat. The Russians 
 had their eyes on the Chinese navy, and hoped, no 
 doubt, to secure several of their ships by capture before 
 the war was over. While the Hai Chi was employed in 
 aiding the Oregon, a Russian cruiser hove in sight and 
 remained at a distance cruising about. Captain Sah, 
 convinced that she meant to capture him, reported the 
 matter to the captain of the Oregon and asked his ad- 
 vice, which was promptly given in the following short 
 and simple words : " Hoist the American flag at your 
 foremast-head, and let us see who will attack you ! " 
 This was done, and the Russian ship went on her 
 way. 
 
 The ordnance officer of the Hai Chi was very anx- 
 ious to witness the firing of the thirteen-inch guns of the 
 Kentucky, and, at the request of Captain Sah, I took 
 him out with me one day during our practice. He 
 seemed thoroughly impressed with the accuracy of our 
 shooting, which was fairly good only, because of the 
 condition of our defective gun sights. When the order 
 was given to fire the last shot from the forward thir- 
 teen-inch turret, there was, for some reason, a hang- 
 fire. The gun was kept trained on the target, and at 
 the end of two minutes went off. The big shell struck 
 fair in the centre of the bull's-eye and exploded with 
 tremendous force, bringing down tons of stone. When 
 the smoke of the explosion cleared away, all trace of 
 the target had disappeared, and the face of the rock 
 on which it had been painted showed only a good-sized 
 cavern. 
 
 " That was a wonderful shot ! " commented the 
 138 
 
A Wonderful Shot 
 
 Chinese officer. " It would have completely destroyed 
 a ship!" 
 
 I let him form his own conclusions — my mind was 
 fully occupied with poor sights and missfires and how 
 to get rid of them. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SUMMER HEADQUARTERS IN CHINA 
 
 One reason for my visit to Chefoo was to look over 
 the place and see if I could use it for a summer head- 
 quarters for the fleet. It was necessary to find some 
 suitable place where the fleet could assemble for drills 
 during the summer months and give liberty to the 
 crews. Especially was this necessary for the vessels 
 of the Philippine division, whose crews were much re- 
 duced in physique from long service in the tropics. 
 Cholera and the plague prevailed in Manila to such an 
 extent that liberty for the men at that port was rather 
 a doubtful proposition, and above all they needed the 
 bracing effect of this northern air. 
 
 Chefoo is the summer resort for north China; the 
 city is filthy and Asiatic cholera can always be found 
 there if you look for it in the right locality, but all 
 Chinese cities are filthy, and all of them have cholera 
 or something else equally bad, and if our men were 
 to have any shore leave in China we had to disregard 
 some of the bad features and see if we could find some 
 good ones. American fruit trees and vines had been 
 cultivated in the vicinity of Chefoo, and furnished in 
 season a good supply of fruit, which was a point greatly 
 in its favour. Vegetables were grown in large quan- 
 tities and these could be used when properly sterilised 
 
 140 
 
The Kentucky at Chefoo 
 
 and cooked, and the fish market was uncommonly good. 
 There were so many points in favour of the place that 
 I determined to use it as our summer rendezvous. Its 
 proximity to Port Arthur, only about sixty miles away, 
 was one objection to such use of it, as the Russians 
 might, and afterwards did, think we were giving en- 
 couragement to the Japanese by doing so. Our consul, 
 Mr. Fowler, one of the best American representatives I 
 have ever seen abroad, secured the use of a proper field 
 for athletics and the exclusive use of two islands for 
 target practice. Before leaving Chefoo, I let it be un- 
 derstood that I would return the following year, so 
 that the farmers and gardeners might be ready to supply 
 our wants. 
 
 There was one other consideration which influenced 
 me in my decision to use this place for our summer 
 work. Chefoo was one of the three Chinese ports of 
 greatest importance to American merchants. Here they 
 were fully protected by treaty rights, and their trade 
 was flourishing and lucrative and would be more so be- 
 cause of the presence of so many of our ships and men. 
 
 Great interest was shown by the officers of the 
 French fleet at Chefoo over the Kentucky, she being our 
 latest battleship at the time, having as she did some 
 peculiar features of construction not known in any other 
 service. The most important of these were the double 
 turrets, in which two thirteen-inch guns were installed 
 in the lower turret, and two eight-inch in the turret 
 above, which was immovably fixed to the one beneath 
 it. This plan of mounting gims, devised by the late 
 Admiral Sampson, had caused heated discussion by pro- 
 fessional men all over the world. It had practically 
 
 141 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 divided professional opinion into two distinct schools, 
 one, the larger, being strongly opposed to it, and the 
 other, though smaller, equally strong in its favour. In 
 later years many of those opposed have changed their 
 views, but, unless all the guns in both upper and lower 
 turrets are the same size, the system must be abandoned, 
 for the all one calibre battery ship is the one we must 
 have. 
 
 Admiral Marechal, commander-in-chief of the 
 French fleet, wrote me a note stating the desire of his 
 officers to visit my flagship, and asking if permission 
 might possibly be given. I sent, in reply, an invitation 
 to all the officers of the French fleet to visit the Ken- 
 tucky on a certain day, and when they came we showed 
 them everything about the ship. There was nothing we 
 cared to conceal, for the Scientific American and other 
 journals had published full details of her with scale 
 drawings. In return for this courtesy, we were invited, 
 later, to inspect a new French cruiser just out from 
 home, and were shown over her by her officers. Among 
 other things we were allowed to see the gun sights, 
 which were far better than anything we then had. I 
 afterwards knew this gallant officer of the old school. 
 Admiral Marechal, valued his. friendship, and admired 
 him for his courtesy and dignity. He was a master of 
 his profession and an honour to his calling. 
 
 On July 4th, while at anchor at Chefoo, I was noti- 
 fied by our consul that Asiatic cholera had broken out 
 among the scholars of the China Inland Mission School, 
 and asked that I should send medical aid at once. This 
 institution, the best in north China, was for boys alone, 
 about sixty of whom were in attendance. It was 
 
 142 
 
Medical Examinations 
 
 so far removed from the Chinese city that infection 
 therefrom seemed almost impossible. Able surgeons, 
 with hospital attendants, were hurried off at once, and 
 ice made on board ship supplied as required. The senior 
 surgeon soon returned with a report that it was not 
 cholera but ptomaine poisoning that was the trouble, 
 and that it had resulted from the eating of chicken pie. 
 I ordered a careful microscopic examination, which dis- 
 closed the fact that there was not a microscope in the 
 fleet, and we had to borrow one from a native doctor 
 on shore before the investigation could be made. It 
 was not a long while before every ship on the station 
 had a microscopic outfit, and the Navy Department had 
 a fine bill to settle ! 
 
 When Past Assistant Surgeon Guest, U. S. N., a 
 microscopist of great ability, assisted by Dr. Wu, a na- 
 tive, had made a thorough investigation, the disease was 
 again diagnosed as ptomaine poisoning, but this was 
 not satisfactory to the school authorities, because of the 
 reflection upon their method of preparing and inspect- 
 ing the food for the boys, nineteen of whom had been 
 taken ill, thirteen of whom had died. The reputation 
 of the school was high, and the scholars, among whom 
 were several Americans, were, as a rule, the sons of 
 merchants and wealthy men. To have it known that 
 these lads had died from improper food would be a 
 death blow to the institution, and to " save their faces," 
 as the Chinese express it, the stomach of one of the 
 dead was sent to Shanghai for examination. Cholera 
 was raging in Shanghai and the jar containing the 
 stomach, after being opened and remaining so for sev- 
 eral days, was turned over to some one, whose name I 
 
 143 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 never learned, and the microscopic examination made. 
 Cholera germs were found, and the case diagnosed as 
 Asiatic cholera and so reported to the British consul at 
 Chefoo, who published it broadcast, but never men- 
 tioned the report made by the doctors in attendance. 
 From the treatment the stomach had received, it is fair 
 to assume that the microscope would have shown not 
 only cholera germs but any other kind of germs as well ! 
 However, the reputation of the school was saved, the 
 bodies of the poor boys buried, and that was the end of 
 it. Because of the presence of the American lads, I 
 made a full report of the facts after doing all in my 
 power to assist those who had been stricken. 
 
 After the inspection and target practice of the Ken- 
 tucky and New Orleans, which had in some respects 
 proved startling, and before leaving Chefoo, I issued 
 instructions concerning daily target practice for vessels 
 of the squadron. They were prepared by Lieutenants 
 Chapin, Brittain, and McLean, and contain my views at 
 that time on this important subject. I give them in full 
 because much comment and discussion have been in- 
 dulged in, both in the navy and elsewhere, as to when 
 and how our present system of target practice origi- 
 nated and who is responsible and should have the credit 
 for it. The " dotters " referred to were never fur- 
 nished, as it was found that the subcalibre attachment, 
 ping-pong, answered every purpose. The loading 
 machine, so far as I know, was the first ever used in 
 any service, and is still in use, much improved in design, 
 on all our ships. 
 
 144 
 
Instructions for Target Practice 
 
 Chefoo, China, 
 July 1 8, 1902. 
 
 General Instructions 
 
 1. The senior squadron commander notes that com- 
 parisons made between the accuracy and rapidity of fire 
 of our ships and certain foreign ships on this station 
 are apparently much to our discredit, and there appears 
 to be a growing opinion amongst the officers of the 
 squadron which must in time extend to the crews, that 
 our shooting is not only inferior, but that our guns 
 and their appliances are also inferior. If this opinion 
 be allowed to grow, fostered by a lack of constant train- 
 ing and practice at the gims, it will operate to our own 
 very serious detriment. The senior squadron com- 
 mander has personally witnessed the extended target 
 practice of each of two ships of the squadron, and while 
 the results are gratifying as dispelling the views of the 
 extreme pessimists, they are capable of much improve- 
 ment both in rapidity and accuracy. It has shown that 
 poor shooting and any lack of confidence in the giuis 
 and appliances must be due to want of training and 
 practice. 
 
 10. It shall be the highest duty of all command- 
 ing and other line officers to endeavour through their 
 personal supervision and interest to increase the fir- 
 ing efficiency to the highest standard through the reg- 
 ular and constant training and practice herein required. 
 Where officers show interest in any work, the at- 
 tention and interest of the men are certain to follow at 
 once. 
 
 2. For the daily instruction and practice of all gim 
 pointers of the northern squadron, except those of the 
 Monocacy, each ship of the squadron, except the New 
 Orleans, Monterey, and Monocacy, will be supplied with 
 one dotter (the New Orleans has a dotter; the Mon- 
 terey has no guns of a calibre with which it can be used 
 properly) ; and each ship will supply herself with, and 
 
 145 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 install, two subcalibre target attachments on guns as 
 follows : 
 
 Kentucky. One for one 15" gun and one 8" gun. 
 
 One for one 5" gun. 
 
 One for one 6 pdr. 
 New Orleans. One for one 6" gun. 
 
 One for one 6 pdr. 
 Wilmington. One for one 4" gun. 
 
 One for one 6 pdr. 
 Helena. One for one 4" gun. 
 
 One for one 6 pdr. 
 ViCKSBURG. One for one 4" gun. 
 
 One for one 6 pdr. 
 Monterey. One for one 12" gun or one 10" gun. 
 
 Monadnock. One for one 10" gun. 
 
 One for one 4" gun. 
 
 One for one 6 pdr. 
 
 3. The dotters will be furnished by the flagship, the 
 Kentucky, and sent to ships as soon as possible. When 
 received they shall at once be installed in connection 
 with one of the broadside types of rapid, or quick-fire 
 guns, of four, five, or six inch calibre. Forecastle or 
 poop guns of these calibres are the most convenient. 
 Where ships have no guns of these calibres mounted in a 
 manner that will allow convenient and proper use of the 
 dotter at sea or in port, then a gim and its mount shall 
 be moved to some position where it can be so used. 
 
 A supply of dotter paper will be sent from the Ken- 
 tucky with each dotter, and furnished thereafter upon 
 application as required. Daily practice shall commence 
 with the dotter as soon as it is installed. 
 
 4. Upon receipt of this order each ship will begin 
 the preparation of subcalibre target attachments as 
 directed above, and in not less than one month from 
 date of receipt of this order, shall complete and install 
 them. 
 
 146 
 
Instructions for Target Practice 
 
 Outline sketches of proposed target attachments for 
 broadside and turret guns are forwarded herewith, ac- 
 companied by a description of their rig and operation. 
 Ships shall construct similar target attachments, the 
 details and rigging to correspond to the various condi- 
 tions existing on the different ships. Upon completion 
 of the target arrangements, daily practice shall be com- 
 menced with them. 
 
 5. The dotter is intended to train the eye and hand 
 to work together to keep the sight constantly on the 
 target in elevation while the ship is rolling, and unless 
 it is used to accomplish this as far as possible, its chief 
 value is lost. It should be possible to keep constantly on 
 with rapid or quick-fire guns. Even when the mount 
 is of such a type that it is impracticable to follow the 
 target through the entire roll, but only for that period 
 of time which elapses between the decision to fire and 
 the discharge of the gun (firing interval), the continu- 
 ous aim system is preserved. The trajectory is not 
 affected by the roll of the ship, and greatly increased 
 accuracy results, the chiefest advantage of the continu- 
 ous aim system of shooting. When the sights are kept 
 " on " all the time, the result is not only increased ac- 
 curacy, but greatly increased rapidity of fire, its second 
 advantage. A great amount of practice with the dotter 
 is necessary to acquire proficiency in this system of 
 shooting, and then practice is required to maintain and 
 increase proficiency. 
 
 It is preferable, therefore, to begin training with 
 the dotter before beginning practice with the subcalibre 
 target attachment, but since it is certain that the former 
 cannot be furnished until after the latter shall have 
 been installed, practice with the latter must be begun 
 first. 
 
 6. With the subcalibre attachment, the actual hand- 
 ling of the gun in the exercise of the functions of train- 
 ing, elevating, and firing are carried on. It furnishes 
 the best known available means for daily shooting 
 
 147 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 practice on board ship with the guns, at sea and in 
 port. 
 
 7. When the dotter shall have been installed, it is 
 directed that every gun pointer on each ship shall have 
 practice each day with it, except Saturdays, Sundays, 
 national holidays, target-practice days held in pursuance 
 of regulations or by general orders, or when the gun 
 pointer is on the sick list, A division officer shall be 
 present at and superintend the practice of the men. 
 When ships have an ordnance officer, he shall be pres- 
 ent frequently at the practice to verify adjustments and 
 see that the practice is carried on in a uniform manner. 
 When there is no ordnance officer, this duty shall be 
 performed by the navigator. 
 
 The first practice shall be made with the sheet mov- 
 ing very slowly up and down through a very small 
 angle, and, as the men improve in practice, the move- 
 ment shall be gradually increased to simulate, if pos- 
 sible, the roll and period of the ship. At the end of each 
 week the last dotter sheet filled by each gun pointer 
 shall be forwarded by mail to the senior squadron com- 
 mander, together with the target sheet referred to later. 
 
 When ships are at sea, and the weather will permit, 
 gun pointers shall be practised with their own guns at 
 keeping them pointed at the horizon, following it 
 throughout the roll if possible. 
 
 8. On the same day specified in paragraph 7, all 
 the gun pointers of each ship shall also have practice 
 with the subcalibre target attachments on guns of the 
 types of which they are pointers. Each turret gun 
 pointer shall fire for twenty minutes each day at four 
 targets, five at each target. The pointers of other gims 
 shall each fire four minutes a day at four targets, one 
 minute at each. The first practice shall be at targets 
 moving very slowly in the vertical plane, the motion in 
 this plane to be gradually increased as the men improve, 
 following, or striving to follow, the target, as in the 
 case of the practice with the dotter. As improvement 
 
 148 
 
Instructions for Target Practice 
 
 becomes marked, the training element will be intro- 
 duced, and the practice thereafter continued, aiming the 
 gun as if actually in use. 
 
 At the end of each week the last target made by 
 each gun pointer shall be forwarded to the senior squad- 
 ron commander. Paper target sheets will be made on 
 board ship or printed on shore, and shall conform to 
 samples forwarded herewith. 
 
 Ships will make requisition for subcalibre (Gallery 
 rifle) ammunition in ample time to start the practice, 
 and to continue it without interruption. 
 
 9. As the time of loading plays such an important 
 part in the rapidity of fire, it is directed that guns' crews 
 be practised with especial care to insure the supply and 
 loading of an amount of ammunition sufficient to meet 
 the greatest rapidity of fire possible with their guns. 
 This applies to all types of gtms. For broadside rapid 
 or quick-fire guns, the physical endurance of the men 
 will play an important part, as well as their expertness 
 in opening ammunition boxes and presenting the naked 
 ammunition at the breech of the gun. 
 
 The handling of boxed dummy cartridges, loaded 
 to weight, would afford good physical training, the 
 dummies to be unboxed and presented for loading as in 
 actual service. 
 
 Each ship with rapid or quick-fire gims of 4" calibre 
 and upward will construct a loading device similar, or 
 somewhat similar, to that described in the accompany- 
 ing papers, set it up, and practice gims' crews of such 
 guns for a reasonable time on the days specified in 
 paragraph 7, at handling and loading as rapidly as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 10. It must be understood that nothing short of 
 sickness shall be allowed to interfere with the daily 
 practice of guns' crews as specified. It shall be carried 
 out whether in port or at sea, unless the sea conditions 
 make it quite impossible. 
 
 Commanding officers shall encourage good results 
 11 149 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 obtained by rewarding gun pointers in every reasonable 
 way. They shall be excused from all duties which will 
 interfere with the daily practice herein required, at least 
 during the time necessary for such practice and, as far 
 as possible, from answering calls. 
 
 11. Besides the required practice of the gun point- 
 ers, the other members of the seaman branch shall be 
 trained with the dotter and subcalibre target attach- 
 ments. Men who develop greater aptitude and skill at 
 the gims than the acting pointers should take the places 
 of the least skilful of the latter. Gun pointers should be 
 selected solely for their merit in marksmanship, conduct 
 and other qualities not to be considered in this selection ; 
 nor should rating be allowed to interfere except when 
 the selection is manifestly impracticable. 
 
 Gun pointers should not be shifted from one duty to 
 another or one gun to another when it can be reasonably 
 avoided. 
 
 12. In order that the gun pointer may devote his 
 entire attention to keeping the gun sights on the target 
 all the time, he shall not be required to act as gim cap- 
 tain and direct the service of the gim. In turrets, the 
 latter shall be stationed in the turret by the turret offi- 
 cer when his services will be of most value, and in the 
 case of rapid or quick-fire guns, the plugman shall act 
 as gun captain, directing the service. The man chosen 
 for second pointer of guns shall be the trainer, when the 
 type of mounts permits of or requires the service of 
 such a man, and he shall train as directed by the first 
 pointer. 
 
 13. The governing principle in comparing results 
 attained at target practice shall be for all guns of the 
 same calibre, the greatest number of hits per gun per 
 minute. This, of course, demands accuracy but rapidity 
 of fire as well. 
 
 14. Regarding the rate and accuracy of fire which 
 should be attained in actual practice, average results 
 already obtained with guns of corresponding calibre 
 
 150 
 
Instructions for Target Practice 
 
 fired at a target 20' long by 15' high indicate that we 
 should arrive at or exceed the following degrees ot 
 efficiency with the guns of this squadron fired at a 
 similar target, viz. : 
 
 Gun 
 
 Speed of ship 
 
 Interval 
 between shots 
 
 Per cent of 
 hits 
 
 Hits per gun 
 per minute 
 
 10, 12, or 13' . . 
 8' 
 
 8 knots 
 
 8 " 
 12 " 
 12 " 
 12 " 
 12 " 
 
 1 minute 
 45 seconds 
 
 81 " 
 8^ " 
 7 
 6 
 
 50 
 50 
 75 
 80 
 80 
 80 
 
 0.50 
 0.75 
 
 6' R or Q + G . 
 
 5" " " " " " . 
 
 ^ir ct It It ti It 
 
 6 pdr 
 
 5.25 
 6.00 
 6.85 
 8.00 
 
 
 
 15, To secure the best results from the training and 
 practice required herein, and to compare the records 
 made by the gun pointers and ships of the squadron, it 
 is directed that after the receipt of this order no sea 
 practice will be held by any ship of the squadron for 
 three months, and then each ship will hold a record 
 practice, firing at a target 20' long by 15' high, actual 
 hits only to be counted. The target shall be placed at 
 the apex of a right isosceles triangle, the legs of which 
 shall be two thousand yards long as nearly as possible, 
 the ship to steam along the hypothenuse of the triangle 
 for the present at a speed of eight knots. It is the in- 
 tention to increase the speed to twelve knots later when 
 the pointers become proficient. 
 
 Each first and second gim pointer of a gun of 8" 
 calibre and up will be allowed to fire separately at the 
 target for six minutes as rapidly as possible; each first 
 and second pointer of a main battery gim of 4" calibre 
 and upwards, and each pointer of a 1.3 or 6-pdr R. I. 
 gun. shall be allowed to fire separately for one minute 
 at the target as rapidly as possible. The target shall 
 be examined after the string of shots made by each gun 
 pointer, and the actual hits counted. For better means 
 of comparison, this practice shall take place only under 
 
 151 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 the best sea conditions, viz. : good, clear weather and 
 smooth sea. 
 
 This order was followed immediately by others — in 
 fact, they were sent at the same time, describing fully 
 the dotter, the subcalibre or ping-pong rifle — usually a 
 Flobert rifle, the target and its attachments, the loading 
 machine, and how to construct and use them all. Ref- 
 erence to the date will show that Lieutenant Sims was 
 at the time a watch officer on the New York, flagship of 
 the commander-in-chief, and could not have had any 
 hand in the work. He did not, in fact, know that such 
 orders had been issued, nor did the Navy Department 
 or any body in it have such knowledge until a copy 
 of the order was received. The officers named by me 
 are the ones responsible for it, and to them should be 
 given the credit. 
 
 The same rules have been observed, and the same 
 system has been followed ever since in our target prac- 
 tice, except that the target has been reduced in size, 
 and the speed of the ship increased as the gun pointers 
 have become more expert and proficient. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 AN INSPECTION TOUR 
 
 After the firing at Chefoo I found the work piHng 
 up on my hands so rapidly that the days were not long 
 enough to do it satisfactorily. It was absolutely neces- 
 sary that I should visit all parts of the station and see 
 conditions for myself. In the meantime, all the ships 
 must be inspected, and this of itself was quite a job. 
 We had maintained ships at two ports permanently, a 
 gunboat at Newchwang and one at Taku. During the 
 summer the ships rode at their own anchor, and in win- 
 ter were placed in what were called mud docks. These 
 docks were made by digging a hole in the bank of the 
 river large enough to hold them, and when the ship 
 had been hauled into this so-called dock, she was se- 
 curely moored with anchors and chains, and when ice 
 formed, she remained frozen in during the winter. 
 Booms of logs were placed across the entrance of the 
 docks to prevent floating ice from crowding in and 
 doing damage. Under such conditions the guns, except 
 the small ones in the tops, were of no value for defence 
 as they were below the banks of the dock, and could not, 
 in case of need, be fired. The ships were simply places 
 of refuge in case of trouble, where our missionaries and 
 other citizens could be protected if it became necessary 
 to do so. 
 
 153 
 
^svb-v 
 
 An Admiral's Log 
 
 Of all the Chinese ports, Newchwang was the most 
 important to our mercantile interests, which seemed to 
 me to be protected in every possible way by treaty 
 rights. Very large quantities of American cotton piece 
 goods were sent here and found a ready market in 
 Manchuria, at least such had been the case in former 
 years until the Russians, ignoring treaty rights, vir- 
 tually took possession of the place with their military 
 forces. One of our ships was there, however, to keep 
 the government at home advised of what was being 
 done and to give such protection as she could to our 
 people. The effect of her presence was really good. 
 The simple fact that the American flag was flying there 
 prevented many outrages that would, no doubt, other- 
 wise have been perpetrated. 
 
 The situation at Taku was entirely different. There 
 were really no American interests at that point, and a 
 ship had been kept there for two reasons : as a refuge 
 for the missionaries who were spread over this part of 
 China, not only our own but those of other countries; 
 and as a base from which to send assistance to our min- 
 ister in Pekin, if that should seem necessary. It was 
 also thought that the minister would have sufficient no- 
 tice of coming trouble to withdraw with his family and 
 the members of the legation, and seek refuge on the 
 ship at Taku. The Boxer trouble showed how false 
 this assumption was. Taku being only a short distance 
 from Chefoo, I determined to run over there, inspect 
 the ship, examine a number of officers who were en- 
 titled to promotion, and acquaint myself generally with 
 conditions on that part of the station. 
 
 Accordingly, on July 23d I got under way with the 
 
 154 
 
Inspecting the Monocacy 
 
 Kentucky and Helena, and the next morning anchored 
 off the Taku bar. The U. S. S. Monocacy, an iron side- 
 wheel gunboat, built during the Civil War, had served in 
 China for thirty or thirty-five years and was then 
 anchored at Taku. She had been stationed at various 
 ports, Shanghai, Canton, Amoy, etc., and for years in 
 her present berth. Though a nautical curiosity, from 
 the first she had done excellent service because of her 
 light draught and the very heavy battery she carried. 
 The guns, smooth-bore, eight-inch, were just the weap- 
 ons to use, at short range, on such a mob as one might 
 have to contend with in China. She was the only ship 
 of our fleet that could cross the bar and steam up to the 
 city, or town, of Taku, and she had the peculiar dis- 
 tinction of being one of the few American ships that 
 had been fired on by an enemy without returning the 
 fire. When the allied fleets attacked the forts at the 
 mouth of the Peiho, she was fired on at her anchorage 
 by a Chinese battery, and at least one shell passed 
 through her rotten sides. The commanding officer did 
 not return the fire, and we must assume that he was 
 right because the commander-in-chief, and afterwards 
 the government in Washington, approved his conduct. 
 Such approval always makes the action of a naval offi- 
 cer right, but in this case it did not add to our prestige 
 either among foreigners or natives. 
 
 Instructions had been sent to the captain of the 
 Monocacy to come outside for his inspection, and imme- 
 diately on my arrival he appeared. I had some doubts 
 about ordering the ship to come out into deep water for 
 fear she might sink, and when I saw her condition I 
 wondered somewhat that she had not done so! She 
 
 155 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 was a comfortable old home, or boarding-house, for 
 officers and men, but no longer of any military value. 
 Her iron plates had rusted away slowly for years until 
 it seemed that her frames were all that held her in shape. 
 At one spot under her boilers I dug through the paint 
 and found salt water coming in! The plate was gone 
 in places so that I could stick a knife through it. She 
 was a fine exemplification of the old navy adage, 
 " Paint and putty cover a multitude of sins." 
 
 When the inspection had been completed, I hurried 
 her back into the river, and was much relieved when I 
 saw her at her old anchorage. Then I wrote home 
 recommending that the officers and men be transferred 
 to other ships, where they were badly needed, and the 
 vessel sold. This was approved, and I afterwards sold 
 her for eight thousand dollars, gold, which was about 
 seven thousand five hundred more than she was worth ! 
 She was not replaced by any other ship, as the whole 
 country from Taku to Pekin was dotted with the 
 camps of foreign troops, and danger to our interests 
 was not to be feared. 
 
 It had been my intention to visit Pekin at this time, 
 but I found it impracticable to do so because of press- 
 ing work in other directions. 
 
 With the Kentucky and New Orleans I ran back 
 to Chefoo, to complete the inspection of the gunboats 
 that had been ordered to assemble there. On board of 
 them all I found officers and men anxious to get to work 
 with the guns, but the sights and the mounts were so 
 bad that all hands were discouraged and disheartened 
 with their efforts. Of course, this condition could not 
 be allowed to continue, it must be changed at once. I 
 
 156 
 
Telescope Sights 
 
 knew that among those under my command there must 
 be some one with the necessary abiHty to do the work, 
 but the trouble was to discover him. Lieutenant Ridley 
 McLean went to work on a sight for one of the guns 
 of his division. When it was completed and installed, 
 with a suitable telescope, he made a wonderful record 
 of hits. This brought the question of telescope sights 
 to the front. After hearing what was to be said in 
 favour of low-power telescopes, advocated by many offi- 
 cers, I decided in favour of the high-power ones, not 
 only because of my own belief in their greater efficiency, 
 but also because the opinion of officers in whose judg- 
 ments I had implicit confidence agreed with me. A tele- 
 gram was sent to the best makers in Paris, and in due 
 time the instruments arrived. There are still a few 
 officers who are opposed to the use of the high-power 
 glasses, but I think they are changing as they get more 
 experience. These sights, which were used for years, 
 have been much improved through the efforts of Lieu- 
 tenant Mustin, U. S. N., who has developed a genius 
 for such work. He promises to put us ahead of all the 
 other navies of the world in this important respect, and 
 from what I have seen of his work I feel sure that he 
 will live up to the promise. 
 
 When the turret guns of the Kentucky were first 
 fired, the sights behaved so badly that I ordered the 
 firing to stop, as no good results could follow practice 
 under such conditions. The sights had been made as 
 secure as possible, but the principle under which they 
 were constructed was wrong, and no amount of patch- 
 ing could do them any good. 
 
 Something entirely new had to be devised, and, 
 
 157 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 fortunately for me and the service, I found the man 
 who could do the necessary work. Assistant Paymas- 
 ter William A. Merritt was the man. Mr. Merritt was 
 an educated mechanical engineer, and had worked in 
 the draughting room of the Newport News Shipbuild- 
 ing Company on the plans for the Kearsarge and Ken- 
 tucky. When the Spanish-American War broke out he 
 felt it his duty to go to the front, and he succeeded in 
 securing an appointment in the pay corps of the navy. 
 Seeing the trouble with the turret-gun sights, he volun- 
 teered to work on something to take their place, and, 
 after weeks of most exacting labour, produced the draw- 
 ings of a design for sights which, after criticism from 
 many line officers of experience, were adopted, and the 
 device was ordered to be fitted to all turret guns. This 
 was done, and when the sights were tested on board 
 the Kentucky excellent results were obtained. 
 
 While at anchor in Chefoo harbour I received a 
 pressing invitation from our minister in Korea to visit 
 Chemulpo with the squadron and have an audience with 
 the Emperor at Seoul. There were several American 
 claims against the government of Korea which had 
 been discussed for a long time. They had now arrived 
 at a point diplomatically when the presence of a force 
 of warships might ensure their payment! This course 
 is often followed in the East, and even in other parts of 
 the world, and is one good reason for keeping a naval 
 force in certain foreign waters. The diplomatic repre- 
 sentative convinces the foreign government of the jus- 
 tice of the claim, and then by a friendly display of 
 ships and men makes it appear better to pay and be 
 done with it. In this case it was very necessary that 
 
 158 
 
At Port Arthur 
 
 I should comply with the minister's request. I accepted 
 his invitation and named a time for the visit, but an- 
 other was pressing before I could fulfil the engage- 
 ment. 
 
 Admiral Alexieff, of the Russian navy, had sent me 
 word at Chefoo that he would be glad to have me visit 
 Port Arthur and the new city of Dalny with my flag- 
 ship. It was most important, for many reasons, that I 
 should make this visit. We all wanted a look at Port 
 Arthur and its fortifications. The new town of Dalny 
 was of great interest because of its peculiar status and 
 the opportunity it was said to offer for American trade. 
 On July 25th I anchored off the entrance to the harbour 
 of Port Arthur with the Kentucky and New Orleans in 
 a dense fog. It was too thick to venture in, even had 
 it been considered desirable to do so. I waited some 
 time for the usual boarding visit of courtesy, but no 
 officer came to welcome me, I was on the point of 
 sending one of my staff in to ask an explanation of 
 this, when a man-of-war boat appeared, flying the Rus- 
 sian flag. When she had approached within fifty yards 
 of us an officer stood up in her stern, asked who we 
 were, where we came from, and then returned to the 
 harbour ! 
 
 Our invitation to enter the harbour was not so 
 pressing as to require our presence on that particular 
 day, so I postponed my visit until I could learn the 
 meaning of this unusual boat call. The weather had 
 cleared somewhat, giving us a faint view of the enor- 
 mous forts about the entrance to the harbour and on 
 the high land in the background. We got under way 
 at once and proceeded on our way to Dalny. Passing 
 
 159 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 close along the rugged, rocky shore, we could form 
 some idea of the number of Russian troops centred 
 about Port Arthur. Their white tents seemed to cover 
 the country in every direction, and a great number were 
 quartered in huts on the hillsides. We estimated that 
 there were over forty thousand men in the various 
 camps we saw. Some of the regiments were drilling, 
 and made a striking picture in their peculiar dress — 
 white coats and black trousers. 
 
 After we had anchored, official calls were promptly 
 made — most promptly, I may say, for there was a feel- 
 ing in the air that each side was looking to the con- 
 duct of the other. No salutes were fired on enter- 
 ing the port, as there was no battery to return them. 
 Two Russian gimboats were the only war vessels in 
 port. 
 
 The military governor was absent, but the civil gov- 
 ernor received me most cordially, extended to me every 
 possible courtesy, and showed me everything there was 
 to be seen. He was a brilliant young engineer who had 
 laid out and partly constructed this wonderful city. 
 Thousands upon thousands of dollars had been spent, 
 and the end of expenditure was not yet in sight. Great 
 stone docks, capable of accommodating an enormous 
 amount of shipping, had been designed and partly con- 
 structed, many of them, indeed, finished, ready for the 
 Japanese, who came to occupy them two years later. 
 The city itself was beautifully laid out — one section for 
 Chinese, one for Europeans, one for business purposes, 
 and one for residences, all under the most modern sani- 
 tary regulations. 
 
 After lunching with the governor and his charming 
 1 60 
 
A Visionary Scheme 
 
 wife, we drove over the entire city and its suburbs. 
 With the aid of maps, I was shown what it was in- 
 tended to do, what had been done, and what remained 
 to do to complete the scheme of this great, ice-free 
 Russian port in the East. A more visionary scheme I 
 have never heard of. The place was to have no fortifi- 
 cations, because the merchants and tradesmen of all na- 
 tions were to settle there, and for that reason alone no 
 one would dare attack it. When I had seen all the city 
 part, the governor pointed out a great space on the 
 shores of the beautiful bay where factories of all sorts, 
 under all flags, were to be erected. Because of cheap 
 labour and the entry of raw material free, the factories 
 were to turn out great quantities of excellent, cheap 
 products. I asked the governor what was to become of 
 all this output. He replied that all Manchuria was 
 waiting to purchase the things as soon as they could be 
 made; that the market could never be oversupplied. 
 When I suggested that capital — American capital, at 
 least — would hesitate before entering fully on this 
 scheme, because there was only one railroad — a Rus- 
 sian government road — connecting the factories with 
 the country to be supplied, that differential rates would 
 eat up all profits for those who were not the favoured 
 ones, his face was a study. I also intimated that mer- 
 chants would surely demand something more in the way 
 of protection than had so far been projected. I con- 
 cluded by saying that in the war which seemed immi- 
 nent between Japan and Russia, the Japanese would 
 quickly occupy Dalny as a base from which to operate 
 against Port Arthur, After a few moments of thought- 
 ful silence, the governor said to me : 
 
 i6i 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 " I am surprised, Admiral, that you anticipate war 
 for my country. The Japanese will never dare attack 
 Russia. We are too strong for them." 
 
 I did not feel called upon to reply to this, although 
 he evidently wanted me to. I preferred to let him wait 
 and see for himself how much afraid the Japanese 
 were. My short experience with them had fully con- 
 vinced me on that point. 
 
 The granting of Dalny to Russia by China was in 
 connection with the concession for the construction of 
 the Trans-Siberian Railroad through Manchuria. This 
 road was to connect Russia, by way of Siberia and 
 Manchuria, with Vladivostock, having Dalny as its ter- 
 minus in Manchuria. Branch roads were to connect 
 with Harbin and other points. That the Russian gov- 
 ernment intended to use this road when completed as a 
 means of rapidly transporting troops and supplies, in 
 case of necessity, was plain to all, particularly to Japan. 
 That the Japanese government tried in every way to 
 neutralise the effect produced by it is well known; she 
 was unsuccessful, and trouble came because of it. More 
 serious trouble will, I think, come from the same cause 
 in the future. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 IN NORTHERN ASIA 
 
 Amused and interested with our Dalny visit, we ran 
 back to Chefoo to meet a store-ship from home, make 
 necessary transfer of men, and receive siippHes. Hav- 
 ing done this, I sailed with the New Orleans, the Vicks- 
 4 ^7.' burg, and the Helena in company for Chemulpo, Korea, 
 arriving there on August 6th. 
 
 Our minister having made the necessary arrange- 
 ments for an audience with his Majesty, the Emperor 
 of Korea, I left the fleet on the morning of the 7th of 
 August, accompanied by my personal staff and the cap- 
 tains of the Vicksburg and Helena, and proceeded to 
 Seoul. The railroad over which we travelled — the cars 
 and everything in connection with them — seemed in 
 keeping with the wretched country through which we 
 were riding. Dirt, poverty, and misery were in evi- 
 dence everywhere. There was little in the way of cul- 
 tivation beyond patches of rice or melons. The natives 
 lived almost exclusively on the former, and thousands 
 of them die every year of cholera from eating the lat- 
 ter. The melons are really of fine quality, very whole- 
 some when properly eaten. The natives of the very 
 poor classes eat them rmd and all. The rind contains 
 the cholera germ, and in this way the disease starts and 
 spreads. The houses were very like the people — poor 
 
 163 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 and ill-looking. When a fine-looking house was seen 
 we were told that it belonged to some Japanese gentle- 
 man, who kept it filled with rice or other kind of pro- 
 visions. The meaning of this could be seen later on 
 when war broke out between Japan and Russia. The 
 land seemed fertile enough; the people would not culti- 
 vate it, because everything they made beyond a bare 
 living was promptly appropriated by the Emperor or 
 his agents. 
 
 The view of the capital city as we approached it by 
 rail was picturesque. The great wall surrounding it 
 had withstood the hundreds of years that had passed 
 since it was built, as well as the assaults of many 
 armies. It was ugly, as ugly as all mud walls are, but 
 picturesque. There was nothing green in sight from 
 the outside — only brown fields and mud-coloured walls. 
 Inside the ancient gates, through which we passed as 
 the guards presented arms and scowled at us, the view 
 was not much better. The trees and scant shrubbery 
 afforded some relief to the eyes, but everything else 
 was brown. Dirty, filthy, dilapidated houses and dirty 
 streets filled with dirty people extended in every direc- 
 tion. Even the soldiers were dirty and slouchy. The 
 only modern or decent thing I saw was a small street 
 railroad running through the main streets of the 
 wretched city. This had been built by an American 
 company, and was doing a thriving business. Inside 
 the compounds, or grounds, of the foreign ministers 
 everything was different; shrubs and exquisite flowers 
 filled the well-kept grounds; instead of the squalor of 
 the natives, one found here comfort, luxury, and refine- 
 ment, which only made the contrast more striking. 
 
 164 ^- 
 
The Emperor of Korea 
 
 The Emperor of Korea was progressive in one re- 
 spect at least. Finding himself only a king, while his 
 ruling neighbour on the one side was an emperor and on 
 the other an empress, he proceeded to declare that he 
 also would be an emperor. To install himself properly 
 in his new position, he appropriated from the treasury 
 about four millions of dollars, ordered a new palace 
 built, and grand ceremonies and festivities to mark his 
 change of title. All foreign representatives in the East 
 were invited to be present; some of them went, some 
 stayed away. Every detail was properly carried out by 
 the use of quite a large body of troops, so that on the 
 occasion of my visit I found an emperor instead of a 
 king. He was surrounded by all the pomp and eti- 
 quette of other courts; he even had some things not 
 known to other emperors I had had the honour of being 
 presented to! 
 
 The city residence of our minister was a charming, 
 refined house full of exquisite old things; and there, 
 after changing our dress, we waited for the summons 
 to appear before his Majesty. The hour for our audi- 
 ence had been set for noon, but when that time came 
 the Emperor was still sleeping, and, of course, we had 
 to wait until he was awake. I warned all the officers 
 who were to be presented with me to be most careful 
 not to attempt to shake hands, or make any movement 
 to do so, until his Majesty offered his hand. 
 
 Finally, at one p.m., we proceeded to the new pal- 
 ace and were ushered into the royal presence, after 
 passing long lines of soldiers and thousands of scowling 
 faces. The Emperor received us graciously for a man 
 who, apparently, had just recovered from a hard night, 
 13 165 
 
An Admirars Log 
 
 shook hands with me, assured me of his friendly re- 
 gard for my country, which was reciprocated. Then I 
 backed out. The other officers were then presented, the 
 four captains first. After them came an officer of my 
 staff, tall, fine-looking, worth any thousand Koreans in 
 the country. I suppose the fact that the four captains 
 who preceded him had all been favoured with a hand- 
 shake induced this officer to extend his hand. In return 
 he received a cold stare from his Majesty, who stood 
 calmly with his hand by his side. For two seconds the 
 officer stood perfectly still with his hand extended, the 
 flush on his face fading quickly until he was perfectly 
 white; then his hand came to his side, his eyes flashed, 
 and with a profound bow he backed out. The other 
 officers did not forget what I had tried to impress on 
 them in the matter of shaking hands with royalty. The 
 innocent offender against royal etiquette was seriously 
 wounded in his feelings, but it was worth the punish- 
 ment he had received to hear the language he after- 
 wards used about this copper-coloured monarch. 
 
 On the throne with the Emperor sat his son, the 
 Crown Prince and heir-apparent to the throne, a half- 
 witted young man who grinned and giggled incessantly. 
 Emperor and Crown Prince had all the marks of hard 
 drinking and high living for which they were cele- 
 brated. Neither of them seemed to me capable of con- 
 ducting any ordinary business requiring common sense, 
 much less conducting a country in the perilous position 
 of Korea. Why our government should support and 
 aid such rulers is a question the State Department may 
 be able to answer, but certainly I am not. 
 
 After our audience we were invited to a luncheon 
 1 66 
 
An Imperial Luncheon 
 
 for which the Emperor had drawn ten thousand dol- 
 lars from the treasury. It cost, at most, five to six hun- 
 dred dollars; the rest, I was told, found its way to the 
 bank account of his Majesty. It was an ordinary meal, 
 European dishes cooked and served in European fash- 
 ion. French wines were served and consumed in ver^ 
 large quantities. A number of Korean officials sat with 
 us — ministers, secretaries, and army officers — all of 
 whom astonished us by the amount they could eat and 
 drink. During the meal a fine military band of thirty- 
 eight pieces furnished excellent music, a bit mechanical 
 but distinctly good. The bandmaster, a Japanese from 
 the academy of music in Tokio, told me later that all the 
 musicians had been trained in the period of one year; 
 previous to that time none of them could play a musical 
 instrument. This was about the only thing I heard of 
 them that led me to think there was any good in the 
 Koreans. 
 
 Luncheon completed, we were conducted to a broad 
 piazza to witness the performances of the Emperor's 
 dancing girls, more properly dancing women — they all 
 looked forty years old or more. He had eighty of these 
 women, each of whom received, I was told, about ten 
 dollars a week and a new silk dress. The dancing con- 
 tinued an hour or more, and was curious and interest- 
 ing, at first, mainly because we did not understand 
 what the dancers were trying to illustrate. When the 
 game they were playing was explained all interest van- 
 ished; it would have been amusing to children, not to 
 grown men. There was none of the grace and excite- 
 ment of the Japanese " chon-nuke," or the suggestive 
 movements of the fair creatures seen in the Jardin 
 
 167 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Mabille. A sense of relief came to us all when we were 
 permitted to withdraw to the comfort of our consul's 
 house, where we enjoyed a few hours' rest, and then 
 returned to our ships feeling that our mission was suc- 
 cessful, that the disputed claims would be paid. 
 
 The following day the usual presents — fans, pieces 
 of silk or satin, native silver work, etc. — were sent by 
 the Emperor, one piece to each officer who had been 
 presented. A proper letter of acknowledgment was sent 
 to his Majesty through our minister, and the fleet left 
 Korean waters, passing close by Round Island, where, 
 a few months later, the first act in the great war drama 
 between Russia and Japan was played. 
 
 In view of the position assumed later by the Rus- 
 sian authorities in Manchuria that they owned all the 
 timber and mining rights in Korea, it may be well to 
 state here that at that time — the summer of 1902 — an 
 American company had been granted a large timber 
 concession covering the exclusive right to cut lumber 
 over a large area. A company of our countrymen also 
 were successfully working gold mines in the mountains 
 of Korea under concessions granted by the Emperor 
 while still only a king. The concessions, however, 
 were of minor importance when compared with those 
 covering the right to build railroads, which were of 
 vital importance to two great nations. Russian officers 
 of high rank spent sleepless nights thinking of the time 
 when they should occupy, fortify, and hold the ports 
 of Fusan and Massampho, the latter facing the coast of 
 Japan across the straits of Korea. Russian diplomacy 
 at Seoul for once failed, and the right to connect these 
 ports with Chemulpo and Seoul was granted to Jap- 
 
 168 
 
Through the Straits of Korea 
 
 anese citizens. When the time came to act, the Japanese 
 government, watching this question, without for a mo- 
 ment losing sight of its great importance, stepped in, 
 took over the concession, and completed the road with- 
 out delay. Thus, the Yalu River continued to be the 
 line of defence for Japan against Russian advance, in- 
 stead of the straits of Korea, which would have been 
 the case had Russia succeeded in her schemes. 
 
 Another transport was waiting at Nagasaki to be 
 discharged. Having orders to expedite her return to 
 San Francisco, I ran over to Nagasaki, notwithstanding 
 the fact that cholera was raging there. Orders must 
 be obeyed regardless of sanitary conditions. The 
 cholera really was threatening at Nagasaki in spite of 
 the efforts of the government to get it under control. 
 I remained outside with the ships, giving all my time 
 to fleet work, only one ship at a time being sent in to 
 communicate with the transport. In this way and by 
 not having any communication with the shore, we were 
 fortunate enough to escape without a single case of the 
 dreaded disease. 
 
 It was necessary to find some place free from chol- 
 era where the men could be granted liberty on shore. 
 The north seemed the most likely direction and Vladi- 
 vostock the most desirable place for many reasons. The 
 Russian authorities had announced that they would 
 allow only two vessels of war of each nation in that 
 port at one time ; formerly any number could be there. 
 Ordering the New Orleans to join me later, and the 
 Helena and Vicksburg to the Inland Sea ports, I sailed 
 with the Kentucky. Up through the straits of Korea, 
 over the very spot where Admiral Togo a few months 
 
 169 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 later put the Russian fleet out of business, we ran with 
 just the same kind of weather — fog, with thick mist 
 and an ugly, breaking sea. For two days we had this; 
 then we entered the port of Vladivostock and anchored. 
 It was not a difficult place to enter, even in a fog." The 
 Russians thought it impossible until one morning when 
 they found six British frigates anchored within easy 
 gunshot of the town. A notice was then sent abroad 
 that only two ships might come in at a time. The guns 
 of the forts could keep ships out in clear weather — at 
 least, it was supposed they could — but guns were of no 
 use in a fog. 
 
 Our reception by the port authorities, both civil and 
 military, was most cordial. A large Russian fleet was 
 in port, many salutes were fired, and all necessary offi- 
 cial calls were made. A few hours after we anchored 
 I noticed that three buoys were being placed for French 
 ships; they had small French flags on them. The rule 
 of two ships only was not to be enforced by the authori- 
 ties against their allies, which was no business of mine. 
 I did not wish to bring in more than two ships, and I 
 took no notice of it. Later in the day a train load of 
 soldiers came in from Harbin while I was on shore hav- 
 ing a look at the town. When one of the box cars was 
 opened the dead bodies of a number of soldiers who 
 had died of cholera were taken out. This, with the 
 look I had had to the wide-open character of the town, 
 convinced me that I should have to find some other 
 place in which to give liberty to the men. It was advis- 
 able, however, that we should remain a few days to 
 allow the intelligence officer an opportunity to learn 
 what he could of the defences, to observe the doings of 
 
 170 
 
At Vladivostock 
 
 the Russian fleet, and generally to get such information 
 as we could. 
 
 The defences were undoubtedly very strong. Guns 
 stared one in the face at every point. Forts crowned 
 all the heights about the entrance and as far back in the 
 country as the eye could reach. Many thousands of 
 artillery soldiers, fine, athletic-looking men, garrisoned 
 the harbour works, and, as nearly as we could learn, 
 fifteen thousand Cossacks were encamped a short dis- 
 tance from the city. I saw many of them when I was 
 on shore — large, heavy-looking men, with red beards — 
 riding their fine horses about the streets at breakneck 
 speed, or else rolling from side to side because of the 
 liquor they had consumed. The city was a lake of 
 mud, sticky red stuff, about the consistency of molasses 
 and up to one's knees in most places. Saloons were in 
 evidence everywhere — large buildings, well lighted, at- 
 tractive by reason of women and wine, and full to over- 
 flowing day and night. No boom mining town in our 
 western country ever equalled it. Champagne and 
 vodka literally flowed over the door sills as well as 
 down human throats. Officers in gorgeous uniforms, 
 as well as private soldiers, seemed to fancy these houses 
 of pleasure. It was a new feature in preparing for a 
 great war, which they, it must be said, did not believe 
 was coming, but which was, to the casual observer, in 
 plain sight. It certainly did not promise well for Rus- 
 sia when the struggle should come. 
 
 The ships of the fleet seemed in worse condition for 
 service than the forts. Most of them were out of com- 
 mission or under repairs, their crews living in barracks 
 on shore. Some drilling was done every day, but it 
 
 171 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 seemed to us of a perfunctory or trifling nature. The 
 officers enjoyed life at the Naval Club, a well-organised 
 and useful society, necessary to relieve the strain of 
 long service on this out-of-the-way station. 
 
 During the forenoon of the third day of our visit I 
 sent word to the authorities that I would sail on the 
 following morning for the Japanese port of Hakodate, 
 offering to take mails. Immediately I received, at the 
 hands of a staff officer, an invitation to dine with the 
 rear-admiral, second in command, at eight o'clock that 
 evening — short notice for a formal dinner certainly. 
 I assumed that the dinner was for my friend Admiral 
 Marechal and his officers, but such was not the case. 
 Admiral Skrydloff, the able commander-in-chief, was 
 absent on a Russian cruiser, looking after some coal 
 deposits which had been discovered on the coast. The 
 dinner was given for me by Admiral Stark, second in 
 command, and the French officers were not invited. 
 When I arrived on the flagship at the time named, sev- 
 eral Russian officers courteously assisted me in remov- 
 ing my heavy overcoat. One of them was the admiral. 
 
 " Why are you going to sea to-morrow ? " he asked 
 me, his voice somewhat excited. 
 
 I told him as politely as I could that I was going to 
 sea because I had business in that direction. It then 
 developed that some one had started the story that I 
 was offended because three French ships had been per- 
 mitted to enter instead of two ; that I was going to sea 
 to show my resentment. I assured the admiral that the 
 French were our staunch friends, that the Russians 
 were the same, and if I had felt for a moment that any 
 unfriendly reflection was intended I should have re- 
 
 172 
 
Dinn-er with the Russian Admiral 
 
 mained quietly at anchor until it was explained. This 
 seemed to satisfy him, his excitement disappeared, and 
 the dinner was served. 
 
 It was a curious repast — the first large Russian din- 
 ner I had ever attended. There were present a dozen 
 or more Russian officers, all speaking English perfectly, 
 many of them men who were to figure prominently in 
 the coming war. I was deeply interested in their conver- 
 sation, particularly in their views of the coming struggle, 
 which they expressed very freely after they had warmed 
 up with vodka and champagne. I was amazed at the 
 amount those men ate and drank. Their physical con- 
 dition was perfect. A side table contained every kind 
 of appetiser I ever heard of, many I had never before 
 seen — salt or dried fish of every kind, several varieties 
 of caviar, vodka, and cordials of every brand. When 
 these things had been sampled — all of them were — din- 
 ner seemed superfluous. It was eaten, however, and 
 apparently enjoyed. First came a very large dish of 
 soup, followed by a thick slice of fish, the like of which 
 I had never before tasted. It proved to be sturgeon. 
 Meat was then served — beef, which I was sure did not 
 come from Chicago ; it was too tough — and the dinner 
 was over except for drink and conversation. I did not 
 partake of the former, but greatly enjoyed the latter. 
 
 Some one — Admiral Stark, I think — started the sub- 
 ject of the trouble with Japan, and, as the wine began 
 to tell, the conversation became most interesting to 
 those who, like myself, were intent listeners. A captain 
 who had once served as naval attache in London, evi- 
 dently looked upon as an able speaker, was fluent in 
 expressing his ideas and those of his brother officers. 
 
 173 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 He held that Japan would never dare to come to blows 
 with Russia. She was too weak and had not the money 
 for that game, but if she should so dare, the result was 
 inevitable. The Russian navy would be held behind 
 the defences of Vladivostock and Port Arthur until the 
 Japanese had invaded Manchuria. I held my breath 
 while waiting to know what the speaker thought would 
 happen then. He went on, with great excitement, to 
 say that the Japanese might land two hundred thousand 
 men or more (the English could come with them if 
 they cared to) ; the Russian navy would then sally 
 forth, cut all lines of communication, and allow the 
 unfortunate invader to die of starvation. The refer- 
 ence to the English was because of their alliance with 
 Japan, just then announced. The matter of the three 
 French ships was an indication of the Russian alliance 
 with France. 
 
 The sentiments expressed by this able captain met 
 with the approval of his comrades; their applause 
 seemed genuine and hearty. The naval part of the pro- 
 gramme was followed in part when war came, for the 
 fleet was divided as proposed. The Japanese saw to it 
 that they were never united, but were destroyed in de- 
 tail. The landing in Manchuria was also carried out, 
 but the starving part failed completely. The Japanese 
 army and navy proved capable of looking after them- 
 selves when the time came. If, as the captain sug- 
 gested, the English had taken an active part, the 
 struggle would have assumed the features of a 
 great picnic. When the war that came later was 
 being fought, I often thought of this dinner. The 
 admiral who gave it was in command of the fleet at 
 
 174 
 
Japanese Preparations for War 
 
 Port Arthur when the Japanese made their successful 
 attack on the 9th of February. He was attending a 
 ball on shore at the time, still confident, I suppose, that 
 they would never be attacked. I was sorry that Skryd- 
 loff, one of the ablest men in our profession, was not at 
 the dinner. I am sure his views would have been dif- 
 ferent from those I heard expressed. Mackaroff and 
 Skrydloff were the two men who could have saved the 
 Russian fleet if it were possible to do so after the first 
 grave blunder of dividing it had been made; for both 
 were masters of their profession, the latter a bright, 
 shining light among torpedo men. Mackaroff went 
 down with his flagship when she struck a mine off Port 
 Arthur, and Skrydloff arrived when that port was be- 
 sieged by Nogi and was unable to get to the fleet. 
 
 Still in search of a port free from cholera, I left 
 Vladivostock and ran oyer to Hakodate, on the Island 
 of Yesso, where I found what I was looking for. Dur- 
 ing the week of our stay the pretty little Japanese town 
 was filled with American sailors, enjoying to the full 
 the hospitality of the people. This is one of the great 
 fish markets of the East. The sight of the fishing fleet 
 at night, like the lights of some great floating city, is 
 worth a long trip. And the fish, when the boats come 
 in, are beautiful to look at and delicious to eat. On 
 shore everything indicated preparations for war — quiet 
 preparations, but most thorough. The forts in course 
 of construction, the soldiers quietly drilling every- 
 where, and the look on the brown faces, meant only one 
 thing — a determination to defend their country to the 
 last man. How the Russians failed to understand this 
 is beyond me. Their spies were thick here, as elsewhere 
 
 175 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 in Japan, yet they thought there was to be no war, or 
 pretended to think so. 
 
 Hakodate was historically interesting. It was here 
 that my old frie4id Admiral Enomoto made his last 
 stand during the Shogunate rebellion, and here he lost 
 his last ships, old sailing craft, after one of the hardest 
 fights in Japanese history. I saw him several times in 
 1867, when the present Emperor was a growing lad; 
 later I met him at dinner in Tokio and heard from his 
 own lips how the battle of Hakodate was fought, and, 
 as I had just then visited the harbour, the account was 
 interesting and thrilling. The admiral, now a peer of 
 the realm, enjoys good health and renders valuable 
 service to his government. 
 
 The commander-in-chief had notified me to meet 
 him in Yokohama harbour, where I found most of the 
 fleet assembled. Orders had come from Washington 
 to hold extended fleet exercises during the fall and win- 
 ter at Manila or in that vicinity, and those vessels that 
 were north would sail in company for the Philippines, 
 thus securing the benefit of tactical work on the way. 
 
 A few days after my arrival at Yokohama we had 
 an example of the thorough way in which the Japanese 
 do things. Two or three cases of bubonic plague de- 
 veloped in a section of the city bordering on the water, 
 probably from a merchant ship unloading freight, caus- 
 ing something of a panic among the people. The 
 government took charge at once, removed all who had 
 been exposed to contagion, well people and sick, to the 
 hospital, built a sheet-iron defence across the point of 
 land containing warehouses and dwellings, called out 
 the fire department, set fire to the buildings, and de- 
 
 176 
 
Japanese Thoroughness 
 
 stroyed every one of them. The fence prevented the 
 escape of rats. They were either burned to death or 
 killed by men detailed for the purpose, and the plague 
 was not heard of again. A rat lottery was organised, 
 cash prizes of considerable value offered, and about 
 forty thousand rats were caught. Seventy per cent 
 of them had plague. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 UP THE YANGTZE RIVER 
 
 Early in September the commander-in-Ghief advised 
 me that he would turn over the command of the sta- 
 tion to me in November, and sail for San Francisco in 
 his flagship, the New York. Much of the inspection 
 work which I had laid out for myself remained uncom- 
 pleted, for my time had been fully occupied with other 
 matters. The importance of these inspections was so 
 great that I determined to complete them before as- 
 suming the more exacting duties of commander-in- 
 chief, as no additional time could then be found, I was 
 sure. 
 
 In pursuance of this plan I left Yokohama, having 
 the Yorktown in company, on September 19th, passed 
 the bar at the mouth of the Yangtze River at high water 
 without trouble, though we stirred up the mud for sev- 
 eral miles, and anchored off Wusung, China, on the 
 morning of the 23d. On the passage down the coast 
 the weather was bad. We were comfortable on the 
 Kentucky, but they were not so on the Yorktown, and 
 she had to drop out of sight. She could cross the bar 
 at any stage of the tide; the Kentucky, drawing so 
 much more water, must get over at the top of high 
 water. 
 
 The low mud forts about Wusung looked about the 
 178 
 
At Wusung 
 
 same to me as when I had last seen them, thirty-five 
 years before. There were more of them and some of 
 the guns were heavier, but the general effect was the 
 same. Nothing, indeed, changes much in China, except 
 where foreigners take a hand — cities grow dirtier, 
 graveyards spread out over more country; but the gen- 
 eral aspect is unchanged to-day or fifty years from now. 
 Things that are purely Chinese cannot be changed un- 
 less wiped out and begun anew. I remember asking a 
 Russian officer of rank how he proposed to colonise 
 Manchuria — by moving in whole Russian families or by 
 allowing their soldiers to take Chinese wives and raise 
 families. He replied that it would have to be done by 
 bringing in whole families, as, if the soldiers married 
 Chinese women — many of them had done so — the chil- 
 dren would be half Chinese, or more than half, and the 
 next generation pure Chinese — in appearance, at least. 
 They bred back to the great mass, four hundred mil- 
 lions of people, behind the women. It seemed to me 
 that everything I saw in China pointed to the same re- 
 sult ; one could not change anything Chinese unless one 
 eliminated the Chinese element completely in the be- 
 ginning. 
 
 Before visiting Wusung I had made arrangements 
 for a trip up the Yangtze as far as one of our ships 
 could sro. Our missionaries and merchants were scat- 
 tered through the valley of this river and the adjoin- 
 ing country for hundreds of miles, and the feeling 
 among them, since the close of the Boxer trouble, was 
 that their lives were constantly in danger. How to 
 aid them was a most important question. It was de- 
 sirable to look the ground over and see for myself just 
 
 179 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 what could be done, and determine upon some plan of 
 rescue if it became necessary. I selected for the trip the 
 gunboat Helena, commanded by Captain R, R. Inger- 
 soll, an officer of marked ability who had spent much 
 time on the river and knew the conditions better than 
 any other officer under my command. I also requested 
 Lieutenant-Commander Marsh, naval attache for Tokio 
 and Pekin, to accompany me, which he kindly con- 
 sented to do. During the time he had been on duty 
 in the East, this officer had shown astonishing aptitude 
 for the work given him. His ability to deal with 
 Asiatics, his wonderful tact and courtesy in his inter- 
 course with them, added to his professional qualifica- 
 tions, which were of the highest order, had enabled him 
 to collect a mass of information most useful to me and 
 his government. By his untiring energy he had suc- 
 ceeded in photographing every important fort and bat- 
 tery on the river we were to ascend, and his advice and 
 assistance were most valuable to me during the entire 
 trip. 
 
 When I had completed my inspection work and was 
 about to sail for Wusung, the Austrian cruiser, Maria 
 Theresa, came in and anchored. The last time I had 
 seen her was off the harbour of Santiago, Cuba, after 
 the battle of the 3d of July, 1898. It will be recalled 
 that on that occasion our gims had been trained on her, 
 and that she narrowly escaped the fate of the Spanish 
 ships because her flag was so much like theirs. Upon 
 returning the official call of her captain, I found among 
 her officers some who had been on board at Santiago, 
 and they laughingly admitted that their position on that 
 occasion was critical, to say the least! A delicate at- 
 
 180 
 
On the Yangtze 
 
 tempt on my part to ascertain the real reason for their 
 presence off the coast at that particular time failed. 
 
 On September 27th I transferred my flag, staff, and 
 band to the Helena, and proceeded up the river. The 
 constantly changing channel of the river required the 
 services of an expert pilot, and, because of his excellent 
 reputation, I selected Mr. Langley, an American, of 
 Shanghai, who rendered me good service. The river 
 was almost in flood condition, very high stage of water, 
 at least, which enabled us to look over many miles of 
 the flat, fertile valley of the Yangtze, every foot under 
 cultivation as far as the eye could reach. The popula- 
 tion was dense ; all the men, women, and children were 
 engaged in gathering the enormous crop which the sea- 
 son had produced. They were most friendly toward 
 us, glad to have us visit them, but this was not the 
 case either with their dogs or their cattle; the former 
 would bite on the least provocation; the latter, the 
 carabao, a clumsy sort of ox with enormous horns, 
 would attack us simply because we were not Chinese. 
 Hunting parties of officers always found it better to 
 have a few Chinese attendants to ward off these savage 
 brutes. We were glad to see the abundant crops. So 
 long as the people had good supplies of food there 
 would probably be no fighting and bloodshed. 
 
 On my way up river I stopped at a few points only. 
 It was necessary to take advantage of the high water, 
 which would only last for a few weeks at most and 
 might begin to fall any day. I anchored only to take 
 on coal and supplies and change pilots when necessary. 
 The native pilots were a curious lot, able in their line, 
 but the most suspicious creatures I ever fell in with. At 
 13 181 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Hankow I employed two of them to take us as far as 
 Ichang. They brought with them their own leadsmen, 
 for they were afraid our seamen would not give them 
 the proper soundings, and their own cook, fearing that 
 our cooks would poison them in cooking their food. 
 When I saw afterwards what they were eating, I won- ' 
 dered that they did not poison themselves! At Ichang 
 we had to stop because of the rapids a few miles above 
 the city. The Helena drew too much water, and her 
 engines were not powerful enough to drive her against 
 the force of the current; in fact, it was about all she 
 could do to hold on when she was anchored. No vessel 
 of her size and strength of battery had ever before come 
 so far up the river, eleven hundred miles from Shang- 
 hai. The natives were much impressed with her ap- 
 pearance, particularly with the guns, mounted so high 
 in her military tops that they could command the coun- 
 try by firing over the tops of the river banks. This was 
 just the thing I wanted them to understand. The 
 Yangtze was navigable more than two thousand five 
 hundred miles above Ichang, but only specially de- 
 signed steamers of high power and small draught could 
 make the trip. Trading vessels, Chinese junks, came 
 down with the current and made the return trip under 
 sail until they reached the rapids, when they were towed 
 up by coolies. Paths had been cut in the rocks hun- 
 dreds of years ago, worn as smooth as glass now by 
 the thousands of feet that had marched over them, tug- 
 ging at the tow lines. The English keep a small gun- 
 boat of light draught at Ichang the year round; the 
 French two such gunboats at Chung King above the 
 rapids. 
 
 182 
 
The Mississippi of the East 
 
 At a favourable moment I secured a comfortable 
 house boat for a trip through the first rapid, for time 
 did not permit a longer journey. Having stocked her 
 with food and water for the day, my staff and our in- 
 vited guests went on board, the steam launch of the 
 Kentucky took us in tow and, by carefully watching 
 the eddies, managed to pull us through to our destina- 
 tion without accident. 
 
 The scenery in this gorge, or rapid, is very beau- 
 tiful. For thousands of years the great river has rushed 
 and swirled between banks of solid rock, gradually 
 cutting it away until the walls rise sheer from the river- 
 bed to a height of two to four thousand feet, gor- 
 geously coloured in exquisite tints found elsewhere, so 
 far as I know, only in the Grand Canons of the Colo- 
 rado. Surmounting these cliffs, or nestling among 
 them, are fine old Chinese temples, well preserved, 
 which richly repay one for a visit. Between these verti- 
 cal walls the yellow-brown river, the Mississippi of the 
 East, tumbles and eddies on its way to the sea, carry- 
 ing thousands of tons of products of the interior of this 
 wonderful country to the outside world. The rush of 
 the current is awe-inspiring, hard to describe, yet not 
 unlike the current of the Mississippi, rushing and 
 swirling through a break in its banks. At the lowest 
 stage of water divers find on the bottom of the river 
 beautiful stones, some of them half the size of an egg, 
 brought by the current thousands of miles, polished by 
 contact with the bottom in their long journey, which 
 are valued almost as jewels. I was fortunate in secur- 
 ing fine specimens of these, no two of them alike in 
 colour, and all beautifully brilliant. 
 
 183 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Among my callers at Ichang were some very in- 
 teresting men. American interests were represented 
 entirely by the missionary element, and two fine mem- 
 bers of that body, Rev. Mr. Huntington and his daugh- 
 ter, told of their labours among the natives. I was 
 surprised by the call of a captain of the German army in 
 spotless uniform, of neat military bearing, and with an 
 air of business withal. When opportunity offered I 
 asked him if he was exploring this country for his 
 amusement. He replied that he was not, but that he 
 was soliciting trade for Germany, and on the follow- 
 ing day he was to start on a trip of two hundred and 
 fifty miles into the interior for the same purpose. This, 
 in a sphere of supposed purely English influence, if 
 persisted in, may cause serious friction. It seemed to 
 me, without wishing in the remotest degree to reflect 
 on their religious work, that our missionaries might, 
 while serving the Lord, also do our merchants a good 
 turn after the fashion of the German captain. 
 
 The representatives of two great church parties, the 
 English Roman Catholic and the French Jesuits, did me 
 the honour to call on me. The English Archbishop 
 rather complained of the advantage the French had by 
 reason of the fact that his government, through diplo- 
 matic channels, had secured the right for a native of 
 his faith to communicate directly with the Tao-Tai, or 
 governor. In case of a dispute between two Chinese, 
 over a land suit for instance, one an English Catholic 
 and the other a French convert, the French convert, 
 by having free access to the Tao-Tai, could have the 
 claim settled in his favour before the English Catholic 
 could get into court, so to speak. This was interesting, 
 
 184 
 
At Wuchang 
 
 as was the further point — i. e., that the French were 
 making more converts than the others because of the 
 finer and more striking- features of their Joss houses 
 ^(churches). The number and character of their pic- 
 tures seemed to attract the Chinese to their faith. The 
 Catholic Archbishop was in the orthodox dress of his 
 order, while the Frenchman was in Chinese dress, his 
 hair in a long pig tail down his back. It was a great 
 game these two shrewd men were playing, attempting 
 to reform and " civilise " a people who were highly 
 civilised a thousand years before the nations they repre- 
 sented knew the meaning of the word, when they were, 
 in fact, roaming wild in the woods. 
 
 The water began to fall in the river October 7th, 
 which caused me to get under way and start down 
 stream on the 8th. My visit had been successful and 
 I hoped useful. The customs authorities informed me 
 that the Helena was the largest ship that had ever vis- 
 ited Ichang, that her presence and the fact that she 
 could return would have a quieting effect on the restless 
 class of the population. We anchored off Hankow on 
 the evening of the lotli, and the following morning 
 ran over to Wuchang, a few miles above and on the 
 opposite side of the river, for the purpose of paying my 
 respects to the Viceroy, Cheng-Chi-Tung. 
 
 Lui-Kun-Yu and Cheng-Chi-Tung were the Vice- 
 roys of the Yangtze river provinces before and during 
 the Boxer troubles. To them, foreigners of all nations 
 owe more than to any other two men in China. Of 
 great ability, force of character, and judgment, they 
 held their people in check, prevented any outbreak, and 
 could boast, after the war was over, that not an out- 
 
 185 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 rage had been perpetrated in all the land under their 
 control. I hoped to visit both of them but only saw 
 one. Lui-Kun-Yu died while we were up the river, and 
 our flag flew at half-mast for twenty-four hours in 
 honour of his memory. 
 
 When I called on the Viceroy at Wuchang I was 
 received in great state, at the same time in a most 
 friendly spirit. The guard to receive me consisted of a 
 battalion of infantry equal in smartness to any I saw 
 in the East of any nationality. Later I saw a part of 
 the army, inspected the men, and had a good look 
 at them. They were well set up, well uniformed, 
 well armed, well disciplined, and looked as if they 
 would make good fighters. All told, this army con- 
 sisted of about twenty thousand effective, efficient men. 
 Cheng-Chi-Tung's course during the Boxer War did 
 not meet the approval of her Majesty the Empress 
 Dowager, and when the trouble was over she sum- 
 moned him to Pekin with the idea, probably, of inflict- 
 ing some punishment. From long experience — he was 
 over sixty years old — he suspected what was in store 
 for him, and, instead of going, replied that he would 
 come later, bringing with him fifteen thousand men! 
 Her Majesty did not wish to see his men in her capital, 
 he did not wish to ascertain either the depth of a well, 
 the efficacy of an opium pill, nor the strength of a 
 silken cord in the hands of a couple of court eunuchs, 
 so the visit was postponed for a long time. Eventually 
 I met him in Pekin, and shall have more to say of him 
 in connection with my visit to that wonderful city. 
 
 My call on Cheng-Chi-Tung, made at eleven o'clock 
 in the morning, was returned the same afternoon by 
 
 1 86 
 
Viceroy Cheng-Chi-Tung 
 
 him. He was accompanied by a gorgeously dressed 
 suite, himself in clothes of very fine material, but not so 
 ornate as his suite. We received him with all the hon- 
 ours due his rank, and then retired to the cabin for tea 
 and talk. The custom of serving tea on occasions of 
 ceremony is universal, but, unless understood and prop- 
 erly performed, it may give offence. The teacups must 
 be of a certain large size, with covers of the same mate- 
 rial and design as the cups, so that they look, indeed, 
 like inverted saucers. The tea must be strong and 
 served without sugar or other " condiment." When 
 all have been supplied, the host, followed by his guests, 
 raises the cup to his lips with both hands, tips the cover 
 a bit with the forefingers, drinks about half the con- 
 tents, and replaces the cup on the table. When the 
 guest wishes to leave, he raises his cup as the host has 
 done, drinks what remains in the cup, and takes his 
 'departure. If the host takes the second draught of tea 
 without waiting for his guest to do so, it is a signal that 
 he wishes to terminate the interview, and so it may be 
 considered an insult. 
 
 After our first sip of tea the Viceroy, the most pro- 
 gressive of all Chinese, explained to me at length the 
 construction and working of his steel plant, blast fur- 
 naces, etc. He was prepared to make structural steel of 
 fine quality, and was erecting a rail mill of large pro- 
 portions for the manufacture of steel rails and all fin- 
 ished products to come from raw material found in 
 China — iron ore and coal. Then he asked me if I 
 thought paper could be made from the fibre of the reeds 
 which grew in such profusion along the banks of the 
 river or on ground not used for cultivation. I had ex- 
 
 187 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 amined these same reeds and knew that they contained 
 a fine, strong fibre that would make excellent paper ; so 
 I answered that I thought it could — in fact, I was sure 
 of it. For more than an hour he questioned and cross- 
 questioned me on this subject: how were the reeds to be 
 gathered; to what treatment were they then to be sub- 
 jected; how was the fibre to be extracted and how 
 was paper to be made from it ; what kind of machinery 
 would be necessary; what would it cost; and, finally, 
 what was the best American firm to order it from. He 
 certainly kept my brains well stirred up for an hour or 
 more! Fortunately I had been employed in construct- 
 ing a large fibre-extracting plant years before, and 
 could, therefore, answer his questions with some degree 
 of intelligence. In discussing his steel plant I, of 
 course, felt quite at home. During the entire inter- 
 view the pipe-bearer to the Viceroy was constantly busy. 
 Standing behind his chair, he filled the long-stemmed 
 pipe and passed it over the master's shoulders. The 
 Viceroy took two or three whiffs. Inhaled the smoke, 
 passed the pipe back, and the dose was repeated. When 
 he raised his cup, swallowed the remaining contents, 
 shook his own hands, and said good-bye, I felt that I 
 had had one of the most interesting visits possible. 
 
 On my way down the river I anchored at all impor- 
 tant points, communicated with our representatives, and 
 learned what I could of conditions generally. The 
 question that was troubling me most was the rescue of 
 our missionaries in case of an outbreak, which was 
 threatening because of the death of Viceroy Lui-Kun- 
 Yu and the assuming by Cheng-Chi-Tung of his func- 
 tions at Nanking. It was thought by many that the 
 
 i88 
 
At Nanking 
 
 unruly element would take advantage of this occasion 
 to break out into open rioting, murder all foreigners, 
 and kick up a rumpus generally. 
 
 We arrived at Wuhu on the 14th of October, and at 
 once communicated with Dr. Hart, in charge of the 
 American missionary hospital at that point, and ar- 
 ranged with him to receive and care for all Americans 
 and other foreigners who should apply to him in case 
 the threatened trouble came. The position of the hos- 
 pital and surrounding buildings was such that I could 
 defend them with a small landing force until ships 
 could come to the rescue. I sent notices to all the mis- 
 sionaries I could reach of this plan, and requested them 
 to start at once for the rendezvous when they felt the 
 time had come. This was about all that could be done 
 at that time; later on a more comprehensive scheme 
 was devised and put in force. 
 
 When we reached Nanking I found that our consul 
 had made arrangements for me to call on the acting 
 Viceroy. The following day, accompanied by my staff, 
 I went to the city, made the call, and was received with 
 ceremony and cordiality. The Yamen (residence of 
 the Viceroy) was surrounded by a large body of 
 troops and crowded with Chinese officials, whose faces 
 clearly indicated that they, at least, had heard the 
 rumours of trouble to come. I was escorted by high 
 officials to the Yamen of the late Viceroy, where I 
 placed a wreath upon his coffin, which gave great satis- 
 faction to the natives present. We were invited to 
 partake of luncheon in a room adjoining the one in 
 which the body was lying in state. The day was in- 
 tensely hot, we were in our special full-dress uniforms, 
 
 189 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 the embalming of the body had not been carefully done, 
 and it can be imagined how we enjoyed our food ! Eti- 
 quette required that we should not remove our heavy 
 chapeaux; the swarms of flies buzzed and bit, and the 
 odours from the adjoining room filled the air; but eat 
 we must, and eat we did, though we did not enjoy 
 it. It was a great relief when we again reached 
 the open air, dense as it was with dust, and started for 
 home. 
 
 In the harbour of Nanking I found a great many 
 junks (Chinese trading vessels) flying the American 
 flag. This gave them a great advantage over vessels 
 flying the Chinese ensign in the matter of duties if they 
 traded up the river. Tao-Tais of the different provinces 
 could not collect duties from a vessel flying our flag, 
 and the " squeeze," which often amounted to as much 
 as the duty, would not be exacted for fear of the con- 
 sequences which would be sure to follow. It seemed 
 curious that so many Chinese merchants at one place 
 could be entitled to the protection of our flag, and upon 
 inquiry of our consul — who was clean and honest, one 
 of the best in the East — I was told that the vessels came 
 from Shanghai and had secured their papers from the 
 consulate at that port. I requested the consul to notify 
 each of the vessels that I would start an investigation 
 at once and find out how they came by this right; if I 
 found that any of them were not bona-fide American 
 citizens, I would have them severely punished. Then 
 most of the flags came down ! Later the consul at 
 Shanghai was removed for various offences which 
 could not pass the searching scrutiny of Mr. Pierce, 
 Assistant Secretary of State, who was sent out to inves- 
 
 190 
 

American-China Development Co. 
 
 tigate. And this consul was not the only one who came 
 to grief in the same way. 
 
 It was very important that we should have a good 
 ship, with a clear-headed captain in command, at Nan- 
 king when the new Viceroy took office. Captain Inger- 
 soll was the man for the duty — firm, of excellent judg- 
 ment, and, above all, well versed in treaty rights and 
 obligations. I was indeed fortunate in having such an 
 officer commanding a ship in such excellent condition 
 and discipline at my disposal. That the Helena might 
 be in all respects ready for this important duty, it was 
 necessary that I should get back to Wusung as quickly 
 as possible. Therefore, on the 17th of October, I trans- 
 ferred my flag again to the Kentucky and sent Captain 
 Ingersoll on his mission. I left my temporary flagship 
 with regret. Every officer and man on board of her had 
 done his best to make me and my staff comfortable and 
 to give us a good time, and they had succeeded to my 
 entire satisfaction. The example set by these officers 
 and men might well be followed by others. It is too 
 often felt that the presence of a flag officer on board is 
 a fit occasion to show him how unwelcome he is. 
 
 During my stay at Wusung I obtained from various 
 sources the details of the most important American in- 
 terest at that time in this section of China — the conces- 
 sion to the American-China Development Company, 
 whose agent, a brilliant New York lawyer, Mr. Clar- 
 ence Cary, I afterwards met and had the pleasure of 
 entertaining. An old acquaintance of mine, I had made 
 the trip across the Pacific with him in the Gaelic, and 
 the more I saw of him the greater was my admiration 
 for his remarkable attainments. 
 
 191 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 The concession mentioned above had been granted 
 the previous year for the exclusive right to construct 
 a railroad from Canton to Hankow, a distance approxi- 
 mately of seven hundred miles. Starting from Canton, 
 the road was to follow the valley of the Pehkiang about 
 one hundred and fifty miles; then for thirty miles over 
 a divide, with a maximum elevation of six hundred feet 
 above the valley, to the valley of the Siang River, and 
 to follow that to its junction with the Yangtze; thence 
 to Wuchang, opposite Hankow. The route thus chosen 
 lies along that followed by the Chinese traders between 
 north and south China for centuries past, and along 
 this line numerous commercial cities have grown up be- 
 cause of this enormous trade. The route had been 
 surveyed in 1896 and 1897, but, owing to the disturb- 
 ances in the interior of the country and because of the 
 Boxer outbreak, no progress was made until about one 
 year before the time of my visit, when the final terms 
 of the concession were ratified by the Pekin authorities. 
 
 Under the concession, the road was to be of broad 
 gauge, well built, and completed as far as practicable 
 within three years ; the company to start with a paid-in 
 capital of three millions of dollars gold, authorised to 
 issue bonds, guaranteed by the road property, to the 
 extent of forty millions gold, bearing five per cent in- 
 terest. The concession was for eighty years; at the 
 expiration of that time the road was to revert to the 
 Chinese government upon payment of the market value 
 of the stock, but the government reserved the right to 
 purchase it upon the same terms at any time after forty 
 years. The rolling stock and material for building the 
 road is to be purchased wherever desired, but the com.- 
 
 192 
 
The Canton-Hankow Railway 
 
 pany has an agreement with the Belgian Syndicate, now 
 engaged in building a railway from Hankow to Pekin, 
 by which Belgium is to be given preference in the pur- 
 chase of material, provided it cannot be bought more 
 advantageously in the United States. 
 
 At the time of which I am writing the American 
 company had opened offices in Shanghai for general 
 management of its affairs, and was preparing to begin 
 work at both ends of the line — Canton and Wuchung. 
 The management was to be entirely in the hands of 
 Americans. The bonds were to be floated abroad, but 
 the Chinese could purchase if they so desired. 
 
 Cheng-Chi-Tung, as I have before stated, was Vice- 
 roy of the Hunan province. He was, without doubt, 
 the most progressive of all Chinese officials, and deeply 
 interested in the completion of this road. By it he 
 could distribute the output of his various mills through- 
 out its entire length. He issued proclamations to the 
 local mandarins along the line to be followed to fur- 
 nish all labour desired, and to afford every assistance 
 to the engineers engaged in the work. 
 
 The route of the road lies through the richest and 
 most populous part of the Chinese Empire, and was the 
 first step toward bringing the enormous wealth of the 
 interior cities into touch with shipping centres. The 
 natural deposits of iron, coal, and other minerals are 
 supposed to be very valuable, and the company was 
 granted the right to construct and run branch lines to 
 any mines which might be found along its course. 
 
 On the whole, it may be confidently said that this 
 concession, with its attendant privileges, was the most 
 valuable yet granted by the Chinese government to the 
 
 193 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 people of any country, and if carried out as then in- 
 tended it would greatly enhance American importance 
 and prestige in the East. Upon the completion of this 
 line and that under construction of the Belgian Syn- 
 dicate from Hankow to Pekin, Canton and Southern 
 China will be placed in direct railway communication, 
 via Pekin and the English line, to Shan Hai Kwan, 
 and the Manchurian lines, through Newchwang and 
 the Trans-Siberian line, with western Europe. 
 
 All information about this concession was of great 
 interest to me for many reasons, mainly because I felt 
 sure that sooner or later I should be called upon to 
 protect, maybe to rescue, the foreigners engaged in 
 construction work which was to be under American 
 management. To avoid passing through graveyards, 
 which cover a wonderful amount of territory in China, 
 the projected road would have to be very crooked, in- 
 volving much additional expense, which, I was sure, 
 the management did not contemplate. If run through 
 these graveyards, I was sure that serious trouble would 
 follow, for the Chinese hold the graveyards of their 
 people as very sacred, and will not allow them to be in- 
 terfered with. It was not long before my views proved 
 correct. A working party began cutting through a 
 graveyard; and to avoid it meant going many miles 
 out of their way or removing the bodies interred there 
 to a new location. Friction was the result, and a gun- 
 boat, with a determined officer in command, reached 
 the point with great difficulty in time to rescue the 
 party. There was no large river reaching far into the 
 country, and navigation through the canals and small 
 streams was most difficult. 
 
 194 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 IN COMMAND OF THE ASIATIC STATION 
 
 My work at Wusung completed, I hurried back to 
 -^Yokohama to meet the commander-in-chief, who had 
 X notified me that I was to reheve him. On October 29th 
 the New York flew the signal, " By direction of the 
 Secretary of the Navy, I turn over to you the com- 
 mand of the Asiatic station," tripped her anchor, broke 
 out her long homeward-bound pennant, and sailed for 
 San Francisco. There was much cheering, band play- 
 ing, and saluting as Admiral Rodgers passed out to sea. 
 He had been a most popular commander-in-chief. The 
 men of the fleet knew that he was my cherished per- 
 sonal friend, which led to the ships being what we call 
 " chum ships." There was much good feeling between 
 the crews of the two flagships, for men, as a rule, fol- 
 low the example set by their officers. If they are 
 " chummy," then the crews are the same. 
 
 The order giving me command of the entire station 
 more than doubled the work and responsibility, which 
 I had found quite sufficient as squadron commander, 
 but the promotion was what I had been looking for, and 
 I was more than willing to undertake what it brought 
 with it. The records of the station were transferred to 
 the Kentucky, and I spent many days and nights, as- 
 sisted by my staff, making myself familiar with all that 
 
 195 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 had taken place on the station, particularly in the Phil- 
 ippine division. I issued the order assuming com- 
 mand, notified all our diplomatic and consular agents 
 and all foreign commanders, and prepared for hard 
 work. 
 
 Of the many important matters turned over to me 
 by the late commander-in-chief, one required immediate 
 and close attention. The Navy Department had or- 
 dered that all available ships on the station be assem- 
 bled at Manila during the v^inter for extensive fleet 
 work and manoeuvres; but the character of the work 
 and the extent of the manoeuvres were left for me to 
 determine. I was entirely in accord with the depart- 
 ment, recognising the absolute necessity for the exer- 
 cises they had ordered. As a preliminary, I directed 
 all the ships of the northern squadron, including the 
 monitors Monterey and Monadnock, to proceed to 
 Amoy, China, where I would give them a few lessons 
 in fleet work before sailing for the south. The two 
 monitors had remained at anchor so long that the pro- 
 priety of sending them to sea was doubtful, for they 
 might meet with some serious trouble because of the 
 lack of experience of their engine-room forces. The 
 best way to determine this, and many other things as 
 well, was to send them to sea and keep them there a 
 reasonable time for practice. They went when ordered, 
 arrived at Amoy in due time, did their work, and re- 
 turned to their stations much improved by their cruise. 
 Neither of them could go to Manila ; one had to remain 
 at Shanghai as guardship, the other at Canton, where 
 the turbulent population was constantly threatening to 
 make trouble for all foreign residents. 
 
 196 
 
Order for Torpedo Practice 
 
 A large number of officers — all services had such — 
 believed implicitly in the value of torpedo boats, and 
 thought, or pretended to think, that these much-talked- 
 of terrors of the sea could destroy any battleship afloat 
 without serious risk to themselves. I was not in this 
 school, and did not believe then, nor do I now, that a 
 fleet of battleships is in serious danger from this cause 
 if proper precautions are taken and the battleship men 
 can use their guns with accuracy. A ship will occasion- 
 ally be destroyed by torpedo boats or submarines — a 
 man will occasionally slip on a banana peel and break 
 his neck. We may look for such accidents, but there 
 won't be many of them. We had no torpedo boats 
 to practise with, and a substitute had to be pro- 
 vided, for I fiilly intended to find out, if I could, 
 just how effective the fire of a battleship would prove 
 against an attacking boat. I quote the following 
 order issued at that time to show how I meant to 
 carry out this intention. I believe we were the first in 
 all the navies of the world to conduct such an experi- 
 ment: 
 
 Flagship Kentucky, 
 Yokohama, Japan, October 31, 1902. 
 
 Sir: 
 
 I. For use as a towing target during the prospective 
 manoeuvres of the fleet you will please have constructed 
 and ready for service on my arrival a suitable target 
 upon the following general lines: 
 
 A condemned sailing launch, or other large boat, to 
 be built up to resemble as nearly as possible a thwart- 
 ship section of a torpedo boat, with a light wood or 
 cork filling, in order to ensure her floating as high out 
 of the water as possible after being struck a number of 
 14 197 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 times, all to be covered with canvas and painted the 
 dull black torpedo colour. 
 
 2. I desire that the target, when towed, should re- 
 semble as closely as practicable a torpedo boat coming 
 bow on to make an attack, and I leave the details of 
 building up the target to your judgment as to the most 
 suitable manner from the materials to be had. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 (Signed) R. D. Evans. 
 
 This order was sent to Rear-Admiral Wildes, com- 
 manding the southern squadron. The target was built 
 by Captain Couden at the Cavite naval station, and its 
 fate will be given later on. Orders were sent at the 
 same time to prepare gun platforms for the four-inch 
 guns of the Princeton and Annapolis, as I intended to 
 land them to provide defence for a temporary advanced 
 base in the contemplated drills. 
 
 The question of how our officers should dress for 
 dinner had caused much discussion in the service, par- 
 ticularly on the Asiatic station. In all other navies a 
 " mess dress " was prescribed and worn. We were re- 
 quired to provide ourselves with evening uniform and 
 mess jackets, but it was not imperative that we should 
 use them except when signal was made to that effect. 
 The desirability of having all officers appear in a neat 
 and comfortable uniform at dinner was so evident that 
 I issued an order on the subject, which I give here. It 
 will prove of interest to naval readers, since it shows 
 the first official order on the subject. The matter was 
 later settled by the incorporation into the Naval Regu- 
 lations of an order to the same effect. A few officers 
 held the opinion that the commander-in-chief could not 
 
 198 
 
Order for Dinner Uniform 
 
 legally compel them to appear for their meals in any 
 particular uniform. One of these took his dinner in 
 his room for several days after the order was given, 
 then quietly did as he was told. A few days later, 
 when the ship was coaling, word was passed that offi- 
 cers would not dress for dinner that day, whereupon 
 this same officer was heard to say, " I can't see why 
 coaling ship should prevent me from dressing like a 
 gentleman for my dinner ! " Officers will growl as 
 well as enlisted men. 
 
 Flagship Kentucky, 
 YoKQHAMA, Japan, November 3, 1902. 
 Fleet General Order No. 4. 
 
 The uniform for dinner for all commissioned offi- 
 cers and midshipmen on the station, except those at- 
 tached to the small gunboats having only one or two 
 line officers on board, shall be either evening dress or 
 mess jackets. 
 
 The designation of the particular uniform is left to 
 the commanding officer, but either one or the other 
 must be worn at dinner. 
 
 (Signed) R. D. Evans, 
 Rear-Admiral U. S. Navy, 
 Commander-in-Chief U. S. Naval 
 Force on Asiatic Station. 
 
 All the ships on the station, except the small gun- 
 boats in the Philippines, were assembled at Amoy at the 
 end of November. Gun pointers were constantly firing 
 with the ping-pong machines. Boat drills were held 
 daily, and men were landed for shore drills in a large 
 field, the use of which had been secured by our consul. 
 In a word, preliminary drills of all kinds were constant, 
 and the good effect was seen at once. I had made up 
 
 199 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 my mind that we must have more athletics for the men, 
 and issued orders on the subject. Part of each day 
 must be devoted to that sort of work. When the drills 
 were over the men were landed at a point convenient 
 to the athletic field, and for two hours baseball, foot- 
 ball, and track athletics were indulged in. It was nec- 
 essary that the officers and men should work hard at 
 their drills on board ship; it was also of great impor- 
 tance that they should be kept in proper condition by 
 playing hard on shore. " To be more ready to fight," 
 as the President directed, involved something besides 
 hard work at the guns. This something was proper 
 physical training, and to give it to the crews in some 
 pleasant way was my object. It is easy to work men 
 until they are discontented and unhappy, and nearly as 
 easy to make them do the same amount of work, some 
 of it in the shape of play, and have them in excellent 
 condition, if one knows how to do it. 
 
 A regatta was arranged for winding up our work 
 at Amoy; sailing races and pulling races for all classes 
 of boats, manned by different classes of men — seamen, 
 marines, and engine-room crews. This was made more 
 interesting by the fact that the British battleship Goli- 
 ath, commanded by Captain Henderson, an old friend 
 of mine, had anchored in the harbour, and her officers 
 and crew were anxious to join in our sports. They were 
 handicapped in pulling races because their boats were 
 so much heavier than ours. To remove this drawback 
 and give them a fair chance to win, I requested them 
 to select such of our boats as they fancied, which they 
 did, and the boats were turned over to them for a week 
 or more, that they might practise in them. The races 
 
 200 
 
Island of Formosa 
 
 were finely contested, but our English friends failed to 
 win in any of them except the sailing ones, in which 
 the superiority of their boats was manifest. The sail- 
 ing barge of the Kentucky, the admiral's boat, was de- 
 cidedly the smartest boat of all under sail. I had pur- 
 chased a set of racing sails for her in Yokohama, and 
 Lieutenant Evans handled her in such a seamanlike 
 manner that she easily led the large fleet of boats. She 
 was never beaten in a sailing race either on that station 
 or at home until her rig was changed. The Amoy re- 
 gatta started a spirit of sport which continued during 
 our stay in Eastern waters, and contributed largely to 
 the excellent physical condition of our crews. 
 
 At the conclusion of the war between Japan and 
 China the former country had demanded the cession of 
 the island of Formosa. China, unable to resist the 
 demand, had yielded, and the island, with its wild and 
 savage tribes, had passed from under the Dragon flag. 
 From its geographical position it was a most valuable 
 base for operations against any part of the coast of 
 China, particularly so at Amoy, which was in about 
 the same latitude and only a short distance away. 
 When this change of ownership took place we were 
 looking for a coaling station in that vicinity, and the 
 Chinese government, aware of our friendly feeling, was 
 in favour of giving us one. The story is told that the 
 governor of Amoy province asked a naval commander 
 of our service to hoist our flag and take possession of 
 the harbour of Amoy, saying that no resistance would 
 be made, and that the question of Japan ever seizing it 
 would be settled ! Had such an offer been made to, let 
 us say, a German or a French naval officer, what would 
 
 20I 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 have been the result? Our man had to report the mat- 
 ter to Washington, which he no doubt did, but nothing 
 came of it. If Mr. Theodore Roosevelt had been Presi- 
 dent, I think we should have acquired a coaling station 
 at Amoy. Such stations are, in some respects, as im- 
 portant as an interoceanic canal! No one can doubt 
 what the result would have been had such an offer been 
 made to one of the foreign officers I have mentioned. 
 
 Formosa is valuable for two reasons only: she has 
 a wonderful climate for tea raising, and she has great 
 strategic value as a military base. Whether these are 
 of sufficient importance to warrant the expenditure of 
 blood and money they have cost is a question for 
 Japan to consider, but I think we may assume with- 
 out fear of contradiction that either Germany or France 
 would be glad of the bargain at many times the price 
 Japan paid. 
 
 Before going to Manila it was necessary that the Ken- 
 tucky should be docked and have her bottom painted. 
 Hong Kong was the only place where this could be 
 done, and I therefore ran down to that port, taking 
 with me most of the vessels assembled at Amoy. It 
 was my desire to meet, personally, the officer in com- 
 mand of the English fleet, Vice-Admiral Sir Cyprian 
 A. C. Bridge, W'ho had courteously offered me the use 
 of the buoys in man-of-war anchorage when not in use 
 by his own ships. I arrived on December 3d, had my 
 interview with Sir Cyprian, made the numerous calls 
 necessary at this important port, and then placed the 
 Kentucky in dock. During the next two years I saw 
 this British admiral and his officers on many occasions. 
 I came to know them well, and with some of them 
 
 202 
 
At Canton 
 
 formed lasting friendships, and received from them 
 the kindness and courtesy they always extend to men 
 of our service. I cannot overstate my admiration for 
 them. Admiral Bridge, justly esteemed one of the 
 leaders in his profession, though a very busy man with 
 the great responsibilities of his command, always had 
 time to receive a visit from me and listen to any sug- 
 gestion I had to make with reference to matters in 
 which we were jointly concerned. My relations with 
 him and his gallant comrades were such as to increase 
 the friendly feeling existing, which I sincerely hope 
 will always continue between our two countries. 
 
 During the time my flagship was in dock I again 
 transferred to the Helena, she having returned from 
 her important mission at Nanking, and ran up to Can- 
 ton to see for myself what the conditions were at that 
 important point. The air was full of rumours of ap- 
 proaching trouble ; riots and bloodshed were anticipated 
 on all sides, and I was curious to find out how much 
 foundation there really was for all the excitement and 
 unrest that existed, I hurried one of the monitors 
 back to the city and had her moored where her heavy 
 guns would afford the greatest amount of protection to 
 the residents of the foreign quarter. Many years be- 
 fore the time of which I am writing, the Chinese gov- 
 ernment had granted " Shameen," an island formed by 
 the river and a large canal, to foreigners as a place of 
 residence, and here they were settled in handsome 
 houses provided by their different governments. The 
 only communication between Shameen and the great 
 city of Canton was by means of a wide bridge over the 
 canal, and this was controlled by heavy gates at either 
 
 203 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 end, always closed at night. As additional precaution, 
 this bridge and the canal, for the whole length of the 
 island, were under control of the guns of different 
 foreign ships, ours being the largest of them all. 
 
 Our consul had made the necessary preparations for 
 a visit of ceremony to the Viceroy, which I made under 
 guard of Chinese soldiers. As we passed through the 
 narrow, crowded, filthy streets I was aware of many 
 scowling faces, but beyond this there was no unfriendly 
 demonstration. The Viceroy was most friendly and 
 gracious in his reception, but plainly worried over the 
 situation, yet somewhat relieved, I thought, when I as- 
 sured him that all foreigners would be amply protected 
 in case of trouble. His anxiety about his own fate was 
 also evident, and the only comfort I could give him on 
 this point was that if he went on board of our ship he 
 would be out of harm's way. Our consul was regarded 
 by the American contingent on Shameen as a person 
 who did not reflect much credit on our government, but 
 every one said, "If you want anything from the Vice- 
 roy, the consul can get it." During my interview with 
 him it was apparent to me that the consul had un- 
 bounded influence, but why this was so I could not dis- 
 cover. When our consulates were inspected by Mr. 
 Pierce this man was removed and did not succeed in 
 getting himself reinstated, though he used the newspa- 
 pers widely and brought much political influence to bear 
 on the President. 
 
 As the Viceroy was most confident of the loyalty of 
 his troops, I did not see just how there could be any 
 serious trouble unless somebody imported arms for the 
 proposed insurgents. If this importation was stopped, 
 
 204 
 
From Hong Kong to Manila 
 
 the uprising would not materialise. Therefore, to stop 
 it was the most important thing. I had heard of vice- 
 roys and others high in authority who had been en- 
 gaged in just this kind of business, so I did not discuss 
 the subject with him, but I did instruct an officer to 
 watch carefully the freight receipts from Hong Kong 
 and to let me know if any considerable number of g^ns 
 came in and to whom they were consigned. A few 
 weeks later a steamer load of cement in barrels came 
 along. When opened, the barrels were found to con- 
 tain Mauser rifles, very carefully packed. That partic- 
 ular revolution ended then and there! 
 
 Upon my return to Hong Kong, all repair work 
 being completed, I sailed with the assembled vessels for 
 Cavite, where I anchored on December i8th. The 
 passage over was very rough for the smaller ships, but 
 by running at slow speed they managed to escape seri- 
 ous injury. 
 
 Long before my arrival the commander of the 
 southern division had been advised of the general 
 nature of the contemplated manoeuvres, and had di- 
 rected all the vessels of his division to be in readiness 
 to move promptly. Above all else, I wanted to know 
 just how fast each ship could steam and how long she 
 could maintain her maximum speed. Commanding of- 
 ficers were directed to report on this point, and when 
 they had done so I was surprised and pleased to hear 
 that the slowest vessel on the station could make eleven 
 knots and keep up that speed for twenty-four hours at 
 least. My feelings can be better imagined than de- 
 scribed when I found by actual test that most of them 
 could make about eight knots, and no more ! 
 
 20S 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 On the passage from Hong Kong the gunboats 
 Helena and Wilmington had threshed about in the 
 heavy sea which boarded them constantly, threatening 
 to tear their masts out and sweep their upper decks. 
 Passing in through the passage now so famous by 
 Dewey's daring act on a certain May morning, we 
 anchored off the navy yard at Cavite. The American 
 flag was flying over the station; off in the distance we 
 could see it also floating over the forts about the city of 
 Manila. It caused a curious sensation to see our be- 
 loved flag displayed over this foreign, tropical city, and 
 I am not sure that I did not feel that it was out of place. 
 However, there it was; it had cost many valuable lives 
 to put it there, and it would cost many more before it 
 could ever come down. 
 
 A large number of troops were in and about the 
 city, quartered in such buildings as could be secured, 
 or else under canvas. Others were scattered about the 
 other islands, garrisoning such points as were consid- 
 ered of importance in the general scheme of reducing 
 to order the recently rebellious population and keeping 
 the peace. Among the troops so employed were eight 
 hundred or a thousand officers and men of the United 
 States marine corps, divided into small guards sta- 
 tioned at various points in the country about Manila 
 and Cavite. As the government of the islands had 
 passed into civil hands, these soldiers could not do any 
 military duty unless called upon to do so by some civil 
 officer; they could not, in fact, of their own volition 
 stop the ladrones from stealing cattle in broad daylight 
 and plain sight. The Insurrectos, who, under the lead- 
 ership of Aguinaldo, had fought our soldiers, were 
 
 206 
 
With Governor Taft 
 
 now changed into ladrones, and must be dealt with by 
 the civil authoriti'js, who in many cases had been lead- 
 ers under the first named and were in sympathy with 
 the last. It was a condition of affairs requiring great 
 judgment and foresight to prevent serious trouble. 
 Fortunately for us, Governor Taft was at the helm in 
 Manila, and gave to the solution of the problem his 
 untiring energy. As long as the marines could do their 
 proper duty as soldiers, suppress disorder, and prevent 
 robberies, I was perfectly willing to have them so em- 
 ployed, and, indeed, was glad to have them doing such 
 good work. When I found, however, that they were 
 being demoralised by drinking bino, and really had no 
 duties to perform, I decided to call them all in, put them 
 in camp under a competent officer, and hold them in 
 readiness for service in China or Korea, where I was 
 sure they would soon be required. 
 
 When I had explained the situation to Governor 
 Taft, he agreed with me that the proposed plan should 
 be carried out, and the necessary orders were issued. 
 Then came a protest, signed by many, stating that I 
 was endangering the safety of the peaceful popula- 
 tion by taking the marines away. But as I was con- 
 vinced that most of the so-called peaceful population 
 were, in reality, ladrones, and only wanted the men 
 kept on the stations that they might get as much money 
 out of them as possible, I paid no attention to the pro- 
 tests. A fine camp was established at Olongapo under 
 command of Major Karmany, where the men were 
 kept under strict discipline. They were contented and 
 happy, and a finer lot of soldiers I never saw. When a 
 sudden call came for one hundred men to go to Seoul 
 
 207 
 
An Admirals Log 
 
 they were off in four hours, fully equipped and with 
 ample provisions and ammunition. 
 
 Manila, at this time, was not a pleasant place to 
 visit. There was but one hotel, and that very small and 
 ill-kept. Transportation about the city was by means 
 of carriages — poor, dilapidated vehicles, for which one 
 had to pay ridiculously high rates. There were no 
 street-car lines, and the streets were so badly paved 
 that driving about them was no pleasure. If we ven- 
 tured out of the city, we were likely to be murdered 
 by the natives, who hated us and our rul& worse than 
 they ever hated the Spaniards. Our people had done 
 wonders in the way of cleaning and making sani- 
 tary the nasty place, but the odours that assailed one 
 on every hand showed how much was still to be done 
 in that line. The officers of the army could and did 
 spend much of their time in the Army and Navy Club, 
 where there was good cheer and comfort, as compared 
 with the rest of the city, but we of the navy were so 
 far away that we could not often enjoy this luxury. 
 We had to remain on board our ships and endure the 
 smells that came from the foul water about us. This 
 water was so full of phosphorus that after bathing in it 
 for a few days in succession we could taste it on our 
 skins, and the smell of it nauseated many. After I had 
 completed my round of official calls I rarely ever vis- 
 ited the city; I was too busily occupied with the duties 
 of the fleet and lived on my flagship. I am, therefore, 
 well posted in the matter of the discomforts officers had 
 to endure. Cholera was raging all over the islands, and 
 provisions were expensive and difficult to obtain. We 
 lived almost entirely from tins which we had brought 
 
 208 
 
Tactical Work 
 
 with us from Hong Kong. Fortunately we had a re- 
 frigerating ship which supplied us with excellent fresh 
 meat from Australia. 
 
 To carry out the wishes of the Navy Department as 
 far as possible in the matter of drills, and at the same 
 time keep up the current work of the station, I organ- 
 ised a fleet of twenty vessels in order to secure tactical 
 evolutions of real value. In addition to such tactical 
 work as could be done with this force, I laid out a 
 scheme covering the kind of practical service we might 
 most likely be called upon to render. This contem- 
 plated the seizure of an advanced base, with necessary 
 defence — mines and batteries — to protect the fleet 
 against a superior naval force until re-enforcements 
 could arrive from home. Olongapo was designated as 
 the place to be seized, and Subig Bay, in which the fleet 
 would be anchored, the body of water to be held. The 
 general board in Washington had succeeded, after a 
 long struggle, in having a few of the articles necessary 
 for such a movement sent to Cavite, but most of them 
 had to be improvised in the fleet. We had neither 
 mines nor torpedoes, and only a few small guns suitable 
 to mount for the defence of the mine fields after the 
 mines had been planted. However short we might be 
 in material, we, nevertheless, had the desire to do what 
 was required of us. We did the best we could, not only 
 with the tools furnished, but with all those we could 
 make ourselves. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 PRACTICE DRILLS AT SUBIG BAY 
 
 The day after Christmas, 1902, I started from 
 Manila Bay with the fleet of twenty ships to begin our 
 practice. Of all the fleets that ever weighed anchor, 
 this was undoubtedly the most ill-assorted, A twelve- 
 thousand-ton battleship, the Kentucky, my flagship, was 
 at the head of the column ; then a cruiser, the New Or- 
 leans ; then two gunboats, the Helena and Wilmington ; 
 then four gunboats of the Vicksburg class; followed 
 by twelve vessels, most of them captured from the 
 Spanish, and to which it would be hard to give names. 
 The last one in the column was a gunboat of about fifty 
 tons ! The idea of doing much with such a heterogene- 
 ous fleet, in a tactical sense, was out of the question. 
 Their appearance was grotesque. Before we had been 
 steaming one hour the speed had to be reduced to allow 
 some of the smaller ones to keep in position, and before 
 the second hour was completed four or five of them 
 were being towed by the larger gunboats. 
 
 In the afternoon we approached the entrance to 
 Subig Bay. The Kentucky manoeuvred to cover the 
 smaller vessels as they ran in before a supposed supe- 
 rior naval force. When the last one was safely inside, 
 Captain Stockton planted a double row of mines across 
 the entrance and anchored in position to defend this 
 
 210 
 
Mines and Countermines 
 
 mine field until batteries could be erected for that pur- 
 pose. The handling of my flagship during this manoeu- 
 vre was such as to bring from all who saw it unstinted 
 praise. Captain Stockton showed his ability as an able 
 and accomplished seaman. In less than one hour both 
 entrances to the bay were so mined that an enemy 
 would not attempt to force an entrance until a channel 
 had been cleared by exploding or removing a number 
 of the mines. To prevent this until the shore batteries 
 had been constructed was the business of the fleet; and 
 to it we bent our energies. 
 
 Grande Island, at the entrance to the bay, was the 
 key to the position. Behind the high points of this 
 island, and protected by them from the fire of the ene- 
 my's ships, I anchored enough ships to keep boats from 
 successfully countermining. The boats of all the ships, 
 except the g^ardships, attempted every night to destroy 
 the mines. Umpires were appointed and rules pub- 
 lished, so that these attacks might be as realistic as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 If a boat was detected approaching the mine field, 
 or while actually on it, the guardship opened fire, using 
 blank cartridges, of course, and discharged a red rocket 
 as a signal to the boat that she was discovered. The 
 boat must then fire a green rocket and withdraw. 
 Search lights were, of course, in constant use. If any 
 boat succeeded in remaining undiscovered on the mine 
 field for five minutes, she was to fire a red rocket, plant 
 a countermine with a buoy bearing the name of the ship 
 to which she belonged, and then withdraw. The at- 
 tacks were well planned and intelligently carried out, 
 but were successful in only two cases that I now recall 
 
 211 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 One of the vessels fitted out a boat with khaki-col- 
 oured canvas, and with this a party crept onto the mine 
 field undiscovered and planted their buoy. 
 
 In the other case a midshipman, with two compan- 
 ions, swam out, towing a small raft containing the 
 countermine, and planted his buoy without detection. 
 The water was full of man-eating sharks, and, as I 
 knew the mother of the midshipman, I issued orders 
 that the swimming mode of attack would be discon- 
 tinued! A week of this exercise showed wonderful 
 ingenuity on the part of the officers and men; it also 
 convinced me that a properly laid mine field, if defended 
 by guns, would prove very troublesome to an enemy, but 
 without the defending guns the mines would amount to 
 nothing. 
 
 In the meantime the batteries for Grande Island had 
 been constructed and the guns placed in position and 
 manned by a detachment of marines commanded by 
 Major Karmany. Camp Evans was established in the 
 rear of the main battery, where the marines, living un- 
 der service conditions, were most efficient in the per- 
 formance of their duties. The officers and crews of the 
 Vicksburg and Annapolis showed most commendable 
 zeal, worked all night, or in the blazing tropical sun, 
 until the four-inch guns of their ships were on the 
 beach. Not content with this, they helped the marines 
 to cut roads through the undergrowth, drag the guns 
 nearly half a mile, and place them in position. The 
 platforms for the guns were made of heavy timber 
 at the Cavite Naval Station, so arranged that they could 
 be taken apart, transported to the place where they 
 were to be used, and there assembled. After the bat- 
 
 212 
 
Fleet Movements 
 
 teries were completed, which was done in wonderfully 
 quick time, I ordered them to have target practice, and, 
 to the surprise of every one, no sign of weakness devel- 
 oped, though regular service ammunition was used. 
 Four batteries were constructed and thus tested ; two of 
 them had four-inch guns and two were six-pounders. 
 In every respect the work was well done and the prac- 
 tice most beneficial to officers and men. At the end of 
 ten days the guns were dismounted and returned to 
 their ships, and this part of the manoeuvres was con- 
 cluded. 
 
 On the way back to Manila a few fleet movements 
 were attempted, but I was soon convinced that no good 
 results could be secured in this way ; the ships were too 
 dissimilar to work together, and the officers had not 
 had sufficient practice in preliminary drills. It was like 
 trying to learn arithmetic without knowing the multi- 
 plication table, so I determined to go back and learn the 
 multiplication table first. 
 
 Having selected six ships that could be made to 
 work reasonably well together, I drilled them pretty 
 constantly. Each morning we would get under way 
 while it was yet cool, proceed to a safe distance from 
 shore, spend the day manoeuvring, and at night anchor 
 with the fleet. Satisfied that this was the kind of train- 
 ing we needed, and that as much good as possible 
 might follow, I detailed the captains one after another 
 to command this drill fleet, thus giving them valuable 
 experience. One may read and study about handling 
 ships, which is no doubt a good thing to do, but the 
 way — the real way — to learn it is actually to handle the 
 ships under way at sea. 
 
 15 213 
 
An Admiral's Loe" 
 
 & 
 
 As the time approached for our target practice, a 
 fine range was laid out in the bay well clear of the 
 shipping. Targets were prepared at the naval station 
 ready for use, and officers and men gave their undi- 
 vided attention preparing to make a record. When the 
 Kentucky and the New Orleans had fired we were sat- 
 isfied of two things: first, that the guns would hit the 
 target when properly aimed ; second, that the new sights 
 we had installed furnished the means by which we 
 could do so. The rapidity of fire had been wonderfully 
 increased as a result of the ping-pong practice and 
 the use of the loading machine, but there was room 
 yet for great improvement. The Merritt sight which 
 had been fitted to one of the turret guns of the Ken- 
 tucky gave such good results that I ordered it fitted for 
 all turret guns. I also ordered high-power telescopes 
 for all broadside gims not already so fitted. 
 
 The time had now arrived to test the torpedo- 
 boat question — to see if a torpedo boat could get near 
 enough to a battleship to discharge a torpedo with a 
 fair chance of hitting her. The target I had ordered 
 built was ready, and fairly represented a section of a 
 torpedo boat coming bows on. A powerful tug boat, 
 capable of steaming seventeen knots, was detailed to tow 
 this target, which was fitted with a towline of sufficient 
 length to avoid the probability of accident. The officer 
 who was to do the towing was directed to get under 
 way, get out of sight, and at night, between the hours 
 of ten and twelve, find the Kentucky and tow the tar- 
 get at her as nearly as possible at right angles. This 
 was to simulate a torpedo boat running at the beam of 
 the ship. As soon as it was dark the Kentucky weighed 
 
 214 
 
Torpedo-Boat Tests 
 
 anchor, stood out into the bay, and began using her 
 search Hghts to pick up the tug or the target. 
 
 The night was ideal for the attack — drizzHng rain, 
 stiff breeze, and some mist. When discovered, the five- 
 inch guns of the ship were to fire, but for thirty seconds 
 only, and then the target would be examined for hits. 
 About a quarter of eleven the smoke of the tug showed 
 up under the beams of the search light, and a few min- 
 utes later a low, white line was detected on the water. 
 This was recognised as the bow wave of the torpedo 
 boat, or target, and two range shots were fired — one 
 struck short and the other over — which gave us the 
 range. The signal to open fire was then given. Strict 
 silence reigned on the ship, except for the rapid firing 
 of the guns. Every man was at his station, and all 
 were keenly alert. It was very like the real thing and 
 most exciting. I was watching the target, the outlines 
 of which were barely visible when the firing began, and 
 at the second shot I saw it list over to one side and 
 then quickly right itself. One shot at least had cer- 
 tainly struck it. My order to the guns was to make a 
 zone of fire in front of the target so perfect that noth- 
 ing could get through without being struck. They cer- 
 tainly did this! At the end of thirty seconds the sig- 
 nal " Cease firing " was given, the Kentucky returned 
 to her anchorage, and the men were given their ham- 
 mocks; but no one turned in. The desire to see what 
 they had done to the target was so great that they 
 stood about in the drizzling rain until it was towed 
 alongside, where they could have a good look at it 
 under the rays of the search light. A brief inspection 
 showed that six five-inch shells had passed completely 
 
 215 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 through the boat, any one of which would have put a 
 torpedo boat out of business. 
 
 The test had been most practical and thorough, and 
 gave great confidence to the gunners and little comfort 
 to the champions of the torpedo. It showed to me 
 clearly that a battleship, properly drilled, whose gun- 
 ners could shoot fast and straight, was in little danger 
 from an attack of this character. 
 
 About this time the French were building a num- 
 ber of submarines, and the advocates of this new 
 weapon were claiming all sorts of things for it. They 
 claimed at first that they could destroy a whole fleet 
 every night, if anybody would supply the fleet ! When 
 it became evident that they could not find the ships after 
 dark, they claimed that they could do the same trick by 
 daylight, without danger to the submarine, as they 
 could come to the surface (the periscope had not then 
 been adopted), locate the ship, and again disappear in 
 thirty seconds. This was too short a time, however, for 
 a ship to use her guns. 
 
 To see what was practical in this purely theoretical 
 claim, I determined to have a thorough test. For this 
 purpose I ordered a diving target made — one that could 
 be made to behave much like a submarine boat. The 
 officer in command of the naval station at Cavite, Cap- 
 tain Couden, was a very clever mechanic, and he pro- 
 duced a target which was both amusing and serviceable. 
 A float carried the exact counterpart of the conning 
 tower of a submarine. The lines by which it was to 
 be towed were so arranged that by slacking one of them 
 the float would dive and remain under water until this 
 line was again hauled on and tautened, when it would 
 
 216 
 
Coast Survey- 
 quickly come to the surface. After there had been 
 plenty of practice with this device to ensure its proper 
 working, it was towed at the Kentucky and fired at for 
 twenty seconds with the six-pounder guns of one broad- 
 side. At the third shot splinters flew into the air, and 
 the target, when brought alongside, was found to be 
 practically destroyed, the whole part representing the 
 conning tower being shot away. Since that time great 
 improvements have been made, and submarines have 
 taken their place as a recognised weapon in warfare. 
 They will certainly make timid commanders very mis- 
 erable in time of war; but that they will be a serious 
 threat to a fleet at sea I do not for a moment concede. 
 They may, like the dreaded banana peel, occasionally 
 hurt something by accident, but that will be all. 
 
 Conditions were such at the time of which I am 
 writing that the army operating in the southern islands 
 against the Moros was constantly asking for the assist- 
 ance of the navy. We were willing, even anxious, to 
 do all in our power to help our brother officers of the 
 army in the thankless job they had on hand, but one 
 thing stood seriously in the way of effective co-opera- 
 tion — our charts were old, in most cases so inaccurate 
 as to endanger vessels using them. Only by a thorough 
 and systematic survey could this be remedied. I had 
 the officers and men for the work, the necessar}'^ instru- 
 ments, and gunboats which were fine vessels for the 
 purpose. Among the officers available was Commander 
 Hughes, who had done valuable work for the coast sur- 
 vey at home, and was in every way fitted for the job I 
 had in mind. Six gunboats were detailed for the pur- 
 pose and ordered to report to him for duty. In a very 
 
 217 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 short time he had everything in readiness, and the ex- 
 pedition sailed. I had selected the water in which we 
 were likely to be called upon to operate as the first to be 
 surveyed. Much of it was in the vicinity of Mindanao 
 and Jolo, where the natives were turbulent and likely 
 to give trouble. In order to avoid as far as possible 
 any difficulty with these people, the commanding offi- 
 cers of the surveying vessels were directed to visit the 
 Datos, or chiefs, before landing men to erect signals, 
 and to explain to them fully what we were going to do : 
 that these surveys were necessary to ensure the safety 
 of the naval vessels that had to communicate with 
 them, and that they would, in the end, increase their 
 trade and commerce. 
 
 Everything went well with my surveying expedition 
 until Commander Hughes, in the Annapolis, struck an 
 uncharted reef and remained there for ten days before 
 we could get him off. This accident showed clearly 
 the necessity for the work, and I ordered it pressed with 
 vigour. The captain of one of the very small gunboats 
 — she carried only fifty men all told — communicated 
 with a chief in the vicinity of Jolo, explained what he 
 wanted, and was granted permission to erect his sig- 
 nals. This was done with great labour, as all material 
 had to be carried on shore in small boats and then 
 taken on the shoulders of the men through the tropical 
 jungle to the site selected. These sights were always 
 on high, prominent points, and to reach them in the 
 broiling sun was not easy. The next morning two of 
 the signals had been torn down, and a midshipman with 
 a party of men was sent on shore to see what the 
 trouble was. When the party had been gone some 
 
 218 
 
Trouble with Moros 
 
 hours the commanding officer went himself with an 
 armed boat's crew to look after them. He found them 
 surrounded by two or three hundred Moros, who were 
 preparing to cut them up with bolos. A Gatling gun 
 soon settled the difficulty, and the chief replaced the sig- 
 nals. Both he and his followers were warned that 
 those signals were the property of the United States, 
 and that if they were molested again somebody would 
 get hurt. 
 
 This expedition was undertaken with the approval 
 of Governor Taft, who plainly saw the necessity for it. 
 My surprise can be imagined when I was accused by 
 the press of starting a war with the Moros! In reply 
 I stated what I had done, and added that if this was to 
 produce a war, I could see no better cause for one. If 
 an officer of the navy could not survey waters belonging 
 to the United States in order to secure safe navigation 
 for his ships, I thought the sooner we whipped those 
 holding that view the better. The work went on with- 
 out serious trouble, though I believe the Moros did 
 make it an excuse for killing some of our men, for 
 which act they were severely punished. 
 
 The survey was only partially completed when or- 
 ders came from Washington to stop it; not that the 
 Navy Department objected to the survey, but because 
 they wished the vessels kept together for fleet work. 
 The official letter I received on the subject was a severe 
 condemnation of my course; and it ordered fleet drills 
 for all the vessels. Later, when they understood how 
 impossible this was, what an absolute waste of time, 
 they relented somewhat, and directed me to use my dis- 
 cretion in such matters, which was just what I had 
 
 219 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 done, and all I had done, in this instance. Swivel 
 chairs sometimes have the effect of warping the judg- 
 ment of those that occupy them. 
 
 One very curious and interesting thing resulted 
 from this survey. The officer sent to work among the 
 Tawi-Tawi Islands, the most southern of the group, 
 not knowing the exact boundary of our possessions, 
 obtained from the army officer in command a chart 
 showing just where this boundary line ran. As the 
 work progressed he found a number of small islands, 
 not belonging to us or to anybody else — a sort of no- 
 man's land, as it were. They were between our line 
 and the coast of Borneo — excellent places for pirates 
 to assemble, or from which persons so disposed could 
 sell arms to our peace-loving " little brown brothers " 
 in that part of the world. When this was reported to 
 me, I at once applied to General George W. Davis, 
 U. S. A., then in command of the Military Depart- 
 ment of the Philippines, for his opinion. He was, by 
 all odds, the best-posted man in all the islands as to 
 our rights under Spanish treaties, and his able admin- 
 istration of his department gave a weight to his opinion 
 which would be regarded in Washington. He agreed 
 with me entirely that we owned every island outside 
 the three-mile limit from the coast of Borneo, and I 
 embodied this opinion in my report to Washington. 
 The President finally ordered that the line be drawn as 
 suggested, which was done, and the chart, so marked, 
 supplied to all who were interested. Later I sent a 
 gunboat and had our flag hoisted on all the islands in 
 the disputed belt. The poor inhabitants were glad to 
 know at last to whom they really belonged. 
 
 220 
 
Distrust of the Filipinos 
 
 In January of this year Rear-Admiral Cooper, an 
 officer of recognised ability, great energy, and excep- 
 tional executive qualities, was ordered to command the 
 southern division. When he came I received the 
 warm support I had expected of him, and our great 
 success at target practice and the general efficiency of 
 the fleet was due in great measure to his loyal support. 
 The Navy Department had ordered two more battle- 
 ships to the station, and one of them, the Wisconsin, 
 was assigned as his flagship when he later became com- 
 mander of the northern division. 
 
 It was curious, at this early day, to observe the 
 feeling of distrust which the Filipinos entertained for 
 us. It afterwards grew into positive hatred, until to- 
 day many of them do not hesitate to say they would 
 be glad to have the Spaniards back in our stead. It 
 cannot be pleasant or conducive to friendly feeling to 
 be constantly compared with others, always to our dis- 
 advantage; and this was what these people had to put 
 up with all the time. We did not make the comparison ; 
 they did themselves, sometimes, I suppose, uncon- 
 sciously. The first thing they saw in the morning, 
 when they looked out into the street, was a company or 
 a file of American soldiers, fine, stalwart fellows, 
 swinging along with an air that made their own men 
 look small and insignificant. Then came, perhaps, a 
 six-mule American army wagon, the driver a negro, tall 
 and muscular, capable of taking one of their own carts 
 — horse, driver, and all — on his shoulders and walking 
 off with it; then probably a fine American carriage 
 would come dashing by, drawn by large, spirited 
 horses, with the well-dressed wife of some officer or 
 
 221 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 official reclining in it, and this vehicle was uncon- 
 sciously compared with their own wretched vehicles 
 and animals. Everything belonging to the newcomers 
 was larger and finer and better than what they had, and, 
 above all, they were a dependent race! How could any- 
 thing but ill-feeling and jealousy come from such a 
 condition ? 
 
 A man of position in Manila once said to me that 
 his people disliked the Americans more than they had 
 the Spaniards. As he had been so frank with me, I 
 asked him if he would not tell me why this was so, and 
 he did. He explained that he had long been a merchant 
 in Manila, and was still in business; that in Spanish 
 days when a shipment of goods came he could, by pay- 
 ing a small amount to some customs officer, get his 
 goods entered, while his competitors had to pay the 
 full amount of duty. Now, he said, this was changed, 
 and he had to pay his duty as others did, which deprived 
 him of the advantage he had enjoyed. I indicated in a 
 few words what I thought of his reasoning, whereupon 
 he went further. He claimed that we employed more 
 officials than the Spaniards had, paid them higher sal- 
 aries, and thus increased the tax rate. I thought it 
 time to say something for our side, and asked him if he 
 did not know that we had provided a fine water supply 
 for the city, thus preventing the awful scourge of chol- 
 era, which had killed so many people. He admitted 
 that we had, but claimed that his people did not fear 
 the cholera, and if we did not want to get it, all we had 
 to do was to stay away; that the former system of 
 water supply suited them. I asked him if he would not 
 admit that we had paved and cleaned the city, cut 
 
 222 
 
Dislike of Americans 
 
 through the old walls, and let in air and light, thus 
 improving the sanitary conditions. He admitted that 
 we had done these things, but not with the consent of 
 the people, who were satisfied with things as they stood, 
 and did not want any of our new sanitary methods and 
 improvements. One could not argue with such a fool. 
 He, no doubt, represented a large class who were in a 
 position to influence the feelings of the people. Educa- 
 tion will in time remedy all this. If it does not, bullets 
 and bayonets, I know, will. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE SOUTHERN ISLANDS OF THE PHILIPPINES 
 
 The change from military to civil government had 
 been made whh very little friction, owing to the judg- 
 ment and ability of Mr. Taft, the civil governor. In 
 other hands than his the transfer might have been diffi- 
 cult and vexatious. It was only natural that the offi- 
 cers of the military branch should feel that it would 
 have been better policy to let them govern, at least for a 
 time, the people they had lately fought to a standstill. 
 This feeling still prevails, and is shared by many out- 
 side the military service. 
 
 The newly appointed civil government seemed to 
 feel that it should treat the military element with all 
 the severity it would stand. This was particularly the 
 case in the punishment of soldiers who committed 
 offences. In some cases the judges who awarded pun- 
 ishment were men who had served under Aguinaldo in 
 the recent revolution. The new collector of customs 
 was a veritable " new broom," and swept so clean that 
 he imposed and collected duties from officers of the 
 army for their swords and uniforms, unless they actu- 
 ally wore them at the time of landing. One can easily 
 imagine the feeling thus produced among men who 
 were to defend this government with the very swords 
 on which they were paying duty. They could, and did, 
 
 224 
 
Annoyances from Customs People 
 
 stand the tropical sun, the torrents of rain, and other 
 hardships without a word of complaint, but they swore 
 like troopers over the duty on their swords ! And who 
 can blame them? 
 
 We were fortunate in the navy that we did not come 
 in contact generally with these customs people. We 
 had our own station where our vessels remained, and, 
 a we did not have to land outside our own jurisdiction, 
 we were not subjected to the same annoyances as our 
 brother officers of the army. One attempt was made 
 by the collector to regulate the affairs of people on a 
 naval transport, but he was not encouraged by the 
 result, and afterwards gave us no trouble. I told him 
 plainly that no vessel in commission under my com- 
 mand could be searched or hindered in her movements 
 except by my orders or the orders of some superior; 
 that I had only two superiors — the President and the 
 Secretary of the Navy — and that he must show me or- 
 ders from one or the other before he could do anything 
 to one of the ships of the fleet. If any attempt was .made 
 to land anything contrary to law, he could seize the 
 articles so landed, and I would see to it that the offend- 
 ers were severely punished. But the idea of an insular 
 official of the customs branch claiming the right to 
 place a guard on a United States transport in the naval 
 service, commanded by a naval officer, made me a bit 
 hot. It was certainly the tail wagging the dog. 
 
 The energy of this newly created Customs Depart- 
 ment of the Philippine civil government cost the Navy 
 Department quite a sum of money; and of one instance 
 I had personal knowledge. During the time of military 
 government a contract had been made by the Navy 
 
 2.2'k 
 
An Admiral's LOg 
 
 Department for the construction of a coaling plant at 
 Sangley Point, Cavite. This contract contained a pro- 
 vision, by consent of the War Department, that the con- 
 tractor should have the right to bring in, free of duty, 
 in the vessels carrying the material for the station, food 
 for his employees. Before the plant was half completed 
 the form of government was changed from military to 
 civil, and the new collector of customs began to sweep 
 with his new broom. In the absence of the commander- 
 in-chief, my predecessor, a vessel arrived for the con- 
 tractor. A customs guard was placed on board, who 
 would not permit anything to be landed or used until 
 duty was paid. 
 
 When I arrived at Cavite the contractor reported 
 the case to me, stating that he was well satisfied with 
 the situation, as it permitted him to make an extra 
 charge for the work, because the government had vio- 
 lated its contract. After reading the contract carefully, 
 I appealed to the civil authorities, stating the conditions 
 that were being violated. At best it was only taking 
 money out of one pocket and putting it in another. 
 The civil authorities sustained the collector in his posi- 
 tion, and the work stopped for several months until my 
 report could reach Washington, when, after a consulta- 
 tion with the War Department, the necessary orders 
 were issued, and the work again progressed. That 
 changing the form of government of these islands 
 could possibly justify the breaking of a contract by one 
 of the parties to it, and that party the government itself, 
 seemed to me an absurd proposition. However, the 
 Navy Department paid well over a hundred thousand 
 dollars to find it out. 
 
 226 
 
The Philippine Mango 
 
 If the collector of customs had devised some plan 
 to prevent the building of this coaling plant at Sangley 
 Point, he would have saved the United States a large 
 sum and rendered a great service to the navy. As it 
 stands novi^, it represents as foolish a waste of public 
 money as one can imagine. The water about this plant 
 is so shoal that nothing but small gunboats can ap- 
 proach nearer than a mile and a half, and in case of war 
 it is open to the fire of any vessel wishing to destroy it. 
 Colliers have to land half their cargoes before they can 
 get to it, and all coal for vessels must be taken off in 
 lighters. In other words, the coal must all be handled 
 twice. 
 
 With all our vexations at Manila, however, there 
 was one thing, and only one, I believe, that met with 
 universal approbation. All hands, military and civil, 
 agreed on the fine properties of the Philippine mango! 
 This excellent fruit ripened while we were there, and 
 we all agreed that for a breakfast dish it was the best 
 yet found. Peaches are good, Rocky Ford melons deli- 
 cious, but they don't compare with a fine, ripe, golden- 
 coloured mango. The natives try to force them into 
 the market by firing the trees, and thus prematurely 
 ripening the fruit — a process, of course, which does not 
 produce good results. You only get the genuine article 
 when it is allowed to ripen naturally. 
 
 The projected manceuvres, target practice, etc., 
 having been completed and full reports made to the 
 Navy Department, I transferred my flag temporarily to 
 the naval transport Zafiro and, with my staff, started on 
 a trip through the southern islands of the Philippine 
 group, that I might know from personal observation 
 
 227 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 the exact conditions. The Kentucky was ordered to 
 proceed to Labuan, Borneo, where I was to rejoin her. 
 We sailed from Manila on the 8th of February, and 
 touched at the following points, all of which were garri- 
 soned by small bodies of United States soldiers or 
 marines : Catbalogan, Tacloban, Cebu, Zamboanga, 
 Isabela, Malabang, Polloc, Cottabato, Jolo, Siassi, Bon- 
 gao Island, and Tumindao Island. Then we crossed 
 over to Borneo. At most of these points the soldiers 
 were constantly employed guarding those who wished 
 to conduct legitimate business against the attacks of 
 the ladrones, or robbers, who seemed to infest the whole 
 country. 
 
 At Zamboanga an old friend, General S. S. Sum- 
 ner, U. S. A., commanding the Department of Minda- 
 nao, joined me with his aide. Captain Morrow, U. S. A. 
 They remained with the party until we reached Jolo, 
 showing us the various army posts on the route. 
 
 At Malabang we transferred to a small gunboat, in 
 which we crossed the bar at the mouth of the Rio 
 Grande and prepared for a trip to Camp Vickars, on 
 Lake Linao, where our army held its advanced post 
 facing the fortified lines of the Moros. The Rio 
 Grande flows through a beautiful, fertile valley, in ap- 
 pearance not unlike the valley of the Mississippi, capa- 
 ble of producing enormous quantities of sugar-cane and 
 other products if reliable labour could be secured. On 
 the way up the river, in which the current was very 
 strong, the crocodiles floated lazily about, like great 
 tree trunks, warning us that a fall into the muddy 
 stream would be fatal. Families of monkeys played 
 about the banks, old gray-haired grandfathers and 
 
 228 
 
At Malabang 
 
 grandmothers, with their descendants, who grinned and 
 chattered at us as we passed. They were careful to 
 keep far enough from the water to avoid the tails of the 
 crocodiles; if they ventured too near, one stroke of the 
 long, strong tail of the reptile was enough to secure his 
 meal of monkey meat. Many of the native children, I 
 was told, lost their lives in this way. It was surprising 
 to see how far out over the bank a crocodile could 
 strike, and always with fatal results. 
 
 The army post at Malabang was beautifully located, 
 near one of the finest springs I have ever seen. Shacks 
 had been erected for the officers and their families, and 
 for the families of those officers who were serving at 
 the front. No women or children were permitted to go 
 beyond Malabang; and as cholera was prevalent in all 
 the advanced camps, the anxiety of those left behind 
 was painful to see. But the wives stood up to their 
 work as American women always do, with smiling 
 faces, and did what was possible to help their hus- 
 bands, who might at any moment be brought in on 
 stretchers, wounded by Moro bolos, or dead of the chol- 
 era. I have always been proud of my countrymen — 
 never more so than when I saw the sacrifices they were 
 making in this God-forsaken tropical country. 
 
 General Sumner had a four-mule ambulance in 
 readiness for our trip to Camp Vickars, and, with a 
 strong cavalry escort, we started in the cool of the 
 morning — cool only by comparison, for as I sat with 
 an army rifle across my lap ready for use I was sure I 
 had never encountered more stifling heat. The road 
 we followed was a fine one — a monument to the soldiers 
 who had cut and made it through the tropical jungle, 
 16 229 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 where at times it required all day for two men to cut 
 down one of the hard-wood trees. To give the men 
 some chance to defend themselves against a rush of the 
 savage Moros, with their heavy bolos, the road had been 
 cut two hundred feet wide. Up and up we climbed, 
 always in a cloud of dust, our keen escort always on 
 the alert and our guns ready for instant use, while 
 the monkeys scampered about grinning and chattering 
 at us, until we reached an elevation of about two 
 thousand feet, when the jungle grew perceptibly 
 thinner and at four thousand feet we found our- 
 selves in what looked like a farming section of Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 Still following the military road, we came to a 
 camp of soldiers — two companies of infantry, holding 
 a strategic point where some so-called friendly Moros 
 were quiet for the time. We rested in this camp for 
 half an hour, had a drink and a sandwich with the offi- 
 cers, and then pressed on to Camp Vickars, where we 
 arrived early in the afternoon, dust-covered and almost 
 melted with the heat. When we had cooled off a bit 
 and got rid of the dirt, we had a look at the camp and 
 its surroundings. 
 
 Fort Vickars, after which the camp was named, was 
 near by. It was here that Dr. Vickars was killed, a 
 year before, and his name was given to the fort. 
 When the attack was made, the infantry grew impa- 
 tient, feeling that they could carry the work without 
 waiting for the artillery to shell it. A charge was 
 ordered, and it was only when a number of men had 
 fallen in and been impaled that a wide ditch was dis- 
 covered running around the fort, hidden somewhat by 
 
 230 
 
At Fort Vickars 
 
 brush and grass, and filled with sharpened bamboos. A 
 number of officers and men were killed before the order 
 was given to fall back a short distance and bivouac for 
 the night. In the early morning five or six cavalry 
 soldiers were standing in a group about one hundred 
 and fifty yards from the fort, smoking their pipes, when 
 a Moro was seen to pass the gate. He was a tall, fine- 
 looking, muscular black, and carried a kriss (Malay 
 sword) in his hand. He ran straight for the group of 
 cavalrymen, and they began firing with their carbines. 
 He finally reached them, and had cut one of them 
 severely, when he was struck on the head with a 
 clubbed gun and killed. He had five bullets through 
 his lungs and the upper part of his body, and yet was 
 able to close in and fight. This instance shows the 
 wonderful vitality of these savages. The sword he car- 
 ried was given to me before I left the camp, and is now 
 in my Washington home. 
 
 Looking across Lake Linao, which, four thousand 
 feet above sea level, is as beautiful as any lake in 
 Switzerland, I could distinctly see the Moros on the 
 other shore working like beavers on the forts they were 
 erecting to prevent the further advance of our army. 
 How I did wish for a couple of six-inch guns and per- 
 mission to use them! Of course the army could have 
 run over these forts and captured them any day with 
 the loss of a very few men, but they were not permitted 
 to do it — they must fight only when actually attacked. 
 After waiting in the hot sun, fighting the cholera a long 
 time, the expected attack came. The Moros had com- 
 pleted their defences, and the army had the satisfaction 
 of marching around the lake, knocking down the forts, 
 
 231 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 and sending a good many Moros to their last account — 
 making good Moros of them, so to speak. 
 
 Captain Pershing, of the cavalry, was in command 
 at Fort Vickars, and I can't imagine a man better fitted 
 for the post. Young, active, and as tough as leather, 
 he spoke the Moro tongue, and impressed all w^ho saw 
 him most favourably. He certainly won the stars that 
 afterwards came to him. If they could have been given 
 to him without the seeming injustice to those over 
 whom he was jumped, it might have been better. That, 
 however, is a question for the lawmakers. The com- 
 mand at Fort Vickars consisted of about three thousand 
 officers and men — artillery, cavalry, and infantry ; and a 
 finer lot of men never served under any flag. Captain 
 Pershing had them formed for review, and, in company 
 with General Sumner, I walked down the line, looked 
 each man squarely in the eyes, and formed my estimate 
 of them. There was not a mean-looking man in the 
 command. They were brown, sunburned, honest, young 
 Americans, tough as nails, ready to give their lives for 
 their country. Only three thousand of them were 
 facing the thirty thousand savage Moros, convinced 
 that they could whip them, and ready to do it when 
 the order came. As sunset approached I stood and 
 watched the men marching to the outposts, some half 
 mile from camp, where they were to spend the night 
 guarding those who slept, and I wondered how many 
 of them would be dead before sunrise of to-morrow. 
 Only a few days before our arrival an outpost had been 
 cut up, all the men — three or four — killed, and their 
 guns secured. Firearms were what the Moros wanted. 
 If one carried none, he could go among them with com- 
 
 232 
 
The Moro Problem 
 
 parative safety, even though he carried a considerable 
 sum of money ; but any one carrying a gun they would 
 murder on sight for the sake of getting the gun, 
 
 A tent had been pitched for me on the edge of the 
 camp, near the officers' tents, and here I passed a most 
 comfortable night. After dining with the officers, I 
 retired at about midnight. Captain Pershing had as- 
 signed me as my orderly a fine soldier, a sergeant of 
 infantry, who took pity on my want of knowledge 
 about camping and showed me how to dispose my blan- 
 kets to protect me from the cold. This became quite 
 marked in the middle of the night on account of the 
 altitude, though we were only three degrees north of 
 the equator. I had noticed several bullet holes through 
 the side of the tent, and asked my orderly what they 
 were. 
 
 ** Don't mind them, sir. The Moros shoot at the 
 tents at night, sir ; but they won't hit you, sir ! " 
 
 While I was trying to acquire the confidence ex- 
 pressed by my orderly I must have fallen asleep, for 
 the next thing I knew it was daylight and the bugles 
 were sounding the reveille. 
 
 After a delightful visit with our army friends, we 
 returned to the Zafiro to continue our cruise. I could 
 not help thinking — I have since had no reason to 
 change my mind — that the Moro' problem is much 
 harder to solve than the race question in our southern 
 states. Dr. Booker T. Washington has indicated a 
 solution of the negro question ; but no one, as far as I 
 know, has suggested any method by which we can make 
 anything out of a Moro unless he is killed, and then he 
 is of no value. Of course we must rescue these people 
 
 233 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 from their present state, and no doubt we shall, but 
 the means by which it is to be done are as yet 
 unknown. 
 
 Our return to Malabangf was uneventful. We sat 
 with guns ready if the Moros came, sweltering in the 
 great heat, breathing in the dust with which the air 
 was charged. As we crossed the bar to join the 
 Zafiro, we passed a large tramp steamer chartered by 
 the government to convey to the United States the 
 bodies of our soldiers who had been killed or had died 
 in the islands. It was certainly a mournful sight. On 
 the sandy beach was a huge pile of caskets, into which 
 the remains were being transferred, while others were 
 being hoisted on board. 
 
 The Spaniards during their occupation of the Phil- 
 ippines had maintained two small naval stations among 
 the southern islands for the repair of their gunboats, 
 which were constantly engaged in warfare against the 
 Moros and other tribes. One was at Isabel de Basilan, 
 the other at Polloc. The first of these was in charge of 
 a guard of fifty marines, who did all that was possible 
 to keep it in good order, but as there was no money 
 for the purpose it had gradually run down, and was in 
 woeful condition when I inspected it. Most of the 
 buildings were tumbling down or unsafe for quarters, 
 and officers and men were under canvas. All the ma- 
 chine shops had been gutted or their contents destroyed, 
 so that it was impossible to make the smallest repairs 
 with what was left. It was desirable to have a repair 
 station for our small vessels somewhere among the 
 islands, rather than to send them all the way back 
 to Cavite for such work, but withoui funds this 
 
 234 
 
Vitality of the Moro 
 
 was impossible. A full report was sent to Wash- 
 ington, and that was the end of it. I never heard of it 
 again, 
 
 Polloc I found in better condition, but far from 
 what I had hoped for. There was a small marine rail- 
 way which could be used and several machine shops 
 with good tools, but no boiler or other means by which 
 they could be used. Afterwards I found an old boiler 
 at Cavite, sent it to Polloc, had it installed, and some 
 good work was done at the station. 
 
 An instance which shows the wonderful vitality of 
 the Moro occurred at Polloc. A band of cattle thieves 
 had located themselves twenty or thirty miles from the 
 station, and were causing great excitement among the 
 people. When the proper time came, the marines were 
 sent after them, surrounded them, and brought the 
 whole gang into Polloc. The leader, a short, wiry, 
 black desperado, about five feet two inches tall, was 
 confined in the marine guard-house to await trial. Some 
 one carelessly left a bolo where the Moro could get his 
 hands on it, and, watching his opportunity, he seized it 
 and attacked the guard. The marine sentry opened fire 
 at once as the man came toward him, and his first shot 
 struck him on the chin and smashed his jawbone on 
 one side. As he continued to advance, the sentry fired 
 a second shot, which went straight through his lungs 
 and out at his back. Then the desperado turned and 
 started to run, when he was brought to earth by the 
 third shot, which struck at the base of the skull and 
 passed out over the right eye. Every one supposed 
 that he was a " good " Moro at last, but the doctors 
 found life in him, patched him up, and treated him in 
 
 235 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 the hospital. Just three weeks after the shooting I had 
 him taken out of the guard-house, where he was con- 
 fined in irons, to have him photographed. He thought 
 I was going to hang him, and he trembled so violently 
 that it was difficult to get a good picture of him. His 
 face was a bit out of shape on one side, a small blue 
 spot over his eye showed where shot No. 3 had come 
 out, and two more such spots, one on his chest and the 
 other between the shoulder blades, showed the course 
 of shot No. 2. Apparently no damage had been done 
 the rascal, as he seemed active and hearty. I was 
 anxious, of course, to try him by court-martial, so that 
 he might have some real punishment, but my instruc- 
 tions were positive and prevented me from doing so. 
 He was turned over to the civil authorities, who tried 
 him, and, I afterwards learned, gave him a couple of 
 years in jail! Any one of the three shots he received 
 would have disabled a white man, and two of them 
 would probably have proved fatal. 
 
 After completing the inspection of Polloc, I ran 
 down to visit J0I6, in the Sulu group, where we had a 
 large garrison, and also to land General Sumner and 
 his aide. Here, as the Moros were disposed to make 
 trouble on the least provocation, the troops had to be 
 confined pretty closely to the barracks. The Sultan of 
 Sulu claimed the whole country as his, and was not dis- 
 posed to acknowledge the authority of the United 
 States, or any one else, for that matter. He was defi- 
 ant, quarrelsome, and ready to fight on the least provo- 
 cation. He had often beaten the Spanish soldiers sent 
 against him, and he was confident he could do the same 
 to the Americans whenever they would give him the 
 
 236 
 
Tawi-Tawi Islands 
 
 chance. When the time finally came he discovered his 
 mistake. 
 
 One of the playful habits of these particular sav- 
 ages was that of " running amuck," A v^^arrior would 
 become " huramentado," as they called it — crazy for 
 blood. He would charge into a crowd, slashing right 
 and left with his long knife, and would continue this 
 amusement until some one either killed him or held him 
 until he was bound. Frequently men, women, and even 
 children were killed in this way. Sometimes one of 
 these crazy fanatics would run amuck among our sol- 
 diers, but he generally selected those who were not 
 armed, though on one occasion, I was told, a Sulu 
 Moro, " huramentado," actually charged into the midst 
 of a company of infantry and cut down several men 
 before he was persuaded to be good. 
 
 Cholera was raging all about Jolo at the time of 
 my visit, which, added to the peculiar characteristics 
 of the natives, made it anything but a pleasant place to 
 live in! Yet, with it all, the officers and their wives 
 wore pleasant faces, and did their duty without a whim- 
 per. I shall always recall with pleasure the charming 
 dinner I enjoyed at the house of Colonel Wallace, of 
 the cavalry, who commanded the post. It was prepared 
 by his wife, and came almost entirely from tins, but it 
 was the best dinner I had in the Philippines. 
 
 From Jolo we ran down through the Tawi-Tawi 
 group, stopping at Siassi and Bungao. The former, a 
 two-company post, was beautifully located in a grove 
 of ihlang ihlang trees, the perfume from the flowers of 
 which we could perceive several miles at sea. Two 
 married officers were at this station, their splendid 
 
 ^Z7 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 wives with them, calmly facing the dangers of savages 
 and cHmate. Bungao was the southern post of all, 
 and was important because it had been the port for 
 smugglers to operate from, and also because of its 
 proximity to the coast of Borneo. The natives, at 
 least the few of them I saw, were very black, and 
 seemed less intelligent than those farther north. They 
 lived on fish or fruit, which grew in great profusion 
 everywhere, and on yams, which they cultivated in small 
 quantities. As a rule, they were peaceful, and carried 
 on trade with the neighbouring islands and Borneo, ex- 
 changing their grass mats for tobacco, tea, and rum. 
 In two days I saw all I wanted of this one of our trop- 
 ical possessions, and I put to sea and ran over to the 
 coast of British North Borneo. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 FROM SINGAPORE TO TIENTSIN 
 
 We arrived at Sandaken the following day, ex- 
 changed salutes with the fort, called on the governor, 
 were most cordially received by him, and I dined with 
 him that evening. Many of the small islands lying off 
 the coast had belonged to Borneo — at least they had 
 been supposed to under the treaty of Paris, by which 
 the Philippines had come into our possession. Now 
 that we had them all, the officials of Borneo were 
 watching with great interest to see the results of our 
 efforts at colonisation, so different in every respect from 
 their own. They were old at the business, and we were 
 absolutely new. It was plain to me, during the dinner, 
 that our methods did not meet the entire approval of 
 the English officials, and I was deeply interested in 
 their comments. Many of the things they foresaw 
 came to pass afterwards, which is not to be wondered 
 at when one considers the experience that they had had 
 with exactly the same kind of people we were experi- 
 menting with. 
 
 North Borneo furnished a great quantity of fine 
 building lumber, used all over the East except by us. 
 Ours came from Oregon, and was very expensive. One 
 object of my visit to Sandaken was to look into this 
 lumber question. We had in the Philippines vast for- 
 
 239 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 ests of hard woods of various kinds, but none that we 
 could use for building- purposes, and no soft wood that 
 the white ants would not destroy in a year. If the 
 hard wood could be converted into lumber and brought 
 into market, it would answer the purpose admirably, 
 although it did seem extravagant to build houses of 
 ebony. But, beautiful as all these hard woods were, 
 they were destined to remain on the stump for a long 
 time. It required two things to move them, capital and 
 labour. Capital could be had, for large profits were 
 assured; but the labour was simply unattainable. The 
 Philippines could not furnish it, and those who could, 
 the Chinese, were not permitted to enter. All the tim- 
 ber about the seashore, or near it, had been used ; that 
 along the rivers, of which there was an endless supply, 
 was difficult to market. It was too heavy to float when 
 cut, and had to be rafted out on bamboo rafts. Some 
 day it will become valuable, when, like coal mining 
 and other industries, labour can be found to work it. 
 
 We had hopes, at the time of which I am writing, 
 that Congress would authorise a fine naval base at 
 Olongapo, in Subig Bay, and I wanted to be in posi- 
 tion to get good lumber at reasonable prices for the con- 
 struction work. All my work was for nothing, how- 
 ever, as we are as far from a naval base in the East as 
 we were then. 
 
 Several companies at Sandaken, operating sawmills, 
 were prepared to furnish lumber of any kind and qual- 
 ity, but, owing to the fact that they were compelled to 
 raft and tow their logs to the mills, their prices were 
 high. At Jesselton, on the west coast of Borneo, a 
 reliable company was prepared to furnish what we 
 
 240 
 
In British North Borneo 
 
 wanted at most reasonable rates, owing to the fact that 
 they ran a road into the jungle, felled the trees, and, 
 with a portable sawmill, converted them into lumber, 
 which they hauled back over the road to a shipping 
 point. As the trees were exhausted the road was ex- 
 tended back into the jungle, thus securing an ample 
 supply. This company was prepared to make a contract 
 with us to supply lumber and piling guaranteed to 
 withstand the attacks of white ants, teredo, and other 
 wood-destroying insects so troublesome and destructive 
 in the tropics. A long report, covering all these facts, 
 was sent to the Navy Department, where it has, no 
 doubt, quietly rested in some dusty pigeonhole ever 
 since. 
 
 Leaving Sandaken in the Zafiro, we made our way 
 through a network of shoals and reefs to Victoria, 
 Labuan, the home of that wonderful man. Rajah 
 Brooke, who may be fairly said to have made British 
 North Borneo the rich, producing country it is. His 
 treatment of the natives and his success with them are 
 an example of what a well-equipped white man can do 
 with a dependent race of people. I was most courte- 
 ously received by all the officers, who gave me any in- 
 formation I sought in the most friendly way. After a 
 delightful visit of four days, I joined the Kentucky and 
 sailed for Singapore, where we arrived during the lat- 
 ter part of March. It had been my intention to visit 
 Saigon at this time; but, finding it impossible to do so, 
 I sent the New Orleans there, with orders to join me 
 later at Hong Kong. 
 
 Singapore is to me one of the best places in the 
 East for a man-of-war to visit. The climate is very 
 
 241 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 hot, but the nights are always cool. The city has many 
 attractions for enlisted men, as well as for officers, and 
 the police see that the men are not abused or cheated. 
 The health authorities never ask for a bill of health, be- 
 cause, having about every disease known themselves, 
 they are not afraid of what may be brought them ! 
 
 When the official calls had been made, I accepted 
 the invitation of the governor for myself and flag lieu- 
 tenant to enjoy the hospitality of Government House 
 during our stay in port. The Kentucky was coaling, 
 the hotels were crowded, and this invitation assured me 
 a most comfortable rest. The governor. Sir Frank A. 
 Swettenham, had grown up in the Indian service, and 
 at the time of my visit, though still a young man, was 
 governor of the Straits Settlements, a most important 
 and responsible position. I shall never forget his cour- 
 tesy to me during the days I spent under his roof enjoy- 
 ing his gracious hospitality. Singapore was noted, 
 among other things, for the excellence of its curry, a 
 dish of which I am very fond. I have eaten it in all 
 parts of the world — curried meat, curried eggs, curried 
 fish, and curried vegetables — but one taste of it at Sir 
 Frank's table satisfied me that I had never before en- 
 joyed the real article. It was so good that I find it 
 impossible to describe it. I asked that my cook from 
 the Kentucky might see it prepared, and was surprised 
 when I learned that it took three native Indians two 
 days to get a dish of it ready to serve. I have never 
 enjoyed a visit elsewhere as much as I did this one to 
 Government House, Singapore, and I left the harbour 
 with great regret. 
 
 After leaving Singapore we ran up to Hong Kong, 
 242 
 
A Russian Squadron in Japan 
 
 where we found the Oregon, the New Orleans, and the 
 Helena. The plague was raging with such violence 
 that I deemed it prudent to remain only a short time. 
 The Navy Department was anxious about a coaling sta- 
 tion at Amoy, and to give them the information they 
 desired I proceeded with the squadron to that port. On 
 investigation I found that our vice-consul had leased a 
 piece of land from the Chinese owners and proposed to 
 make it pay a good return by inducing the Navy De- 
 partment to establish on it a coaling station. He was 
 doomed to disappointment, however, as the board of 
 officers ordered to survey the land and report on its 
 fitness for the purpose decided that it was not a desir- 
 able place for a coaling plant. The offer of the whole 
 harbour for nothing having been declined, it was now 
 proposed by some one, probably the vice-consul, that 
 we should pay a round sum for a small part of an out- 
 of-the-way rocky island! 
 
 After completing the work at Amoy, I stood up the 
 coast, exercising constantly at tactical drills, anchored 
 in a dense fog for three days off the mouth of the 
 Yangtze, and then continued on to Nagasaki, where I 
 found a large Russian squadron assembled. Cholera 
 was raging, but the Russians did not seem to mind that ; 
 they were watching the Japanese making a demonstra- 
 tion to show how strong they were on the water. It 
 was only a short time before they found out how futile 
 their mission had been — that the Japanese actually 
 laughed at Russian sea power. There was a young 
 Prince on the Russian flagship ; on his staff were intel- 
 ligent officers of experience. Why they did not see, as 
 the rest of us did, that war was inevitable and almost 
 
 243 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 upon them was more than I could understand. Every 
 Russian officer I met made the same grave mistake; 
 they all underrated their enemy, and believed that 
 Japan was afraid to go to war with them. The prepa- 
 rations for war were so evident and so earnest that any 
 reasonably intelligent observer should have seen them. 
 The crowded condition of the harbour, added to the 
 danger from cholera, made our visit a short one, and 
 we continued on to Yokohama, where we arrived dur- 
 ing the latter part of April. 
 
 It was now time to give shore leave to officers and 
 men. Our cruise south had necessarily brought much 
 discomfort and hardship, but it never produced com- 
 plaint. All saw the necessity for hard work, and they 
 knew that when the time came they would be allowed 
 every possible chance to enjoy themselves. As many 
 officers as could be spared from duty were given ten 
 days' leave at a time, which permitted them to travel 
 and see something of this most interesting country. 
 Parties of enlisted men, in charge of the chaplain or 
 some other suitable officer, went to different places for 
 periods of four or five days. Some of these parties 
 numbered as many as two hundred and fifty or three 
 hundred men. Their conduct on such occasions was 
 excellent and the impression they made most favour- 
 able. The old idea that a bluejacket must get drunk 
 and make trouble every time he goes on shore was 
 thoroughly discounted. The men went and came just 
 as the officers did, and it was rare indeed that it became 
 necessary to award punishment for bad conduct on 
 shore. When it was necessary it came sharp and quick, 
 and the knowledge that it was sure to come just 
 
 244 
 
A Visit to Kioto 
 
 as certainly as the reward for good conduct would, 
 had an excellent influence throughout the fleet. In ad- 
 dition, the men preferred to behave themselves well. 
 Bringing the ships together produced emulation in this 
 respect, as well as in others. 
 
 When opportunity offered I took my leave, and 
 with my family and members of my staff visited Kioto, 
 the old capital of Japan, stopping over at Nagoya 
 long enough to visit the old castle and the potteries, 
 which are among the finest in the country. It was at 
 Nagoya that the war preparations were most striking. 
 Constant drilling and marching of the men, while the 
 women, in their places, gathered the crops and tilled 
 the soil, indicated clearly what was to come. There 
 was no boasting or show about it, only hard work, 
 with quiet, determined faces on all sides. At Kioto 
 our party secured quarters at a hotel so situated as to 
 give us an excellent view of the city. Our beds were 
 comfortable, our food quite good enough, and the serv- 
 ice all that could be desired. From this comfortable base 
 we planned and carried out many delightful expedi- 
 tions to various points of interest. 
 
 The city is a veritable storehouse of valuable and 
 historic souvenirs of Japanese progress and civilisation. 
 The temples are among the oldest and finest in the 
 kingdom, the silk manufactures probably the best in the 
 world, and the dealers in ceramics well supplied with 
 the most valuable articles in their line, for which they 
 charged the most exorbitant prices, but were reasonable 
 as soon as we showed them that we knew what the 
 things were worth. Everything, from a lapdog to a 
 Satsuma teacup, was offered for sale and, I must admit, 
 
 17 245 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 purchased by some member of the party before we left. 
 Among the most interesting sights in Kioto were the 
 looms, where valuable silks, some of them worth a hun- 
 dred dollars a yard, were being made. Old-fashioned 
 looms, in use for centuries, handled by women, turned 
 out fabrics the equal of which cannot be found else- 
 where in the world. Gold and silver threads were used in 
 some of them, and the completed fabric was so stiff when 
 finished that it would stand alone. A beautiful moun- 
 tain stream ran through the city which, if properly har- 
 nessed, would have produced power enough to run any 
 number of mills, but this would have thrown many 
 women out of employment. Rather than do this the 
 old looms were continued in use. Many of the fabrics 
 so made appeared afterwards at the court ceremonies 
 in Tokio. Some of them, no doubt, might be seen at 
 similar ceremonies in London, Paris, and Washington. 
 
 Upon my return to Yokohama, at the expiration of 
 my leave of absence, hard work again stared me in the 
 face. All the vessels of the northern division, and as 
 many as could be spared from the southern one, had 
 been ordered to assemble at Chefoo for target practice 
 and fleet manoeuvres. The Kentucky was docked and 
 necessary repairs made. All the ships were put in con- 
 dition for immediate service, and early in June assem- 
 bled at Chefoo. 
 
 The rivalry in the fleet over the coming target prac- 
 tice was great, promising excellent results. That all 
 the vessels might have a fair chance to win, I suspended 
 all drills except those with the guns, and ordered that 
 all possible time should be devoted to ping-pong prac- 
 tice. While this was in progress I made my contem- 
 
 246 
 
Off the Taku Bar 
 
 plated visit to Pekin for an audience with her Majesty, 
 the Empress Dowager. The Kentucky and the Helena 
 anchored off the Taku bar, the latter as close in as the 
 depth of water would admit, and a tug was chartered 
 to convey the party, consisting of my staff and a few 
 selected officers, to the railroad station on the river 
 above Taku. The sea was very rough, the tug small 
 and almost unseaworthy, and to get on board of her 
 was no easy job. We managed it, however, by the use 
 of lifeboats, and, wet to the skin, started for the bar, 
 where the sea was breaking in a way to promise us a 
 good shaking up, if nothing more serious. On the 
 bridge with the Chinese pilot seemed the most promis- 
 ing place in which to keep dry, and at the same time 
 have a chance to swim if she capsized, and there I took 
 my place. Our trunks, containing our full-dress uni- 
 forms, were put below, where they would be compara- 
 tively safe. Before we reached the bar the tug behaved 
 so badly, rolling and pitching in a dangerous way, that 
 the Chinese captain proposed to put about and run back 
 to the ships. This did not promise well to me, so I 
 ordered him to run his engines slowly and pay more 
 attention to his boat. He was so badly scared that he 
 was likely to let her fall off into the trough of the sea 
 at any moment, and I knew that would be fatal. Just 
 before we reached the bar I sent the tug ahead at full 
 speed, and we went through the breaking sea rather 
 than over it. For a moment the wretched little boat 
 stood on end, and then, with one jump, landed on the 
 inside of the bar, where the water was smooth. We 
 were safe, but a wetter or more bedraggled lot of offi- 
 cers I never saw. 
 
 247 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 At the railroad station we found fairly comfortable 
 accommodations in a train on the new road to Tientsin, 
 in charge of Chinese officials. When we had run a 
 short distance through the salt fields, where most of the 
 salt used in the East is dried out from sea water and 
 prepared for the market, a dust storm shut down on 
 us, and for the rest of the distance we saw little except 
 the black pall of dust that surrounded the train, pene- 
 trating our clothing, our eyes, and our throats. In 
 some cases it even penetrated our tempers! The road 
 ran through the country over which the foreign troops 
 marched to the relief of Pekin during the Boxer 
 troubles, and it was full of interest for that reason, as 
 well as many others, but we saw little of it. We 
 passed many camps of foreign troops which had the ap- 
 pearance of permanent occupation, but whenever I 
 asked how long they would remain, the officers an- 
 swered, "We will leave after the indemnity is paid!" 
 How long after they did not specify. In some cases it 
 was a few weeks, in others the soldiers are there yet. 
 
 Upon reaching Tientsin we were rattled off to a 
 very good hotel — the Astor House Hotel — in vehicles 
 that would not be employed in New York or London. 
 There was no choice between them and walking. The 
 following morning we were joined by the ladies of our 
 families, who had come to Taku by mail steamer, had 
 been landed in comfort, and had escaped the discom- 
 forts of the dust storm. When it was known that we 
 were in the city, many foreign officers called to pay 
 their respects and to invite us to visit their camps, 
 which we did later. I was curio'us to hear from these 
 highly decorated and gorgeously uniformed officers 
 
 248 
 
At Tientsin 
 
 their impressions of the American troops who had 
 marched with them to Pekin. All of them had only- 
 words of praise for our men, but I only succeeded in 
 getting from one of them anything like an opinion in 
 detail. This was a German officer of rank, who praised 
 particularly the discipline of our cavalry. He said he 
 had visited the camp of this regiment after pay day, and 
 found many evidences of hard drinking, but there was 
 not a trooper among the lot but managed somehow to 
 stand on his feet and salute as the group of officers 
 passed! He was sure that such would not have been 
 the case with other foreign troops in the same condi- 
 tion. 
 
 We spent one day in Tientsin to see some of the 
 curious features of the historic place. Securing com- 
 fortable sedan chairs with trustworthy Chinese bearers, 
 we visited the old native city, which had caused so 
 much trouble and bloodshed to the troops marching to 
 the relief of the legation in Pekin, It will be recalled 
 that a high wall surrounded the city, and that it was 
 against this that the Ninth United States Infantry was 
 sent in a desperate charge after the Japanese had 
 blown down the gate. The place was carried by our 
 men and the English troops, who throughout the expe- 
 dition fraternised with them and joined them in this 
 charge. The gallant colonel of the Ninth was killed in 
 advance of his men, and a small stone monument now 
 marks the spot where he fell. In future this great wall 
 will give no trouble, for it was completely blown up 
 and removed after the capture of the city and a fine, 
 wide boulevard constructed on its site. The Germans, 
 who were given control of the place when it surren- 
 
 249 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 dered, saw that the work was thoroughly done, and, 
 consequently, we passed entirely around the old Chi- 
 nese city on a wide, well-paved street, scowled at by the 
 natives, but not molested or threatened. The great 
 Chinese gun plant at Tientsin, which had for years 
 made all the guns for the army and navy, was a wreck, 
 as were also the batteries that had defended it. What 
 had not been destroyed by artillery fire had afterwards 
 been treated with dynamite, and the destruction was 
 complete. Much valuable machinery had been saved 
 and sent to the site of a new establishment on the 
 Yangtze. The Russians had removed many of the best 
 guns from here and the Taku forts, with enormous 
 quantities of ammunition, to their newly constructed 
 forts at Port Arthur. 
 
 The American troops had all been withdrawn from 
 China except a guard of one hundred men of the Ninth 
 Infantry who remained at Pekin. About every other 
 nation had troops both at Pekin and Tientsin. I no- 
 ticed particularly the camps of the Japanese, who had a 
 brigade of infantry just outside the old Chinese city of 
 Tientsin — fine, sturdy-looking, brown chaps, who were 
 ready at a moment's notice for any kind of work they 
 might be called on to do. Before the assault on the 
 great wall, before mentioned, a party of these men had 
 been sent to blow in the main gate. The dynamite 
 charge was fixed in place and the fuse lighted, but it 
 failed to explode it. One of the men ran forward, fired 
 his rifle into the charge, went to pieces with the gate, 
 and was buried under its debris. In the German camp 
 were several fine regiments of infantry, large, heavy- 
 looking men, apparently twice the size of the Japanese, 
 
 250 
 
German Troops in China 
 
 well uniformed and equipped, and commanded by offi- 
 cers who had been thoroughly trained in their busi- 
 ness. They were in control of Tientsin, and we saw 
 more of them about the streets than of others, as they 
 patrolled the foreign settlement and kept order. 
 
 The foreign settlement was in marked contrast to 
 the filthy, dilapidated Chinese city. There were many 
 beautiful houses, nearly all of which showed by the 
 shell marks on their walls how desperate had been the 
 attempts of the Chinese batteries to destroy them. Too 
 much credit cannot be given to the companies of for- 
 eigners, merchants, clerks, etc., who volunteered to 
 defend the city, and did defend it until the foreign 
 troops arrived and relieved them. Many of them were 
 killed and many more so badly wounded that they will 
 remain invalids the rest of their lives. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 AUDIENCE WITH THE EMPRESS DOWAGER 
 
 From Tientsin we continued to Pekin. No dust 
 storm came our way, and we were able to pick out the 
 various points of interest as we progressed. The rail- 
 road built by the Germans ran through an opening in 
 the outer wall of the city, and landed us directly in 
 front of and only a few yards from the great east 
 gate of the new city. This gate was the one cap- 
 tured and held by the American troops. From the 
 top of the great wall over it Riley's battery of 
 field artillery was firing at the gates of the sacred 
 city when that gallant officer lost his life. He was the 
 only man of the command who was struck, and no one 
 could tell where the bullet came from that killed him. 
 Our minister to China met us on our arrival, and was 
 good enough to insist on our staying with him in the 
 legation, an old Chinese temple, during our visit. 
 
 As we passed through the gate — the wall is sixty 
 feet thick — what we saw was most revolting. Lepers 
 were lying about, their swollen, suppurating sores ex- 
 posed to view, begging of those who passed; others, 
 sick with various diseases, were in evidence, and beg- 
 gars without number whined at our elbows and begged 
 for alms. Dogs by the dozen barked and snarled, ugly, 
 mangy curs of all breeds, that looked as if they had 
 
 252 
 
Visit to Pekin 
 
 never had enough to eat — such dogs as one sometimes 
 sees in a fevered dream. It was only a short distance 
 to the residence of the minister, where we were made 
 comfortable and happy by the courteous hospitality of 
 him and his wife. Our quarters in the temple were 
 comfortable in many ways. The beds were delightful, 
 and we could have enjoyed sleep had it not been for 
 three things — dogs, rats, and mosquitoes; the dogs 
 barked all night, the mosquitoes bit at all hours, and the 
 rats raced over the floors and beds until sleep was out 
 of the question. 
 
 A short walk after luncheon showed us how bitter 
 the struggle had been to prevent the Boxers from cap- 
 turing the legation and surrounding grounds. Bullet 
 marks everywhere; in places walls more than a foot 
 thick entirely shot away, and others so pitted with bul- 
 lets that a finger could not be put on a sound place. 
 One might expect to see this condition in a small space 
 that had been subjected to a hot fire ; but here it was the 
 same for several miles over the whole of the English, 
 American, and Japanese legations. Other foreign com- 
 pounds were badly scarred, but these were the worst 
 because the fighting in and about them was the fiercest. 
 Before the siege was raised, all foreigners retreated to 
 the English legation, and, of course, the greatest de- 
 struction was done there. At the time of my visit 
 many of the legations had been rebuilt, most of them 
 so constructed as to offer real resistance in case of at- 
 tack, with proper quarters for the legation guard. The 
 new English legation was almost like a fortress. A 
 heavy, loop-holed wall had been built around the entire 
 grounds, except in one place, where the old wall was 
 
 253 
 
An Admirals Log 
 
 left intact. On this was inscribed in large black letters 
 " Lest we forget." The new American legation was 
 built out in the open, where the mob will have an easy 
 time capturing it when the time comes! The barracks 
 for the company of the Ninth Infantry, which formed 
 the legation guard, were close to the legation, and with- 
 out protection of any kind. The people of Pekin had 
 had their lesson, surely a very severe one, and foreigners 
 were safe there for a long time to come, but history has 
 repeated itself so often in China that I think we may 
 look for more trouble in the course of time. It would 
 have been better, I think, when building our new lega- 
 tion, if we had made it strong enough to protect our 
 people in case of necessity. 
 
 Close by our legation site was the great city wall, 
 where the handful of American marines — there were 
 less than one hundred of them — did such splendid serv- 
 ice. The breastworks and barricades had been removed 
 at the time of my visit, but one could easily trace their 
 lines. Standing as I did on the spot, with all the sur- 
 roundings in plain sight, it seemed marvellous that 
 these men could have resisted the attacks made on them 
 by such vastly superior numbers. Yet they did it, and 
 by so doing saved the lives of those committed to their 
 care, and reflected great honour on their splendid corps. 
 At one point the Chinese soldiers worked their way, 
 under cover, to the very end of our barricade, within a 
 few yards of our men. They were preparing to charge 
 the position in flank, when the marines took the offen- 
 sive, charged into the Chinese trenches, and with their 
 bayonets drove the Boxers more than half a mile. A 
 few marines were killed or wounded, but the Chinese 
 
 254 
 
During the Siege of Pekin 
 
 suffered severely. Their dead were piled in great 
 numbers on the wall, where the decaying bodies soon 
 became a great menace to the health of our men. This 
 handful of marines held their position day after day 
 and night after night, until their diminished number 
 forced them to retire to the English legation, where all 
 foreign residents were assembled, protected by the com- 
 bined legation guards. Here they fought heroically 
 until the arrival of the relief expedition. 
 
 During the worst days of the siege the English flag 
 covered the sick and wounded from all the legations. 
 The question of food and medical supplies was a most 
 serious one — one that gave grave concern to those in 
 charge. Grown people could, and did, stand the strain 
 without complaint, but the children soon fell ill, and 
 were the source of great anxiety. The wife of the 
 English minister had all these children in charge. Her 
 hens, of which she had but a small number, laid a few 
 eggs every day, and these were carefully preserved for 
 the use of the sick children. One day the wife of a 
 minister begged to be given a fresh egg, and, suppos- 
 ing that it was for some sick child, her request was 
 granted. Afterwards it was learned that the egg was 
 used for washing the lady's hair ! It is unnecessary to 
 name the nationality of the lady — that can be easily 
 guessed — but she did not get any more fresh eggs. 
 
 When my arrival had been duly reported to her, the 
 Empress Dowager requested, through our minister, a 
 copy of the speech I was going to make at the coming 
 audience, that it might be translated and duly consid- 
 ered. The following day her reply to my speech was 
 received, translated, and stowed away. Then the offi- 
 
 255 
 
An Admiral's Loe 
 
 c> 
 
 cial calls on foreign representatives were made, which 
 took the better part of two days, and I was ready for 
 the audience which had been arranged for me. 
 
 The imperial court was at the summer palace, ten 
 or twelve miles from Pekin, and to this spot we must 
 journey in proper green chairs carried on the shoulders 
 of native coolies. We should have been much more 
 comfortable in some wheeled vehicle drawn by horses, 
 certainly would have made the trip in half the time, but 
 etiquette required that we go in green chairs, so in them 
 we went, I in one, my wife in another, the minister in 
 another, and so on until we made quite a procession of 
 green chairs. We left our temple in the morning in 
 time to arrive at our destination before noon. We were 
 escorted by a number of Chinese cavalrymen mounted 
 on ponies. Their appearance was grotesque. They 
 seemed to take turns in falling; sometimes the pony 
 would fall and spill his rider into the road, but more 
 frequently the rider would fall off, generally over the 
 animal's head. Those in front of us yelled incessantly 
 at the people in the streets to get out of our way, 
 which they did promptly, or were banged over the head 
 with a stick. As we passed in this way through mile 
 after mile of the city, I was thoroughly interested by 
 what I saw. At times we passed what seemed to be the 
 remains of houses after a fire, but there had been no 
 fire. A Chinese, wishing a new house, builds one, but 
 rarely tears down the old one; he leaves it standing, 
 and after a time only the walls remain; the weather 
 removes the rest of it. This gives the city, in places, 
 the appearance of having been burned over. None of 
 the streets were paved, and the dust kicked up by the 
 
 256 
 
The Looting at Pekin 
 
 mass of people moving about was stifling, while the 
 noise of the yelping dogs and the swearing guard fairly 
 deafened one. The smells were those usually encoun- 
 tered in Chinese cities, and cannot be found elsewhere. 
 When the city was captured and occupied by the 
 relief expedition it was divided into districts, the troops 
 of each nation taking charge of a district to preserve 
 order and, if possible, to prevent looting and fires. The 
 flag of the nation having charge was displayed at the 
 corners of the streets, and small ones tacked on the 
 doors of the houses by the people who wished protec- 
 tion. In this way any one moving about the city could 
 tell at a glance what nation had jurisdiction of the par- 
 ticular section he was in. Some of the troops looted 
 houses and stores right and left as soon as they were 
 in possession, while others were not permitted this lux- 
 ury. Among the latter were the American troops, and 
 when this became known the people generally tacked 
 American flags on their houses, thus claiming protec- 
 tion. Evidence of this was still to be seen as we were 
 carried through the portion of the city held by our men 
 — the flags were still on many of the doors. The pub- 
 lished stories of the looting of Pekin by foreign troops 
 were grossly exaggerated. The city was undoubtedly 
 looted, pretty thoroughly at that, but it was done in 
 most cases by Chinese soldiers and the gang of outlaws 
 that always seems to be on hand for such occasions. It 
 is true that some of the foreigners looted — such is their 
 custom with captured cities — but, as a rule, the loot that 
 was carried away from Pekin by the relief army was 
 bought or taken forcibly from the Chinese who had 
 done the looting in the first place. The conduct of 
 
 257 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 some of the foreign troops was brutal and savage, but 
 not so bad as represented by the press. 
 
 We passed out through the great gate, captured by 
 the Japanese troops in the assault on the city, on our 
 way to the summer palace. Here there was still a 
 guard of Japanese troops, who preserved the strictest 
 order. The wall all about the gate showed the effect of 
 the Japanese artillery fire before the infantry regiments 
 were sent to scale it. Hundreds of shells had struck it; 
 it was fairly honeycombed with shells; but in no case 
 that I noticed had they completely penetrated the wall. 
 
 Once out into the open country, the scene changed 
 entirely. The level, black-looking land was, or had 
 been, carefully cultivated, and the green fields offered 
 some relief to our eyes, which were smarting from the 
 clouds of dust surrounding us. The road over which 
 we passed had been in use two thousand years or more. 
 It had been paved with great blocks of stone at one 
 time, but these had become somewhat displaced, leaving 
 holes filled with fine, pulverized dust, which rose in 
 clouds as the coolies tramped through it. Along the 
 middle of the road I noticed a ribbon of yellow sand. 
 Yellow is the royal Chinese colour, and this ribbon of 
 sand was ofiicial notice that the Emperor, or some 
 member of the royal family, would pass over the road 
 that day, and common people must keep out of the way. 
 Notice by yellow sand is always given when any mem- 
 ber of the imperial family is to venture into the country. 
 As we progressed, the escort of the Empress was seen 
 coming our way. We were sidetracked at a safe dis- 
 tance, and when they had passed we resumed our 
 journey. 
 
 258 
 
The Empress Dowager of China 
 
 When we arrived, the summer palace seemed 
 crowded with officials and eunuchs, but I was afterwards 
 told that there were only about two thousand of the 
 latter, the usual number to guard the palace. Curious- 
 looking, heavy, stalwart men, these eunuchs, with lead- 
 ers whose keen, tricky-looking eyes were set too close 
 together for my liking. None of them indeed was the 
 kind of man I would select for a post of trust, but as 
 far as I know they were faithful to her Majesty. The 
 fear of a deep well or an opium pill may have been re- 
 sponsible for this. I positively distrusted, even dis- 
 liked, the whole gang from the moment I first laid eyes 
 on them, and I found this was the feeling entertained 
 by most of the officers who were with me. 
 
 Everything was in readiness for our reception. As 
 soon as we could change into special full-dress uniform 
 we were ushered into the royal presence. I had selected 
 the officers to accompany me — tall, fine-looking men — 
 and when we stood in a row facing her I felt sure the 
 Empress Dowager had not often seen a more business- 
 like-looking lot of officers. She was seated on her 
 throne, beautifully dressed, calm, and dignified. On 
 a chair to her left, but not on the throne, sat the 
 young Emperor, a young man, who seemed to me 
 deficient in mental make-up. In this opinion, how- 
 ever, I was not supported by some of those who were 
 with me. 
 
 The minister presented me in a few words to her 
 Majesty, and, standing at a distance of about twenty 
 feet, I repeated the speech I had sent her some days 
 before — at least a portion of it. She replied with the 
 speech she had sent me, and then an unusual thing hap- 
 
 259 
 
An Admirals Log 
 
 pened. She said to the minister through her inter- 
 preter : 
 
 " Ask the admiral to come near me ; I wish to con- 
 verse with him ! " 
 
 This part of the play had not been rehearsed, as it 
 was unexpected. For a moment I was just a bit discon- 
 certed, but only for a moment. I ascended the two or 
 three steps of the throne and approached the wonderful 
 woman who sat in front of me. I had no idea just 
 how close I ought to go, but I had often talked to the 
 wife of our President, and I felt that I could come as 
 close to this Chinese lady as I had to her. I stopped 
 when I was close enough to put my hand on her, if that 
 became desirable. Then I looked into the eyes of this 
 woman who ruled over four hundred millions of peo- 
 ple, holding their lives and the destiny of hef country 
 in the hollow of her hand. Beautiful, appealing brown 
 eyes looked back at me out of a face that must at one 
 time have been strikingly beautiful. Every line of it 
 indicated firmness and strength ; the mouth alone sug- 
 gested cruelty, if occasion called for it. A more strik- 
 ing face, one to be longer remembered, I have never 
 seen. The Manchu head dress she wore was most 
 becoming, and added to the effect of the exquisite cos- 
 tume in which her Majesty was attired. 
 
 The Empress Dowager spoke deliberately and with 
 dignity. The interpreter received her words, bumped 
 his head on the floor, raised his eyes, and repeated in 
 English what she had said. I replied, another bump of 
 the head, and with downcast eyes he conveyed my mes- 
 sage to her Majesty. Thus, for about twenty minutes, 
 the conversation continued, growing more interesting 
 
 260 
 
REAR-ADMIRAL ROBLEY D. EVANS. 
 
Interview with Empress Dowager 
 
 as she stated her side of the Boxer troubles and the 
 cruel punishment China had received, as a nation, for 
 the doings of a band of outlaws. As the conversation 
 progressed, the dark-brown eyes blazed, and I felt them 
 looking straight into my brain as well as my heart. If 
 I had wanted to do so, I felt that it would be impossible 
 for me to attempt to deceive the woman who was watch- 
 ing me so earnestly. Officially, she knew no word of 
 English, but several times she started to reply before 
 my words had been translated, which convinced me that 
 she understood well every word I was saying. The 
 rapid changes of expression on her face also led me to 
 this conclusion. The interview concluded with these 
 words from her Majesty: 
 
 " After all my country has suffered, I find she has 
 but one friend in the world. That, admiral, is the great 
 country you represent ! " 
 
 With these words she clasped her own shapely, deli- 
 cate hands together. I bowed and backed out of her 
 presence, fully aware that I had enjoyed the privilege 
 of seeing the most remarkable woman in the world 
 show her real feeling. 
 
 Having disposed of the male portion of the party, 
 the Empress Dowager granted an audience to the ladies 
 who had accompanied us, was most gracious in conver- 
 sation with them, and entertained them at luncheon. In 
 the meantime a state luncheon was served for the offi- 
 cers, which was attended by many Chinese court officials 
 and officers of rank. The only wine served was cham- 
 pagne, but the dishes were many and curious. Many of 
 them I did not recognise, nor had ever heard of before. 
 Sharks' fins, bird's-nest soup, and eggs, very old and 
 18 261 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 black, and many preparations of pork, I knew and par- 
 took of, but there were many which I tasted without 
 knowing what they contained. 
 
 After luncheon, which lasted more than two hours, 
 we were shown through the beautiful grounds of the 
 summer palace. The conduct of the troops who had 
 occupied them — they were not Americans — had been 
 such as to make it hard for us to look our hosts in the 
 face, as they pointed out to us the results of their infa- 
 mous conduct. Beautiful old bronzes, too heavy to be 
 carried away, which had stood in those grounds for 
 more than a thousand years, were destroyed by dyna- 
 mite. Holes were drilled into them, dynamite sticks 
 inserted and fired, thus blowing open and defacing 
 pieces of untold value, which could never by any possi- 
 bility be replaced. The officials who conducted us only 
 glanced at the things so destroyed — ^made no comment 
 until some one asked how or why it had been done. 
 Then the name of the country whose men had done 
 these things was mentioned, but nothing more was said. 
 
 We were fairly started on our return, when a ter- 
 rific dust storm broke over us. The air was so thick 
 that our bearers had great difficulty in following the 
 road. It was like a dense fog at sea — worse, indeed, 
 because the flying dust cut the eyes, causing the men to 
 stop until they could regain their sight. Frequently 
 we found ourselves mixed up with those going in the 
 opposite direction, when a wordy war would follow, 
 terminated in most cases by the sticks of our cavalry 
 escort. We arrived at our temple, having certainly 
 swallowed our " peck of dirt," ready for such a rest as 
 we could induce the mosquitoes and rats to allow us. 
 
 262 
 
A Dinner at Pekin 
 
 We had done twenty-six miles in uncomfortable chairs, 
 half of it in a blinding dust storm ! 
 
 The day following our visit to the summer palace 
 our minister, Mr, Conger, gave a state dinner. Prince 
 Chung, Cheng-Chi-Tung, and other high officials at- 
 tended. The day was intensely hot, not a breath of air 
 could be felt, and the mosquitoes were most active. 
 We sat under the trees in the temple yard awaiting the 
 arrival of the guests, when the first one appeared, per- 
 spiring freely, his head encased in the heavy headgear 
 demanded by the occasion. All Chinese gentlemen dine 
 with their head covering on. The minister asked the 
 newcomer to remove his helmet, which he gladly did, 
 handing it to his attendant. When the second guest 
 arrived, this attendant hurried back, and the heavy 
 headpiece was replaced. Then the two were uncov- 
 ered, as the first had been, until the third one ar- 
 rived, when they hurriedly covered again! This was 
 continued as each guest arrived until all were assem- 
 bled, where they solemnly sat with their hats on, watch- 
 ing each other like hawks, while the perspiration 
 streamed down their faces. 
 
 The half hour of assembling and the dinner that fol- 
 lowed were most interesting and instructive to one who 
 watched, as I did, the move of each of the players in 
 the game. When one of the Chinese officials wished to 
 speak to another he left his seat, approached the one to 
 be spoken to, placed his mouth close to his ear, and, 
 with his own hands on either side of his mouth, whis- 
 pered what he had to say. This was before the dinner 
 was announced. It was evident that each one of them 
 was afraid to allow the others to know what he was 
 
 26z 
 
An Admirars Log 
 
 saying. Wise old Cheng-Chi-Tung watched them all. 
 No two of them exchanged words without his knowl- 
 edge, and I could not help thinking that he suspected 
 that he was himself the subject of much of the whis- 
 pered conversations. 
 
 During the dinner I was seated between Cheng-Chi- 
 Tung on my right and a graduate of Yale on my left. 
 Behind Cheng-Chi-Tung was his pipe bearer, a delicate- 
 looking Chinese boy, who filled his master's pipe and 
 passed it to him with the regularity of some mechanical 
 device. The number of times the pipe was emptied 
 would not be believed if I stated it. The man on my 
 left, secretary to some high official, spoke English per- 
 fectly, and as the wine warmed him up discussed affairs 
 in China with a freedom that was surprising. He was 
 eloquent in defence of the Boxers and the course of the 
 Chinese government toward them, and very bitter in 
 his comments on the conduct of the foreign troops. 
 After dinner he presented me with a book he ha.d writ- 
 ten, which has since afforded me much amusement. 
 
 The question of opening two more Chinese ports to 
 foreign trade was much discussed during this dinner by 
 the foreign ministers present. All of them seemed to 
 consider it a good thing to do, except the minister from 
 Japan, who took little part in the conversation. The 
 ports named, which were Mukden and one outside the 
 mouth of the Yalu River, met the approval of the Rus- 
 sian minister particularly, who had much to say in 
 favour of it. 
 
 The following morning I received the card of an 
 English officer, who requested to see me on very impor- 
 tant and confidential business. It was concerning the 
 
 264 
 
New Treaty Ports 
 
 two new treaty ports. The English and the Japanese 
 ministers were anxious that the one on the Yalu River 
 should be actually inside its mouth, to ensure the river 
 being kept open to foreign trade. This officer had been 
 personally to the place, and one glance at the rough 
 sketch of the reconnaissance he had made convinced 
 me that the contemplated treaty would not secure the 
 desired result. Our minister was confident that it 
 would, but after an interview with the Japanese min- 
 ister I concluded to look into the matter more closely. 
 The Austria, one of our gunboats at Chefoo, was 
 commanded by Commander Ward, an officer who, in 
 addition to many other excellent qualities, spoke Rus- 
 sian fluently; and to him was given the work of exam- 
 ining the mouth of the Yalu. He was directed to em- 
 ploy the best pilots to be obtained, to make a complete 
 running survey of the locality, to report fully on the 
 proposed treaty port, and to recommend a suitable one 
 for the purpose in view — keeping open the mouth of 
 the river. In a short time the work was completed, and 
 the report, one of the most valuable and accurate ones 
 ever made, was submitted. Later, Mr. Conger wired 
 me to know if I could send a gunboat to the mouth of 
 the Yalu and, without exciting suspicion, get certain 
 information he wanted. I replied at once, sending him 
 a copy of Commander Ward's report, which showed 
 that the proposed treaty port was well outside the 
 actual mouth of the river, was so situated that even 
 small boats could only get to it at high water, and that 
 it would be of no value to foreign trade if declared 
 open. I suggested that if possible there should be sub- 
 stituted the name of another port which Commander 
 
 265 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Ward had recommended. It was well inside the mouth 
 of the river, had over sixty thousand inhabitants and 
 a thriving trade, with good water up to the docks. It 
 was only a few days before the treaty was to be signed, 
 and quick action was necessary to secure what we de- 
 sired. The combined influence of our own and the 
 Japanese minister prevailed, the name of the new port 
 was put in, and the treaty signed before the Russian 
 influence could prevent it. It may be well to state here 
 that if sufficient time had been allowed, this treaty 
 would never have been signed; the Russian minister, 
 by tactics of which he was master, would have pre- 
 vented it. The Chinese government was helpless to 
 prevent Russia from doing just as she pleased, and the 
 protests of other governments, however strong, had lit- 
 tle or no effect. The promise to evacuate Manchuria, 
 giving a date at which it would positively be done, had 
 been made so often and never kept that such talk now 
 was regarded as a joke. The following extract from 
 one of my official reports made in July, 1903, shows 
 how I felt on the subject: 
 
 " After consultation with our minister at Pekin 
 and from my own observation of affairs, I am satisfied 
 that the Russians do not intend to evacuate Manchu- 
 ria or any part of that territory now occupied by them, 
 and it is doubtful that they will do so in the future. 
 So long, therefore, as the Russian forces maintain mili- 
 tary control of Manchuria and have troops stationed at 
 Newchwang, they, of course, are responsible for the 
 maintenance of order, and there is no longer need to 
 retain any of our vessels at that port. I therefore di- 
 rected the Wilmington to rejoin the fleet at Chefoo, 
 which she has done. The Wilmington, as will be re- 
 
 266 
 
Evacuation of Chinese Ports 
 
 membered, was, at the request of the State Department, 
 ordered to Newchwang to be there at the expected 
 evacuation of that place on April ist last." 
 
 Thus, for three months, we had held a vessel in port 
 waiting to see the Russian troops leave, as had been 
 promised by their government. A few months later the 
 Japanese took a hand in the business, and her soldiers 
 soon secured what all others had failed to secure by 
 peaceable means — the evacuation of a Chinese treaty 
 port which Russia, in the first place, never had any 
 right to occupy! 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 A SUMMER AT CHEFOO 
 
 Upon my return to Chefoo from Pekin, I found 
 all the vessels of the fleet assembled there. The new 
 battleship Wisconsin was flying the flag of Rear-Ad- 
 miral Cooper, who had just arrived to assume com- 
 mand of the northern (or cruiser) division of the 
 fleet. The battleship Oregon was also in port, and alto- 
 gether we had twenty vessels of war in the harbour — a 
 greater number than had ever before been assembled 
 in any Chinese port. This led the Russian authorities 
 at Port Arthur to assume that we were there for the 
 purpose of showing our friendship and sympathy for 
 Japan as against them. To get to the bottom of this 
 and find out exactly why we were mobilised at Chefoo, 
 a brilliant young general, Desino by name, was sent to 
 watch us. He came prepared for a long stay, brought 
 his charming wife and daughters with him, took rooms 
 at the hotel, and made himself most agreeable in his 
 intercourse with our officers. The object of his visit 
 was so apparent that I one day said to him, " General, 
 you know we are here this summer only for our 
 health ! " He seemed to consider this as very far from 
 the real reason, and devoted a great part of his time to 
 finding out something that did not exist. I had told 
 him the exact reason for our presence! But I am 
 
 268 
 
Defences of Port Arthur 
 
 free to confess that in doing so I had not expected him 
 to believe me. 
 
 The defences of Port Arthur were, of course, of the 
 greatest interest to us all from a professional stand- 
 point. General Desino was one of the officers who 
 had been employed in their design and construction, 
 and knew more about their condition than any one else 
 with whom I could communicate. He gave me much 
 valuable information during our many talks on the 
 subject, holding always that no power could capture 
 the place if they tried. When I pointed out the impor- 
 tance of Pigeon Cove and 203 Metre Hill, two places 
 left out of the general plan of defence, he agreed with 
 me, and said : 
 
 " I asked for the fortification of these, but my gov- 
 ernment would not allow me the money. We will mine 
 the Cove and depend upon the concentration of fire 
 from other forts for the defence of 203 Metre Hill ! " 
 
 The mines did later keep the fleet out of Pigeon 
 Cove, because the Japanese could not afford to lose any 
 of their heavy ships, but no amount of concentrated 
 fire, bad as it was, prevented the occupation of the Hill 
 by the brave men of General Nogi's command. When 
 once they held it, the fate of Port Arthur and its de- 
 fences was sealed. 
 
 Our fieet spent the summer months at Chefoo. Tar- 
 get practice was held for all the ships, including the 
 two new battleships, Wisconsin and Oregon, and the 
 cruisers Albany and Raleigh, which had just arrived 
 from home. The results were far more satisfactory than 
 had been attained in previous drills, giving great prom- 
 ise for future work. Much time was given to athletics. 
 
 269 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Men were landed from the ships every day, using the 
 fine field which had been provided for us. While ath- 
 letic sports were a pastime, affording amusement to 
 officers and men, they were at the same time part of the 
 drill of the fleet. It was the first time they had been so 
 regarded, and the effect was good. 
 
 We soon found, after anchoring the fleet at Che- 
 foo, that something was wrong with the charts; either 
 the original survey was bad or the harbour had under- 
 gone great changes. As the fleet would probably use 
 the place for future summers, it was necessary to have 
 reliable charts. I directed that a thorough survey be 
 made, and Lieutenant Field, a very able and competent 
 young officer, organised a surveying party, established 
 a station on shore, connected by wire with the observ- 
 atory at Shanghai, established accurately the latitude 
 and longitude, and proceeded energetically with the 
 work. Miles of sounding were run, and, after two 
 months of most excellent work, the smooth sheets were 
 sent to Washington, where the hydrographic office 
 produced a very fine chart of the harbour. When it 
 came out to us, it was curious to see how very bad the 
 others had been! It was fortunate that some of the 
 ships had not been run on shore. 
 
 The hotel accommodations at Chefoo were not first- 
 class, but they were bearable. The wives of many of the 
 officers of the fleet used them during the summer, and 
 were thus enabled to be near their husbands. The 
 question of having the wives of officers follow the ships 
 from port to port is one that has been much discussed 
 in the service and out of it. One Secretary of the 
 Navy went so far as to issue an order on the subject, 
 
 270 
 
Officers' Wives 
 
 but as the wives were in no way liable to the penalties 
 prescribed by the regulations for their husbands, this 
 order only caused merriment. The women came and 
 went as they pleased. Some officers of rank held, and 
 still hold, that it was a great detriment to efficiency to 
 have them about; others held just the opposite. With- 
 out joining either party to this controversy, I felt cer- 
 tain that I could not prevent the women from going 
 just where they pleased or where their husbands wanted 
 them to go. For one, I wanted my wife as near me as 
 she could get, and therefore secured quarters for her 
 where she might be as comfortable as circumstances 
 permitted. At the same time I gave notice, months in 
 advance, that the fleet would summer at Chefoo, so 
 that those who wished to do so might also secure quar- 
 ters. The assertion, often made, that officers are in- 
 duced to neglect their duties when ladies are about, in 
 order to spend their time on shore with them, has 
 always seemed to me weak; but if we grant, for the 
 sake of argument, that it has some truth, I still believe 
 that the good effect upon officers, particularly young 
 ones, of associating with ladies far outweighs any harm 
 that can be done by such neglect. In fact, I have never 
 known an officer to neglect his duty for any such rea- 
 son. But I have known many who have been made 
 comfortable and happy by having their wives or sweet- 
 hearts where they could see them when off duty. 
 
 Early in September a typhoon swept up the coast 
 of China, the tail of it striking us at Chefoo. The 
 wind brought in a heavy sea, which made the small 
 ships roll and pitch badly, but no serious damage was 
 done beyond the loss of a few anchors. The air was 
 
 271 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 so thick with the mist driven in by the gale that the 
 vessels could not be seen, and, as many of them 
 dragged their anchors, we were fortunate to escape 
 injury. I was caught on shore by the storm, and wit- 
 nessed the destruction caused by a cloudburst on the 
 mountains back -of the city. The water — one couldn't 
 call it rain — seemed to come in a mass from a very 
 black cloud which swept down from the mountains, 
 and instantly the whole surrounding country was 
 deluged. Small streams were converted into roaring 
 torrents, rushing with irresistible force to the sea and 
 bringing with them everything in their way. Houses, 
 lumber, animals of all kinds, and even human beings 
 were rolled over and over until they landed in the 
 harbour, to be pounded by the heavy surf that was 
 breaking on the beach. I stood and watched the pitiful 
 scene for some time, unable to render the least assist- 
 ance. It was beyond any human effort; we could only 
 watch the destruction and hope that the end would 
 soon come. The danger on shore was many times 
 greater than on the ships, though most people would 
 not believe it. Not a man was hurt in the fleet. 
 Twenty-five hundred were drowned or killed on shore! 
 Men, women, and children were beaten down in the 
 roads and fields by the force of the downpour, and 
 drowned before help could reach them. 
 
 When the storm finally passed, which it did as sud- 
 denly as it came, the sight from our hotel windows was 
 grand and impressive. On the beach immediately in 
 front of us were several large, timber-laden junks 
 which had grounded and were rapidly going to pieces, 
 while their crews struggled among the heavy timbers 
 
Gifts from the Empress Dowager 
 
 which floated out of the boats. The whole surface 
 of the sea was covered with the debris brought out by 
 the flood, and dead bodies were constantly exposed by 
 the falling tide. I watched with intense interest the 
 struggles of some of the poor beasts that had been 
 swept out by the rush of water. A milch cow swam for 
 more than an hour in the rough sea, finally landed, 
 walked up the shore, and was tied up in the hotel yard 
 to await an owner. She was swelled until her skin was 
 as tight as a drum-head. After resting a few hours, she 
 seemed to resume her natural size and appearance, 
 showing no bad effects from her long struggle. Two 
 very large, fat hogs also landed on the shore after 
 being in the water more than an hour. They swam 
 easily, showing no signs of distress, but, like the cow, 
 they were very much swollen when they came ashore. 
 The old idea that a pig would cut his own throat in 
 swimming was clearly disproved in this case. They not 
 only swam well, but showed no marks of any kind of 
 injury when examined. 
 
 A few days after my return from Pekin a large 
 packing case came from the Empress Dowager, ad- 
 dressed to my wife. When delivered on board the flag- 
 ship it was found to contain various articles of food, 
 packed in large earthenware jars. Some of them con- 
 tained chicken preserved in wine, old chicken and 
 very good wine, but, unlike most good wine, this 
 had not improved with age! Other jars contained 
 pork or eggs, all preserved in wine. It was cer- 
 tainly most gracious in her Majesty to send such a 
 valuable present, but the food did not prove to be to 
 our taste, probably because we did not know how to 
 
 ^7Z 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 prepare it for the table. Our efforts produced many- 
 bad odours, but nothing else. 
 
 Early in July I received words of commendation 
 from Washington regarding our work in Manila, as the 
 following letters will show : 
 
 Navy Department, 
 Washington, June 5, 1903. 
 
 Sir: 
 
 Your report of February 7, 1903, No. 26 D, on the 
 special operations and manoeuvres of the Asiatic Fleet 
 in and about Manila and Subig Bays has received the 
 attentive consideration of the general board, which has 
 reported on it to the department, with commendation of 
 its full and interesting details and the success and in- 
 structiveness of the manoeuvres. The general plan 
 seems to have been well adapted to the resources at 
 your command and to operations probable in the event 
 of actual war in the far East; the enthusiasm and gen- 
 eral efficiency of the officers and men admirable. 
 
 The department takes pleasure in communicating to 
 you the favourable opinion of the general board, in 
 which the department concurs, appreciating the sus- 
 tained zeal and ability of your administration. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 Chas. H. Darling, 
 Acting Secretary. 
 
 Upon the receipt of this letter its contents were 
 made known to the officers and men, and the following 
 written to the commander of the Philippine division : 
 
 Flagship Kentucky, 
 Chefoo, China, July 8, 1903. 
 
 Sir: 
 
 I. I enclose herewith a copy of letter No. 673, 36 B, 
 of June 3, 1903, from the department, expressing its 
 
 274 
 
Trouble at Poyang Lake 
 
 pleasure with the operations and manoeuvres of the fleet 
 in and about Manila and Subig Bays. 
 
 2. It is very gratifying to receive letters of this 
 character, and I desire that you will communicate its 
 contents to each of the vessels of the squadron under 
 your command, that all who have tended to the good 
 results should share in the department's commendation. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 R. D. Evans, 
 Rear-Admiral U. S. Navy, 
 Commander-in-Chief United States 
 Asiatic Fleet. 
 
 The receipt of this letter put new life into the offi- 
 cers and men. We all determined to show, if possible, 
 even better results in the future. 
 
 During the month of August reports had reached 
 me of threatened trouble for our missionaries and mer- 
 chants in the Poyang Lake district, particularly on the 
 Kan River at Wan-kia-tau and Nan-chang. I at once 
 sent the gunboat Villalobos to look into the matter and 
 afford all necessary protection. Much to my surprise, 
 the commanding officer reported to me that our consul 
 at Kow-kiang had read to him a letter from the Tao-Tai 
 (governor) complaining of the visit of the Villalobos. 
 The consul-general seemed to sustain the action of the 
 Tao-Tai, which caused me to write the following letter : 
 
 Flagship Kentucky, 
 Chefoo, China, July 30, 1903. 
 Sir: 
 
 I. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your No. 
 77-03 and 13-03 of the 226. instant, relative to the 
 movements of the U. S. S. Villalobos. 
 
 275 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 2. I have considered with much care paragraph i6 
 of the letter above referred to, relative to the contents 
 of the letter, read to you by our consul-general, from 
 the Tao-Tai at Kow-kiang, reporting that a French 
 gunboat had gone through Poyang Lake and up the 
 Kan River to Wan-kia-tau, and thence by boat to Nan- 
 chang, which corresponds, as you state, with the 
 movements of the Villalobos, and is presumably in- 
 tended to mean that vessel. Further, that the Tao- 
 Tai insisted in his letter that such visits should be 
 prohibited, and that the foreign representatives had 
 previously been warned not to send gunboats to the 
 Poyang district, as the people thereabouts are " bad 
 men." 
 
 3. Your visit with the Villalobos to Nan-chang for 
 the purpose of investigating the condition and provid- 
 ing for the protection of the lives and property of 
 Americans is approved. It is my desire that, so far as 
 practicable, similar visits be paid to all Americans hav- 
 ing property or other lawful interests in China, that I 
 may be kept fully informed regarding all things con- 
 cerning their welfare. 
 
 4. You will, if occasion offers, inform the Tao-Tai 
 who wrote the letter protesting to the consul-general 
 against your vessel that his objections will not receive 
 consideration, and that if he thinks the people of the 
 Poyang district are " bad men," that such a reason is a 
 greater cause for more frequent visits and more careful 
 inspections of our interests by our armed vessels, and 
 that those visits will be continued in the future as in 
 the past. You are also authorised to inform the Tao- 
 Tai, should occasion offer, and any other Chinese offi- 
 cials who may raise objections of this character, that 
 our gunboats are always amply provided for dealing 
 with " bad men," and if there should be any indication 
 to pay other than proper respect to American life and 
 property on the part of these men, that they will be 
 dealt with immediately, and that the gunboats will, 
 
 276 
 
Authority for Action 
 
 without further instructions, administer severe and last- 
 ing punishment. 
 
 5. It is expected that the Tao-Tai and other officials 
 of China will suppress all disorder and give ample pro- 
 tection to the lives and property of Americans; but if 
 these officials fail to do so, the question of adequate 
 and proper protection will be taken in hand by our 
 gunboats. In order to satisfy ourselves that the 
 various local officials are properly affording protec- 
 tion, our gunboats will continue to navigate the 
 Poyang Lake and the various other inland waters 
 of China wherever Americans may be, and where, 
 by treaty with China, they are authorised to engage 
 in business or reside for the purpose of spreading the 
 Gospel. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 R. D. Evans, 
 Rear-Admiral U. S. Navy, 
 Commander-in-Chief United States 
 Asiatic Fleet. 
 To the Commanding Officer U. S. S. Villalohos. 
 
 My action in this matter was fully reported to the 
 Navy Department, and also to our minister in Pekin. 
 Much to my surprise, Mr. Conger replied to my letter, 
 rather siding with the Tao-Tai in the position he had 
 taken. He asked me to give him my authority for 
 sending gunboats into Poyang Lake and under what 
 specific treaty I had acted. I stated in reply that I had 
 not acted under any specific treaty; that my action was 
 based on the broad principle that wherever the Chinese 
 government allowed American citizens to reside and 
 engage in business, commercial or otherwise, I claimed 
 the right to send the proper force to protect them in 
 case of necessity. Here the matter rested until the 
 19 277 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Navy Department referred my report to the State De- 
 partment. The gunboats in the meantime continued to 
 patrol the Poyang Lake district. The Secretary of 
 State, Mr. Hay, after considering my report, addressed 
 a letter to Mr. Conger, our minister in Pekin, a copy 
 of which was forwarded to me. In this letter Mr. Hay 
 stated that the position assumed by me was absolutely 
 and entirely correct, and expressed surprise that Mr. 
 Conger had differed with me. He also gave Mr. Con- 
 ger the information he had asked of me, viz. : the spe- 
 cific treaties under which he upheld my action. These 
 were treaties with other countries than our own of 
 which I had no knowledge, but under " the-most- 
 favoured-nation " clause applied to us, I regretted this 
 difference with our minister at Pekin. It was the only 
 one we ever had. It did result in much good, however, 
 for it gave the commander-in-chief of the Asiatic Fleet, 
 for the first time, an idea of how the State Department 
 regarded this important matter. Naval commanders 
 are frequently called upon to act promptly in important 
 matters, and they generally have to do it without as- 
 sistance from the State Department or any other recog- 
 nised authority. If they meet the approval of their 
 government, their action is commended. They some- 
 times receive a reprimand, though their action is ap- 
 proved, but not officially so. Such was the case with 
 Captain Wilkes when he removed Mason and Slidell 
 from the British steamer Trent during the Civil War, 
 and Captain Collins, who captured the Confederate 
 cruiser Florida in a neutral Brazilian port and brought 
 her to the United States. We must use our best judg- 
 ment on such occasions, and if our government finds it 
 
 278 
 
German Consideration 
 
 necessary to reprimand us, take our punishment with- 
 out complaint. 
 
 The end of September saw our work at Chefoo com- 
 pleted as far as it could be under the circumstances. 
 Three cruisers had reported for duty — the Albany, sis- 
 ter ship to the New Orleans; the Cincinnati, built in 
 the United States; and her sister ship, the Raleigh. 
 The last named was almost unfit to go to sea because 
 of bad work done on her boilers and engines at the 
 Portsmouth Navy Yard, and it was necessary to put 
 her in a dockyard for repairs at once. Indeed, all the 
 ships required some minor repairs, and, as we had no 
 station of our own where such work could be done, I 
 sent the cruiser division, under Rear-Admiral Cooper, 
 to Yokohama, that he might utilise the facilities of the 
 Yokosuka Navy Yard. With the Kentucky, Oregon, 
 Helena, and Wilmington, I sailed for Nagasaki, where 
 there were excellent machine shops for the work we 
 required. En route we stopped at Tsingtao, where 
 the Germans again received us most cordially and did 
 everything in their power to render our visit enjoyable. 
 Many entertainments were planned and given, among 
 them several dinners on shore for the enlisted men. 
 
 On one occasion during this visit I had been dining 
 with the governor, and on my way to my boat, after 
 midnight, I passed what seemed to be a large military 
 warehouse. It was on the water front, very near the 
 landing for our boats. As I approached the building I 
 noticed that it was lighted, and had a guard of German 
 sailors about the door. The German officer who had 
 been detailed for duty on my staff and was with me at 
 the time asked if I would look in for a moment, which 
 
 279 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 I did, and was much surprised at what I saw. The 
 large lower floor had been furnished with over two hun- 
 dred cot beds, and each one contained an American blue- 
 jacket, sound asleep, under care of the German sailors 
 on guard at the door. Here they slept quietly until the 
 boats came in for them in the morning, when they re- 
 turned, clean and sober, to their ships for breakfast. 
 In all my experience I had never before witnessed such 
 a sight, and I took great pleasure in thanking the Ger- 
 man Admiral, Count Baudissin, who had commanded 
 the Hohenzollern in New York, for his great courtesy 
 and kindness to my men. 
 
 At Nagasaki the repairs to the ships were taken in 
 hand at once and hurried to completion. War prepara- 
 tions were evident everywhere, and I was thankful that 
 the shops could spare the time from their own work to 
 do what was required for me. The work being done by 
 the Japanese clearly indicated that they expected to ship 
 a large number of men and vast supplies from this port. 
 Railroad switches to all docks were being rapidly, 
 though quietly, constructed, and to all the wharves 
 where steamers could land, thus connecting the docks 
 with the main lines of railroad leading into the interior. 
 Several Russian warships were in port, and their offi- 
 cers seemed curiously indifferent to what was going on 
 under their very noses. They still declared that Japan 
 would never dare to make war on them! 
 
 Repairs being completed, I proceeded to Kobe, in- 
 tending to assemble the fleet there for drills before pro- 
 ceeding to Manila for record target practice. The 
 water about Kobe was well suited for the work I pro- 
 jected, and the town was one of the best on the coast 
 
 280 
 
Unexpected Orders 
 
 in which to give liberty to our men. Orders were issued 
 for the ships at Yokohama to join me as fast as their 
 repairs were completed. Everything pointed to a most 
 interesting period of fleet drills, when one morning a 
 bomb dropped on us in the shape of a cipher message 
 from the Secretary of the Navy at Washington, asking 
 how soon I could sail for Honolulu with three battle- 
 ships and four cruisers. I replied that I could sail as 
 soon as the necessary coal could be taken in — about 
 twelve hours — twenty-four hours at most. At the 
 same time I advised, unless the emergency was 
 great, that I be allowed to dock some of the ships 
 and paint their bottoms before sailing. This was 
 granted in a subsequent telegram, directing me to 
 sail with the fleet the moment the ships were ready 
 and make the best of my way to Honolulu. I was left 
 in absolute ignorance as to what I was to do on arriv- 
 ing — whether I was to fight or cruise on to the coast 
 of California. I was on my back with a severe attack 
 of inflammatory rheumatism when the first telegram 
 came. The doctors had been working over me for some 
 time without any apparent benefit. The message did 
 what they had failed to do — put me on my feet at once 
 and made me forget the pain. 
 
 Instead of assembling at Kobe, I sailed for Yoko- 
 hama, where I could have an eye on the work to com- 
 plete it so as to sail at the earliest moment. I could 
 form no idea of the reason for such a sudden call for 
 the fleet, but I felt that it must be some very important 
 matter that would take us away from Japan at the mo- 
 ment when she was about to declare war with Russia. 
 I never knew why I was sent on this long cruise until 
 
 281 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 several years after, when the President himself told 
 me. We were about to acquire the Panama Canal zone, 
 and there was a rumour that some of the South Ameri- 
 can republics would place obstacles in our way. The 
 President wished to know, and it may be have others 
 know, just how long it would take to have the Asiatic 
 Fleet at Honolulu, ready for service in the South Pa- 
 cific. By a practical demonstration he got the informa- 
 tion he wanted, and was pleased to know how short the 
 time really was. 
 
 All the telegrams sent me about the sailing of the 
 fleet were in cipher, but the Japanese government knew 
 as much about it as I did. The news was given out in 
 Washington and wired to Tokio, where it caused much 
 excitement and comment. The Japanese felt that we 
 were deserting them at a time when they sorely needed 
 our moral support, and that the Russians would so 
 regard this movement of our fleet. It was not my busi- 
 ness to correct this impression, even had it been in my 
 power to do so. We had a representative in the Jap- 
 anese capital to attend to such matters. Before sailing 
 I called on the Japanese authorities to say good-bye. 
 One of the cabinet ministers, who was a warm personal 
 friend, asked me to convey a message to President 
 Roosevelt for him. 
 
 " Please say to the President that war between 
 Japan and Russia is inevitable unless England and the 
 United States interfere. We have done everything 
 possible to prevent it, and have failed." 
 
 On my arrival in Honolulu I was careful to see that 
 this message was duly transmitted. 
 
 The manner of hunting wild ducks in Japan had 
 282 
 
Hunting Ducks in Japan 
 
 long interested me, and before sailing I had an oppor- 
 tunity to enjoy this sport. Baron Kaneko had a fine 
 duck pond on his place near Tokio, where royalty fre- 
 quently hunted, and to this I and the members of my 
 family were invited. The pond was an artificial one, 
 made in an old rice field. Bamboos and other quick- 
 growing trees had been planted to enclose an area of a 
 few acres, and the earth heaped up about their roots to 
 hold the water in the pond and screen the ducks therein 
 from the view of any one outside. The water in the 
 pond was two or three feet deep. As soon as ducks 
 began to appear, the pond was generously baited with 
 rice to attract them, and they resorted to it in great 
 numbers to feed. At regular intervals ditches about 
 four feet wide were cut through the bamboos and the 
 embankment. These ditches were cut with an elbow, 
 or bend, so that they did not permit the ducks inside to 
 see what was in the ditch outside. The banks of the 
 ditches were built up about three feet high, and at the 
 end of each one was a small watch-house from which 
 the number of ducks could be counted and reported to 
 the hunters waiting to catch them. 
 
 A number of trained tame ducks were used as de- 
 coys. They were always fed by putting grain in the 
 ditches instead of the pond, so they resorted to them to 
 feed. When the grain was put into the ditch, a wire 
 screen across the mouth was withdrawn, and the Jap- 
 anese attendant drummed on the side of the watch- 
 house with a stick, which was the signal to the decoys 
 that their meal was served, and they swam for it from 
 all parts of the pond. The wild ducks, whose food had 
 been cut down in the pond, soon learned what this sig- 
 
 283 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 nal meant, and they joined their tame friends and swam 
 into the ditches to feed. 
 
 The hunters in the meantime were quietly assembled 
 near the watch-houses, under cover. Each one was pro- 
 vided with a butterfly net with a long bamboo handle. 
 The watchmen, looking through a small hole, counted 
 the number of wild ducks in the ditch, signalled this 
 with his fingers to the waiting hunters, and the sport 
 began. The party was divided, half approaching the 
 ditch on either side, all in Indian file, moving noiselessly 
 until all were in position. As we stood up, the wild 
 ducks jumped into the air to escape, and flew into our 
 nets. Then the decoy ducks were driven back into the 
 pond, ready to bring more of their wild companions to 
 the net. As soon as the ducks were caught, a Japanese 
 attendant took charge of them, killed, and prepared 
 them for the meal that was to follow. It was deadly 
 work for the ducks, for I only saw one escape the nets 
 while I watched them, I caught one, a fine mallard, 
 which was enough for me. I couldn't help thinking 
 what my dear old sporting friends, Mr. Cleveland, Gen- 
 eral McCook, and others, would say if they could see 
 me with a butterfly net catching gray mallards ! It was 
 a fine pastime for ladies, but I saw no sport in it — the 
 ducks had no chance in the world to escape. Decoyed 
 by their tame companions, they could not get into any- 
 thing like a fair flight before they were in the nets. 
 
 I found a spot where, by peeping through the bam- 
 boo, I could observe the flock in the pond without being 
 seen myself. At a rough estimate, I placed the number 
 of ducks feeding or sleeping on the water at two thou- 
 sand. All kinds were there — mallard, widgeon, sprig 
 
 284 
 
A Royal Feast 
 
 tails, black heads, two or three kinds of teal, and sev- 
 eral kinds I had never before seen. In the midst of a 
 thickly settled country this great flock of wild birds 
 behaved exactly as if no enemy were within a hundred 
 miles of them, simply because they could not see the 
 danger that was gradually killing them off. It was a 
 neat, merciful way of killing them, because none of 
 them went off wounded to die of starvation or became 
 food for hawks or coons, but I could not feel that it 
 was work for a sportsman — one who loves the work of 
 decoying the birds for himself, and then watching the 
 beautiful flight as they try to escape the gun. 
 
 When the hunters were satisfied with their sport 
 we retired to the Baron's hunting lodge, only a few 
 hundred yards from the pond, where we found a beau- 
 tiful table, curiously furnished. In addition to the few 
 plates necessary, every place had a small charcoal stove 
 with a griddle on top, such as one would use in baking 
 buckwheat or griddle cakes. The breasts of the ducks 
 killed had been cut into thin slices and a plate of them 
 served for each guest. There was also a small cup of 
 soy, a Japanese sauce of the nature of Worcestershire, 
 by each plate. When we were all assembled and seated 
 we proceeded to cook our meal, each for himself. The 
 slices of duck were first dipped in the soy and allowed 
 to soak for a moment, when they were placed on the 
 hot grill, cooked to taste, and eaten with bread and 
 butter and washed down with champagne. All the 
 ducks not consumed were taken back with us to 
 Tokio for home consumption. Our return was made 
 in less than an hour, showing how near to the 
 heart of the great city the hunting had taken place. 
 
 285 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 ORDERED TO HONOLULU 
 
 Everything being in readiness, we said good-bye 
 to our families — we were not to see them again for 
 many long months — and sailed from Yokohama in two 
 divisions for Honolulu. Admiral Cooper, with the 
 cruiser division, consisting of the New Orleans, flag- 
 ship, the Cincinnati, and Albany, was to touch at Mid- 
 way Island, where two colliers would meet him, coal, if 
 necessary, and then join me at sea a few hundred miles 
 from the Sandwich Islands. With the battleships Ken- 
 tucky, Wisconsin, and Oregon under my immediate 
 command, I would regulate my speed so as to make the 
 rendezvous as ordered. My intention was to follow the 
 great circle route between Yokohama and Honolulu, so 
 as to economise coal, but I found later that I could not 
 do this because of the heavy sea encountered, I had to 
 run off a bit, but this made the ships much steadier, 
 and, though we ran a longer course, we made better 
 time. 
 
 After leaving Yokohama I set the speed for the bat- 
 tleships at twelve knots, and at this speed made half 
 the distance to Honolulu, then changed it to thirteen 
 knots, at which we ran the other half, thus doing the 
 whole at a speed of twelve and one-half knots, which 
 I believe to be the greatest speed at which a squadron 
 
 286 
 
A Heavy Sea 
 
 of battleships ever made so long a run. Once well clear 
 of the land, I found a very heavy swell caused by bad 
 gales in the Arctic. At the same time the wind blew 
 with such force that the ships were made very uncom- 
 fortable. We had the long swell coming down from 
 the far north and, in addition, the new sea kicked up 
 by the prevailing wind. For nine days we ran with this 
 sea on the quarter, gradually drawing astern until we 
 were running before it. All this time the hatches abaft 
 the superstructure were continually closed, as the seas 
 broke completely over the after part of the ships. It 
 was not safe to send a man onto the quarter-deck for 
 fear that he would be washed overboard. We were 
 steaming in column, each ship following the one ahead 
 of her, four hundred yards apart, the Kentucky lead- 
 ing. As the flagship would settle down in the trough 
 of the sea the others would be entirely out of sight, and 
 when they were in the trough of the sea we were en- 
 tirely out of sight to them. I had rarely seen such a 
 heavy sea, and in order to determine, if possible, the 
 height of the waves, I directed several officers to esti- 
 mate it from the bridge of the Kentucky. The mean of 
 their estimates gave forty-live feet as the vertical height 
 of the waves. 
 
 The sea ran down when we passed the longitude of 
 Midway Island, and the weather became as beautiful as 
 one could ask. The cruiser squadron joined company 
 at the time and place ordered, and the nine ships stood 
 on to Honolulu, where they arrived without any acci- 
 dent of any kind twelve days after sailing from the 
 coast of Japan. I wired my arrival to the Secretary of 
 the Navy, and moored all the ships in the inner har- 
 
 287 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 bour. Coal was taken in at once, and I notified the 
 department that I would be ready in twelve hours to 
 proceed to sea. In reply I was informed that when in 
 all respects ready I would return with the fleet to Ma- 
 nila, touching en route at the Island of Guam. Also, 
 if I found no objection, I might, in accordance with 
 the expressed wishes of the people of Honolulu, remain 
 there four days, which I very gladly did. 
 
 Two unpleasant incidents marked the arrival of the 
 fleet at Honolulu, but both of them were settled without 
 much trouble. Our naval station was commanded by a 
 flag officer with whom my personal relations were not 
 particularly cordial. As said by a prominent western 
 senator who was not on terms with one of his col- 
 leagues, 
 
 " We do not speak as we pass by — 
 Not me to him, or him to I," 
 
 The boarding officer who came to my flagship from 
 the commandant requested that I would have the marine 
 guard ready to land, as he feared trouble with the col- 
 lector of customs of the port, who had that morning 
 threatened to place custom-house guards on the wharf 
 to prevent my men from smuggling. The wharf where 
 two of the ships would moor was the property of the 
 Navy Department, and this threat of the agent of an- 
 other department of the government to practically take 
 charge of it by placing guards on it had caused a bit- 
 ter quarrel between the commandant, who was right in 
 his contention, and the collector of customs, who was 
 wrong in his. The ship was properly secured ; the com- 
 mandant had been officially received and had taken his 
 
 288 
 
Difficulty with the Collector 
 
 departure, after telling me of his troubles. The marines 
 were ready to land if their services should be required, 
 and I was eating my breakfast when the collector was 
 ushered into my cabin. He was a pleasant-mannered 
 man, tall and fine-looking, but the flush in his face indi- 
 cated that he was labouring under excitement. I asked 
 him to breakfast with me, which he declined. I then 
 asked him to have a cigar, which he also declined. 
 Then I requested him to state his business with me, 
 which he proceeded to do. 
 
 He explained that some of the troops returning from 
 the Philippines had caused trouble by smuggling Manila 
 cigars into Honolulu. This was interesting, but not in 
 any way my affair, as I made clear in a few words. Then 
 he said that, fearing my men would do the same thing, 
 he proposed to station his men so that they could pre- 
 vent it. I pointed out to him that it would be necessary 
 for me to remove, forcibly if need be, any of his guards 
 found on naval ground. I asked him how long he had 
 been in the employ of the United States government, 
 and his answer was, as I recall it, about four years. I 
 told him that I had been about forty years longer than 
 he had, that I had tried to learn the laws of my country, 
 and was under oath to see them enforced, just as he 
 was, and that it seemed to me a most remarkable thing, 
 almost an insult, for him to imply not only that I 
 would not enforce the law with my men, but that I 
 would admit that such was the case by allowing him to 
 enforce it for me ! And, further, that he expected me 
 to place myself and all under my command in the cate- 
 gory of smugglers. 
 
 This presentation of the case seemed to strike the 
 289 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 collector as reasonable, and he frankly said so. I called 
 my flag lieutenant and directed him to make signal to 
 the fleet : 
 
 " Commander-in-chief orders that commanding offi- 
 cers will be particularly careful that the revenue laws 
 are not violated by those under their command." 
 
 The collector said that this was all that he could ask, 
 that he was perfectly satisfied, and, further, that if any 
 of the officers or men of the fleet had Christmas pres- 
 ents for their friends which they wished forwarded he 
 would be glad to send them on without the payment of 
 duty if presented at his office. In other words, he was a 
 gentleman and most reasonable when properly ap- 
 proached. I never had a bit of trouble with him after- 
 wards. 
 
 While the collector of customs was still talking 
 with me a young man, quite a lad, thin and not over- 
 well dressed, was brought to me by the officer of the 
 deck. He wore no uniform except a cap, on which was 
 a brass tag or plate with some inscription on it. He 
 said that he came from the commissioner of immigra- 
 tion, who wished him to say to me that the immigration 
 laws of the United States were in force in Honolulu, 
 and that I must not permit any Chinese servants to land 
 without a written permit from him. As can be easily 
 imagined, this fairly took my breath away. We had 
 come from the East, where Chinese were employed on 
 board our ships as servants, without a chance to change 
 them, and without an intimation that we would have 
 trouble about them. In fact, at the moment when I 
 received this word from the commissioner twenty-five 
 or thirty Chinese stewards were actually on shore pro- 
 
 290 
 
Immigration Commissioner Interferes 
 
 curing food for the thousands of hungry throats In the 
 fleet, I told the young man with the brass-labelled cap 
 to present my compliments to the commissioner of im- 
 migration, and say to him that every man in the fleet 
 was a properly enlisted man in the navy of the United 
 States, and that if he interfered with one of them I 
 would put him where the dogs wouldn't bite him! 
 When the youngster had gone, the collector, who had 
 heard his message, said that I would probably have 
 trouble with the commissioner, as he was disposed to 
 make trouble at times. 
 
 I had come to Honolulu in obedience to orders from 
 my superiors, and not to have trouble with any one — 
 I was too busy for that kind of amusement — ^but I 
 did not propose to have my business interfered with or 
 permit it to be done to avoid trouble. If the commis- 
 sioner wanted to force a row with me, the way was 
 open for him to do so. 
 
 After finishing my breakfast, I wired the Secretary 
 of the Navy regarding the action, or, rather, threat- 
 ened action, of the commissioner, and suggested that 
 the immigration laws should be suspended as far as 
 they applied to the fleet during my stay in port. A few 
 hours later the reply came : 
 
 " Secretary of Commerce and Labour has suspended 
 operations of immigration laws as far as the fleet is 
 concerned during your stay in Honolulu." 
 
 I received a note from the commissioner at my 
 hotel that evening, stating that he would be on board 
 my flagship at ten o'clock on the following morning for 
 a conference with me. He did not state what he wished 
 to confer about. I replied that I would call at his ofiice 
 
 291 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 in the morning. I considered that a more desirable 
 place to confer, because I could end the conference 
 more expeditiously than in my cabin without giving 
 offence. I could walk out when I had heard what the 
 commissioner had to say ! 
 
 At 9.30 the following morning, accompanied by my 
 flag lieutenant, I called on him, and was received by 
 the commissioner, who sat in his shirt sleeves, smoking 
 a pipe, with his feet on top of his desk ! He began by 
 telling me just how he wished me to regulate the land- 
 ing of the Asiatics in the fleet ; that I would give each 
 one a pass, send him, accompanied by an officer, to his 
 office; that he would countersign my pass, etc., etc. 
 When I had heard him as patiently as I could, I read 
 him the telegram from the Secretary of Commerce and 
 Labour, informed him that I did not require any assist- 
 ance in the matter of landing those under my com- 
 mand, Asiatics included, wished him good-morning, 
 and returned to my flagship. I never heard of him 
 afterwards. When the fleet left we took with us every' 
 man we had when we came — not one deserted. 
 
 Our reception by the good people of Honolulu was 
 delightful in every way. They entertained the officers 
 and men royally. The streets of the city were con- 
 stantly filled with bluejackets, to whom places of 
 amusement were thrown open free of charge. Athletic 
 sports were entered into with great spirit, not only by 
 men of different ships, but with the residents, who 
 played baseball so well that we found it impossible to 
 win a game from them. Governor Carter not only en- 
 tertained the officers with great hospitality, but he vis- 
 ited the field where the bluejackets were fighting for 
 
 292 
 
Return to Manila 
 
 supremacy in football and encouraged them by his pres- 
 ence. An old Yale player himself, he was good enough 
 to say that we played a surprisingly fine, clean game. 
 Everything was done to make our Christmas a merry 
 one, and we appreciated the efforts of the kind-hearted 
 people. In return for their courtesy we gave a ball, 
 which I think was the finest thing of the kind I have 
 ever seen. The two battleships, Kentucky and Wiscon- 
 sin, were moored on opposite sides of the government 
 pier. This was converted into a veritable flower gar- 
 den, lighted by electric bulbs suspended from lines run- 
 ning between the mast heads of the two ships. Small 
 tables were placed among the palms and flowers, and 
 supper was served on these at midnight. Both ships 
 were gorgeously dressed with flags and flowers and 
 brilliantly lighted. Two fine bands provided music, and 
 officers and men, all in white uniforms, received and 
 entertained our guests. Dancing was kept up until day- 
 light put an end to our frolic, which had been thor- 
 oughly enjoyed by all. 
 
 We left the harbour of Honolulu when the time 
 given by the Navy Department had expired, and started 
 on our way to Manila. The cruiser squadron, under 
 command of Admiral Cooper, with two colliers, pro- 
 ceeded, by way of Midway Island, where the Cable 
 Company had just established a station. I went with 
 the battleships direct to Guam, where the cruisers were 
 to join me, and after coaling make the best of their way 
 at full speed to Manila. En route I touched at Wakes 
 Island, one of our Pacific Ocean possessions of which 
 very little is known by our people generally. 
 
 The U. S. S. Bennington, commanded by Com- 
 
 30 293 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 mander Taussig, on her way home from Manila after 
 the Spanish War, touched at the island, and the Ameri- 
 can flag was hoisted. A copper plate, properly in- 
 scribed, was placed on the face of a large boulder at 
 the foot of the flagstaff, and now occasionally a vessel 
 of war lands an ofiicer to see that this plate is still in 
 place. The island is only a coral patch, rising twenty 
 or thirty feet above water at its highest point. It 
 contains probably thirty acres above water and twice as 
 much more in sight, but not yet above water. Around 
 the eastern, southern, and western sides the usual reef 
 extends which protects the solid part from the heavy 
 sea which always breaks with great force on the north 
 and west sides, owing to the prevailing north-west 
 winds, which often develop into furious gales. We ap- 
 proached from the south side of the islands, found good 
 water close up to the land, and sent in two boats with 
 officers and men to see what was going on. The sea 
 was breaking furiously over the reefs, but where we 
 were it was as smooth as the proverbial mill-pond. The 
 boat landed at a convenient spot near the flagstaff, and 
 after an absence of a few hours returned, bringing with 
 them a boat load of Japanese fishermen. 
 
 The officer in charge of the landing party made an 
 interesting report of what he had seen. Our plate was 
 still in place, proclaiming to all the ownership of the 
 island. A lagoon of considerable size and depth was 
 found penetrating the highest part of the island, and 
 containing a great variety of fishes, which could be 
 plainly seen in the clear sea water. The highest parts 
 of the island were covered with small, sturdy trees, and 
 among these, in a protected place, the Japanese had 
 
 294 
 
Wakes Island 
 
 their camps, where they lived on fish and such tinned 
 stores as remained of the supply that had been landed 
 with them five months before. They managed to catch 
 enough rain water to supply their needs. The head 
 man of the party reported that they had been landed 
 from a fishing schooner five months before, and that 
 she would call for them in three or four months. Fif- 
 teen men composed the party, and they claimed to be 
 securing birds' skins for the Paris market. They pre- 
 sented me with several very beautiful specimens. The 
 island was the home of vast flocks of sea birds of many 
 different varieties, which were killed at night with flat 
 paddles in such number as required, and the skins re- 
 moved and preserved during the daytime. Five or six 
 thousand skins were on hand, ready for shipment. I 
 was convinced that the real object sought was pearls, 
 but I could find no evidence that pearl oysters had been 
 taken, so had to accept the bird-skin story. 
 
 The Japanese in charge of the party came off and 
 reported all his men well, except one, who was suffer- 
 ing from beri-beri, and that the only thing wanted, or, 
 rather, the thing they wanted most, was cigarettes and 
 tobacco. Our surgeon treated the sick man, and the 
 ward-room mess gave them plenty of tobacco and fresh 
 stores. The last I saw of them they were carrying 
 their new-found treasures up to their camp, seemingly 
 as happy as if they were at home, instead of on a deso- 
 late island in the middle of the Pacific, where they must 
 remain for many weary months. 
 
 Unless natural causes fail, this island will continue 
 to grow, and may some day become an important point 
 in more ways than one. I watched it with keen interest 
 
 29s 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 as we went on our way, and it gradually dropped below 
 the horizon astern of us. I had a strong feeling that I 
 should like to join the Japanese party and spend a few 
 months with the birds and fishes. Robinson Crusoe 
 still lingered in my mind; all the charm of his doings 
 had not entirely faded from my memory, though they 
 had been read to me when I was a small boy. 
 
 From Wakes Island to Guam was only a short run, 
 and we soon covered the distance, passing as we did so 
 over the breeding place of typhoons and hurricanes. It 
 is now known that all the circular storms, called ty- 
 phoons, which do such damage to the coasts of China 
 and Japan, as well as the Philippine Islands, form in 
 the tropical seas to the south of Guam, and then start 
 on their deadly course. In their earlier days they do 
 little harm in the islands, but when they recurve and 
 come back, which they sometimes do, they are very 
 destructive, leaving nothing but ruin in their wake. 
 The observatory at Manila, owned and operated by 
 Catholic priests, gives wonderfully accurate warnings 
 of these storms. Their predictions are telegraphed all 
 over the East, thus benefiting the men who go down to 
 the sea in ships as well as those who dwell on shore. 
 When wireless telegraphy has been further developed it 
 is hoped that much greater good may be done. 
 
 We found the harbour at Guam a perfect one under 
 ordinary circumstances, but when a severe typhoon 
 comes twisting along very dangerous. By the expendi- 
 ture of a reasonable sum of money it could be made 
 perfectly safe at all times. Up to the present time Con- 
 gress had refused appropriations for the purpose, and 
 the harbour remains as it was when we captured the 
 
 296 
 
Inhabitants of Guam 
 
 island, or, rather, took possession of it, for there was 
 no resistance from the Spaniards, The island is ruled 
 by a naval officer who, under the title of governor, 
 makes and unmakes laws as he may find it necessary. 
 Our colliers were ready for us when we anchored, and 
 while the ships were coaling- I paid my respects to the 
 governor. I found him in his capital, Agana, so ill 
 that I ordered him home at once. Poor fellow ! the trip 
 was too much for him, and he died before reaching San 
 Francisco. 
 
 The inhabitants of Guam are quiet and peaceable, 
 but very poor. They live as best they can by fishing 
 and cultivating cocoanuts. They sell the copra from the 
 cocoanut trees when the nuts have been gathered, but 
 a typhoon will; in an hour sometimes, destroy the entire 
 crop, and then much misery follows. At the time of 
 my visit the results of a storm that had swept over the 
 island a year before were evident everywhere, but par- 
 ticularly so in the trees, which were uprooted and 
 twisted out of shape on all sides. The people were 
 struggling to live on their flocks of chickens and the 
 little garden patches which they cultivated under the 
 glaring tropical sun. It may be truly said that Guam is 
 of little value to us, but it is equally true that it would 
 be a serious threat to our interests in the East if it 
 were held by any nation unfriendly to us. Therefore, it 
 seems to me that it behooves us to make it safe. At 
 present there is not a gun in position to defend it. Any 
 one who wants it can take it in an hour. Should we 
 defend it or give it up ? To answer this question brings 
 up another and greater question, What is to be our 
 policy in the East? That some one else must answer. 
 
 297 
 
An Admiral's Loo- 
 
 & 
 
 From Guam we could reach Manila either by going 
 around the north end of the island of Luzon or by pass- 
 ing through the straits of San Bernardino, thence in- 
 side through the islands. I preferred the latter, as I 
 wished to judge the difficulties to be encountered by an 
 enemy's fleet in case we ever had war, and to see what 
 chance there would be for forts at prominent points. 
 For two days before we arrived at the straits we ran in 
 a dense fog, so that our position was determined by 
 dead reckoning. At eight o'clock in the morning the 
 navigators reported that we were within a few miles of 
 the entrance, but the fog was so dense that nothing 
 could be seen four hundred yards away. I had about 
 made up my mind to change course and stand off shore, 
 when I heard the familiar sound of surf ahead of us. 
 We stood on, and in a few minutes made out the light- 
 house, which gave us something to run by. In two 
 hours we were inside. The fog lifted over the land, 
 and we made an excellent run to Manila, where we 
 anchored just after daylight, having entered, as Dewey 
 did, in the dark. The cruisers followed the next day, 
 having made a most successful full-speed run to test 
 their engines. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 FROM HONG KONG TO NEW YORK 
 
 Once more back at our unsavoury anchorage in 
 Manila Bay, we lost no time in preparing for the target 
 practice that was to show the result of our long and 
 faithful training. I called on Governor Taft at once, 
 but found him far from well. He was suffering from a 
 stomach trouble, brought on, no doubt, by the intense 
 heat and the amount of work he was compelled to do. 
 The question of settling for the church property in the 
 Philippines was up for discussion and final adjustment, 
 and this gave the governor great concern. The Papal 
 delegate, Monsignore Guidi, did me the honour to call on 
 me, showed great interest in my flagship and her men, 
 and afterwards invited me to dine with him, which I 
 did in company with Governor Taft, General Davis, 
 and other distinguished men. I have never in my life 
 tasted such Italian wine as was served on his table, 
 except that used by the Duke of Abruzzi during the 
 visit of the Italian ships to the Jamestown Exposition. 
 When the church question had been finally settled the 
 Filipinos understood pretty well what Monsignore Guidi 
 thought of them. As he expressed it to me, " They are 
 to be regarded as children in church matters as well as 
 in statecraft." 
 
 A target range was laid out in Manila Bay, and for 
 299 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 several weeks nothing was done or thought of except 
 target firing. While one ship was on the range the 
 others were anchored so that officers and men could see 
 the effect of the firing. While the spirit of rivalry ran 
 high, every ship that made a good score was generously 
 applauded by all the others. My flag lieutenant, Chapin, 
 was chief umpire for all the firing, and witnessed every 
 shot fired by the fleet. Every possible precaution was 
 taken against accidents of all kinds, and not a single 
 man was seriously hurt during the practice. Lieutenant 
 Evans, aide on my staff, served as target umpire during 
 the entire practice. He not only counted the hits, but 
 repaired all targets, which, owing to the heavy sea at 
 times experienced, was most difficult and dangerous 
 work. Wet to the skin most of the time, and with 
 hands and face blistered by the sun, he pluckily stuck to 
 his job until the last shot had been fired. The new Mer- 
 ritt sights gave great satisfaction, and I immediately 
 ordered them fitted to all turret guns where this had 
 not already been done. After the firing was completed, 
 it was thought that the Kentucky had won the battle- 
 ship trophy, but later it was found, in Washington, that 
 the coveted prize went to the Oregon by a very close 
 margin. It certainly reflected great credit on the offi- 
 cers and men of that ship to win, handicapped as they 
 were in many ways. The firing of all ships was excel- 
 lent, when we consider that they had just completed 
 an ocean run such as never before attempted by the 
 vessels of any other navy. It must also be considered, 
 in making up the account, that most of the training of 
 gun pointers had been done at sea in rough water. 
 
 Many reports by able officers or boards of officers 
 300 
 
Importance of Olongapo 
 
 had been sent to Washington showing the importance 
 of estabhshing a fine naval station at Olongapo, in 
 Subig Bay, about fifty miles from Manila. The Span- 
 iards had recognised the value of the location by mak- 
 ing it their main naval station in the islands. They 
 were removing the machinery from Cavite to the new 
 buildings at Olongapo when the war came on and we 
 took possession. Many of the buildings, which were 
 of fine construction and design, were badly damaged by 
 our gun fire, but we patched them up and managed to 
 use them, hoping that Congress would give us money 
 for a complete plant. The money, however, has never 
 been appropriated, and we are as far from a naval sta- 
 tion in the East now as we were a month after Manila 
 was captured. The same influence is always at work to 
 keep the station at Cavite — it succeeded with the Span- 
 iards, and, so far, it has succeeded with us. The peo- 
 ple of Manila want the money the station brings rather 
 than have it spent at Olongapo. Practically all the 
 commanders-in-chief who have looked carefully into the 
 subject have recommended Olongapo. One of them 
 was frank enough to say, " Olongapo is unquestionably 
 the place for the station, but I hope it will not be estab- 
 lished there until I am relieved ! " The attractions of 
 the Army and Navy Club at Manila and the pleasures 
 of social life in the city are in strong contrast with the 
 isolation of Olongapo, and they have undoubtedly had 
 their effect. Finally, the opinion of officers of the army 
 to the efifect that they cannot defend Subig Bay against 
 an enemy with less than one hundred thousand men 
 seems to have settled the question, and if we have any 
 naval base in the East, it must be near Manila, where it 
 
 301 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 will necessarily be exposed to fire in case of war. We 
 are not assured that the army can defend Manila with 
 one hundred thousand men, or, indeed, any other port 
 in the Philippines. And yet the opinions of able naval 
 men about a naval station are set aside and their advice 
 not taken when they assert, without serious contradic- 
 tion, that no power can hold Manila Bay with an enemy 
 in possession of Subig Bay. It is Santiago and Guan- 
 tanamo over again. W'hen Sampson occupied Guan- 
 tanamo the fate of Santiago was decided. 
 
 I received cable instructions when I returned to 
 Manila, to examine Olongapo and see if a suitable site 
 could be found for a coal depot to contain one hundred 
 and twenty-five thousand tons of coal. This was done 
 immediately by imposing much extra work on officers 
 who were engrossed with their target practice, and full 
 reports, with plan drawings, sent to the Navy Depart- 
 ment. After years of waiting, the depot was built, and 
 we have that much of a naval station at least. One or 
 two more scares over war with Japan or some other 
 nation may bring the rest of it. We seem to realise our 
 necessities more keenly under threat, but it costs more 
 in the end. 
 
 As the end of January came it was plain to all that 
 war between Russia and Japan was a question of days 
 only. We had one vessel, one gunboat, the Helena, in 
 mid dock at Newchwang, frozen in so completely that 
 it was impossible to move her, and another, the Vicks- 
 burg, at Chemulpo, where she had gone with a trans- 
 port to land one hundred marines for the protection of 
 our legation at Seoul. All the other vessels were in 
 Manila except the station ships at Canton and Shang- 
 
 302 
 
Russian Activities at Newchwang 
 
 hai and the two small gunboats on river service in 
 China. A report came that the Russians were forcibly 
 detaining an American ship at Port Arthur, and to 
 verify this and give proper protection I sent Admiral 
 Cooper with the cruiser division to Shanghai. I di- 
 rected him to proceed to Port Arthur with his flagship 
 and report to me and to the Navy Department the 
 exact conditions he might find. At the same time I 
 wired Washington, and in return received an order not 
 to send any vessel of the fleet north of Shanghai ! Ad- 
 miral Cooper was intercepted and sent to Shanghai, but 
 before he arrived there another order came by wire to 
 send a suitable vessel to cruise between Chefoo and 
 Chemulpo to keep in touch with our minister to Korea 
 in case the cables were cut. It looked to us on the spot 
 as if Washington was getting things a bit mixed up! 
 We had a vessel at Chemulpo — in fact, two of them, 
 one a transport — but I immediately sent another, and 
 did all in my power to carry out the wishes of the De- 
 partment as far as I knew them. 
 
 In the meantime our gunboat at Newchwang became 
 an object of deep interest. The commanding officer 
 wired me that the Russian authorities had decided to 
 block the channel, and for that purpose had loaded one 
 hundred junks with stone and would sink them in a few 
 days. Newchwang was a Chinese treaty port open to 
 the commerce of the world, and China was not at war 
 with either Russia or Japan ! One of our national ves- 
 sels was in the port, lawfully there, and our commer- 
 cial interests were great. If the channel should be 
 blocked w^ith stone-laden vessels, the Helena would be 
 rendered useless and our commercial interests seriously 
 
 303 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 hampered. I therefore wired the captain of the He- 
 lena : " Newchwang treaty port ; channel must not be 
 obstructed." This message was, of course, shown to 
 our consul, and its purport became known to the Rus- 
 sians. I received great abuse from their newspapers, 
 but they hesitated to sink the stone barges, and eventu- 
 ally gave up the idea. Whether my message had any 
 influence with them I have no means of knowing. Of 
 course, I wired Washington what I had done. Three 
 days elapsed, and then came this answer : 
 
 " Neither force nor threat of force must be used to 
 prevent the blocking of the channel to Newchwang." 
 
 The moment the ice could be broken I had the 
 Helena relieved from her dangerous position. 
 
 On the 8th of February the war cloud burst, and 
 Russia and Japan found themselves entered on a strug- 
 gle the like of which has not been seen in modern times. 
 The first act in the drama was startling. By it the 
 world was shown a new method of opening hostilities. 
 A Japanese admiral, before a declaration of war, sent a 
 note to the captain of a Russian cruiser lying in a neu- 
 tral port telling him that unless he left his anchorage 
 before a certain hour he would sink him ! The proposi- 
 tion was so startling, so new, so at variance with cus- 
 tom and international law, that men did not believe it 
 was serious until the result of the fight that followed a 
 few hours later was flashed over the wire. The Rus- 
 sian cruiser Variag and the" gunboat Koritz were an- 
 chored in the harbour of Chemulpo, Korea. At the 
 same time, in the same harbour, in close proximity to 
 these, were anchored one American gunboat and one 
 transport, one English cruiser, one French cruiser, and 
 
 304 
 
Japan Begins War 
 
 one German cruiser, so that the harbour was fairly well 
 crowded with war vessels of various nations — all these 
 under treaty rights in a neutral port. The Japanese 
 squadron, composed of a number of cruisers, anchored 
 eight or ten miles down the river below Round Island, 
 and from that point the admiral sent a torpedo boat 
 with an officer bearing the note above mentioned to the 
 captain of the Variag. Why these Russian ships were 
 left in a river from which they could not possibly escape 
 when war came, and why Japan deliberately violated 
 the neutrality of Korea, are questions for some one else 
 to answer. They are not pertinent to my story, nor do 
 I know what advice, if any, was given to the captain of 
 the Variag when he showed the note to the other cap- 
 tains. He did not consult the American captain, so far 
 as I am informed, but what actually took place we know 
 all about. It would have been most instructive for na- 
 val men to know what would have happened if the Rus- 
 sian captain had simply " called the Japanese bluff," for 
 such we must regard it, and remained quietly at his 
 anchorage among the foreign fleet without making any 
 answer to the note! It may be doubted that the Jap- 
 anese would have fired a single shot at him under such 
 conditions. 
 
 When the torpedo boat had disappeared on her re- 
 turn to the Japanese squadron, the Variag was cleared 
 for action, got under way, and steamed toward the Jap- 
 anese squadron, which was drawn up In battle forma- 
 tion. A short, sharp engagement followed, and the 
 Variag, severely punished by Japanese shells, returned 
 to her anchorage, badly listed to port and on fire aft. 
 Many of her officers and men had been killed and a 
 
 305 
 
\ 
 
 An Admiral's Log 
 
 large number of them wounded. As soon as her anchor \ 
 was down, her captain asked that his crew might be 
 taken on board the various foreign ships, and that the 
 captain of the Enghsh cruiser would fire a few shells 
 through the bottom of the Variag in order that she 
 would surely sink before the Japanese could capture 
 her ! The English captain declined to fire, as requested, 
 but the crew was taken off by him, assisted by the 
 French and German vessels. The American captain 
 offered medical aid and assistance, but declined to re- 
 ceive any of the crew on board, on the ground that 
 Chemulpo was a neutral port, and that the Russian 
 wounded could be cared for in the hospitals on shore 
 and the well men looked after by the Russian minister. 
 This position was so evidently right and sound that it 
 met with the prompt approval of the commander-in- 
 chief, and afterwards the home government. 
 
 The sea valves of the Variag were opened, and she 
 sank shortly after the crew had been removed. When 
 she took the bottom she turned over on one side, and 
 remained in that position until the Japanese raised 
 her, two years later, and transferred her to their flag. 
 The Koritz was set on fire and, after burning a 
 short time, her magazine exploded, completely destroy- 
 ing her. 
 
 On the following morning, February 9th, some time 
 before sunrise, the Japanese torpedo boats attacked the 
 Russian fleet, anchored in two lines off Port Arthur. 
 Most of the Russian officers were on shore at a ball, 
 still maintaining, I suppose, that Japan was afraid to 
 attack them. The torpedo attack, though well planned 
 and gallantly executed, resulted in little serious harm 
 
 306 
 
Homeward Bound 
 
 to the fleet. Three ships were so damaged between 
 the torpedoes and the rocks on which they were run 
 in the confusion following the attack that they were 
 out of commission for a short time, but they were all 
 repaired and ready when again called on for service, 
 which I think conclusively proves two things : first, that 
 the torpedo failed to do what its admirers had claimed 
 for it, and, second, that the Russian workmen who did 
 the repair work were excellent mechanics, or they could 
 not have accomplished so much with the tools they had. 
 The torpedo established a record for inefficiency which 
 it maintained to the end of the war. Early in the 
 month of March orders came for me to turn over the 
 command of the station to Admiral Cooper in April, 
 and then return in my flagship to New York. I left 
 Manila during the latter part of May for Hong Kong, 
 where the Kentucky was placed in dock, had her bottom 
 cleaned and painted, and such repairs made as were nec- 
 essary for the run home. In order that the Department 
 might learn the speed a division of battleships could 
 make, I ordered that the voyage home should be made 
 as nearly as possible at the speed a squadron of such 
 ships could maintain over the same route. When all 
 was in readiness I transferred the command, as directed, 
 and got under way for Colombo, in the island of Cey- 
 lon. Rear-Admiral Yates Sterling succeeded to the 
 command of the cruiser squadron, and another flag offi- 
 cer was ordered to the Philippine division. 
 
 The run to Colombo was made without stopping at 
 Singapore. In the straits of Malacca we passed during 
 the night the division of United States torpedo-boat de- 
 stroyers on its way from New York to Manila, con- 
 
 307 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 voyed by the transport Buffalo. They seemed in good 
 condition after their long cruise, and eventually arrived 
 at their destination, where they have since been held 
 ready for service. 
 
 It is scarcely possible to imagine a smoother sea 
 than we had on this run. The monsoon had not yet 
 shown any force, and I am sure one could have made 
 the trip in a shell boat, so far as the sea was concerned. 
 On arrival at Colombo, coal was taken in at once and 
 the men given liberty. 
 
 After making the necessary official calls and looking 
 through the shops, I ran up to Kandy, one of the most 
 beautiful trips in the world. Aside from the beauty of 
 the scenery, I was greatly interested in the tea farms 
 from which Sir Thomas Lipton furnishes tea to the 
 world. The railroad, which gradually climbs to an ele- 
 vation of six thousand feet, is one of the most wonder- 
 ful ever constructed. At one point the train on which 
 we were travelling stopped on a shelf of rock while we 
 enjoyed for a few moments the view from the car win- 
 dows. The rocky mountain rose sheer four thousand 
 feet, so abruptly that a stone dropped from our position 
 would land in the valley below. So far as one could 
 see, there was one vast tea farm covering the entire 
 country. At Kandy we found very comfortable quar- 
 ters at an inn on the borders of a fine artificial lake, 
 which furnished a plentiful water supply to the town. 
 Some distance below the lake there was a large pool 
 where the sacred elephants were taken for their daily 
 bath, when those so disposed could view the herd of 
 great beasts as they enjoyed their frolic. One object of 
 special interest in Kandy is the tooth of Buddha. I 
 
 308 
 
In Ceylon 
 
 gave little time to this fraud, but hurried off to the 
 botanical garden, the finest probably in the world, con- 
 taining, as it does, every variety of shrub or tree of the 
 tropic and temperate zones. I spent hours among the 
 most gorgeous and beautiful flowers I had ever seen. 
 The trees were of intense interest, among them every 
 variety, from the deadly upas to the one from which 
 cocaine is made. There were fine specimens of all the 
 spice trees known in the tropics and many of the hard- 
 wood varieties. 
 
 At the inn we enjoyed all the usual luxuries of the 
 East Indies — curries and spiced dishes for dinner, and 
 in the evening the inevitable snake charmer with his 
 hideous trained cobra. During the day we were beset 
 by the gang of jewel merchants who live on the lamb- 
 like globe trotters. They offered beautiful stones at ex- 
 orbitant sums, but, finding that we had been in the East 
 before, they came down in their prices from pounds 
 sterling to shillings for the glass trinkets which at first 
 were rubies or diamonds. 
 
 On my return to Colombo I visited some of the 
 beautiful shops where real gems are sold. In one of 
 them I saw a bowl of pearls emptied out on a piece of 
 velvet to show their beauty. The contents of the bowl 
 were valued at a little over one million dollars! I had 
 no money to invest in pearls, but I certainly did enjoy 
 seeing them, without the least envy for the more for- 
 tunate ones who could own them. At one shop I was 
 shown the latest find in the way of a valuable pearl. 
 The pearl-oyster business in Ceylon leads to consider- 
 able gambling in an innocent way. The oysters, after 
 being gathered, are brought into market and sold, after 
 21 309 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 which they are examined for pearls. Persons so dis- 
 posed buy them, as they would buy lottery tickets, for 
 the chance of finding something valuable. A native boy 
 had spent all the small change he had in buying a few 
 oysters at a time, but for a long time found no pearls of 
 value. Just before we arrived, having a few cents in 
 hand, he had bought two oysters. The first one he 
 opened contained the pearl shown me. It was perfectly 
 round, of exquisite lustre, and valued at ten thousand 
 dollars ! The boy was educated in pearls, and only gave 
 up his find on the payment of eight thousand dollars! 
 It would be interesting to trace the subsequent history 
 of this lad to see if he becomes a *' pearl king," after the 
 fashion of some of our mining " kings " who made 
 their first " strike " in the same lucky fashion. 
 
 From Colombo to Port Said we had delightful 
 weather, very hot in the Red Sea, but with no gales to 
 bother us. The passage through the Suez Canal was 
 successfully made without any injury from grounding 
 or collision. After the first few hours it became monot- 
 onous, and we were glad when the Mediterranean 
 showed blue in the distance. When we had coaled and 
 bought as many curios as we thought the customs 
 ofiicers would allow us to land at New York, we 
 left the coast of Egypt and arrived at Naples on April 
 23d. 
 
 Passing through the straits of Messina, which have 
 since witnessed the destruction of a beautiful Italian 
 city and the greatest loss of life ever caused by an earth- 
 quake, I was struck with the wonderful force of the 
 current. At times it was all the powerful engines of 
 the Kentucky could do to keep her on her course. She 
 
 310 
 
Arrival at Naples 
 
 yawed and reeled about like a drunken ship, but she 
 finally pulled through without accident. How different 
 must have been the conditions surrounding St. Paul 
 when in this locality he performed that wonderful piece 
 of seamanship, " anchoring by the stern ship," as de- 
 scribed in the Acts of the Apostles! As we passed 
 Stromboli, that veteran in the earthquake world was 
 growling and smoking, occasionally throwing masses 
 of stones and ashes into the air. The sides of the 
 mountain were beautifully cultivated where the lava 
 would allow vines to grow, and the inhabitants of the 
 villages about its base seemed to be following their avo- 
 cations without fear of danger. 
 
 Our trip to Naples was for the purpose of obtaining 
 coal, which was cheaper there than at any other con- 
 venient point. I was surprised, on anchoring at seven 
 o'clock on the morning of April 29th, to find myself in 
 the presence of a large assemblage of warships. The 
 officer who boarded us informed me that the Italian 
 and French fleets were assembled in honour of the Presi- 
 dent of France, who was present as the guest of the 
 King of Italy, and that the two rulers would review 
 them at ten o'clock that morning. 
 
 Feeling that I might be unwelcome at such a mo- 
 ment, I explained that nothing was known of the visit 
 of the President when I left the canal, and that I would 
 go to sea at once until after the ceremony, if so desired. 
 I was informed that we were very welcome, and that 
 the minister of marine and the admiral commanding 
 hoped I would join in the festivities. 
 
 The Kentucky was given a berth next the French 
 flagship. We dressed ship at eight o'clock, and there- 
 
 311 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 after followed the motions of the French admiral. At 
 ten o'clock a fine new Italian battleship came out from 
 the inner harbour, flying the French flag at one mast 
 head and the Italian at the other. Then the guns began 
 to boom, and for more than an hour it sounded as if a 
 battle were being fought. The reviewing party twice 
 passed the Kentucky, and each time a superb band 
 played our national air, while hundreds of glasses in- 
 spected us. Our band played first the French and then 
 the Italian national airs, and officers and men in full 
 dress saluted and stood at attention until the next ship 
 in the line saluted. When the review was over, the Presi- 
 dent boarded one of his own ships, and the French fleet 
 got under way and sailed for home. During the after- 
 noon the Kentucky was moored in the inner harbour 
 between Sir Thomas Lipton's yacht, the Erin, and the 
 King's yacht, the battleship Regina Margarita. Coal 
 lighters were taken alongside and all preparations made 
 for coaling. After the inevitable round of calls, I was 
 at liberty to go on shore for one of the best dinners I 
 ever enjoyed. 
 
 About eleven o'clock the next day, while coaling 
 from lighters on both sides, and with the coal dust so 
 thick that one could hardly breathe, an officer in full 
 dress came alongside and said that the King was coming 
 to visit me. I explained that we were in the midst of 
 coaling, and asked when his Majesty was coming. 
 Much to my surprise, the officer answered, " He is com- 
 ing now ; will be here in a few minutes ! " It was one of 
 those surprises that some practical rulers like to spring 
 on people, that they may see things not shown when 
 on dress parade. As the King came alongside, our 
 
 312 
 
A Visit from the King of Italy 
 
 men dropped the coal whips and stood at attention. I 
 explained the situation and asked to be excused for the 
 appearance of my ship, to which his Majesty rephed 
 that he was most anxious to see just how we took in 
 coal so rapidly, and in turn asked me to excuse him for 
 coming at such a time. He wanted to see everything 
 in the ship, and he did. There was not a thing that 
 escaped his keen eyes, from the bayonet scabbards of 
 the marines to the superimposed turrets. After a most 
 thorough inspection, he expressed great admiration for 
 the Kentucky and took his departure. Two days later 
 I dined with his Majesty in the palace at Naples, where 
 I met many distinguished men, among them the marine 
 artist Martino, who so graciously decorated my menu 
 cards years before when I was giving a dinner to his 
 Majesty the Emperor of Germany, The dinner was, of 
 course, excellent in every way, particularly in the wines. 
 The only lasting impression on my mind is about the 
 toothpicks, which were served when the cloth was re- 
 moved. It was the first time I had ever seen this done 
 at a state dinner. They were medically treated with 
 some chemical which coloured one-half the pick black, 
 and were served in their paper envelopes, bearing the 
 royal coat of arms. I was unfavourably impressed 
 with the number of guards we had to pass on our way 
 from the palace until we were received by the King, 
 There were three, I think, before we left our carriage, 
 and then one on each floor as we ascended to the recep- 
 tion room, which was in one of the upper stories. On 
 asking some question about it, I was told that the King 
 was very democratic and did not approve of the guards, 
 but that it was considered necessary to have them, 
 
 2^3 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 though both he and the Queen were very popular with 
 the people. At times his Majesty would elude them 
 and take long walks by himself or with some chosen 
 companion. 
 
 The day after leaving Naples we had a good look 
 at the British fleet, which was having manceuvres about 
 the Island of Corsica. We came upon them entirely by 
 accident just after daylight, and could not avoid seeing 
 what they were doing. I passed close enough to the 
 commander-in-chief to exchange salutes with him and 
 count his twenty-four battleships and two divisions of 
 cruisers. They made a very fine appearance, but the 
 cruisers were rolling so badly that their gun fire would 
 not have proved very destructive, while they ex- 
 posed their under-water bodies to an alarming extent. 
 We watched them with longing eyes, and wondered 
 if we might ever see such a fleet under our own dear 
 flag. 
 
 A stop of two days was made at Gibraltar, and then 
 we ran down to Madeira, filled up with coal, and started 
 for a record run to New York. For a few days we 
 averaged about fifteen knots, then the sea became so 
 heavy that I had to slow to twelve knots to prevent 
 washing everything off the forward bridge. The sea 
 soon moderated, however, and we again made our best 
 speed. On arrival in New York we found that we had 
 the record for battleships — none had ever before made 
 such good time for so long a distance. With the ex- 
 ception of a broken cylinder ring, which delayed us two 
 hours and a half after leaving Madeira, not an accident 
 of any kind had marred the trip from Hong Kong. 
 
 When we arrived it was the intention of the Depart- 
 314 
 
Home Again 
 
 ment to place the Kentucky out of commission, but an 
 inspection showed that this was not necessary, though 
 a number of repairs were required to keep her in serv- 
 ice. These were made, and the ship served until the 
 summer of 1909 before she was placed in reserve. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 IN COMMAND OF NORTH ATLANTIC SQUADRON 
 
 Early in June I was relieved from sea duty and 
 again ordered to the Lighthouse Board. I was imme- 
 diately elected chairman of the board, and took up the 
 duties which were, next to going to sea, my choice. 
 The Lighthouse establishment has always been a branch 
 of the Treasury Department, but during my absence 
 in the East this had been changed, and it was now a 
 part of the newly organised Department of Com- 
 merce and Labour. Mr. Metcalf, formerly a member 
 of Congress from California, was its Secretary. He 
 afterwards became Secretary of the Navy for a time 
 during the last half of Mr. Roosevelt's term as 
 President. 
 
 When I received orders to the Lighthouse Board I 
 expected to remain on that duty for at least three years. 
 I had just completed the usual command of two years 
 for an admiral afloat. It was, therefore, reasonable to 
 assume that I would not again be called on for sea serv- 
 ice, and on this assumption I settled down to my new 
 duties, taking up many things in which I was deeply 
 interested. I was again impressed with the dignity and 
 responsibility of the position I was given. There is no 
 other position a naval officer can hold on shore which, 
 with so much useful work, gives opportunity for so 
 
 316 
 
Another Sea Command 
 
 much pleasure. My intention was to remain as chair- 
 man of the board until I retired — even longer if I might 
 be permitted to do so. 
 
 In December, 1904, rumours reached me that I was 
 to have another sea command. I paid no attention to 
 these reports for a time, but they were so persistent that 
 I asked the chief of the Bureau of Navigation if he 
 could tell me what they amounted to. His reply was 
 that it was his intention to ask the President to order 
 me to command the North Atlantic Squadron, unless I 
 seriously objected. No flag officer can " seriously ob- 
 ject " to a command afloat with safety to his reputation. 
 I informed the chief that I was subject to the orders of 
 the Secretary of the Navy, that I never sought orders, 
 and never declined nor hesitated to obey them when 
 received. A few days later the Secretary, Mr. Paul 
 Morton, sent for me. He said that the President had 
 spoken of giving me the command of the home squad- 
 ron, and asked if I would like to have it. Of course, I 
 replied that nothing would suit me better, and that I 
 should consider it a great honour. This settled the mat- 
 ter, and I was directed later to proceed to Pensacola, 
 Florida, and on March 28th relieve Rear-Admiral 
 Barker of his command. This ended my connection 
 with the Lighthouse Board, for I knew that when my 
 turn again came for shore duty I should be on the 
 retired list. 
 
 Long before my orders were actually issued I began 
 my search for suitable staff officers. My new duties 
 I knew would be more exacting than any I had be- 
 fore performed, and I was sure they would steadily 
 increase with the growth of the fleet. New battleships 
 
 317 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 were being rapidly constructed, and would be added to 
 the North Atlantic Squadron as fast as completed. 
 
 Captain J. E. Pillsbury, Assistant to the chief of the 
 Bureau of Navigation, was selected as chief of my staff. 
 No officer in the navy had a better reputation than he, 
 and I was most fortunate in securing his detail. He 
 served his full term with me, and I am safe in saying 
 that the fine condition of the squadron was due in great 
 measure to his untiring efforts and devotion to duty. 
 For flag secretary, a most difficult post to fill and the 
 most confidential on the staff, I secured the services of 
 Lieutenant-Commander Carlos B. Brittain, who had 
 been the ordnance officer of the Kentucky in the East. 
 He was admirably fitted for the work, combining, as he 
 did, excellent judgment with a cordial manner, which 
 went far toward smoothing over the rough path he 
 sometimes had to follow. His loyalty to me and inter- 
 est in my success were equalled only by his conscien- 
 tiousness as an officer and his efforts for efficiency. 
 Everything pointed to Lieutenant-Commander Mark 
 Bristol as fleet ordnance officer if I could secure him in 
 that capacity. He was on duty in the Ordnance De- 
 partment, where he had had long service, and was at 
 the time in charge of the torpedo branch. I succeeded 
 eventually in having him ordered, and the excellent 
 work he afterwards did showed the wisdom of my 
 choice. Lieutenant Crosley, a young officer of fine rep- 
 utation, was selected for flag lieutenant, and did excel- 
 lent work until succeeded by Lieutenant Ridley Mc- 
 Lean, who had served with me in China. His fine work 
 on the gun sights of the Kentucky and his general 
 knowledge of ordnance rendered him a most valuable 
 
 318 
 
Arrival at Pensacola 
 
 assistant. He afterwards became fleet ordnance offi- 
 cer, and in that capacity rendered service which in any 
 other navy would have secured for him promotion in 
 rank. Two fine young officers, Lieutenants Weaver 
 and Crafts, were selected — the former for fleet athletic 
 officer and the latter for aide and signal officer. 
 
 With this staff of excellent assistants, I left Wash- 
 ington for Pensacola, feeling sure that many thorns 
 would be removed from my path by their aid and loy- 
 alty. The railroad trip to the south was a hard, dusty 
 one, and we arrived at our destination early in the 
 morning, tired and very hungry. We entered the din- 
 ing-room of the uninviting-looking tavern with happy 
 thoughts of delicious tropical fruits and dainty south- 
 ern breakfast foods. One of the party called the head 
 waiter and said : 
 
 " What fruits have you ? " 
 
 " 'Tain't no fruits ! How will you have yo' eggs ? " 
 was the reply, and eggs were what we had for break- 
 fast! And those eggs must have been laid by some 
 peculiar kind of a bird, judging by their taste. Even in 
 China I never encountered any like them. We were 
 also served with a black fluid they called coffee, and it 
 also was in a class by itself. Our breakfast proved a 
 most disappointing failure. We left the hotel, hoping 
 to find something fit to eat on board the flagship, in 
 which we were not disappointed. 
 
 The squadron had been engaged in evolutions in the 
 West Indies during the winter, and had just arrived at 
 Pensacola for target practice and to give liberty to the 
 men. The target range off the port had been estab- 
 lished, and two ships were firing at it. The other ships 
 
 319 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 of the squadron, six battleships and a few cruisers, were 
 anchored in the harbour. 
 
 I had selected the battleship Maine for my flagship, 
 and requested her captain to have a boat at the landing 
 at eight o'clock to meet me and take us, with our bag- 
 gage, on board. When we drove down into the narrow, 
 tumbledown-looking dock, I was so shocked and dis- 
 heartened by what I saw that I felt as if I must at once 
 retrace my steps to Washington and tell the Secretary 
 that I did not want the command of the North Atlantic 
 Squadron! Two or three hundred liberty men were 
 being taken off to their ships, most of them under the 
 influence of liquor, and many of them howling, swear- 
 ing drunk. All the " tough " class, men and women, 
 black and white, for many miles round Pensacola had 
 assembled there to make the bluejackets enjoy them- 
 selves and to secure the money they knew would be 
 freely spent. There were no places of amusement for 
 the men to frequent — nothing, in fact, for them to do; 
 so they fell easy victims to the gang of thieves. Of 
 course, there were no quarters in the town for so many 
 disreputable newcomers, and many of them actually 
 lived in tents pitched on vacant lots about the lower 
 parts of the town. In all my experience I had never 
 seen anything to compare with my first view of the 
 men I was about to take under my command ! 
 
 Two perfectly legitimate and proper influences had 
 combined to bring the fleet to Pensacola, and neither 
 of them was responsible for the disreputable condition 
 found existing on my arrival. The merchants and 
 tradesmen knew how freely sailors spend their money, 
 and they wanted what they could get of it. The gen- 
 
 320 
 
An Unsatisfactory Station 
 
 tlemen and ladies of the city wanted to entertain the 
 officers and to enjoy their society. Both classes were 
 actuated by motives which no one could question, and 
 both were thoroughly disgusted at conditions which 
 they were apparently helpless to change. The trades- 
 men were reasonable in the prices they charged our 
 men, and I know of my own personal knowledge that 
 the hospitality of the people of the city to our officers 
 was without bounds. I feel sure that no officers of any 
 navy, under any circumstances, were ever more royally 
 entertained than were those of the North Atlantic 
 Squadron by the warm-hearted people of Pensacola. 
 Yet, notwithstanding all this, I made up my mind that, 
 if I could prevent it, the ships should never anchor in 
 that harbour again. 
 
 The city was not adapted to liberty for the kind of 
 men we want in the navy — that is to say, not for any 
 considerable number of them at one time; it could not 
 absorb them or give them any reasonable pleasure for 
 their money. We might land twenty thousand men in 
 New York city and after two hours be unable to find 
 a dozen of them, but if we landed two hundred in Pen- 
 sacola one hundred and fifty of them would always be 
 in evidence one way or another. In the one case there 
 were various and ample forms of amusement and in 
 the other none. The police of the southern town 
 either were not competent to deal with the bluejackets 
 or their own disreputable " toughs," and all the better 
 class of citizens knew this to be the case. 
 
 The trouble was not due to the people of Pensacola, 
 who only tried to get what they thought they were enti- 
 tled to, without considering or foreseeing the conditions 
 
 321 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 that would follow. The trouble really was in the Navy 
 Department, where officials allowed themselves to be 
 persuaded by senators and representatives into doing 
 what a little thought would have shown them would 
 lead to undesirable consequences. The congressmen 
 were right, from their standpoint, in taking the action 
 they did in behalf of their constituents. The Navy De- 
 partment was absolutely wrong in yielding to such 
 demands unless it could be shown that the service bene- 
 fited by it; that it was the best that could be done for 
 us. It would have been at once apparent to any one 
 who gave the subject serious consideration that a better 
 target range than the one in use off Pensacola could be 
 found ; and yet we continued to use this one. Why did 
 we do so? It must have been for some other reason 
 than for target practice. Was it because the city of 
 Pensacola was a suitable place to grant liberty to our 
 men? I think I have shown that this was not the 
 case. Was it not that the merchants and tradesmen of 
 the city might make a certain sum of money out of the 
 men of the fleet? And if this was the reason for 
 sending the ships there, why not be honest about it and 
 say so? 
 
 Target practice off Pensacola was completed about 
 the middle of April. The results obtained were satis- 
 factory with regard to rapidity and accuracy of fire with 
 most of the guns, but the means used in many cases 
 were lamentably poor and inefficient. This was particu- 
 larly the case with the gun sights; they were in the 
 same unsatisfactory condition as those in China in 1903. 
 A careful inspection of the ships showed that good 
 scores had been made in some cases by securing the 
 
 322 
 
New Gun Sights 
 
 sights with twine and seaHng wax, so that they could 
 not jump out of adjustment after each shot. When 
 this was not done, the sights jumped so badly that the 
 firing was almost useless so far as any practical benefit 
 was concerned. Lost motion in the training gears was 
 so great that constant aim was impossible. Everything 
 possible was done to correct this, but a fault in design 
 could not be overcome on board ship, no matter how 
 clever the men might be; the necessary tools and ma- 
 terial were not at hand for such work. Officers and 
 men were enthusiastic in their efforts, but they could 
 not be expected to continue so under such discouraging 
 conditions. 
 
 Lieutenant-Commander Bristol set to work at once 
 on a new design for gun sights, and when we reached 
 New York, a few months later, plans were ready for 
 approval. The chief of ordnance, Rear-Admiral Mason, 
 one of my old captains in China, and one of the ablest 
 men who ever filled the office, was fully alive to the 
 importance of the work, but willingness is one thing 
 and ability to do quite another. New sights for ships 
 not yet completed could be made in the Washington 
 Navy Yard and held in readiness for them, but to fit 
 sights to all the guns of eight battleships in commis- 
 sion and have them ready for the next target practice 
 was quite a different proposition. I was satisfied from 
 my experience in the East that it could be successfully 
 done only if proper methods were pursued; if a lot of 
 red tape could be cut away. In this my fleet ordnance 
 officer concurred. A contract was entered into with 
 the Bliss Company, of Brooklyn, a very reliable firm, 
 who agreed to do the work in a certain time under the 
 
 323 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 general direction and supervision of Lieutenant-Com- 
 mander Bristol. 
 
 Government vi'ork by contract is rarely completed on 
 time, because the penalty clause of the contract is not 
 enforced, as a rule. It is sometimes done by the head 
 of a department, but the money so held up is always 
 paid eventually. Congress discovers some good reason 
 for the delay, votes the necessary money, and the con- 
 tractor escapes without punishment. The case of our 
 gun sights was not an exception. We did all we could 
 to expedite the work, we begged and pleaded, even used 
 strong language, but to no purpose. When we sailed 
 for the West Indies in November, only a portion of the 
 guns had the new sights furnished ; most of them were 
 in a partially completed condition. We took to sea 
 with us thirty men from the contractor's shops, who 
 worked night and day, assisted by the well-trained me- 
 chanics of the ships. Just one week before the squad- 
 ron went onto the target range the last of the sights 
 was tested and found right. The work done by the 
 fleet ordnance officer during all this time was enough to 
 break down half a dozen ordinary men, but fortunately 
 he was not one of the breaking-down kind. 
 
 The torpedo boats and destroyers I found in unsat- 
 isfactory condition. This was particularly the case 
 with the flotilla of destroyers attached to the squadron. 
 Officers and men were discouraged because they were 
 not allowed to perform their proper functions as de- 
 stroyers. They had been used as despatch and mail 
 boats to carry messages or mails to and from the fleet 
 and convey soiled linen to and from the laundries, but 
 their work as torpedo-boat destroyers had been sadly 
 
 324 
 
Departure from Pensacola 
 
 neglected. Their contract speed was from twenty-five 
 to thirty knots, and they were kept cruising at about 
 ten, so that no one knew just how fast they could steam 
 or whether their engine-room forces were efficient or 
 otherwise. As soon as I could take the matter up, I 
 ordered the mail and laundry business to stop, laid out 
 torpedo targets, and started the boats on a course of 
 real torpedo work. While convinced that they never 
 could in time of war do the wonderful things that had 
 been promised for them, I was satisfied that conveying 
 mail and washed clothes was not the way to develop 
 what they really could do. 
 
 The festivities of Pensacola closed early in May, 
 and the squadron sailed for the north. It was the last 
 time we were to try target practice in that locality. I 
 was soundly abused by the people and press of the city 
 for the change that came, but, feeling that I was doing 
 the best for the service, I submitted to it in silence. I 
 had received the greatest courtesy and kindness from 
 the good people of Pensacola, and had for them only 
 sentiments of friendship, but I did not consider their 
 locality a good one for target practice nor their city a 
 suitable place to give liberty to a large number of en- 
 listed men, and I acted in accordance with those convic- 
 tions. 
 
 The eight battleships composing the squadron passed 
 out over the bar without grounding, though some of 
 them stirred up the mud. When every one was ready 
 I formed them in column three hundred yards apart 
 and started north at a speed of twelve knots. The 
 usual distance from ship to ship — that is, from the fore- 
 mast of one ship to the foremast of the next astern — in 
 23 325 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 cruising formation is four hundred yards, but I made it 
 three hundred because we had been a long time at an- 
 chor, and both officers and men had grown a bit care- 
 less. At three hundred yards the squadron was com- 
 pact, and with my glasses I could see what was being 
 done on each ship. At first I could tell that the officers 
 were somewhat nervous, from the way the ships yawed 
 about, but this passed away in a few days. The squad- 
 ron had been commanded by very able flag officers, and 
 the nervousness I speak of was on the part of officers 
 who were, either as captains or junior officers, in 
 charge of a battleship for the first time in fleet forma- 
 tion. A pleasant run of six days, most of the time in 
 the Gulf Stream, brought us to our destination. The 
 ships were at once distributed to the navy yards where 
 they were to be overhauled and made ready for the 
 extended drills which were to take place in the late sum- 
 mer and autumn. The War College at Newport had 
 submitted certain plans to the board, which in turn sent 
 them on to me for trial. Of these, for obvious reasons, 
 I cannot write. 
 
 The Navy Department was anxious to have fleet 
 drills instead of the squadron evolutions which had 
 been the custom in our service. I gave my attention to 
 the necessary regulations for this, as well as the pro- 
 gramme of work to be followed. For fleet work one 
 must have a fleet of ships, and this was promised as 
 soon as the vessels should be available. Those I had 
 were in need of repairs, and work on them was ordered 
 at once. 
 
 The question of annual repairs to ships on the home 
 station is a most serious and puzzling one. On foreign 
 
 326 
 
Question of Ship Repairs 
 
 stations it is simple and easily solved. All ships on 
 these stations are supposed to be self-supporting, and 
 they are so to a great extent; their own mechanics are 
 able to do most of the work. If beyond them, it is well 
 and cheaply done by contract. The commander-in-chief 
 of the home station is constantly urged by the Depart- 
 ment to make his ships self-sustaining; it is a favourite 
 term, often employed. The bureau chiefs, on the other 
 hand, do not wish him to do this, but never say so 
 plainly. They hold that unless the ships are sent to the 
 yards for repairs every year they cannot have an effi- 
 cient working force when called upon, and they cer- 
 tainly have reasons on their side of the argument. If 
 the commander-in-chief does what he is officially di- 
 rected to do, the navy yards run down in efficiency and 
 are not in condition to do good, quick work when an 
 emergency arises. If the repair work could be done at 
 the yards where the ships were built, it would seem to 
 do away with this difficulty, but then we should run 
 the risk of having the shipyards combine and charge 
 unreasonable prices for the work. This may seem, at 
 first glance, a reflection on the shipbuilders, but it is 
 not really so ; it is only a reflection on business methods. 
 If all the armour plants in the country can submit the 
 same figures, the same bid to a cent, in reply to adver- 
 tisements for armour, why could not shipbuilders do the 
 same for repairs? The guessing could be done the 
 same in one case as well as in the other. 
 
 So the commander-in-chief must do the repairs to 
 the fleet with his own force, and at the same time have 
 work enough for the navy yards at least once in each 
 year. His lot in this respect is not a happy one. The 
 
 327 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 whole question is a complicated one, not easy of solu- 
 tion. We much prefer to do the repair work with our 
 own men on board ship when it can be done, for the 
 reason that it is more satisfactorily done in this way. 
 Long experience has taught us that men who have to 
 use machines, who live with them, in fact, are more 
 careful and accurate in repairing them than those who 
 never work with them. I could cite many cases to 
 prove this — cases where lives of men have been placed 
 in jeopardy by some careless navy-yard workmen, but 
 the yards must be ready in cases of emergency, and to 
 have them so the men must have steady employment of 
 some kind. 
 
 Eight battleships and six destroyers were ready for 
 sea at the end of November, and I sailed with them for 
 the West Indies, where I was to remain during the 
 winter months. To test the sea endurance of the de- 
 stroyers, I kept them with the fleet for the run of sev- 
 enteen hundred miles. The weather for the first two 
 days was very fine and the sea smooth; then the wind 
 shifted into the south-west and blew hard enough to 
 kick up quite a rough sea, causing the destroyers to roll 
 and pitch and take the water over them in solid masses. 
 The battleships were, of course, entirely comfortable 
 under such conditions, but the destroyers thrashed 
 about until all the new men of their crew^s were use- 
 less because of seasickness. To make matters better 
 for them, I ordered the destroyers to take station under 
 the lea of the big ships and steam along close to them, 
 and thus made better weather of it. When we finally 
 arrived at our destination all of them were in fairly 
 good condition, except one, and her troubles were di- 
 
 328 
 
At Culebra 
 
 rectly due to careless work at the navy yards where she 
 had been repaired. While the boats were ready for 
 service after their shaking up, the officers and men 
 were ready for a good long rest. They were worn out 
 with the discomforts of the trip, and in many cases 
 unfit for duty. This will always be the result, in my 
 judgment, of a cruise of any considerable length in 
 these small vessels. In time of war the excitement and 
 danger of the service will keep officers and men keyed 
 up, but in times of peace they will not stand much cruis- 
 ing in rough water. If they are to keep company with 
 the fleet, they must be larger, stronger, and more com- 
 fortable for their crews than those we now have. A 
 vessel of one thousand tons displacement seems to me 
 to be about what we need. 
 
 Our first anchorage was in Target Bay, on the south 
 side of the island of Culebra, one of a group we ac- 
 quired as a result of the Spanish War. It is only 
 eighteen miles from the Danish island of St. Thomas, 
 which we have so often tried to purchase because of its 
 supposed value as a naval base. The position of Cule- 
 bra is such that it could be made to command one of 
 the direct passages from the north through the West 
 Indies to the Caribbean Sea and the north coast of 
 Central America. As a naval base in time of war it 
 would be of great practical value if properly fortified 
 and provisioned, but, owing to one cause and another, 
 nothing has ever been done there except to mount a 
 few small guns and accumulate coal enough for the 
 gunboats on patrol duty in the West Indies. In its 
 present condition, if war should come suddenly — and 
 in future it seems probable that wars will come in that 
 
 329 
 
An Admirals Log 
 
 way — this island would cause us great anxiety, because 
 a superior naval force could, and would, seize it and 
 make it their base of supplies for operations in the 
 West Indies. 
 
 As a point from which to operate cruisers, torpedo 
 boats, and submarines, Culebra has advantages over 
 any other I know of. There is a landlocked harbour in 
 the eastern portion of the island large enough to con- 
 tain half a dozen cruisers and all the submarines and 
 torpedo boats in the navy. So perfectly protected is 
 this harbour that the vessels in it would be safe 
 even in the most violent hurricane. The channel 
 is a safe one, and from the entrance to the harbour 
 there are three safe channels through the reefs to the 
 sea, which render a blockade most difficult. By dredg- 
 ing a short distance another channel could be made con- 
 necting the harbour with Target Bay, which would ren- 
 der a blockade practically impossible. A station ship is 
 maintained in the inner harbour for the handful of offi- 
 cers and men required to look after the coal and other 
 government property. Rain water is caught and stored 
 in reservoirs for the needs of the two or three hundred 
 Spanish fishermen and their families who inhabit the 
 island. They fish and raise a few vegetables, among 
 them melons of very fine quality. They are governed 
 by a chief, appointed by the government of Porto Rico, 
 who depends on the naval authorities to keep his flock 
 in order and prevent smuggling. Their physical ail- 
 ments are looked after by a naval surgeon with a staff 
 of hospital attendants. 
 
 With Culebra as our headquarters, we spent a 
 month of hard, steady work. I was fortunate in having 
 
 330 
 
Christmas in the West Indies 
 
 as my second in command Rear-Admiral C. H. Davis, 
 who, in addition to being one of the ablest tacticians in 
 the navy, had a most attractive personality, which made 
 duty with him a pleasure. As many of the captains 
 and most of the junior officers had never had any fleet 
 work, we had to begin at the very rudiments with them, 
 teach them the multiplication table, so to speak, before 
 we ventured into the algebra of the profession. Every 
 morning the two divisions of four ships each got under 
 way, and all day long they drilled and manoeuvred in 
 the adjacent waters, which were well adapted to the 
 purpose. In the evening they would anchor in Target 
 Bay, or during the night exercise with search lights. 
 At the end of two weeks the divisions were united and 
 drilled as a fleet. In this way much valuable experience 
 was gained. Saturdays and Sundays we remained at 
 anchor, and as much time as possible was given to 
 swimming and athletic exercises. The destroyers were 
 given steady work with torpedoes night and day. They 
 were also required to develop the possibilities of the 
 various channels, so that they might be able to use them 
 in case of necessity. 
 
 As Christmas time approached, I divided the squad- 
 ron and sent the ships to various ports in the West 
 Indies to give shore leave to the crews. The ports of 
 St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbadoes, and Trinidad were 
 chosen as best for the purpose. Nearly half of our men 
 were recruits who had never been out of the United 
 States, many of them lads from the farms of the middle 
 West, and to them the opportunity of seeing a foreign 
 port was pleasing. They thoroughly enjoyed their 
 Christmas holiday, as did those who benefited by the 
 
 331 
 
An Admirars Log 
 
 large sums of money the bluejackets spent. The Maine, 
 my flagship, went to Trinidad, where the hospitable 
 people received us most cordially and made us welcome. 
 I ate my Christmas dinner with Governor Jackson and 
 his charming family. 
 
 Immediately after Christmas the ships assembled 
 at Guantanamo, our naval station on the south-east side 
 of Cuba. After the close of the Spanish War the 
 United States had acquired this station, which was re- 
 garded as of vital importance to our interest in the 
 south Atlantic. The Navy Department had made a 
 careful survey of the site, and with a small appropria- 
 tion from Congress began the construction of a dry 
 dock and the erection of a coaling plant. A few small 
 frame houses had been built for the accommodation of 
 the officers on duty there, and tents put up for the 
 marines who guarded the property. The water supply 
 was totally inadequate, though there was a fine river 
 running through the country only a few miles away. 
 Sixty thousand dollars would have given us an ample 
 supply of excellent water, but the money was not avail- 
 able. Every drop of fresh water for the station came 
 from Caimoneira, ten or twelve miles distant, in water 
 cars, and was then pumped into a water boat, which 
 was towed six miles before it could be distributed for 
 consumption ! 
 
 A fine, first-class wireless telegraph station had been 
 installed by the Navy Department, which kept up com- 
 munication with the world through the station at Key 
 West. At night messages came to us regularly and 
 with fair accuracy, but in the daytime this station, like 
 most other wireless outfits, refused to work, giving al- 
 
 332 
 
Small-Arm Target Practice 
 
 ways as an excuse the incomprehensible word static, 
 which in wireless experience covers a multitude of sins. 
 As far as I have been able to discover, the word means 
 an atmospheric condition in which Hertzian waves re- 
 fuse duty and no messages can be sent through. This 
 condition exists always in the daytime, but rarely at 
 night. This station also was sorely perplexed by the 
 question of water supply. 
 
 The Ordnance Bureau of the Navy Department had 
 installed at Guantanamo the finest small-arm target 
 range to be found anywhere in the world. It may be 
 justly said, I think, that the use of this range enabled 
 the men of the navy to outshoot all competitors and 
 twice win from the army, the marines, and the militia 
 the national trophy. It was here that they received the 
 training which placed them in such an enviable position 
 among the crack shots of the world. To their credit 
 be it remembered that on the cruise of the Atlantic 
 Fleet the bluejackets won from the best teams in Aus- 
 tralia and Japan. 
 
 One object of our visit to Guantanamo was to use 
 this range to its utmost capacity. All day long, from 
 sunrise to sunset, despite the mosquitoes, the gnats, and 
 the blazing sun, hundreds of men were on the ranges. 
 The reports of the Krag-Jorgensens were incessant, re- 
 minding one of a battle. As soon as our anchors were 
 down all the marines of the fleet were landed and 
 camped under canvas in order that they might have 
 real training as soldiers, without wasting their time 
 with the petty duties which seemed to occupy all their 
 time on board ship, and which during their absence were 
 easily done by a small detail of bluejackets. The tar- 
 
 333 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 gets were turned over to the marines for a stated 
 time each day. After their firing was completed, they 
 " hiked " over the country and did other things that 
 soldiers are expected to do to produce the conditions of 
 efficiency which render them of value in times of war. 
 I have never seen more marked improvement in a body 
 of men than I observed in this case. It was the story of 
 the marines at Subig Bay over again. 
 
 The bluejackets were sent to the targets every day, 
 Saturdays and Sundays excepted, until each one had 
 qualified on the different ranges. Then teams were 
 selected from each ship, and these, after long practice, 
 shot for the championship of the squadron. The bat- 
 tleship Missouri won after a spirited contest. In the 
 meantime the boat guns were used on targets in the har- 
 bour, and afterwards, fitted as field pieces for land serv- 
 ice, taken on shore and over a fine range did excellent 
 work on the targets. In this way we gave the men the 
 finest training it was possible for them to have. But to 
 do all this work it was necessary to give some time to 
 play and recreation ; otherwise all hands would be worn 
 out and become discontented. At a fixed hour every 
 day work stopped. The men were then landed on the 
 beach to swim, play baseball or football, and generally, 
 in sea parlance, " stretch their legs." A racing crew 
 from each ship was always in training, and races under 
 sail, as well as pulling races, were a regular part of the 
 exercise of the squadron. While all these sports re- 
 quired the hardest kind of physical effort, they were not 
 regarded by the men as work, and they took great pleas- 
 ure in them. The result of all our efforts was a fine, 
 happy, contented lot of men, who reflected great credit 
 
 334 
 
Seeking A New Target Range 
 
 on their officers and were ready at a moment's notice 
 for any service they might be called upon to perform. 
 
 The destroyers were confined to their proper work. 
 Drills were constant day and night until they could use 
 their weapons with a fair degree of accuracy. Their 
 crews had athletic contests among themselves; some 
 of them even aspired to the battleship class, where they 
 acquitted themselves with credit. Particularly was this 
 the case in boat racing. The destroyers did not at that 
 time carry power boats, and as a result developed many 
 good boat sailors and oarsmen. 
 
 The question of a range for target practice with the 
 big guns was a most important one, and one that must 
 soon be settled. Those in authority at home had de- 
 cided to leave this to me, thus relieving themselves of 
 the annoyance of having to answer the questions of 
 politicians acting in the interest of their constituents, 
 who wanted the ships sent to this place or that. All 
 they had to say in such case was that the matter was in 
 the hands of the commander-in-chief, that they did not 
 know where he proposed to hold the practice, which 
 was literally true, because I had not informed them of 
 the locality! I was too far away to be reached by the 
 politicians, so their constituents amused themselves by 
 abusing me in the newspapers, which seemed to satisfy 
 them and did not worry me in the least. 
 
 I took advantage of the first Saturday after our ar- 
 rival at Guantanamo to look for our new target range. 
 In company with the chief of staff and the fleet ord- 
 nance officer, I embarked on the tender Yankton and 
 ran down to Cape Cruz, on the south side of Cuba, 
 where we remained over Sunday, To the westward of 
 
 335 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Cape Cruz, under the lea of the shoals making out off 
 Manzanillo, we found what we were seeking, viz. : a 
 large body of smooth water of such depth that ships 
 could be conveniently anchored and targets moored. 
 The spot selected was ideal for our purpose. The coral 
 reefs to windward ensured smooth water, except when 
 the wind came from the south-west, which it rarely did 
 during the winter season. The prevailing winds were 
 from the north and north-east. The shipping entering 
 Manzanillo passed at a distance of twenty or twenty-five 
 miles either to the east or the west, and interruption 
 from this cause was unlikely. A few fishing boats took 
 fish on the inside of the reef, and were entirely safe 
 from our guns. 
 
 The surveys of this part of the West Indies were 
 Spanish, and very unreliable. To ensure the safety of 
 the fleet I selected and marked roughly with buoys the 
 area we would use, and the Yankton then ran lines of 
 soundings to detect shoal water, if any existed. When 
 this had been thoroughly done, we returned to Guanta- 
 namo and made all necessary preparations for our rec- 
 ord target practice. 
 
 Colliers were loaded with coal and sent to the an- 
 chorage selected for them inside the reef. The store- 
 ship, with fresh provisions, and the water-ship for the 
 destroyers were also sent, and the squadron followed, 
 spending a few days en route at tactical drills. In the 
 meantime a collier had been sent to Pensacola for the 
 targets, and when she arrived they were soon in place 
 and practice began. For three weeks the firing was 
 constant. When it was completed the improvement was 
 so marked that we were sure we had won the trophy, 
 
 336 
 
An Excellent Range 
 
 but in this we were mistaken. We were disappointed 
 at not winning the coveted prize, but determined to 
 have it the following year, if hard work could make 
 it come our way. 
 
 When time permitted I examined the water inside 
 the reef, and succeeded in finding an admirable place 
 for the small ships and torpedo craft to do their work. 
 The spot selected was close to the coral island known 
 as Media Luna Cayo (Half Moon Key), so named from 
 its crescent shape. Here the crews were perfectly com- 
 fortable because of the smooth water, and when not at 
 work could catch plenty of fish and large lizards to re- 
 plenish their larders. When a careful survey had been 
 completed, it was found that any ship in the squadron 
 could enter between the reefs and use this target range 
 with safety. 
 
 Of all the ranges I have ever used, that to the west 
 of Cape Cruz was the most satisfactory. There was 
 nothing in sight to attract either officers or men from 
 their work at the guns. The only town or city any- 
 where near us was Manzanillo, which was thirty-five 
 miles away, and with which we had no communication. 
 From our firing stations there was nothing in sight but 
 water. Here and there the mangroves on the coral 
 reefs showed green in the distance, but otherwise we 
 were practically at sea. When time permitted, those so 
 disposed could find fairly good fishing, but as a rule 
 little time was given to this sport, as both officers and 
 men were tired enough with their work to sleep during 
 any leisure moments. 
 
 It was while anchored in this vicinity, at a later 
 date, that we heard of the disaster at San Francisco. 
 
 337 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 My orderly awoke me in the middle of the night to 
 hand me a message just picked up by the wireless oper- 
 ator on duty on board the flagship. It read : " Bad 
 earthquake in San Francisco; city destroyed by fire." 
 As we were a thousand miles from the nearest wireless 
 station, and because of the improbable character of the 
 news received, I requested the wireless operator not to 
 disturb me again unless there might be some confirma- 
 tion of the message. These operators were always pick- 
 ing up wonderful pieces of news which drifted about in 
 the air ! A few hours later despatches came giving full 
 details of the awful destruction inside the Golden Gate. 
 The boundaries of the naval reservation at Guanta- 
 namo had been very carefully marked by the Navy De- 
 partment — ^first by a path cut through the jungle, and 
 then by a substantial wire fence. In the vicinity of the 
 proposed dry dock and marine barracks a stone wall 
 about seven feet high had been constructed to prevent 
 the natives from smuggling rum into the reservation 
 and carrying away anything they could lay their hands 
 on. We had more trouble on the small-arms target 
 range from smuggled rum than from all other causes 
 combined. The miserable natives managed to land it 
 from boats at night, secrete it in the jungle, and from 
 there serve it out to our men, who were invariably made 
 crazy, fighting drunk by the vile stuff. After two days' 
 search we found the " cache " and destroyed its con- 
 tents, consisting of about thirty gallons of newly made 
 rum. I gave notice that I would also destroy those 
 who owned it if I could lay my hands on them. If we 
 could have had a canteen where the men could get beer 
 and light wines, under proper restrictions, all this 
 
 338 
 
The Guantanamo Reservation 
 
 trouble would have been spared us. A wise Congress 
 had, however, decreed that we should not have a can- 
 teen, and in consequence we had to struggle with a 
 much greater evil. 
 
 One look at the reservation as laid out clearly indi- 
 cated that we had not taken ground enough. The reser- 
 vation was too small for the purpose intended. To the 
 eastward and well within the range of a ten-inch gun 
 rises a sharp mountain peak, which we designated as 
 " 203 Metre Hill " because of its commanding position ; 
 203 Metre Hill, it will be recalled, completely domi- 
 nated the defences of Port Arthur and caused the sur- 
 render of that fortress when the Japanese had succeeded 
 in mounting a few guns thereon. It seemed to me that 
 an enemy could land guns at the base of this mountain, 
 and in a short time put them in a position from which 
 they could destroy everything of value on the reserva- 
 tion. That the Navy Department and the general board 
 might be fully advised of the situation, I organised a 
 board of able officers, with Rear-Admiral Davis at its 
 head, to report what should be done in the matter. This 
 board went over the ground, climbed the mountains, 
 surveyed the sources of water supply, and made an ex- 
 haustive report, pointing out the necessity for extending 
 the boundaries of the concession to include the high 
 point necessary to its proper defence in time of war. 
 This report was duly forwarded, and that was the last 
 we ever heard of it. The Assistant Secretary of the 
 Navy came down later, looked the ground over, and 
 approved of what had been done. Later still a com- 
 mittee of senators came. After spending one hour in 
 the bay, they sailed for Jamaica, deciding that no more 
 
 339 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 money should be spent on Guantanamo, and so the mat- 
 ter stands to-day. We cannot do the work without 
 money, and Congress will not appropriate any. 
 
 If we had acquired one naval station in the West 
 Indies, instead of two, it might have been better for us. 
 Congress might have been induced to give the neces- 
 sary money for one station, which it has failed to do for 
 two. Some officers argue that they woufd not have 
 voted money even for one, and cite the case of Manila 
 Bay or Olongapo to prove their contention, but it must 
 always be remembered that Olongapo is a long way 
 from our coast, while Guantanamo and Culebra are 
 practically in our back yard. 
 
 It must be regarded as unfortunate that a difference 
 of opinion developed among officers of the navy in the 
 years following the close of the Spanish War in regard 
 to the value of the two places, Culebra and Guanta- 
 namo, as sites for a large naval station. Some held that 
 Culebra should be developed as our main station, while 
 others declared in favour of Guantanamo, with Culebra 
 as an advanced base only. This action, or opinion, nat- 
 urally had its effect on Congress, whose members 
 sought information from naval sources. As a result 
 we have no station worthy the name in the West Indies. 
 A war scare over our relations with Japan may cause 
 us to complete a station somewhere in the vicinity of 
 Manila, and likewise such a scare over our relations 
 with some European nation, or the threat of some for- 
 eign nation to disregard what we please to term the 
 Monroe Doctrine, may lead to the same desirable results 
 at Guantanamo. As the Panama Canal approaches 
 completion, this question of a strong station somewhere 
 
 340 
 
Culebra and Guantanamo 
 
 on the Caribbean Sea will force itself on Congress more 
 strongly than ever, and a solution may be reached. 
 
 At present it can be truthfully said that Guantanamo 
 is of vast importance to us as a training station, a posi- 
 tion from which, as a safe anchorage, our rapidly grow- 
 ing fleet may manoeuvre and drill with the greatest 
 possible advantage. Owing to its climate during the win- 
 ter months and its excellent small-arms target range, it 
 is far ahead of any place on our own coast. It is better 
 even than any other place we could select if we were 
 given our choice in the matter. Aside from its advan- 
 tages as»a drill ground for the fleet, it has great value 
 as long as we keep up our present policy of patrolling 
 the waters of Hayti and San Domingo and looking 
 after the custom-houses of the last-named breeder of 
 revolutions. Culebra is also of great value in this con- 
 nection, owing to its geographical position. It would 
 seem, therefore, that we should hold both places, but to 
 make it possible to do so in time of war we should 
 provide for their defence. 
 
 Culebra has a few small guns in position; not 
 enough, however, to be of any value. At Guantanamo 
 the army engineers have selected sites for mortar bat- 
 teries and twelve-inch guns, and have finished two bat- 
 teries for the defence of the mine fields. One of these 
 has six-inch guns, and the other small, rapid firers. 
 Congress has refused to appropriate more money, and 
 in consequence all work must stop. 
 
 23 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 THE SUMMER WORK OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC 
 SQUADRON 
 
 Our winter's work having been completed, the 
 squadron returned to Hampton Roads in May. In ad- 
 dition to the work done with the guns, a great amount 
 of tactical exercise had been accomplished, with the 
 gratifying result that most of the captains and many 
 of the junior officers could maintain position and per- 
 form simple evolutions with accuracy. We were learn- 
 ing our multiplication table thoroughly before attempt- 
 ing higher work. 
 
 Once back in a home port, all the officers who had 
 served their time at sea were detached, and others with- 
 out fleet experience were ordered in their places. This 
 was the case with captains as well as juniors. When 
 ready to go to sea, the commander-in-chief found him- 
 self compelled to begin again at the beginning so far as 
 drills were concerned. The officers who left had ac- 
 quired valuable knowledge, but they took it ashore with 
 them, and it was necessary to teach the new ones, just 
 as the others had been taught. This condition is dis- 
 couraging, this constant going over and over the sim- 
 plest forms of fleet drill, but it will disappear in a few 
 years, when the body of our officers has had sufficient 
 service in the fleet. 
 
 342 
 
Discouraging Work 
 
 While this condition for officers is in sight, the same 
 cannot be said for the men. Officers of other navies are 
 surprised at what we accomphsh with our crews when 
 informed of the way they are suppHed to us. To ex- 
 plain this, let me cite a case, say of an English battle- 
 ship about to be placed in commission for service. When 
 reported ready by the dock-yard officials, her crew is 
 marched on board, complete in every respect. The men 
 are drawn from receiving ships or barracks, where they 
 have been under instruction since leaving their last ship, 
 all having seen service and all competent to perform the 
 duties of the stations to which they are assigned. In 
 other words, England has always ready a body of edu- 
 cated seamen from which she can draw to man the 
 ships ordinarily commissioned. In case of emergency, 
 when a large number of ships must be put in service at 
 the same time, she calls to the colours the men of the 
 naval reserve. Other nations have some similar plan. 
 
 Now let us see how it is with us. There is nothing 
 else in the world so discouraging as the commissioning 
 of a new battleship in our navy. For months after it 
 is done the officers are worn to a shadow in their efforts 
 to bring her to a state of efficiency. When the dock- 
 yard people report her ready, the crew is sent on board 
 and the flag hoisted. Sometimes the complement of 
 officers is complete, but this is often not the case, and 
 always, because of the shortage of officers, the number 
 detailed is about half what it would be for a foreign 
 ship of the same class. As to the crew, the captain is 
 indeed lucky who finds half of his crew on board the 
 day his flag is hoisted. This half crew is composed of 
 men of different ratings — excellent men many of them ; 
 
 343 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 some with two years to serve and many with only two 
 months. To make up the number necessary to man the 
 ship, apprentice seamen are sent from the various train- 
 ing stations, where they have been drilled for a few 
 months and taught to care for their persons and their 
 clothing. For the first time in their lives they are on 
 the deck of a ship, and they are absolutely ignorant of 
 their duties in her ; they don't know one end of the ship 
 from the other; and with this mass of ignorance the 
 officers must contend. Fortunately for us, these re- 
 cruits are most intelligent material to work with, as a 
 rule, and our petty officers are up to their work, but for 
 the first year of her commission one of our battleships 
 is a school unknown anywhere else on the water. 
 
 After a few months of steady work, the times of the 
 older .men begin to expire, and new ones are sent in 
 their places. Those of the recruits who find a sea life 
 and hard work not to their liking desert, and in their 
 places come new ones from the training station. Each 
 ship is thus in some respects a receiving ship, con- 
 stantly changing her crew by discharge or transfer. 
 The officers struggle on in their efforts to meet the re- 
 quirements of the commander-in-chief, who in turn is 
 trying hard to do what Washington demands of him. 
 It is amusing under such conditions to hear the com- 
 ments of the swivel-chair critics, who from their roll-top 
 desks demand that we shall do battle tactics, fight one 
 squadron against another — in a few words, do the vari- 
 ous things — some of them very silly — that foreign fleets 
 do ! While these learned gentlemen of the chairs are 
 thus telling us what we should do, we are not really 
 idle. The captains and their hard-working juniors are 
 
 344 
 
Enlistment in the Navy 
 
 struggling to educate men to steer their ships, and the 
 commander-in-chief is giving his best efforts to pre- 
 vent the ships from ramming each other in the simplest 
 evolutions. 
 
 When we take a broad viev^'' of the situation, it 
 seems surprising that those in charge in the Navy De- 
 partment succeed as well as they do in manning our 
 ships. The difficulties to be overcome are far greater 
 than in any other country. The American lad who en- 
 lists in the navy to serve four years has two things 
 prominently in his mind when he does so : first, he 
 wishes to travel and see the world, and this he is en- 
 couraged to think he can do in the navy ; in the second 
 place, he wishes, in some undefined way, to advance 
 himself to a better position in life. The first, the wish 
 to travel, he generally realises; the second, to advance 
 himself, always follows if the lad is industrious and 
 gives due attention to his work; and herein lies our 
 greatest difficulty. If at the end of four years he has 
 not been promoted, it is his own fault, and the navy Is 
 no place for him. For those who succeed, civil life, as 
 a rule, offers a better career than the navy; at least It 
 seems better because of the better pay. Many find, 
 when too late, that they have made a mistake in leav- 
 ing us. 
 
 Every man discharged from the navy with an hon- 
 ourable discharge can find employment on shore at a 
 salary much larger than we can pay him, and many 
 valuable men take advantage of this. Electric compa- 
 nies, railroads, and street railway companies are glad to 
 get the men whom we have educated, and In some 
 cities preference is given them on the police force. Be- 
 
 345 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 cause of rapid promotion, the lower grades of the serv- 
 ice are always filled by new recruits, and the upper 
 grades much depleted from the causes stated above. 
 We are constantly taking men into the service and, after 
 educating them, sending them back to civil life well 
 qualified for good citizenship, and are thus doing well 
 by the country, but it does not keep our ships manned 
 as they should be. When we are older as a nation and 
 a sea power I have no doubt that a remedy will be 
 found for all these things. 
 
 To give our men the necessary preliminary target 
 practice during the summer months we required smooth 
 water, unencumbered with shipping or fishermen, and 
 to find this was very difficult. The long range of our 
 guns made it important that we should fire to seaward, 
 for otherwise the projectiles might land on shore and 
 do much damage. For two years the practice has been 
 held in Menemsha Bight, off Martha's Vineyard, but 
 fishermen who frequented that locality claimed that the 
 firing of the guns drove the fish to sea, and thus inter- 
 fered with their business. They sent long petitions to 
 the Navy Department, numerously signed and backed 
 by senators and representatives, protesting against our 
 practice, and it became necessary to find a new field for 
 our work. The fact that our firing did not in any way 
 affect the fishing, which was conclusively shown by 
 the very best kind of evidence, had no weight. Voters 
 must be considered first, and, as we had no votes in the 
 navy, we left Menemsha Bight and sought a new target 
 range. 
 
 I had the curiosity later to follow up one of the peti- 
 tions mentioned above. It bore the names of several 
 
 346 
 
Cape Cod Bay 
 
 hundred men and was indorsed by at least one repre- 
 sentative and one senator. When personally called to 
 the attention of the representative he at first declared 
 that he had not signed it, but later concluded that he 
 had done so without giving it any attention. Of the 
 men who put their names to it, nine-tenths were not 
 fishermen, but lived on the shores of Cape Cod and 
 sometimes went to sea on coasting vessels. Some of 
 them did not even know where Menemsha Bight was. 
 Most of them might be considered fishermen only be- 
 cause they fished for small pieces of dried codfish found 
 in bowls on the bars of local saloons, where they served 
 as drink appetisers! Beyond this they had no knowl- 
 edge of fish or fishing. 
 
 My able chief of staff, Captain Pillsbury, looked the 
 coast charts over, and finally selected a suitable target 
 range in Cape Cod Bay, off the town of Barnstable, 
 Massachusetts. Here there was plenty of smooth water 
 during the summer and autumn months and no fisher- 
 men to bother us. The beautiful harbour of Province- 
 town was available as headquarters for the fleet, where 
 the small vessels and torpedo craft could anchor in 
 safety, even in the worst storms. A better place for 
 our work could not apparently be found. Rail connec- 
 tions were such that our supplies could be easily han- 
 dled, and in addition there was daily communication 
 with Boston by boat. Full of enthusiasm and fond an- 
 ticipations, I took the fleet to Provincetown and pre- 
 pared for work. 
 
 The people of the picturesque old New England 
 town were glad to see us, and did not hesitate to say 
 so. The hotels and boarding houses were soon crowded 
 
 347 
 
An Admirals Log 
 
 with officers' families and others anxious to witness our 
 drills. Everything promised a most comfortable and 
 instructive period. The officers raised enough money 
 to purchase and fit up an athletic field about a mile 
 from the town, and on this the men by the hun- 
 dreds spent their time in healthful recreation. I was 
 personally on shore among the men day and night to 
 observe their conduct and see for myself that they cre- 
 ated no disturbance. Everything went well for a few 
 weeks, and then trouble began. 
 
 I noticed that some of the men were drinking too 
 much, and that the effect of what they drank was very 
 peculiar. They were not drunk in the ordinary sense 
 of the word, but crazy drunk — unable to recognise their 
 own officers. It was against the law to sell liquor in the 
 town, but it was painfully evident that the law was not 
 being enforced. Due inquiry developed the fact that 
 a number of " blind tigers " were being operated, and 
 from these the men obtained a drink labelled whisky. 
 It was in reality wood alcohol, with a little whiskey to 
 flavour it. For half-pint bottles of this the keepers of 
 the dens were being paid five dollars apiece. Where 
 such profits could be realised, the offenders simply 
 laughed at police regulations. Upon representing the 
 matter to the selectmen, they frankly admitted that they 
 were unable to stop it. When I suggested that they 
 allow me to stop it for them, they decided that it would 
 not be lawful for me to do so, but they promised to pun- 
 ish the offenders severely if I could catch them. 
 
 When this was clearly understood I landed a mas- 
 ter-at-arms, one of the ships' police, and two minors. 
 They bought the liquor and brought it to me, with the 
 
 348 
 
Recreation on Sunday 
 
 name and residence of the parties from whom they had 
 purchased it. The case was then taken to the select- 
 men, who tried the culprits and imposed a fine, with 
 imprisonment. The lawyer for the defendants ap- 
 pealed the case, the appeal was granted, and the case 
 ordered for retrial at Barnstable in November, when it 
 was thought the ships, with the witnesses, would be in 
 the West Indies ! Of course, this result did not tend to 
 discourage drinking places. In addition to this evil, a 
 number of disreputable women came down from Bos- 
 ton and established their residences in empty freight 
 cars on the wharf. This, it seemed to me, could have 
 been prevented without much effort. Notwithstanding 
 all the drawbacks, the conduct of the men was good — 
 good enough, at any rate, to bring compliments from 
 the people who saw them on shore. 
 
 Toward the end of the summer real trouble came. 
 The bluejackets were much interested in baseball, foot- 
 ball, and other athletic sports. As they were busily oc- 
 cupied with their work all the week, they were allowed 
 Saturdays and Sundays for recreation — all day Satur- 
 day, practically, and on Sunday after two o'clock in the 
 afternoon, church services having been held at ten 
 o'clock and the men's dinners served at noon. Nearly 
 all the inhabitants visited the field on Sunday afternoon 
 to witness the spirited contests between the men of 
 different ships. It seemed to me that this way of spend- 
 ing their time was of great benefit to the bluejackets, 
 and I encouraged them in it. If would have been inhu- 
 man in me to keep seven or eight thousand men locked 
 up in the ships under the circumstances; and to land 
 them simply to roam about the town and get drunk on 
 
 349 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 wood alcohol, at ten dollars a pint, would be equally 
 bad, if not worse. I therefore encouraged them to 
 amuse themselves by playing baseball and other inno- 
 cent games after church hours, as was the custom of 
 Calvin in the town of Geneva, Switzerland. 
 
 My surprise was great when I received a letter, 
 signed by a number of ministers of the Gospel and some 
 of the selectmen, protesting against the men indulging 
 in athletic sport on Sunday, and requesting that I would 
 take means to ensure the observance of the Lord's day 
 by those under my command. I replied that every day 
 was the Lord's day with me; that in deference to their 
 wishes I would not allow athletic sports on Sunday un- 
 til half-past two in the afternoon, when their church 
 services would have been finished. I further pointed 
 out the necessity of some form of exercise and recrea- 
 tion for the men of the fleet on Sunday, and suggested 
 that, as the athletic field was nearly a mile from the 
 town, no one could be disturbed by the games. I also 
 cited the fact that most of the people attended the 
 games on Sunday, thus indicating that they were not 
 seriously opposed to them. In conclusion, I requested 
 them to attend to their own business and not to inter- 
 fere with mine ; that I thought they would do better to 
 look after their " blind tigers " and other violations of 
 law and let my bluejackets alone. 
 
 Then a letter was written by these over-zealous 
 Christians to the Secretary of the Navy, calling atten- 
 tion to the fact that we were violating the laws of the 
 State of Massachusetts with our Sunday games. This 
 letter was forwarded to me for reply. It informed me 
 for the first time that I was acting contrary to law in 
 
 350 
 
Over-zealous Christians 
 
 the course I had pursued. I was aware that a law had 
 been passed in the State of New York prohibiting 
 games on Sunday, which, when carried into court, had 
 promptly been declared unconstitutional, but I did not 
 know and had no reason to think that there was any 
 such law on the statute books of Massachusetts. The 
 appeal to me was to see that my men did not violate 
 the Lord's day; there was no mention of violating 
 any law. As soon as my attention was called to it, I 
 looked up the law, found that I had violated it, and at 
 once gave orders that it should be strictly observed in 
 the future. No naval officer will knowingly disregard 
 the laws of a state in which he may be temporarily sta- 
 tioned. 
 
 It had never occurred to me that a body of men so 
 wise and conservative as the legislature of the great 
 State of Massachusetts would forbid reasonable and 
 healthy exercise on Sunday or any other day. That 
 they might forbid the playing of games by professionals 
 for money on Sunday was likely, but that this involved 
 prohibiting healthful exercise or innocent amusement 
 on that day did not follow. However, I had nothing to 
 do with making the law ; my business was to enforce it. 
 When I knew what the law was, I enforced it for those 
 under my command, and am sorry to say that those on 
 shore did not do the same for those under their care. 
 
 The question of reasonable exercise and amusement 
 for the enlisted men was of such importance in my mind 
 that I informed the selectmen that I would endeavour to 
 find a locality where the laws were different, and, hav- 
 ing found it, would use that place instead of Province- 
 town as headquarters for the fleet thenceforward. We 
 
 351 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 were spending about one hundred thousand dollars per 
 month in the village, and this sum was increased by 
 those who came to the town because we were there. 
 All this money went directly to the townspeople in one 
 way or another, and the prospect of losing it was not 
 pleasing to them. A mass-meeting was called, at which 
 the ministers and selectmen who had signed the letter 
 to the Secretary of the Navy received strong evidence 
 of disapproval of their course. The inhabitants were 
 practically a unit against the enforcement of the law, if 
 not in favour of its repeal. They finally succeeded in 
 having a committee of the legislature, then in ses- 
 sion, look into the matter, but with what result I have 
 never heard. 
 
 Suitable ground was found off the town of Barn- 
 stable, in the southern part of Cape Cod Bay, and here 
 our targets were planted. When the heavy guns were 
 used a new difficulty was encountered. It was found 
 that when a ship was in a certain position the firing 
 caused the plastering to fall in in many of the houses on 
 shore, ten or twelve miles away; in one or two cases 
 the walls of the houses were actually cracked. After 
 some investigation, I was satisfied that this was be- 
 cause the houses were built on, or near, a ledge of 
 rock that extended out into the bay, and that the vibra- 
 tion caused by the firing of the guns was taken up by 
 this ledge and so transmitted to the walls. There was 
 no other reasonable way of accounting for the damage 
 done. Most of those whose property had been thus in- 
 jured were patriotic enough to let it pass, as they felt 
 that we had to fire the guns somewhere. Others, how- 
 ever, forwarded claims to the Navy Department, de- 
 
 352 
 
Escorting Squadron from France 
 
 manding pay for the damage they had sustained. I 
 recall one particular case of this kind. A small farmer 
 claimed that our firing had caused the shelves in his 
 store-room to fall, and thus his entire stock of pre- 
 serves for the v^inter had been destroyed. He asked 
 the government to pay him the sum of thirty-nine dol- 
 lars. His letter w^as sent to me for a statement and rec- 
 ommendation. I stated the facts in the case, and then 
 recommended that the proper county officials should be 
 requested to proceed against him for keeping his family 
 in a house that was unsafe for them to live in! If our 
 guns caused the shelves in his store-room to fall, as he 
 claimed they did, a hard gale of wind would probably 
 level the whole structure. I never heard of the claim 
 again. 
 
 After two months of steady work in Cape Cod Bay 
 we ran down to Newport and filled up with coal. A 
 squadron of four ships was on its way home from 
 France, bringing the remains of John Paul Jones, which 
 had been discovered in Paris by our minister. General 
 Horace Porter. The finding of these remains after 
 years of search constitutes one of the most thrilling 
 undertakings ever carried out. 
 
 My orders were to meet this squadron at sea and 
 escort them to Cape Henry, on their way to Annapolis, 
 where the remains of the great sea fighter were to rest 
 in a suitable receptacle in the new chapel of the Naval 
 Academy. The date of their sailing from France was 
 given, but the point at which I was to meet these ves- 
 sels was left entirely to me. For practice, I assumed 
 that they represented an enemy's fleet in time of war, 
 and arranged to get in touch with them by scouting, 
 
 353 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 and to have their movements reported every hour. The 
 vessels were sent out one after another from Newport, 
 and the scouting hne so arranged that Admiral Sigsbee 
 and his four ships were picked up well to the eastward 
 of Nantucket, and at least one scout was in touch with 
 him, reading his wireless messages, and repeating them 
 to me for twenty- four hours before he joined company. 
 He was aware that several ships were in his vicinity, 
 as he could detect the working of their wireless outfits, 
 but as all their messages were in a cipher unknown to 
 him he could not identify them. Inside Cape Henry the 
 Atlantic Squadron was stopped and saluted the special 
 squadron as it passed on up the bay. 
 
 Early in November I was ordered to proceed to an 
 anchorage off Annapolis, and there receive the English 
 squadron of four armoured cruisers under the com- 
 mand of his Serene Highness Rear-Admiral Prince 
 Louis of Battenberg, which was about to arrive on our 
 coast. Such duty was a great pleasure to every officer 
 and man in the squadron, as it gave us an opportunity 
 to return some of the kindness and courtesy shown us 
 by the officers and men of the English navy on many 
 occasions. A division of armoured cruisers under com- 
 mand of Rear-Admiral Brownson, which had been es- 
 corting President Roosevelt to and from the Isthmus 
 of Panama, was ordered to join me, which made the 
 number of ships in the receiving line twelve, all fine 
 specimens of American workmanship. 
 
 The English squadron arrived at the hour an- 
 nounced, and it was instructive to see the wonderful 
 speed and accuracy with which the ships were handled. 
 Only constant practice could produce the results shown 
 
 354 
 
Two Admirals* Flags 
 
 by them. The American ships were anchored in two 
 Hnes, extending about north and south. Inside of them 
 I had marked an anchorage for the visitors, the position 
 of each being indicated by a small white buoy. The 
 squadron came in at a speed of seventeen knots, which 
 was not changed until the buoys were approached, 
 when the engines were thrown full speed astern and 
 their headway checked. The four anchors were let go 
 at the same moment, almost on top of the buoys. It 
 was a sight to gladden a seaman's heart. 
 
 When I had received the Prince and returned his 
 call, it was necessary for him to pay his respects to the 
 superintendent of the Naval Academy. International 
 custom requires that the arriving officer, when of the 
 same rank as the one in port, or his junior, shall make 
 the first call. Prince Louis was a Rear-Admiral, and 
 the same rank was held by me and by Admiral Sands, 
 in command at Annapolis. As a matter of courtesy, I 
 got under way in my tender, the Yankton, commanded 
 by an able young officer. Lieutenant W. R. Gherardi, 
 and invited his Highness to take passage with me, 
 v/hich he was glad to do. As he came over the side 
 his flag was broken out at the mainmast head, and we 
 thus had the unusual sight of a vessel of war flying the 
 American flag, with an English admiral's flag at her 
 mast head! Prince Louis appreciated the compliment, 
 and turning to me courteously said : 
 
 ** Admiral, it would be a great pleasure to me to see 
 your flag flying at the same time ! " 
 
 Of course, my flag was immediately hoisted at the 
 foremast head, and we steamed up to the Naval Acad- 
 emy with two admirals' flags hoisted at the same time 
 
 355 
 
An Admirars Log 
 
 on the same ship. I do not know that this was ever 
 seen before. 
 
 The visiting officers were entertained at the Naval 
 Academy after they had thoroughly inspected that in- 
 stitution. They were also shown every possible cour- 
 tesy by the officers afloat, but nothing was done for the 
 enlisted men; that was to come later at a more con- 
 venient time and place. The following day a special 
 train conveyed a large party of officers, both English 
 and American, to Washington, where they were enter- 
 tained by the President and the British ambassador. 
 After a visit of a few days at the capital, the English 
 officers returned to Annapolis, where further entertain- 
 ments awaited them. 
 
 In the meantime I returned to my flagship, and 
 wuth the squadron proceeded to New York, where I 
 was ordered to meet the visiting squadron and entertain 
 the officers and men. My flagship, the Maine, was 
 moored off the foot of Seventy-ninth Street, in the 
 North River, and the other ships in a line upstream 
 tow^ard Grant's tomb. They were close in to the shore, 
 and from the Riverside Drive presented a fine appear- 
 ance. When the English squadron arrived, the flag- 
 ship was moored below the Maine and next to her, 
 while the others were placed in line downstream toward 
 Forty-second Street. Thus the two flagships were to- 
 gether, and the combined squadrons formed a line 
 about three miles long up and down the river. The 
 following day the British flagship was hauled into the 
 Cunard Company's pier, that the Prince might more 
 easily receive his visitors. 
 
 The people of New York city received the visitors 
 356 
 
An International Entertainment 
 
 with great courtesy and cordiality. Many balls and re- 
 ceptions were tendered them, and many private dinners 
 given in their honour. They were taken to West Point 
 in company with a large party of distinguished people 
 who had been invited to meet them. I think the most 
 notable entertainment of all was that given by the en- 
 listed men of our squadron to those of the British ships. 
 The entire affair was organised and managed by a com- 
 mittee of petty officers and enlisted men. They raised 
 the money by subscription from the bluejackets of the 
 squadron, designed the invitations and menu cards, 
 chartered the necessary transportation, and made all the 
 arrangements for the dinner, which was given at Coney 
 Island. 
 
 On the day appointed one of the steamers of the 
 Iron Steamboat Company, which had been secured for 
 the purpose, collected the men from the different ships 
 and landed them at Coney Island half an hour before 
 the dinner time. They were then marched to the dinner 
 tables and seated, each English bluejacket having an 
 American by his side. In the meantime sixty officers, 
 thirty British and a like number of ours, had been con- 
 veyed by special trolley cars to the dining hall. Prince 
 Louis and I led the procession to the large centre table 
 arranged for us, escorted by a guard composed of men 
 from all the ships in equal numbers. When we reached 
 our places two little girls came forward, each holding a 
 beautiful bouquet. One was dressed as Britannia, the 
 other as Columbia. Miss Columbia presented her bou- 
 quet to Prince Louis, and I watched carefully to see 
 what he would do. He took the flowers and then 
 kissed the blushing maiden who presented them. Of 
 24 357 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 course, I had to do the same thing for Miss Britannia 
 when my turn came. The cheers of the men during 
 this pretty scene were deafening. 
 
 When we were seated at the table we found that 
 champagne had been served for the officers and beer 
 for the men. The wine was not uncorked, however, 
 the officers contenting themselves with the same kind 
 of refreshment as was served to the bluejackets. An 
 American petty officer welcomed the guests, proposed 
 the health of the President of the United States and 
 the King of England, which we drank standing, and, 
 after three cheers for Prince Louis and his men, the 
 feast progressed. His Highness and I remained at the 
 table only a few minutes, and then went into one of 
 the galleries, from which we could have a view of the 
 entire room. It certainly was a wonderfully beautiful 
 sight as we glanced over the twenty-four hundred en- 
 listed men seated at the tables — twelve hundred British 
 and twelve hundred Americans. Looking only at their 
 faces, one could not say which was which ; only by their 
 uniforms could one nationality be told from the other. 
 The dinner was finished at midnight, when the room 
 was quickly transformed into a theatre, and a fine com- 
 pany, engaged for the occasion, rendered an excellent 
 vaudeville performance until four o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, when the men returned by trolley cars to Brooklyn 
 and were taken off to their ships. A large police force 
 was on hand to protect the men from interference by 
 outside people and to care for any who might imbibe 
 too freely. The officer in charge of this force reported 
 that there was no disorder of any kind, and not a single 
 arrest was made of any sailor in uniform. Who will 
 
 358 
 
Prince Louis in New York 
 
 not say, with the gallant Tatnall, that " blood is thicker 
 than water " ? 
 
 In the meantime, while the men were enjoying 
 their dinner, the officers were whisked off in automo- 
 biles to the horse show in Madison Square Garden. We 
 only remained half an hour with the men at dinner and 
 then withdrew, leaving them to their own devices for 
 the rest of the night. Headed by the chief of police of 
 the city of New York, we raced in motor cars from 
 Coney Island to the Garden in less than forty minutes. 
 The green light on the leading car gave us the right of 
 way, and warned all policemen that their chief was 
 setting the pace for us, and that we could go as fast 
 as the machines could take us. It was a beautiful ride, 
 but I, for one, was glad when we arrived without acci- 
 dent. Some of the turns in the narrow streets of 
 Brooklyn were made at a break-neck speed that would 
 have made a bad mess for us if any part of one of the 
 machines had broken. 
 
 At the horse show the British officers had an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing New York society on dress parade, so 
 to speak. Beautiful women in exquisite gowns, wear- 
 ing fortunes in gems, and handsome men in immaculate 
 evening dress, filled the boxes, while blue-ribbon thor- 
 oughbreds filled the ring. Prince Louis made a circuit 
 of the parade, admiring what he saw in both the boxes 
 and the ring. I have no doubt that in his experience 
 abroad he had seen much the same thing before, for the 
 world has many such exhibitions, but I am sure that 
 what he witnessed at Coney Island was entirely new to 
 him — the world does not often present the spectacle of 
 twenty-four hundred bluejackets seated at dinner in one 
 
 359 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 room, half of them being entertained at the expense of 
 the other half. 
 
 In return for the courtesies shown him, the Prince 
 gave a great ball on board his flagship. A complete 
 deck was laid over the upper works of the Drake, and 
 the whole space enclosed in canvas. Flowers and flags 
 were used in profusion, and a dancing room of fairy- 
 like beauty was produced. The entire ship was thrown 
 open to the great crowd of friends who responded to 
 his invitations, and the Prince and his officers were un- 
 tiring in their attentions to all. A portion of the dock 
 adjacent to the ship was partitioned off, and at midnight 
 a sumptuous banquet was served. No finer entertain- 
 ment, I think, was ever given by a ship. 
 
 When the time came to leave, Prince Louis con- 
 fided to me that there had been but one unpleasant inci- 
 dent during his entire visit, and, as that afterwards 
 appeared in the newspapers, I may mention it here. 
 Some friend had recommended a dentist to him in New 
 York, and, requiring his services, he had employed him 
 to do a small amount of work on his teeth. To his sur- 
 prise and annoyance, this dentist sent in a bill of one 
 thousand dollars ! I advised the Prince to refuse to pay 
 such an exorbitant sum, and to turn the matter over to 
 his consul-general for settlement. The newspapers 
 somehow heard of it, and when they were through with 
 the gentleman I think he was quite willing to accept a 
 reasonable amount for his services! The advertising 
 he received was not of the kind that dentists like. 
 
 A short time after the English cruiser squadron re- 
 turned to England, I received from Prince Louis two 
 souvenirs of their visit to the United States. One was 
 
 360 
 
The Battenberg Cup 
 
 for me personally from his Highness — a cigarette 
 case with two admirals' flags, British and American, 
 enamelled upon it, and the words, " Yankton, 3-1 1- 
 05," the date of our visit to Annapolis, when the two 
 flags flew at the same time from the same ship. The 
 other was a beautiful cup, very large and heavy, for the 
 men of the American squadron from the enlisted men 
 of the English squadron. In the letter forwarding 
 them the request was made that this cup should be con- 
 sidered a challenge cup, to be raced for by the men of 
 our squadron. It was duly named the " Battenberg 
 Cup," and is held as a perpetual challenge cup. Many 
 spirited contests have been held for it, and it is now 
 regarded as the most valuable racing trophy among the 
 many in possession of the Atlantic Fleet. In drawing 
 up the rules governing the race for it I inserted a 
 clause that any British vessel might compete for the 
 cup, providing she pulled in one of our regulation 
 racing cutters. If she should win, the name of the ship 
 should be inscribed on it, but the cup must remain in 
 our possession. Since then the name of one British 
 ship has been so inscribed. The cruiser Argyle won 
 in a splendidly contested race in Hampton Roads 
 during the Jamestown Exposition, and hers is the 
 only name of an English ship, so far, on the coveted 
 trophy. 
 
 It cannot be doubted that this visit of the cruiser 
 squadron had an excellent effect in strengthening the 
 friendly ties that bind the two great English-speaking 
 nations. Friendships were formed not only between 
 the men of the two services, but also between the Eng- 
 lish sailors and our people on shore which must in the 
 
 361 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 future tend to hold us to the mother country in bonds 
 of forbearance and peace. 
 
 Having completed the entertainment of these wel- 
 come guests of our government — and paid the bills out 
 of our own pockets — the ships of the squadron were 
 sent to the navy yards for a brief period of repairs, to 
 be made ready for the winter's work in the West Indies. 
 
 During the early months of the summer I had given 
 much time to two evolutions at the request of the War 
 College, made through the general board. A battle 
 plan submitted in the same way would have received 
 careful attention if it had been sent to me. Owing to a 
 mistake on the part of the mailing clerk in the board 
 room, or some one else, this plan rested in a pigeonhole 
 several months, and was only brought to light when I had 
 been charged with neglecting to carry out the wishes of 
 the Bureau of Navigation in the matter of battle plans. 
 Some of the swivel-chair men were quite strong in their 
 condemnation. Later, I believe, the matter was taken 
 to the President, and then the truth became known and 
 the blame placed where it belonged. No real battle 
 practice, in the sense of one fleet actually operating 
 against another, had yet been held, because we had no 
 cruisers or vessels to do the work. In addition, the bat- 
 tleships had not had sufficient work in preliminary 
 drills. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 IN THE WEST INDIES 
 
 Early in December the squadron assembled at Fort 
 Monroe, and for the first time a division of armoured 
 cruisers was available for work with the squadron. A 
 very able and skilful officer, Rear-Admiral Brownson, 
 was in command of this division, and entered with 
 great enthusiasm into the plans I proposed. I was 
 anxious to test the wireless outfits of the squadron and 
 to see how far I could rely on them as a means of keep- 
 ing me in touch with an opposing fleet : first, when such 
 a fleet was without cruisers, and hence in no danger of 
 interference ; second, when all known means of interfer- 
 ence were used. The dry dock Dewey had started for 
 Manila in tow of suitable vessels, and was supposed to 
 be somewhere in the vicinity of Bermuda. This gave 
 a fine opportunity to test the first part of the problem — 
 viz. : the confidence to be placed in the wireless tele- 
 graph as a means of keeping in touch with an enemy's 
 fleet which was without cruisers. 
 
 The cruiser division was sent to sea from Hamp- 
 ton Roads at such intervals that they found themselves 
 two hundred and fifty miles apart when clear of the 
 land. When the last one had attained her position I 
 sailed with the battleships, bound for Culebra. Admiral 
 Brownson had orders to keep his cruiser line at right 
 
 363 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 angles to my course, pick up the Dewey, and keep me 
 informed by wireless of her movements, which he did 
 most successfully. The dock was found south-east of 
 Bermuda, and for five days and nights I knew exactly 
 where she w^as and what she was doing, although she 
 was fifteen hundred miles away. When we anchored in 
 Target Bay, the cruisers were recalled, and arrived with 
 intervals about as regular as they were when they sailed 
 from Hampton Roads. The other part of the problem, 
 which involved the possibility of so interfering with the 
 working of the wireless as to prevent reliable communi- 
 cation, was tried later, but of this I cannot write in de- 
 tail. Sufficient to say that for three days and nights 
 four cruisers kept me informed of the movements of an 
 opposing division of battleships. Notwithstanding the 
 efforts of the battleships to prevent it, a message came 
 every two hours, giving their position, course, and 
 speed. The work was most exhausting for the ma- 
 chines as well as the men working them, but it settled a 
 very important professional point. 
 
 Target ranges were laid out in the vicinity of Tar- 
 get Bay, and the armoured cruiser division held their 
 preliminary practice, while the battleships in two divi- 
 sions continued their tactical work at sea. When the 
 firing had been completed, the squadron proceeded to 
 Guantanamo for small-arm practice. When we arrived 
 the marines of all the ships were at once landed, as had 
 been done the year before, and put under canvas. A 
 new camping place had been selected, which was much 
 larger than the one we had previously used. To facili- 
 tate the practice of the bluejackets and extend their 
 work, they also were landed, one ship's company at a 
 
 364 
 
A Very vSuccessful Regatta 
 
 time. Men so landed lived on shore for a week, or until 
 the firing had been completed. In this way the men 
 were relieved from the monotony of ship life and at the 
 same time learned many things that would prove of 
 value to them in case it became necessary to land them 
 for service as a naval brigade. While this work was in 
 hand the squadron, except the ship whose men were on 
 shore, got under way every day and exercised at sea. 
 Saturdays and Sundays were, as usual, given up to ath- 
 letics after church time, as well as a portion of every 
 other afternoon after the ships returned to their anchor- 
 age. In this way nearly ten thousand men were made 
 happy and contented while they did a great amount of 
 hard work. Not a day was allowed to pass without 
 serious preparatory drill for the record target practice 
 to take place later ofif Cape Cruz. 
 
 Despite the amount of work done, we found time to 
 prepare for a regatta at which the Battenberg Cup and 
 many other valuable trophies were raced for. I had 
 succeeded after a long struggle in having regulation 
 twelve-oared racing cutters adopted for the service, and 
 in them the men pulled for the challenge cups. Other 
 races were contested in the regular boats of the ships. 
 It had been the custom in years gone by for the men of 
 each ship to raise a sufficient sum to purchase a racing 
 boat. If such a boat won, some ship would immedi- 
 ately have a faster one built. Thus it became a ques- 
 tion of boats and not of crews that won many races. 
 This custom caused the men to spend large sums of 
 money for purely racing machines, which was a hard- 
 ship, and I made up my mind to put a stop to it. A 
 suitable light racing cutter was designed and one built 
 
 365 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 at the navy yard for each vessel in the service. They 
 were as nearly as possible exactly of the same dimen- 
 sions and weight, thus permitting the crews to pull on 
 even terms. The best-trained crew, as a rule, won, 
 which was as it should be. At the regatta mentioned 
 above I had the pleasure of seeing eleven hundred men 
 in pulling boats at the same time! And at other times 
 fifty or sixty boats were racing under sails. Because 
 of these contests and the boxing bouts which took 
 place daily on the various ships, the men were better 
 able to perform their duties at the guns. We thus de- 
 veloped a large number of men who were as active as 
 cats and as tough as nails. 
 
 While anchored at Guantanamo later in the winter, 
 a telegram came from Governor Magoon at Havana 
 announcing a destructive earthquake at Kingston, in 
 the island of Jamaica. As I now recall the message, it 
 was, in effect, that the city was partially destroyed, 
 causing many deaths and much suffering, and that the 
 governor of Jamaica had asked the English consul at 
 Havana for assistance. Governor Magoon asked if I 
 could not render prompt assistance by sending over re- 
 lief supplies and surgeons on a torpedo boat. I replied 
 that I could, and would do so with pleasure. When the 
 message came I was on board the Alabama, flagship of 
 Rear-Admiral Davis, commanding the second division, 
 and as soon as I realised the gravity of the situation I 
 ordered the admiral to prepare to sail immediately for 
 Kingston with two battleships, and on his arrival to 
 render all possible assistance to the people of the 
 stricken city. I was fortunate in having such a man 
 as Admiral Davis available for such important duty. 
 
 366 
 
Earthquake at Kingston 
 
 The flotilla of destroyers was at the moment engaged 
 in manoeuvres in the outer harbour. It was half-past 
 nine in the morning when the message came, and at ten 
 o'clock I made signal for the fastest of the boats to 
 return to her anchorage immediately and prepare for a 
 full-speed run at sea. 
 
 In the meantime signal was made for emergency 
 medical supplies to be sent to my flagship, where they 
 were assembled under the care of the surgeon of the 
 fleet, who, with two other surgeons, was in readiness to 
 sail on the destroyer. At a quarter before eleven the 
 Whipple, the fastest of the destroyers, left the harbour 
 with orders to proceed with all despatch to Kingston, 
 render what aid she could, and notify the governor that 
 Admiral Davis would arrive at daylight the following 
 morning with two battleships, fully prepared to assist in 
 any way the governor might direct. 
 
 The Whipple was driven at full speed through a 
 very rough sea, and arrived off the harbour early in the 
 evening. The earthquake had destroyed, or damaged, 
 the lighthouse and other aids to navigation, and the 
 pilots refused to take the Whipple into the harbour, but 
 her commanding officer succeeded in safely navigating 
 her to one of the docks, and immediately reported his 
 arrival. The surgeons went to work at once to relieve 
 the great suffering evident everywhere. 
 
 Admiral Davis left Guantanamo with two battle- 
 ships, and appeared off Kingston at daylight the follow- 
 ing morning. Before he left I told him that he would 
 find Governor Swettenham of Jamaica a charming 
 man, I felt sure of this, because I had known his 
 brother, Sir Frank Swettenham, in Singapore, and I 
 
 367 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 was confident that any brother of his must be a charm- 
 ing good fellow. When the admiral returned to Guan- 
 tanamo, four days later, he said to me : 
 
 " You may select good fellows for some of your 
 
 friends, but I will be if you can select one 
 
 for me ! " 
 
 After hearing his account of his visit and his expe- 
 rience with the governor, I felt that I had not been jus- 
 tified in my statement that he would find him a charm- 
 ing man. 
 
 The two battleships arrived in the harbour very 
 early in the morning, and found things there in pretty 
 bad shape. The dock was crowded with passengers, 
 many of them Americans, waiting for a steamer to take 
 them away. They were without food or any of the 
 conveniences of life. They were at once made comfort- 
 able and fed on board the ships. The colonial secretary 
 reported to Admiral Davis that the convicts in the jail 
 had overcome the guards and were making trouble, and 
 that the governor requested him, Admiral Davis, to 
 look after them, which he promptly did. One of the 
 battleships was anchored near the jail, a detail of men 
 under arms was landed, and in a short time the convicts 
 were back in their cells and reduced to order. In the 
 meantime the surgeons had selected a building which 
 was being used as a hospital, and many patients were 
 being treated by them. English engineer officers had 
 asked for parties of men, and these, by the use of dyna- 
 mite, were destroying many dangerous walls. Other 
 parties were working in the blazing sun and sickening 
 stench to remove the dead and rescue the wounded from 
 the ruins. In a word, Admiral Davis did what was 
 
 368 
 
Governor Swettenham 
 
 expected of an able and energetic officer under the cir- 
 cumstances, and he did it well, as he always did every- 
 thing he was ordered to do. 
 
 After rather a long delay, the admiral succeeded in 
 finding the governor, who seemed worn out with the 
 work and worry of the past few days. His Excellency, 
 with scant show of courtesy, demanded to know why 
 armed men had been landed before a request to do so 
 had been made. Admiral Davis replied that he had re- 
 ceived such a request from the governor, conveyed 
 through his colonial secretary, and that he had landed 
 the men to give such assistance as had been asked for. 
 The governor denied that he had made any such re- 
 quest, asked that the men be sent back to their ships at 
 once, and that the ships leave the harbour, as their 
 presence was not welcome. Admiral Davis said he 
 would go to the jail and order the men embarked at 
 once. The governor then said that he was going to the 
 jail himself, and requested the admiral to drive there 
 with him and the colonial secretary, which he did. On 
 arriving there the necessary orders were given to the 
 officer in command of the sailors, and then the governor 
 requested that a detail of them should act as a guard for 
 him while he held court for the purpose of punishing 
 some of the convicts. His request was granted, and the 
 same bluejackets who, as he claimed, had been landed 
 against his wishes stood guard over him while he per- 
 formed his judicial functions! As soon as possible the 
 working parties were recalled, and the following day 
 the ships put to sea, after landing all the medical and 
 other supplies they had brought. 
 
 The mass of the people of Kingston were grateful 
 369 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 for the assistance given them, and all of them, except 
 his Excellency the governor and a few of his staff, 
 wanted the ships to remain, despite the governor's invi- 
 tation to leave ; but this, of course, was out of the ques- 
 tion, and they returned to Guantanamo. A more dis- 
 gusted set of officers and men I have never seen. I not 
 only approved the conduct of Admiral Davis in the 
 whole matter, but I heartily commended him for the 
 wonderful coolness he showed under most trying condi- 
 tions. He made a full report of his trip, which was 
 approved by the President and the Navy Department. 
 The English press gave us praise for what we did, and 
 many telegrams were received thanking me for acting 
 promptly and Admiral Davis for the assistance ren- 
 dered. Governor Swettenham was promptly removed 
 by his government, which entirely disapproved of his 
 conduct, and a new man was put in his place. 
 
 After the return of the ships from Jamaica the 
 squadron was organised into two divisions, and the bat- 
 tle plans submitted by the War College were thoroughly 
 threshed out. Every morning the division commanded 
 by Admiral Davis went to sea, and when they were out 
 of sight I followed with the first division. After 
 manoeuvring for position, the two divisions came within 
 range of each other and a battle followed, each phase 
 of which was carefully followed by umpires, who plot- 
 ted the positions of the various vessels at short inter- 
 vals. In this way much valuable experience was gained, 
 and the weak as well as the strong points of the war- 
 college plans demonstrated. The guns were kept con- 
 stantly trained and their fire concentrated on the oppos- 
 ing ships ; the number of rounds fired, or supposed to be 
 
 370 
 
Improvement in Target Practice 
 
 fired, were counted; in a few words, the exercise was 
 as much like actual battle as it could be made. For the 
 first time in my experience the ships were all handled 
 from the conning towers, as would be the case in time 
 of war. When all this work had been completed, the 
 results, with full plans of each battle, were forwarded 
 to the Department, that the war college might see the 
 practical working of its theories. As I now recall it, 
 one of the battle plans was excellent and the others of 
 little value. Some of the results were so startling that 
 I requested the Department to regard them as confiden- 
 tial and not to allow them to be published. 
 
 Target practice on the Cape Cruz range followed 
 our sea work, and the much-coveted trophy came to the 
 North Atlantic Squadron for the first time. The gen- 
 eral improvement in rapidity and accuracy of fire was 
 marked and most gratifying to officers and men. They 
 had given all their time to careful preparation, and as 
 a result the trophy came to us, and the gunnery pennant 
 flew from the mast head of the battleship Illinois. It 
 was only after a very careful computation of results 
 that it could be decided which of three battleships had 
 won, so close had been the contest. For a time it was 
 felt that the Kentucky was ahead of all competitors, but 
 in the end the Illinois was declared the winner. 
 
 During this practice we lost one of the best captains 
 in the fleet. He had served with me in the gunboat York- 
 town during a cruise in the Pacific, and was a most inti- 
 mate personal friend. When the cruiser Colorado had 
 completed her target practice, I received a signal that 
 her commanding of^cer. Captain Duncan Kennedy, was 
 ill, suffering intensely from appendicitis. I sent the 
 
 371 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 ablest surgeons of the fleet to him at once, but it was 
 impossible to save his hfe. An operation was per- 
 formed from which he never rallied. Though appar- 
 ently in splendid physical condition, he was unable to 
 stand the fearful suffering caused by the inflamed con- 
 dition of the appendix and the surrounding portions of 
 his body. His death was a sad personal loss to me, as 
 well as a great loss to the service which he loved and 
 honoured by his devotion to its best interests. The sur- 
 geon who operated on him reported to me afterwards 
 that he had found eight birdshot in his appendix, which 
 seems to disprove the theory that nothing ever enters 
 that apparently useless member of our anatomy. 
 
 The battleship Kearsarge met with a deplorable ac- 
 cident during the practice, by which two gallant young 
 officers and nine men lost their lives. The ship had 
 made her last run on the range and completed part of 
 her practice, but one of the ihirteen-inch guns in her 
 forward turret had failed to fire because of a defective 
 lock. The umpires and the gun's crew were in the tur- 
 ret examining this lock and unloading the gun when the 
 accident happened. The cartridge for this gun is in 
 three sections, and these had been withdrawn and were 
 lying on the turret floor waiting to be replaced in the 
 magazine. To withdraw the shot, a heavy pair of shell 
 tongs were being inserted in the breech of the gun, 
 when they slipped from the man's hand and fell in such 
 a position that the metal handle short-circuited the elec- 
 tric current in the turret. The heat from this melted a 
 copper connection, and the melted copper fell onto one 
 of the sections of the cartridge and set it on fire. The 
 other sections were ignited at once, and before any one 
 
 372 
 
A Deplorable Accident 
 
 could leave the turret it was a seething mass of poison- 
 ous gases from the burning smokeless powder. The 
 turret was flooded at once with water, and willing hands 
 were extended to save those inside, but it was too late; 
 one breath of the hot, poisonous gas was enough to kill 
 where the hot flames from the powder had not instantly 
 put the unfortunate men out of their misery. Some of 
 the men were taken out dead, but many, though badly 
 burned, were still conscious, and from these we were 
 able to learn how the accident had happened. Fortu- 
 nately, this time it was not the dreaded flare back, nor 
 anything to destroy confidence in the gun or its ammu- 
 nition. It was a peculiar accident, which could prob- 
 ably not be reproduced if one tried a million times. To 
 prevent the possibility of more trouble from the same 
 cause, the electric fittings have been removed from all 
 the turrets of our ships and placed beneath the floors, 
 where they would seem to be accident proof. 
 
 Among the men seriously hurt in this accident was 
 one who showed the most remarkable vitality. He was 
 a seaman who had been, in his early life, badly cut up 
 in a railroad accident. His flesh about the legs and 
 thighs was so badly burned in this accident that little 
 but the bones remained, and it was impossible to send 
 him to the hospital on shore. He was told that there 
 was little hope for his life, to which he replied that he 
 was not going to die from these injuries, that he had 
 been much more severely hurt in a railroad accident, 
 and that he meant to get well. To give the poor fellow 
 every chance for his life, I sent the Kearsarge to Guan- 
 tanamo, where she remained at anchor while the sur- 
 geons did all that surgeons could do to save him. He 
 25 373 
 
An Admiral's Log \ 
 
 lingered nine days before he finally died. When he had ' 
 been decently and properly buried, the ship was sent 
 back to the target ranges, and the turret where the acci- 
 dent had happened made a record equal to any in the 
 squadron, which shows how perfect the discipline was. 
 
 Lieutenants Hudgins and Graeme, who died from 
 the effects of the burning smokeless powder, might 
 easily have saved their own lives by jumping from the 
 turret, but, instead, they attempted to save the lives of 
 the men by stepping in front of them, thus showing the 
 splendid spirit that animated them. It is such conduct 
 as theirs that makes our service what it is and fixes 
 standards for all brave men to live up to. 
 
 The armoured cruiser squadron sailed for the 
 north when their practice had been completed, and were 
 at once refitted at the navy yards and sailed for the 
 East under command of Admiral Brownson. We were 
 thus deprived of cruisers in all our battle drills, and the 
 loss was severely felt. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 AT THE JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION 
 
 Early in May the battleships were sent to the navy 
 yards and necessary repairs made. We then assembled 
 in Cape Cod Bay for our preliminary target practice, 
 which had only begun when an order came from the 
 Department to send all the marines of the fleet to Ha- 
 vana, where a strong naval force had been concentrated 
 to check a revolution which had gained some headway 
 and was threatening to overthrow the government. 
 Four hours after the order was received every marine 
 in the squadron left us on the two battleships which 
 had been ordered to proceed to the scene of trouble. 
 The squadron was thus left without a single marine to 
 do the important sentry duty without which many offi- 
 cers claimed we could not maintain discipline, but no 
 such trouble came. A small detail of bluejackets on 
 each ship did the work formerly done by the marines 
 in addition to their own, and the only comment heard 
 was that we seemed to be happier and more efficient 
 without the soldiers than with them. In the meantime 
 the senior officer off Havana had under his command, 
 and ready in every way for service on shore, a regiment 
 of marines, and this same regiment was afterwards 
 placed in Camp Columbia or distributed over the island 
 of Cuba, where the officers and men did excellent serv- 
 ice until they were recalled. 
 
 375 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 President Roosevelt was very anxious to see the tar- 
 get practice of some of our battleships, and this he was 
 able to do in Cape Cod Bay. He came from Oyster Bay 
 on board the Mayflower, arriving at seven o'clock in the 
 morning. At the time of his visit the revolution in 
 Cuba had assumed such a serious aspect that it seemed 
 probable that the United States would have to take 
 charge of the island again to prevent great disorder and 
 destruction of property. A number of telegrams had 
 arrived for the President by wireless, which were deliv- 
 ered by me in person the moment the Mayflower dropped 
 her anchor. After reading them over he prepared 
 a message ordering the occupation of Havana by our 
 forces, and directed me to send it by wireless at once. 
 When I tried to do so I found the big wireless station 
 on Cape Cod sending out broadcast over the ocean cur- 
 rent news items, such as the result of baseball games 
 and the like. Our operator requested them to close 
 down their machine for a few minutes, as we had an im- 
 portant message to send for the President of the United 
 States. Their instrument was so powerful that ours 
 could not be used while theirs was in operation. The 
 answer to my request came very promptly, and was in 
 
 about the following words: " Ha, ha! Go to ! " 
 
 Fortunately, I had a torpedo boat ready, and she took 
 the message full speed to Provincetown and put it on 
 the wires of the Western Union Company. Unless 
 some steps are taken by the government by which we 
 can control wireless stations in time of war, serious 
 trouble will undoubtedly follow. 
 
 It so happened that I had been president of the in- 
 terdepartmental board of officers ordered by the Presi- 
 
 376 
 
 A 
 
The President's Visit 
 
 dent to consider the subject of wireless telegraphy. 
 After quite a full discussion of the subject, and foresee- 
 ing the difficulties that would follow the installation of 
 numerous commercial stations on the coast, the board 
 in its report recommended that the government should 
 own and operate all the coast stations, and that this duty 
 should be assigned to the equipment bureau of the 
 Navy Department. The report was approved by the 
 President, but no orders were issued on the subject, and 
 commercial wireless stations were erected at various 
 points along the coast. These were so powerful that 
 our instruments on board ship were unable to send mes- 
 sages while they were operating. This had caused 
 much trouble in our cruising along the coast, and I was 
 glad the President should have a practical illustration 
 of how annoying it was. I hoped he would find a 
 remedy and apply it, but so far it has not been done. 
 
 The President witnessed the firing from the bridge 
 of the Maine, and showed great enthusiasm as shell 
 after shell went tearing through the target. His pres- 
 ence was an incentive to officers and men, and his 
 hearty words of praise did them a world of good. His 
 visit to the fleet on this occasion, as on several others, 
 was of the greatest value. It indicated to all of us the 
 great personal interest he took in the navy, and thus 
 greatly encouraged all to work for efficiency. 
 
 When I took command of the squadron I found 
 much complaint of the food served to the crews. The 
 newspapers frequently contained growls from the men 
 on the subject, which did us no good in the public esti- 
 mation. After a careful investigation I was satisfied 
 that there was ground for complaint, but no possible 
 
 377 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 excuse for the way it was made. An order was issued 
 directing the men to send their complaints to me 
 through their commanding officers, as required by 
 regulations, and at the same time all commissary offi- 
 cers were required to send me, through proper chan- 
 nels, a bill of fare covering the week following its prep- 
 aration, showing just what the men were to have for 
 each meal. This was approved by the captain and then 
 sent to the paymaster of the fleet, who looked it over 
 and sent it to me. After I had examined it and it had 
 received my approval it was returned to the captain of 
 the ship to be carried out. 
 
 This was well enough, so far as it went, but it was 
 necessary to see that my orders on the subject were 
 carried out. To be sure of this, I left the flagship with 
 the officers of my staff, pulled to one of the battleships, 
 and directed the captain to have a table spread on the 
 mess deck among the crew, that we might dine with the 
 men. At the same time I invited him and the commis- 
 sary officer to join us. The table was spread exactly as 
 were those for the men, and the food served us was the 
 same. I did not permit any variation whatever, and in 
 this way I knew just what the men had to eat, how it 
 was served, etc. This custom once established, I heard 
 no more complaints about the food. No one knew 
 when I was likely to happen in for dinner, as I never 
 made signal that I was coming until it was about to be 
 put on the tables, and as I always compared what was 
 served with the approved bill of fare, commissary offi- 
 cers were careful in their work. If desirable, I could 
 to-day tell just what the men of the Atlantic Fleet had 
 for each meal from Hampton Roads to San Francisco! 
 
 378 
 
President Dines with Crew 
 
 When the dinner hour came the day the President 
 was with us in Cape Cod Bay I took him, with my staff, 
 on board the battleship Missouri, twenty minutes before 
 the meal was served, and requested the captain to ar- 
 range a table for us with the men. He begged that we 
 would lunch with him, but, with the approval of Mr. 
 Roosevelt, I insisted that we should dine with the crew, 
 which we did. The captain wanted to give us cut-glass 
 tumblers to drink from and napkins from his cabin, 
 which I said he might do, provided he did the same for 
 every man at all the mess tables ! We drank out of the 
 same kind of mugs that the men used, and we did with- 
 out napkins. We ate exactly the same food that the men 
 ate, and it was served in exactly the same way by one of 
 the mess men who served them. The meal was an ex- 
 cellent one, much enjoyed by all of us, and when it was 
 over a petty officer came forward with a box of cigars 
 and said : " The crew of the Missouri beg that you will 
 have a smoke with them ! " I afterwards found that 
 this custom of dining with the men occasionally had a 
 most desirable effect in more ways than one. 
 
 After two months of trying work in Cape Cod Bay 
 the ships were sent to different ports and leave given to 
 the crews. Many officers were changed and new men 
 taken in the places of those whose time had expired. 
 About half the gun pointers who had done such excel- 
 lent work on the targets left us, and new ones had to 
 be educated. Officers who had never served in squad- 
 ron, from captains down to the junior grades, reported 
 for duty, and thus, with practically new crews, we left 
 Hampton Roads for our winter's work in the West 
 Indies. It was the same old story of beginning at the 
 
 379 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 preliminary stage again and then working up. In one 
 respect, however, we were in better condition than ever 
 before — our gun sights were at last satisfactory. 
 
 Our work at Guantanamo was a repetition of that 
 of previous years, but of course on a larger scale, as the 
 number of ships had been increased by the addition of 
 four new battleships. The division of cruisers, under 
 Admiral Brownson, had gone to the East, and had been 
 replaced by a division of battleships under Rear-Ad- 
 miral Emory. The fleet thus organised was composed 
 of sixteen battleships and one tender, the Yankton, 
 without any cruisers. The change from squadron to 
 fleet organisation imposed severe work on the officers 
 of the staff, but it was done with thoroughness and 
 despatch. 
 
 In addition to our other work, we were now called 
 upon to prepare for the Jamestown Exposition, at which 
 we were to play a leading part. The officials of this 
 Exposition had invited, through the Department of 
 State, or, more properly speaking, the Department of 
 State had, at the request of the Exposition officials, in- 
 vited foreign governments to send their fleets to Hamp- 
 ton Roads to take part in the opening ceremonies of the 
 Exposition. All these foreign officers thus became the 
 guests of the United States, and the Atlantic Fleet was 
 to see to it that they were properly entertained. This, 
 of course, we knew how to do, and felt confident of suc- 
 cess, as Congress had appropriated one hundred and 
 twenty-five thousand dollars ** for entertaining foreign 
 officers." They forgot, apparently, about the people of 
 the United States who would have to be entertained at 
 the same time and place, for no mention was made of 
 
 380 
 
The Jamestown Exposition 
 
 them, and the officers of the fleet entertained them, and, 
 as usual, paid the bills out of their own pockets. 
 
 As I have stated, we knew how to entertain foreign 
 officers, for we had been doing that at intervals all our 
 lives, but when the order came that we were to make a 
 success of the Jamestown Exposition we had to face an 
 entirely new line of business in which none of us had 
 had previous experience. We were ready, however, as 
 we always are, to do our best to carry out our orders, 
 and, as we were anxious for its success, we entered 
 heart and soul into our new work of assisting the Expo- 
 sition. 
 
 My orders were to arrive with the fleet at Hampton 
 Roads on May 15th, and when our work ofif Cape Cruz 
 had been completed I sailed for the north, and anchored 
 in the Roads at 2 p.m. of the day stated. On the way 
 up from Guantanamo I used every available hour to 
 whip the new ships into shape. They had reported to 
 me, one after another, and this was my only chance 
 to give them any fleet drill before taking them to their 
 anchorage. South of Hatteras we had a bit of a blow, 
 which gave us all a chance to see how well the new ones 
 behaved in a heavy head sea. They were wet, of course, 
 as we expected them to be, but I was satisfied that even 
 in much worse weather than we experienced they could 
 have used their heavy guns with effect. 
 
 Upon arrival I moored the vessels of the fleet in 
 single column, extending from a point off Fort Monroe 
 three miles toward Newport News. The president of 
 the Exposition company, with a committee of much be- 
 ribboned gentlemen, called on me at once, congratulated 
 me on the appearance of the fleet, and gave me a glow- 
 
 381 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 ing account of the state of readiness for the opening- 
 day exercises. Incidentally they told me what my part 
 in the matter was to be, or rather they started to do so, 
 when I saved them time and trouble by telling them 
 that I was quite well posted on that part of the pro- 
 gramme. If talk could have made a success of the 
 much-heralded Exposition, certainly these charming, 
 fluent gentlemen of Virginia had the talk on tap. A 
 glance at Sewell's Point through a powerful glass con- 
 vinced me that there had been more talk than work, 
 and that it would require the best efforts of all parties 
 to make anything but a dismal failure of the opening 
 exercises. 
 
 Captain Pillsbury, my chief of staff, had prepared a 
 chart of Hampton Roads showing the anchorages as- 
 signed to all the vessels which were expected to be pres- 
 ent, and this had been printed by the Navy Department 
 and was ready for distribution. Lieutenant-Com- 
 mander Lloyd Chandler, an officer of exceptional abil- 
 ity, had been ordered to my personal staff to relieve 
 Lieutenant-Commander Brittain, whose term of sea 
 service had expired. Mr. Chandler had commanded the 
 flotilla of torpedo-boat destroyers sent to the East, was 
 an expert in all torpedo work, and in his long and faith- 
 ful service as my aide and secretary proved himself a 
 loyal friend, as well as an officer of marked ability in all 
 branches of his profession. To him was given the im- 
 portant duty of piloting all foreign ships to their posi- 
 tions and seeing them properly moored. This was in 
 addition to his regular duties on my staff, and if any 
 one worked harder than he I can't imagine who it was. 
 A torpedo boat was always ready for him, and in her 
 
 382 
 
Arrival of Foreign Ships 
 
 he spent much of his time waiting off Cape Henry for 
 the arrival of the foreign ships. As they came he 
 boarded each, in company with the pilot, and either ex- 
 plained exactly where they were to moor or else came 
 in with them and remained on board until they were 
 properly secured. 
 
 All the visiting ships had arrived several days before 
 the date fixed for the opening of the Exposition, and 
 the combined fleet made a fine appearance, stretching 
 in two long lines up the beautiful harbour. Our own 
 fleet, composed of sixteen battleships and four armoured 
 cruisers, was the strongest navaL force ever assembled 
 in Hampton Roads. Of the foreign ships, the English 
 were the most imposing in number, but the others were 
 all of the latest design in their respective classes. All 
 of them, without exception, were in the pink of condi- 
 tion, reflecting great credit on their officers and men. 
 
 As the time approached for the opening ceremonies, 
 the detail of landing parties to march in the parade and 
 be reviewed by the President was worked out in every 
 particular. The precedence of each was stated, the 
 number of officers and men to land from each foreign 
 ship was given, and a diagram published showing just 
 where the force of each nation would be found on 
 shore, so that the curious observers might easily recog- 
 nise them. When all this had been done, I visited the 
 Exposition grounds to inspect the facilities for landing 
 such a large number of men, and to my dismay found 
 that the landing stages had been only projected, like 
 many other things that had been promised and fluently 
 talked about, but that was all. We did not officially 
 object to landing our own officers and men on the open 
 
 383 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 shore in the mud and sand and having them pass before 
 the President wet to their waists, although we did not 
 hke such a performance, but I did object to asking our 
 guests to do so. I therefore sent notice to the Exposi- 
 tion officials that unless the landing stages were in 
 place, completed, the day before the opening, I would 
 notify all foreign officers that their men would not be 
 expected to land. This had some effect, no doubt, and 
 all the bluejackets except our own reached the parade 
 ground with dry feet. 
 
 General F. D. Grant, of the United States army, 
 had been sent to Fortress Monroe to represent the War 
 Department and to do the shore part of the entertain- 
 ing. He established his headquarters at the Chamber- 
 lin Hotel, from which point, through his aides, he kept 
 in touch with what was taking place on the water. It 
 was arranged that I should land the President and his 
 distinguished party at the Exposition grounds, and that 
 then the general and I would personally accompany the 
 Executive to the stand from which he was to deliver his 
 address, to remain with him until after the troops had 
 passed in review, when I was to see that he was safely 
 returned to the Mayflower. 
 
 When the President arrived and had reviewed the 
 fleet, I took him and his party ashore in my barge, prop- 
 erly protected by an escort of steam launches. All the 
 bluejackets had been landed and were in their places. 
 At eleven o'clock, the hour set, I delivered Mr. Roose- 
 velt to General Grant on the landing at the Exposition 
 grounds — eleven o'clock exactly, not one second before 
 or one second after. Much to our surprise, the Presi- 
 dent and Mrs. Roosevelt were placed in a vehicle 
 
 384 
 
Late for Ceremonies 
 
 together, and with them some of the officials of the Ex- 
 position. When they had driven away between the 
 ranks of saluting soldiers, more vehicles came, which 
 were instantly filled by distinguished-looking commit- 
 teemen in immaculate Prince Albert suits and the latest 
 cut of gafftopsail hats. After considerable delay, Gen- 
 eral Grant and I were pushed up into the seats of a 
 very high trap of some sort, and the driver was re- 
 quested to get on as fast as he could, that we might 
 regain our proper post next to the President. The 
 driver, a fine specimen of the coloured race, cracked his 
 whip and the horses started, but not so the trap; that 
 remained stationary in the deep, loose sand. " This 
 here trace done bust!" said the driver. A glance at 
 the harness, which had been tied up with rope, showed 
 that it had " busted," and there was nothing left for us 
 but to climb down from our lofty perch and find some 
 other vehicle in which to cross the six or eight hundred 
 yards of sand. Our second effort was in a Norfolk 
 " hack," in which, by the aid of a friendly army officer 
 and some soldiers, who thumped the horses in the ribs 
 with the butt ends of their muskets, we progressed 
 about two hundred yards, when we were stopped by 
 the crowd which had passed the lines of soldiers and 
 filled the space between us and the reviewing stand. 
 There was nothing for it now but to walk, which we 
 did, escorted by two sympathising committeemen. The 
 crowd of tide-water Virginians was good-humoured, 
 fortunately, and helped us along as best they could, but 
 we were quite half an hour late when we arrived in 
 front of the stand, where the Bishop of Virginia was 
 delivering his eloquent prayer. The general and I 
 
 385 
 
%;^ 
 
 An Admiral's Log* 
 
 stood bareheaded in the blazing sun, with the perspira- 
 tion pouring down on the fronts of our full-dress coats, 
 and were glad when the prayer was ended and we could 
 find cover in the shade, where a vast concourse of dis- 
 tinguished men of all nations waited to hear what the 
 President would say in his opening address. By some 
 mistake, enough seats for the members of the various 
 committees had not been provided, and to correct this 
 camp chairs were passed up and placed in the spaces set 
 aside for the President and his party. The chairs be- 
 came so thick after a while that one could neither stand 
 up nor sit down with comfort, and before the opening 
 address could be delivered they had to be removed, 
 which was done with difficulty and required much time. 
 The President finally delivered his address, which was 
 received with enthusiastic applause by the crowd, and 
 afterwards caused much comment throughout the 
 country. 
 
 At a late hour in the afternoon I took the President 
 and his party back to the Mayflower, and that night 
 had the honour of meeting him at a beautiful dinner 
 given by the president of the Exposition company in 
 Norfolk. One of the foreign ambassadors expressed, 
 in a few words, what I think we all felt about the open- 
 ing day. I congratulated him on having stood the 
 fatigue so well. His reply was, " Yes, I am alive, but 
 only because, as a cat, I have nine lives ! " It certainly 
 was a trying day, but a most successful one for the 
 Exposition, in view of the fact that they were anything 
 but ready for such a ceremony. The government did 
 all it had promised to do or could have been expected 
 to do. The foreign ships were in the Roads, and their 
 
 386 
 
Continuous Entertainments 
 
 crews marched in the parade; the West Point cadets 
 were camped in the Exposition grounds with other reg- 
 ular troops; the midshipmen from Annapohs were 
 landed from the practice ships to take part in the 
 parade ; and a naval brigade of five thousand men from 
 the American fleet, the smartest-looking body of men I 
 ever saw, marched past the reviewing stand. In a 
 word, as I have said, the government part of the job 
 was perfectly done. In the evening the assembled fleets 
 were electrically illuminated, as were the grounds and 
 buildings of the Exposition. As we returned to the 
 Roads from the dinner in Norfolk, just before mid- 
 night, the scene was one of exquisite beauty. 
 
 Day after day, week after week, and month after 
 month the ships of the Atlantic Fleet swung at their an- 
 chors in Hampton Roads, while officers and men de- 
 voted their time and their money to make a success of 
 the Jamestown Exposition, as they were ordered to do. 
 A detail of officers escorted the foreign officers to 
 Washington, showed them the interesting sights of the 
 city, and returned them to their ships, while the blue- 
 jackets were landed on all important occasions for 
 parades and reviews. Each day saw an entertainment 
 of some kind on one or more of the American ships, 
 and details of officers were hurriedly sent to various 
 points on shore in response to belated invitations to 
 dance and make merry for the benefit of the Exposi- 
 tion. We did everything that could have been reason- 
 ably expected of us, because, in the first place, we were 
 ordered to do so, and, in the second, because we wanted 
 the Exposition to prove a success. 
 
 Congress had appropriated a generous sum for the 
 387 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 entertainment of foreign officers, but, curiously enough, 
 had made no provision for our own people. It may be 
 truly said that our people were the guests of the Expo- 
 sition, while the foreigners were the guests of the na- 
 tion, and for this reason one class was entertained by 
 the government and the other by the Exposition com- 
 pany. All foreign officers were sent to Washington in 
 parties, escorted by a suitable number of our own, and 
 when they had seen what could be shown them they were 
 returned to their ships, and all expenses paid by the 
 government. But for the thousands of our own people 
 who visited the ships from day to day no provision was 
 made, and the cost of entertaining them fell upon the 
 officers, many of whom could ill afford the expense this 
 entailed. 
 
 During the stay of the foreign ships a series of din- 
 ners was given on board the Connecticut, my flagship, 
 until all the ranking officers had been dined. At the 
 same time the junior officers of the visiting ships were 
 entertained by those of corresponding rank in our ships, 
 so that every officer, no matter of what rank, received 
 the hospitality of the government through the officers 
 of the American fleet. The expense for all this enter- 
 tainment, as well as the trip to Washington, was paid 
 by the paymaster of the fleet on the presentation of 
 properly prepared vouchers, just as any other public 
 bill was paid, which was in every way proper and just. 
 But Congress in its wisdom had failed to make any 
 provision for the entertainment of our own people, and 
 ^ for this we had to pay out of our own pockets, which 
 was a hardship to many young officers who had no in- 
 come beyond their salaries, 
 
 388 
 
Duke of Abruzzi's Reception 
 
 The foreign ships in turn gave beautiful receptions 
 and entertainments, but these were government affairs, 
 paid for with pubHc funds. The officers were not called 
 upon to pay for what their governments were doing. 
 Officers of the Exposition and other distinguished 
 Americans- could be, and were, entertained by these 
 foreign officers as guests of their respective govern- 
 ments, and the bills paid as were other public bills. 
 The senior officer of the Italian squadron, the Duke 
 of Abruzzi, gave a fine reception with unfortunate re- 
 sults. How he prepared his list of invitations was not 
 made known to me; I was only aware by the great 
 crowd on board that it was a very general one. His 
 cabin and the quarters of the ward-room officers were 
 assigned as dressing-rooms for the ladies, and were 
 crowded for several hours. When the guests had de- 
 parted it was found that about everything movable had 
 gone with them — jewelry, combs and brushes, and the 
 insignia of rank from the officers' uniforms had van- 
 ished in the pockets of the souvenir hunters who are al- 
 ways on hand at such times. Many articles of value 
 bearing the coat of arms of the Duke disappeared in this 
 way. Most of them were, however, returned when the 
 newspapers of the country had expressed their views of 
 this style of robbery. We had had our experience with 
 these souvenir hunters in past years and took precau- 
 tions against them. 
 
 The visiting ships took part eagerly with our men 
 in all the sports arranged by the Exposition officials. 
 The English and Italians won cups or medals and the 
 former, with a fine crew from the Argyle, won the con- 
 test for the Battenberg Cup, and the name of that ship 
 26 389 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 was engraved on the beautiful trophy. The American 
 officers won handily from all competitors, and in the 
 sailing races the honours remained with our men. In 
 the boxing bouts, sixteen of which were held on the 
 flagship Connecticut, between our men and representa- 
 tives from the English ships, only one of the visitors 
 was declared the winner. 
 
 When the time finally came for the foreign ships to 
 leave the Roads, we parted with them with great regret. 
 Many friendships had been formed which, I trust, will 
 be lasting and tend to the preservation of peace among 
 the nations of the earth, which we all sincerely hope for. 
 
 During the time we had been anchored in Hampton 
 Roads the men had been granted liberty as often as 
 they could be spared from duty, but there was so much 
 to be done that they had not seen much of the shore 
 except when marching in parade. I therefore sent the 
 ships to New York by divisions and sent the men on 
 leave from that port. This called forth a protest from 
 some of the Exposition people, but the Department 
 upheld me in my action. I again incurred the ill-will 
 of the same parties when I sent the divisions to sea one 
 after another for a few days' practice. The long stay 
 in port, with the constant stream of visitors on board 
 from morning till night, had a demoralising effect on the 
 crews, particularly on those of the new ships just com- 
 missioned. It was only natural that they should think 
 that naval life was all like what they were seeing while 
 at anchor, which consisted in showing visitors over the 
 ship, coaling ship, and running boats. It was essential, 
 in my judgment, that some real sea work should be 
 done, and it seemed to me that four battleships and 
 
 390 
 
A Welcome Relief 
 
 four cruisers were enough to remain at anchor as show 
 ships while the others exercised outside, off Cape 
 Henry. In this I was, of course, opposed by the Expo- 
 sition officials, but I was again supported by the Navy 
 Department. I regretted that my action should call 
 down on my head so much unmerited disapproval from 
 the press, but an officer often has to put up with that 
 kind of treatment if he allows his sense of duty to inter- 
 fere with the designs of those outside the service who 
 differ with him, and in some cases wish to use him. 
 
 The time finally came when the Exposition closed, 
 and candour compels me to say that every officer and 
 man in the American fleet was glad when the flags came 
 down and the gates were closed. We felt that, while 
 we had done all in our power for its success, we had 
 been associated, from the opening day, with a failure. 
 Our efforts had been appreciated by the visitors, but 
 not by the officials, and we were glad to the bottom of 
 our hearts when we could weigh anchor and find more 
 congenial work out on blue water. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 PREPARING FOR THE PACIFIC CRUISE 
 
 Some time during the summer, I think in the 
 month of June, a leading New York newspaper pub- 
 Hshed, under glaring headlines, a statement that the 
 President had decided to send the Atlantic Fleet to San 
 Francisco. The following day another leading paper 
 denied this, and then the press of the country divided 
 and a merry newspaper war followed. One side held 
 that the President, in view of the friction on the Pacific 
 coast over the school question with Japan, would not 
 dare make such a move ; that it would mean immediate 
 war with Japan. The other side held that the Presi- 
 dent wanted war with Japan, and accused him of using 
 this method of bringing it about, and that if the fleet 
 sailed with the west coast as its objective, war would 
 follow before we reached the Straits of Magellan. At 
 first I placed little importance on these stories, because 
 I felt that if such a movement of the fleet was in con- 
 templation I should naturally be one of the first to 
 know of it, but as time passed I was convinced that 
 where there was so much smoke there must be some 
 fire. 
 
 In due time I was sent for, and on reporting at the 
 Navy Department was informed in confidence that the 
 fleet was to sail for the Pacific when the annual target 
 
 392 
 
Mr. Metcalf's Announcement 
 
 practice had been completed, and that I was to make 
 such preparation as could be made without disclosing 
 its destination. I had spent many days and nights over 
 a schedule of drills for the fall and winter, but now I 
 must destroy that and work out a new one. 
 
 The Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, Rear-Ad- 
 miral Converse, was relieved at this time by Rear- 
 Admiral Brownson, a warm personal friend of the 
 President, who, although about to go onto the retired 
 list, was called home from command in China to fill 
 this important office. At the same time my chief of 
 staff. Captain J. E. Pillsbury, who had done such ad- 
 mirable work in the fleet, was relieved, and my old 
 friend. Captain R. R. Ingersoll, ordered in his place. 
 Other changes in my staff took place, so that I found 
 myself on the eve of a long cruise with many new 
 faces about me. 
 
 The newspaper war was brought to a close on July 
 4th, when the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Metcalf, an- 
 nounced in a public speech at Oakland, Cal., that the 
 fleet would come to San Francisco at an early date. The 
 press of the country again divided, this time as to the 
 propriety of the proposed movement of the fleet. One 
 side held that it would be a good thing to do, and the 
 other was equally sure that It would inevitably cause war 
 with Japan. Some went so far as to demand that Con- 
 gress should so arrange the naval appropriations that 
 the President would be unable to carry out his scheme. 
 Many influential papers seemed to me unaccountably 
 ignorant of the fact that, when Mr. Roosevelt made up 
 his mind to do a thing that he thought right to do, nei- 
 ther newspaper abuse nor congressional action would 
 
 393 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 prevent him from doing it. Monkeying with a buzz 
 saw is always of doubtful propriety, and that was pre- 
 cisely what these opposition newspapers were doing. 
 If they had sought a means of sending the Atlantic 
 Fleet to the Pacific, they could not have found a surer 
 one. 
 
 During the month of August, while exercising a 
 squadron off Cape Henry, I received telegraphic orders 
 to proceed to Oyster Bay and report to the President, 
 which I did as quickly as railroad trains could take me 
 there. I found Mr. Newberry, Acting Secretary of the 
 Navy, and Admiral Brownson in consultation with the 
 President. The whole subject of the cruise to the 
 Pacific was thoroughly gone over by Mr. Roosevelt, 
 who impressed upon us many times that the cruise was 
 to be a peaceful one, solely for the benefit of officers 
 and men, but at the same time he made it plain that cir- 
 cumstances might arise which would change this condi- 
 tion into one more serious. The strength of various 
 naval forces was discussed and compared with ours, 
 and after three hours* talk I was directed to have the 
 fleet in readiness to sail from Fortress Monroe on De- 
 cember 1 6th. I was asked if I considered it desirable 
 that the six destroyers should make the trip at the same 
 time with the battleships, to which I replied that I was 
 strongly of the opinion that they should ; and it was so 
 ordered. I also declared my opinion that the ships 
 should proceed to the west coast via the Straits of 
 Magellan rather than through the Suez Canal, to which 
 the President gave his assent. My opinion was neither 
 asked nor given on any other points ; there was no rea- 
 son why it should have been. The question of where 
 
 394 
 
Oyster Bay Conference 
 
 the fleet should go, or what it should do when it ar- 
 rived, were questions for the President and his advisers 
 to settle. My business was to see that the ships were 
 ready to sail when ordered to do so and to conduct 
 them safely to their destination. 
 
 After the Oyster Bay conference I returned at once 
 to my flagship in Hampton Roads. The Exposition 
 had not yet closed, and I had to await that event before 
 I could move all the ships at the same time. Of the six- 
 teen battleships composing the Atlantic Fleet, ten were 
 new. Six of these had not yet completed their bat- 
 teries, and two were not in all respects finished by the 
 contractors. As a fleet the whole number of ships had 
 never been under way together and had never per- 
 formed a single evolution at sea. To start on a cruise 
 of fourteen thousand miles with a fleet in this condition 
 was out of the question, and I made my plans to give 
 them as much preliminary drill as might be possible be- 
 fore going to Cape Cod Bay for the target practice 
 which had been ordered to be completed before we 
 sailed. 
 
 I was somewhat hampered by the expressed desire 
 of the Department that we should practice battle tactics 
 instead of doing the preliminary work I had laid out. 
 Some very influential newspapers were demanding that 
 we should divide the fleet into two squadrons and pit 
 them against each other as though actually engaged in 
 battle. This was done by the press, I suppose, with the 
 best intentions, but without due consideration of the 
 state of readiness of the new ships for such work. As 
 has always been my custom, I gave my opinion fully 
 when it was asked, and then did as I was told. 
 
 395 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 The day the Exposition closed I went to sea witK 
 the fleet, and for three days drilled as a fleet. Then 
 the two squadrons, commanded by flag officers, 
 manoeuvred against each other, and during this work 
 the conditions were made as like those of actual 
 war as they could be. A large number of officers had 
 come from Washington, Annapolis, and the War Col- 
 lege to witness the battle practice, and I am sure most 
 of them were convinced not only of the folly, but of the 
 actual danger to the ships of undertaking such evolu- 
 tions without proper and systematic preliminary work. 
 Each morning at daylight one squadron went to sea, 
 and when out of sight the other got under way 
 and sought them. When sighted, the two squadrons 
 manoeuvred for position and then engaged in battle. 
 Umpires on each ship kept a careful record of all move- 
 ments, and when a ship was supposed to be disabled by 
 gun fire or torpedoes she was compelled to cease firing 
 and drop out of action. It was practically the same 
 kind of work we had done in the West Indies, only 
 there it was done with thoroughly drilled ships, and 
 here we were using newly commissioned ships, with 
 officers and men who had never seen the simplest evo- 
 lution performed by a fleet. 
 
 When the flag officers had each commanded a 
 squadron in several engagements, the command was 
 turned over to the captains, and they in succession went 
 through the same experience. Much valuable informa- 
 tion was gained, the most important of which was how 
 easily one ship could blanket the fire of another when 
 not properly handled. It was also plainly evident that 
 unless the captain could put his ship where the com- 
 
 396 
 
Preparations for the Pacific 
 
 mander-in-chief ordered her to go, and keep her there, 
 disaster was likely to follow, and this ability to handle 
 the ship came only after long and careful drill. It was 
 impossible for newly commissioned ships to do it, and 
 it was unreasonable to expect them to. 
 
 All the time possible was given to this battle drill 
 off the Virginia Capes, and the fleet then proceeded to 
 the target range in Cape Cod Bay. For the first time 
 in our service we were to have a real battle practice, 
 and, that it might be as beneficial as possible, the guns 
 were first calibrated. It was also the first time in our 
 navy that guns had been calibrated either for target 
 practice or for actual service. 
 
 Upon arrival at Cape Cod Bay, it was considered 
 that the first part of the preparation for the cruise to 
 the Pacific had been completed — at least all the time 
 that could be spared had been given it. The question 
 of battle target practice was at once taken up, and no 
 time was lost in doing this most important work. At 
 the last moment, much to my regret, it was decided that 
 two of the new ships must go immediately to the navy 
 yards, as there was barely time to complete them before 
 the date set for sailing. 
 
 While I was convinced iHat the cruise was to be a 
 peaceful one, I was also perfectly certain that it might 
 at any moment develop into a warlike one. Therefore, 
 to start with one or two battleships in the fleet which 
 had never fired their guns, even to test the sights, did 
 not seem to me businesslike, yet it had to be done, and 
 was done. It was my job and my responsibility, ren- 
 dered greater by many discouraging obstacles and 
 handicaps, to see that this fleet, though on the most 
 
 397 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 peaceful mission possible, was ready to fight at the drop 
 of a hat. 
 
 I find it difficult to describe target practice in a way 
 to be easily understood by the layman without violating 
 the orders of the Navy Department not to give out in- 
 formation on professional subjects. However, what I 
 shall write may be found in publications issued from the 
 Department and not marked " confidential," and there- 
 fore, I hope, not in violation of the spirit of the regula- 
 tions. 
 
 First, we have what is called record target practice, 
 in which a careful record of each shot fired is kept and 
 reported to the Department. This firing is done in the 
 most careful way, one gun only being fired at a time, 
 except in the case of turret guns, when two of them 
 may be fired at the same time. The actual firing of the 
 gun is done by the gun pointer, the man who would do 
 the firing in time of war, under the general charge of 
 the officer of his gim division on board the ship. Um- 
 pires are appointed who, under the most carefully pre- 
 pared rules, watch the loading and firing of each gun 
 and note any mistakes that may be made. This firing 
 is for the purpose of rating the gun pointers, who re- 
 ceive extra pay if they make a certain percentage of 
 hits on the target. Having once made this percentage, 
 the pointer must, at each succeeding practice, maintain 
 at least his rate of hitting or his extra pay is discon- 
 tinued. To determine this important point annual 
 practice is necessary. 
 
 When the target, a canvas screen seventeen feet 
 long by twelve feet high, is spread on a float, previously 
 moored for the purpose, the firing begins. The captain 
 
 398 
 
Target Practice Described 
 
 runs his ship over one side of a triangle, so that the 
 distance from the target varies from about two thou- 
 sand yards to sixteen hundred yards when at the near- 
 est point. A signal to commence firing is given, and 
 each gun pointer is allowed to fire as many shots as he 
 can in a given time. Only hits on the target screen are 
 counted. When both gun pointers at a gun have fired, 
 or in the case of turret gtins the pointers of two guns, 
 the ship leaves the range and passes near the target, so 
 that the result of the firing may be seen and the hits 
 recorded. In this way every g^n pointer in the ship 
 takes his turn, and the practice is continued until every 
 gun in the ship has been fired. Service smokeless pow- 
 der is used, but, in order to reduce the expense as much 
 as possible, special cast-iron shells are used instead of 
 the steel service projectile, which is of much greater 
 cost. 
 
 This practice, as I have stated, is entirely for the 
 purpose of training and testing the gun pointers, and 
 has nothing whatever to do with battle target practice 
 except to ensure the greatest possible percentage of hits. 
 It will be seen at once that the element of time is here of 
 the greatest value ; the pointer making the greatest num- 
 ber of hits in the same time is considered the best shot. 
 The term " hits per gun per minute " is its official des- 
 ignation. Having gone through with this practice suc- 
 cessfully, the ship is eligible for battle target practice. 
 
 However, before this record practice each ship must 
 have gone through with preliminary practice, in which 
 the time element does not count. Each pointer must 
 fire a certain number of shots, no matter how long it 
 may take him. This is a proper test of the guns and 
 
 399 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 their mounts, as well as a necessary preparation for the 
 more rapid firing of the record practice. 
 
 Finally we come to the battle target practice, which 
 was held for the first time in this fleet in Cape Cod Bay 
 during the last weeks of September and the first of 
 October, 1907. The object of this practice was to see 
 what the gims could do on a target representing an 
 enemy found at sea under war conditions. Two tar- 
 gets, each thirty feet by thirty feet, were moored to- 
 gether in the bay, practically out of sight of land, and 
 the ships in turn sent out to fire at them, using all the 
 guns that would bear. 
 
 The range was unknown, and had to be determined 
 by the range finders of the ship, just as they would de- 
 termine the range of an enemy's ship found at sea in 
 time of war. No firing was allowed inside a range of 
 six thousand yards, and after the first shot was fired the 
 distance from the target was constantly increased until 
 the time for firing had expired. Then the ship steamed 
 to the target and the hits were counted. When you 
 consider that at the distance given above, the range 
 must be known within less than one hundred yards or 
 the shot will miss the target, an idea may be formed of 
 the difficulties under which we labour. 
 
 After the kinds of target practice touched on above, 
 we still have a very important one to consider — night 
 firing, in which the targets are supposed to represent 
 torpedo boats making an attack on the ship. In this 
 practice, which is the most exciting and trying of 
 all, only the torpedo defence guns — ^that is to say, the 
 guns of the secondary battery — are used. During all 
 this firing the officers and men have practically no rec- 
 
 400 
 
Fire Control 
 
 reation. It is work of the hardest kind from dayhght 
 until dark, and frequently from dark until daylight. A 
 large party of officers and men must at all times be 
 afloat in boats to look after and repair the target 
 frames, change the screens, and mark the shot holes on 
 them, etc., and these men are constantly drenched with 
 salt water and their faces blistered with the sun. 
 
 Yet you never hear a word of complaint from them 
 — they know too well the vital necessity of such train- 
 ing. 
 
 When all the firing had been completed, the fleet 
 was sent immediately to the navy yards at Boston, New 
 York, Philadelphia, and Norfolk, to be docked and 
 cleaned and made ready for the start. Orders were 
 imperative that no work should be done except such as 
 was absolutely necessary for cruising efficiency, and all 
 officers understood that they were not to allow any 
 grass to grow under their feet. 
 
 During the target practice in Massachusetts Bay, the 
 subject of fire control — that is, the efficient control of 
 the fire of all the guns of the battery — the most impor- 
 tant of all the intricate problems to be solved, was thor- 
 oughly gone into. Many different systems of control 
 had been installed on board ships of the fleet, generally 
 by the officers and men of the ships, and these were 
 exhaustively tried out. Finally, a board of ordnance 
 experts, all of them seagoing officers of experience, was 
 appointed by me to consider the whole subject of fire 
 control and report fully at the earliest practicable mo- 
 ment. This board sat for many days, visited all the 
 ships of the fleet, inspected the various systems in use, 
 and then made an able and exhaustive report, which 
 
 401 
 
/ An Admiral's Log 
 
 was approved and sent to Washington. Mr. Newberry, 
 the active and energetic Assistant Secretary of the 
 Navy, gave it his personal attention, and as a result 
 orders were given for the system recommended by the 
 board to be installed on all the vessels of the fleet. It 
 was found that the work was so extensive and of such 
 a character that it could not be completed before the 
 day set for sailing, but the necessary material to com- 
 plete it was put on board, and the officers and men 
 could, and did, complete it in each ship before we ar- 
 rived in the Pacific. 
 
 To the layman neither the importance of this work 
 nor the enormous amount of it can be made clear. I 
 may say, however, that the hitting power of the guns 
 depends absolutely upon the efficiency of the fire con- 
 trol, and that to install such a system miles of wire had 
 to be run in each ship, and all this wire had to be most 
 carefully placed to prevent short circuits and other evils 
 of which the layman can form no idea. Then hundreds 
 of telephones and receivers had to be procured and in- 
 stalled. In addition to this work, it was decided that 
 each vessel of the fleet should be fitted with the newly 
 invented wireless telephone. This installation was im- 
 mediately taken in hand, but, like the fire control, it 
 was not completed in time, and we put to sea with 
 the remaining work to be done by the officers and 
 men of the fleet. An expert from the contractor went 
 with us as far as Trinidad and did all he could to as- 
 sist us. 
 
 With the ships crowded into the navy yards for re- 
 pairs, the officers and men found their surroundings 
 most uncomfortable. As many as possible were sent on 
 
 402 
 
Navy- Yard Conditions 
 
 leave, but the remaining ones had a hard time of it. 
 Above all things, an American bluejacket likes a clean 
 place to eat, a clean place to sleep, and a chance to keep 
 himself clean and smart; in other words, he loves a 
 clean ship, and he is unhappy if he cannot have it. That 
 these conditions should always prevail on a vessel of 
 war goes without saying, but it is a fact which none 
 can deny that they do not exist on a vessel under re- 
 pairs at a navy yard ; the conditions are such as to ren- 
 der cleanliness and comfort impossible. 
 
 A ship goes to a navy yard spick and span — every- 
 thing clean and neat and the men happy and contented ; 
 then a gang of workmen in dirty overalls is rushed on 
 board, and trouble begins at once. Things are pulled to 
 pieces here and there, dirt covers the decks, men are 
 hustled about, and in many cases driven from their 
 usual quarters, and discomfort takes charge. The fam- 
 ilies and friends of the crew come on board in great 
 numbers, only to find themselves out of place, and this 
 very soon brings complaint and discontent. If it be 
 winter — and this was the case with the Atlantic Fleet — 
 the suffering of the crew is great, not only from cold, 
 but because the decks cannot in many cases be scrubbed, 
 and the dirt accumulates until both the oflficers and men 
 are ashamed of their ships, and well they may be. People 
 sometimes wonder at the number of desertions in the 
 navy. If they knew the conditions as I know them, and 
 have so many times seen them, I think the wonder 
 would be that there are not more. The old hands who 
 have seen service and know what discipline means have 
 the happy faculty of making the best of what they 
 know will be a short period of much discomfort and 
 
 403 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 dirt, but the new ones who come to the ship for the 
 first time naturally assume that this is the normal con- 
 dition of ship life, and many of them " jump " at the 
 first opportunity. The wonder to me is that more of 
 them do not desert. 
 
 It may seem to the reader that the Navy Depart- 
 ment might somehow correct the evils complained of, 
 but the Department is as helpless as a jellyfish. Al- 
 though backed as it is by the opinion of the ablest offi- 
 cers in the service, more than once expressed in official 
 reports, it cannot build barracks and furnish them with- 
 out money, and money can only be had through act of 
 Congress. Some day we hope Congress will realise the 
 crying necessity for large, comfortable barracks at each 
 navy yard, with reading-rooms and proper dormitories 
 — in other words, a decent home for the men. Then a 
 ship going to a yard for repairs can transfer her crew 
 to the barracks, house and feed them comfortably, and 
 detail each day a sufficient number of men to guard 
 properly the property on the ship, while the rest of the 
 crew, after the necessary morning drills, can receive 
 their friends or enjoy their shore leave. 
 
 One of the most important preparations for the 
 cruise to the Pacific was so to arrange the crews of the 
 ships that the times of enlistment of the men would not 
 expire before the return to an Atlantic port, and so save 
 the government much money in the matter of trans- 
 portation, as each man must be returned to his place of 
 enlistment when his term of service expires. The De- 
 partment decided that all those who had only a certain 
 short term to serve should be transferred to receiving 
 ships and their places filled by apprentice seamen from 
 
 404 
 
The Food Question 
 
 the training stations at Newport and Norfolk. This 
 took from us many of our best men, some of them petty 
 officers and many of them gun pointers, but all of them 
 highly drilled and well disciplined. In their stead came 
 a trim lot of young lads, most of them from the farms 
 of the middle west, who had been hastily whipped into 
 shape at the training stations. But with these drafts 
 also came many raw recruits who had practically no 
 training — who, in fact, had only been enlisted a few 
 weeks. The number of men transferred from the fleet 
 was so large that every man from the training stations 
 was needed to fill their vacancies. I am sure that a 
 finer lot of men was never seen in the navy than those 
 sent out of the fleet to the receiving ships on this occa- 
 sion, and one can easily imagine the feeling of regret 
 with which the captains of the ships saw them go. The 
 important and all-absorbing question was how to make 
 the new ones as efficient as the old ones had been at the 
 earliest possible moment. 
 
 The question of feeding so many men for so long a 
 cruise was a vital one. In case of absolute necessity — 
 war, for instance — we could do as we did in the Civil 
 War — live on hard tack, " salt horse " (salt beef), and 
 salt bacon; but the navy had come to look on fresh 
 bread every day and fresh meat at least four days in a 
 week as a necessity. We had found that it was cheaper 
 to feed the men well and keep them in good health 
 than to feed them on insufficient food, pay the hospital 
 bills, and afterwards the pensions. Above all this 
 was the vital consideration of keeping them fit for 
 the very exhausting work that fell to them on board 
 ship, and to have them ready at all times to fight 
 27 405 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 the guns if that became necessary. In other words, 
 good food meant good men — certainly not a new dis- 
 covery. 
 
 To meet the demands of the occasion, the Depart- 
 ment utihsed the two naval supply ships, Glacier and 
 Culgoa. These vessels were entirely overhauled at the 
 New York yard, their refrigerating plants were thor- 
 oughly refitted, their cold-storage rooms tested, and all 
 their ordinary store-rooms put in perfect condition. 
 Then they were packed as full of stores of various 
 kinds as they could hold. It may be of interest to the 
 reader to note among these stores the following: 
 Flour, 675,000 pounds; cornmeal, 16,000 pounds; oat- 
 meal, 6,000 pounds; rolled oats, 10,000 pounds; rice, 
 30,000 pounds; barley, 5,000 pounds; cornstarch, 3,500 
 pounds; hominy, 6,000 pounds; tapioca, 6,000 pounds; 
 turkey for Christmas dinner, 40,000 pounds ; fresh beef, 
 850,000 pounds; mutton, 65,000 pounds; pork loins, 
 140,000 pounds; veal, 100,000 pounds; frankfurters, 
 55,000 pounds; Bologna sausage, 35,000 pounds; fresh 
 sausage, 45,000 pounds; head cheese, 30,000 pounds; 
 smoked ham, 120,000 pounds; tinned ham, 30,000 
 pounds; eggs, fresh, 10,000 dozen; eggs, dried, equiv- 
 alent of 9,000 dozen; onions, 140,000 pounds; fresh 
 potatoes, 500,000 pounds; tinned tomatoes, 170,000 
 pounds; tinned peaches, 45,000 pounds; butter, 15,000 
 pounds; jams, 10,000 pounds; jellies, 6,000 pounds; 
 nuts, 6,000 pounds; raisins, 8,000 pounds; coffee, 
 60,000 pounds ; tea, 8,000 pounds ; condensed milk, 75,- 
 000 pounds; evaporated milk, 14,000 pounds; pickles, 
 7,000 pounds; sauerkraut, 30,000 pounds; catsup, 
 2,500 pounds; baking powder, 1,600 pounds; sugar, 
 
 406 
 
Supplies for the Ships 
 
 150,000 pounds; cheese, 20,000 pounds; lard, 40,000 
 pounds; salt, 25,000 pounds; salt-water soap, 110,000 
 pounds; plug tobacco, 15,000 pounds. This list is 
 made from a list of ninety articles put on board the 
 supply ships. In addition, there were luxuries of all 
 sorts. Each ship of the fleet had cold-storage rooms, 
 and these were filled to their utmost capacity with fresh 
 meat the day before sailing. The amount taken varied 
 from 10,000 pounds in the older ships to 30,000 pounds 
 in the new ones, and this was, of course, in addition to 
 the supplies carried in the store-ships. Each ship also 
 had an excellently organised canteen, in which could be 
 found anything, from a toothbrush to a box of candy. 
 I am afraid to say how many tons of candy this fleet 
 took to sea. Primarily all these good things were for 
 the men. The government does not feed officers; they 
 must pay for their food or go hungry; but on this 
 cruise we were allowed to draw stores from the general 
 supply and pay for them. This buying, however, can 
 only be done while the men have plenty and to spare. 
 As soon as there is a threat of shortage, the officers 
 must go without. 
 
 I have found that many of our countrymen believe 
 that the government clothes and feeds us in addition to 
 paying us our salaries. I always take pleasure in tell- 
 ing such kindly disposed thinkers how wrong they are; 
 that the government pays us our salary only, and then 
 deducts twenty cents a month from that for fear that 
 w^e may some day fall ill and have to be sent to a hos- 
 pital. Every officer and man in the navy has to pay 
 twenty cents a month into the hospital fund, and yet 
 the government of the United States could afford to 
 
 407 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 pay twenty millions of dollars for the Philippine 
 Islands, which we held by the best title known to man 
 — the right of conquest. It is sometimes hard to recog- 
 nise the eternal fitness of things ! 
 
 In addition to the reserve supply in the store-ship, 
 each vessel of the fleet started with her own store- 
 rooms full, which was in most cases sufficient for three 
 months. The Bureau of Supplies and Accounts cer- 
 tainly deserves great credit for the way this vast 
 amount of provisions was supplied and put on board, 
 and too much cannot be said for those firms who pre- 
 pared them. We gave every man in the fleet his proper 
 ration of good, wholesome food every day, from Fort- 
 ress Monroe to San Francisco, and, notwithstanding 
 the fact that we twice passed through the tropics on the 
 way, the stores last served out were as good as they 
 were when first placed on board. Although it is the 
 right of sailors to growl — and they never fail to do it 
 when there is the least ground for it — I heard of but 
 one complaint about food during this cruise. A news- 
 paper clipping, containing a letter from a man on one 
 of the battleships declaring that bad ham had beei 
 served to the crew, was sent to me from Washingto: 
 for investigation. In this letter to his mother th 
 youngster declared that ham which was spoiled ha' 
 been given the men to eat. I sent for the captain o 
 the ship, and from him learned that the men of hi 
 crew had heard of the letter and had called the write 
 to account for having written what every one knew t 
 be untrue. The captain had brought the lad on boar 
 with him, and when I asked him what he meant b 
 such conduct he said that he had written it in fun to hi 
 
 408 
 
The Repair Ship 
 
 mother, and had no idea that it would ever get into 
 print. 
 
 Unfortunately there are a number of newspapers 
 in the country which will publish any yarn sent them, 
 and the more exaggerated and untrue the contents the 
 better they seem to like it. Ever since I first took com- 
 mand of a ship I have been most careful in looking 
 after the welfare of the crew, and, I am glad to say, the 
 men have not hesitated to bring their troubles to me 
 for settlement. So when this complaint came I was 
 perfectly sure there could be no truth in it, or some of 
 the older men in the crew would have appealed to the 
 captain, and if necessary to me. There was a time 
 when our men were very badly treated in the matter of 
 food, but I am glad to say that time has long since 
 passed. 
 
 . We had learned the value of a properly fitted repair 
 ship during the Spanish War, and the Department 
 agreed to send one with the Atlantic Fleet. The Pan- 
 ther was, accordingly, fitted out for the purpose, and 
 suitable machinery and appliances placed on board. She 
 proved most efficient, and paid for herself several times 
 over before we saw the Golden Gate. These auxil- 
 iaries, store and repair ships, were of more interest to 
 the many foreign naval attaches who visited them than 
 anything else in the fleet. The Panther was fitted par- 
 ticularly for making castings, which the battleships, 
 though having excellent workshops, were unable to do. 
 Besides this, she carried spare parts of machinery such 
 as were most likely to give way on the large ships, and 
 also propeller blades for the torpedo-boat destroyers. 
 The work done by this ship reflected the greatest credit 
 
 409 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 on the men who fitted her out, and her excellent com- 
 manding officer was deservedly most popular with all 
 hands for the efficient way in which he met the numer- 
 ous demands made on him. The destroyers could not 
 have made the trip as they did had it not been for the 
 Panther. 
 
 The last of the auxiliaries to be prepared for service 
 was the Arethusa, water ship. Her function was to act 
 as mother ship to the destroyers and, when possible, 
 supply fresh water for the boilers of the battleships, 
 which could be carried in their double bottoms, and 
 thus save the coal that would be used in distilling water 
 to make up the waste feed of the boilers. She was too 
 slow to keep up with the destroyers, and was seldom 
 called upon by the battleships, but she was of value in 
 carrying oil, of which we required for the cruise one 
 hundred thousand gallons, and other heavy stores, such 
 as cordage, etc. I was surprised to find that my requi- 
 sition for rope to be used in coaling the fleet could not 
 be completely filled, though we bought every foot of 
 four-inch rope in the market. The motors which oper- 
 ate the coal whips are driven at very high speed, and 
 the rope falls are cut up and destroyed in the most sur- 
 prising way. The fact that the fleet took the entire 
 supply in the market, and did not have any too much, 
 would seem to point to the necessity of keeping a sup- 
 ply on hand. 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 THE DEPARTURE FOR THE PACIFIC 
 
 Early in December I issued orders for the fleet 
 to assemble in Hampton Roads on or before December 
 loth, but, as some of the ships were delayed in dock- 
 ing, this was later changed to the 12th. On the day 
 mentioned all had arrived and were anchored in line 
 of squadrons — two lines, with eight ships in each line. 
 All the coal that could be stowed was taken in and a 
 generous supply of fresh water pumped into the double 
 bottoms.- On the 14th and 15th the last of the fresh 
 provisions were taken in, and the great fleet was ready 
 for sea. The hotels at Fortress Monroe were crowded 
 with visitors, families of officers and their friends, who 
 had come to say good-bye and see us off on a record- 
 breaking cruise. We danced and made as merry as we 
 could, but at times the faces of officers and men gave 
 evidence that it was hard to leave the dear ones, and 
 that long years of the same heart-breaking process had 
 not made it any easier. The dignity and self-control of 
 the navy women, some of them brides of only a few 
 weeks, was a striking feature of the occasion. But 
 that is what American men expect of their American 
 women, and they are never disappointed. 
 
 Owing to the comparatively small coal capacity of 
 the destroyers, the flotilla sailed before the battleships. 
 
 411 
 
An Admiral's Log "' 
 
 The itinerary for them was different from that of the 
 main fleet — so arranged that they could run from port 
 to port without worrying over their coal supply, and 
 finally meet the battleships at Rio de Janeiro. Their 
 inability to carry provisions for any considerable time 
 had also to be considered in arranging their ports of 
 call. 
 
 The President had decided that he would come to 
 Fortress Monroe in the Mayflower to review the fleet, 
 say good-bye to the officers and men, and see us off on 
 our long cruise — an honour which every officer and 
 man felt deeply and duly appreciated. The morning 
 of the 1 6th came with leaden skies and a promise of 
 bad weather. The fresh, cold north-west wind made 
 boating ugly work, but somehow we believed in Roose- 
 velt weather, and sure enough it came. As the May- 
 flower approached the fleet, the rails of the ships were 
 manned, the officers paraded in special full dress, the 
 marine guards presented arms, the bands played the 
 national air, and a salute of twenty-one guns was fired. 
 As the reports of the saluting guns died away, the 
 clouds parted, the sun came out, and ushered in a most 
 beautiful day. It was, indeed, Roosevelt weather. The 
 Mayflower anchored in the midst of the fleet, and all 
 the flag and commanding officers repaired on board at 
 once to be greeted by the President and the distin- 
 guished people who accompanied him and to say good- 
 bye to them. 
 
 As I passed over the gangway I was met by the 
 President and greeted by him in his usual hearty and 
 courteous manner. A battery of cameras clicked and 
 snapped as Mr. Roosevelt gave me a few last instruc- 
 
 412 
 
Pi 
 
 ii CU 
 
The President's Good-bye 
 
 tions, and I am sure no expression of his face or mine 
 escaped these energetic workers, who in pursuit of 
 their calHng often make themselves most annoying. 
 For the first time I was authorised by the President to 
 say to the officers and men of the fleet that, after a stay 
 of a few months in the Pacific, the fleet would return 
 to an Atlantic port via the Suez Canal. 
 
 This message was conveyed to them by signal the 
 first night out, and announced to the officers at the 
 ward-room dinner. One of the newspaper men sent 
 the message to his paper by wireless, and it was pub- 
 lished the following morning. Afterwards I saw that 
 Mr. Loeb had promptly denied that the President ever 
 authorised any such statement. Mr. Loeb is undoubt- 
 edly one of the best men who ever served as secretary 
 to a President, but I am sure I could keep him busy for 
 a long time denying things if I published everything 
 the President has said to me. On this occasion it was 
 plain from his manner that Mr. Roosevelt felt deeply 
 the importance of the step he had decided to take, and 
 which had centred upon the navy of the United States 
 the critical attention of the whole world. 
 
 The same may be said of Admiral Brownson, Chief 
 of the Bureau of Navigation, who accompanied him — 
 an officer who, from long and faithful service and un- 
 excelled ability, deserved to hold the position he did of 
 confidential adviser to his chief. Both of their faces 
 were serious, but not troubled, and it was plain that, 
 while feeling somewhat the difficulties before me, they 
 had no doubt of the successful accomplishment of my 
 task. I was most gratified to have the President say 
 to me, as he did, " Remember, Admiral Evans, you sail 
 
 413 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 the children's diseases known were in evidence among 
 the recruits from the training stations, and all these 
 had to be eradicated before we arrived at Trinidad or 
 the fleet would have to ride out a quarantine, which 
 would seriously interfere with our itinerary. Able 
 doctors, isolation wards, and disinfectants soon cleared 
 the atmosphere, and in the beautiful weather south of 
 the Gulf Stream all the sick people, except a few seri- 
 ous cases, were soon on their feet and taking their 
 rations with relish. On the morning of the second 
 day out white uniform was ordered, and we did not 
 again wear blue until we approached the Straits of 
 Magellan, a few weeks later. 
 
 During the run of seventeen hundred miles the 
 drills were constant; indeed, several kinds of drills 
 were taking place at the same time. The interval be- 
 tween the squadrons was increased to fighting range, 
 so that the gun pointers could keep their sights on an 
 actual ship, and the range-finder crews were given 
 hours of practice each day and, later, at night. In 
 order to standardise the propellers, which had never 
 been done at so great a draught, each ship was required 
 to keep station most carefully and report each half 
 hour the actual number of revolutions she was making 
 as counted on the bridge. This was checked from the 
 flagship, whose speed was regarded as standard. The 
 gun drills were most carefully and persistently fol- 
 lowed up by the ordnance officers, and every effort 
 made to have the men ready for action at the earliest 
 moment. 
 
 As we approached the West Indies, the Missouri 
 was sent into San Juan to land a sick man who might 
 
 416 
 
Christmas at Port-of-Spain 
 
 have some chance for his life if he could have hospital 
 treatment. She was only just out of sight when the 
 Illinois reported a case of meningitis, and no hope for 
 the man unless he could be landed at once, so she was 
 sent into Culebra, where we have a hospital, and both 
 ships ordered to rejoin off Sail Rock, in the windward 
 passage, which they did the following day. 
 
 On the afternoon of December 23d the fleet passed 
 tlirough the Dragon's Mouth into the Gulf of Paria, 
 and just after sunset anchored in column of divisions 
 about five miles from the town of Port-of-Spain. The 
 colliers were waiting for us, and also, much to my sur- 
 prise, the destroyers, one of which had met with an 
 accident. The Panther took the disabled boat in hand 
 and soon had it ready for sea again, and at daylight of 
 the 24th the first division began coaling. Notwith- 
 standing the tremendous heat, the coal was all in and 
 the decks washed down before night, greens obtained 
 from shore for dressing the ships, turkey and other 
 good things served out from the store-ships, and all 
 hands were ready to enjoy their Christmas on the mor- 
 row. In the meantime all official calls had been ex- 
 changed with the officials on shore — a duty which 
 always demands much time and patience. After call- 
 ing on the governor. Sir Henry Jackson, who was far 
 from well, I established myself and the other flag offi- 
 cers of the fleet at the Queen's Hotel, and there received 
 his return call, after which we all dined at Government 
 House and were most hospitably entertained. 
 
 Christmas Day was most carefully observed, only 
 absolutely necessary work being done. The crews had 
 the usual sports — boat races, etc. — and after a good 
 
 417 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 dinner four thousand of them visited the town. On 
 the 26th, 27th, and 28th the three remaining divisions 
 were coaled to their utmost capacity for the long run 
 to Rio, the divisions not coaling giving shore liberty to 
 their men from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. 
 
 On the afternoon of December 29th the fleet was 
 again under way, and, passing out through the Dragon's 
 Mouth, headed south for its longest run. Before leav- 
 ing I received from the governor a note, from which 
 the following is an extract: 
 
 " I ask to be allowed to offer my congratulations on 
 the irreproachable behaviour of your men on leave. A 
 residence for years at Gibraltar, a rendezvous of the 
 fleets of the world, has given me much experience with 
 Jack ashore. I can assert that your men established a 
 record hard to equal and impossible to beat." 
 
 A pleasant run brought the great armada to the 
 equator during the forenoon of January 5th, and there 
 Neptune, whose flag was flying from every ship, met 
 us and welcomed us to his domain. 
 
 Of all the old customs of the navy, the only one 
 that will probably survive and last for all time is the 
 initiation of landsmen who cross the " Line," as the 
 equator is called, for the first time. The ceremonies, 
 like the custom itself, are practically the same in all the 
 navies of the world, but do not, so far as I know, 
 obtain in the merchant service. In an age of change, 
 when all precedents are disregarded and old customs 
 and traditions forgotten, it is pleasant to know that this 
 one, so long observed and which gives pleasure to so 
 many, may still hold its place. 
 
 As the fleet approached the equator on the evening 
 418 
 
Crossing the "Line" 
 
 of the 4th of January a messenger from Neptunus Rex 
 boarded each vessel, interviewed the captain, and, hav- 
 ing received his permission for his Majesty to visit him 
 on the morrow, took his leave. During the night of 
 the 4th each ship was fitted with a large canvas tank 
 near the forward turret, so arranged that from a tilting 
 barber's chair on the rim of the turret the one to be 
 initiated could be tumbled head over heels into the 
 water, which, as it leaked out, was being constantly re- 
 newed by several lines of hose. All those to face 
 Father Neptune were sure of a good cool bath, if noth- 
 ing more. 
 
 When the position of no latitude was reached on 
 January 5th, the flag of the Monarch of the Sea was 
 broken out at the signal yardarm on every vessel of the 
 fleet, and King Neptune, followed by his suite, boarded 
 each ship over the bows and marched aft to the quarter- 
 deck, in the presence of the assembled crew, to make 
 his call on the admirals and captains and obtain their 
 permission to conduct his ceremonies. Great ingenuity 
 had been shown by the *' old hands " in preparing the 
 many costumes necessary for the occasion, and the 
 " march aft," as it is called, produced much laughter 
 and applause from those who saw it for the first time. 
 But there were many serious faces among the young 
 recruits, who looked forward with some anxiety to the 
 time when they should fall into the hands of these fear- 
 ful-looking monsters of the deep, who were constantly 
 threatening dire things to those " landlubbers " and 
 " haymakers " who ventured to invade their domain 
 without permission. 
 
 Father Neptune in every case knew the officers and 
 419 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 men whom he had met before, and he welcomed them 
 with a few kind words, mentioning the name of the 
 ship in which each had sailed, and wishing them a fair 
 wind for all time. So perfect were the costumes of the 
 King and his court on board the flagship that I failed to 
 recognise a single man of the more than fifty who con- 
 stituted the suite. I presented them with cigars enough 
 to keep them going, wished them a successful day, and 
 the frolic began. Seats had been arranged on the for- 
 ward bridge for the officers who had crossed the line 
 before, and from this point we observed the ceremo- 
 nies. The day was exceedingly hot, and we were all 
 dressed in our thinnest white uniforms. After I had 
 been watching the fun for several hours I felt a 
 peculiar cold wind blowing on my back, which so 
 chilled me that I was forced to retire to my cabin, 
 where in the evening I found myself helpless with an 
 attack of inflammatory rheumatism, which caused me 
 intense suffering, often recurred, and eventually com- 
 pelled me to give up the command of the Atlantic Fleet 
 — a misfortune which might well break the heart of 
 any flag officer who loved his profession as I have 
 always done. 
 
 Before leaving the United States the " old hands " 
 had provided the certificates for Neptune to sign. They 
 were handsomely printed on sea-green paper, and made 
 very pretty souvenirs for the recruits to preserve. In- 
 deed, I should not say " recruits," for there were many 
 men, and officers as well, who had been around the 
 world several times — men of many years' service — who 
 had never crossed the equator. This may be easily un- 
 derstood after a glance at the map, where it will be 
 
 420 
 
King Neptune on Board 
 
 seen how one leaving San Francisco can cross the 
 Pacific, proceed through the Mediterranean, and so 
 across the Atlantic to New York without once crossing 
 the equator, and this many officers and men had done. 
 When once the Panama Canal is completed, the equato- 
 rial ocean regions will be much more lonely even than 
 they are now. 
 
 King Neptune always offers the officers the privi- 
 lege of paying their footing — that is, contributing so 
 many cigars or so many bottles of beer instead of being 
 regularly initiated; but on this occasion the midship- 
 men decided that they would take their medicine with 
 the rest, and they were the first to receive the rites — 
 that is to say, to be shaved by the barber with a long 
 wooden razor, and then to be tumbled into the bath, 
 where the " mermaids," " sharks," and " porpoises " 
 saw that they were thoroughly and properly ducked. 
 The ward-room preferred to pay. 
 
 As each man of the crew received his ducking he 
 became an energetic recruit in the ranks of Neptune, 
 and joined the sea policemen, who with stuffed clubs 
 were searching the ship for those attempting to escape 
 the ordeal. This was particularly the case with many 
 of the coloured men on board who were serving in the 
 capacity of mess men. None was allowed to escape, 
 and as I looked on I could very easily tell the men, 
 both black and white, who had in any way made them- 
 selves offensive to the crew. Such persons came out of 
 the tank pretty full of soapsuds and salt water! But 
 in no case was any man maltreated or injured. It was 
 a harmless form of hazing to which I gave my hearty 
 approval. When all hands had received his attention, 
 38 421 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 the certificates were signed and presented by Neptune, 
 and the fifteen thousand men of the fleet were at last 
 proper men to sail the salt seas. I doubt if so many 
 men ever before crossed the line at one time, and I 
 know that a finer lot of clean-cut sailor lads were never 
 assembled in one fleet. 
 
 Once across the line, the question of coal supply be- 
 came a very serious one. Theoretically, the supply in 
 the bunkers should take us safely to Rio with several 
 hundred tons to spare, but what about the equatorial 
 current, and how could we best avoid it ? After a care- 
 ful study of all the charts and sailing directions by the 
 chief of staff and myself, it was decided to stand well 
 out to the eastward to avoid the strength of this 
 current, but when this had been done we found a 
 knot and a half and sometimes two knots per hour 
 against us. 
 
 The Maine was eating up coal at an alarming rate, 
 if I could rely absolutely on her noon report each day, 
 and one of the new ships had the same undesirable 
 tendency. I have seen considerable service in battle- 
 ships, and I knew that their engine-room forces were, 
 like those of other ships, given to coming out ahead 
 on the coal question, and I had never been caught 
 at sea completely out of coal, so I did not allow 
 the situation to trouble me much. When the new 
 ship mentioned above seemed to be approaching the 
 danger line in coal consumption, I made signal to 
 her that when her coal on hand was reduced to a 
 certain amount the Kansas would take her in tow, 
 and that ended the trouble! Her coal consumption 
 was immediately reduced to that of other ships of her 
 
 422 
 
The Firemen of the Fleet 
 
 class. It seemed to me that even the most econom- 
 ical ships lowered their consumption as a result of this 
 signal. We arrived in Rio, as all now know, without 
 trouble and with a comfortable reserve of coal in our 
 bunkers. 
 
 The question of how to improve the efficiency of 
 the firemen of the fleet was one that had given me 
 much serious concern. They were not up to the stand- 
 ard established by the men at the guns, and I deter- 
 mined to make them so if possible. With the assist- 
 ance of the able officers of my staff, a comprehensive 
 general order covering the whole subject and giving 
 full details was prepared and issued. Competition 
 among all the ships of the fleet was demanded by the 
 order, and suitable rewards offered provided Congress 
 could be induced to give us the necessary small sum of 
 money — about two thousand dollars. This order was 
 issued at Rio, and from the time we left there until we 
 reached Magdalena Bay resulted in a saving of four- 
 teen hundred tons of coal, which, in dollars and cents, 
 at the contract price of coal, was enough to pay the 
 prizes to be awarded for four years. Congress did not, 
 however, give us the money, but the Navy Department 
 and the service generally highly approved of the order, 
 and we live in hope that some other Congress will treat 
 us better. 
 
 Before the fleet sailed from Hampton Roads I had 
 seen several letters giving information that we were to 
 be blown up and sunk on our way to the Pacific, the 
 first attack being promised for Rio and the second in 
 the Straits of Magellan. All the letters that I saw 
 were anonymous, dated in Canada, and named either 
 
 423 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 the Japanese government or the Japanese as the ones 
 who were going to do us up. It seemed to me strange 
 that the Japanese government should tell these men 
 without names in Canada when and how they were 
 going to destroy the battleships of a friendly nation! 
 And I am free to confess that I considered the whole 
 story unworthy of notice. As to the attack to be made 
 at Rio, the channel leading into the harbour was to be 
 mined, and as we passed over them the mines were to 
 send us all to our last account. 
 
 Having had some little practice in planting mines, 
 I was sure it could not be successfully done without 
 considerable outlay of money and equipment of ships, 
 boats, etc., and all this must be done without the con- 
 sent of a friendly government to whose capital we 
 were about paying a visit. In the attack to be tpade 
 in the Straits of Magellan the mines were to be 
 secured to floating driftwood, and as we steamed 
 through this floating timber were to do their deadly 
 work. But as I had no intention whatever of running 
 the Atlantic Fleet over driftwood in the Straits — in 
 fact, I never saw any such thing there — I gave this 
 story even less thought than the Rio one. One of 
 the letters also placed Japanese submarines in the 
 Straits. 
 
 All the captains and flag officers had been informed 
 of the foolish stories given above, and directed to take 
 all proper steps for the protection of their ships. To 
 take any real steps, such as might lead the Brazilians to 
 think that we for a moment believed ourselves in any 
 danger, would be an insult to that nation which could 
 not be thought of. Merely as a matter of form I sent 
 
 424 
 
Foolish Stories 
 
 my tender, the Yankton, and the supply ships and one 
 colHer ahead of the fleet, so that they might explode 
 any mines in our way ! 
 
 On January 12th, as we approached the entrance to 
 the harbour, the Yankton sent a wireless message that 
 she was on her way out with important despatches for 
 me. When all the despatches and letters had been read, 
 I found only one item of importance : I was warned to 
 look out carefully for the safety of the fleet, as an at- 
 tack was threatened, but this time it was to be done by 
 anarchists, and not by the Japanese. Some of the let- 
 ters gave a list of the men who were to blow us up, 
 but there was not a Japanese name on the list. They 
 were all Brazilians, and, as it turned out afterwards, 
 several of them were among the most respectable busi- 
 ness men of Rio! The chief of police of Rio was 
 looking up all those connected with the plot, and 
 in this way it became known, the names made public, 
 etc. 
 
 In the end it appeared that there never had been 
 any plot to blow the fleet up or harm it in any way, 
 which was my opinion from the first. But on the the- 
 ory that where there is smoke there must be fire, it was 
 necessary and proper that every possible precaution 
 should be taken, and this was done. It became known 
 that a vessel was loading in a German port with phos- 
 phorus for a match firm in Rio, and those who had the 
 story in hand made it appear that this cargo was to be 
 used in making high explosives with which to destroy 
 the ships. Just how this was to be done was not ex- 
 plained — it was not necessary, as the interested parties 
 had probably received their pay before this stage of the 
 
 425 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 game was reached. Phosphorus is often used for the 
 destruction of water bugs and roaches on seagoing 
 ships, and this cargo, which had caused so much 
 trouble, or at least a considerable part of it, was pur- 
 chased by the Atlantic Fleet and used for that purpose. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 AROUND SOUTH AMERICA 
 
 When we were about twenty miles from the en- 
 trance to the harbour we were met by a division of 
 the BraziHan navy, under command of a flag officer, 
 sent out to welcome us and escort us in. Salutes were 
 fired, messages exchanged, and much cheering indulged 
 in while the bands played national airs. In perfect 
 formation the fleet stood into the beautiful harbour 
 and received the hearty welcome of the hundreds of 
 thousands of people who had assembled to greet us. 
 Amid the booming of the saluting guns, the music of 
 many bands, and the cheering crowds, the " White 
 Messengers of Peace," as Mr. Roosevelt called us, 
 passed on to their anchorage, and the second and 
 longest run of the cruise had been successfully com- 
 pleted. 
 
 As soon as the anchors were down the colliers, 
 which had arrived ahead of us, were called alongside, 
 and coaling began at once. The crews all knew that a 
 generous amount of liberty was waiting for them when 
 the coal had been taken in and the ships cleaned up and 
 made tidy, and they required no urging. The appear- 
 ance of the ships was in sharp contrast with what it 
 had been at Trinidad before sailing from that port. 
 Practically all the coal in the bunkers had been con- 
 
 427 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 sumed on the passage except in the Connecticut class 
 of ships, and the red water-line armour belts of all of 
 them showed several feet above the water. It was a 
 fine object lesson for all hands, and a fair warning that 
 if we were ever caught in this empty condition on the 
 eve of battle we might expect much serious damage 
 from projectiles entering below this belt. Many offi- 
 cers were amused afterwards in reading the testimony 
 given before the Senate naval committee that on the 
 arrival of the fleet at Rio the Connecticut's armour 
 belt was completely under water! Indeed, there was 
 a lot of testimony given at that time before the 
 committee that caused many officers to smile and 
 wonder ! 
 
 The reception of our fleet in Rio de Janeiro was 
 most cordial and friendly by all classes, from the 
 President of the Republic to the smallest shopkeeper. 
 Brilliant receptions were tendered and magnificent balls 
 and dinners given by officials and private citizens, 
 which were attended by all the officers who could be 
 spared from duty. The conduct of all classes was such 
 as to indicate a true feeling of friendship, and I believe 
 this was general throughout the country. The repre- 
 sentatives of the two great republics fraternised and 
 came to know each other in a way that promises well 
 for the future relations of the two countries. The en- 
 tertainments were lavish and the festivities such as to 
 make a most lasting impression on all our people. As 
 I was in the hands of the doctors at the time, I re- 
 quested Admiral Thomas, second in command, to rep- 
 resent me in all the civil functions, and it is unnecessary 
 to state that he did it in a way to reflect the utmost 
 
 428 
 
Arrangements for Shore Leave 
 
 credit on the country and the fleet. The navy has pro- 
 duced few men the equal of the late Rear- Admiral 
 C. M. Thomas in all that goes to make an officer and a 
 gentleman. 
 
 The question of how best to manage the great num- 
 ber of men on liberty so as to prevent any trouble or 
 scandal was one that required careful consideration. 
 While our men, as a rule, are self-respecting and well- 
 behaved while on shore, there will always be found a 
 few who are disposed to make trouble, and in a case 
 like the one before us, where neither side understood 
 the language of the other, a small row could quickly 
 grow into a serious riot. To prevent anything of the 
 kind, I requested through the proper channels that I 
 might be allowed to land a patrol force to look after 
 our own men and act with the police of the city in 
 preventing disorder. 
 
 This request was promptly granted, and the scheme 
 worked so successfully that it is now generally fol- 
 lowed. It had been successfully tried at Trinidad. In- 
 stead of asking or allowing the police force of the city 
 visited to handle our men, I sent a patrol composed 
 entirely of men of the seaman branch, generally mas- 
 ters at arms and other petty officers, in charge of a 
 commissioned officer. Marines were never sent, be- 
 cause the men would like nothing better than to have 
 fun with them! 
 
 When the patrol was landed, the officer in com- 
 mand communicated with the chief of police, and, as a 
 rule, quartered his men in the police stations. From 
 this point the city or town was easily watched, and as 
 soon as the men showed any disposition to make 
 
 429 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 trouble they were marched to the dock, where a boat 
 was always in waiting, and taken off to their ships. 
 There was no disposition to resist or fight with this 
 patrol, for the men knew how such conduct would be 
 treated ! During the entire cruise we never left a place 
 where the men had been landed without words of praise 
 from the authorities for the way the bluejackets con- 
 ducted themselves and the way our patrol was handled. 
 The experience for the young officers was most valu- 
 able. 
 
 It had been my intention to sail from Rio on Janu- 
 ary 2 1 St, but, finding that a mail was due from New 
 York on the following day, I postponed our departure 
 in order that the fifteen thousand officers and men 
 might have the last words from home before starting 
 on the long run to Callao, where our next mail was due. 
 When the mail reached us on the 22d much unfavour- 
 able comment, as well as great amusement, was caused 
 in the fleet by the announcement that a pilot, one 
 " Captain Greene," who had served on an army trans- 
 port, was to join and pilot us through the Straits 
 of Magellan. Some of the home papers printed rather 
 caustic articles protesting against this humiliation of 
 the navy, and giving the commander-in-chief rather a 
 severe lecture on his contemplated show of ignorance 
 and incompetency. It was learned afterwards that 
 some retired naval officers in New York City had pro- 
 posed the publication of one of these severe articles. 
 Good souls! They, at least, with their knowledge of 
 the naval service, should have known how silly such a 
 proposition was. The swivel-chair habit must have 
 affected these " Sons of Rest " seriously before they 
 
 430 
 
Departure from Rio 
 
 could have brought themselves to such a state of mind. 
 Suffice it to say that Captain Greene, if there ever was 
 such a person, did not put in an appearance, which was 
 fortunate for him, as rather a cool reception would 
 have met him if he had. 
 
 On the afternoon of January 22d, in the midst of a 
 tremendous thunder-storm, with torrents of rain, the 
 fleet got under way and stood out of the harbour, being 
 reviewed by President Penna and a distinguished com- 
 pany of officials as we passed the forts at the entrance. 
 All Rio seemed to be afloat, but the heavy wind squalls 
 soon drove the small craft to shelter with their crowds 
 of enthusiastic, cheering people. The Brazilian Fleet, 
 which had carefully attended us by day and guarded us 
 by night against the threatened anarchists' attack, was 
 under way before us and escorted us to sea. Many 
 salutes were fired and friendly messages exchanged be- 
 fore the Atlantic Fleet disappeared in the mist and rain, 
 after the most notable visit ever made by a naval force 
 to the capital of this prosperous South American re- 
 public. 
 
 The flotilla of torpedo-boat destroyers, after being 
 put in complete order at Rio by the Panther, had been 
 sent on ahead to make a visit to Buenos Ayres. The 
 depth of water in this harbour was not sufficient for 
 the battleships, and we all regretted that we were not 
 to visit the Argentine Republic, always so friendly to 
 our country. The American minister at Rio had noti- 
 fied me that a division of Argentine ships would meet 
 me off the coast of that country to exchange greetings, 
 and on Sunday, just before noon, I sent the following 
 wireless message : 
 
 431 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 " To Rear-Admiral Oliva : Fleet, eight o'clock, 
 latitude 35 degrees 35 minutes S. ; longitude 52 de- 
 grees 40 minutes W. Steaming south 31 degrees W. 
 magnetic; speed ten knots." 
 
 Two hours later came the following reply : 
 
 " To Rear-Admiral Evans : The commander of the 
 San Martin Division of the Argentine Navy salutes 
 Rear-Admiral Evans, his officers and men, and trans- 
 mits to him the position of the Argentine Division or- 
 dered to meet him as by dead reckoning 36 degrees 56 
 minutes S. ; longitude 53 degrees 41 minutes W. Hip- 
 olito Oliva." 
 
 Early on Monday, after the exchange of very cor- 
 dial messages, the Argentine ships — four cruisers — ap- 
 peared on the horizon astern, with the flag officer at the 
 head, in column formation. Steaming at twelve knots, 
 they soon drew up on us, and, in order to give them a 
 good look at us, and let them see just what we were like, 
 I changed our cruising formation from line of squadron 
 at half interval to column, and in this formation, with 
 distances perfectly maintained, bands playing, and 
 crews standing at attention, our new friends passed 
 from the rear of the column to the head. 
 
 As the flagship of Admiral Oliva, the Belgrando, 
 drew up abeam of the Connecticut, she saluted me, 
 which was immediately returned. I knew of no prece- 
 dent for such a ceremony, but in order to be sure of not 
 failing in courtesy, hoisted the Argentine flag and 
 saluted with twenty-one guns, which salute was, of 
 course, promptly returned. In passing us at a distance 
 of about four hundred yards the officers and men of 
 the Argentine Division had had a fine chance to see 
 
 432 
 
In the Straits of Magellan 
 
 what our ships looked like, and how they might be able 
 to make the Monroe Doctrine, which Secretary Root 
 had lately talked to them about, appear to any one who 
 wished to question it. Admiral Oliva courteously 
 offered to transmit any message I might have for my 
 government, and immediately changed his course and 
 stood for his own country. His ships were at double 
 distance, admirably handled, and appeared trim and 
 very businesslike. 
 
 We ran into foggy weather off the coast of Pata- 
 gonia on the 29th, and officers and men were shifted 
 into blue uniforms ; overcoats, even, were very welcome 
 in the night watches. January 31st found us in sight 
 of Cape Virgin, and, as the weather-beaten lighthouse 
 bore abeam, the following unsigned message was 
 picked up by the ever-watchful wireless operator : 
 
 *' Welcome, American squadron, distinguished." 
 
 At four o'clock in the afternoon the fleet anchored 
 in Possession Bay, in the Straits of Magellan, to wait 
 over night for favourable weather and tide for the run 
 to Sandy Point. 
 
 Long before reaching Cape Virgin I had requested 
 the captain of the flagship and his navigator to submit 
 to me a chart showing the courses he proposed to steer 
 in making the passage through the Straits. This was 
 done, and, after giving it a careful overhauling in con- 
 sultation with my chief of staff, I approved it and 
 directed that it be carefully followed. 
 
 The fleet was under way at 4 a.m. on February ist, 
 and in the afternoon anchored in line of squadron off 
 the town of Punta Arenas, where we found the Chilean 
 
 433 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 cruiser Chacabuco, flying the flag of Admiral Simpson, 
 who had been sent to the Straits to welcome us in the 
 name of his government. He had courteously given 
 passage to the American minister to Chile, who came 
 to welcome us there, as we were not to stop at any 
 other Chilean port. CoaUng was, of course, the first 
 thing to be done, but while it was going on there was 
 a constant round of entertainments and many official 
 calls to be made and returned, all of which was at- 
 tended to by Admiral Thomas. 
 
 Punta Arenas, the most southern city of the Amer- 
 ican continent, so far as we know, may at least boast of 
 its latitude if of nothing else. It has been said — and I 
 suspect truly — that one can find here deserters from 
 every naval service in the world and, in addition, men 
 of every nationality, who, for one reason or another, 
 prefer to keep out of range of the Pinkertons and 
 police generally. If they came here for pleasure, it is 
 difficult to understand their point of view, and if they 
 came to find a loafing place, for idleness as a pastime, 
 they certainly were badly advised. Of all the places I 
 have seen, Sandy Point appears to be about the last in 
 which to make a living. 
 
 From the water the town has the appearance of a 
 tropical town, composed of small corrugated-iron 
 houses, but without the show of vegetation which 
 counts for so much in the general effect of tropical 
 places. It has the advantage, however, of an excellent 
 water supply, and the climate is all that could be desired 
 by those who like cold weather all the time. The sum- 
 mer is short and never hot, and the winters long and 
 very cold. Hard gales of wind, with plenty of snow 
 
 434 
 
At Punta Arenas 
 
 and ice, are of daily occurrence, and yet the population 
 steadily increases — not by reason of natural increase or 
 growth, but because of the influx of the gold seekers 
 who have heard of the great value of the far-southern 
 mines, only recently discovered. 
 
 I found that since I had last passed through the 
 Straits in the Yorktown, seventeen years ago, the town 
 of Punta Arenas had more than doubled in size and 
 now had over 12,000 inhabitants. Very rich gold 
 mines have been discovered on both sides of the 
 Straits, and are being profitably worked ; vast flocks of 
 sheep are raised on the mountain sides, and several 
 large refrigerating plants ship frozen meats to Europe 
 and South American markets, which accounts for the 
 growth of the place and promises well for its future. 
 
 I had thought, probably hoped, that there would be 
 no entertainment to face at Sandy Point, but in this I 
 was mistaken, for even here one more link was added 
 to the chain of hearty welcome that was to extend to 
 the full length of the cruise. The governor first gave a 
 reception at his beautiful home on shore, to which all 
 officers were invited. Then followed a dinner on the 
 Chacabuco by Admiral Simpson to the flag officers, and 
 finally a dinner on board the same ship for the petty 
 officers of the American fleet. 
 
 The government of Chile in all this showed the 
 warm feeling of friendship she entertains for the great 
 republic of the north, and we fully appreciated the feel- 
 ing and the unusual way in which it was expressed. 
 Among those who were anxious to entertain us was a 
 colonel in the German army and his charming wife, 
 who had come all the way from the Chilean capital to 
 
 435 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 welcome us. He was, and is yet, I believe, preparing 
 the army of one of the smaller South American repub- 
 lics to surprise her larger neighbors when the war 
 which all are expecting actually comes. 
 
 Large liberty parties were sent on shore from the 
 ships which were not coaling, and the men had a good 
 opportunity to stretch their legs and look the town 
 over. Some kind friend — I afterwards heard it was 
 the Chamber of Commerce — had put up a large sign 
 which read, " Special Prices for the Fleet/* and they 
 were special — specially high — but the American blue- 
 jacket has somehow the faculty of guessing at the cor- 
 rect value of things, and after the kindly warning of 
 the sign he was on his guard not to pay more for furs 
 than they were worth, and furs were about the only 
 article, except postcards, offered for sale. 
 
 Among the officers of the Chacabuco was a young 
 lieutenant who had just completed a survey of a part 
 of Smythe's Channel, where he had found some anchor- 
 ages for torpedo boats and other small vessels, hereto- 
 fore unknown. This survey had not yet been charted, 
 and when the lieutenant kindly offered to accompany 
 the flotilla, under command of Lieutenant-Commander 
 Cone, I gladly accepted his offer, and he was made 
 comfortable on the flag boat and afterwards landed at 
 a Chilean port. The information given by him was of 
 great value to our officers. 
 
 At eleven o'clock, the night of February 7th, the 
 fleet got under way and stood to the westward through 
 the Straits. To guard us against the threatened sub- 
 marines and driftwood mines the destroyers were sta- 
 tioned on either flank of the battleships, while the 
 
 436 
 
Oil the Pacific 
 
 auxiliaries followed in rear of the column. The Chaca- 
 buco, Admiral Simpson's flagship, acting as escort, 
 took station on the starboard beam of the Connecticut, 
 my flagship. The battleships were four hundred yards 
 apart from foremast to foremast in each division, and 
 the divisions at double distance, or eight hundred 
 yards. In this formation we passed through the 
 Straits without trouble or accident, though at times 
 the fog and mist shut out the shores entirely and even 
 the ships from each other. When in the proper position, 
 signal was made to the destroyers to proceed on duty 
 assigned, which meant that they were to part company 
 with the fleet and, passing through Smythe's Channel, 
 go on their way north. About four o'clock in the 
 afternoon the fog shut in thick, and we had to feel our 
 way with the lead. At 9 p.m. the long Pacific swell 
 told us just where we were, and soon after the course 
 was changed for Valparaiso. 
 
 On our arrival at Punta Arenas both Admiral 
 Simpson and the American minister delivered mes- 
 sages from the President of Chile requesting me to 
 visit Valparaiso or, if that was impossible, to come close 
 enough to the harbour to let the people see the fleet. 
 Our itinerary called for a straight run from the Straits 
 of Magellan to Callao, but I felt that I should comply 
 with the request of President Montt for many reasons, 
 and was confident of the approval of my government if 
 I did so. I informed Admiral Simpson that I would 
 stand close into the harbour of Valparaiso, pass at re- 
 duced speed in front of the city, and that I should con- 
 sider it an honour if the President could be afloat, 
 review the fleet, and receive a salute. At the same time 
 29 437 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 I arranged the day and hour when we would be there, 
 so that extra trains might bring to the city those who 
 desired to come. All this was wired to the President 
 at Santiago, and he expressed his thanks and satisfac- 
 tion at our action. 
 
 For several days after clearing the Straits the 
 weather continued thick or foggy, but the compasses 
 had been so carefully adjusted, both at Trinidad and at 
 Punta Arenas, and the revolutions of the propellers so 
 standardised on the way from Hampton Roads, that 
 the ships kept accurate positions without the least 
 trouble. When the fog lifted they were all in place as 
 if tied on a line. On the 12th Admiral Simpson ran 
 into one of his home ports for coal, and on the 13th 
 rejoined the fleet, bringing with him a flotilla of tor- 
 pedo boats as an additional force to act as our escort. 
 On the 14th, at the exact hour appointed, the Atlantic 
 Fleet passed across the harbour of Valparaiso, led by 
 the Chacabuco, while the Chilean torpedo boats formed 
 on our starboard beam and kept all small craft out of 
 our way. So perfectly was the whole thing arranged 
 and carried out that not a single boat of any kind 
 passed beyond the prescribed line. 
 
 When we were all in front of the city and very close 
 in, signal was made to salute the Chilean flag, and at 
 the same instant the sixteen ships fired the first gun. 
 Our movements had been so timed that the last gun of 
 the salute was fired in time to give a few minutes' in- 
 terval before we should have to fire the personal salute 
 to President Montt, who was, with other ofiicials of 
 the government, on board the training ship General 
 Banquedano, anchored well ahead of us. The crowds 
 
 438 
 
Reviewed by President of Chili 
 
 of people from all parts of the country covered the 
 hills about Valparaiso. On one prominent grass-cov- 
 ered point a company of sailors in white uniform was 
 so arranged as to spell the word " Welcome," which 
 was afterwards changed to " Farewell." The whole 
 scene was most beautiful and impressive. 
 
 As the Connecticut, leading the fleet, approached 
 the General Banquedano, the rails were manned and a 
 salute of twenty-one guns fired, while the guards pre- 
 sented arms and the band played the Chilean national 
 air. The same ceremonies were observed by each ship 
 as she passed the President, and as the Kentucky, the 
 rear ship of the column, fired her last gun the flags 
 came down together, and all took up the cruising speed 
 of eleven knots. It was estimated that over five hun- 
 dred thousand people witnessed the review. Many cor- 
 dial messages were exchanged, and it was most gratify- 
 ing for me to know that the good feeling between the 
 two countries had been restored in a measure through 
 the appearance of a splendid fleet which I had the 
 honour to command, for my last visit to this port in a 
 small gunboat had not been as friendly as could be 
 desired. One more South American republic had been 
 afforded an opportunity to see how well prepared we 
 were to enforce the Monroe Doctrine if any one wished 
 to test it. ;^ 
 
 On the afternoon of July 19th the Peruvian cruiser 
 Bolognesi announced by wireless that she had been sent 
 by the President of Peru to meet us and escort us to 
 our anchorage in the harbour of Callao. Our position 
 was made known to her, and after a few hours she 
 joined us, and we anchored in the inner harbour at 8.30 
 
 439 
 
An Admirars Log 
 
 A.M. of the 20th. Messages of courtesy were ex- 
 changed, salutes fired, and official calls were made, 
 when the Peruvians proceeded with an elaborate pro- 
 gramme of entertainment carefully prepared to show 
 their well-known admiration and friendship for the 
 United States. For ten days the officers and men of 
 the fleet were simply swamped with kindness and hos- 
 pitality. I am sure nothing like it was ever before ex- 
 perienced by the ships of any nation. The President of 
 the republic twice visited the fleet, and on the morning 
 of the 27th boarded the Bolognesi and stood out to sea 
 to review us as we passed on our way to the north. 
 Our reception had been all that a most generous and 
 friendly people could give to their neighbours. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 ON THE PACIFIC COAST 
 
 At 8.30 A.M., March 12th, the fleet anchored in 
 Magdalena Bay two days ahead of schedule time and 
 actually in better condition in all respects than when we 
 left Hampton Roads. The long cruise had been of 
 great value to all hands, much had been learned, and 
 most valuable experience gained in many ways. One 
 captain very aptly put it when he called on me and I 
 said to him : 
 
 " Captain, I hope your officers have learned some- 
 thing on the cruise." 
 
 He replied : 
 
 " Thirteen thousand miles at four hundred yards, 
 night and day, including the Straits of Magellan; yes, 
 they have learned a lot ! " 
 
 The moment the anchors were down a large gang 
 of men, under direction of the able and tireless fleet 
 ordnance officer, Lieutenant-Commander McLean, be- 
 gan assembling the rafts and getting the targets ready 
 for use. They were not delayed in their work by any 
 cheering crowds or offers of generous hospitality, for a 
 more desolate, quiet spot it was never my misfortune 
 to visit. There were, it is true, some shacks on shore 
 which offered bad brandy and worse cigars for sale, 
 but we were not in search of these articles and our 
 
 441 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 own supply ships were on hand, and from them we 
 obtained every article necessary for health and com- 
 fort. 
 
 We anchored on Saturday, and on Monday morn- 
 ing the first range was ready, and firing began on that 
 day. Before the end of the week all the ranges were 
 ready and one division of ships was firing. It was 
 hard work day and night, but the men worked willingly 
 and great progress was made. The bay was full of 
 splendid fish, and the shore in many places abounded 
 in wild fowl of various kinds, so that the officers and 
 men who could be spared from duty had fine sport 
 and supplied their tables with a generous amount of 
 fish and game. 
 
 It is, perhaps, a waste of time to surmise what might 
 have been the fate or present condition of Magdalena 
 Bay if the United States had secured it with the rest of 
 California. That it is one of the most admirable bodies 
 of water anywhere in the world for purposes of naval 
 drill, all who have seen it admit, and it is but reasonable 
 to suppose that the gallant naval officer who really gave 
 us California, had he dreamed of a Panama Canal, 
 would have recognised the strategic value of this great 
 bay and secured it for his country. 
 
 With three great naval stations on the Pacific coast 
 — Bremerton, Mare Island, and Magdalena Bay — the 
 control of the commerce of the Pacific would have been 
 more easily assured in case the navy were ever called 
 on to decide the question. The outlook now is that this 
 is one of the questions to be settled by the laws of 
 trade — a question of dollars and cents, so to speak — but 
 business methods are sometimes of such a questionable 
 
 442 
 
At Magdalena Bay 
 
 character that miUtary force is necessary to correct or 
 uphold them. 
 
 Looking forward to the day when ships may pass 
 from ocean to ocean through a canal owned and oper- 
 ated by the United States, it seems only good policy to 
 seek to acquire by purchase this important station. 
 And this should not be difficult, for it is of no value to 
 Mexico, the present owner, for she has no navy to 
 speak of, and it seems impossible to imagine why she 
 should ever create one. 
 
 The lieutenant-governor of the province was on 
 board a small Mexican gunboat anchored in the bay 
 on the occasion of the visit of the fleet. He had come 
 to extend a welcome to us, and he did it in a most 
 hearty and friendly way. When he had dined the flag 
 officers and as many of the captains as could be seated 
 in his limited quarters, a return dinner was given him 
 and his officers, and a few days later he was taken on 
 board a battleship to witness target firing. 
 
 I think he and those with him realised, as did all 
 on the west coast who saw the Atlantic Fleet, that the 
 control of the Pacific and the protection of the coast 
 was absolute so long as this fleet remained. President 
 Roosevelt had made this point very clear to all the 
 world, and I think it was time to do so. 
 
 Among the inhabitants of Man-of-War Cove, Mag- 
 dalena Bay, there was but one American family. The 
 head of the family was in charge of a ranch of some 
 two hundred and fifty thousand acres belonging to an 
 American company. The wife and the daughter were 
 his companions, and certainly showed their devotion by 
 remaining in this lonely, barren spot. All the fresh 
 
 443 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 water used by them had to be brought in breakers a 
 distance of sixty miles by sail boat. For food they 
 had plenty of fresh fish, but the rest of their diet was 
 from tins. News of the outside world is brought in 
 only occasionally. 
 
 Since our ships make frequent visits to the bay, al- 
 ways by permission of the Mexican government, the 
 lot of these good people is not so hard. Any attempt 
 to supply them with anything in the food line, how- 
 ever, is difficult on account of the local custom-house, 
 but I found water and ice on the free list, and I sup- 
 plied them and the few Mexicans on the beach with 
 these luxuries. 
 
 During the stay of the fleet at Magdalena Bay our 
 wireless outfit was severely taxed. We had a very 
 large amount of official matter to be sent to Washing- 
 ton every night, and in addition those representing the 
 various news associations were anxious to get their 
 news through in time for the morning editions of the 
 newspapers. The Point Loma wireless station at San 
 Diego, nine hundred miles away, had to handle all this 
 matter, and it was a severe test of their efficiency, but 
 they accomplished it somehow. From our end of the 
 line we had to divide up the time — so many hours for 
 official business — and then another ship, the Minne- 
 sota or the Kansas, would take hold of the press de- 
 spatches and rush them through. Of course, there was 
 some growling, but as a whole the work was satisfac- 
 torily done. 
 
 While at Magdalena Bay the amount of mail con- 
 cerning the different entertainments for the fleet on the 
 west coast was enormous. The time of arrival and 
 
 444 
 
Arrangement for San Francisco 
 
 stay at each port had been published as soon as word 
 was received from the Department in Washington, and 
 all the different committees from a dozen or more ports 
 wrote to tell just what they intended to do for us and 
 what they wanted us to do for them. Of course, this 
 meant much troublesome working out of details, but 
 fortunately for me I had on my staff some of the ablest 
 officers in the navy — men who could tackle successfully 
 that or any other problem. 
 
 The arrangements to be made for San Francisco 
 were more complicated and difficult than for any other 
 port, so Mr. Frank Symmes, the chairman of the com- 
 mittee on reception of the fleet for that city, came down 
 to Magdalena Bay and spent several days on the Con- 
 necticut. During his visit my chief of staff, Captain 
 IngersoU, and my secretary, Lieutenant-Commander 
 Chandler, went over the whole subject with him and 
 made all arrangements, so that when he went back he 
 was able to report to his people just what was to be 
 done. 
 
 On April loth the fleet left Magdalena Bay for 
 God's country once more. Target practice had been 
 completed, the ships coaled and painted, and every- 
 thing made ready for the wonderful reception await- 
 ing officers and men at the ports of southern Califor- 
 nia. The records showed that every ship in the fleet 
 except one had improved in accuracy and rapidity of 
 fire since the last record practice, proving beyond ques- 
 tion that we could have engaged an enemy any hour 
 after passing the Straits of Magellan with a fair hope 
 of success, notwithstanding our green recruits, most 
 of whom were now strong, handy sailormen. 
 
 445 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 I had been compelled after the target practice to 
 leave the fleet temporarily and seek relief from my 
 sufferings at Paso Robles Hot Springs, Admiral 
 Thomas, as senior officer present, assumed command, 
 and in the most admirable manner conducted the big 
 sixteen up the coast, where they received from the 
 warm-hearted, hospitable people of California and the 
 west the most wonderful reception that has ever been 
 extended to the naval force of any nation. The offi- 
 cers and men of the fleet will never forget and will 
 always recall with gratitude the splendid hospitality ac- 
 corded to them by their warm-hearted countrymen 
 from San Diego to San Francisco. 
 
 On the way to Paso Robles, General Chaffee and a 
 committee of citizens from Los Angeles boarded the 
 train and talked over arrangements for the reception 
 of the fleet at that port. I gave orders for the Yank- 
 ton to be placed at the disposal of the general and his 
 friends when the fleet was sighted off San Diego, so 
 he could consult in comfort with Admiral Thomas and 
 arrange all details. This plan was carried out, and 
 the perfect manner of the reception in all its wonder- 
 ful details was but the natural result of the labours of 
 two such remarkable men as Thomas and Chaffee. The 
 mere mention of Chaffee's name with any enterprise 
 is a guarantee of its success, and we all know what 
 Charley Thomas was. 
 
 From my beautiful apartment at the Hot Springs I 
 was in direct communication by wire and telephone 
 with Admiral Thomas as soon as he arrived at San 
 Diego, on the afternoon of April 14th. Able surgeons, 
 professional skill, loving hearts, and willing hands did 
 
 446 
 
In Southern California 
 
 all that could be done to bring me back to health, 
 so that I might be present when the fleet arrived, 
 but the damage was too severe to be repaired in 
 so short a time, and I was reluctantly forced to give 
 it up. 
 
 Admiral Thomas received for me the beautiful jew- 
 elled box containing the key to the city gates and the 
 freedom of the city, and also the sword presented by 
 the Grand Army posts of southern California and the 
 Morgan Post Confederate Veterans. God bless you, 
 old white heads! That sword will make me feel a lit- 
 tle moist about the eyes as long as I live. 
 
 Governor Gillett, with his full staff, received Ad- 
 miral Thomas at San Diego and extended to the fleet 
 the official welcome of the State of California. The 
 people of all classes offered the unofficial welcome, and 
 that it came from the hearts of a loving, patriotic peo- 
 ple no one for a moment could doubt. 
 
 Officers and men alike felt that once more they 
 were among their own people, and however grand and 
 hospitable our reception had been in foreign ports, this, 
 after all, was the true home-coming. The stay of the 
 fleet at San Diego was for only four days, but during 
 that time hundreds of thousands of people had an opv- 
 portunity to see the ships and the men who manned 
 them. 
 
 On April i8th the sixteen white ships anchored 
 within striking distance of Los Angeles, the first di- 
 vision at San Pedro, the second at Long Beach, the 
 third at Santa Monica, and the fourth at Redondo. 
 
 The good people of Los Angeles did not ask the 
 men to parade on shore, but they said, " Come and see 
 
 447 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 us and let us entertain you ! " The men went — three 
 thousand five hundred of them every day — and this 
 number sat down to most excellent and wonderful din- 
 ners. Five thousand pounds of stall-fed beef, barbe- 
 cued and served with chile con came; five hundred 
 pounds of Spanish beans, three hundred pounds of 
 fresh butter, hot rolls by the thousand, and two splen- 
 did navel oranges for each man! This was one of the 
 things Los Angeles did for the men of the fleet, and 
 the ladies of the city served the meals. 
 
 On the 5th of May I rejoined the fleet, and had the 
 honour and pleasure of leading it through the Golden 
 Gate on the following day. Two new battleships 
 joined off the lightship on the night of the 5th, so that 
 the fleet consisted of eighteen battleships, besides the 
 flotilla of destroyers and the auxiliaries, when we 
 steamed to our anchorage in the beautiful harbour of 
 San Francisco. Words cannot describe the wonderful 
 sight when this fleet was joined by the ships of the 
 Pacific Fleet, under Admiral Dayton, and the whole 
 force stood up the harbour, made a long, graceful turn, 
 and anchored in line of squadron. 
 
 On the 7th of May I was able to ride in the parade 
 through the streets of San Francisco, escorted by the 
 Salt Lake City high-school cadets, who had come a 
 long distance to do me that honour. The cheering 
 crowds, composed of hundreds of thousands of people 
 from the country west of the Rocky Mountains, were 
 most enthusiastic in their welcome and did everything 
 in their power to show their appreciation of the men 
 who had come fourteen thousand miles to assure them 
 that they were part of the United States and would 
 
 448 
 
In San Francisco 
 
 receive the same protection in case of necessity as the 
 people of the east. 
 
 The doctors decided for me that I must relinquish 
 my great command, and on May 9th my flag came 
 down, and Rear-Admiral C. M. Thomas took my place. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 ON THE RETIRED LIST 
 
 The great fleet committed to my care had safely 
 completed the first stage of its wonderful journey, and 
 would complete the rest of it just as well without me 
 as with me in command, but to say that I was content 
 to leave it would not be telling the truth. That I had 
 to relinquish command was one of the sorest disap- 
 pointments of my life, and it was only at the urgent 
 advice of the doctors that I did so. They warned me 
 that if I continued in active service I would probably 
 lose my life. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt had told me at Hampton Roads that 
 I was to continue in command until the fleet returned 
 to an Atlantic port. When it was impossible for me to 
 do so, the following letter from him gave me great 
 comfort: 
 
 The White House, 
 Washington, March 23, 1908. 
 My dear Admiral : 
 
 It is with very great regret that, at your own re- 
 quest, I relieve you from command. You have now 
 practically finished your active service in the United 
 States Navy, and you have brought your long and 
 honourable career, identified to a peculiar degree with 
 the whole history of the Navy, to a close by an achieve- 
 ment which marks the entrance of the United States 
 
 450 
 
The President's Congratulations 
 
 into the rank of naval powers of the first-class. In your 
 early youth, as a young officer, you won a reputation 
 for sig-nal gallantry in the Civil War. You have closed 
 your career by conducting a great battle fleet from the 
 North Atlantic to the North Pacific in a manner which 
 has shown you to be a master of your profession. The 
 fleet comes to San Francisco in better shape than when 
 it left Hampton Roads — better fit for service in every 
 way; and the officers and men owe no small part of 
 their improvement in their profession to the mastery 
 of your profession which your handling of the fleet has 
 shown. 
 
 With thanks, congratulations, and good wishes, be- 
 lieve me, 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 Theodore Roosevelt. 
 Rear-Admiral Robley D. Evans, U. S. N., 
 Commander-in-Chief North Atlantic Fleet, 
 Care Navy Department. 
 
 The officials of the Southern Pacific Railroad Com- 
 pany and the officers of the San Francisco reception 
 committee arranged for my transportation to my home, 
 and the trip east was made with great comfort. My 
 wife, one of my daughters, my son, and three members 
 of my staff accompanied me, and the car was furnished 
 with every luxury. The faithful surgeon, McDonald, 
 who had cared for me on the cruise, was still with me, 
 and did all that medical skill could do to relieve my 
 suffering. When the train had started from Oakland 
 I was told of the death of my only grandson, Robley 
 Evans Sewall, son of my daughter Virginia, wife of 
 Mr. Harold Sewall, of Boston. My namesake had 
 been dead a week, and yet not a word or intimation of 
 the sad news had been allowed to reach me because of 
 
 451 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 the work I had to do and for fear of its effect on me. 
 How those about me managed to keep every mention 
 of the child's death out of the newspapers, and above 
 all how they kept smiling faces for me when • their 
 hearts were breaking, may not be told here. When the 
 cruel blow came the blue all went out of my sky, and it 
 was my turn to face with a smile the crowds that 
 cheered me on my way. That the precious young life 
 around which so many hopes centred should be taken 
 is one of those mysteries which may be solved in the 
 world to come; certainly it never can be in this. 
 
 At every station where the train stopped, in the 
 daytime or early evening, the people gathered to wish 
 me a speedy recovery and thank me for what I had 
 done in taking the fleet on its long cruise. In many 
 places I found that the public schools had given a holi- 
 day, so that the children might have an opportunity to 
 see me, and they were certainly an attractive sight as 
 they gathered about my car. The bright young faces 
 made my heart glad, but the most impressive thing of 
 all was the fact that in every case they carried the flag 
 of their country and seemed to feel the importance and 
 dignity of doing so. All of these young people had 
 made the mistake of giving too much credit to one man 
 for the cruise of the Atlantic Fleet, and the same mis- 
 take had been generally made by all the people. I did 
 what I could to correct this by telling them, whenever 
 I could, that one man, no matter how able and willing 
 he might be, could not take one battleship anywhere, 
 much less could he take sixteen ; that it had required 
 the best efifort of fifteen thousand officers and men to 
 bring the fleet safely from Hampton Roads to San 
 
 452 
 
The Enthusiasm of the West 
 
 Francisco, and that every one of them should have due 
 credit for his work. 
 
 As we passed through the middle west the enthusi- 
 asm of the people was very marked, but as we came 
 through the eastern states this gradually diminished 
 until we reached Baltimore, where it was nothing. 
 This was the natural result of circumstances. In the 
 east naval officers and battleships are seen every day, 
 and their comings and goings make little, if any, im- 
 pression, but in the west this is not the case, and the 
 movement of the fleet from ocean to ocean meant much 
 more to the people of the country west of the Rocky 
 Mountains than it did to those east of them. The peo- 
 ple of the Pacific coast states had been greatly dis- 
 turbed by the rumours of war with Japan, and these 
 foolish rumours had spread and carried their disturb- 
 ing effects to the whole country west of the Mississippi. 
 When the fleet had passed the Straits of Magellan these 
 rumours died at once, and when the people actually 
 saw the ships and the splendid men who were ready to 
 defend all Americans at any moment, they felt that we 
 had saved them from a great danger, and they were 
 enthusiastically grateful for it. The people of the east- 
 ern states had no occasion for such a feeling, because 
 no such danger, real or imaginary, ever threatened 
 them. 
 
 The enthusiasm of the people of the Pacific coast 
 was caused by many things combined, but the chief rea- 
 son for it was, I think, that they fully realised for the 
 first time that they were as much a part of the United 
 States as was any other section of the country, and that 
 the power of a great government would, when neces- 
 30 453 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 sary, be exerted in their behalf. The feeling of broth- 
 erhood which this brought caused them to swell with 
 patriotism and to cheer for the men who wore the 
 national uniform. 
 
 As a matter of fact, there was serious danger of 
 trouble with Japan until the President took the positive 
 action he did to control the threatened legislative action 
 of some of the Pacific coast states. Japan would never, 
 in my opinion, have declared war on us until every 
 peaceful means had been exhausted to redress the 
 wrongs complained of by her citizens, but that she had 
 strong provocation no reasonable man can deny. 
 While the people of California have a right, which no 
 one can question, to regulate their schools as they see 
 fit, it must at the same time be evident that they have 
 not the right to do anything that will interfere with 
 the treaty rights given the Japanese by the United 
 States government, and this is just what was threat- 
 ened, if not actually done. Few foreign governments, 
 or I should say the people of few foreign countries, un- 
 derstand our state rights under the general govern- 
 ment. This was clearly shown a few years ago when 
 a number of Italian citizens were executed in New Or- 
 leans. Sooner or later this same thing will cause seri- 
 ous trouble with Japan unless the rights of her citizens 
 are more carefully observed in our western states. A 
 proud and sensitive nation, flushed with victory in one 
 of the most remarkable wars of modern times, cannot 
 be expected to have her citizens classed as inferior 
 to those of other countries and treated as such. Yet 
 this is what was proposed to be done on the Pacific 
 coast. 
 
 454 
 
Trade Problems of the Pacific 
 
 If we as a nation are prepared to take the conse- 
 quences, the surest remedy for the threatened trouble 
 would be to forbid the entry of any Japanese into the 
 United States, but this would be such a barbarous out- 
 rage toward a people for whom we are in such a 
 marked way responsible that I think no one will enter- 
 tain the idea for a moment. Our relations with Japan 
 have always been so friendly and our commerce with 
 her so important that some other remedy must be 
 found. We must not demand from her any rights for 
 our citizens which we are not in turn willing to accord 
 to hers. We always face a commercial struggle with 
 her, as well as with others, for the control of the trade 
 of the Pacific, and this contest will grow more and 
 more bitter as time goes on. When the Congress of 
 the United States grants a subsidy to American mer- 
 chant ships, which it certainly must do some day, and 
 American vessels begin to compete with the subsidised 
 ships of other nations for the trade of the Pacific, the 
 situation with Japan will become delicate and acute, 
 and it will require real statesmanship on both sides to 
 prevent serious trouble. It seems to be the general 
 feeling that friction with Japan alone is probable over 
 the question of trade control in the Pacific, but this 
 does not seem reasonable to me. The Germans are 
 making tremendous efforts to increase their carrying 
 trade, not only in the waters bordering their own coun- 
 try, but all over the world, and in considering the 
 trade problems of the Pacific we must remember that 
 Germany has two colonies in that ocean — one at Samoa 
 and the other in the Caroline Islands — and that the ad- 
 vantage she thus has will not be abandoned without a 
 
 45S 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 bitter struggle. Friction with her is, therefore, quite 
 as likely as with Japan. 
 
 After a comfortable passage across the continent I 
 arrived at my home in Washington, where the doctors 
 took a look at me and decided that I should go on leave 
 for a few months to regain my health. I had lived too 
 long in a steel box, and it would take time to restore 
 what I had lost. Lake Mohonk, in New York State, 
 seemed to offer just what I was looking for — rest, 
 quiet, and good bracing air. When my leave had been 
 granted I made my plan to spend the summer in that 
 delightful place. 
 
 I called on the President to pay my respects, and 
 was most cordially greeted. Mr. Roosevelt assured me 
 that he had done everything in his power to have me 
 made a vice-admiral, but that he had failed because of 
 the opposition of two members of the Senate naval com- 
 mittee. I assured him that, while I should have con- 
 sidered it a great honour to be commissioned a vice- 
 admiral, I was not disappointed at not securing the 
 honour, as I had never expected it. There had been 
 much talk before I sailed from Hampton Roads that I 
 would be advanced in rank before reaching San Fran- 
 cisco, but I knew the members of the Senate naval 
 committee, at least some of them, and I knew also the 
 peculiar influence that would prevent the creation of 
 the grade of vice-admiral, and I felt confident that the 
 honour would never come to me. Therefore I was not 
 surprised that the efforts of the President had failed. 
 
 Admiral Dewey thought that I might be of service 
 in connection with the general board, and I was ac- 
 cordingly ordered to that duty, where I served until 
 
 456 
 
August 1 8th, 1909 
 
 my leave was granted, when I left Washington and 
 spent the summer at Lake Mohonk. As the time for 
 my retirement drew near — August i8th — the guests of 
 the Lake Mohonk Mountain House decided to present 
 me with a loving cup, which was done with touching 
 ceremonies, I was profoundly touched by this expres- 
 sion of feeling on the part of so many of my country- 
 men, and in my leisure moments on the retired list I 
 shall recall with pleasure their kindly words of ap- 
 proval. 
 
 In the meantime I shall always hold myself in read- 
 iness to serve my country, should the occasion arise, 
 either on the retired list or again in active service if 
 that should be demanded of me. For forty-eight years 
 my life has been at the call of the flag I love, and it will 
 remain so as long as I live. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Aguinaldo, 206. 
 Alexieff, Admiral, 159. 
 Alligator pears, 93. 
 American flag in Pekin, 257. 
 American-China Development Com- 
 pany, 191. 
 Americanism in Boston and the West , 
 
 63- 
 Americans, attitude of Filipinos 
 
 toward, 222. 
 in the navy, 345. 
 Amoy, regatta at, 200. 
 Annapolis, Prince Henry in, 72. 
 Annapolis, the, strikes a reef, 218. 
 Arethusa, water ship on Pacific 
 
 cruise, 410. 
 Argentine cruisers meet Pacific Fleet, 
 
 432- 
 
 Argyle, race in Hampton Roads won 
 by, 361. 
 
 Army and Navy Club at Manila, 301. 
 
 Asiatic station. Admiral Evans as- 
 sumes command of, 195. 
 
 Barker, Rear-Admiral, relieved of 
 his command, 317. 
 
 Barnstable, trouble at, 349. 
 
 Battenberg, Prince Louis of. See 
 Prince Louis of Batten- 
 berg. 
 
 Battenberg cup, name of Argyle in- 
 scribed on, 361. 
 
 Battenberg cup, presented to Amer- 
 ican squadron, 361. 
 raced for, 365. 
 
 Battle practice, 396. 
 
 Battle target practice, 400. 
 
 Baudissin, Admiral Count, 280. 
 
 Bishop of Virginia, 385. 
 
 Bliss Company of Brooklyn, 323. 
 
 Boyd, Mr., 27. 
 
 Boynton, General, 47. 
 
 Bridge, Vice-Admiral Sir Cyprian 
 A. C, 202. 
 
 Bristol, Lieutenant - Commander 
 Mark, 318, 323. 
 
 Britannia at Coney Island, 357. 
 
 Brittain, Lieutenant - Commander 
 Carlos B., 131, 132, 135, 144, 
 318, 382. 
 
 Brownson, Rear-Admiral, 354, 363, 
 
 413- 
 
 Buck, Mr., 107. 
 
 Buenos Ayres, visited by torpedo- 
 boat flotilla, 431. 
 
 Bunce, Rear-Admiral Francis M., 
 129, 130. 
 
 Bungao, 238. 
 
 Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, 
 408. 
 
 Cambridge, Prince Henry at, 60. 
 Camp Vickars, 229. 
 ' Canton-Hankow railway, 192. 
 
 459 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Cape Cod Bay, target range in, 347, 
 
 352- 
 Cape Cruz, 335. 
 
 target range at, 337. 
 Cape Henry, 353. 
 Carter, Governor, 292. 
 Cava cava, 15. 
 Cavite, 205. 
 
 case of contractor in, 226. 
 Chacabuco, as escort to Pacific Fleet, 
 
 437- 
 dinners on board, in honour of 
 
 Pacific Fleet, 435. 
 meets Pacific Fleet off Punta 
 Arenas, 433. 
 Chandler, Lieutenant - Commander 
 
 Lloyd, 382, 445. 
 Chapin, Lieutenant, 84, 132,135, 144. 
 Chattanooga, Prince Henry at, 47. 
 Chefoo, 140. 
 survey at, 270. 
 target practice at, 269. 
 typhoon at, 271. 
 Chemulpo, a neutral port, 306. 
 
 invitation for squadron to visit, 158. 
 Cheng-Chi-Tung, 186, 263, 264. 
 
 during Boxer War, 186. 
 Chesapeake Bay, defence of, 100. 
 Chicago, Prince Henry in, 50. 
 ball and reception to, 53. 
 China Inland Mission School, Asiat- 
 ic cholera in, 142. 
 Chinese crew of the Gaelic, 87. 
 Cholera in the Philippines, 208. 
 Christians, over-zealous, 350, 
 Christmas, in the West Indies, 331. 
 
 observed by Pacific Fleet, 417. 
 Chung, Prince, 263. 
 Coal mines in China, 118. 
 Coast defences, lack of, in United 
 States, loi. 
 
 Collins, Captain, in Civil War, 278. 
 Colombo, coaling at, 308. 
 
 jewel shops in, 309. 
 Columbia at Coney Island, 357. 
 Coney Island, health of King of 
 England drunk at, 358. 
 health of President of United 
 
 States drunk at, 358. 
 men of English squadron enter- 
 tained at, 357. 
 Conger, Mr., 265. 
 
 dinner given by, 263. 
 Connecticut, dinners on, 3S8. 
 Constantinople, 116. 
 Converse, Rear-Admiral, 30, 393. 
 Cooper, Rear-Admiral, assumes com- 
 mand of station at Manila^ 
 
 307- 
 in command of cruiser division, 
 
 279, 286. 
 sent to Shanghai, 303. 
 Couden, Captain, 198, 216. 
 Crosley, Lieutenant, 318. 
 Crown Prince of Korea, 166. 
 Culebra, 329, 340, 341. 
 
 advantages of, 330. 
 Customs collector at Honolulu, 288. 
 Customs department, annoyances 
 from, 225. 
 energy of, 225. 
 
 Dalny, 116, 159. 
 
 civil governor of, 160. 
 
 military governor of, 160. 
 
 visionary scheme of, 161. 
 Dancing girls in Korea, 167. 
 d'Arco Valley, Count, 106. 
 Davis, General George W., 220, 299. 
 Davis, Rear-Admiral C. H., 331, 339. 
 at Kingston, 368, 369. 
 sent to Kingston, 367. 
 
 460 
 
Index 
 
 Desino, General, 268. 
 Deutscher Verein, ^^. 
 Deutschland, 76. 
 
 Prince Henry's farewell dinner on, 
 
 79- 
 Dewey, Admiral, 456. 
 Dinner uniform, order for, 199. 
 Drake, ball given on, 360. 
 Drills at Kobe, 280. 
 in Subig Bay, 213. 
 Duckshooting in Japan, 283. 
 Duke of Abruzzi, reception given by, 
 
 389. 
 
 Emperor of Germany, action of, in 
 the East, 117. 
 
 and Prince Henry's reception in 
 United States, 78. 
 Emperor of Japan, 105, 107. 
 Emperor of Korea, 165. 
 Empress Dowager of China, 255. 
 
 audience with, 260, 261. 
 
 gifts from, 273. 
 Empress of Japan, 109. 
 English Naval Reserve, officers of, 
 
 88. 
 English squadron at Annapolis, 354. 
 Erie, grape cultivation about, 57. 
 Erin, 312. 
 Evans, Lieutenant F. T., 84, 201. 
 
 Filipinos, attitude of, toward Ameri- 
 cans, 222. 
 
 distrust of, toward Americans, 221, 
 
 in church matters, 299. 
 Finch, Captain, 87. 
 Firemen on Pacific Fleet, 423. 
 Fish, preparation of, in Hawaii, 92. 
 Formosa, 202. 
 Fort Vickars, 230. 
 Fowler, Mr., 141. 
 
 France, President of, 312. 
 Francis, Governor, 44. 
 Fruits of Hawaiian Islands, 92. 
 Fusan, 168. 
 
 Gaelic, the, of the O. and O. Com- 
 pany, 86. 
 ofiicers of, 88. 
 
 German consideration for Americans, 
 279. 
 
 German missionary, murder of, 114. 
 
 German navy, changing of crews in, 
 121. 
 
 German troops in China, 250. 
 
 Germany, Emperor of. See Em- 
 peror of Germany. 
 
 Gherardi, Lieutenant W. R., 355. 
 
 Gibraltar, 314. 
 
 Gillett, Governor, receives Admiral 
 Thomas at San Diego, 447. 
 
 Graeme, Lieutenant, 374. 
 
 Grant, General F. D., at James- 
 town Exposition, 384. 
 
 Grape cultivation about Erie, 57. 
 
 Guam, governor of, 297. 
 harbour at, 296. 
 inhabitants of, 297. 
 
 Guantanamo, 332, 340, 341. 
 
 Guavas, 93. 
 
 Guest, Past Assistant Surgeon, 143. 
 
 Guidi, Monsignore, 299. 
 
 Gun sights, open bar, 126. 
 
 Hai Chi, 137. 
 Hakodate, 175. 
 
 historical interest of, 176. 
 Hampton Institute, singers from, 70. 
 Hampton Roads, 381. 
 Hankow, 182. 
 Harrison, Mayor, 52. 
 Hart, Dr., iSg. 
 
 461 
 
An Admiral's Logf 
 
 o 
 
 Harvard University, 60. 
 Hawaii, labour problem in, 20. 
 preparation of fish in, 92. 
 sugar industry in, 22. 
 Hawaiian Islands, fruits of, 92. 
 
 trip to, 89. 
 Hay, John, Secretary of State, 83. 
 
 in Villalobos affair, 278. 
 Helena, the, 182, 203, 247. 
 at Newchwang, 302, 303. 
 relieved from her position at 
 Newchwang, 304. 
 Hohenzollem, arrival of, in New 
 
 York harbour, 30. 
 Hong Kong, 242. 
 
 fortification of, 115. 
 Honolulu, 90. 
 
 departure of Asiatic Squadron 
 
 from, 293. 
 hospitality in, 94, 292. 
 orders to, 281. 
 Hudgins, Lieutenant, death of, 374. 
 Hughes, Commander, 217, 218. 
 Huntington, Rev. Mr., 184. 
 
 Ichang, 184. 
 
 IngersoU, Capt. R. R., 191, 393. 
 
 Inspector of a district, 80. 
 
 Insurrectos, 206. 
 
 Iron Steamboat Company, 357. 
 
 Jackson, Sir Henry, 417. 
 Jamestown Exposition, arrival of 
 visiting fleets at, 383. 
 
 opening of, 384. 
 
 preparation for, 380. 
 
 progress of, 387. 
 Japan, Emperor of, 105, 107. 
 
 Empress of, 109. 
 Japanese crews, 103. 
 Japanese labour, 21. 
 
 Japanese thoroughness, 176. 
 Japanese torpedo boats, attack of, 
 
 on Russian fleet, 306. 
 Jesselton, 240. 
 J0I6, 236. 
 Jones, John Paul, remains of, 
 
 brought to America, 353. 
 
 Kandy, a trip to, 308. 
 Kaneko, Baron, 283. 
 Karmany, Major, 207, 212. 
 Kearsarge, accident on, 372. 
 Kennedy, Captain Duncan, 371. 
 Kentucky, people of, 48. 
 Kentucky, the, 113, 131, 134, 135, 
 138, 247. 
 
 firing from, 214. 
 
 visited by King of Italy, 312. 
 Kingston, earthquake at, 366. 
 Kioto, 245. 
 Kobe, drills at, 280. 
 Korea, Crown Prince of, 165. 
 
 Emperor of, 165. 
 Koritz, burning of, 306. 
 
 "Laais," 93. 
 
 Labour problem in Hawaii, 20. 
 
 Lake Linao, 231. 
 
 Langley, Mr., 181. 
 
 Lighthouse Board, 316. 
 
 part of Treasury Department, 81. 
 Lincoln, Abraham, 52. 
 Lipton, Sir Thomas, 308. 
 Loeb, Secretary, 413. 
 Low, Mayor Seth, 32, 38, 70. 
 Lui-Kun-Yu, death of, 186. 
 
 Mackaroff, 175. 
 Madeira, coaling at, 314. 
 Magdalena Bay, mail received at, 
 444. 
 strategic value of, 442. 
 462 
 
Index 
 
 Maine, the, as flagship, 320. 
 
 consumption of coal by, 422. 
 in the North River, 356. 
 
 Malabang, 234. 
 army post at, 229. 
 
 Malacca, Straits of, torpedo-boat 
 destroyers in, 307. 
 
 Manila, American flag in, 206. 
 conditions in, 20S. 
 trip to, from Guam, 298. 
 
 Manila Bay, 210, 340. 
 
 Manzanillo, 336. 
 
 Mar^chal, Admiral, 142, 172. 
 
 Marines at the siege of Pekin, 254. 
 
 Marsh, Lieutenant-Commander, 180. 
 
 Martino, 313. 
 
 Mason, Rear-Admiral, 323. 
 
 Massampho, 168. 
 
 Mayflower, leads fleet out of Hamp- 
 ton Roads, 414. 
 
 McLean, Lieutenant - Commander 
 Ridley, 131, 132, 135, 144, 
 157. 318, 441. 
 
 Menemsha Bight, target practice in, 
 346. 
 
 Merritt, Assistant Paymaster William 
 A, 158. 
 
 Messina, 310. 
 
 Metcalf, Secretary of Lighthouse 
 Board, 316. 
 
 Meteor, the, launching of, 36. 
 
 Milwaukee, breweries of, 56. 
 Prince Henry in, 55. 
 
 Ministers, attitude of, toward Sun- 
 day recreation, 350. 
 
 Missouri, the, at Guantanamo, 
 
 334. 
 Monocacy, the, 155. 
 Morgan, J. P., 69. 
 Moros, trouble with, 219. 
 vitality of, 235. 
 
 Morton, Mr. Paul, Secretary of 
 
 the Navy, 317. 
 Miinsterberg, Professor, 61. 
 
 Nagasaki, 169. 
 
 repairs at, 279. 
 
 Russian squadron at, 243. 
 Nagoya, 245. 
 Nanking, 189. 
 
 harbour of, 190. 
 Naval Academy, entertainment of 
 English squadron at, 356. 
 
 remains of John Paul Jones taken 
 
 to, 353- 
 Naval officers, government provision 
 
 for, 407. 
 Naval Secretary of Lighthouse 
 
 Board, 80. 
 Navy yards, conditions in, 402. 
 Neptune visits Pacific Fleet, 419. 
 New Orleans, the, 112, 113, 135. 
 firing from, 214. 
 inspection of, 134. 
 New York City, reception of English 
 
 squadron by, 356. 
 Newberry, Assistant Secretary of the 
 
 Navy, 402. 
 Newchwang, gunboat at, 153, 303. 
 Niagara Falls, Prince Henry at, 
 
 57- 
 Ninth Infantry at Pekin, 254. 
 North Borneo, 239. 
 Northern Squadron proceeds to 
 
 Amoy, 196. 
 
 Oliva, Admiral, 432. 
 Olongapo, 340. 
 
 coal depot at, 302. 
 
 importance of, 301. 
 Oneida, United States sloop-of-war, 
 99. 
 
 463 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Oregon, the, 268. 
 Oyama, General, no. 
 
 Pacific cruise, consultation on, 394. 
 
 illness on, 415. 
 
 preparations for, 395. 
 
 publicly announced, 393. 
 
 route of, 394. 
 
 rumours of, 392. 
 
 start of, 415. 
 
 supplies for, 406. 
 Pacific Fleet, anchored near Los 
 Angeles, 447. 
 
 at Port-of-Spain, 417. 
 
 behaviour of men of, 418. 
 
 at Punta Arenas, 433. 
 
 at Rio de Janeiro, 428. 
 
 at San Diego, 447. 
 
 freedom of city given to, 447. 
 
 at the "Line," 419. 
 
 at Valparaiso, 438. 
 
 at West Indies, 416. 
 
 Christmas observed by, 417. 
 
 departure of, from Rio de Janeiro, 
 
 431- 
 
 firemen on, 423. 
 
 in harbour of San Francisco, 448. 
 
 in Magdalena Bay, 441. 
 
 welcomed by lieutenant - gov- 
 ernor, 443. 
 
 invited to visit Valparaiso, 437. 
 
 mail received by, at Rio de Janeiro, 
 
 430- 
 met by Argentine cruisers, 432. 
 passes through Straits of Magellan, 
 
 436- 
 reception of, at Los Angeles, 446. 
 
 by Peruvians, 439, 440. 
 reviewed by President of Chile, 
 
 439- 
 by President Penna, 431. 
 
 Pacific Fleet, visited by Father Nep- 
 tune, 419. 
 Pago Pago, II, 24. 
 Palace Hotel, San Francisco, 86. 
 Panama Canal, 282. 
 Papaya, 93. 
 Pearl Harbour, 23, 
 Pekin, 252. 
 
 American flag in, 257. 
 
 gate of, 258. 
 
 looting of, 257. 
 
 siege of, 255. 
 Penna, President, reviews Pacific 
 
 Fleet, 431. 
 Pensacola, squadron leaves, 325. 
 
 target practice at, 319. 
 Pershing, Captain, 232. 
 Philadelphia, Prince Henry in, 72. 
 Pigeon Cove, mines in, 269, 
 Pillsbury, Captain J. E., 318, 347, 
 
 393- 
 chart of Hampton Roads pre- 
 pared by, 382. 
 
 "Ping-pong machine," 133, 134, 199. 
 
 Plessen, General von, 47. 
 
 Plover, 96. 
 
 Point Loma wireless station, 444. 
 
 Poles in Chicago packing houses, 
 
 54- 
 Port Arthur, 115, 159. 
 defences of, 269. 
 hostilities at, 306. 
 Poyang Lake district, trouble for 
 merchants and missionaries 
 
 in, 275- 
 President of France, 312. 
 President Rooseveh, 81, in. 
 
 at Jamestown Exposition, 384, 
 
 386. 
 at target practice, 376, 377. 
 congratulates Admiral Evans, 450. 
 
 464 
 
Index 
 
 President Roosevelt, desire of, to 
 see Admiral Evans made vice- 
 admiral, 456. 
 determination of, 393. 
 dines with crew of the Missouri, 
 
 379- 
 message from Japanese minister 
 
 to, 282. 
 reviews fleet before it starts on 
 
 Pacific cruise, 412. 
 Press Qub, Prince Henry the guest 
 
 of, 69. 
 Prince David, 91. 
 Prince Henr>' of Prussia, arrival of, 
 
 in New York, 30. 
 at Annapolis, 72. 
 at Cambridge, 60. 
 at Chattanooga, 47. 
 at Lincoln's tomb, 52. 
 at Niagara Falls, 57. 
 at the University Club, 67. 
 at West Point, 72. 
 entertained by Admiral Evans, 76. 
 farewell dinner of, 79. 
 freedom of the city of New York 
 
 presented to, 37, 38. 
 guest of the Press Club, 69. 
 in Chicago, 50. 
 in China, 117. 
 in Milwaukee, 55. 
 in Philadelphia, 72. 
 in St. Louis, 44. 
 in the West, 41. 
 
 meeting of, with President Roose- 
 velt, 34. 
 reception of, by German societies, 
 
 33- 
 
 visit of, to Congress, 35. 
 Prince Louis of Battenberg, 354. 
 
 and the dentist, 360. 
 Princess Irene in China, 117. 
 
 Punta Arenas, description of, 434. 
 growth of, 435. 
 
 Railroad from Canton to Hankow, 
 
 192. 
 to Tientsin, 248. 
 Rainmaker, 11. 
 Rajah Brooke, 241. 
 Red Sea, 310. 
 Regatta at Amoy, 200. 
 Regina Margarita, the, 312. 
 Repair ship to accompany fleet on 
 
 Pacific cruise, 409. 
 Repairs to ships, 326. 
 Rifle ranges at Tsingtao, 120. 
 Rodgers, Rear-Admiral Frederick, 
 
 82, 104. 
 Roosevelt, Miss Alice, christening of 
 
 Meteor by, 36. 
 Roosevelt, President. See President 
 
 Roosevelt. 
 Rose, Mayor, 55. 
 Russian fleet, attacked by Japanese 
 
 torpedo boats, 306. 
 Russian forces in Manchuria, report 
 
 on, 266. 
 Russian -French Alliance, 174. 
 
 Sah, Captain, 137. 
 
 St. Louis, Prince Henry in, 44. 
 
 Samoa, natives of, 12. 
 
 warriors of, 15. 
 Sampson, Admiral, plan of mounting 
 
 guns devised by, 141. 
 Sampson-Schley controversy, court 
 of inquiry in, 2. 
 opinion of, 3. 
 recommendation of, 5. 
 Sandaken, 239, 240, 241. 
 San Francisco earthquake, 338. 
 Schwab, Charles M., 69. 
 
 465 
 
An Admiral's Log 
 
 Scott, Admiral Sir Percy, 136. 
 Sears, Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery, 
 
 64. 
 Seoul, 163. 
 "Shameen," 203. 
 Shanghai, 303. 
 Shaw memorial tablet, 62. 
 Siassi, 237. 
 
 Sigsbee, Admiral, 354. 
 Simpson, Admiral, dinner given by, 
 
 to ofi&cers of Pacific Fleet, 435. 
 
 Pacific Fleet welcomed by, 434. 
 
 Sims, Lieutenant William S., 136, 
 
 137- 
 
 Singapore, 241, 242. 
 
 Skrydloff, Admiral, 172, 175. 
 
 Smythe's Channel, survey of, 436. 
 
 Sperry, Rear-Admiral C. S., 134. 
 
 Stark, Admiral, 173. 
 
 State House of Massachusetts, 62. 
 
 Steamship trafiSc in the Pacific, 
 103. 
 
 Sterling, Rear-Admiral Yates, suc- 
 ceeds to command of cruiser 
 division, 307. 
 
 Stockton, Captain, 211. 
 
 Subig Bay, practice drills in, 210. 
 
 Subsidy to American merchant ships, 
 
 455- 
 
 Sugar industry in Hawaii, 22. 
 
 Sunday recreation, 349. 
 
 attitude of Massachusetts legisla- 
 ture toward, 351. 
 
 Swettenham, Governor, 367. 
 
 Taft, Governor, 207, 299. 
 
 ability of, 224. 
 Taku, gunboat maintained at, 153. 
 Taku bar, 247. 
 
 Target practice at Chefoo, 269. 
 at Guantanamo, 333. 
 
 Target practice, in Magdalena Bay, 
 441. 
 won by North Atlantic Squadron, 
 
 371- 
 Target range at Cape Cruz, 337. 
 
 in Cape Cod Bay, 347, 352. 
 Taussig, Commander, 294. 
 Tawi-Tawi Islands, 220, 237. 
 Thomas, Admiral, 428, 446. 
 Tientsin, 248. 
 
 Tirpitz, Admiral von, 42, 68. 
 Togo, Admiral, 169. 
 Torpedo-boat test, 214, 215. 
 Torpedo practice, order for, 197. 
 Trade problems of the Pacific, 
 
 455- 
 Trans-Siberian Railroad, 162. 
 Tsingtao, 113, 117. 
 Typhoon at Chefoo, 271. 
 
 United States Marine Corps, 206. 
 University Club, Prince Henry at, 
 
 67. 
 Prince Henry entertained by 
 
 Admiral Evans at, 76. 
 University men of America, 68. 
 
 Variag, the, in Japanese-Russian 
 War, 305. 
 sinking of, 306. 
 Viceroy at Canton, 204. 
 Vicksburg, the, at Chemulpo, 302. 
 Villalobos, the, in Poyang Lake dis- 
 trict, 275. 
 report to Navy Department con- 
 cerning, 277. 
 Vladivostock, 115, 170. 
 
 reception of squadron at, 170. 
 
 Wakes Island, 293. 
 Wallace, Colonel, 237. 
 466 
 
 ^*JL 151949 
 
Index 
 
 War College, 326. 
 
 plans of, tested, 370. 
 Washington, Booker T., 70, 233. 
 West Indies, trip to, 328. 
 West Point, Prince Henry at, 72. 
 Whipple, the, at Kingston, 367. 
 "White Messengers of Peace," 427. 
 Wilkes, Captain, in Civil War, 
 
 278. 
 Wilkie, Chief, of Secret Service, 
 
 28. 
 Wireless message off Cape Virgin, 
 
 433- 
 Wireless messages to and from Ar- 
 gentine Republic, 432. 
 
 Wives of officers, 271. 
 Wuchang, 185. 
 Wuhu, 189. 
 Wusung, 178. 
 
 Yale football player in Honolulu, 293. 
 Yamamoto, Vice-Admiral Baron, 
 
 no. 
 Yellow, the royal Chinese colour, 
 
 258. 
 Yokohama, 99. 
 changes in, 102. 
 docking ships at, 281. 
 
 Zafiro, the, 227, 241. 
 
 (1) 
 
 THE END 
 
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