The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-05-22
MOVEMENTS ARE SECRET
THE SMALL FLEET HURRIES
AWAY FROM KEY WEST.
WHEREABOUTS OF SPANISH UNKNOWN
Expected their Fleet viii Round the West
Coast Of Cuba and Reach Havana
Battle May be Fought
oH kav Wast
of KeY West.

Jacksonville, Fla, May 90 Key
West, May 10, via. Jacksonville. (de
layed in transmission. )--To-night sees the
close of the most intensely anxious and
most vexatious day Key West has
known since the war began. Everything
indicates the proximity Of big naval
battle, but with an unseen foe, who may
appear ut any one of several points. and
possibly strike blow and get away be-
fore force can be massed to crush him.
At this hour the whereabouts Of Sche-
ley's and SIMPSONS squadron are fixed
qualities in the equation, the Spaniards
are represented by Y. Day-break found
Commander Scheley's squadron THAI
sailed from Hampton Roads on Fri
day, anchored off Sand Key Light six
miles below Key West. They have
joined Captain Sigsbee's big grey hound.
the st. Paul, which, leaving a day later
than they did. had beat them here almost
a day and a half. The appearance OF
the Flying Squadron was supplemented
about $50 o'clock by two of the dispatch
boats that had been with Admiral Samp-
sons feet, racing in, neck and neck, the
a
lead The necessity of cutting the cable
Mt Santiago de Cuba has already beer.
evidenced i'll Key West by several Mad
rid cablegrams via London sent after
the bloody fight mt Cienfuegos last week.
when the Marbleheads boat crew cut
the cable at that point.
Admiral SIMPSONS fleet arrived here
at p. m. This confirmed the forecas,
made in these dispatches Sunday as to
the Whereabouts and intentions of these
two fleets. Both had been slower in ar
irving than well posted naval officers
here supposed at that time. All this
was interesting enough, but not word
of it was allowed to pass the censor ana
a score of correspondents, who had been
besieging the cable office all the morn
ing, wilted down in the huta. veranda
chairs out of the broiling sun, helpless
to get word of the real news of the
situation to their papers.
Naval officers for the most part We're
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.
Naval men however, have less time for
speculation, for the feet was busily en-
gagged in preparations for some move, the
details of which was known TO Commo-
d0re Watson and those nearr..l hin.
Every officer was on the aler- for orders
to hurry aboard his ship. Such last
night was the fate of the men from the
Bancroft, the Castine the Helena, and
the Wilmington. Hurry orders reach
ed them about 6:30. The Bancroft's
auartermaster was ashore after stores
when word was sent to him to cancel
provision contract and come aboard The
small fleet was already under way when
he reached here, and the Bancrofts gie
was snatched up to her davits While she
was steaming out of the harbor Where
the small feet were, was still mystery.
all being too slow to act as scouts in the
hunt for the Spanish fleet, and not
strong enough to do more than help Mt
Havana, where there are already more.
boats than are actually needed. The
most plausible theory advanced to ac
count for the quick departure was that
they were to form a second line Of scouts
TO the southwest, where the Cincinnati
and the Yesnyius are supposed to be
watching the narrows of the Yucatan
channnel. These two vessels moved
quietly out Thursday morning and dis
appeared at a leisurely pace to the south
westward 1t may be candidly admitted
that all discussion of the Spanish fleet
from here is speculative. Key West IL
lamentably isolated from the current
news, save such as is furnished &y bul-
letins. The understanding of the inten-
tion here, however, is that Sampson.
counted confidently on having the Span
ish squadron bottled up in San Juan as
Dewey had that at Manila At daylight
on the morning Of the bombardment he
learned the harbor was empty. Mean
time, the fleet Of seven ships. probably
including the Nizcaya, Oquendo. Cristo-
Eal Colonl Maria Theresa and three dis
patch boats had been moving west
along the southern shore of the Carri-
bean sea. Later reports from Molest
Nicholas Cape Haytian, and other points
make it seem probable that a second
section of the squadron, probably includ-
ing the Cardinal Cisneros, the peIavo
and the Christina Regenta. are followino
in the wake of the first. BY keeping
TO the south shore of the caribbean. th,.
Spaniards avoided any chance encoun
ter with Sampson off Porto Rico, and il
they were furnished news at cable points
of the weakened state of the Cuban
blockade, especially at Cienfuegos, it
showed a tempting chance TO make
dash across at the south Cuban coast and
wipe out the light vessels there This
done. they could coal and go around the
west end of the island about five miles
west Of Havana. That is generally sup