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The Wind from the Sky is a short story by William H. Keith, Jr., first published in Leviathans: Armored Skies. It tells the story of the "Perdicaris Affair", and introduces William Southerland.
Plot[]
Kidnapping[]
On 18 May, 1904, Ion Perdicaris and Cromwell Varley were kidnapped from Perdicaris' villa outside Tangiers, Morocco by agents of Raisuli. During the journey to the village of Zinnat, Perdicaris fell from his horse and broke his right leg.
Samuel R. Gummere, the Consul General for the United States of America in Morocco, was notified of the kidnapping while he was at dinner with Sir Arthur Nicholson, the minister from the British Empire.
Upon reaching Zinnat, Perdicaris and Varley met Raisuli, who expressed concern for Ion's broken leg and promised them both his protection while they were his captives. Their next stop was to be Tetuoan.
American Response[]
President Theodore Roosevelt met with Secretary of State John Milton Hay and Secretary of War William Howard Taft to discuss Raisuli's demands: $70,000 in gold, release of certain prisoners held by the Moroccan government, and various territorial demands, including control of two districts. While Morocco was considered a friend to the United States, it was decided to put some pressure on Sultan Mulai Abd el-Aziz to resolve the matter. The South Atlantic Squadron of the United States Navy was dispatched with Marines to protect the consulate and, if necessary, to place further pressure on Morocco. Also sent was the USS Cleveland, a Denver-class cruiser, under Commander William Southerland.
Waiting[]
The Cleveland rendezvoused with Admiral French Ensor Chadwick's South Atlantic Squadron at the Canary Islands. From there they proceeded together to Morocco. Meanwhile, Grummere met with Grand Vizier Mohammad al-Muqri and Pasha Abd-el-Rahman Abd el-Saduk to observe a prisoner being tortured for information about the whereabouts of Raisuli and Perdicaris.
Calling his captains together along with Consul Gumerre, Admiral Chadwick outlined the situation and explained that negotiations were at a standstill. Captain Southerland proposed using the Cleveland to make a strike inland at Tetuoan, but Chadwick said that Washington would have to authorize any action.
Back in Washington, Roosevelt was under pressure both domestic and foreign, with newspapers calling for a strong military response, while France had announced that it had made a loan agreement with Morocco and deployed the leviathan cruiser Le Redoubtable to the western Mediterranean. He had also previously learned that Ion Perdicaris was not an American Citizen, but Greek: he had renounced his citizenship, though Roosevelt and his advisors had kept that quiet.
Facing the Republican National Convention, John Hay read aloud a portion of a telegram sent to Gummere and the Sultan:
Rescue Mission[]
Captain Southerland and the Cleveland set out from Tangiers. Meanwhile, in Tetuoan, Raisuli informed Perdicaris that he had decided to accept a partial settlement, and that the two would be returning home soon.
To help them run silently, Southerland had Gunner's Mate Gustave Chisolm rig the Cleveland for sail, incidentally making him a Lieutenant. Steering was accomplished by adjusting the sail, as the fan screws relied on the noisy steam engines. In the dark, the leviathan crept slowly across the sky to a point southwest of Tetuoan. Two companies of Marines under Major John Twiggs Myers disembarked and began marching, with the Cleveland overhead under steam once more.
When he caught sight of the leviathan, Raisuli ordered howitzers deployed to respond to the shelling from the ship, and then raced to find his hostages. Raisuli and Amal ordered Perdicaris and Cromwell to stand in the center of the room while he and Amal laid an ambush using them as bait. Seeing someone at the door, Perdicaris shouted a warning. Gunfire rang out, and Major Myers stepped into the room. Raisuli and Amal were dead. The hostages and all American forces went aboard the Cleveland for departure.
French Encounter[]
Returning to Tangiers, the Cleveland encountered a French Gloire-class cruiser: the Gloire herself, under Admiral Jean Christophe de Montchalin. The Gloire called on the Cleveland to heave to for boarding, and fired a warning shot when Southerland sought to evade. Seeing that the other ship was larger, faster, better armored and had heavier guns than his own, Southerland took her around a mesa to lay an ambush. When the French cruiser came into view, the American guns went to rapid fire, and the French quickly responded. Both ships were heavily damaged, including a loss of propulsion, and the Cleveland took damage to her starboard trim tank.
Rigging sails once again, the Cleveland made her slow way back to Tangiers, arriving on 24 June, 1904 to salutes from the South Atlantic Squadron.
Historical Notes[]
This story is based off an Historical Event, the real-life Perdicaris Affair. In the real world, Perdicaris was ransomed. In the world of Leviathans, Captain Southerland and the USL Cleveland brought about a rather different resolution.