The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-05-27
READY TO STRIKE.
Admirable Sampson and schley
Known to Have Been at Key
West Thursday Night.

49, ssANS SASy Ayt8JIs
Key West, Fla, May 10, via Jackson
vile, Fla, May 20.-Delayed in Trans
mission) -Tonight will be the close of the
most intensely anxious and most yexa-
tious day Key West has known since the
war began. Everything indicates the
proximity of big naval battle, but with
an unseen foe. who may appear at any
one of several points and possibly strike
blow and get away before force can
be massed to crush them.
AZ s ths hour r., FRIDAY night the ships
are the fixed qualities in the equation,
the Spanlards are represented by *"
Daybreak found Commander Schley's
squadron that had sailed from Hampton
loads q week ago, anchored off Sand
Key light, six miles below Key West.
They had Joined Capt. Sigsbee's big
greyhound, the st. Paul. which leaving
the roads day later than they had,
beat them here almost day and a half.
The appearance Of the flying squadron
was supplemented about $50 by two of
the dispatch boats that had been with Adj
mral SIMPSONS fleet, racing neck and
neck, the Associated press dispatch boat
Dauntless in the lead.
The necessity of cutting the cable at
SaAuaso ue ouDa nus ALREADY been evil
denced in Key West by several Madrid
cablegra ms via London, sent after the
bloody fight at Cienfuegos last week,
when the Marblehead's boat crew cut the
cable at that point.
Admiral SIMPSONS feet arrived here
at p: m: This confirmed the forecast
made in these dispatches Sunday as to
two fleets. Both had been slower in ar
| irving than well-posted naval officers here
supposed at that time.
All TINS was interesting enough. but not
word of it was allowed past the cen
sors office and a score of correspondents,
VINO had been besieging the cable office
all the morning, wilted down into the
note hotel veranda chairs out of the broiling
sun, helpless to get a word of the real
news OF the situation to their papers.
Naval officers for the most part were as
ignorant as the correspondents as to how
matters stood in the world outside of Key
west and whether or not the matters
being censored had not already leaked
out through the less CONSTRUCTED channels
at Washington.
Naval men. however, had less time for
speculation, for the feet was busily en-
gagged Ill preparing for some move, details
OF which were known only to Commodore
Watson and those nearest him. Every
ofhcer ashore was on the alert for orders
to hurry aboard his ship. Such last night
was the fate of the men from the Ban
croft, the Sastine, the Helena and the Will
mlngton; hurry orders" reached them
about $3.50: The Bancroft's quartermas-
ter was ashore looking after stores when
word was sent him to cancel provision
contract and come aboard.
The small feet was already under way
when he reached her, and the Bancroft's
gig was snatched up to her davits while
she was steaming out of the harbor
Where the small fleet went is still nlys-
terry, all being too slow to act as scouts
in the hunt for the Spanish fleet and not
strong enough to do more than help at
Havana, where there are already more
boats than are actually needed.
The most plausible theory advanced to
account for the quick departure was that
they were to form 4 second line of scouts
to the southwest, where the Cincinnati
and Vesuvius are supposed to he watching
the narrows of the Yucatan channel.
These two vessels moved quietly out
Thursday morning and disappeared at a
leisure)y pace to the southwestward.
1t may be candidly admitted that all
discussion of the Spanish fleet from here
is speculative. Key West is lamenta bly
| isolated from the current news, save such
as is furnished by daily bulletins. The
understanding of the intention here is,
however, that Sampson counted confident
ly on finding the Spanish squadron bot
tied up IN San Juan as did Dewey the
Spaniards at Manila. 1t was not till day.
light on the morning of the bomba rdment
that he learned the harbor was empty.