The herald., 1898-05-29

this place and Santiago de Cuba is not in
terrupted. The significance of this mys-
terious silence is not known, but excites
great wonder. No explanation is furnished
beyond surmise based on various inf1u-
ences.
The theory that the Spanish admiral al
lowed himself to be bottled up In the bay
of Santiago de Cuba is not entertained
here. On the contrary, the Haytien OFF,
cials say 1t is far from likely that such a
thing has occurred.
1t is hoped that message from Commo-
dore Schley will soon be received at the
mole st. Nicholas or elsewhere.
The Latest From Schley
KINGSTON, Jamaica, May Is. 1880 a. m.
The U. S. auxiliary cruiser Harvard,
formerly the American line steamer New
York, arrived here this morning. after hav-
ing left the American fleet at noon yester-
day.
Twelve American warships are now out
side the Santiago de Cuba harbor. and
Admiral Cervera and the Spanish fleet are
almost certainly inside. But nothing cer-
tain is known as to the communication
which Commodore Schley has had with the
shore, or as to the number of Spanish fight
ing vessels bottled up in the harbor
1t is to be presumed that the Harvard
has important dispatches for the naval au-
thorities at Washington.
Dispatches By the Dandy
NEW YORK. May 2S.-A special cable to
the Evening Telegram. dated Kingston,
May 2s, says:
BY arrangement with the Associated
Ia Ia Nv
took on board messenger with dispatches
| sion to the American fleet. The Dandy left
Port Maria on the north coast of Jamaica
last night The messenger on the Dandy
is an officer of the Navy Department, and
1t Is understood that he has dispatches of
the greatest Importance for Commodore
| Schley.
Only Rumor
| PORT AU PRINCE, Hayti, May est
is believed in Haytien circles here that the
Spanish squadron has left Santiago dc
Cuba in order to meet the Cadiz squadron
According to report which has reached
this place, a German steamer with 5O,0O(
sacks of rice on board has run the blockade
! and entered the port of Havana.
False and Foolish
CHICAGO, May 2s-The statement made
| that the Reuters agency sent out the ru-
NOR that SIMPSONS fleet had been defeat
ed off Santiago and that Sampson had been
killed is a silly falsehood. The story did
not emanate from the Reuter- agency.
An Awful Prospect
PARIS, May 2S.-The Gaulois says:
"It is quite probable that Schley or Samp-
son will try to force the Bay of Santiago,
risking all upon the attempt, for the pas
sage is a most dangerous operation on ac-
count of the narrowness of the channel
and the torpedoes that protect the en-
| trance.
"This hypothesis is confirmed by a dis
patch from Havana, announcing that the
American ships were being concentrated
| in front of Guantanamo and other ports
| near Santiago. as well as before Santiago
itself The attack of the American feet
upon the Spanish squadron is the only way
of Fastening the conclusion of the war. It
is useless expecting that the Spanish ships
will leave the bay. They have adopted the
only tactics that can be favorable for them,
| namely, to avoid a combat, in the hope
that fortune may assist them. Neverthe-
the Spanish squadron in the bay of Santi-
ago, he may adopt plan perhaps more
disastrous to Spain. He might leave
Schley's cruisers before Santiago and go
with his monitors to lombard the principal
Cuban ports. What would Cervera do in
that case?"
Only Almost
KEY WEST, Fla, May %, 1925 a. MI,
Is now almost certain that Commodore
schley has the Spanish fleet bottled up in
the harbor of Santiago.
There Is so little doubt about this that
the naval campaign is proceeding on the
assumption that Admiral Cervera is in
capable of doing any harm. Within few
days the exact conditions at Santiago Will
be known without a shadow of doubt. In
spite of assertions to the contrary, Commc-
dore Schley was not absolutely sure of his
game when he last communicated with
Rear Admiral Sampson, and the Commo-
dore will now take active steps to block up
the entrance of Santiago harbor until he is
perfectly certain that Admiral Cervera S
ships are inside.
However, he may have done this already,
as Commodore Schley's last communica-
ton. forwarded on Thursday, only reached
Rear Admiral Sampson yesterday.
The Commodore stayed three days at
Cienfuegos. He signalled to his ships. "I
believe the Spanish fleet is in the harbor.''
On this belief message was sent to the
American Admiral The details of how the
| Commodore found out that he was mis-
taken are not yet known. At any rate,
| acting on the Admiral's instructions, the
| Commodore then moved east, arriving OUT
side Santiago Wednesday morning. May
| 25.
The topography of Cienfuegos and San
| tiago is almost Identical. Both harbors are
about six miles long, with narrow entrances
about three hundred yards wide and pro-
tected by high land. A whole fleet could
| lie in the harbor of either place and be in
visible from the outside.
After his experience at Cienfuegos, it Is
probable that Commodore Schley was very
conservative in deciding whether or not
| he had caught Admiral Cervera. From the
tone of his dispatches. it is evident that
] the Commodore soon gained much second