SMOKE FROM THE CAMP FIRE. 



The first monthly dinner of the Camp 

 Fire Club, for the season of '98-'99, was held 

 at the Hotel Marlboro, Saturday evening, 

 October ist. The occasion was made mem- 

 orable by the attendance of Captain C. D. 

 Sigsbee of the Navy, Colonel Charles H. 

 Coolidge of the 13th Infantry, and Captain 

 Stewart M. Brice of General Shafter's staff, 

 as guests of honor. These gentlemen all 

 told thrilling stories of their personal ex- 

 periences in the war, which were listened 

 to with rapt attention by the 80 ladies 

 and gentlemen present. Captain Sigsbee's 

 descriptions of his perilous services in the 

 war, in command of the, St. Paul, were es- 

 pecially dramatic. He told us how, alone 

 and single handed, he blockaded the port 

 of Santiago for 8 days and nights, im- 

 mediately following the entrance thereto of 

 Cervera's fleet. He admitted it was a 

 peculiar kind of blockade; that in the event 

 of the fleet's coming out and attacking him 

 his only hope of escape would have been 

 in getting away at a greater speed than any 

 of the enemy's vessels could make. He re- 

 alized, however, that it would have been easy 

 for any 2 or 3 of Cervera's smaller vessels to 

 have come out in the night and, attacking 

 the St. Paul from different directions, to 

 have sunk her before she could possibly 

 have gotten under way. The fact that Cap- 

 tain Sigsbee obeyed his orders by keeping 

 close watch on the entrance of Santiago 

 Harbor, day and night throughout this crit- 

 ical period, shows the marvelous courage 

 that is found only among American seamen 

 and soldiers. 



Captain Sigsbee also told us that under an 

 order from Washington he put out all his 

 lights and ran at utmost speed from Cape. 

 Hayt'ien to Key West, almost without re- 

 gard to his own safety or that of other craft 

 that might be on the high seas at that time. 

 It makes one's blood stand still to think of 

 what would have happened if this great ves- 

 sel, 558 feet long, drawing 27 feet of water 

 and steaming at a speed of 22 knots an hour, 

 had encountered, anywhere on this perilous 

 night run, another vessel of any kind. The 

 waters in that region were full of our own 

 vessels, cruising at night without lights, and 

 if the St. Paul had struck any one of these — 

 even the Iowa or the Oregon — she would 

 have cut her in two and sunk her instantly. 

 Not only this, but the St. Paul would also 

 have been lost. No man who has not seen 

 military or naval service can realize the ter- 

 rible responsibility this man took. No other 

 can realize the intense strain on his mind, 

 while knowing he was imperiling the lives 



of a thousand men and the value of the great- 

 est and most costly ships in our navy, in 

 obeying orders. The American people all 

 know Captain Sigsbee as a hero, but only 

 those who have heard him tell his story ver- 

 bally, can realize the full force of his char- 

 acter. 



Colonel Coolidge' s address, though brief, 

 was listened to with breathless interest. He 

 is exceedingly modest, and did not like to 

 talk of his own deeds. He declined to tell 

 how gallantly he led his regiment up San 

 Juan hill under a shower of Mauser bullets, 

 which killed and wounded 72 of his men; 

 but those of us who have watched the of- 

 ficial reports and who have read between 

 the lines of the newspapers laudations of 

 certain volunteer organizations, know this. 



Captain Brice is a young man, and was ap- 

 pointed from civil life at the breaking out of 

 the war, but he has done good service as an 

 aide to General Shafter. His speech was full 

 of thrilling interest, though his story was 

 told as modestly and as gracefully as the 

 others. Everybody in the hall was sorry 

 when each of these gentlemen finished talk- 

 ing. 



Among the letters of regret read at the 

 dinner was the following from Mr. Paulding 

 Farnham, of Tiffany & Co., and who de- 

 signed the $3,000 sword which the Govern- 

 ment has presented to Admiral Dewey. 



Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your com- 

 munication about first dinner of the Camp 

 Fire Club, with many distinguished guests. 



I regret to say I shall be building my own 

 camp fire and cooking my own dinner at that 

 time; nor shall I have more distinguished 

 guests than our friends the moose, the cari- 

 bou, and the bear. 



They may not be quite as manageable as 

 our friends Shafter, Sigsbee, Coolidge, and 

 Brice, but my duties in the wilderness, acting 

 for the New York Zoological Society, pre- 

 vent my being with you all. Under these 

 circumstances, the least I can do is to sug- 

 gest a toast to our old friend George Dewey, 

 away off somewhere, with a case of cham- 

 pagne which I have ordered for that pur- 

 pose, and it will be presented by Mr. Horna- 

 day. Then here's to the yarn of \ 



Many a buck 



And many a gun, 



Many a shot . 



And many a run, 



Lots of firing 



And lots of fun; 



Hurrah for the man behind the gun! 



462 



