The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-05-28
OFFICERS and MEN EAGER
Continued from First Page.

Continued from First Page.
caya, Almirante Oquendo, Cristobal Co.
Ion and Maria Teresa, if they attempt
ed to file out of the harbor.
NO SPANISH SIGNS.
Up to II o'clock this morning (Fri-
day. nothing had been seen of the
Spanish fleet Should Commodore
Schley be able to drive the enemy to
take refuge in some Cuban port on the
plans of both navy and army could at
once take definite shape. A squadron
of our ships could hold Admiral Ger
vera in port or force him to give bat
tie, while plans fer the immediate in
vasion of Cuba could proceed with the
assurance that they would not be frus-
trated by the unexpected appearance
of fleet Of the enemy's warships.
Neither Rear Admiral Sampson nor
the naval officers with the fleet appear
at all sanguine that the Spaniards, I'M
less hard pressed, will attempt to run
the gauntlet into Havana. Admiral
Cervera, since he reached the Carib-
bean sea, has shown anything but
disposition to fight; and the officers are
inclined to think that, ifhe is driven
out Of the waters Of Cuba, he will
double back to San Juan de Porto Rico,
where his ships could coal under the
protection Of batteries as powerful as
those at Havana, as Rear Admiral
Sampson ascertained when he bonn
barGed the forts there two weeks ago.
PREPARED FOR A DASH.
But the unexpected might happen:
and IL it does, Admiral Sampson is
prepared. Should Cervera run into the
arms Of our fleet as now constituted,
his surrender or annihilation would be
inevitable. There are but two pas
sages by which he could enter the Flor
ida straits. From the eastward, $50
miles east of Havana, the Bahama
banks, a great triangular area Of shoal
water strung with coral keys, extend
northward from Cuba to a point sixty
miles east Of the coast of Florida The
southern end of the banks is wedged
down close to the coast of Cuba, leav-
ing between only a narrow passage,
scarcely fifteen miles wide and about
sixty miles long, called the Bahama
channel. At the north, between the
Great and Little Bahama banks, the
northwest providence channel, or 'Hole
in the WALL" as the seafaring men
about here term 1t, offers another door
to the Florida straits. The latter route
is long and tortuous, fully 1900 miles
from Cape Maysi, the eastern point of
the island; while the former, through
he "a IA ic
miles, almost in an air line as the crow
flies.
Were the Spanish fleet to come
through the single passage and around
Cape Maysi, 1t would have to choose
between these two.
SCOUTING FOR SPANIARDS.
Part of Commodore Schley's squad
ron sailed for the west end of Cuba
about noon Thursday. May 49, It con-
sisted of the Brooklyn, Texas Massa-
chusetts and Scorpion. The Iowa
sailed several hours later The adj,
vance guard of Commodore Schley's
fleet was at Ciepfuegos on Sunday, May
q. where it was joined by the Iowa,
Eagle and Vixen, and later by the
Marblehead
Commodore Schley had an idea that
Admiral Cervera's squadron, which is
carrying guns and ammunition for Ha-
vana, would slip into Cienfuegos. which
has communication with the Cuban
capital
Officers who have arrived here on
the dispatch boats from Commodore
Schley's squadron say there was dis
appointment in the fleet when it was
found the Spaniards were not there.
On Sunday. the Scorpion was sent
scouting in the direction of Santiago de
Cuba, and on Tuesday of this week
about dusk Commodore Schley's SQUAD
ron steamed down to that port. the
torpedo boat Dupont leaving for Kew
West with dispatches
The Dupont's officers and men saw
there was no firing at Cienfuegos or
while they were there with the fleet
which was up to the hour of its de-
parture. The only unusual incident
was slight injury to the Dunont
while coaling from the Iowa in a heavy
sea.