EDWARD STRATEMEYER’S BOOKS
Old Glory Series
_Cloth Illustrated Price per volume $1.25._
UNDER DEWEY AT MANILA Or the War Fortunes of a Castaway.
A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA Or Fighting for the Single Star.
FIGHTING IN CUBAN WATERS Or Under Schley on the Brooklyn.
UNDER OTIS IN THE PHILIPPINES Or A Young Officer in the Tropics. (_In
Press._)
The Bound to Succeed Series
_Three volumes Cloth Illustrated Price per volume $1.00._
RICHARD DARE’S VENTURE Or Striking Out for Himself.
OLIVER BRIGHT’S SEARCH Or The Mystery of a Mine.
TO ALASKA FOR GOLD Or The Fortune Hunters of the Yukon.
The Ship and Shore Series
_Three volumes Cloth Illustrated Price per volume $1.00._
THE LAST CRUISE OF THE SPITFIRE Or Larry Foster’s Strange Voyage.
REUBEN STONE’S DISCOVERY Or The Young Miller of Torrent Bend.
TRUE TO HIMSELF Or Roger Strong’s Struggle for Place. (_In Press._)
[Illustration: OH, LUKE! SEE THE STARS AND STRIPES!]
Old Glory Series
UNDER DEWEY AT MANILA
OR
THE WAR FORTUNES OF A CASTAWAY
BY
EDWARD STRATEMEYER
AUTHOR OF “A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA” “FIGHTING IN CUBAN
WATERS” “RICHARD DARE’S VENTURE” “OLIVER BRIGHT’S
SEARCH” “TO ALASKA FOR GOLD” ETC.
_ILLUSTRATED BY_
A. B. SHUTE
BOSTON
LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS
1899
COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY LEE AND SHEPARD.
_All Rights Reserved._
UNDER DEWEY AT MANILA.
Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing & Co.――Berwick & Smith
Norwood Mass. U.S.A.
PREFACE
“Under Dewey at Manila,” the first of the “Old Glory Series,” was
written with a twofold object. The first was, to present to young
readers a simple and straightforward statement concerning the several
causes leading up to the war with Spain; to give a brief view of
the conditions prevailing in the ill-fated islands of Cuba and the
Philippines; and to trace, incident by incident, just as they actually
occurred, the progress of that wonderful battle of Manila Bay, which
has no parallel in either ancient or modern history, from the fact that
complete defeat upon one side was entirely outbalanced by almost total
exemption from harm upon the other. In this battle Commodore Dewey,
since made Admiral, and his gallant officers and men, fought a fight
ever to be remembered with pride by the American people, for it placed
the United States Navy in its proper place, among the leading navies of
the world.
The other object of the story was to tell, in as interesting a fashion
as the writer could command, the haps and mishaps of a sturdy,
conscientious American lad, of good moral character and honest
Christian aim, who, compelled through the force of circumstances to
make his own way in the world, becomes a sailor boy, a castaway, and
then a gunner’s assistant on the flagship _Olympia_. While it is true
that Larry Russell has some hazardous adventures, the author believes
that they are no more hazardous than might fall to the lot of another
situated as Larry was; and if at times the boy escapes some grave
perils, it must be borne in mind that “the Lord helps those who help
themselves,” and that he had an abiding trust in an all-wise and
all-powerful Providence.
The author cannot refrain from saying a word regarding the historical
portions of this work. What has been said concerning Cuba and the
Philippines are simply matters of fact, known to all students of
history. The sketch of Admiral Dewey is drawn from the narratives of
several people who knew him well at his home in Montpelier, Vermont, at
the Annapolis Naval Academy, and in the Navy itself. The record of the
battle of Manila Bay has been furnished by over fifty officers and men
who took part in the contest and wrote the details, for publication,
and in private letters to relatives at home, and this record has been
supplemented by Admiral Dewey’s own reports to the authorities at
Washington.
EDWARD STRATEMEYER.
NEWARK, N.J., August 1, 1898.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. LARRY AND HIS TRIALS 1
II. AN ADVENTURE ON PALI 11
III. A FRUITLESS CHASE 23
IV. LARRY RECEIVES TWO INTERESTING LETTERS 33
V. SOMETHING ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE “MAINE” 44
VI. A BRUSH WITH TWO KANAKAS 52
VII. GOOD-BY TO HONOLULU 63
VIII. AN UNWELCOME SHIPMATE 73
IX. A TALK ABOUT THE TROUBLES IN CUBA 81
X. ATTACKED IN A STORM 92
XI. A RACE AND AN INTERRUPTION 102
XII. THE CAPTURE OF A SAWFISH 112
XIII. AN ISLAND NOT ALTOGETHER DESERTED 123
XIV. THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND THE REBELS 133
XV. ALONE ON THE CHINA SEA 145
XVI. CAST ASHORE ON AN ISLAND 154
XVII. THE STORY OF A LONG TRAMP 164
XVIII. THE ASIATIC SQUADRON TO THE RESCUE 174
XIX. THE MISSION OF THE SQUADRON 184
XX. ON BOARD THE FLAGSHIP “OLYMPIA” 195
XXI. SOMETHING ABOUT COMMODORE DEWEY 204
XXII. IN WHICH LARRY AND STRIKER ARE ADDED TO THE
“OLYMPIA’S” MUSTER-ROLL 214
XXIII. GUN DRILLS AND LIFE ON A MAN-O’-WAR 223
XXIV. “CLEAR SHIP FOR ACTION!” 232
XXV. THE SPANISH FLEET IS DISCOVERED OFF FORT CAVITE 243
XXVI. THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY 252
XXVII. ADDITIONAL INCIDENTS OF THE GREAT BATTLE 262
XXVIII. ON TO HONG KONG――CONCLUSION 271
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
“‘Oh, Luke! See the Stars and Stripes!’” _Frontispiece_
PAGE
“‘It ain’t the Cubans I’m talking about now’” 44
“‘Don’t!’ gasped the boy. ‘Oh, you villain! Don’t!’” 95
“The boatswain opened fire with the shotgun” 130
“The life-preserver floated but a short distance away” 152
“The boat lay on her side, half in and half out of the water” 174
“‘Commodore, it’s jest come into my mind to ask ye a favor’” 215
“‘Don’t fire! Don’t fire!’” 263
UNDER DEWEY AT MANILA
CHAPTER I
LARRY AND HIS TRIALS
“Well, my boy, what is it?”
“I stopped in to see if there was any opening, sir, that I might fill.
I’m willing to work hard for small wages.”
The man addressed shook his head slowly. “There is no opening. Times
are bad, and it is all I can do to keep my regular help employed.
Better try your luck down in Honolulu.”
“I’ve been through the city from end to end. It’s the same story
everywhere,” answered the youth, soberly. “I thought there might be a
chance up here at the Pali; so many carriages coming and going. I’m
used to horses, too.”
“Do you belong in Honolulu?”
“Hardly; although I’ve been there for nearly a month now. I came in on
the bark _Rescue_, Captain Morgan, from San Francisco.”
“As a passenger?”
“Oh, no; as a foremast hand. Didn’t have money to pay my passage.”
“Why didn’t you stay on the bark?”
“She has been condemned and is laid up for repairs. She’ll not be able
to go to sea for two or three months.”
“And you’ve got to hustle in the mean time, eh? It’s hard luck for a
boy of your age, sure enough. Can’t you get another berth?”
“I haven’t tried yet. Captain Morgan was a very nice man to sail under,
and I’ll stick to him if I can. Besides, I thought I should like to
stay in the Hawaiian Islands for a bit and look around. They tell me
there is nothing like looking around.”
“That’s true; although it’s also true that a rover never gets a pocket
full of money.” The man hesitated and glanced sharply at the boy, who
looked hot and tired. “Did you tramp from down in town?”
“Yes, sir.”
“It’s a good six miles, and all up hill at that. Come in and have a
bit to eat. It won’t cost you anything.”
The invitation was well meant, but the boy shook his curly head
decidedly. “I’m not that kind――thank you just the same. If you’ve got
any work――”
“I’ll let you work it out. Come.”
The boy and the man had been standing in front of a long, low one-story
building, set close to a broad highway, and surrounded by tall palm and
other tropical trees. On one side of the structure were accommodations
for a dozen or more horses, and on the other a small restaurant where
light refreshments of various kinds were to be had.
The spot was an ideal one, near the brow of a lofty precipice standing
out twelve hundred feet above sea-level, and overlooking a vast expanse
of the mighty Pacific Ocean. Here the island of Oahu, upon which
Honolulu, the principal city of the Hawaiian Islands, is situated,
seemed to split in two, and the sun, glaring down upon that afternoon,
lit up one side and cast the other into the deepest of shades.
“You’ve been in Honolulu a month, eh?” went on the man, as he motioned
the lad to a seat by a side-table, and brought him several dishes which
were already prepared. “Then you’ve been up here before?”
“No, sir, I haven’t been anywhere but to Hilo and to the great volcano.
I had a chance to take the trip to Hilo on a lumber boat, and I took
it, just to take a run up to Kilauea. My, but that volcano is a grand
sight!” and the boy shook his head enthusiastically.
“It’s the greatest volcano in the world. Evidently you like to travel
around.”
“I do.”
“You’re an American, I take it?”
“Yes, sir, and I guess you are, too.”
“Yes, but I’m not from the States. I came from Canada. I’ve been in
the Sandwich Islands eight years now, doing one thing and another. I
used to have a restaurant down in Honolulu, but the Chinese cut me out
of my trade, and so I thought I’d try my luck up here. But business is
awfully dull. Everybody said it would be better after the monarchy was
overthrown and we had set up our own republic, but I don’t find it so.”
“I guess they are going to annex Hawaii to the United States――at least,
I heard them talk about it in San Francisco, and down in Honolulu.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised. I don’t care, one way or the other, if only
times pick up. I’m alone in the world, but I want to make my living and
a little besides, if I can. Last month we had quite a few excursion
parties up here,――folks from the Australian steamers and others,――but
this month there hasn’t been anybody but city folks, and they either
don’t want anything or else bring it along.”
“The Pali ought to be a big attraction, to my notion,” answered the
boy, as he fell to eating, with more good manners than the average ship
hand, as Ralph Harmon noticed. “Captain Morgan was telling me about
it――how King Kamehameha the First gathered his fellow-tribesmen around
him in the valley and fought the savage hosts of the mighty Oahu and
literally drove them over the edge of the precipice. That must have
been a battle worth looking at.”
“There was nobody here to look at it but those that took part――and it
happened a good many years ago. Here, have another cup of coffee; it
will do you good.” The coffee was served; Ralph Harmon looked out of
the doorway, to find the broad highway still deserted, and dropped into
a nearby rustic chair. “So you’re from San Francisco?” he continued.
“I shipped from San Francisco, but I’m not from there originally. I
came from Buffalo, New York.”
“You’re a good distance from home.”
“I haven’t any home there, any more.” The boy stopped eating and drew
a deep breath. “No, I haven’t any home anywhere,” he added, in a lower
tone. “I’m what they call a rolling stone.”
“What is your name? Mine is Ralph Harmon, as you probably know by the
sign over the door.”
“My name is Lawrence Russell――although everyone that knows me calls me
Larry. I used to have as nice a home as anybody in Buffalo, but that’s
some years ago.”
“I’ll wager you have quite a story to tell――if you’ve a mind to spin
the yarn, as you sailors call it.”
“Yes, I have a story; but whether it would interest a stranger or not I
don’t know, Mr. Harmon. I ran away from home, or rather, from what was
supposed to be my home, after my mother died.”
“Running away isn’t, generally speaking, a good business, Larry.”
“I know it, and I wouldn’t have gone only I was forced to it. You see,
I never knew what it was to have a father. My father died when I was a
baby, and I lived with my mother until I was thirteen years old, when
she was killed in a railroad accident, and then I was turned over to
my uncle, Job Dowling, my mother’s half-brother. He was a very queer
man,――the neighbors called him a crank,――and he was so miserly that
living with him was entirely out of the question.”
“So you cut sticks, to use another of your sailor sayings.”
“Yes, I cut sticks, and so did my two brothers, Ben and Walter. None of
us could stand his――his infernal meanness――I can’t find any other word
to describe it. We had money coming to us, but he didn’t half clothe
us, nor feed us; and whenever the least thing went wrong he had his
cane ready, and would strike at one or the other with all his might.
Once he hit Ben in the arm and nearly broke it. But I went for him
then, and threw him down, and Ben got away. That capped the climax, and
he was in for having us all arrested, but before he could do it, Ben
and Walter ran away, and I left about three months later.”
“And where are your brothers?”
“I don’t know exactly, excepting that Ben said he was going to try his
luck in New York, and Walter said he was going to Boston. I wanted to
follow Ben to New York, but when I ran away, my uncle came after me,
and I hid in a freight car partly filled with boxes of mineral water,
and before I knew it I was locked in and rolling westward at the rate
of thirty miles an hour. Try my best, I couldn’t get out nor make
anybody hear me, and I should have starved to death if it hadn’t been
for the mineral water and a lot of eating that I had along, for I had
expected to tramp to New York.”
“And when you reached San Francisco, you shipped on the _Rescue_?”
“Not right away. I worked at several odd jobs, hoping to earn enough to
pay my way to New York. Then one day I fell in with Captain Morgan, and
took the notion to ship to Honolulu and back, and here I am――and likely
to stay for a while,” concluded Larry.
“How did you like the water?”
“First rate. You see, I was rather used to it――for I was around the
lake at home a good deal. But I should like to hear from my brothers.”
“Have you tried to reach them by letters?”
“Yes; I wrote to New York and Boston from San Francisco, and also from
Honolulu, as soon as I arrived. Before they left we arranged between
us to write. I wish we had all remained together.” The youth finished
his meal, then arose, and began to gather up the dishes. “I’m much
obliged, Mr. Harmon. Now I’ll wash the things up, and then you can let
me do that work we spoke of.”
“There isn’t much to do. I was going to split up some of the logs in
the back for firewood. You might do a little of that.” The proprietor
of the wayside resort arose and stretched himself. “To tell the truth,
I never supposed it could get so dull. If it keeps so――Hullo, here
comes a carriage-load of folks now! By George, look!”
He ran to the doorway and pointed with his finger. Larry Russell
followed, and through the dust saw a large carriage containing three
men approaching at a breakneck speed. It was moving to one side of the
highway, and two of the wheels were constantly bumping over the rocks
in a fashion calculated to overturn the vehicle.
“Those horses are running away!” gasped the boy. “See, the reins are
dangling on the ground!” And he ran out into the road in front of the
building.
“Help! stop the hosses!” sang out a voice full of terror from the
carriage. “Whoa, there, whoa, consarn ye! Whoa!”
“They are making for yonder gully!” burst out the keeper of the resort.
“If the carriage goes into that, they’ll all be smashed up! The gully
is fifty feet deep!”
“I’ll stop them if I can!” came from Larry Russell’s lips, and with a
sudden determination he bounded off in the direction of the runaway
team.