The record-union., 1898-05-22

Santiago DE- Cuba has already been
evidenced in Key West by several Ma
drid cablegrams via London, sent at
ter the bloody fight at Cienfuegos last
week, when the American crew cut the
cable at that point Admiral Samp-
sons fleet arrived here at D p. m. This
confirmed the forecast made by these
dispatches on Sunday as to the where
abouts and intentions of these two
| fleets, though both had been slower IN
arriving than well-posted naval Off
GERS here supposed at that time. All
this was interesting enough, but not a
word of it was allowed past the CEN
sOr's office, and a score of correspond
ents who had been besieging the cable
office all the morning wilted down into
the hotel veranda chairs out of the
burning sun, helpless to get word
of the real news Of the situation 10
their papers.
Naval officers for the most part were
| as ignorant as the CORRESPONDENTS as
to how matters stood in the world out
side of Key West, and whether or not
the matters being censored had not al
| ready leaked out through the less con-
stricted channels at Washington. Ma
| speculation, for the fleet was busily
engaged in preparing for some move.
| details of which were known only to
| Commodore Watson and those nearest
him. Every officer ashore was on the
alert for orders to hurry aboard his
! ship Such last night was the fate OF
the men from the Bancroft, the Castine,
| Helena and Wilmington. Hurry or
I -
| Bancroft's Quartermaster was ashore
| looking after stores, when word was
sent him to cancel a provision con-
tract and come aboard. The small fleet
was already under way wher he
! reached her. and the Bancrofts gig
was snatched up to her davitts while
she was steaming out of the harbor.
Where the small fleet went is still a
mystery, all being too slow to act as
scouts for the Spanish fleet The most
plausible theory advanced to account
for the quick departure was that they
were to form a second line of scouts to
the southwest where the Cincinnati
and the Vesuvius are supposed To be
watching the narroWs of the Yucatan
Channel These two vessles moved
quietly out Thursday morning, and dis
appeared at a leisurely pace to the
southwest.
1t can be candidly admitted that all
discussion of the Spanish fleet here is
speculative. Key West is lamentably
isolated from the current news. save
such as is furnished by daily bulletins.
The understanding of the intention
here, however, is that Sampson counted
! confidently on finding the Spanish
! squadron bottled up in San Juan. as
did Dewey the Spaniards at Manila. 1t
was not until daylight on the morning
of the bombardment that he learned
the harbOr was empty.
Meantime, according to the best in
! formation here, the fleet of seven Span
! ism ships, probably including the Viz
! caya, Oquendo, Cristobal Colon, Maria
| Theresa and three destroyers, has been
moving west along the southern shore
| of the Caribbean Sea. Later reports
| from Mole ST Nicholas, Cape Haytien
I and other points make it seem that a
! second section of the squadron, prob
ably including the Cardinal Cisneros,
( the Pelayo and the Christina Regenta
are following in the wake of the first.
BY keeping to the south shore of the
/ Caribbean the Spaniards avoid any
! chance encounter with Sampson off
! Porto Rico, and if they were furnished
| news at cable points of the weak state
! of the Cuban blockade. especially at
! Cienfuegos it showed a tempting
! chance to make a dash across at the
! south Cuban coast and wipe out the
! light vessels there. This done, they
! could coal and proceed around the west
| end of the island about 500 miles to
! Havana, if that, as is generally sup
! posed here, is the ultimate destination.
/ From the fact that no such attack has
| yet been reported it is inferred that the
! fleet is still holding its course west. Old
| pilots here say that a big squadron of
| Warships might be easily worked west
and north just outside the fringe of
| keys on the mosquito coast, without
| danger of discovery before they emery
! ed from the north end of the Yucatan
| channel From this point they would
! be almost equally distant from Key
! West and Havana. not 800 miles either
way. If their object was to break the
| Havana blockade they could do it easily
1 if they arrived before Schley and Samp-
son.
The feeling here tonight is that the
naval battle of the war may be fought
! in forty-eight hours, and probably be-
| aWeen Key West and the north Cuban
| coast. Everything is at high tension,
and both officers and cores ondents
are looking for a Dispatch boat tearing
| up the channel at any hour with the
news that the hostile fleet had been
| sighted within striking distance of Key
/ West or Havana. 1t is almost impOs
/ sible to forecast the movements of Ell
! Their Sampson or Schley, but the sup
! position among naval men is that or
! ders from Washington will direct a re-
! distribution of the vessels of the flying
| squadron to make a quick roundup of
| the west Cuban coast, perhaps as far
around as Cienfuegos on the south,
! leaving a sufficient guard of heavy yes
| sells at Key West and throwing a strong
| fighting force in front of Havana
| where, after all, the great battle may
| be fought.
This afternoon the heavy squadrons
off Sand Key were joined by three big
transports, the Leona Iroquois and
! Cherokee Workmen were busily en-
! gagged in putting up temporary hunks,
! but no one was allowed to board them,
and no information as to their sailing
| point or destination would be given
out. 1t is understood, however, they
/ are from New York having started
/ for Tampa to transfer troops a week
ago. when the invasion of Cuba by land
/ force seemed imminent. This plan
/ however, was evidently checked by the
movement of the Spanish fleet, and is
considered in a bevane.a for tho DreS-