The herald., 1898-06-04
STRIKES NAVAL OBSERVERS AS
CLEVER
IF THE MERRIMAC WAS SUNK
It NAV Be Considered Certain II Was
Not the Result of Spanish
Victory
Associated Press Special Wire

q
. ficials in Washington that the send
. ing of the collier into the harbor was .
. all a prearranged move on the part of .
. Admiral Sampson. The use of col .
. lier; the unusual hour of the morning, .
. the necessity of blockading the chan
. mel, so as to relieve some of the ships
. of the squadron from remaining sta .
. toned off Santiago, the Importance .
of discovering whether the mines
. were effective-all these reasons make .
. it certain that the Merrimac was de-
. liberately guided to her destruction.
1t was not a Spanish victory. 1t was
cleverly arranged scheme on the
. part of the American Admiral, and it
. was successful. The eight men in a .
Spanish prison are the real heroes Of .
. the war. .
If the Merrimac went In under her
. own crew. 1t is interesting to know
that her complement of officers con- .
sisted of Commander f. ]. Miller, .
Lieut.. w. w. Gilmer, executive Off
. Ger; Ensigns ]. r. Y. Blakeley and .
j. M. Luby, and Assistant Engineer .
r. X. Crank Miller is from Missouri,
Q Gillmer from Virginia, Blakeley from
. Pennsylvania, and Luby and Crank
from Texas. 1t is expected that rec
. ports will be received today from Ad- .
. miral Sampson, which will give de-
. tails of the Merrimac's destruction .
. and the names Of the eight men
. who have been captured. .
SIMPSONS Arrival
OFF SANTIAGO DE CUBA. June g.
copyrighted, 1881 BY the Associated
Press Dispatch Boat Wanda, via Kingston,
jamaica, June 3.-Rear Admiral Sampson,
with the United States cruiser New York.
his flagship, accompanied by the battle
ship Oregon, the cruiser Mayfower AMI
the torpedo boat Porter. joined Commo-
dore Schley's squadron off Santiago
Wednesday, morning, and their combined
commands have the Spanish fleet securely
locked in the harbor. Admiral Sampson
left the heavy monitors and light gun
boats off Cardenas Monday morning, all
danger of the appearance of the Spanish
from the eastward having been removed
with the definite information that COM
modore Schley had hunted them down to
their hole; and, under command OF Com
modore Watson, the monitors and gun
boats returned to reinforce the blockade
on the north coast of Cuba.
Admiral Sampson did not assume COM
mand and amalgamate the squadrons on
his arrival. Each squadron retains its
separate entity, and Commodore Schley
has his single-starred pennant on the
| Brooklyn. The American fleet off Santiago
now numbers twelve fighting ships, two
colliers and a cable-cutting ship. Neither
the Solace, the hospital ship, nor the Red
Cross ship, State of Texas, which the AS
| sociated Press dispatch boat Dauntless
passed on her way here, has yet put in an
| appearance.
| The fighting ships include the New York.
Brooklyn, Iowa. oregon, Massachusetts,
Texas, New Orleans, Marblehead Dolphin,
Maytlower and Vixen, and the torpedo
boat Porter.
There is every indication that active
preparations will begin at once. The last
cable which binds Cuba to Madrid and the
outside world was cut today.
Pending the execution of Admiral Samp-
sons plan of campaign our ships form
Gordon about the entrance of Santiago har-
bor to prevent the possible egress of the
Spaniards.
Communications have also been hadwith
the shore. The mountains and hills which
the Cuban insurgents The "Reminiscences
made by our ships, principally the smaller
yachts and torpedo boats, which are able
to creep close inshore at night. have pretty
definitely determined the location and char
acter of the defenses of the harbor. Several
new batteries have been thrown up on the
high ground on each side of the entrance
and it is evident the Spaniards are prepared
to make a strong resistance.
An Effective Cork
KINGSTON, June 3.-The mines in the
narrow, tortuous channel and the elevation
of the forts batteries, which must in
crease the effectiveness of the enemy and
at the same time decrease that of our own
reinforced by the guns of the Spanish fleet
inside, make the harbor as it now appears
almost impregnable. Unless the entrance
is counter mined it would be folly to at
tempt to force its passage with our ships.
But the Spanish fleet is bottled and plan
is being considered to drive the cork If
this is done the next news may be thrill
ing story of closing the harbor. 1t would
release a part of our fleet and leave the
Spaniards to starve and rot until they
would hoist the white flag. Not gun has
bombardment on Tuesday.
The Spanish fleet. which lay near the
mouth of the harbor on that occasion, has
withdrawn to a safer anchorage, farther in,
probably beyond Cayo Smith and not
glimpse of it has been seen since.
1t may be that the final act in the Span
ish-American war drama, of which the
Cuban revolution was but the prologue,
may be enacted here, where the insurrec-
ton originated three years ago.
Spanish Sense
LONDON, June I.--According to a
Q dispatch from Madrid, Ell Heraldo, .
0 with regard to the situation at San
tiago de Cuba says
1t is one more disenchantment which .
. proves that there is no remedy for .
0 Spain's misfortunes. Cervera's .
squadron at Santiago is of little ad- .
o vantage, either for itself or for what .
it represents. 1t can neither hinder .
Q Yankee expedition nor strengthen the .
. defense of Havana. Spain was never .
. before led through such a straight .
. road to perdition.
--N>A
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