Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1898-03-31

been created-one at Key West to guard
the gulf and be in readiness to make a
demonstration against Havana, and an
other ut Hampton Roads to guard the
North Atlantic coast, and serve in case
Of emergency as support to the Gulf
feet. Besides coast defense vessels have
been disposed at the principal harbors.
Each fleet consists Of battleships, double
turreted monitors, armored cruisers, gun
boats, torpedo boats and torpedo boat de-
stroyers. Spain has also divided her
available ships into squadrons. One will
defend Havana, another will guard home
cities, and third will hold itself in readi-
ness to proceed wherever directed. To
effect this arrangement she halted her
torpedo boat fioti.la at the Canary islands
and retained the second feet about to sail
from Cadiz. Spain evidently intends to
have "hying squadron" to utilize wher-
ever opportunity occurs.
Vessels Made Ready for War.
At League Island, Key West and other
points all warships have been coaled to
their full capacity and have been supplied
with full quota of all kinds of ammuni-
ton. The Montgomery has been over
hauled since her return from Havana, and
the kuUDOutS Iltlcnu ANU DihSiOlt disO
Preparations have been made with the
secrecy and assignments to the one fleet OF
the other have been carried on so guarded
ly that 1t is impossible to find out just
where any vessel is going to be found
when the first shot is fired. The newly
acquired Brazilian cruiser, Amazonas, un-
der convoy of the San Francisco, will ar
| rive in a few days all ready for service
Her sister ship will be brought across the
Atlantic within two weeks and completed
| in an American yard. Several other yes
sells will have in the meantime been pur
chased and added to our available war
| ships.
So delicate is the situation that our Gov
eminent cannot wait for guns to be manu-
| featured by our own shops, but is pur
chasing them in England and Germany
These guns being Of caliber different
| from ours, ammunition has to be purchas
ed with them. Batteries are moving from
the West to the Atlantic and Gulf coast
cities, and large quantities of ammuni
ton and supplies are being forwarded il
| advance Of their arrival. A bill was in
troduced in Congress providing for tn,
| increase OF the regular army to 104,OOt
men; another for the building Of three bat
| tleships with an amendment increasing
them to twelve, and for the construction
OF six torpedo boats and six torpedo boa
destroyers.
Steps have been taken by the Navy Dc
partment to REINFORCE the ships in service
! The board on auxiliary cruisers has exam
ined the American liner st. Louis ant
| mea sured her for armament. The owners
| of the feet which comprises this vesse
and the ST. Paul, New York and Paris
will, it Is said. not insist on the purchas,
of these vessels by the Government as |
has n right to do in the even: OF their i'm
pressment, but will permit the Govern
ment to charter them. The board will
inspect the Ward line boats, and is ais
looking Mt steel yachts and at iron an,
steel coal tugs. Information received b,
the Government shows that there wer
029 vessels Of all types available for i'm
pressment at its service. Plans are nea
completion for utilizing as many as posi-
BILE of these in connection with the nava
militia.
In the desire to have In the North AT
lantic squadron coast n feet superior I
any Spain might send to Cuba the naya
authorities ordered the first-class battle
ship Oregon to proceed with all dispatcl
from San Francisco to Key West, by wa.
Of Cape Horn. Protection to the Pacifi
coast afforded by the Charleston, Phila
telphia aud Monterey is considered en-