Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-01-31
FLEET OFF MAGELLAN
Vessels Are Passing Into the
Straits Today.
SIGNALS TO CAPE VIRGINS
Made the Long Run Earlier Than
Was Expected.
JAPANESE ON THE LOOKOUT
Two Men Supposed to Be Naval OBJ
servers Have Landed at
Punta Arenas.
JAPANESE ON THE LOOKOUT

CAPE VIRGINS Argentine, January
81, 1915 a.m.-The fleet of American bat
tie ships under Rear Admiral Evans is
at this moment passing Cape Virgins
and advancing slowly toward the Strait
Of Magellan.
Battleships can be seen from here. They
are all close in to the cape. The first
Of the American battleships was sighted
at o'clock last evening. She was then
entering the strait. This ship communi-.
Gated with the Chilean lighthouse at
Point Dungeness. She displayed by flag
| the cipher letters G. b. l.. s., but it was
impossible to learn the name of the YES
sci from these indications. these particu
lar letters not being in the code available
| here.
| Continuing, this vessel communicated by
| signal that at midday o. Thursday she
| had separated from the fleet. which was
then proceeding slowly in the direction
| of the strait. The main part of the fleet.
| the signals. declared. expected to enter
| the strait shortly after midnight.
| At $50 o'clock Thursday night the sec
| ond battleship was sighted from here.
This vessel stopped off Cape Virgins. and
| it could be seen that she was making
| signals.
| A dispatch from Cape Virgins. the east
ernmost point at the entrance to the
Strait of Magellan, states that one cruiser
passed the cape at o'clock Thursday
evening bound in the strait. Her nation
atty was not made out. 1t is believed.
however, that this is the German cruiser
Bremen. which left Rio Janeiro January
%. at the time the American battleship
mot
known whether the bremen was pounu
to Punta Arenas.
With the arrival of the fleet at
Punta Arenas, the most southern port
in the world, the battleships will have
completed the third stage, $3.50 knots, of
their long voyage. The ships will then
traverse the hazardous narrows at the
eastern entrance to the Strait of Ma
gellan.
Portuguese navigator. with a squadron of
discovery fitted out by Charles Y. King
of Spain, discovered in 1920 and passed
through the strait named after him no
greater attention mas been directed toward
this famous interoceanic waterway by
any event than by the coming passage of
it by the fleet of American battleships.
Magellan strait consists of two nearly
equal branches running from northeast
to southwest and from northwest to
southeast with 4 total length OF $40
miles and width varying from twenty
miles to hardly two miles and a half
In going through the strait Admiral
Evans fleet will have the best time Of
the year for the purpose, Ire midsummer
of the southern hemisphere.
There are few distractions in Magellan
strait from rocks and islands. 1t is sim
liar In character to the numerous chan
neIs and fiords along the coast of south
ern Chile. Like them. it is bordered by
high and often precipitous and imposing
land and has numerous branches. Some
OF these offer shorter routes from ocean
to ocean but they are INSTRUCTED by
rocks. The strait lies entirely within
Chilean territory. but it is a free water
way and Is considered neutral territory.
Japanese Observers.
PUNTA ARENAS, January 31.-Two
Japanese have come ashore here from
the British steamer Orita. They arc sup
posed to be present in Punta Arenas for
the purpose of observing the passage OF
the American feet of battleships due here
from Rio Janeiro The British steamer
Orita. Capt. Hayes, left Liverpool De-
cembcr 10 for Valparaiso via Rio Janeiro
and the Strait of Magellan. She sailed
from Rio Janeiro January for Punta