The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-01-20

New YORK, Jan. ia Washington dis
patch printed here SAYS that Capt. Evans
has reported to the department that four
of the best cruisers in the Chilian navy
will leave Valparaiso Jan. 20 for the
straits of Magellan with torpedo boat
Besides, from an officer, comes the ad-
ditional information that the captain of
one of the English ships of war in those
waters said that the Chilian commander
informed him that the fleet was going ION
a special mission" "You may be aston
ished before long," he said.
This news is interpreted to mean that
Admiral Walkers feet may be halted
there and directed to turn back or risk a
fight. This is the most serious indication
of Chili's hostile intentions that the navy
department has received.
Naval officers say it can only mean one
thing, which is that Chill intends opening
the ball herself. The vessels to 90 are
ShlQ W DC kAC 15L1OAdlOdf tAO
Cochrane, the Pinto, new unarmored
cruiser, whose sailing rate is nineteen
knots, and the Condell, the famous last
torpedo boat that blew up the Blanco
Encaldo.
Admiral Walker in his flagship, the
Chicago, arrived at Montevideo Jan. IL.
He was today informed of what might
happen him and warned to make ready
for it. For the first time there is real
alarm here at the threatened danger to
Admiral Walker. His squadron is not
equipped with torpedoes and the Chicago
might be blown up in spite of the utmost
vigilance.
1t would be q daring and pluckY at
tempt, but so was the successful attempt
on the Blanco Encalda.
Capt. Evans also informs the depart
ment that he is taking the most extreme
precautions on account of what he has
been told for the safety of the Yorktown.
He does not intend to be blown out of the
water if he can help it.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1S.-The navy de-
partment today is still the scene of activ-
ity. Secretary Tracy has frequent con-
sultations with the chief of ordnance, the
chief of navigation and the chief OF con-
struction, and occasionally he calls for the
chief engineer. Other bureau chiefs also
fit back and forth through his doors, and
these are but the outward and visible
signs of the real work that is going on. In
the bureaus themselves clerks are working
at their top speed with typewriters and
skimming through ledgers, making calcu-
lations and greatly increasing the volume
of business. But in the Office of the chief
of the bureau of navigation, Com
modore Ramsay, the hustle is great
est. Three or four of his assistants
have been detailed to translate cipher
dispatches and they are kept busy putting
messages into shape for transmission and
making ineligible the cablegrams that
| come in from the South. The navy code
is one of the most intricate ever devised.
| II is numeral is character and il has never
| yet been detected. Its Inconvenience,
| therefore, is tolerated because OF its safety,
| q consideration. of course, of the first inn
portance at such a time as this, and at
present its use is the main work of the
navigation bureau. The officers sit in a
small room adjoining the Office of the
chief with closed doors. their desks COW
cred by the large fat code book. for which
e foreign enemy would give the price OF a
man of war.
A grist of half dozen cablegrams will
constitute nearly days work and so all
the available force of the bureau is put
upon the task. Meanwhile Commodore
Ramsey devotes considerable time in COM
munication with the chief of the hyrdo-
graphic Office, Commander Glover, who has
in his office accurate charts OF both conti-
nents. They are especially valuable now,
and great care is being taken in their
study. BY this means every mile OF the
| South American shore can be watched
and advantage is thus taken of the ma
terials that have been patiently collected
in former years.
The greatest pressure, however, is being
brought TO bear on the ordnance bureau,
which represents the fighting arm of the
navy. The chief of that bureau is getting
most satisfactory results from the gun
making plant at the Washington Yard.