Show FAMOUS D I 1 HEADLINE HUNTER WIN v IL fog rain and death by FLOYD GIBBONS I 1 have to tell you says edward of new york city is a story of FEAR it belongs to the united states navy and for 12 hours strong men were trying to laugh off 1017 their quaking knees and the wild eyed apprehension that something was going to happen to them that something WAS going to happen was what everybody believed and nobody admitted the trouble was that no one had any idea of WHEN at was going to happen but on with the story V and with that introduction ed goes int aone of the most astounding tales of what mens imaginations can do to them that I 1 have hav ever heard in an all my life to get the whole yarn right from the beginning weve got to 0 o follow the career ot of a battleship the S S charleston ed says she was built at newport news va in 1905 and commissioned for duty in the atlantic fleet in 1906 she was ordered to the west coast as flagship of the pacific fleet and in december of that year she made the wit trip around the horn but before leaving for the west she put into new york fork harbor for provisions and liberty for the crew astounding message of the visitor the charleston was one of the first four stacker vessels in the navy aw and people were interested in her she received quite a number of visitors igors and one visiting day a little old lady came aboard and asked the I 1 officer of the deck if she could see the captain of course says ed she was not accommodated for cranks were always trying to tell the captain how to run the navy but the officer of the deck out of politeness asked her it if there was any message he could take to the captain the little old lady stumped yes tes there was a message please tell the captain she said that the charle charleston ston will be blown up in magdalena bay mexico on the eighth day of may 1908 it will be a foggy rainy day and she will be blown up dp by a tramp steamer which will come from nowhere and will refuse to give any information concerning herself that gave the crew a big laugh that was a big laugh for the crew imagine a foggy rainy day in magdalena bay they chuckled why there been a drop of rain brain there since time began they put the old woman down for another crackpot and forgot about it that is they did until may 1908 the charleston took up her duties in the pacific she was in magdalena bay in october 1907 then returned to san diego calif she was back in magdalena bay in the spring again for target practice april blossomed into may says ed and we were still there the sky was still a perfect blue and there a cloud in the sky the tha i prophecy had been forgotten well acost forgotten but some of the more superstitious on board did remember and on the night of may 7 we all turned into our hammocks wondering the eighth of may dawned COLD FOGGY and RAINING unheard of since no one knew when but we told ourselves it was on only y a coincidence how could anything happen to us besides th the e tramp steamer shown up yet on the surface all was serene men laughed and joked as they went about their work but many an anxious eye was cast toward the be mouth of the harbor AND THEN IT HAPPENED about three that afternoon the men on the charleston could make out through the fog the general outlines of a tramp steamer entering the harbor ed says that along about that time many a ruddy complexion took on the general hue of a bag of flour it began to look as if the little old woman knew what she was talking about no merchant ships chips ever entered that harbor it was too dangerous what with battleships firing big guns all over the place but there she was moving straight toward the charleston and the Charles tons frantic signaling could get no response from her whatever waiting for something e to happen says ed she steamed past us and anchored about yards off our starboard side she refused to give us her name or call letter and all we could get from her was that she had lost a pro propeller blade and had bad dropped into ship another no mo tramp as miserable as she was ever carries a spare blade and we knew it but nevertheless over the side went a diver through the fog we could distinguish nothing but outlines as acor we tried to watch his movements but we imagined more and more as the day wore on and a dark night began to settle down 16 we were served a hearty supper but our appetites any ny too keen rumors ran riot imaginations started to do their stuff and that empty feeling began to find its way into the pits of our stomachs the smiles were gone from the faces of strong men inaction was lulling killing us by torture if they were going to strike for gods sake let them do it now do something do anything but do it itt awake all night for nothing the bugler sounded lights out and hammocks but there were do doggone 9 few men who rolled into their hammocks that night they s sat at around in littile groups and wondered says ed and anyone walking around the deck could see little piles of life belts placed here and there by some gob or bunch of gobs who taking any cha chances nce even the co commissioned officers kept pretty close to their breser preservers e men talked and speculated what was the idea anyway want to destroy the charleston and so the night wore on the night wore on and NOTHING HAPPENED 1 just before daylight says ed we heard the tramp hoisting anchor soon she was steaming past us on her way out to sea cea and then after heaving sighs of relief the entire crew fell to and cursed that rusty old tub as only strong healthy sailors can curse 0 service |