Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-10-26
OFF SANTIAGO.
The Admiral Tells of His Arrival Mt
That Port.


That Port.
Here Admiral Schley brought his
narrative up to Santiago. and he said
in that connection that he had regard
ed the orders of the department con-
corning the probable presence of the
Spanish feet at Santiago as more of
suggestion than mandatory order.
He considered that IL would take only
little while TO get back in any event.
Also he repeated that the proper mill
tary manuever would he to proceed
westward toward the bases at Havana
and Key West.
He had arrived with the squadron Oft
Santiago at about I o'clock p. m. May
18th, he said. and had then taken up
his position Ave or six miles out, after
wards holding the feet in formation
gay and night He had on that first
night sent the Marblehead closer In
with instructions to keep close watch
on the mouth of the harbor. That
night he said he had noticed the sig
nails on the shore known as blinkers,
and he had also observed at that time
lights on lower plane, which he had
since become convinced were from the
Colon. lying in the harbor.
The next day he had discovered the
presence of that Spanish vessel there
as he had also that OF other of the
enemy's war vessels. He said that
when he bad thus secured irrefutable
prool of the fact that the vessels were
there and told Captain Sigsbee of the
fact that officer expressed surprise that
such was really the fact. 1t was at
this period that he sent his dispatch to
the department. giving absolute infor-
nation of the presence Of the Speniards,
and ...gsbee had carried this message to
Mole ST. Nicholas.
Admiral Schley said that
After Locating the Fleet
In Santiago he testified that he formed
the blockade in the only way he be-
lieved such a small squadron could be
utilized for such duty. The ships were
in column broadside on 10 the en-
trance of the harbor so that simple
turn of the wheel would bring them In
line IL the enemy appeared. He called
the Captains of the ships aboard and
explained his idea OF the blockade to
them and also his general plan OF at
tack. His plan was to attack the head OF
the column first and confuse and Grip
pie each in turn.
The nickel boats were to be used as
torpedo boat destroyers The ships
were to maintain steam so as to be
CAPABLE of IL knots. The feet steamed
back and forth before the entrance OF
the harbor. Moro Caste, he thought,
was at no time more than five miles
away He judged this by the distinct
ness with which he could see the surf.
The bottoms of all his ships were foul,
perhaps a knot or a knot and a half
slower than they should have been.
The Admiral explained how the fleet
steamed back and forth, using the bold
headlands at night to determine their
position with the picket boats always
inside. Every night, except In rain,
when rain squalls occurred and they
were usually brief the Admiral testified
that he could see the pickets either
with the naked eye or with night
glasses. He never went to bed without
looking for them and there was not
night when he could not distinguish the
land and the Moro.
In concluding his description Of the
blockade that had been maintained, the
shown by the fact that during its ex-
jstence no vessel entered or escaped
from the harbor"
Coming to
The Reconnaissance of May 3ist
Admiral Schley said:
ION the 3lst, while the Brooklyn and
the Marb.ehead and the Texas were
eoaling, | transferred my flag to the
Massachusetts, and determined that
would develop the Notifications be-
cause of information which We had on
board from the photographic office-my
impression now is it was rather unde-
termined | think one stated that .he
batteries were old and another stated
that Krupps' were mounted The gen
era belief. however. was that all OF the
southern places were very heavily forti-
fed. In fact we knew very little about