The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-06-04

cause the sea TO DreaK with violence at
their entrances. The pirates and SNUG
glers who used to infest the island know
these peculiarities Of the various ports
all too WE'LL
CHASE AFTER SPANIARDS
CERVERA REALLY ROUNDED UP IN
SHORT ORDER
Naval Experts, Especially Those
From Abroad, Surprised at the
Impatience Shown by the Amer
fcan People While SchIey and
Sampson Were Cornering the
Cape Verde Fleet.
Washington Bureau, st. Paul Globe, I
Corcoran Building. {
| Special to The St. Paul Globe
WASHINGTON, June 2.-Now that
the fleet of Cervera is safely bottled
| up in the harbor of Santiago, naval ex-
perts, especially the naval attaches Of
the foreign legations, are at liberty to
express their views regarding the chase
most commonly expressed is surprise
at the Impotence shown by the general
public. There was no reason, they point
| out, because Cervera kept Schley and
| Sampson guessing for a week or ten
! days after his stop at Martinique to
| find fault with the American command
| ers.
| To people who insist that Cervera
tSho r,Jl how MI dow
| is, of course, idle to point out that the
| Caribbean sea is a considerable body
| of waiter, and that a swift squadron,
decently supplied with coal, may dodge
about in it not only for one week, but
for many weeks, without being "locat-
| ed'' by the enemy's scouts.
| Perhaps it is best, possible, to con-
vince such people that an admiral may
| be kept in the dark for time without
| any fault, by showing how naval off,
| Ger of established reputation and an
undoubted desire to come to close quar-
| tiers was baff1ed in his purpose for
months.
The name of the officer in question
was Horatio Nelson, and the occasion
was the Campaign" if it may be call
| ed so, which preceded the battle Of Ira
| falgar.
| 1t may be pointed out that Schley
! and Sampson have better ships and
| i'll the same degree they had the COM
pete with better equipped enemy. So
| the two cases may be fairly confined.
LONG CHASE. 49,
In May, 1903, that war between
| France and England was renewed, and
| for more than two years from that
time the aim Of Nelson was to bring on
! a decisive naval conflict. He did not
succeed until Oct. 81, 1906.
| He was, in the first instance, appoint
| ed to the command of the British fleet
| in the Mediterranean, and departed to
| join 1t the day after the message an
| nouncing the renewal of the war was
| delivered to parliament. The French
| fleet was in the harbor Of Toulon, and
| 1le waited many weary months before
| the harbor for it to come out. For him
| to enter the harbor in quest of it, pow
/ erfully fortified as it was, would have
been in those days of wood and can
| vas, mere Observation-Disclosures might
| be the case in these days of steel and
steam. He was as helpless to force
battle as a squadron would be today
| off the mouth of the harbor Of Santa
| go de Cuba.
All that he could do was to lie in
| wait for the enemy, and in the mean
| time to keep him bottled up" He
| himself boosted, and probably with
| justice, that his besetting of the French
! fleet was an exhibition of perseverance
| that had never been equaled in naval
| warfare.
In more than two years he left his
| ship but three times, each time on
| duty, and each time for less than an
hour. When he had been at this weary
work for fourteen months he received
| vote of thanks from the city of Lon
! don for his "skill and perseverance in
| blockading that port so as to prevent
| the French from putting to sea-.
Before the end Of this long blockade
| Spain had joined with France against
| England. The Spanish government
| long time. The explosion finally came
! over the British capture of some Span
| ish ships which were bringing aid and
| comfort to the French and the de-
struction of one of them. AS she had
| done forty years before, in 1862, Spain
made herself the ally of France and
| the enemy Of England just in time to
| get a drubbing. But the immediate
result was to reinforce the French fleet
| by the Spanish.
ENEMY SLIPPED OUT.
| months of Imprisonment in Toulon har-
| Dor, the French fleet, relying upon the
| temporary disappearance of the British
| fleet and the cooperation Of the Span
| ish ventured to sea. Nelson was at
| anchor off the Sandman coast. The
| next day his scouts, two fast frigates,
| brought him word of the departure.
| After making sure that they were not
| among the Islands he concluded that
| they had gone eastward and sailed all
| the way there in search Of them, only
| to find that they had not been in the
east end Of the Mediterranean at all.
On his way back he received at Malta
| the news that the enemy had put back
| to Toulon. On his way thither he met
| frigate, which informed him that
| Villeneuve had put to sea again, and
when last seen was steering toward the
| African coast.
Baff1ed by head winds, Nelson was
unable to come up with the enemy, and
| lost all track of the squadron for a
time. In April he learned that the
combined French and Spanish fleets
had gone to the West Indies, having
first put to flight the small British
under Admiral Gravina amounted to
six Spanish ships of the line. The COM
| bined fleet consisted of eighteen ships
Of the line, seven frigates, three cor
vettes, and brig. Nelson gave chase
| with ten ships of the line and three
| frigates.
Nelson made Madeira May Is and
| Barbados June 4, and found reason to
| believe that the allies had gone toward
| Tobago and Trinidad, toward which he
sailed. AS matter Of fact, they had
| made for Martinique. He arrived at
Martinique June 8, and there learned
| that, alarmed by his presence in those
waters, they had fastened back to Eu-
1 l:<,l.