Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 August 1898 — WRITERS WIN BATTLES. [ARTICLE]

WRITERS WIN BATTLES.

BUnktown Blower's Com*pendent Telle How He Won the Fight We were a little late, gays the Blanktown Blower, with our report of the battle that was fit at Vanila Bay, but the reader who seeks after the truth will prize ouronly authentic account ft good deal more, maybe, for its having come in later than any other one. The letter our correspondent sent was mislaid in the post office for several days on account of the envelope not bearing the letters “U. S. A.,” showing the intense ignorance of those heathens where every prospect pleases and only man is vile—just as if everybody on earth did not know where Blanktown is. When at last the letter was forwarded to me, together with a note of apology from the new republican postmaster at Hong-Kong; is was as follows: * “Vanila, Phillipene Hands, May 2. “Special Correspondence the Blanktown Blower. “Yesterday morning at an early hour Admiral Dewey and myself, accompanied with some aid in the shape of armed vessels, sailed into the bay of Vanila under cover of the darkness. Mr. Dewey and myself were not on the same vessel, by request of Mr. Dewey. He feared two such heavy weights would sink any one vessel in the navy. The vessel containing Mr. Dewey was the Olympia, and that containing myself was the Hugh McCullough. The vessels containing Dewey and myself and a few other persons passed through the straits past the batteries in single file, showing no lights only stern lights. Mr. Dewey had personally warned me not to appear while enteiing the harbor, as danger to me might result, and said that he would rather lose all of his fleet than me. I call him George most of the time. My eagerness for battle, however, could not be restrained, and before the vessel containing me had passed the land batteries I stuck my head up above the deck to take a peep at the defenses that loomed up in the darkness. The moment my head appeared the enemy saw something bright and gave the alarm, and immediately the batteries belched' forth their hellish flames and their burdens of shot and shell. I have it on reliar ble authority that when the first gun was fired, George, on his vessel, said: ‘There! I knew he’d do that.,, He’s so reckless in matters where personal danger is concerned.’ The battle continued. George sent for me to come aboard his ship, so that, in case we went down, we could go together. He and I stood on the bridge of the Olympia, watching the progress of the battle. There we stood, and in the intervals between observations on each other’s splendid courage and coolness, we talked about my report for the Blower. George wants you to save him four copies. He’ll pay for them all right, as he will maybe get his wages raised after this fight. Several times George asked me if I could suggest anything else to do to the Spaniards, after he had nearly all the vessels sunk or burning, but I assured him that if I were doing it myself I could have done nothing more than he had done. This pleased him, and then I and he went down stairs to breakfast. We then renewed our battle, exposing ourselves with great recklessness and splendid courage, until it is a wonder that this report was ever sent in. After completing the destruction we had so well Begun, I and George retired to another part of the bay, assured ourselves that neither of us had been hurt in any way, and we were two of the happiest people on earth when we found it out. The Spanish fleet consisted of 15 firstclass battleships, with 20-inch armor, with innumerable monitors and torpedo boats. Their loss in killed and wounded is something near 10,000. Just after we had disabled the fleet, I and Dewey decided to cut the cables, and we did so, not wishing any other paper to get a scoop on the Blower. E. G. OTIST.” —Cincinnati Commercial Tribune.