CHAPTER XI
A REPUBLIC IN DISTRESS
Christmas and the New Year's holidays passed by uneventfully, and the_Denver_ still remained at anchor in Guantanamo Bay. Other vesselsarrived and departed, but no orders came for the cruiser, much to thedisappointment of all hands.
Rumors of trouble at various points often reached their ears, but thecrew finally began to lose hope of moving. The Department must haveforgotten them! The Secretary of the Navy was going to make her astation ship! The Admiral of the Fleet had it in for the Captain, andwouldn't let him move! All sorts and kinds of excuses and reasons wereforthcoming, but they were as unsatisfactory as they were improbable.
Over six months of outdoor life, swimming, boating, fishing, ridinghorseback, taking a leading part in athletics, for which his days atBankley High School and the healthy life in the New England seaportformed a splendid foundation, had developed Richard Comstock into atall, broad-shouldered, small-waisted, powerful young man, one able togive an excellent account of himself, no matter what the situation. Asbow oar of the winning marines' dinghy race-boat crew he had alreadygiven evidence of the strength and endurance of his well-knit muscles.He was nearly as brown as the Cubans who plied their bum-boat[#] tradeat the port gangway during meal hours, and with his straight black hairand dark eyes he might easily have disguised himself as one of them.
[#] A shore boat which sells fruit, post-cards, curios, etc., to shipsvisiting the port.
The months had likewise worked a change in Henry Cabell, but his figurewas much slighter and less robust than that of his boon companion. Theboys were trying to master the Spanish language, and when ashore onvisits to Caimanera and Guantanamo City, as frequently they were, itbecame a practise to carry on all their conversation in that tongue,much to the amusement of themselves and particularly the natives withwhom they came in contact. However, the practise was good for them, andthey were able to converse quite fluently, and to chatter glibly withthe Phillipino cooks and mess attendants, of whom a number were attachedto the ship.
Usually their evenings were spent ashore at the Marine Barracks onFisherman's Point, where a nightly programme, consisting of the bestmoving-picture plays, were shown on the screen or boxing and wrestlingmatches, in both of which Dick occasionally took part, helped pass thehours.
In the meantime Joe Choiniski and "Slugger" Williams, having completedtheir term of punishment in solitary confinement, were released andrestored to duty. The long enforced diet seemingly wrought a change inWilliams' attitude towards the world in general; and the ship's athleticofficer, Lieutenant Robling, hearing of the "Slugger's" reported prowesswith the gloves, had interested him anew in boxing, and he had gone intotraining with a view of winning laurels when the Fleet should finallyput in its appearance during the winter maneuvers and target practice.Choiniski belonged to the "black gang,"[#] and his living space was farremoved from the marines' compartment, consequently the boys rarely camein contact with him, but if black looks could speak for anything it wascertain that Joe's feeling for them was still full of animosity.
[#] A nickname for the Engineer Division on shipboard.
Altogether Captain Bentley's ship was having a peaceful, rather than awildly exciting time.
Then like a bolt from the blue came a cable message--received at thelittle station near the lighthouse.
"Revolution in San Domingo. Proceed immediately to Monte Cristi andreport to Senior Officer Present for further assignment on arrival."
Thus ran the order.
It was Saturday afternoon, and most of the crew were ashore.Immediately the "Cornet"[#] was hoisted at the foremast, which was aperemptory order for everybody to return on board at once regardless oflength of leave. It told those on shore that the ship was under sailingorders and about to get under way.
[#] A signal flag used to recall all boats and liberty parties.
Conjectures were rife in the boats hurriedly returning from all thevarious places to which they had gone for the afternoon's outing.Swimming parties hardly waited to get into their clothes before shovingoff for the cruiser; officers playing golf did not stop to look for theballs they had sent flying along the "fairway" or bouncing into the"rough"; the baseball game in progress halted as a batsman in the act ofmaking a "home run" cut swiftly across the diamond from second base and,grabbing his sweater, made his final spurt for the boat landing.
"Back to the good old U.S.A. for us, boys!"
"Hooray! Broadway and the white lights, fellers!"
"Philly's good enough for me!" called out one enthusiast from the sternsheets of the loaded sailing launch.
These and many other such remarks filled the air.
"Whoop her up, boys, for ten days' leave in the old home town, no matterwhere it may be!" yelled one joyful youngster, and all who could lent awilling hand on the heavy oars.
Then came the disappointment!
Within an hour the gangways and boat booms were rigged in, awningsfurled, cutters and steamers hoisted aboard, life-boats secured for sea,all the hundred and one things necessary to the departure of aman-of-war attended to.
Last of all the mail was sent ashore, for this might be the onlyopportunity for days,--possibly weeks; who could tell?
Now came the peeping of the boatswains' whistles and raucous voicesbellowing throughout the ship.
"All hands, Up anchor!"
Silently the divisions fell in at their proper stations. Slowly thepropellers began their revolutions, which would not cease until thearrival at that island of trouble, San Domingo--the Hispaniola of theSpanish Main.
Ashore the little garrison of marines lined the beach at Fisherman'sPoint. They had heard the news and when the _Denver_ passed, clouds ofsmoke issuing from her funnels, her ensign snapping in the breeze, andher crew drawn up on deck, the envious men ashore gave her three rousingcheers to speed the parting guest. On past the lighthouse, out throughthe narrow entrance of the harbor into the deep indigo waters of theCaribbean, where, once the coral shoals were well astern, the course waschanged to due east, and one by one, buildings, bay, and lighthouse wereswallowed in the distance and the bluish haze which hovered over theterraced hills and shore of Cuba's southern slopes.
Captain Bentley, unlike most naval officers of his day, believed ininforming his officers of all the reasons underlying his officialactions and the movements of the vessel he commanded. The idea which somany officers held,--divulge nothing, keep officers and crew inignorance of situations, destinations and intentions until the lastpossible moment, was not in accord with his conception of goodmanagement, executive ability and cooerdination, therefore, unlessabsolutely forbidden by his instructions, he made it a point to explainfully all orders which would sooner or later affect them, so that theymight familiarize themselves with all the ramifications of the probableevents.
Following out this policy he summoned the heads of all departments tohis cabin after supper, and there being no officer in charge of themarines, he included First Sergeant Douglass among those present, andfurnished them with a short resume of all the messages he had receivedsince the first one ordering him to sea so unexpectedly.
"Gentlemen, for some months the political situation in the DominicanRepublic has been hovering on the brink of another revolution, and fromthese despatches received to-day, armed conflict has at last become afact. Our government anticipated this state of affairs, but owing tovarious causes we have not sufficient ships in San Domingan watersadequately to guard the interests of American citizens nor protect thecustoms, which as you are aware, are under the supervision of the UnitedStates. The situation is so acute, in the belief of the Department,that already marines are embarking on board the _Dixie_ at Philadelphia,and by morning will be on their way to Monte Cristi, where the greatestactivity against the organized government seems centered. It will befive days at best before the marines will reach here. I have beenordered to proceed there also and report to t
he S.O.P. for assignment.Barring unforeseen accidents we should arrive at our destination onMonday morning. It is advisable for us under the circumstances to makeourselves acquainted with such facts as are available regarding thepolitical, economical and geographical features of the unfortunaterepublic. Our duties may take us to any one of its ports; therefore astudy of the charts and a glimpse at the island's history will bebeneficial to all. I believe the day is not far distant when SanDomingo will become a territory of ours, or at least a protectorateunder us."
"If you have time and inclination, sir, I believe all present wouldappreciate a short talk along the lines you indicate," said LieutenantCommander Ogden.
"Very gladly, and I will not waste time on preliminaries," said CaptainBentley. "Of course, you all know Christopher Columbus discovered SantoDomingo on his first voyage, and by his direction his brotherBartholomew founded the first European settlement in the New World onAugust 4, 1494, naming it New Isabella. From this time to the presentthe island has been the scene of more continual fighting, and strife,and dissension, than any other portion of the globe of equal size. TheSpaniards were the first people to believe in the policy that 'a goodIndian is a dead one,' and they proceeded to make them 'good.' English,French, and Spanish armies and navies have fought along and on itsshores. Revolution has succeeded revolution. The French end of theisland was declared a republic in 1801 after an uprising of the blacksunder Toussant L'Ouverture, who incidentally was the son of a RoyalAfrican King. The French and Spanish long disputed certain portions ofthe island, and a treaty establishing the boundary was made January 3,1777, but with the independence of Haiti the whole island came under therule of the negroes. Soon the Spanish element revolted against theblacks and formed an independent republic, and the old boundary lineswere reestablished in 1844. In 1849 President Baez endeavored to leaseSamana Bay to the United States, but our President, Mr. Pierce, did notsucceed in putting the measure through. The countries of Europe werefearful of our securing a base in the West Indies of such primeimportance, and a revolution against Baez, incited so it is claimed bythe English, overthrew the government.
"Strife was again rampant, and finally Spain was invited to take overher former colony by the people in 1861.
"This lasted till 1865, when the Spanish yoke was again thrown off andanother futile attempt made to interest us in Samana Bay. Hardly a yearhas passed since without dissension and bloodshed. In the interests ofour own and foreign citizens, and to carry out the policy of the MonroeDoctrine, the United States has at all times endeavored to settle thesesanguinary conflicts, and with some success; but never has a permanentpeace resulted.
"About 1905 we agreed to manage their customs for San Domingo, and toassist them to liquidate many of the enormous financial claims againsttheir government by various foreign and domestic concerns. Germany,ever on the alert to expand her power, was only too anxious to establishherself in the Western Hemisphere, and in order to continue our statedpolicy of protection against such invasion, some such act on our partwas absolutely necessary. Deprived of the rich benefits of custom dues,revolutions did not prove profitable, and a period of comparative quietensued. But it seems that a Latin-American people cannot long remainstable, and now they are again on the rampage. European influence isundoubtedly behind it, but I do not feel free to divulge that phase ofthe matter. I hope I have not bored you."
"Are you able to give us the present situation regarding the contendingforces?" asked Lieutenant Robling, the engineer officer.
"Only in a general way. The rebels seem to hold the interior towns andcountry, and with the exception of Monte Cristi the seaports are all inthe hands of the government troops. A great amount of smuggling isbeing carried on between the rebels and Haitians, and the officials arepowerless to prevent it."
"Do you believe we shall land?" inquired the Executive Officer.
"That I cannot say; however, we must be prepared for any emergency."
"I will make all arrangements for the landing force to be ready forinstant service. To-morrow is Sunday, but with your permission I will'turn to' in the morning, go over the details, and break out and stow ondeck our equipment."
"Go ahead with the work as you see fit, Mr. Ogden, and be sure that thegunner gets his small-arms ammunition ready for issue. Turn over toFirst Sergeant Douglass enough rifle and pistol ammunition to equip theguard. The marines may be needed immediately on arrival for serviceashore. If that is all, gentlemen, I will bid you good-evening."
No feeling of disappointment prevailed among the _Denver's_ crew uponreceipt of the news that they were en route to aid in putting down afull-fledged rebellion, and everybody was once again full ofcheerfulness and smiles. This elation was particularly noticeable amongthe marines, for if there was "anything doing" ashore theirparticipation was a foregone conclusion. The mere fact that a thousandof their fellows were already sailing from Philadelphia was indicationenough that the situation was critical.
Time and again the marines had been rushed here and there and everywhereto police up this or that fractious republic; it was an old yet ever newstory with them, and though the activities and general status of thisfighting branch of Uncle Sam's armed forces were obscure to the majorityof people at home, they were well known and greatly respected in thoselands where they labored, fought and often died in their country'sservice.
Richard and Henry were greatly excited over the prospect and worked witha will the following day in getting out stores, munitions, clothing andotherwise preparing for the hoped-for duty ashore.
"It's lucky we went to Guantanamo, Dick, else we might not have had anyexperience with these big Colt's forty-fives we pack around on ourhips," Henry remarked.
The two lads were at the time carefully oiling and cleaning their heavyrevolvers, the weapons the "musics" of the Corps carried into conflict.Splendid shooting arms they were, too, and during the stay in Cuba theyhad received a certain amount of practise with them in connection withthe Navy Small Arms Course, wherein scores with both rifle and revolverwere required.
As he spoke, Henry whirled the open cylinder about, and with a clevertwist of the wrist snapped it shut, then pointing the empty revolver ata passing man he snapped the hammer rapidly.
"Stop that!" came a curt command, and looking up Henry found CorporalDorlan standing over him. The look in Dorlan's eye was not pleasant tosee, and the usual good-natured smile was missing from the older man'sface.
"Stop what?" asked Henry, flushing because of the harshness in Dorlan'svoice and glance.
"Stop that foolishness! Ye ought to be gettin' sense in the noodle ofye after bein' these months in the marines."
"I reckon I've as much sense and maybe a little more than some marinesaround here, who've been in as many hitches[#] as I have months, and Idon't need a trial by Summary Court to teach me lessons," and Henryglared hotly at the veteran soldier.
[#] "Hitches"--Enlisted man's term for enlistments.
"If that's the case, me lad, let's see ye use it, both in yer actionsand yer manners," said Dorlan, and the twinkle was now returning to thegray-blue eyes; "but I'll tell ye one thing sure;--it won't be a'summary' but a 'general' ye will be after gettin' if ye go around socareless like aimin' and shootin' yer gun at human bein's, and ye canput that in your pipe and shmoke it for the rest of yer life, and 'twilldo ye a wurrld of good."
By this time Henry's better nature asserted itself and rising he put outhis hand frankly and asked the elder man to excuse his unwisely chosenwords.
Richard, witnessing the incident, was happy to see these two goodfriends of his settle so amicably what might have developed into abitter animosity on the part of the young Southerner.
"Now that 'the battle is over, Mother Dear,'" quoted Dick, "suppose yousit down, Corporal Michael Dorlan, and tell us the causes of theRevolutionary War."
"And I could do that too, me lad," said Dorlan, smiling at Richard, whomhe claimed as his own particular protege, "but I'll sit me down and
tellye somethin' that may be of interest and profit to the two of yez."
Seating himself on a near-by sea-chest, Dorlan continued:
"Just a bit ago, young man, I saw ye pointin' a gun at one of yershipmates and not only that, but pullin' of the trigger," and he lookedseverely at Henry.
"What of that? The revolver wasn't loaded--it couldn't harm anyone,"stated Henry.
"That's where ye are wrong, lad, for it's the gun what ain't loadedwhich generally goes off and kills yer best friend. It's the kind ofaccident ye read about in almost any paper ye pick up in any part of theworld, and I'd make a bet with ye that the weapon the other fellow'didn't know was loaded' since the invention of gun-powder has causedmore deaths and serious accidents than have the aimed shots in actualwarfare."
"But, Corporal, I knew my pistol was empty," protested Henry; "I lookedthrough the cylinder before I closed it. Besides, we've had noammunition given us."
"Nevertheless, what I say is true, Henry, and here is a safe rule for yeto follow for the rest of your life: never point a gun, loaded orunloaded, at any human bein' unless ye mean to kill or wound him."
At the instant Dorlan finished speaking a half dozen laughingbluejackets came running around a corner into the marines' compartment.Following in close pursuit was a companion flourishing a noosed rope inone hand and a revolver in the other. As he appeared he called out:
"Catch the bandits!"
It was innocent horse play and the men in the vicinity turned to watchthe chase. The "bandits" disappeared through a door on the port side ofthe deck, the pursuer aimed his revolver at them and pulled on thedouble-action trigger. There was a loud report and a leaden bulletflattened itself harmlessly against the iron bulkhead.
The young apprentice seaman who had fired the shot stopped short and,with a white face, looked in horror at the smoking weapon as it fellfrom his nerveless grasp to the deck.
"I never knew it was loaded!" he cried hoarsely.
Reaching for the heavy Colt's, Corporal Dorlan picked it up and brokeopen the cylinder,--every chamber but the one just discharged was filledwith death.
"Come up to the Officer of the Deck, young feller," ordered Dorlangrimly, taking the trembling sailor by the arm, and as they turned toleave, he looked towards Dick and Henry, saying:
"As I said before--never point a gun unless ye mean to kill."
No more salutary lesson could have been given than old Mike's talk andits startling sequel.
Out into the windward passage; northward then eastward into thetrade-wind-tossed, white-capped waters of the Atlantic; past themountainous shores of Haiti and the famous or infamous island ofTortuga, whence came the buccaneers and their notorious chief, Sir HenryMorgan.
Then the character of the land changed from rugged mountains rising atthe shore line to low, gray, misty ranges rearing their serrated ridgesfar inland. Finally from out the sea a lone peak reared its crest;growing ever higher and higher--the well-known Monte Granero, so calledby the great discoverer when he first saw it, and from the summit ofwhich can be seen the site where now are the ruins of New Isabella onthe northern shore of San Domingo. On the low-lying plain a few milessouthwestward from the base of the mountain was the straggling town ofMonte Cristi, sweltering in the morning sunshine.
Since before dawn the spluttering snap of the wireless filled the air onboard the _Denver_ as the message sped through the intervening miles ofspace to the flagship lying in the open bay off Cabras Island.
Captain Bentley on the bridge read the aerograms with interest, andparticularly the last one.
"Large force rebels reported operating vicinity Samana Bay. Proceed toSanchez, investigate conditions, protect American and foreign lives andproperty. Guard customs. Report conditions."
"We will continue on our present bearing, Mr. Ogden," said the Captain;"read this, and send word to the Navigating Officer to report to me atonce in my cabin."
Captain Bentley then went below, and soon was poring over the chart ofSamana Bay, one of the finest harbors and most desirable bases in thewhole of the West Indies.