The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1898-05-26
THEY ARE In A TRAP.
Three squadrons Watching the Span.
ish Fleet and Fight Expected So on.
A. the Same Time the Lines Are Tighten.
Ing About Captain General Bianco
-Biockads No Longer Pacific
shells viii FLY.

WASHINGTON, May 2O.--Now that
the Oregon is within the zone of COM
munication with Washington the gov
ernment has really three squadrons
watching the Spanish feet, and fight
will be had before many days. For
the last two or three days the govern.
ment has managed to keep secret
the exact whereabouts of SIMPSONS
feet, and this has worried the Span.
iards Now that the Oregon, Marietta
and Nictheroy are on one side of the
Spanish feet, and they have evidently
been reinforced by other warships,
perhaps the Yale and Minneapolis and
Sampson on the other, with Schley's
feet near at hand, it appears that
Adm. Cervera and his disappearing
Aotilla are in trap
No matter where these vessels are
there is q certainty that destruction
awaits Cervera There are no misgiv.
ings as to the outcome of the great
naval engagement now pending. The
American ships are eager for battle
they are amply prepared for it-and
unless the Spaniards keep in hiding or
run away, the news of the most mo-
mentous naval conflict in modern
times will shortly be flashed over the
wires.
The lines are tightening about Capt
Gen. Blanco in Cuba No longer is the
blockade of the island pacific in char
acter. The forced evacuation by our
army of the Spanish troops is near at
hand. Emboldened by partial sue
cesses in driving off insignificant, ILL
advised expeditions, the fighting
spirit of Blanco's soldiers is per-
haps thoroughly aroused; but now,
instead of meeting frail craft, with
small guns and few men, the Span.
iards are to be confronted by gigantic
ironclads that will blaze the way for
our army and signal the approach of
Cuban independence. Ell Moro and
all other Notifications will be razed, if
necessary, to insure the carrying out
of this programme. The army will at
tack from the land and the monitors
from the sea. Meanwhile Blanco is to
be completely isolated by the destruc-
tion of every method of communica-
tion between the island and the out
side world
New YORK, May 2O.-A dispatch to
the Times from Washington says;
Adm. Sampson is now it is said, in a
position to be regularly and frequent
ly informed Of the appearance of the
enemy, and the Spanish admiral is
now or will be, cut off and unable to
turn in any direction with safety.
1--WE are bound to come up with him."
said a prominent navy officer, ''unless
he decides to run for our coast. But
that will only defer the inevitable
meeting for few days. The longer
he runs and lodges the shorter
becomes his supply of fuel.
Once that is exhausted he
has no place to which he can resort
for supplies, except San Juan or Ha-
vana. He may select either port he
prefers. If it be Porto Rico Sampson
would return and resume the
bombardment. / do not, however, be-
lieve Adm. Cervera will permit his
fleet to be bottled up in harbor and
shelled where it can not maneuver.
That would condemn him for both un-
seamanlike conduct and for criminal
waste of the powder of his fleet"