The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-04-26
THE FLEET OFF HAVANA.
,C~opvrightcd 1898. by the Associate.
PreSs1

copyrighted 1898. by the Associate
Pres~.D
On board the Flagship New York. o#
Havana. April g y. m.-tFllcd kc.
West. midnight, April 23.l-The l'uritau.
\aShvnIe. Marblehead and Ericsson ar
rived from Key West this morning. III.
Ericsson almost Immediately returned
Key West with dispatches. At la
o'clock this morning the monitor Pur.
tan. the cruiser Cincinnati. the gunbo3t>
Machias. Nashville. taStine ana New
port and The torpedo boats Fo"te anal
WinSlow left the squadron IL blockade
MatanzaS. Maricl and CarlcnaS. 1hey
formed separate divisions. and after
they had passed out Of sight the remain
der Of the fleet took up n regular forma-
ton having drifted some fifteen miles
from Norro Castle. The general ua
vance was made ut half speed. Captain
Evans. not quite certain of the position
he was entitled IL take with tn" lows.
shontedt through The ~megaphon": How
near may | co." Rear Admiral Saup-
son. who WAS standing OH the after
bridge rcniied: AS near rs Won cam
without drawing the tir,. Of the batter
les"
All right" Captain Evans Shoute!
back in tones that expressed the Keen
tSi ul>i HiltlDtiiltllt. ] III lbNd tHfIi NtA.I
ahead.
About half an hour after the eouadroa
WAS We'll under WAY the cruiser tincin-
matt was seen on the eastern horizon. thu
smoke pouring from her tunnels. Shc
had been headed for NatanzaS and cyl
IDENTIFY had turned back 10 chase some
vessel. The object Of her pursuit wa~
soon made ont. standing well in toward
the coast. The flagship. the cruiser Mar
hlchead and the gun boat Wilmington
Immediately turned ont of course T.
head the war shin off. The remaindcr
Of the squadron proceeded To the west
ward. Smoke poured from our ships.
The flagship was making cightoen
knots. the whole vessel %throbbinc with
the vibrations of her twin screws. Thr
little Wilmington steamed mp in splendid
style, and the first cruiser Marblphead
kept nearly abreast. Thp Formidable
trio bore down mon the war ship. Then
Il shout went IN. "Shc is n Spaniard."
For the next ten minutes the excitement
was terrific. The distance which scpa-
rated tho vessels rendered il impossible
10 make ont the war ships identity. She
was thought to be the Nizcava or The
Nlmlrante Oquendo. heading hard for
Havana.
The men ut the guns shouted with
"lee. The stokcrs off duty below cheer
ed vocifcronSly and begged to 10 n
i"Wed TO z" on deck. 10 help shoot at ;llc
hrSt armed enemy met. The officers
crowded on the quarter deck. rs c!atcl
rs the men. though under better control.
The bn"ler blew General Quartrrs.r
All hands flew to their posts. D"an
came the shrouds with Il rattle. The
NE lines vanished from the dec5. Rear
Admiral Sampson. standing on the
bridge. said Ia1ihapa t.ly " r,...:.
ohadwlck. Yes. the Oqucndo or the
' 0Zcaya. and then added: Il should
Ike to bag them both The il was
seen that the chase was flying an ltaI-
ian flag. but this was no proof that be-
hind her still invisible guns SpaniardS
Wer" not concealed. ready 10 shoot un-
der advantage or subtcrfugc. All the
guns on the New lork'S port side and
III the forward and after turrets were.
trained on the stranger. \ few min
ntes later. when about 1906 yards sep
arated the New York from her target.
me American flag was run up by the
war snip. and then il was known She
WAS not Il Spaniard.
\ puff Of smoke issued from her sides,
and the boom of II gun sounded across
me waters. 1t was only n salute, hut
~ hrSt many on board thought Rear
Ndhilral Sampson had been deceived.
~ val snip IfcH 11tccn guns IA
4 salute, which was returned by th,.
, flagship. which also flew an italian
nag. The stranger was then made out
7" ne the Giovanni Ransan, a powcrfni
cruiser. Without further formaIitics
she pursued her course and entered Hu-
wanna harbor. Thus an exciting incident
ended III disappointment. but it served
10 show how anxious al hands arc for
Z real fight and how splendid the dis
til'ino IS when n contingency seems
imminent.