Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1898-05-21
SAMPSON IS NOT AT KEY WEST
10 Has Been Almost within Strilk-
ing Distance OF the Span.
isIl Fleet.

bhe va VIZ DDat~
isII Fleet.
Washington, May 23.-Secretary
Long was not able. to reach the white
house for the meeting of the cabinet
until the session was nearly over.
He was detained at the navy depart
ment receiving news Of the fleets and
giving orders to the board of strategy.
The news Of a battle is hourly cX.
pcctcd.
Information as to ships is carefully
guarded.
Senator Shoup of Idaho, who spen,
some time with the president, e~
pressed the belief that the reported ar.
| rival of the Spanish fleet at Santiago
was true and that it might have the eff
feet Of bringing about an earlier close
of the wal than had been expected. lie
thought, however, the indications were
the war might last a year.
A dispatch TO the New York Journal,
sent out of Key West by carrier pigeon
TO avoid the censor, says:
Both big American squadrons are
here. Commodore Schley, with his fly
ing squadron, arrived Wednesday
Thursday in came Admiral Sampson
and his ships.
"A report came from Washington
that Admiral Cervera and his fleet hac
put in at Santiago de Cuba. There il
grcat hustle in the fleet, and evidently
arrangements are being made to sail
at once.
The rumor is that Schley will take
the monitors and some of the smaller
cruisers to keep the Spaniards out oil
Havana, while Sampson takes the bat
tleships and larger cruisers TO chase
C~ervcra around the island.
Sampson brought the Indiana, Iowa.
Sew York, Terror, Amphitrite, Detroit,
Nampatuck and Porter.
With Schley came the Massachusetts,
Texas, Brooklyn and Scorpion.
Rear Admiral Samson has been given
authority to employ divers to clean the
bottoms of the men OF war which wee
With him before San Juan. If it proves
rue that the Spanish feet is at Santa
90 de Cuba he will defer this action.
If the report is true that Ceryera is
Il Santiago de Cuba an immediate
nOvcment Of the fighting squadron to
;hat port will take place.
As a matter Of fact Rear Admiral
SIMPSONS squadron is almost within
Sighting distance of the Spanish ships.
IIintings of this great fact have been
permitted TO pcrcoIatc through bar
riers that have been thrown around
Ihc navy department. 1t is admitted
by u high officer Of that branch of the
administration that golfers have becu
sent to the Windward passage with
GOAL for Sampson. IT is thought thd
Oregon with her Consorts, having
picked up the Harvard at st. PierrcI
Martinique, and having joined thd
Montgomery, St. Paul and st. Louis
which were scouting in the Caribbean
sea, have joined forces with SAMPSON
An effort to reconcile the report thai
Sampson is at Key West with the me-
nCssity that he should be in the neigh
Dor hood of the Windward passage for
the purpose of cncountcring the Caps
Verde fleet should il attempt TO sail
through Mona or Virgin passages &c
attack u s]caCOast or TO enter Santi'
ago or Cicnfuegos, meets with failure
The official presumption is that we
shall have another sea battle within
thirty-siX hours, possibly within twen'
ty-four hours.
Secretary Long confessed after leav'
ing the white house that he was in
to believe the newspaper reports
that the Spaniards are at Santiago.
Previously he had allowed the i'm.
preston to go out that he placed nc
reliance in the dispatches.
When asked if he expected n meet
ing OF the American and Spanish ships
Immediately, he shiftily observed that
1--WE ought TO have Encouragement in
two or three or four days. and then
puckcrcd his lips significantly and hur.
ried away.