Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1908-05-21

THE BATTLEsHlP FLEET LEAVES
SAN FRANCISCO FOR
PUGET SOUND.
At DESTINATION THURSDAY
Vessels VIII Separate and Visit Varl-
/. Gus Ports Until Saturday When
! They VIII Assemble
(. at Seattle.

San Francisco, May 1s.-In the gray
mist Of a rainy morning the Atlantic
fleet sailed out through the Golden
Gate Monday on Its way to visit vari-
Gus ports in Puget Sound. On Its way
IN the coast the feet will sail close
10 the shore at certain points In order
to give the people Of northern Cali
fornia and Oregon an opportunity TO
view the long procession OF fighting
vessels, under way at sea. The ships
will arrive In Puget Sound on Thurs
day. the Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio
dropping anchors at Port Angeles; the
Illinois and Kearsarge anchoring al
Port Townsend; the Connecticut
Louisiana, Kansas, Vermont, Georgia.
Virginia and New Jersey going to
Bellingham and the Wisconsin, Ne
braska and Kentucky going to the
Bremerton navy yard. Reassembllng
at Port Townsend on May %, the
feet will proceed TO Seattle that al
ternoon for a three days visit. Then
the ships OF one squadron will sail
for San Francisco for docking, while
the others return to Bremerton to be
locked in preparation for the resump-
ton OF the world cruise which starts
from San Francisco on July Z.
Anchors were lifted from San Fran
cisco bay at 11:10 a. m. Monday and
the feet got under way for the first
time under command of Rear Ad-
miral Sperry. The recognized divi-
sions took their respective places be-
hind the flagship Connecticut and the
new order Of things went into effect
The veteran ships Maine and Ala
bama, units of the long cruise from
Hampton Roads, were missing from
the line Monday, their places being
filled by the Nebraska, ship of the
Georgia class, and by the Wisconsin,
sister ship to the Alabama.
Smoky mist fog hung heavy over
the harbor during the early hours of
the morning but lifted sufficiently by
sailing time to rob the departure Of
any risk from maneuvering in thick
weather. Several thousand people
stood in the rain on the hillside to
witness the going Of the feet and
while the picture was robbed Of the
flashing colors painted by the sun
there remained much of the old time
impressiveness and display Of fighting |
that go with this wonderfully
self-reliant force.
The sailing OF the Atlantic feet left |
only two ships of war anchored In the |
Tairway where a little more than a
week ago the secretary of the navy re-
viewed the greatest number of iron
clads ever brought together under one
flag. The Alabama and the cruiser
South Dakota, the latter being busy
with the grimy work of coaling after
her successful three days trial trip
which ended Saturday afternoon were
the remaining ships. The Maine is at
Mare Island The performance Of the
South Dakota in steaming 22S6 knots
for four hours under forced draught
and 2O.S6 knots for "a hours, is at
tracing much attention in naval cir
Giles. The big cruiser was displacing
HOO more tons Of water than when
she underwent the builders trial and
her total displacement was Just short
Of 10000 tons more than 1000 tons of
weight being on board In excess Of the
planned displacement Of cruisers Of
this type. Under these conditions the
fast time made was most gratifying to
the officers of the ship and the mem
bers Of the official trial board.