iral Dewey took the point of
danger, if there was one, into his personal keeping, by anchoring the
Olympia on the Manila side of the bay, while others were further out
and near Cavite; and throughout the fleet there was constant activity
and the utmost vigilance. There was incessant solicitude about what
the desperate Spaniards might contrive in the nature of aggressive
enterprise. It seemed incredible to Americans that nothing should
be attempted. How would a Spanish fleet have fared for three months
of war with us in an American harbor? There would have been a new
feature of destructiveness tried on the foe at least once a week.

The Spaniards ashore seemed to be drowsy; but the Americans were
wide awake, ready for anything, and could not be surprised; so
that we may commend as wisdom the Spanish discretion that let them
alone. The ship that was the nearest neighbor of Admiral Dewey for
months of his long vigil flew the flag of Belgium. She is a large,
rusty-looking vessel, without a sign of contraband of war, or of
a chance of important usefulness about her; but she performed a
valuable function. I asked half a dozen times what her occupation
was before any one gave a satisfactory answer. Admiral Dewey told
the story in few words. She was a cold-storage ship, with beef and
mutton from Australia, compartments fixed for about forty degrees
below zero. Each day the meat for the American fleet's consumption was
taken out. There was a lot of it on the deck of the Olympia thawing
when I was a visitor; and the beef was "delicious." I am at pains
to give Dewey's word. While the Spaniards ashore were eating tough,
lean buffalo--the beasts of burden in the streets, the Americans
afloat rejoiced in "delicious" beef and mutton from Australia. It
was explained that the use of cold-storage meat depended upon giving
it time to thaw, for if it should be cooked in an icy state it would
be black and unpalatable, losing wholly its flavor and greatly its
nourishing quality. Australia is not many thousand miles from the
Philippines--and one must count miles by the thousands out there. The
Belgians have a smart Consul at Manila who is a friend of mankind.

One of the incidents in the battle of Manila--all are fresh in
the public memory--is that Admiral Dewey did not make use of the
conning-tower--a steel, bomb proof, for the security of the officer
in command of the ship--the Captain, of course, and the commander of
the fleet, if he wil