The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-05-31
WAITING TO STRIKE CERVERA
SCHLEY'S SQUADRON IS DOGGEDLY
 PATROLLING OFF SANTIAGO,

The Exact Strength of His Command
 The Squadron Arrived or Santiago De
 Cuba n Week Ago-It is Now Lying
 About Thirty Mles Of to the Vest
 ward and the Scouting Vessels Are
 Working Within the Line of Blockade.
 Copyright, 1s9S The Associated Press.l
 On board the Associated Press dis patch boat Dandy, off Santiago de Gu
 ba, May 2S, via Kingston, Jamaica,
 May S0.-Commodore Schley's squadron
 is doggedly patrolling the waters in
 this vicinity, waiting to strike the
 Spanish fleet, which Americans confi-
 dently know is lying under the pro- lection of the harbor batteries. The American squadron now here consists of the armored cruiser Brooklyn, Com- modore Schleys flagship; the battle ships Massachusetts, Texas and Iowa, the protected cruiser Minneapolis, the CIulSGE IUlCllSdd, thC auxiliary cruisers St. Paul, Harvard and Yale, the gunboat Vixen and one
 collier. Commodore Schley arrived here Tuesday after several days cruis- | ing about Cienfuegos without sighting the Spanish fleet. When the Dandy | first sighted the American squadron on | Thursday evening it was lying ten
 miles south of the entrance to Santiago l harbor in one line about two miles long,
 and with just sufficient steerage way to enable the ships to keep up against the l heavy sea that was running.
 | The squadron laid-to all night in this ! order. and yesterday morning, after a consultation of the commanding off, cers, it moved about thirty miles west | ward to permit the coaling of the ships
 out of the range of the shore batteries. | This latter position is occupied to-day | by the entire fleet excepting the aux | Hilary cruisers Yale and St. Paul, which were left scouting off the harbor of l1Santiago, and the auxiliary cruiser
 Harvard, which was this morning sent with dispatches to Port Antonia Ja-
 maica.
 l When The Associated Press corre-
 spondent boarded the Brooklyn to-day
 and sought an interview with Comn1o-
 dore Schley he was met with a cour- | teous, but firm refusal. The commo- I dore positively declined to discuss his plans or talk of the possibility of meet ] ing the Spanish squadron. It is, how | ever, evident from the movement of l the fleet, that, while Commodore Schley | Is absolutely certain of the pres
 ence of the Spanish fleet in Santiago harbor he feels the probability of its being so strong that he is warranted l in maintaining the blockade as long l as possible. What the outcome will
 be is a matter of conjecture. Whether
 he will lombard the harbor and forts, l attempting to force an entrance, or whether he will await an attempt on the :, part of the Spaniards to depart, Schley only knows. Nothing is known here
 as to the rumored coming of the Amer
 ican fleet and it is generally believed l that Commodore Watson is still off Havana and Rear Admiral Sampson at l Key West.
 1 Had Admiral Sampson intended to meet Schley here, he has had more than ample time to come, either | around the west end of the island or
 through the Windward Passage. No
 anxiety for endorsements is apparent
 among Commodore Schley's officers. On the contrary, all seem anxious to
 crush Cervera before the other fleets
 can arrive to share infthe victory.