Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-05-19
NEW FACTS ABOUT CUBA
Fifty-eight Spanish War Vessels
In Her Waters.
rHB PECULIAR COAST CONDITIONS.

Types of Gunboats-The Bottled Up Cruis-
Spanish Unreadiness Illustrated.
| The Fringe of Innumerable Islands and
Shoal MISUNDERSTANDING Is the Rule
For Receiving and Discharging Cargoes
and Passengers.
Spain S navy is represented in Cuban
waters by So vessels. This seems for
midable. Fortyone of the So are gun
boats. 1t is only when one comes to
know what the Spaniards call "can-
nonero,' or gunboat, that the real sit
uation can be appreciated. Twenty nine
of the Spanish gunboats now hiding in
the harbors and rivers of Cuba are Of
less than 100 tons displacement. The
Centinela fairly represents the smaller
gunboats, while the governors gunboat
is the crack craft of the lot The yachts
and tugs which the United States has
been buying and arming for scout and
patrol service are larger and better in
every way than Spain's pretentiously
named gunboats.
The Spanish gunboats have been ef-
fective only because the insurgents have
been without artillery. They could pa.
troll the shallow waters of the coast and
make filibustering difficult. Any kind
of an armament was of service against
no armament. And SO these gunboats
with their little pieces of artillery have
helped to hold the ports of the island
against capture by the insurgents. They
have no place in the calculations Of sea
| fighting between the United States and
Spain. Few of them will fire shot.
Admiral Sampson will gather in these
gunboats as he makes the circuit of the
island. Only ten of the Spanish gun
boats are over 200 tons displacement,
and the largest is but 500 tons. Not
one of the Spanish gunboats is to be
mentioned in the same class as the Hell
ena or the Nashville, the similarly
named craft of the American navy.
Spain has six cruisers in Cuban wa
tiers, and four Of them, according to
official information received in Wash
ington, are now shut up in Havana har-
Dor. Here the Spanish characteristics of
unreadiness again shows itself. Alfonso
XII is the largest of the six. 1t has been
in the harbor, within sight of the navy
yard, for over year. If it is in condi-
ton to turn screw, the fact has been
kept secret. After the blockade began
the work of stripping the Alfonso XII
for fighting began. The big cruiser is
nothing more than q floating battery in
the harbor. She will never come out
side to do any sea fighting. Bottled up
in Havana harbor with the Alfonso XII
are the cruisers Marques de Ensenada,
Infanta Isabel and Condo de Venadito.
These are craft of only /, 100 tons dis
placement. If in the United States navy,
they would be classed as gunboats. No
one Of them would be more than a match
for the smallest of the gunboats of Adj
miral Sampson. Why the Spanish adj
miral, Manterola, permitted the block
ade to close with all but two of the
Spanish cruisers shut up in the harbor
is only another of the mysteries Of
Spain's seemingly inefficient policy of
defense. The two cruisers in Cuban wa
tiers outside of Havana harbor are the
Reina Mercedes, 5000 ton vessel Of
fair speed 10 knots and the Isabel II.
Their present locations are not definite.
~ known, but it is supposed they are
on the south side of the island.
Seven vessels classed by Spain as tor
pedo cruisers are in Cuban waters. Two
of them, the Nueva .Espana and the
Fillipas, of $40 and $50 tons, are shut
up with the cruisers in Havana harbor
Whether they are in condition for serv-
ice is not known. If they are not await.
ing repairs at the navy yard, at the
head of the harbor, then the action Of
the admiral in permitting them to be
rendered useless by the blockade is an
other of the inexplicable sins of omis-
sion Of Spain. Besides the four cruisers
and the two torpedo cruisers, Havana
harbor holds today gunboat, the Me-
gallanes. OF 527 tons; gun vessel, the
Antonio Lopez, and large transport,
the Legaspi. Nine of the So vessels of
the Spanish navy in the West Indies
are locked up tight in the harbor of
Havana.
The large military maps prepared for
the war department afford a new i'm
J preston of the coast conditions of Gu
va. IL Seueia4 way Cu6 SLla1l6r maps
[ show that there are many small islands
! along the coast, but the large and de-
J tailed maps show that there is q net.
work Of fringe of the little keys
/ countless in numbers. Some have
\ names, but the most of them are too in
significant They simply appear as spots
: and specks upon the charts. Havana
site is bold front of bow to the
northward The hills rise from nea,
the CULTS edge. Islands are not so nu.
merous in the vicinity of Havana as
they are a few miles to the westward
or to the eastward The water is deepe,
in front of Havana than at almost any
! other part Of the coast. The bottom
shelves quickly. But short distance
one way or the other along the coas,
the shoaling is more gradual Sur.
5 rounding the greater part of the island
!, the water is not of sufficient depth fol-
). the heavier warships to approach very
; near the shore The innumerable islands
simply show where the shoals, which
!. are almost continuous. reach the sur.
L q