The San Francisco call., 1898-04-25
GIVE CHASE
 TO AN ITALIAN Exciting Pursuit by Four Vessels of Sampson's
 Fleet.
Seamen Deeply Disappointed When the Ships Identity
 Is Learned.
Thought the Gunboat Was a Span iard and That There Would Be
 Fight.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

ON BOARD THE FLAGSHIP NEW YORK, OFF HAVANA, April 2S- (Filed at Key West, midnight, April 23).-The Puritan, Nashville, Marble head and Ericsson arrived from Key West this morning. The Ericsson al- most immediately returned to Key West with dispatches. At 10 o'clock this morning the monitor Puritan, the cruiser Cincinnati, the gun boats Machias, Nashville Castine and New port and the torpedo boats Root and Winslow left the squadron to blockade MatanZas, MarieI and Cardenas. They formed separate divisions, and after they had passed out of sight the re- mainer of the fleet took up a regular formation, having drifted some fifteen miles from Morro Castle. The general advance was made at half speed. Cap tain Evans, not quite certain of the po- sition he was entitled to take with the Iowa, caught un abreast of the flagship and shouted through the megaphone:
 How near may I go?"
 Rear Admiral Sampson, who was standing on the after bridge, replied:
 As near as you can without damage from the fire of the batteries"
 All right" Captain Evans shouted back, in tones that expressed the keen est disappointment. The Iowa then went ahead.
 About half hour after the squad ron was well under way, the cruiser Cincinnati was seen on the eastern horizon, smoke pouring from her fun nels. She had been headed for Matan gas. and evidently had turned back to chase some vessel. The object of her ma Ia Cto 6iy1c we'll in toward the coast The flagship, the cruiser Marblehead and the gun boat Wilmington immediately turned out of the course to head the warShip off. The remainder of the squadron proceeded to the westward. Smoke poured from our ships. The flagship was making eighteen knots, the whole vessel throbbing with the vibrations of her twin screws. The little Whining ton steamed up in splendid style, and the fast cruiser Marblehead kept nearly abreast. The formidable trio bore down upon the warship. Then shout went up:
 "She is a Spaniard.
 For the next ten minutes the excite ment was intense. The distance which separated the vessels rendered it inn possible to make out the Warship's s identity She was thought to be the Vizcaya or the Oquendo, heading hard for Havana. The men at the guns shouted with glee. The stokers off duty also cheered vociferously and begged to be allowed to go on deck to help shoot at the first armed enemy met The officers crowded on the quarter deck as elated as the men, though un- der better control. The bugler blew general quarters and all hands flew to their posts. Down came the shroudS with rattle. Life lines vanished from ha AHr standing on the bridge, said deliberate ly to Captain Chadwick:
 "Yes, the Oquendo or the Vizcaya," I" and then added: "I should like to bag them both"
 Then it was seen that the chase was flying an Italian flag. But this was no proof that behind her still invisible ready to shoot under advantage of subterfuge. All the guns on the New YorkS port side and in the forward and after turrets were trained on the stran- ger. A few minutes later when about 1900 yards separated the New York from her target, the American flag was run up by the warship and then it was known she was not a Spaniard. A puff of smoke issued from her sides and the boom of a gun sounded across the waters. It was only a salute. but at first many on board thought Rear Ad- miral Sampson had been deceived. But she fired one of her guns as a salute, which was returned by the flagship, which also flew an Italian flag.
 The stranger was then made out to
 be the Giovanni Bausan, a powerful cruiser. Without further formalities she pursued her course and entered Ha- vana harbor.
 Thus an exciting incident ended in disappointment, but 1t served to show !. 1T 1z \ fight, and how splendid the discipline is when conflict seems imminent.