The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-05-22
FURRY AT KEY WEST.
Sampson and His Ships Appear and
Leave in a Hurry.

KEY WEST. Fla, May 10, via Jackson
vile, May q. delayed in transmisson.-To-
night sees the close of the most intensely
anxious and most veXatious day Key West
has known since the war began. Every
thing indicates the proximity of a big naval
battle, but with an unseen foe, who may ap-
pear at any of several points and possibly
strike blow and get away before force
can be massed to crush them. At this hour
the whereabouts of Schley's and Simpsons
squadrons are the fixed qualities in the
equation. The Spaniards are fixed by X.
Daybreak found Commodore Schley's squad
ron, that had sailed from Hampton Roads
on Friday, anchored off Sand Key light, six
miles below Key West. They have Joined
Captain Sigsbees big greyhound, the st.
Paul, which, leaving the roads a day later
than they had, beat them here almost a
day and half. The appearance of the fly
ing squadron was supplemented about $3.50
by two dispatch boats that had been with
Admiral Simpsons fleet, racing neck and
neck, the Associated Press boat Dauntless
in the lead.
The necessity of cutting the cable at
Santiago de Cuba has already been evil
denced in Key West by several cablegrams
via London, sent after the bloody fight at
heads boat crew cut the cable at that point.
Admiral Simpsons fleet arrived here at
p. m. This confirmed the forecast in these
dispatches last Sunday as to the where
abouts and intentions of these two fleets.
Both had been slower in arriving than we'll
posted naval officers here supposed at that
time. All this was interesting enough, but
not word of it was allowed past the
censor's Office, and a score of corre-
spondents who had been besieging the cable
office all the morning wilted down into the
hotel 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 were as ignorant as the
correspondents as to how matters stood in
the world outside of Key West and whether
or not the matters being censored had not
already leaked out through the less con-
stricted channels at Washington.
Naval men, however, had less time for
speculation, for the fleet was busily en-
gagged in preparing for some move, the de-
tails of which were known only to Commo-
dore 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 Ban
croft, Castine, the Helena and Wilmington;
hurry orders" reached them about $3.50.
looking after stores when word was sent
him to cancel a provision contract and come
aboard. The small fleet was already under
way when he reached her, and the Ban
croft'S gig was snatched up to her davits
while she was steaming out of the harbor.
Where the small fleet went is still a myS-
terry, all being too slow to act as scouts in
the hunt for the Spanish fleet and being too
weak to more than help at Havana, where
there are more boats than are actually
needed The most plausible theory adj
vanced to account for the quick departure
was that they were to form second line
of scouts to the Southwest, where the Gin
cinnati and Vesuvius are supposed to be
watching the narrows of the Yucatan chan
mel. These two vessels moved quietly out
Thursday morning and disappeared at
leisurely pace to the southwestward.
1t may be candidly admitted that all dis
cuSSion of the Spanish fleet from here is
speculative. Key West is lamentably iso-
lated from the current news save such
is furnished by daily bulletins. The under
standing of the intention here, however, is
that Sampson counted confidently on find
ing the Spanish squadron bottled up in San
Juan, as did Dewey the Spaniards AT Man
Mia 1t was not till daylight on the morn
ing of the bombardment that he learned the
harbor was empty. Meantime, according to
Spanish ships, probably including the Wis
caya, Oquendo, Crstobal Colon. Maria The
resa and three destroyers, has been moving
west along the southern shore of the Carib-
bean sea. Later reports from Mole ST.
Nicholas Cape Haitien and other points
make it seem probable that a second sec
the Cardinal Cisneros. the Pelayo and the
Cristina Regenta, are following in the wake
of the first BY keeping to the south shore
of the Caribbean, the Spaniards avoided
any chance encounter with Sampson off
Porto Rico, and If they were furnished
news at cable points of the weakened state
of the Cuban blockade, especially at Glen
fuegos, it showed Il tempting chance to
make 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
FIVE hundred miles TO Havana, if that, as
is generally supposed here, is their ulti-
mate destination. From the fact that no
ferred that the fleet is still holding its
course west.
Old pilots say that big squadron of war
ships might be easily worked west and
north just outside the fringe of keys on the
Mosquito coast, without danger of discov-