The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-28
ed when he recently bombarded the forts

there.
But the unexpected might happen; and,
if it does, Admiral Sampson is prepared.
Should Cervera run into the arms of our
fleet as now constituted his surrender
or humiliation would be inevitable.
There are but two passages by which Re
could enter the Florida stats. From the
eastward, $50 miles east of Havana, the
Bahama banks, a great triangular area
of shoal water strung with coral keys,
extends northward from Cuba to a point
sixty miles east of the coast of Florida.
The southern end of the banks is wedged
down close to the coast of Cuba, leaving
only a narrow passage, scarcely 10 miles
wide, and about 90 miles long, called the
Bahama channel AT the north between
the great and Little Bahama banks, the
northwest Providence channel, or ''hole in
the wall" as the sca-faring men about
here term it, offer another door to the
Florida straits The latter route is long
and tortuous, fully 1900 miles from Cape
Maysi, the eastern point of the island,
While the former through the old Bahama
channel Is d scant 6O0 miles almost in
an air line as the crow flies
Were the Spanish fleet TO come up through
the Windward Passage and around Cape
Maysi it would have to choose between
these two.
The United States fleet makes an impos-
ing spectacle as IL moves majestcally
along, with every ship bristling with guns
and stripped for action. LoOkOuts are al
ways in the military tops, sweeping the
horizon with their telescopes. During the
day admirals orders are wigwagged from
the flagship, while general orders as 10
maneuVers in fleet are communicated by
streams of flags
The newspaper dispatch boats are obllg-
ed by the admirars orders TO maintain
position not nearer than five miles astern,
in Or1a 10 he ont. af h..y ,r- hDt1N1
collision with the enemy occur.
Several times each night the scouts far
out on the horizon flash their reports to
the admiral, skimming through the wafer
as fast as railroads trains and firing their
colored rockets alOft into the blackness Of
the night. 1t cannot but occur to those
unversed in naval warfare that these bril-
! liant exchanges would serve as admirable
advertisements of the location of our fleet
should the enemy happen along.
The only exciting incident of the cruise
occurred about Il O'Clock Tuesday morn
ing before a number of the ships which
afterward Joined the fleet had arrived.
The fleet was steaming eastward in col
umn abreast; but when the smoke from
three strange ships was made out on the
horizon dead ahead, signal flags began to
| fly from the signal yards of the flagship
| as Read Admiral Sampson made his dis
| position for battle should the strangers
prove to be the enemy.
Bugles sounded the crews to general
| quarters, and every executive officer rang
| for steam, while the smokestacks of ou~
ships began to belch forth great clouds of
smoke as the vessels swung into line
| ahead.
1t was evident that Admiral Sampson in
tended to adopt the favorite formation of
successful commanders in modern naval
battles and fight his ships broadside on.
YrI1I~lv
| 10-knots and the course altered slightly TO
pass the strangers on the port quarter.
| The very ships seemed to scent battle as
they ploughed through the heavy swell
which was dead against them and flung
it aside in clouds of spray The admiral S
commands were flung back from ship to
| ship.
From the Dauntless, without glasses, we
could see the men at quarters stripped to
| the waist. Nettings to catch splinters
| were stretched about the chart rooms and
| bridges and everything was made ready
| for the race. 1t was sight to satisfy the
| pride of every American as our fleet bore
| down. Meantime the military tops of two
| of the strangers removed all doubt as TO
the character of the vessels. 1t was a
| false alarm, and the disappointment of our
| jack tarS must have been keen, judging
from the remarks they made afterward.
They had been feeding each other on
| promises of The many things they pro
! posed to do to the Spaniards when they
| got them; and. when, for a few minutes
| they thought the coveted opportunity had
| come
| Long before the correspondents perched
| on the tops of the pilot houses of their
| boats were able to recognize the newcom-
ers, the lookouts on the warshps identi-
| fed them as two of the United States mon
itors and a supply ship, which had been
| dispatched in advance of the main body
| of the fleet.