Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-05-18
PROGRESS OF THE GAME.
Both America and Spain
Down to Business.
TERRIFIC NAVAL BATTLE IMMINENT.

Sampson's Whereabouts Unknown-Flying
Squadron Is on the Move-Spaniards
Up to Some Mischief Which Must BE
Prevented-Cuban Invasion Project
Still Receiving Attention.
The dispatches published last Satur-
day indicated the probability of an
immediate clash between SIMPSONS
fleet and the Spaniards. 1t later turn
ed out that although all the statements
published were substantially correct,
the battle did not take place as soon as
was expected. The correspondent
evidently forgot that before Sampson
could fight the Spaniards he would
have to catch them. He is anxious to
meet them but they seem to have
other business on hand, and are going
to avoid him as long as possible.
Owing to the delay of the, cable
grams Of the American representatives
at Martinique, the war board at Wash
ington did not get news of the presence
of the Spanish fleet until after it had
gotten perhaps 800 miles away. Sat-
urday night, the war board got infor-
nation that the Spaniards had been
sighted off the island of Curacao, one
of the Dutch West Indies, off the
north coast of Venezuela, and Samp-
son was passing Porto Plata, on the
north Dominican coast. The distance
between the two fleets was 600 miles.
SAMPSON was 760 miles from Havana,
and the Spanish fleet was 1,2OO miles
from Havana, but could not reach
Havana in that distance without risk
ing battle with SIMPSONS fleet. But
lust which way the Spanish fleet was
going or what Sampson was going to
do, was uncertain. The war board is
guarding its plans now with more care
than ever.
Schley left Hampton Roads with his
Flying Squadron on Saturday MORN
ing. Where he was going, of course,
was not given out. He may have or
ders to checkmate some Spanish plan
that has Just come to the attention OF
the war board; but the probability is
that he is on his way to assist Samp-
son in his efforts to run the Spanish
fleet in a corner. The distance from
Hampton Roads to Havana is about
the same as was the Spanish fleet when
heard from Saturday night, and it was
calculated that Schley could beat the
Spaniards by at least several hours.
The Spanish fleet consists of the
armored cruisers Almirante Oquendo,
Cristobal Colon, Infanta Maria Teresa
and Vizcaya; the torpedo boat de-
stroyers Furor, Terror and Pluton,
and the torpedo boats Ariete, Azor and
Rayo. The total displacement of the
fleet is 2S,65O tons. The total number
of men on board is 2,157, the total
weight of guns 5l9 tons, and the
weight of projectiles it can fire in a
single volly is 5.3 tons.
Schley's fleet alone is much more
than match for that of the Spaniards.
His ships include the Brooklyn, Tex
as, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Massachu-
sets, New Orleans, and Scorpion.
His men number 2,546. The total
tonnage of the squadron is 81 ,63S. The
total weight of guns is GAS tons, and
the total weight of volley is &C tons.
The slowest ship of the squadron, the
Massachusetts, can travel at the rate
of about II miles an hour.
SIMPSONS fleet consists of the crul-
ser New York, monitors Puritan and
Terror, battleships Iowa and Indiana,
cruisers Montgomery and Detroit, tor
pedo boat destroyer Mayhower, torpe-
do boat Porter, and armed transports
Wampatuck and Niagara. The total
tonnageis IL, ,97S. The number of men
on board is 1876. The weight of guns
is S75 tons, and the weight of volley
is nearly 10 tons.
If the Spaniards strike the coast OF
Cuba in the absence of Sampson or
Schley, all the American vessels there
will have to run for it but that the
Spanish fleet would prove match for
even Schley alone is very improbable.