The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-12-14

utmost dispatch of Cienfuegos to cap
/ ture the enemy off that port, If posi-
/ BILE, or to blockade him and to make
/ the blockade as close as possible.
The flying squadron arrived off
/ CienfuegOs on the morning or May p
and established a blockade. During
/ the day the ships lay off the port at
various distances, in no particular or
( der At night they formed in column
f Of vessels, headed off shore, and moved
at only sufficient speed for keeping
F positions. The small vessels per
+ formed picket duty inshore Of the large
ships.
Declares Schley Was Slow.
Commodore SchIey did not proceed
with the utmost dispatch off Cienfue-
COS and block that port as close as
possible. At 10 a. m, May %. the
f Dupont arrived at Cienfuegos with a
+ dispatch from the commander in chief.
dated Key West. May 20, 1898, which
informed Commodore Schley Of the
probability of the Spanish squadron
being in Santiago de Cuba, and ordered
/ him to hold Cienfuegos until the re-
/ celpt of more positive information
/ AT 1870 p. m, May p, the Iowa ar
/ rived at Cienfuegos, and at D. m. of
/ the same date the Scorpion left Glen
fuegos for Santiago
/ At $40 a. m. Of May % Commodore
/ Schley received by the dispatch vessel
/ Hawk the following dispatch and mem
Z oraadums from the cOmmander-in-
chief
Dispatch CNo. 50. dated Key West.
/ May p, 1898, which stated that the
Spanish squadron was probably at
Santiago and ordered Commodore
Schley, if he was satisfied that the
Spanish squadron was not at Cienfue-
COS, TO proceed with all dispatch but
cautiously. TO Santiago de Cuba. and if
I the enemy is there blockade him i'm that
I port
a memorandum dated off Havana,
{ May p, 1898, which directed Commo-
/ dore Schley to mask his movements in
/ leaving Cienfuegos.
A memorandum which stated that q
good landing place had been found by
/ Commander McCalla thirteen and a
half miles vest Of Savanilla point; that
the CuDans had perfect knowledge of
/ what was going on within CienfuegOs;
that the Cuban forces in the San Juan
mountains controlled the railway be-
tween CienfUegos and Trinidad, and
that there were fair roads from the
landing places to Cienfuegos.
At $50 O. m, May %, the Castine
and the collier MeTrimac arrived at
CienfuegOs
At noon on the same date the Brit
ish steamer Adula was permitted TO 80
into CienfuegOs.
At a. m, May "A. the Marblehead,
Vixen and Eagle arrived at Cienfuegos.
Communicated With Insurgents.
About 10 a. IN. the AIarbIehead ana
Eagle proceeded TO the landing place
thirteen and a half miles west of Sa-
vanilla point, communicated with the
insurgents, landed stores for them
learned that the Spanish squadron was
not in the harbOr ar Cienfuegos, re-
joined the squadron at $3.50 p. m. ana
reported TO Commodore Schley the in
formation obtained.
After the receipt of this information
Commodore Schley wrote a dispatch to
the commander-in-chief in which he
stated 81 shall move eastward tomor-
row." BE also wrote g dispatch TO the
commSndant Of the naval base at Key
Wes. in which he stated:
las IL is found impractiCable TO coal
the Texas from the collier here, where
there is so much swell, shall proceed
tomorrow of Santiago de Cuba, being
embarrassed. however. by the Texas
short coal supply and her inability TO
coal ia the open sea. I shall not be
able to remain off that port on ac-
count Of the general short coal supply
of the squadron, so viii proceed to the
vicinity of St Nicholas Mole, where
the water is smooth and I can coal the
Texas and other ships with what may
remain in the collier"
No work was, apparently. II progress
or the fortifcations of CienfuegOs while
Commodore Schley was off that port
No efforts were made by Commodore
Schley to communicate with the insur-
Gents to discover whether the Spanish
squadron we,s in the hsrbOr Of Glen
fuegos pri3r 10 the morning Of May "a