| Show THE GALL OF AMERICAN NAVY british man of war brought to by an american tug american sailor from havana tells scenes during the blockade sinking of the merrimac reported as a great spanish victory indiana sunk by guns of morro castle new york june 24 2 4 the last american to leave havana was arthur par kibbon a who managed to get away as late as june 7 and who has arrived in new york he was in havana during many exciting days of the blockade parkinson Par kineon was boatswain on the cuban mail steamer concha which lay in the harbor of havana on march 31 fight broke out among the crew and when it was over one of them a swede lay on the deck with a bad ecale wound everybody said parkinson Par kineon did it the havana police heard of the affair and parkinson was arrested and locked up f 1 I was put in an old military prison in confinement for two days and finally taken before a marine judge he took down the evidence in the case and eeck me back with instructions that I 1 should be fed on besides bread and water and that I 1 should cot be confined slone my saip had palled I 1 was thrown into a dirty hole with a crowd of cubans and spaniards I 1 was still there when the war broke out I 1 had written many letters to the american consul but never received any answers finally I 1 got out late in may through the efforts of the british consul they are a cheerful lot in havana the people are buoyed up by false re pons of victory during my time out of prison several of the american of the blockade line were reported destroyed st particularly the battleship indiana which was b own to pieces by the guns of morro cantle 1 I waa there the day the newspapers got out extras about the of the merrimac Mor they called i t a grand S victory and spoke of the captured as only a few survivors the british consul finally got me aboard the british man of war talbot which carried me to kingston jamaica A little american auxiliary was sent to us on th e night we left the english commander saw her lighte and just tor a lark steamed faster presently be heard the boom of the little gun but as he failed to hear the shot whistle through the air he ordered still faster speed the next minute a solid abot sane out right over the commanders head aa he stood on the bridge he brought the ship about in a jiffy and ia a fw minutes a about ninety feet lone puffed up against the big warship the astonished briton was allowed to proceed after he had told his pedigree the englishman said be bad never seen an of such nerve 1 I came to new york from jamaica on the steamer holstein |
