The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-03
HOW CERvERA WAS BOTTLED.
Commodore Schley Too Shrewd for
the Spanish Admiral.

Manila Commodore Schley in command of
the flying squadron, had his shrewdness and
pertinacity rewarded by finding the Spanish
fleet in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba For
ten days he had, in the face of conflicting
rumors, and some cases of alleged vertical
tons, insisted that the ships of Spain were
trying to make landing on the southern
coast of Cuba. This was evidently not in
consonance with newspaper and official In
formation, and his opinion was not given
much public weight. In fact it is believed
that some days before he proved the cor
rectness of his diagnosis of the situation, he
was ordered to return to Key West. How
ever, new facts gathered by him in the
meantime gave him still more grounds for
belief as to his proximity to the Spaniards.
The captain of the British steamer Adula,
who was interviewed at Cienfuegos, told of
seeing the Spanish fleet in the vicinity of
Santiago de Cuba, evidently awaiting OPP
portunities to get in.
Captain Sigsbee, of the st. Paul, related
how he had captured Spanish coal vessel
going into the harbor of Santiago de Cuba,
and Commodore Schley argued from these
two incidents that the fleet Of Spain was
waiting in some haven near Santiago de
Cuba until such time as a visit, fruitless
III llS ISSultS, SnOulu DE maze Dy the Amer
leans, when, upon their departure, the Span
ish fleet would run into the harbor. Com
modore Schey determined to make that Wis
it. and on Friday night he ran within six
miles of the harbor. The st. Paul was then
detached and sent back to keep out of sight,
with instructions to be ready at a twenty
Knot clip, to bring news to the commodore
at any moment From the American ships
the Spanish batteries were in plain view,
but no doubt. under preconcerted arrange
ment, for they made no attempt to fire and
the flying squadron, after circling around
slowly, steamed away in the direction of
Key West, as its coal supply was becoming
short. There was a collier with the squad
ron, but there was no friendly harbor with
smooth water. and there was serious danger
of smashing the collier If an attempt was
made to coal the heavy battle ships at sea-
Resourceful and daring, Commodore Schley
showed forth, however and at dark, with
an original rigging to protect the ship the
Texas and Marblehead began to coal. They
worked all night, and at daybreak had filled
their bunkers.
By noon on Saturday the converted yacht
Vixen had also coaled, and at o'clock, not
having heard from the ST. Paul. the
American war ships moved again towards
Santiago de Cuba. First standing off the
coast about fifteen miles the squadron after
wards circled in front of Moro Castle, but
not close enough to get view of the inside
of the harbor, guarding carefully against
the possibilities of a torpedo boat attack.
At night the squadron lay off point of
land, and in the morning, Sunday the St.
Paul came along, but did not report any
knowledge of the Spanish fleets where
abouts. Consequently, Commodore Schley
determined to find it himself and with the
flagship in the lead he started towards the
harbor. The Spanish troops at the earth
works and batteries could be seen through
glasses preparing in haste to give the
American ships as warm a reception as pos
sible.
When about five miles from the batteries
the lookouts reported the masts of two
ships, and Flag Lieutenant Sears and En-
sign McCauley made out the first one to be
the Cristobal Colon. Two torpedo boats
were also made out and a second vessel of
the VizcaYa class was seen. All this time
Commodore Schley was upon the after
bridge of the Brooklyn making good use
of his binoculars. Arriving at the harbor
entrance, when the ships were sighted from
the deck, he turned his eyes from the
glasses long enough to wink and say: II
told you 1 would find them. They will be
long time getting home" The order to man
the port batteries had been given and the
men stripped to the waist in a temperature
considerably over 100 degrees, awaiting with
Impotence the word to fire. But the COM
modore decided not to waste ammunition on
the batteries and the men were disap-
pointed. For the time being, however. there
i,,Ii aP he
the prospect of a fight.
Commodore Schley showed his evenness
OF temperament by ordering the MaSSachu-
sets to take. coal from the collier within
view of the forts and war ships of Spain.
On the Texas Captain Jack Philip went
through with the days routine, including
church services at which the men with
Pull for the Shore" 1t was perfectly evil
dent from the position of the Spanish war
ships on Sunday morning that they had
either just entered the harbor having
learned of the supposed final departure of
the American squadron, or had been in hid
ing up the bay, which is about nine miles
long, and had run down to get out early
Sunday morning. In any case it was ex-
celent proof of the perfection of Commo-
dore SchleyS tactics, and showed that after
weeks of weary following of clews furnished
by strategy boards, in seven days he had
succeeded in bottling up the Spanish feet in
before two supposedly Cuban pilots sent
from Jamaica by the government had in
formed the commodore on the deck or the
Brooklyn that no vessels of the size of the
Spanish war ships could go up the harbor
and after this information had been polite
ly received. the pilots were sent back to
Kingston, although they desired to be land
ed in Cuba.
The latest maps of the harbor show a
narrow but deep channel fairly we'll pro-
tected and supposed to be mined. The mar
row neck is not wide enough to allow more
than one ship at a time to pass UP and the
batteries unless reduced would be very de-
structive. There are three batteries outside
and three small ones inside and between the
entrance place and the city proper the
distance is very nearly three miles up the
bay, measuring from Moro Castle.
The latest information in the possession
row point of the entrance near MORO
Castle there are three lines of electrically
connected mines, thirty in all. Besides this
there are two sets of new batteries Just
opposite the Moro, forming, with the lat
ter, a dangerous cross-fire. Just inside this
Estrella and Catalina. Cayo Smith, about
half a mile up the bay and in the center,
where the narrow entrance widenS out, has
batteries of modern guns, as has also Blanco
battery, near the city of Santiago itself.
About two miles west of Moro inshore is
a battery and there are also supposed to be
batteries near Cayo Smith.
The armament of the various batteries is
supposed to be as follows, not including the
new earthworks, behind which there are
modern guns: MORO, four modern guns and
ten eighteen and twenty-four FOUNDERS;
and twenty-four Founders of little account,
and two small mortars; the Estrella battery,
ten SmOoth-bOre guns. Cayo Smith, several
modern guns. The forts are mainly of brick
and stone, constructed a century ago al
though there are evidences of new earth
MI