The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-06-29

Washington, June N.-By proclamation
issued today the president gave notice of
the intention of the government TO assume
the formidable task of blockading about
200 miles Of Cuban coast line - addition
to the sections already blockaded. This
increases the extent of the blockade fully
four-fold, it having been confined here
1ofore to a stretch of a little more than
one hundred miles on the north aad the
single port Of Cienfuegos on the south
coast of the island. The demands upon
the navy will not be nearly so heavy IN
proportion to the territory 20 be covered
as in the case of the initial blockade, for
the reason that the new blockaded coast
line lies entirely within sight on the south
Cuban coast, in which the water is gen
orally shallow and the ports are few into
which A vessel of any draft could enter.
The most important of these ports are
Aanzanillo, Trinidad and Tunas.
West Of Trinidad is Cienfuegos, which
, is already blockaded effectively. From
that point westward for nearly 40 miles
there is no point to be blockaded until
Ratabano is reached. This port is dis
tant only about forty miles from Havana
bv rail and is believed to have been the
principal source of food supplies for the
Spanish capital Fer $50 miles west Of
this. clear over to Cape Frances, the west
ern edge Of the blockaded territory, there
are no ports for deep vessels of any con-
siderable draft and even if there were
the country in the interior, Pinar del Rio,
is in the hands Of the insurgents and
supplies could not be sent through to Ha-
vana. The purpose Of extending the
blockade westward to Cape Frances was
TO command the channel between the west
side of the Isle of Pines and Cape Fran
ces and thus render much easier the task
of the blockading vessels.
The reports which have reached the
president as to the exact state of aSairs
in Havana are conflicting; in some cases
the town was declared to be on the verge
of starvation; in others, food supplies
were said to be still abundant. As mat
ter of fact the truth probably lies between
these extremes, and while supplies Of
certain character are very scarce in Ha-
vana there is no lack of others. 1t is
known for instance that while flour may
be scarce. large quantities of beef have
JtdCuGu nav ana %AOSN "a Ills 44SN' ~S4A-~
from Mexico and it has usually been
brought over to the Isle of Pines and
trans-shipped into light draft boats to
Batabano, whence it is carried by rail
into Havana. Only day or two ago word
reached here that 800 head of cattle were
rounded up at a point on the Mexican
coast near Yucatan awaiting transporta-
ton TO i5atabano.
There has been no running Of the block
ade uy these cattle ships, nothwithstand
ing the Spanish stories to the contrary;
all of the ships that have entered CubSn
ports with supplies have done SO at rcdces
not within the blockade, such as Bata-
bano and Manzanilla.
The vessels for the additional blockade
service viii be supplied almost entirely
from the patrol fleet which under Commo-
dore Howell has been guarding the North
Atlantic coast from Maine to South Car
DINA. This service has been abandoned
because the only available Spanish war
chips are with Admiral Camara, thou
sands of miles away from the nearest
point on the Atlantic coast. The vessels
are already on their way southwark, hav-
ing been reinforced by severaI OF the new
torpedo boats which are particularly
adapted because of their light draft for
blockade duty in the shallow waters lying
between the Isle Of Pines and Cuba.
The blockade of San Juan proclaimed to-
DAY is in reality already in effect, having
been initiated by Captain Sigsbee last
week when he turned back from that port
a British steamer laden with supplies. The
difficulty of maintaining a blockade at
this port, in the face of the Spanish forts
and three Spanish war vessels in the har-
Dor. would be considerable had not Cap
tain Sigsbee disciplined the most formi-
dable one of these vessels. The character
of vessels required to maintain the block
ade at San Juan, necessarily must be of
a type superior TO the ships required for
the blockade on the southern coast of
Cuba. Possibly some such vessels as the
Detroit or the Montgomery VIII be as
signed 20 the task.
In defeating me Terror Captain Sics-
bee has rendered a most important ser
vice 10 our navy and indeed TO all navies.
He has not only deprived SIMPSONS fleet
of apprehension of an attack in the rear
some dark night by this vicious little boat.
but ne has demonstrated that an allyi!-
larry cruiser is ample TO take care Of her
self against a torpedo gunboat. showing
that the offensive power of this craft has
been very much overrated The torpedo
gunboat was an untried quantity in naval
warfare up to this time Swifter than A
torpedo boat. seaworthy and possessed Of
the armament Of which the torpedo boat
IS void. the torpedo gunboat has been a
terror j Inauguration 70 all naval men.
The presence of such Spanish gunhoat.
the Temerario. in the River Plate. in the
pathway Of the Oregon on her cruise
around South America. was for several
weeks a cause for great anxiety ct the
navy department. Now Captain Sigsbee
has shown that with an unarmored
cruiser. armed With only 5-inch guns. the
torpedo gunboats are not feared. at least
not in daylight.
The Terror is OF English build. having
been turned out at Clyde Bank in 1896.
She is a low-lying steel craft with steel
tunnels. is OF $40 tons. 80 feet long. -
foot beam and feet 6 inches draft. The
boat is filled with engines and boilers. her
horsepower being 5000. capable of driving
her at q speed Of 2S knots. While an or
binary torpedo boat carries only a little
one-pouuder gun. the torpedo gunboat IS
armed Wit Ia formidable battery for n
vessel Of her size consisting az two -
Founders. TWO 6-pounders and TWO :
Founders. all Quick-hring. and having two
14-inch torpedo tubes on deck. The other
Spanish cruiser referred 10 by Captain
Sissbee IN his report as Joining in the
attack upon the 81. Paul. IS supposed
here to be the Alfonso XII and N iron
bark-rigged cruiser built in 1887 Of $3.50