The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-21
TIRED OF PEACEFUL. WAR.
FeeI1ng of SIMPSONS and Schley's
| Men-Prcss Dispatch Boats.


Correspondence of the Associated Press
OFF SANTIAGO DE CUBA. June II
aboard the Associated Press dispatch boat
Dauntless.-Now that the majority of both
Rear Admiral SIMPSONS and Commodore
Scnleys squadrons are off the south coast
of Cuba and active operations so far as
there is any activity in the war. having
been centered here. the public is probably
watching this section of the map with eager
expectancy. AS far as one can Judge. after
playing pilot fish to the squadrons shark
for two weeks past, the public may wait
some little time longer for startling news.
There is small variation from day to dav
Unlimited heat. almost unlimited rain, con-
slant watchfulness against torpedo attacks
at night desultorv firing at the Spanish bat
teries during the day-these make up the
routine life on the blockade. There are
plenty of Golfers coming and going in the
fleet, but supplies of other sorts appear to
be very short. Press boats are prohibited
by international law from carrying official
messages back and forth, on their FREQUENT
trips to Hayti and Jamaica with news, but
there is nothing to prevent their buying
onions mineral water and such necessaries
for officers cooped up on the battle ships
These small offices are gratefully received
and go far towards making the press boats
tolerated in the squadron But nearly every
boat in the press feet has been shot at
one or more times at night and one of them
has been hit. Fortunately there We're no
causalties
The higher naval officials recognize the
great service performed by these boats in
collecting and handling the news. When a
press boat halls the flagship for the last
news before heading away for Kingston
Port Antonio. or the Mole ST. Nicholas
there is considerable excitement on board
the war ship. This is a sample conversation
yelled through the megaphone at two hun
dred wards:
Say, old man. don't forget that loaf sugar
Tor the commodore: and the junior mess
crate of onions. And don't. don't forget the
polly water And say | forgot, we must
have some tobacco What sort oh. any,
thing that will smoke. Much obliged good
bye
Perhaps the British empire, if it knew.
might term this giving aid and comfort to
bellgerents, but when the commodore is
reduced 10 brown sugar for his coffee, and
the junior mess, who are very amable
young men. express fears of scurvy for lack
of onions with their beefsteak, and wnen
70 castle to the Wardroom how can a war
correspondent refuse these supplies--even if
he does get shot al when he runs into the
fleet after shutdown.
1t violates no condolences to say that the
whole fleet is getting heartily sick of the
peaceful war now being waged in these
ATTITUDES. Possibly the fleet as whole is
wrong and the strategy board right. We
blame everything here on the strategy
board but with brutality hot weather and
warm, Sickly rains off shore. making the
boats smell and feel like Chinese laundries,
with weak Spanish batteries in plain view
on shore and growing stronger with each
nights surreptittous work, with a feet ter
ribly eager 10 fight, and army with
transports chartered only three DAYS distant
to back the fleet one is Inclined here to side
with the fighting contingent. However, be-
fore this gets into print, the wisdom of the
Washington authorities may have been
proven and the conquest of Cuba may be
going forward as irreSistibly as a Fourth of
July Grafton, but the above is the view loft
Every day or two the army has been re-
ported as leaving Tampa. The Jamaica
papers have landed it at half a dozen points
on the south coast. but on this date the only
landing save Lieutenant Delehanty's two
landings OF arms and supplies has been that
OF the. 100 marines from the Panther, who
yesterday took peaceful possession of Fish
csman's point, inside the entrance of Guam
tanamo bay. and burned the hamlet as the
most prompt and efficacious way of disin-
fectng it. A landing I'm force, it was
rumored was scheduled for this point, but
the best information now indicates this as
merely a side move.
Santiago de Cuba which is the only place
short OF Cienfuegos that the American army
would want to capture, Is forty miles by
water from Guantanamo bay. and further
by land. The route. according to coast pilot
reports, is across almost impossible
swamps, with two small mountain ranges
between. There is railroad but 1t is
largely trestle work over the swamp land,
making 1T impossible as a foot path for
troops and without rolling stock to transport
them by steam.
The understanding now is that Guantan-
amo bay, being the landing. point of the
Haitian cable. Is to be held for future use,
and that duty Is now confined to seven
hundred marines on the coast of an island
where Spain boasts Of 10000 loyal troops,